Issue 7 November 2017

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

What an exciting start to Term 4 we have had. Firstly our Year 12s have finished up their time at school on a positive note and those studying ATAR are about to begin their exams. We wish them all the best and look forward to celebrating with all our Year 12s at Valedictory on 16 November.

The start of term has been a festival of the arts, with the Photography – Focus 2017, the Twilight Music Concert, the Ziggy Zagdust Arts Collaboration with the City of Kalamunda and the Gifted and Talented Visual Arts exhibition. These events showcase our student’s work and each continuing to build on previous years, with ever increasing quality and talent on display. We thank all the teachers and tutors involved in supporting the students to achieve this outstanding quality of work.

We also started our term with Mental Health week and thank Jenny our school psychologist for coordinating a range of activities and fun events. Finishing off the week, our Year 7s celebrated their annual History Day event with a day of fun and activities.

Coming up we have a special Year 9 parent evening on 8 November to highlight some important information for students in moving from Middle to Senior School. Further information will be sent directly to parents.

Congratulations to our new student leaders for Year 12 next year. They are Sian Crossman (Head Girl), Declan O’Hanlan (Head Boy), Annabelle Graham (Deputy Head Girl), Connor Scobbie (Deputy Head Boy), AJ Goulden and Ashleigh Motteram prefects. We look forward to all they will bring to their respective roles next year.

Cause to be proud

It is with great pride that I share some student noteworthy achievements.

Evie Williams (Yr 8) and Shelley Dewrance (Yr 9) both competed in and won their divisions in the State Championships in Synchronized Ice Skating. Evie skates in the basic novice team, “Bees” and Shelley skates in the “Jitterbugs” team in mixed age division, with Evie also named as a reserve skater for the “Jitterbugs”. Both will now represent WA in this very competitive and challenging sport. They have both also been nominated by WAISA (WA Ice Skating Association) to represent WA at the upcoming Australian Figure Skating Championships in Brisbane in December.

It was very pleasing to receive some kind words from a delighted grandmother, praising Jarrod Hughes for donating his wagon he made in woodwork.

These wooden pieces of work were also created in Materials, Design and Technology, a cow tricycle by Olivia Dangerfield and a motorcycle by Matt Vitetta.

Pornchita Sulllivan was asked to present at the Youth Out Loud finals in Midland.

A group of students from the Year 11 Certificate II in Visual Art are working on a project with the City of Kalamunda. You can read more about this later in the issue, and I encourage you to check out their painting of artist, Brenton See’s design on a Bus stop in Gooseberry Hill.

One of our talented Year 12 students, Gemma Addison has recently participated in the Nanga Music Festival, where she was the recipient of a Youth Scholarship. She was mentored by Rose Parker and sang two of her original songs on the main stage, one by herself and one with Rose. I am reliably informed that the crowd loved her and it is no surprise to us. She is such a talented artist and we wish her all the best for a successful future.

Congratulations to these students and to our many Kalamunda students who do us proud in their high achievements and by representing the state in events.

Welcome to our Kalamunda family

Firstly I would like to introduce and welcome our new Associate Principal of Middle School, Melissa Shepherd. Melissa comes with a wealth of experience and diverse educational background and we welcome her and wish her well as she joins our wonderful school.

We also welcome Brent Gartner, Sophie Hopkins, Jaye Molinaro, Makenzie Romeril, Ebony Rowland, the school and hope that their time with us is very successful.

Mrs Helen Deacon
Principal

Senior School Report

Term 3, Friday 22 September finished seamlessly with our traditional Year 12 Breakfast in the staffroom, which was absolutely superb for all who were there. Our final Year 12 Assembly was just brilliant, lots of discerning words, quite a few funny moments and a final farewell to our Year 12s, the Class of 2017, before they headed of for their valedictory rehearsal.

With the WACE practical exams and school mock exams during the school holidays completed, the Year 12 students embarked on their final weeks of school, ensuring all work was completed. The last couple of weeks finished off the school year for the 12s quite flawlessly. Our WACE schools tour helped to ensure those students doing WACE exams were informed of locations and protocols for their exams. We wish all our Year 12s every success and much happiness in whatever they pursue in their futures.

The Year 11s are still very busy completing final assessments and preparing for their exams or work placements. We have also been making plans for their greatly anticipated Leavers Jacket and Ball early in Term 1 2018. The present Years 11s are a vibrant and determined group of young people and we all look forward to an outstanding year ahead with many highlights to come. Good luck to those students doing exams and work placements, hopefully the year will end on a positive note for all.

Mrs Sharon Andrews
Head of Senior School

Middle School Report

As an introduction I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our new Associate Principal of Middle School Ms Melissa Shepherd to the school. She will be an awesome addition to our school and is already developing some wonderfully positive relationships with a wide array of students. I would also like to thank Ms Mary-Anne Morgan for all of her hard work and wish her all the very best for the future.

At this stage of the year the two most important things on everyone’s mind are the upcoming exams and the end of year activities.

Exams

If I start with exams, all of our Year 8s and 9s came through Semester 1 exams without too much stress, so they are almost seasoned veterans for Semester 2.

Remember that preparation should have started by now, rather than leaving it to the night before. If a student is sick during exams then they will need a medical certificate so staff can factor this in to their final grades. When preparing for exams please ensure that you:

1. Get a good night’s sleep.
2. Make sure you have breakfast so you are ready to go in the morning.
3. Pack your bag the night before so you know you have all the materials you require and what room you have your exam in.

End of Year Activities

As a part of the Good Standing program we are offering students in Years 7, 8 and 9 the opportunity to participate in the end of year activities.

The Year 7s will be having a Big Day In, on Monday 11 December. This will comprise of water slides, dunking machine, bungee run and other rides. The cost for the day is $40 and this will cover the hire of all equipment and a sausage sizzle lunch, drink and an ice cream.

The Year 8s excursion is currently being planned and will be held on Wednesday, 13 December. More details will follow, however, the cost will be no more than $40.

The Year 9s will have their annual River Rock on Tuesday, 12 December. The cost for the night (which includes boat hire, a DJ, pizzas and soft drinks throughout the night) will be $45.

For a student to be eligible to attend any of the above activities they must meet the following criteria:

• Student to have Good Standing as at:
  Year 7 – 3pm Friday, 8 December
  Year 8 – 3pm Tuesday, 12 December
  Year 9 – 3pm Tuesday, 12 December.
• No more than 3 Letters of Concern home this term (including not submitting work).
• If staff identify students who have not been following our five values of Pride, Respect, Love of Learning, Community and Resilience then students will need to negotiate their inclusion with the individual staff member.
• Payment for the excursion to be in by Wednesday, 7 December.
• Students’ school fees should also have been paid by 8 December, or arrangements have been made with the School Business Manager Mrs Jeni Jorritsma.

In addition to the above, the Year 9 students must also attend 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.

Remember that if you have any questions then please contact the relevant Year Coordinator at school on 9293 6400 (Year 7 – Ms Susan Archdall, Year 8 – Ms Teagen Smith and Year 9 – Ms Nicole Sijka).

Cybersafety

The regular e-magazine of the Office of Cyber Safety (Cyberzine) is available online now at the link below and has some really interesting articles for teenagers and parents.

Achievements

Congratulations to Tyson Noel in Year 8 for being selected in the State Under 16 Baseball team, Shelley Dewrance for being selected to compete at the Australian Figure Skating Championships and also best wishes to Zac Andrews who will be competing in the Open National Archery Championships in November. Well done guys.

Mr Mark Pettit
Head of Middle School

Year 9 Report

Year 9 to 10 Student Transition Parent Information Evening

On Wednesday, 8 November an important information evening will be held to assist you and your Year 9 child make decisions for 2018 and beyond. It will be held in the school cafeteria at 6:30pm. Please come along to ensure you have the necessary information for your child’s transition into Senior School at Kalamunda Senior High School.

Year 9 Triple Challenge

This is the last chance for Year 9 students to get involved with Desi our School Chaplain and challenge themselves to complete ‘The Triple Challenge’. Desi would love to see some new faces come along and get involved – it is a great two days that pushes you to set and achieve some goals with your peers in activities that you might not have tried before. Challenge yourself with rock-climbing, trampolining and bike riding.

Boys Triple Challenge – Week 8
Girls Triple Challenge – Week 9

Please see Desi as soon as possible to fill out and return permission forms – it is free!!!

Year 9 School Community Service

The Year 9 students, with their Mentor Teachers, have been volunteering some of their time to contribute to our school community in positive way. Students have been collecting rubbish in allocated areas to ensure our school environment remains a clean and attractive place that we can all enjoy. Could I please ask you to remind your child to bring in some plastic bags from home to assist with the collection?

Year 9 Leadership Awards

Our school community nominates Year 9 Students who are demonstrating the characteristics, initiative and behaviour of great leaders and role models in our Year 9 Cohort.

Sijka’s Squad

Students who demonstrate one of our five school values in a consistent manner can be nominated by teachers. These students will be rewarded with a morning tea with Mrs Sijka – delicious chocolate croissants and a warm drink.

Year 9 End of Year River Cruise

Please check your child’s Student Planner for information about maintaining Student Good Standing to ensure that your child will be included in the reward at the end of this semester, which is our Year 9 River Cruise. In previous years, the Year 9 students have enjoyed this exciting event and I would be disappointed if students were unable to attend due to losing their Good Standing. I would like to encourage a particular focus on maintaining student attendance above 90% this term.

Thank you for your 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

Year 8 Report

Welcome to Term 4 and it is wonderful to see how well the Year 8s have tackled the beginning of a busy end of the year. This term will see them sit their Semester 2 exams, participate in a self esteem incursion, the last round of immunisations for the year and our reward day and Semester 2 reports to finish off the year.

Week 6 will see the Year 8s complete their second round of exams for the year in Mathematics, English, Science and Humanities and Social Sciences. It is important that students are well prepared and organise themselves to ensure they are not too overwhelmed going into exams. Students need to ensure they complete tasks by the due dates, have a well-balanced study timetable and make sure they utilise their student journal to ensure they can stay focused to guarantee your child’s best performance.

On the final Wednesday of the Term, I will be taking a number of Year 8s out of school on a rewards excursion. Although I am still in the middle of confirming the activities for the day, I would like to encourage students put their best foot forward to make sure of their eligibility to attend the excursion. Anyone who has lost Good Standing by Week 5 will mean they will not be able to attend. Students must make sure they are wearing the full school uniform, limit the number of negatives recorded against them, not be suspended and ensure their attendance is at or above 90% for Semester 2. I will keep you updated on the fun planned for the day.

At the end of Term 3 we held a Year 8 reward assembly. The following students were recognised for their efforts by accumulating numerous Kala Credits.

Congratulations to all of the prize winners. It is amazing to see so many students collecting Kala Credits.

Remember, if you have any concerns or questions please do not hesitate to contact me via email Teagen.Smith@education.wa.edu.au.

Mrs Teagen Smith
Year 8 Coordinator

Student Services Report

Student Leadership

I would like to start off by congratulating and thanking the outgoing Year 12 Leadership team. They have certainly been proactive in creating an inclusive environment for all at the school. At the leadership planning day in May one of their goals was that they wanted all students to feel respected, that they belonged and that no one was alone. I believe that through their initiative of developing the spectrum group that they have achieved their goal and should be very proud of themselves.

I wish them all the very best for the future and I hope they will come back and visit us soon.

I would now like to welcome the incoming Year 12 leadership group for 2018. Mrs Deacon has announced the Head Boy/Girl, Deputy Head Boy/Girl and Prefects in her article so I would like to announce the House Captains for 2018.

At the final Year 12 assembly the House Banners were handed over to new House Captains. I look forward to their input next year at the leadership meetings.

Draco : Anneke Borger
Orion : Tahyla Delgado
Pegasus : Krisyiana Pivic
Phoenix : Dylan Todd.

Mrs Deacon welcomed all of the new student Leadership team and their families to a morning tea which is always a highlight on the calendar. The new team will be returning to school on 22 November for a half day planning session in preparation for 2018.

Expressions of interest will go out to other year groups later this term for Student Council and House Representative’s nominations. I encourage all students to think about applying for these rewarding roles as:

• It develops their leadership skills
• It helps them to see beyond schoolwork
• It teaches them the value of teamwork
• It gives them a network of nominations
• It lets them give back to their community.

Good Standing

The final Good Standing report will be generated in Week 6. I hope that everyone is maintaining their attendance at above 90%, behaving in class, wearing full school uniform and trying hard with their academic studies. If you have your Good Standing status then you will be invited to the reward activities planned for each year group towards the end of term.

Please do not hesitate to contact me or the relevant Student Services team.

Mrs Amanda Morton
Manager Student Services

CoderDojo

The first CoderDojo took place afterschool on Tuesday 24 October. CoderDojo is global movement of free, volunteer-led, community-based programming clubs for young people. During a Dojo, students can learn to code, build a website, create an app or a game, and explore technology in an informal, creative, and social environment. All students at Kalamunda SHS are welcome to join our CoderDojo. It takes place in the school library from 3pm to 4pm on Tuesday afternoons.

Ms Amber Bullock and Mrs Rachel Richards
STEAM Committee

Act Belong Commit Mental Health Week

Week 1 of this term saw the staff and students celebrate Mental Health Week, as part of our Act Belong Commit ethos.

This year’s mental health week coincided with the WA Mental Health week and we focused on Health Eating = Healthy Minds.

The student leadership group decided to raise funds for the Starlight Foundation. Money was raised through an Op Shop, International Food Stall, Silent Disco and fresh smoothies and juices. Students were able to get involved in a mental health quiz and other competitions and other ways to help de-stress and to teach new ways of keeping mentally healthy. Massages and a class in mindfulness were also supplied for those staff who were interested.

Thank you to all staff and students who helped organise and run such a great week.

Mrs Jenny Edmonds
School Psychologist

Father’s Day Breakfast

This year we were again privileged to have a large number of students bring their fathers, grandfathers and uncles to breakfast at school. It is great to see the commitment these students make in getting up early come and share breakfast at school with their fathers. The student leadership team and staff were kept busy cooking, preparing and serving bacon and egg muffins, fruit, tea and coffee. Our guest speaker this year was Wayne Bradshaw, the CEO of the Fathering Project, who provided some good tips on being the good father and role model to our teenagers and also coaxed interesting dad jokes from the crowd. Wayne also provided free copies of ‘dunny’ books of fathering tips, which appeared to be well received. Sian Crossman also spoke to the group on what her father means to her – a very moving talk. Throughout the morning we were treated to music provided by three very talented members of the Music program. Overall, the morning was a great way to share this special occasion and help our students let their fathers know the important role they play in their lives and I would like to thank those students and staff involved in making the morning a success.

Mrs Jenny Edmonds
School Psychologist

Gifted and Talented Visual Art

This term has started successfully, with all students completing a shorter project due to the various events we have on. Tutors have adjusted programs to focus on a range of successful workshops that will encompass a range of skills, but still focus on a complete final product.

Student work will be entered in a few major competitions this term, including the Year 12 Perspectives and the Darlington Art Festival - with work in both the Visual Arts categories and the Wearable Art parade. We encourage parents to attend the festival if they are able to on 4 November.

The Gifted and Talented Visual Art Exhibition occurred over the weekend and it was a major success. Artist and tutor Sarah Pearn opened the exhibition with an excellent speech congratulating all students on their hard work and dedication. The artwork looked spectacular. Prizes were awarded to students (one in each year) who demonstrated excellent Gifted and Talented attendance, commitment and attitude throughout the 2017 year. The recipients were Evelyn Grummet, Sophie Ries, Georgia Keeler, Mackenzie Walker, Ethan Nairn and James Falzon.

The other main event we have coming up this term is the Art Auction. So far, a range of work has been donated but we still require more! If anyone can contribute, please contact Zoe Wittber at the school to arrange a drop off.

Ms Zoe Wittber
Gifted and Talented Visual Art Coordinator

Bus Shelter Mural

As part of Backyard Bird Count Week, Year 11 Certificate II Visual Art students Annie, Asher, Briony, JT and Joshua teamed up with Perth mural artist Brenton See to decorate a local bus shelter. Brenton specialises in large scale interior and exterior murals.

Brenton’s design includes a bird that is endemic in the City of Kalamunda. The shelter, located in Gooseberry Hill, is currently a “work-in-progress” as the rainy weather stopped work. This activity was organised by the City of Kalamunda and we are grateful for the opportunity to be involved.

Mrs Claire Eden
Head of Arts Learning Area

Fashion Excursion

The Year 11 General Fashion Design class and the Certificate II Applied Fashion Design and Technology class enjoyed an excursion to the Fashion and Textiles department at NorthMetroTAFE. The students were given a tour of the industry standard facilities and were able to see graduate students working on their final runway collections.

The real fun started in the practical workshop where each student was given a Pippa McManus fashion illustration and t-shirt to hand paint. All the designs looked gorgeous and very wearable. The excursion was a great success and a fabulous insight into post-school opportunities in the fashion industry.

Thanks to Ms Phillips for accompanying us on our excursion.

Mrs Claire Eden
Visual Arts and Fashion Design Teacher

Music News

October has been a very productive month for our fine young KSHS musicians.

The 25 October saw our third Twilight concert musical showcase. Leading up to the event eyes were keenly following the weather forecast, which seemed to slide between no rain, lots of rain and some rain. Even on the day the weather was hard to predict. It is always a hard decision on booking the twilight concert date but the main factors include retaining the Year 12s before they have started exams and finding a date that fits in our busy school calendar that is not too close to exams and other end of year activities. As you know the weather can jump from winter to summer in the space of a few days. We were blessed with a window of desirable weather for the hours we needed and the concert ran with no issues at all.

I am pleased to say that the feedback I had received by our school community, parents and students has been overwhelming. I am always amazed at how our wonderful musical community comes together to help make these events shine. I would like to make particular mention and thanks to Alex Stevens, Anny and Clinton Dewrance, Susanne Grahl, Desi Chapman, Mark Luderman and all the parents that chipped in from Musikal to help out. This year some of our parents had re-worked the backdrop into a full length backdrop covering the entire stage area, we also had the flag pole relocated so the overall effect from an audience point of view was significantly better.

Early in the concert Junkadelic collaborated with the junior band and students from Kalamunda Primary School. The two stages again proved to be effective in keeping the flow of music moving throughout the evening. The night ran smoothly and as always the highlight for me is the grand finale. Miss Vivian had arranged David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” for every music student, which these days is about one hundred. It was an amazing way to finish the night and I am sure these amazing performances will live on in our students hearts for many years to come.

I would like to thank our sponsor Kalamunda Toyota for providing their community sausage sizzle, Nikki from Hot shots coffee, Kalamunda rovers and the Dewrance family for donating a new bbq for the raffles.

Friday 27 October saw KSHS collaborate with Zig Zag Arts, the Kalamunda youth swing band, Junkadelic and Kalamunda PS in producing a David Bowie tribute concert at Stirk Park aptly named “Ziggy Zagdust”. My Year 11 certificate of music students had organized the event and collaborated extensively with Ken Allen and Celia Ceffins from Zig Zag Arts. Some students had also designed a tee shirt and banner especially for the event. A special mention goes to Leah Addison and Sian Crossman for their above and beyond work to make that happen.

The night was an amazing success and although we had some drizzle the event was well received by the community.

Mr Marcus Roberts
Director of Music

Science Update

Big Science Competition

Congratulations to our high achievers in this year’s annual event: we had two participants whose results placed them in the top 5% of the State (Emma Cammack and Michael Horkan) and another eight placed in the top 10% (Olivia Spencer, Quinn Armenti, Oliver Lee Rosser, Benjamin Merlo, Elizabeth Kingston, Anthony Doust, and Aisha Musumeci). They were presented at our school assembly with a certificate recognizing this outstanding performance. Well done to all.

Kalamunda Day

This whole school celebration of our learning community and five school values also doubles as a Science in Schools Week showcase of amazing demonstrations and hands-on activities.

Continuing our tradition of Science Show wiz-bangs and detonations, Ms Bullock destroyed everything she got her hands on using liquid nitrogen to freeze objects to minus 200 degrees Celsius. It was standing room only in the second session, ending with a bang as the hydrogen balloon lit up the darkened lab and terrified student faces.

The Great Science Escape with Ms Cheetham and Ms Richards was booked out several times before the day even began: be quick next year or miss out again!

Always popular, the Smoke Cannons loaded by Ms. Wingate allowed no cup tower to stand and did a good job of making Room 5 disappear altogether in dense clouds of smoke and haze.

Mr Lindesay Pound
Science Teacher

Indonesian

Bahasa Indonesia

Langkah 3: Sekolah saya.

Both my Year 7 Indonesian classes in Term 3 studied about schools in Indonesia. The students had to present a role-play about a student from the island of Sulawesi, who is coming to KSHS in Term 4. This student wants to know a few things about our school. The students are seen speaking in Indonesian.

A little information about Indonesian Schools

The students learnt that Indonesian students study very similar subjects . In Indonesia there are public and private schools. In the private sectors there are religious schools, Catholic and other Christian schools, as well as International schools.

Children in Indonesia start Year 1 of Sekolah Dasar (Primary School) when they are six. They then continue to Sekolah Menengah, which is divided into levels: Sekolah Menengah Pertama (Middle School) and Sekolah Menengah Atas (Senior School), as is KalamundaSHS.

There are national examinations (Ujian Nasional) after each stage of schooling and students MUST pass the exam before they can continue to the next year level.

All public school students wear the same uniform throughout all the islands. Primary school students wear white/red: Middle school students wear white/blue and senior school students wear white/grey.

Visit from Sekolah Islam Terpadu Darul Abidin

On 13 October, the school hosted 8 students and a teacher from Sekolah Islam Terpadu Darul Abidin from west Jawa, Indonesia. There were two other adults that accompanied the students.

Their reasons for the visit was to see the daily functioning of our school and were extremely impressed with the facilities and grounds. They mentioned about how the change-over of classes went smoothly and how quickly everyone just went to their classes.

The group were each given a timetable for the day. They participated with cooking along with Mrs McKenzie where they baked some Anzac cookies, then they went to music with Mr Roberts and later did some computer work with Mrs Collier. In music the students presented an Indonesian dance routine. Even few of our music students joined in. This was great to see.

The visitors were made very welcome by our school community. They students mingled and tried to converse in English.

The mission statement of their school is:

to be an Islamic educational intitution that develop Robbani generation and strive for excellence”. Holistic Character Building Program.

I really hope that both schools will continue the collaboration and maybe have an exchange program between schools.

Terma kasih

Ibu Kaler
Indonesian Teacher

Italian Culture in our Community

At the end of Term 3, the Year 9 Italian class went on an excursion to explore our Italian Community. Our first stop was a visit to Mondo Nougat Factory in the Swan Valley. The factory provides visitors with a unique insight into the production of this delicate and traditional sweet. We watched through the glass at the packaging of the many types of nougat and the ingredients used to create the variety of flavours; vanilla, lavender, pistachio, cherry, apricot, orange, chocolate , cappuccino and cranberry. It was the first time tasting nougat for many students. We also had the opportunity to visit next door and try a selection of nuts.

Today Alfonso and his family pride themselves in producing the world’s finest nougat using Australia’s finest ingredients to ensure that “La Dolce Vita” (the sweet life) goes on. This learning opportunity allowed us to recognise how there are Italian contributions, like traditional desserts, in our own community.

Did you know that nougat is made with beaten egg whites and honey? It first appeared in Cologna, Veneta, Northern Italy. It is traditionally eaten Christmas time and at weddings.

Café Italia was our next stop in East Perth. We were served three different pizzas and three pasta types. We all enjoyed them thoroughly and went home with full tummies! La dolce vita! (The sweet life!). The Chef came out and spoke to us about the process of making gnocchi. It was a lovely atmosphere in a traditional Italian setting.

La dolce vita (The sweet life!)!

Mrs Maria Pennington
Italian Teacher

Youth Focus Community Presentation

VacSwim 2017-18

Opera at Twilight