Issue 7 - November 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Year 12 final assembly

We finished Term 3 with our farewells to the Class of 2018. It is always a special assembly where we reflect on the journey through high school. Our Year 12s are about to start their WACE exams, after completing their mock exams and finalising their work. We wish them all the very best and look forward to sending them off in style at their Valedictory on 15 November at the Belvoire Function Centre.

New Year 12 leadership team for 2019

At the end of term we also announced our new Year 12 School Leaders for 2019, and the handover of responsibilities took place at the Year 12 final assembly. I am pleased to announce the following students in their respective roles and we congratulate them on their selection -

New Year 7s for 2019

Our primary school transition program has now finished and we are working hard preparing for the Year 7 2019 Orientation Day – which will be held on 23 November. We welcome our new parents to the school in this latest newsletter and look forward to meeting those who are able to join us on the day. If you have any questions about the day, please contact Mr Pettit our Head of Middle School.

Welcome back to our travellers

Our Italian students arrived back safely from their trip to Italy during the last school holidays. It was an amazing adventure with lots of Italian language learning and cultural experiences and we thank Mrs Pennington for providing such a wonderful opportunity for our students.

YOHfest finalists

A small group of Year 11 and 12 students devised and presented a short play about global warming and the effect on our environment, titled ’The Devil in in the Detail’. The play was thought provoking and provided an opportunity to reflect on our actions – turning back time to provide some solutions and hope for the future. Congratulations to Gracie Burden, Samantha Conn, Liam Scott, Rachel Williams, Sarah Huege de Serville, and Shanai Ulijn-Thomson who were selected as a finalist. They competed in the grand final on 27 October and received an award for the “most thought-provoking play”.

Dance show – combined KSHS and KSESC

What a wonderful opportunity to showcase the talent of our dance students. A highlight for those who attended this concert was the partnering of the Kalamunda SHS students with students from the Education Support Centre. Thank you to Mrs Shabaziantan for her work in preparing the students for this showcase.

Interschool Track and Field Carnival day

Congratulations to our interschool team who came 2nd overall in this event. We also held a record number of individual champions, winning 6 out of a possible 8.

Twilight Concert and Cert II Visual Art Exhibition and Wearable Art Show

Each year this event gets better and better, and this year saw the addition of the Wearable Art Show and exhibition of Art work from our Year 11 and 12 Cert II students. It was a lovely way to spend the evening and a highlight is the combined finale with all students involved. I want to thank all those involved in making this such a special event in our school calendar and in particular thank you to our Musikal parents for their amazing support.

Gifted and Talented Art Exhibition

It is always exciting to see the work displayed from our Gifted and Talented Art students. For the last two years we have held this event in our school cafeteria which has allowed us to have ample space for viewing pieces and to showcase our Year 12 artwork in the Gwen Russell Gallery. This year we extended the viewing to Sunday to allow more opportunity for visitors to see the works. Thank you to all those involved and in particular our new coordinator – Charlotte Gee and our parent group ArtyKal.

More than 70 people took up this opportunity on Sunday and we received positive feedback on this extended viewing time.

Below is the list of students selected by tutors for outstanding achievement in our Gifted and Talented Visual Arts program.

Congratulations and Welcome

Congratulations to our Business students for their Kalamunda Business Expo and to their teacher Dr Collier and guest judges Steve Carroll and Chris Jones. The standard was very high this year with students creating their own business plan, marketing, website and selling product at the expo after a product test on Kalamunda Day, you can read more about this later in this issue.

Congratulations also to our Humanities and English Learning Areas in seeing the fruition of their innovation to showcase student work. It was a very proud opportunity to hear from our talented students and you can read more about this later in this issue.

Congratulations to Taylor Duncan who won first prize in Rio Tinto’s Earth Assist, Recreate Waste Recycle Art Competition. It was wonderful to meet with Taylor about her passion for our environment, along with visiting Ms Adams Year 8 English class really encourages me that our students are forward thinking and globally minded on this issue. I look forward to supporting this growing passion in our students across the whole school.

We congratulate Zoe and Jeremy Whittber on the safe arrival of their new little boy Cove, and welcome Charlotte Gee who joins us while Zoe Whittber takes time off to be with her new baby. Welcome also to our new Head of Mathematics, Jessica Millar. Jessica joins us from Atwell College and brings a wealth of mathematical knowledge with her.

We also welcome a number of students to our school who have enrolled since our last newsletter. They are Riley Alexander, Sean Collier, Angelina Eastman, Alexi Eddwards, Jasmine Loly, Ameilia Mason, Eloise Phillips, Ellissa Saban, Kira Wendt, Lloyd Wilkes and Mia Willett and we hope that their time with us is successful and enjoyable.

I wish everyone all the best for Term 4.

Mrs Helen Deacon
Principal

Senior School Report

Term 3 finished smoothly with our traditional Year 12 Breakfast in the Cafeteria and was absolutely wonderful for all who were there. Our final Year 12 Assembly was excellent with lots of insightful words, a few funny moments and a final heartfelt farewell to our Year 12s ‘The Class of 2018’, before they headed of for their valedictory rehearsal.

With the WACE practical exams and school mock exams during the last school holidays completed, the Year 12 students embarked on their final weeks of school, completing of work, receiving mock exam feedback and undertaking WACE exam preparation. Despite the usual stress of this time of year, 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 where to go and the procedures 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 eagerly preparing for their final assessments, exams or work placements. We have also been making plans for their much anticipated Leavers Jacket and the School Ball early in Term 1 2019. The present Year 11s are an energetic and resolute group of young people and we all anticipate to an exceptional year ahead with many highpoints 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

Year 11 Report

This is perhaps the saddest report I have had to write because this is my final report as Year Coordinator for this beautiful bunch of students. It only seems like yesterday that I took on the cohort as a bright eyed bunch of Year 9s and now I prepare to say good bye to a group of young adults.

In our time together I have seen them all grow and mature and take on all the challenges that life have thrown at them. I am so proud to see the amazing young people they have grown into. We have had so much fun, and some not so much, but throughout it all they have never ceased to be a polite, friendly and supportive bunch.

Out last term together has been busy organising the Leavers Jackets- which look wonderful and planning for the School Ball which is on the 15 February next year.

As I prepare to hand my “other children” over to Mrs Andrews for the final year of high school I wish them all the very best in Year 12, and I feel confident that the life that awaits them will be wonderful. And to you the parents/caregivers thank you very much for all your support of the last few years.

Being the Year Coordinator for this group has been an absolute pleasure and even though I will still see them next year, I will miss being their “person” terribly.

Have a wonderful and safe holidays.

Ms Emma Dunstan
Year 11 Coordinator

Year 10 Report

Year 10 Exams

The Year 10 Students have exams in Week 5. They have attended two Elevate seminars this year on Study Skills and Time Management. The students were provided with useful techniques and ideas to support their studies this year.

The completed Elevate booklets can be located and viewed in the Year 10 Students and Parents Connect Group in the Library section of Connect.

Year 10 to Year 11 Transition

The Year 10 Students will be participating 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 will take place in Week 9, Monday to Wednesday, 3 December 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 will be coming home soon 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.

Year 11 Courses

Students met with the Senior School Subject Selection Counselling Team for Year 11 subject selections in Term 3. If you have any concerns, please contact Mrs Sijka as soon as possible.

OLNA

Year 10 students have received notification about whether or not they have passed their OLNA testing this semester. Students who do not pass this round have four more opportunities in Year 11 and 12.

Students who do not meet the minimum standard required for OLNA, will not receive a Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE). This means they may not be eligible to be considered for University Entry at the end of Year 12.

Connect

Your child has an online School Connect Account that includes important information from teachers. Parents also have an account to access information about their child’s schooling and academic progress. If you or your child is experiencing difficulty accessing this, please contact the front office.

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

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

We are currently in a “new phase’ of exams for our Middle School so not all of them will be sitting an end of year exam as such. Our Year 9s will be sitting them in preparation for Senior School so I want to wish them the best of luck.

Our Year 7s and 8s will be going through some formal assessments during Weeks 5 and 6 but their timetables will not be disrupted at all as they will be done in normal class time.

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 10 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 also be held on Monday 10 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 11 December. The cost for the night (which includes boat hire, a DJ, pizzas and soft drinks throughout the night) will be about $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 Thursday 6 December; Year 8 – 3pm Thursday 6 December; Year 9 – 3pm Tuesday 11 December.
• No more than three 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, Learning, Community and Resilience then students will need to negotiate their inclusion with the individual staff member.
• Payment for excursion to be in by Wednesday 5 December.

In addition to the above, the Year 9 students must also attend school all day on Tuesday 11 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 Laura Cheetham and Year 9 – Ms Karen Stuart).

Mr Mark Pettit
Head of Middle School

Year 9 Report

I can barely believe we are almost halfway through Term 4 already! Although summer holidays may be in sight, there is still much work to be done and much to look forward to before then. It is important that students maintain the standards and expectations of our values all the way through to the end of the term. This is something that the Year 9 cohort were encouraged to focus on at our latest cohort assembly.

It is always a pleasure to have opportunities to reward students for making positive efforts to display the school values, and the Term 3 Kala Credit count for the Year 9s really reflected the vast number of students who work hard to do this. Each term the mentor class with the most Kala Credits wins the honour of being ‘Top Mentor Class’ for that term. I am delighted to announce that 9.09 were the winners for Term 3. They were also the “Most Improved” mentor class in terms of credits per student. Congratulations on your efforts! The following students were rewarded for achieving the highest number of Kala Credits in their mentor class. Each student received a canteen voucher.

Lastly, the end of year river cruise is swiftly approaching. As previously mentioned is it important that students maintain Good Standing in order to attend. It is a lovely evening and a terrific opportunity for the students to get together with friends and celebrate the end of the year in style.

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 Karen.Stuart@education.wa.edu.au.

Ms Karen Stuart
Year 9 Coordinator

Year 8 Report

It’s crazy to think Term 4 is here. The year has absolutely flown by and I would like to stress to the Year 8s to keep the momentum going to the very end. Whilst, the Year 12s have finished and the Year 11s are soon to follow, now is the time to work just that little bit harder and do your absolute best in your upcoming final assessments. On that note, I would like to remind you that instead of having examinations like the Year 9 and 10s we will be conducting formal assessments for the Year 8s in their MESH subjects during Weeks 5 and 6. These will happen during Year 8 classes so make sure you note down the dates for these in your Student Planner so that you don’t forget to study.

I would like to extend my congratulations to all the Year 8 students who performed in the Twilight Music Concert. With the crisp cold air carrying the melodic tunes of our talented musicians and the sparkling of fairy lights made for a very magical evening. This term we have also been able to extend the ‘In Real Life Program’ to Year 8 boys. One group has been spending one period a week working on activities with the Nurse regarding teamwork, resolving conflict, assertive communication and emotional regulation.

As we approach the end of term students in Year 8 with Good Standing will be invited to attend the Reward Day which will be held on the 10 December. This term we will be seeing an early bird screening of ‘Wreck It Ralph 2’ and rollerblading. It will be a really fun day, so remember make sure you always strive to be the very best of yourself and demonstrate our school values.

I look forward to what the rest of the term brings. Should you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me at laura.cheetham@education.wa.edu.au.

Ms Laura Cheetham
Year 8 Coordinator

Year 7 Report

Ancient Greek Feast and Olympics Day

On Friday 26 October the Year 7 cohort celebrated the culmination of our depth study on Ancient Greece with our annual ‘Ancient Greek Feast and Olympics Day’ on Kostera Oval. Our costumes were amazing and our Olympic March to light the flame looked fantastic. Students participated in javelin, discus, marathon, chariot racing and Greek art. They feasted on three whole lambs on the spit, Greek flat bread and salad, dolmades, sardines, feta, hummus, olives and drank sparkling grape juice. Everyone had an awesome time, the weather was perfect and our Chariot teams finished our day with a very close Grand Final race amidst enthusiastic cheering from the crowd. Thanks so much to everyone who assisted with the day.

Year 7 Spelling Bee

Congratulations to our two amazing Spelling Bee Champions – Lucie Stirk-Wasley and Rico Maxwell. They did a brilliant job of learning the words, surviving the preliminary heats and taking out the champion position. Congratulations also to all the competitors and finalists.

Ms Susan Archdall
Year 7 Coordinator

Student Services Report

I would like to start off by congratulating and thanking the outgoing Year 12 Leadership team. They have been such a proactive and vibrant team and embraced their roles with gusto, so much so that they kept myself and Mrs Andrews on our toes. They wanted to leave a legacy from their year group and organised fundraisers to help finance Care packages for youth in crisis. This Leadership group certainly succeeded in this and demonstrated all of our school values. I have no doubt that they will all make their mark in whatever they choose to pursue.

I would like to congratulate the new incoming leadership group for 2019. We have already met several times and they have some fantastic ideas of what they want their year groups legacy to be. Mrs Andrews and I will have a half day planning session with them on Wednesday 14 November to put a strategic plan together for this.

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; and
• 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. Year assemblies will be held to remind students of the criteria for the reward activities.

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

Mrs Amanda Morton
Manager Student Services

Twilight Concert

On Wednesday, 24 October KSHS proudly presented our musical showcase twilight concert.

The concert went brilliantly and I am very proud of all of our achievements. The night is really a celebration of the year’s music making and it is always a magic moment combining all of the music students in the grand finale. Special thanks goes to Michelle Vivian for her moving arrangement of ‘This is Me’ from the Greatest Showman. The performance was highlighted by the full moon behind the stage. The atmosphere was casual and a celebration of one of our core values at KSHS, community. I would like to thank Helen Addison for her work in Musikal over the last five years as treasurer and all the extra commitment she has made to our music community. I would also like to thank all of the Musikal team and the parents that helped out on the night. Helen Addison and Felicity Kingston were our friendly faces at the door – you’ve both done this many times before and you were able to answer everyone’s queries so everyone felt welcomed. Sharon Crossman and Kim Fowler took charge of the raffle prizes and sold lots of tickets. Rosemary Miller and Helen Addison hung the backdrop curtains and fairy lights and made the stage look lovely and Mark Luderman made the side stage work so seamlessly. The Sizzle Team – Andrea Doust, Anne-Marie Taylor, Rik Fowler, Jim Stevens, Desi Chapman, Lee Marter and Kai, Alexander and Bruce Pabst – were handed an enormous pile of stuff in no particular order and created a sausage sizzle station that kept us all fed and watered. Thank you for dealing with the obstacles and getting it sorted. Special thanks go to Kim and Rik Fowler, Lee Marter and Andrea Doust who came and helped even though their Year 9 musicians were away at camp. A final massive thanks goes to our amazing organiser and Musikal secretary Alex Stevens. Alex works really hard behind the scenes and makes putting on these big events run smoothly. Thank you!

In other news on Sunday, 28 October many KSHS students performed at the annual Zig Zag festival. There were side stages and music making all through the town of Kalamunda by our students. One of the highlights was the parade finale which featured our students performing with Junkadelic.

Thanks to all involved and to Ken Allen from Junkadelic for making these collaborations possible.

Mr Marcus Roberts
Director of Music

Kalamunda Business Expo

The Kalamunda Senior High Business Certificate students had their expo on the 19 October. They all did an amazing job:

The first place ‘Best Small Business’ Year 10 winners were Ella Conley, Hannah Fallon-Ferguson, Molly Hindle and Jazmin Hogg for their business Four Angels Clothing.

The runner up ’Best Small Business’ Year 10 winners were Matthew Brake, Shaye Dickson, Luke Fox and Harmen Nuku for their business Toffee and Coffee.

The second Runner up ’Best Small Business’ Year 10 winners were Isaac Weir and Nikola Takac for their business EcoVision.

The first place ‘Best Small Business‘ Year 11 and 12 winners was Zachary Stivey for his business Games of the Dragon.

Congratulations to our winners. Also another huge thank you to our Judges Steve Carroll and Chris Jones.

Dr Jocasta Collier
Technologies and Business Ed Computing Teacher

English

8.5 English

Over the duration of Term 3, we studied sustainability in English. In our 8.5 class we read a variety of news articles about the alarming level of pollution and studied the ABC series War on Waste. As a part of this focus we went on a Waste Walk with another English class and found we had a number of questions about the ways Kalamunda SHS could be more sustainable. We decided to write a whole class letter to the Principal, asking for her views on the way our school is tackling sustainability. We split the class into groups with each of us working on a different section of the letter. We drew on our experiences from the Waste Walk and our knowledge of persuasive writing to create a letter which outlined issues and offered possible solutions about a wide range of issues. We delivered the letter to the Principal’s office and invited Mrs Deacon to come and speak to us in class. To our surprise, she agreed to an interview!

In preparation for this meeting we assigned class members specific roles such as photographers, scribes and even an MC. We collaborated and created a list of questions to ask and delegated them to a group of interviewers. Our hope was to use this information in our feature article project about sustainability. During the interview everyone worked diligently and did a great job fulfilling their duties. Mrs Deacon openly discussed our letter and provided thoughtful and detailed responses to all of our questions. It was great to hear how she personally values sustainability and was so positive about ways we can continually improve. Speaking directly to the Principal was a great opportunity and as a result we were able to gather a great range of evidence for inclusion in our writing.

Black Out Poetry

11 General Students recently studied a unique type of free verse called black out poetry. Students were asked to consider the way that texts can convey a theme or issue to the reader and the important role of language selection. Each student was asked to create their own black out poems by taking old books and carefully selecting words to create new poetry. Any unused words were blacked out to reveal the new poem. Students were encouraged to get creative and view this style of poetry as multimodal, using both text and images, to engage the reader. The resulting artworks are wonderful and reflect many hours of work by the Year 11 students. The finished books and enlargements of some of our favourite pages have been used to create an amazing display in the Library. Thank you to the Library staff for such a great showcase and well done to all the Year 11 General students for their excellent anthologies.

Mrs Sarah Adams
English Teacher

ATAR Health Studies

In Term 3, Kalamunda Senior High School Year 11 ATAR Health Studies students hosted the first Community Health Expo.

The gymnasium was transformed into a vibrant setting for the students who set up displays and ran interactive activities to showcase facilities, services and information available within the community for young adults and teenagers.

This was a fantastic opportunity for ATAR Health studies students to be actively involved in contributing to and running a health promotion event. In preparation for the expo the students were involved in researching and designing display boards to increase awareness of current health issues affecting teenagers.

The health expo was a huge success with Year 9 students spending time at the displays and gaining some valuable knowledge.

I would like to thank all the students involved for their hard work in preparing for the event.

Mrs Melvina Phillips
Health and Physical Education Teacher

Indonesian Update

Lombok Fundraiser

7.48 pm 5 August, 2018. Lombok, Indonesia. A 7.0 magnitude earthquake leaves over 100 people dead. As the days passed more tremors were felt through Lombok and surrounding islands. Tourists with access to funds can pay to leave the island but thousands of natives remained; displaced unsheltered, without access to food or any clean water. For all the thousands of people displaced but safe hundreds of others are trapped in the rubble of fallen buildings, unreached by the initial rescue attempts.

Here in Kalamunda, we felt nothing of the earthquake but more importantly, we felt nothing of the pain and turmoil that the Balinese must now live with each day. So we decided that we needed to do something. On Friday the 10 August, Ruby Ireland and I (Sarah Gerace) went to Ibu Kaler with an idea to have a fundraiser. On the following Monday, we went to our principal who immediately approved our event and encouraged our efforts. Then, we had a fundraiser to plan.

Enlisting the help of fellow students, teachers and parents, we managed to pull together a fundraiser for the 7 September, Friday Week 8. There was a mixture of Indonesian, Thai and Italian food to buy, musical items to watch and messages to decorate. With a sterling effort, we raised $215.80 that we will send to the Australian Red Cross.

Thank you to everyone who helped.

Sarah Gerace
Year 10 Student

Suara Indonesian Dance Incursion

About 70 students studying the Indonesian and Italian language participated in the Indonesian dance incursion on the 18 November. It was a hands-on interactive workshop of Acehnese dance demonstration.

This dance group used dance to preserve the beauty and diversity of Indonesian arts. The dance group used a fusion of rhythm using sound and dance from various parts of Indonesia to enrich the students with their learning and cultural awareness of the Indonesian language. It was a holistic learning experience for the students from language groups. They were awestruck as the dances performed the most intricate movements and gestures seem effortless.

Ratoh Jaroe dance is a harmonious blend of body movement and hands. Formation, cohesiveness and rapa'i music became the hallmark of this dance.

As the performance of traditional Indonesian song and dance historically lives in religious and communal spaces, Tari Aceh’s performance offered a special immersion into various forms of Islamic expression.

The dance and song lyrics from the performance represented dakwah, a vehicle for sharing Islamic teachings. The songs often featured repetition and call and response, a common compositional structure in traditional music. Soaring melodies and passionate voices came together in unison and evoked a sense of antiquity. Audiences were invited to listen in on melodic gems that generations of communities had held near their communal heart.

The students took turns to dress in traditional clothing and dance creating rhythmic patterns together and learning basic pencat silat (martial arts) movements. Over 150 styles of pencak silat are recognised in Indonesia, although the actual number of existing systems are well beyond that. Older methods are typically identified with specific ethno-cultural groups or particular Riau regions. Much of what constitutes classical Malay culture has its origin in the Riau Archipelago, including the earliest evidence of silat. Referred to as silat Melayu, the regional fighting systems of Riau have influenced this in many way and is an important portion their lives.

Ibu Kaler
Indonesian Teacher

La Gita D’Italia 2018: A Wonderful Adventure

September was an exciting month for our seven Italian students who participated in the Italian Tour with Lesmurdie SHS. It was an amazing journey for our students, both personally and academically! Our adventure commenced in Rome. We visited the Vatican, Sistene Chapel, the Coleseum, the Ancient Ruins and threw our euro into the famous Trevi Fountain and made our wish!

We then headed to the romantic city of Sorrento, famous for lemon granitas and the beautiful coastline. Students visited Positano and Pompeii, not too far from where we were staying. Mount Vesuvio and the ancient city of Pompeii were a definite highlight! The volcano is a giant!

From Sorrento we headed to Florence. We visited the Uffizi Gallery and saw the many marvellous works of Leonardo Da Vinci, Botticelli and Michelangelo. The Statue of David was a majestic moment for us all! Students also attended a ABC Language School of Florence for a three day course. From Florence we headed to Pisa. We had the opportunity to take funny photos with the famous bell tower then climb up all 297 steps.

The city of Verona was next on our itinerary and all students were very enthusiastic to see the famous balcony of Romeo and Juliet. Our stay was very brief in Verona as we had to be in Milan, fashion capital of Italy! Students received a private tour of the famous Duomo and admission into the Santa Maria delle Grazie to see Leondardo Da Vinci’s breathtaking ‘The Last Supper’ painting. Venice was our final destination. We had a private tour of the Doges Palace and St Mark’s Cathedral which gave us a glimpse into the rich history of Venice and the significance of the intricate stain glassed windows inside the cathedral. The island of Murano was just a traghetto ride away. We watched a live demonstration of the traditional art of glass blowing. It is true to say that Venice is made up of many colourful, historical and fascinating cultural elements! Students were able to explore the St Mark’s Square and even venture out and have a gondola ride. Students on their gondola ride even saw the filming and cast of the new Spiderman movie! What luck! Che fortuna!

This tour was an incredible opportunity to extend and apply their Italian language skills and enhance their intercultural understanding. I am so proud of all our students who participated in this tour. You all demonstrated a love of learning and love for the Italian language and culture!

Until next time! Fino alla prossima volta!

Professoressa Pennington
Teacher in Charge of Languages

Student Testimonials

Our Italian trip was definitely worthwhile! We not only saw Italy’s amazing architecture but experienced the food, culture and lifestyle! I highly recommend this extraordinary trip!

Stephanie, Year 10 Cert II student

The 2018 trip was a great cultural experience and opportunity to make new friends and explore Italy. It was surreal to see the sights like the Sistene Chapel and Coloseum. The trip was a great way to fully immerse ourselves in Italian culture and broaden our appreciation for Italy. Mrs Pennington, Mrs Deacon and Mrs Lukan did an outstanding job in organising the trip and making it educational and fun!

Jemma, Year 10 Cert II student

The 2018 Italy Tour allowed us to witness a different way of living, immerse ourselves in a unique culture, make new friendships and strengthen old ones. Overall this tour was a worthwhile experience.

Kaiya, Year 10 Cert II student

I went to the Gucci shop in Piazza di Spagna and bought my very first pair of socks! I am now a true Italian!

Emry, Year 10 Cert II student

The tour around Italy was a great experience for me. I have learnt a lot, not just about Italy but also how to take care of myself and adapt to different social settings. This tour should be offered to many people and schools should work together because of the great experiences and making new friends. This Italian tour has created new memories in my life and I will never forget the amazing time I had. A big thank you to all the teachers that went on the trip for taking care of all of us and making sure that we all had a great time.

Thank you

Nikola, Year 10 Cert II student

Humanities Update

Geography in the news: Australian Geography Competition 2018

Once again, some 134 students from KSHS took part in the annual National Geographic Competition; and results are in.

Congratulations to all who took part but especially the following students who performed particularly well.

A particular mention needs to be made of Olivia Spencer’s Outstanding result; that being in the top 1% in Australia in the Year 10 level of the Australian Geography Competition.

Once again, congratulations to all who took part!

Ms Rosie Circosta
Humanities/Geography Teacher

(Former) Prime Minister’s Visit

On the 16 August the Kalamunda Senior High School Year 12 Politics and Law class was extended the invitation to meet both Ken Wyatt the member for Hasluck and the Prime Minister at the time; Malcolm Turnbull. It was on the Thursday we found out, and we met them the next day at the Saint Barnabus Church. It was all a very exciting experience which allowed us to humanise the people which we see plastered on the news; those who are meant to represent us and run the country. This experience became especially significant during and after the leadership challenges and change, and has become a memory which we will share as a class.

During this short visit to the Hasluck electorate, Malcolm Turnbull took questions from an assortment of community members which allowed some of the Liberal party’s policies to be ‘advertised’ for the next election. As part of our curriculum, we explore the influences on parliamentary law-making; a small aspect of this is the independent voice of citizens who we were able to see in action as Mr Turnbull communicated with our local community. We all left this event feeling full of pride in the system of government in Australia because of its ability to communicate directly to those who represent us. Of course we were also happy with our selfie which the then PM took himself, and very well too- he must have had a lot of practice.

Briony Bray
Year 12 student

Kala Talks Report

Kala Talks was an interesting night of speeches delivered by Year 10-12 students of Humanities and Social Sciences and English. Both learning areas collaborated to develop this new concept on the annual school calendar for 2018 and after a very successful event, look forward to continuing to develop this concept in 2019.

Students who successfully study the Humanities and Social Sciences and English courses throughout secondary school work extremely hard and are challenged significantly throughout the years, particularly in Senior School. Limited opportunities to demonstrate their skills and knowledge in the public arena have existed in the past and KalaTalks was a new initiative that provided selected students with the opportunity to present/display some of their work in an environment that valued their hard work and commitment.

The event was an evening of activity celebrating the work of Humanities and English students, with a focus on Senior School students.

Well done to all the students who participated in this inaugural event and thank you to the staff and parents who attended the successful evening. As the former President of the United States said in his speech about going to the moon in the 1960s –

"We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”

So too, our students of the Humanities and English choose to be challenged, to take the path less commonly followed and to accept the hard work it takes to make the world a better place.

Mr Richard Guthrie
Head of Learning Area Humanities and Social Sciences

Mrs Denise Hewitt
Head of Learning Area English

Kalamunda Performing Arts

As we head towards the end of a highly successful year for KPA, it is time for planning, reflection and preparation. Planning is already underway for next year’s musical, which I hope to be able to announce soon once we are granted the rights. I am hoping to create an exciting set for the production, and make the whole show bigger and better than this year’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’.

We have been reflecting on what we have done well this year, and what we hope to improve on next year. The KPA students have worked extremely hard this year on all of their performances, as well as on their in-class work and performances. I look forward to what discoveries will be made in 2019.

All of our year groups are currently preparing for the end of year showcase, which is on the 26 November at 6.30 pm at the Kalamunda Performing Arts Centre. It promises to be a fantastic evening of entertainment with a huge variety of talent on show. We all look forward to seeing you there.

Ms Anna Head
KPA Coordinator

Library Report

Outstanding student projects, 2018. Showcased by Mrs Clues and Mrs Boyle.

Science Update

Brain Surgery

Dissection at any time is hugely popular in Science, with students requesting material to slice and dice throughout the year. Year 9s hit the jackpot with a dissection of a sheep’s brain as part of our work on Body Control systems and the Nervous System.

Georgia did a great job of guiding DJ through the process while he held the scalpel before swapping roles.

Also a great opportunity to debate the ethics of dissections, this practical led to interesting discussions of the merits and downside of using animal tissue in education.

Conocophillips Science Experience

Sponsored by the ConocoPhillips company, this holiday program in Western Australia’s tertiary institutions gives participating students insight into what life is like at University and lets them get ‘hands-on’ with Science activities led by keen university students and staff who are specialists in a range of scientific fields. Useful for those who are interested in future study and careers in Science, it covers a diverse range of opportunities. KSHS students attending in the past have really enjoyed themselves and come back more confident about where they are headed to after school.

Each institution (Curtin, Edith Cowan, UWA, and Murdoch) offers a different program reflecting their special focus and degree courses.

Local Rotary clubs have been very supportive in sponsoring Kalamunda students, saving them and their families the entry cost. Early application is advisable to avoid missing out; the programs run in December this year and into January 2019.

See Mr Pound for more information, or visit the website.

Mr Lindesay Pound
Science Teacher

Robot Soccer

On the 15 October the enterprising Year 10 STEM students held a robot soccer match at lunch time which was lot of fun it was great seeing so many students come down to watch the match and support them.

Dr Jocasta Collier
Technologies and Business Ed Computing Teacher

Falls Creek Ski Trip

Falls Creek Ski Trip has been running for 17 years, it has proved to be not only a trip full of fun and excitement but has also taught the students many valuable skills in organisation, leadership and independence.

This year’s Ski trip had 16 Outdoor Education students experiencing the best snow and boarding conditions that we have seen in years. We are hoping with next year’s Ski trip that we are lucky enough to experience the same amazing conditions.

Mrs Melvina Phillips
Health and Physical Education Teacher

Visual Art

Year 10 Fashion Design

Congratulations to Taylor Duncan (Year 10) who won first prize in Rio Tinto’s Earth Assist, Recreate Waste Recycle Art Competition.

Taylor’s work titled ‘Queen of this Green Wasteland’ is a crown-style head piece that is constructed entirely of green coloured litter found around the school grounds. Her work highlights the excess of waste that is a bi-product of our consumer lifestyles.

It’s also a friendly reminder to put your litter in a bin and Keep Kalamunda Beautiful.

Wearable Art Parade

The fabulous Year 11 and 12 Fashion Design students showcased their incredible designs at the school’s Twilight concert on Wednesday 24 October. A large crowd gathered to enjoy the parade of costumes which were created as the main fashion design assessment task in Semester 2.

The wearable art task requires students to consider ways to reuse, repurpose and recycle found objects.

The Year 11 students were given the theme ‘Neon Jungle’ as the starting point for developing their ideas. They were also encouraged to explore the bright and bold, colours and patterns from the 1980s.

The Year 12 students’ theme for Semester 2 was ’Gothic Delirium’. They researched the Arts and Crafts movement, Gothic Architecture and were inspired by Gucci Bloom.

Many of the costumes were worn by their designers with some students modelling the work of their peers.

Congratulations to Lizzie Rice (Year 11) for Best Costume, Amy Cummings (Year 11) for Best Hair and Make-up and Phoenix Preston-Impicciatore (Year 11) for being ‘Fabulous’ in helping to get the show looking top-notch and for all the assistance she gave others in the lead-up to the parade.

Cert II Visual Art Exhibition

In conjunction with the Twilight Concert the Year 11 and 12 Certificate II students showcased their artwork from this year. The exhibition was staged in the school cafeteria and included Paintings, Drawings, Etchings and Lino prints, Digital Illustrations and Sculptures. The show favourite was the adorable ‘Avocado’ sculpture by Olivia Cecich (Year 11).

Mrs Claire Eden
Visual Arts Teacher

Act Belong Commit Mental Health Week

This year we ran our Mental Health week to coincide with Kalamunda Day and the health and wellbeing expo.

The week started with a range of guest speakers across the Year 7 to 11 cohorts. Zero to Hero came and spoke with the Year 7s and Year 8s on the real impact of bullying and judging; and self-care and resilience. They also spoke to the Year 10 group on Leadership and identifying your own core values. Lara Filicamo, an ED nurse and Docker’s AFL player spoke with the Year 11 group about resilience. She shared her story about her life and the difficulties she faced growing up in a troubled family, and how she was able to get past these difficulties and become a strong independent and contributing member of our society. As for the past three years Youth Focus came back in the school to address the Year 9 students about understanding mental health and how to best get support when it is required. A presenter from Youth Focus also spoke with a small group of parents around the issue of mental health on the Monday night. As the number of parents was small it was a personal and in-depth talk. Feedback from some of the parents was that the session was extremely worthwhile and they were appreciative of the information provided. Feedback from the Year 9 students noted that they had learnt that:

• drugs and alcohol can affect your mental health;
• don’t be afraid to tell and talk to someone about mental illness;
• never keep suicidal thought to yourself – always tell someone about it;
• tell an adult who you trust if something is wrong;
• be aware of unhealthy coping mechanisms; and
• talk to someone.

The rest of the week included lunchtime activities to promote positive mental health around the Act Belong Commit message. Students were encouraged to complete random acts of kindness, make a pledge on the pledge wall about how to increase their mental health, complete a mental health bingo sheet and make their own stress balls. We also put on a cultural food stall, sold fresh fruit juices and smoothies and ran an op shop. The funds raised from these stalls will be donated to a yet-to-be decided charity. The staff weren’t left out and enjoyed massages, free fruit, coffee vouchers and a lovely morning tea.

As part of Kalamunda Day, a health and wellbeing expo was held in the library. This entailed a number of different agencies in the community coming in to showcase the services they provide to teenagers. These ranged from mental health agencies such as HeadSpace, Wanslea and CentreCare to other agencies such as Girl Guides, Australian Air Force 715 Squadron Belmont and Seen & Heard. The Kalamunda Shire brought along a bike blender to get the students to pedal their way to a smoothie and the Mundaring Arts Centre got students involved in creating a collaborative art piece which is now displayed in the library.

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. We moved venue into the cafeteria to cater for the large number of attendees. 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 Jesse Phillips, who spoke about having male role models and mentors in all walks of life such as his father, step-father and coach. Georgia Keeler spoke to the group on what her father means to her – a very entertaining talk. This year our music was provided by two very talented performers Josh Stanley-Hart and Brayden Rutherford. 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