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Blues News Gosford High School & Community News Find us at:
Racecourse Road, Gosford 2250 T 4325 2048 F 4323 3175 E
[email protected] Issue May 2017 – Term 2
5/05/2017
PRINCIPAL’S NEWS
21
st Century Learning…Skills…Capabilities
We have all no doubt heard of these terms in varying contexts
over recent years. We are 18 years into the 21
st century. Has it really taken us over 18 years – yes,
we were speaking of this prior to 1999 – to understand these?
Or, do we yet know what 21
st century Learning …
Skills, etc really mean? As far back as 1988 a joint federal,
state committee was formed to examine and identify the links
between school and vocational education. This committee was chaired
by Brian Finn, the then CEO of IBM Australia. In 1991 the Finn
Committee Report identified six competencies as being key to
students successfully completing school/vocational education:
Language and communication, Using mathematics, Scientific and
technological understanding, Problem solving, Personal and
interpersonal, and Cultural understanding. At a similar time,
Education Ministers from across the country appointed Eric Mayer,
the CEO of a major insurance company, to chair a committee to
further develop the key competencies concept recommended in the
Finn Report. These key competencies were presented as: Expressing
ideas and information, Collecting, analysing and organising ideas
and information, Using mathematical ideas and techniques, Using
technology, Solving problems, Working with others and teams, and
Planning and organising activities. There have been various
iterations of these throughout the world in subsequent years. I
won’t go into all of these, but I think you can see the theme. More
recently across the world, and particularly within the Department
of Education, it is generally accepted that 21
st century skills include Creativity,
Communication, Collaboration and Critical thinking. These skills
are embedded in the general capabilities of the Australian
Curriculum which many of our faculties are currently working from:
Literacy, Numeracy, ICT
capability, Critical and creative thinking, Personal &
social capability, Intercultural understanding and Ethical
understanding. Do these look familiar? Absolutely – another
iteration of Finn and Mayer. Back to my title for this article –
21
st Century … Learning
… Skills … Capabilities … It’s taken us from 1988 until now to
really settle on definitions for these. I unequivocally believe
that each of the skills and capabilities are important. But, will
they still be important and/or relevant towards the end of the
21
st century – in
80 years’ time. Who knows? Can we move away from the term 21
st century …
Learning … etc? Surely a more relevant term could be
‘contemporary’. To me, ‘contemporary’ … learning … skills …
strategies … are far more important. It implies current;
up-to-date; relevant. Will our current 21
st century
skills be relevant in 2095 – maybe not, but I clearly hope that
at that time, schools and systems (if they exist) are teaching
contemporary skills and capabilities. So what are we doing at
Gosford High school to ensure our students are developing these
‘contemporary’ skills and capabilities? Recently I had the pleasure
of visiting a Year 10 Food Technology class. Students had been
assigned a task where they were required to research and prepare a
food item to support less fortunate members of our community who
may not have a completely nutritious diet. It was abundantly clear
throughout the presentations I observed that students were ‘ticking
the boxes’ of each of the capabilities and skills described above.
While students demonstrated a deep understanding of underprivileged
members of society, they also understood the constraints placed
upon local support agencies and how their limited resources are
stretched to support these people. The fact that students had
collaborated in teams to develop a food package to support both the
agency and the underprivileged demonstrated their contemporary
learning skills. Food Technology classes are not the only ones to
take this approach to learning. Others too have successfully
applied similar strategies.
Gosford High P&C News Next P&C Meeting:
Tuesday 9th May at 6:30 pm Common Room- Everyone welcome
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Blues News 5/05/2017 2
Likewise in our curriculum enrichment programs, students in our
Year 7 Enrichment program had the opportunity to workshop with a
local professional writer and poet at one of their early Wednesday
afternoon sessions. This gave the students experiences in the
processes and practices of developing stories and storylines – so,
much of the theory that they had learned in class was able to be
practically applied in a truly authentic setting. Our students’
learning needs to be realistic. It needs to be contemporary.
Through these, it will be valued and valuable. Our teachers work
hard to ensure that student learning experiences meet these
qualities. Our students deserve the best and we will continue to
strive to provide it. This style of learning will prepare our
students to move well into the 21
st century as successful, lifelong
learners – and be flexible and resilient as they do it. Our
teachers are learners. If we as teachers cease learning, so too do
our students. Learning opportunities for teachers are an important
part of the process, and as a school, we are committed to
continuing this learning journey. School Development Day I light of
what I have just written, on Monday 24 April, our staff
participated in a wonderful day of professional development to
begin Term 2. The morning session was used to reflect on our
achievements as specified in the School Plan and then consolidate
and develop processes for the remainder of tasks set for this year.
In the session entitled ‘Looking Back, Moving Forward’ it was
recognised that staff had made improvements in the following
areas:
Developed and implemented the Students as Learning Partners
program
Reviewed and rewritten the student wellbeing programs
Reviewed and implemented the school GaTS policy including
concept based and differentiated programming
Developed personalised learning programs for identified
students
Participated in Quality Teaching Rounds
Evaluated / reviewed the Home Group program
Developed and implemented the Student Voice program
Developed networks with local universities / community
groups
In addition to what teachers have achieved within the school,
they have also had to work in the framework of our Department’s
reform agenda including:
Local Schools, Local Decisions
Great Teaching Inspired Learning
Performance and Development Plans
Learning Management Business Reform (LMBR)
Workplace Health and Safety changes
Mandatory Training Updates
Validation
Accreditation & WWCC requirements
These reforms, while necessary and beneficial to both staff and
students, have come with their own workload and commitment by staff
for the betterment of what is available for students. In the second
session of the day, staff were given the opportunity to select two
of three workshop sessions on offer to improve their teaching
practice. Sessions included:
Feedback to Move Student Learning Forward
Google Classroom and its Application
Using Turn It In as an Effective Tool for Assessment
Each of these workshops focussed on how to improve student
learning through effective collaboration and formative assessment
practice. In evaluations completed by staff, this session was very
positively rated by staff due to the fact that they had choice in
their learning and because of the practical nature of the sessions.
Following these two sessions, staff were given time in their
faculties to discuss the implementation of strategies from the
earlier sessions to improve practice across specific courses and
Stages. NAPLAN By the time you get to read this edition of The
Blues News, our Year 7 and 9 students will be part way through
their NAPLAN tests. There has been much said about NAPLAN and its
relationship to the ‘Stronger HSC’ initiative set by the state
government, seeing students have to ‘qualify’ for the award of a
HSC by gaining Band 8 results in Year 9 NAPLAN or an equivalent
result in an examination they can sit at any time after Year 9
through to a time after completing the actual HSC examinations.
While I have no problem with the concept of a strong, rigorous HSC,
there is no need or benefit in putting additional pressure on Year
9 students to achieve a particular result. I am completely
confident that if students at Gosford High give their personal best
in each of the NAPLAN tests, they will succeed. Based on last
year’s results, very few of our students don’t achieve Band 8 or
better in the areas linked to the ‘Stronger HSC’. Our staff have
supported students through skill development and knowledge of the
type and format of questions likely to be asked. This is all the
preparation they need. We have wonderful students and I know that
they will do their best. This is all we can ask for and all we
should expect. NOTE: Advice that we have received indicates that
the University Admissions Centre will still be basing student entry
into university on the ATAR in 2020. This is completely separate to
the award of a HSC. Please see information from the NSW Education
Standards Authority (NESA) later in this newsletter.
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Blues News 5/05/2017 3
Musical Whilst our production of the musical ‘The Wizard of Oz’
may well be over, it has certainly not been forgotten. What a
magnificent production it was! So much so that students, parents
and staff are still speaking of it regularly in general
conversation around the school. I am extremely fortunate to have
been able to witness such an outstanding production so early in my
time at Gosford. I would like to pass on my personal
congratulations to all in our community who contributed to Wiz. To
put on such a production is a labour of love for so many over a
long period of time. From the production team, costuming, sets and
prop, those on stage, back stage, sound and lighting crews, makeup,
musicians, ticketing, front of house ... the list is seemingly
endless, everybody played such a pivotal role in ensuring the
exceptional quality of the show. It is curriculum enrichment
activities such as this that students will long remember about
their time at school. I developed a sense that our Wiz team became
a ‘family’ in the few short weeks that they worked so intensely
together. This is a wonderful culture for our school to have, and
one that I would encourage for all students to engage in. There is
an old saying; “You only get out of something what you put into
it”. I am certain that our students, staff and parents got a lot
out of the musical because they certainly put a lot into it.
Congratulations again.
Year 11 and 12 Assessment Weeks While passing on my
congratulations to students, I would also like to make mention of
the exceptional manner in which our Year 11 and 12 students
conducted themselves during their respective Assessment Weeks at
the end of last term. For students in Stage 6, Assessment Weeks are
always going to be intense, stressful times. However, go back to
what I wrote in the NAPLAN section and the same applies. Personal
best. The key message that I would like to convey to Stage 6
students and their parents is that, yes the assessment tasks and
marks are important. But even more important than that, is what you
learn from the experience and how you use that learning experience
to for next time. Based on what was presented at our recent School
Development Day, I am sure that students will receive valuable
feedback from our very experienced, dedicated staff. It’s what they
do with that feedback that’s important. In fact, in a session that
I presented on School Development Day, I spoke not of feedback,
but
feedforward. How can we ensure that what teachers suggest as
improvements on an assessment task or piece of work moves a
student’s learning forward? Students should heed the advice of
their teachers and make sure that they apply the feedforward to
their learning. This might take the form of redoing the question
under exam conditions and then asking the teacher to remark the
task. It might be that they compare their responses and feedforward
to those of another student and share ideas and concepts. Remember,
we have a school full of very capable students and by working
together they can all achieve at the highest level. Be competitive
by all means, but use that competitiveness for the betterment of
all. If they all improve, they all succeed. ANZAC Day Commemoration
Our school commemorated ANZAC Day with a very moving ceremony on
Friday 7
th April. Protocols dictate
that if commemorations cannot be held on 25th April for
any reason, ceremonies should be held prior to that day. With
the school holidays leading up to ANZAC Day, we held our
commemoration on the last day or Term 1. Thanks to the organisation
of Mr David McCumstie, we held two assemblies that ran parallel so
that all students could be seated in the hall. Our student leaders
Siobhan Seeneevassen and Jarrod Chisholm led the assembly with
addresses presented by William Smith, Trinity Stockwell and Breanna
Vane-Wilson. Former student Kristian Henderson, currently serving
in the Royal Australian Air Force, presented the keynote address on
what it means to be a member of the defence forces and how his time
at Gosford High prepared him for that. Jacob Ryan concluded the
commemoration with stirring renditions of the Last Post and the
Rouse. I would like to pass on my congratulations and thanks to all
students for the manner in which they conducted themselves in this
very important commemoration event.
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Blues News 5/05/2017 4
Athletics Carnival Students and staff experienced a wonderful
day of competition at the Annual Athletics Carnival on Friday 28
April. It was encouraging to see so many students, particularly our
senior students, actively involved in the full range of track and
field events. It is clearly evident that the House competition is
very strong at Gosford High and entry points for events were at a
premium. Not only was participation strong, but for our more elite
athletes, so too was the competition for places in each event
leading to selection in our school team for the Zone Championship.
Congratulations to all those students who broke records on the day,
to the PDHPE staff for organising the day and to all staff
officials and student competitors. Final results will be announced
on assembly this week.
Changes to Department of Education Finance Structures A reminder
that our school will be ‘going live’ with the new Learning
Management Business Reform (LMBR) finance package on May 22. As
part of this process, the Department requires us to close down all
financial transactions for one week either side of our ‘go live’
date. During this time we will not be able to accept or make any
payments. We apologise in advance for any inconvenience that this
may cause. Tony Rudd Principal
ABSENCE FROM SCHOOL Absence from school is notified using SMS on
the day of the absence. Parents are reminded that if your child is
absent, a note must be provided immediately on return to school.
Absences for part of a day, including late to school, are also
required to have a note of explanation submitted.
Coming Events
May 2017
9/5 NAPLAN Years 7 & 9 (9
th – 11 May )
P&C Meeting 17/5 NO finance including EFTPOS, online,
cash or cheque payments processed from 17/5 until 1/6
18/5 Big Science Competition Period 3 & 4 19/5 Year 12
Reports issued. 23/5 ICAS Digital Tech Exam Years 7-10 24/5 Year
11/12 Parent/Teacher Night 26/5 Zone Cross Country
Year 11 Reports issued 31/5 Orange Visit (31
st May – 2
nd June)
June 2017
8/6 Year 12 Assessment Week 9/6 Sydney North Cross Country 13/6
Vaccinations
IMPORTANT REMINDER Gosford High School will transition to the
new NSW Public Schools’ finance system and a new bank account on 22
May 2017. There will be no EFTPOS, online, cash or cheque payments
processed from 17 May until 1 June as we prepare to close our
current bank account and transition to the new one. Please ensure
that you have made any outstanding payments before 17 May 2017.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we transition to
our new finance system. If you have any questions, please contact
us here at the school.
DEPUTY PRINCIPALS
Welcome to Term 2 which promises to be another exciting one. We
have a busy calendar for students in all year groups with many
sporting, academic and cultural events, including the Orange High
School visit. Important information and dates of note this term:
NAPLAN – National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy:
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Blues News 5/05/2017 5
NAPLAN tests are in Week 3 and scheduled for May 9th - 11th. All
parents of Year 7 and 9 students should have received an
information sheet that explains the purpose and process of the
tests. Further useful information is available for parents on the
NESA (previously BOSTES) link:
https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/understanding-the-curriculum/naplan/naplan-parents
For Year 9 parents there is also information in this newsletter on
Page 14 from NESA regarding the new minimum NAPLAN standards for
Year 9 in 2017 and for their HSC. Parent Teacher Interviews: Parent
Teacher interviews are being held on the following dates and times
in the school hall:
Year 11 and 12 on Wednesday 24th May from
4.00-7.00pm.
Year 7 and 8 on Thursday 22nd
June from 4.00-8.00pm.
Year 9 and 10 on Tuesday 25th July from
4.00-7.00pm. Parents will receive an email advising when the
bookings are opened and can be accessed via the Parent Portal. The
URL for access to the portal is:
http://web3.gosford-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/portal Health Information:
We welcome information from parents about your child's health, even
if you are not requesting specific support from our school. Our
school asks for medical information when you enrol your child. It
is also important that you let us know if your child’s health care
needs change or if a new health condition develops. Information
about allergies, medical conditions such as asthma and diabetes and
other health care related issues (including prior conditions such
as medical procedures in the last 12 months) should be provided to
the school by parents. Please provide this information in writing
to the principal. This will greatly assist our school in planning
to support your child’s health and wellbeing. Please also remember
to notify staff in the school office of any changes to your contact
details or to the contact details of other people nominated as
emergency contacts. Absence from school: As you may be aware
absence from school is currently notified using SMS on the school
day if an explanation has not been received. Please provide a note
to the office on the next day that your student returns to school.
Students are reminded that if they are late to school for their
first timetabled lesson for the day they must swipe on at the front
office. Year 11 and 12 students who have flexible attendance and do
not start during Period 0 or Period 1 must swipe on at the office
as flexible. Failure to swipe on may result in the student being
recorded as absent for the day and an SMS sent to parents.
Year 12: The 2017 HSC written exam timetable is now available.
This year the 118 HSC written exams start on Monday 16 October and
finish on Tuesday 7 November. 2017 HSC students are able to access
their personalised exam timetables via their Students Online
account: https://studentsonline.bostes.nsw.edu.au/ Have a great
term. Gary Bennett Deputy Principal (Years 8, 10 and 12) Sue Daw
Relieving Deputy Principal (Years 7, 9 and 11)
MATHEMATICS
I would like to welcome our hard working students and teachers
back to GHS for Term 2. I trust you have all had a well-deserved
break. The coming weeks see the end of our first round of
assessments for the year. Thus far we have had some exceptional
results, with the following students deserving recognition for
their efforts:
In Year 12: Jacob Wilson, Vanessa Divet, Joshua Cesca and Liam
O’Connor.
In Year 11: Misha Savkin, Daniel Missak and Tara Howell.
In Year 9: Sophia Stewart and Connor Magill
In Year 8: Emma Cooper and Calvin Truswell Of course there are
many more personal bests and I would like to offer congratulations
to all students for their efforts towards achieving this. Recently,
one of our students, Mikhail Savkin, (Year 9) achieved a bronze
level certificate in the Australian Mathematics Olympiad (open
level). As a result he was one of 28 students who were invited to
attend the selection school for entry into the International
Mathematics Olympiad representative team. This is a fantastic
achievement for Mikhail and he deserves our hearty congratulations.
A number of very excited students across Years 7 to 10 recently
volunteered to work on some problems from Adam Spencer’s new book
on mathematical puzzles and logic brainbusters. It is a real
privilege for them to collaborate with Adam in this venture and I
applaud them for their enthusiasm. Year 8 will start competing in
the APSMO problem solving competition on 16
th May. In this competition
there are five rounds in which mathematics classes compete
against other teams from around Australia. Good luck to all classes
in Year 8. Cheryl Rix Head Teacher Mathematics
https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/understanding-the-curriculum/naplan/naplan-parentshttps://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/understanding-the-curriculum/naplan/naplan-parentshttps://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/understanding-the-curriculum/naplan/naplan-parentshttp://web3.gosford-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/portalhttp://lnk.info.nesa.nsw.edu.au/l/gjFCbV-CVommFHQfkVIunDshttp://lnk.info.nesa.nsw.edu.au/l/AiWddYaq883qxZcSq0QxqEwhttps://studentsonline.bostes.nsw.edu.au/
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Blues News 5/05/2017 6
VACCINATIONS
Each year NSW Health works in partnership with schools to offer
the vaccines recommended by the National Health and Medical
Research Council (NHMRC) for adolescents as part of the school
vaccination program. Our next vaccinations will occur on TUESDAY
13
TH
JUNE 2017
Year 7: Catch up HPV and Diphtheria/Tetanus/ Pertussis
vaccinations (for those students absent at first visit)
Year 8: Catch up HPV vaccination (for those students who missed
first visit)
Year 11 & 12: Meningococcal ACWY vaccination
The second dose of HPV vaccine is being delayed to later in the
year (at least 6 months after the first dose) to allow the recently
announced Meningococcal ACQY Vaccination Program to be offered to
students in Years 11 and 12 from Term 2 when the second dose of HPV
vaccine is usually given. There is no harm for Year 7 students in
delaying the second dose of HPV vaccine and further advice for
parents will be provided later in the year regarding HPV course
completion. Parent Information Kits that include an information
sheet, consent form and privacy statement will be sent home to
parents/guardians. To consent to the vaccination of their child,
parents/guardians are advised to:
Read all the information provided.
Complete the consent form, including signing their name next to
the vaccine/s they would like their child to receive.
Return the completed consent form to the GHS Admin Office.
Ensure that their child eats breakfast on the day of the school
vaccination clinic.
HARMONY DAY
Indigenous Culture Represented on Harmony Day:
In the weeks leading up to Harmony Day celebrations, our
Indigenous students collaborated with Gavi Duncan a local
Aboriginal elder to promote the new cultural garden for that event.
Our Cultural Community Team, Mr Titheradge, Mr Shelley, Mr Madden
and Miss Jocie worked together with the students as they created an
Aboriginal ceremony that included a personalised acknowledgement to
country. It continued with the introduction of Earth, Fire and
Water elements, ending with a guided garden tour. They impressed
students,
teachers and staff with their knowledge of bush tucker and
native plants growing in our garden and told stories of the local
red belly black snake and Narara River represented in the
design.
LANGUAGES
HSC students now have the dates for their Speaking examinations.
These will begin on Saturday 5
th August
and continue until Saturday 2nd
September. Exam dates for our students are:
German Continuers Saturday 12th August
German Beginners Saturday 26th August
French Continuers Saturday 19th August
French Beginners Saturday 2nd
September
Japanese Continuers Saturday 12th August
Japanese Beginners Saturday 26th August
Italian Continuers Saturday 5th August
Spanish Beginners Saturday 2nd
September In early June candidates will be officially informed
of their examination centres and their times will be scheduled. We
encourage all students to practise as much as possible to prepare
for these exams. One way is to establish a ‘study buddy’ – a fellow
student with whom they practise questions and responses. It is also
very helpful for students to experience communicating with someone
with whom they are not familiar, to accustom them to the exam
situation. Please try to participate in one of the many workshops
conducted by the various languages associations. Host Families
Needed in August For the first time in many years, we are hosting a
small group of Japanese students in August. The 13 students from
Seibudai Chiba High School are aged 16 -17 years and we will soon
be asking for expressions of interest to host them from 19
th-27
th August. Watch this space for
more information.
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Blues News 5/05/2017 7
Kokubunji Metropolitan High School students, Terrigal and
Gosford High School students got to know each other and the
Australian animals, although there was a little trepidation
concerning the python from some.
‘Rugs for the Refuges’ 2017 This project has just begun with a
keen group of knitters and will continue all term. We have received
some great donations of needles and yarn from the public so we are
off to a flying start. More next time!
Au revoir! さようなら! valete ! auf Wiedersehen! from the Languages
staff
CAPA
The Wizard of Oz: Congratulations to all students who were
involved in the production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’. Whether cast
members, orchestra, sound & lighting or backstage/props
builder, every student played a valuable and integral part in the
success of the musical. It was a wonderful experience for all
participants and a part of their schooling they will remember and
treasure for the rest of their lives.
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Blues News 5/05/2017 8
Without the dedication of supporting staff, such events would
not be possible. Thankyou CAPA staff, Ms Johnson, Mrs Cooper and Mr
Sneddon for the many hours outside of school time which were
devoted to the musical. One of the many positive comments which we
received from audience members: “Thank you very much for a
wonderful show! I attended the matinee performance with my ten year
old daughter. We talked after the show for quite some time, about
the many aspects of the production that we most enjoyed. The work
of the orchestra brought a tear to my eye more than once and my
daughter was entranced by the set designs and characters,
especially their interactions with the audience along the yellow
brick road. All in all, it was a beautiful afternoon of musical
theatre. Congrats!” Youth in Performing Arts (YIPA) will be at
Laycock Street theatre 24
th – 27
th May. Congratulations to the
following students who were successful in their audition.
Krystalle Williamson, Ellen Small, Breanna Redhead, Jake Cheong,
Brad Tham and GHS Stage band. Year 11 Music students attended the
HSC study day at Newcastle University/Conservatorium. Current Year
12 students form Hunter/Central Coast schools performed one of
their HSC pieces and were provided with feedback from HSC markers.
This is a very worthwhile experience for students, providing them
with a glimpse at HSC marking standards and also suitable
repertoire choices. All CAPA Year 12 students should be busy
developing and refining their major works/projects in readiness for
the submission of work to the Board of Studies in Term 3.
Congratulations to Caelan Wieczorski finalist in the Head On Photo
Festival 2017. Now in its 14
th year, the Head On Photo Festival is one
of Australia’s most critically acclaimed photographic
competitions. Caelan of Year 12 will have his work exhibited at the
Museum of Sydney (6
th May – 19
th July)
in the student category which was open to students K-12 across
Australia. We wish him all the best.
Concert Band 2 workshop with
Royal Australian Navy Band
Concert Band 2 and RAN Band
Art Express Excursion
Drama: On Tuesday the 2
nd of May, Year 11 and 12 students
were given the opportunity to participate in a physical theatre,
group performance workshop run by Belvoir Theatre. This was a
valuable experience to prepare them for the HSC group performance.
Important dates for your diary:
On Friday the 12th of May, six Year 11 students will
be visiting Gosford Hospital to assist medical students with
their diagnosis.
On Tuesday the 30th of May, we will be visited by
Zeal Theatre Company, and all of Year 8 will have the
opportunity to participate in Drama activities run by industry
professionals.
On Saturday the 10th of June, Year 9 and 10
students will be attending the Seven Stages of Grieving at
Parramatta Riverside Theatre.
Judith Partridge Relieving Head Teacher CAPA
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Blues News 5/05/2017 9
SPORTS UPDATE
It has been quite a while since our last report. Our students
have been excelling in a variety of sports. SWIMMING: Brisbane
Water Zone Carnival: The Gosford team won four of the five major
trophies – the intermediate, senior, relay and the overall
pointscore. A wonderful achievement. Age Champions: Tom Rodham,
Nicholas Duell-
Ferguson, Christie Kwon, Jennifer Kwon Runners Up: Joshua Sales,
Lachlan Duggan, Jason
Jeon, Lachlan Blake, Grace Kwon, Courtney Schell, Ellie
Richardson.
Tom Rodham was named “Male Swimmer of the Meet”
Lachlan Blake broke the 100m Butterfly record
Jennifer Kwon broke the 100m Freestyle record SYDNEY NORTH
REGIONAL CARNIVAL: 47 students attended, Gosford placed 1
st overall.
Age Champions: Courtney Schell, Lachlan Blake NSW CHS CARNIVAL:
24 regional reps winning a total of 6 gold, 3 silver and 12 bronze
medals. Gosford placed 3
rd overall.
Courtney Schell (individual gold, 2 individual bronze), Lachlan
Blake (individual gold, individual bronze), Ava Sayyadi (4
individual bronze medals), Jack Jackson (individual bronze),
Nicholas Duell-Ferguson (individual gold)
16G 4 x 50m Relay – Silver (Savannah Wheeler, Hannah Read,
Christie Kwon, Vanessa Rehm, Annika Ryan)
15G 4 x 50m Relay – Silver (Jessica Pollard, Kirsten Miller, Zoe
Clarke, Ellie Richardson)
Boys 6 x 50m Relay - Silver (Joshua Sales, Lachlan Duggan, Tom
Rodham, Jason Jeon, Lachlan Blake, Nicholas Duell Ferguson)
Nathan Fantoni, Greg Shevchenko
A highlight of the day was the State Knockout 12 x 50m freestyle
relay which included our 6 fastest boys and our 6 fastest girls. We
were defending our 2016 title and our swimmers didn’t disappoint
bringing home the trophy once again. Congratulations to: Courtney
Schell, Christie Kwon, Savannah Wheeler, Ellie Ricahardson, Zoe
Clarke, Jennifer Kwon, Nicholas Duell-Ferguson, Lachlan Blake, Tom
Rodham, Jed Richardson, Jonty Wood and Matt Hancock.
Good luck to the students swimming at the NSW All Schools
Carnival on Friday 12
th May
AFL: Congratulations to Marc Sheather, Zeph Purins, Ashton
Baginski and Josh Gleisner who were selected in the Sydney North
AFL team. Following these selections, Marc was successful in
gaining a place in the Northern NSW team and will compete at the
NSW All Schools championships in June. CROSS COUNTRY: Unfortunately
our carnival was washed out at the end of Term 1. Full results will
be available next issue. ATHLETICS: We had a great day at the end
of Week 1. The weather was beautiful and our students produced some
excellent results. More details will be available next issue. A
reminder that the Zone Athletics Carnival will be on the last
Monday of this term.
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ORANGE VISIT: Our 48th interschool visit with Orange High School
is rapidly approaching and we are now in the process of finalising
teams. The visit is to be held during Week 6 – 31
st May, 1
st June, 2
nd June. Students
have been aware of this visit for some time and should be
planning their study program accordingly. Jenny Walker PDHPE Sport
Coordinator
TAS
The UNSW Digital Technologies exam will be held on Tuesday
23
rd May from Period 2 for all students who
have paid to enter this national event. Students should check
their entry status via the name list found on the glass wall in the
TAS block. Contact Mrs Johnson or Mr McFarlane if there is a
question. Examination time is 40 minutes for Year 7 and 8 and 45
minutes for Year 9 and 10. The competition is held in the School
Hall from Period 2 and students should follow the morning news
for the time scheduled for their year group. Requirements - lead
pencil, an eraser and perhaps a reading book if you finish early.
To find out more about the areas assessed, download a PDF copy of
the ICAS Digital Technologies assessment framework. Students in TAS
actively apply their imagination when problem solving to produce
their individual design solution. The skills of research,
evaluation, justifying choices, planning and making a prototype
design solution are culturally important to society for the outcome
of applying imagination is creativity and innovation. Year 7
Technology students are about to finish their first trimester of
Technology. The TAS block is abuzz with students working on the
final phase of the making process and evaluating both the product
and the process of making. Students in Year 7 have either been
creating a laser cut bamboo lantern or a visual presentation for
FitBit4Life or coding to make a 3D game. Rotation to Trimester 2
begins Week 5 this term and this will allow our design students to
engage with the design process again with another challenging brief
and solution to produce. Location Location
The most enjoyable aspect of the Location, Location unit of work
was converting our 2D drawings into a 3D lantern. The laser cutting
process was really fun to watch because I have never seen anything
like it before. Watching a design I had created be transformed into
a real lantern was so cool. My first TAS experience was amazing and
I had lots of fun. Something that I will definitely take away from
this is that not everything will come as quickly as you want it to
and patience is the key to having it all turn out as you want it
to. A skill I have learnt would be using the disc sander to file
the edges of our bamboo lanterns.
By Emily Davies
https://www.eaa.unsw.edu.au/forms/pdf/icas/subjects/icas-digital-technologies-assessment-framework.pdfhttps://www.eaa.unsw.edu.au/forms/pdf/icas/subjects/icas-digital-technologies-assessment-framework.pdf
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FitBit4Life
The most enjoyable aspect of food technology is that we get to
cook food then eat the food we have prepared. My favourite lesson
is making the apple berry crumble. We learnt how to peel the apple
and remove the apple core. We also learnt that cooking does not
take as long or as much energy as it seems. These skills we learn
throughout the subject have helped me complete the assignment while
having fun. By Helena He I have really enjoyed FitBit4Life and
making all the dishes and learning new skills and in particular how
to make each of the recipes. It was fun because every lesson I
learnt something new making me want to come back every lesson. I
learnt how to cut fruits and vegetables safely and how to use the
oven properly and importantly what nutrients we are actually
eating.
By Natalie Hoy Coding Concepts: I have just completed my first
term of high school. I have been introduced to a number of new
subjects, one of them being technology. We were given a task on GHS
Online. We had to create a Roll-A-Ball game with the Unity program
using the tutorial provided. We were also required to create a
website using Weebly to blog about our process. During this subject
I have experienced many difficulties. My USB was stolen, causing me
to lose all my data; my data just randomly being lost when I know I
saved it; the screen would stop working when I tried to play my
game; the program wouldn’t allow me to add images to certain
objects; it wouldn’t allow me to “pick up” the “PickUp” objects
when playing the game and I went through many other challenges
throughout the term. This resulted in me restarting the project 5
times. Overview of my levels:
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Even though I went through all these troubles, my teacher stuck
by my side and used up a great deal of her time to help me get on
track like the rest of the class. She answered my constant emails,
stayed with me during breaks and spent extra time with me in
class.
This has truly been a journey full of ups and downs. It has
helped me have a special trust with my teacher and has also helped
me learn little tricks to help me in Unity. For example, when
creating the scripts for my game, she showed me a special area on
GHS Online where the scripts were already created for you, you just
had to download the script and add it to the object. There were
also other little tricks in Unity where I didn’t have to follow the
long instructions provided by the tutorial. I may not have
understood everything we had to do, I now have a pretty good
understanding of how to use Unity. Doing this class has definitely
given me a better understanding of coding and I know the knowledge
I have acquired will help me in future projects regarding coding.
By Loren Kriss Our annual excursion to TASmania17 was tremendous!
The TAS excursion to TASmania was tremendous! 62 Year 10 Technology
and Applied Studies students travelled by Virgin airlines and two
buses visiting 26 engineering, food, timber, engineering and
textile sites across six days. Students were able to compare bridge
structures – Australia’s first bridge “the Richmond’, Launceston’s
cataract gorge suspension bridge and the cantilever at Tahune air
walk situated on the edge of the wilderness in the Huon valley. We
tasted boutique chocolate at Anvers, gourmet cheese at the Ashgrove
dairy and smoked baby salmon at the unique 41 degrees South Salmon
and Ginseng farm. We learnt about the microns of the wool fibre at
the Yarns Artwork exhibition and the role of wool in early colonial
Australia as well as the contribution of convict labour at
Woolmer’s estate. Students walked fields of strawberries and
orchards of heritage apples and tasted paddock to plate gourmet
foods as well learnt about Viking boat building techniques at the
wooden boat building company. The work of regional artisans found
at the world famous Salamanca markets were intriguing. We’ll always
remember ‘the little penguins’ and the seals spotted on the rugged
coastline as we reflected on our day at Port Arthur. Port Arthur’s
history and the Beaconsfield mine experience was moving and
captured the tenacity of Tasmania’s identity. As we gingerly paced
the cantilever high above the Huon River and sonic resonance we
were able to view the Huon pine wilderness forest below and wonder
at the beauty that is Tasmania. Students were able to experience
the role and value that design and technology has played in the
development of society and in our lives from paddock to plate food
design to human ck to plate. A fabulous group of fine young TAS
students focused on engineered structures, the Australian food
industry, textiles and timber design in a valuable ‘outside the
classroom’ cross curricular group experience in Tasmania. Tasmania
pictures on next two pages. Maxine Johnson Head Teacher TAS
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