2016

Bridge Road, Homebush 2140 Phone: 02 97643611 Fax: 02 97463614 www.homebushbo-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

Editor: K. Attwood

BUSH BULLETINHOMEBUSH BOYS HIGH SCHOOL

Calendar events for term 4* General information about week to week activities can be accessed from the school website calendar.

* 15th November P&C Meeting 7 - 8pm

* 16th November Sport Summer Rd 10- Rotation 1,2,3,4

* 18th November White Ribbon Day Assembly

* 22nd November Linkages Prgram with Marie Bashir PS Day 1-9:25 am till 11 am New Gym

* 23rd November Sport Summer Rd 11- Rotation 1,2,3,4

* 25th November Prefects National Young Leaders Day Syd Olympic Park - All Day

* 28th Nov. - 2nd Dec. ABW @ SGHS - 50 Year 10 students, 12 Year 11 students and 5 staff

* 30th November Sport Summer Rd 12- Rotation 1,2,4,3

* 8th December Sport Summer Rd 12- Rotation 1,2,4,3

* 16th December Last day for students in term 4

* 19th & 20th Staff Development Days

Homebush BHS Farewells the Graduating Class of Yr12 Students

Our school has again farewelled a fine group of young men that have all but completed their high school education at Homebush BHS, and now will await their final results. The day started with a formal assembly that included many of the boy’s families, friends, staff and students. It was an emotional assembly with speeches that addressed the student’s journey from Yr7 through to Yr12 that highlighted, their achievements and the general highs and lows of their time at Homebush BHS.

1Term

3.0 #

Term 3.0 #

2016

Principal’s ReportIt is with great pleasure that I write this article and review some of the many successes we have seen happen during a very busy term at Homebush Boys High School.

The term upon reflection

By now we have all had a well-earned rest and perhaps an opportunity to reflect on all that we have achieved as a school community during Term 3. We are now coming to the end of a three year period of reforms in our system and in our schools. I have experienced these reforms now in two schools and as a seconded Principal with the Local Schools Local Decision team. What I have seen as a recent arrival to the school is the sterling ability of our staff to respond to the reforms. Although at times these reforms roll out quicker than we expect and sometimes not with all the back-up we might like I have been very proud to be a Principal of HBHS where the staff have responded appropriately and with great dignity, energy and with great thought as they continue to make our boys their focus of all their work.

In Term 3 all staff contributed in one way or another to a variety of reviews. I thank my staff for their contribution to these processes and to the staff who led these endeavours.

School Planning and SEF

Under the new planning processes staff members are now busily working on setting “milestones”. Milestones are targets that the school sets for itself and under the new planning process should be checked and reviewed on a term by term basis. It is a very new planning model but under the guidance of the Executive Team and the School Improve-ment Team we are well on our way. Most notably this term we took part in an External Validation of our school. This process was coordinated by Matina Shadwick and I am pleased to say that we had a very positive review from the external auditors. This review will make up much of our Annual Report and drive our school planning in the future.

VET Audit

During Term 3 we also were audited on our Vocational Educational Training procedures at school. Mr Abbou led this process and I am pleased to say that we received one of the best audit reports I have ever experienced. Well done VET team!

International Students Compliance

It has been quite the season for audits during 2016 and our processes for managing our International Students was also reviewed in Term 3. Ms Horiatopoulos, Ms Meucci and Mrs Whelan ensured that this review was also a success.

Assessment and Reporting.

The term began with our usual Parent Teacher Evenings where we tried to address parental concerns about how the event was organised and run. We ensured that all interviews occurred on the ground floor of A Block and we trialled a warning bell system. We were very pleased with the response from our families and will endeavour to continue im-proving this procedure.in the future.

Yr12 students get down to the business end of final exams

2

Maintenance

The Western Grass has been top dressed during the break. The funding for this came from a joint submission I made with the P & C to our Local Member, Jodi McKay. As you can see the grass looks fantastic. A big thank you to Mr Scult-horpe and Mr Madyski for coordinating the quotes for this job.

Twitter

I have recently rebooted the school’s Twitter account and I am endeavouring to Tweet at least weekly about different events that occur at school and in the outside community. Should you wish to follow us you will need to download the Twitter application onto to your device and then search for our school Homebush Boys High @homebushbhs. I hope to see you following.

School Application

Can I remind our community members that we also have a school application that can be downloaded to your phones and other devices. The application is updated on a weekly basis and it is particularly useful for calendar updates.

Daily Notices

The daily notices that are read to the boys are also available for you to read on the school website under the heading news.

Student Leadership

Our Prefects and Captains have been elected for 2017 and I would like to congratulate all the boys for their efforts in this process. I would also like to congratulate the boys for their participation in the annual Prefect’s Camp at Fitzroy Falls. I visited the boys on the Monday morning before the end of term and they were clearly very engaged in the leadership activities. Can I thank Ms DeMichael and Mr Sheath and for their attendance.

Sport

This term we saw the end of winter sport and I was thrilled to attend the Football (Soccer) Grand Finals at Mason Park. On the day we were represented in every final and we took out the majority of the winners trophies. I was in-credibly proud to also attend the Presentation Ceremony at North Ryde for our zone. I certainly had many trophies to cart back with me from this great acknowledgment of our involvement particularly in a range of Grade sports. Can I congratulate Mr Carrozza on these successes and also commend him for his official roles he fulfils within the zone. Summer sport is now well underway and I have been making an effort to visit a sporting event each Wednesday

The grass is greener on the other side, particularly in this part of the school

Ms DeMichael with the 2017 Prefect student group

3Term

3.0 #2016

Term 3.0 #

2016

afternoon. I am thrilled to be able to report that most venues speak highly of our student’s behaviour at sport and they are also commended on the sportsmanship.

Curriculum

The Year 10 subject selection process for 2017 is almost complete now and I am very pleased to say our new inter-view subject selection process was very successful. Each of our boys was interviewed by two members of staff and counselled about their subject selections. This process gave the boys an excellent opportunity to really think long and hard about their decisions and to seek advice throughout the whole process.

Year 11 are at present reviewing their subjects for Year 12 and this process now continues for a little bit longer into Term 4.

When we combine these events with the Year 8 subject selection process it gives us a great indicator of our time-table needs for 2017.

Farewells

Mr John Baggaley is enjoying his last school holiday as I write and I would like to congratulate him once again on his retirement. As I said at his farewell on Friday at the end of term he will be greatly missed. I won’t say anything more as was John’s modest request!

Extended Leave

Mrs Erica Porteous is on Extended Leave with a distinct possibility of not returning to school. I would like to wish Erica all the best in her new endeavours and I thank her for her constant professionalism as an English Teacher.

Mrs Yvonne Ferrier is also taking an extended period of leave as of the start of Term 4. Yvonne has been a stalwart of the Library and we hope her leave plans are all that she wishes for. Might I also mention congratulations are in order for Yvonne on achieving her 20 year Certificate of service with the Department of Education.

Both Mrs Degney and Mr Albertson will be taking all of Term 4 off for well-earned breaks. We wish them all the best for their leave.

Mrs Rasha Kamil has a new baby daughter and Ms Edan Caramancion has had her baby. We wish them both all the best with their new borns and their confinements.

Mr John Baggaley is congratulated on his retirement by Principal Mr Kennedy

Ms Yvonne Ferrier receives her 20 certificate from Mr Kennedy

4

Prefects Camp

SGHS Dance evening – Zaki

On Tuesday night of the final week of term I was unable to attend the P & C meeting as I was a guest of SGHS Dance Recital Evening. I would like to thank Mr Prasad and Mrs Shadwick for attending the P & C meeting in my place and to congratulate Ms Chapman on her presentation to the meeting.

I try not to miss the P & C meetings but on this occasion I thought it was important that I attend. Zaki Ousmand coor-dinated a dance tribute on the evening to the late Adam Lees. It was a poignant piece that involved both SGHS and HBHS students and it was a very fitting tribute to Adam.

I would also like to comment that the dance program at SGHS must be a brilliant one as the performances on the night were outstanding.

Year 12 Graduation

It was naturally a great event because so many of you contribute to the smooth running of this ceremony and the festivities that follow. The rain could not dampen the enthusiasm of the boys and staff and by 3 pm on Thursday it was clear that all staff, students and parents had a marvellous experience. Can I thank Ms Shadwick in particular for coordinating this extravaganza with such poise and aplomb. With extra assistance from her able team of Ms Vine, Mr Madyski, Ms Laksmipathy, Ms Singh, Mr Burke, Ms Budanovic, Mr Sculthorpe, Mr Prasad, Ms Bolbol, Ms Houvardas, Mr Altundag and Mr Saber the day went off without a hitch.

So in closing I hope that you and your sons have a marvellous Term 4 and as usual if you have any issues you think I can address please don’t hesitate to contact me at school.

Yours in education

John G Kennedy

Principal

Ms Cathy Coles with Yr12 students Diluxan and Darren

The official party at the Yr12 assemblyPresenters ready for the formal occasion needs

Sam Stoodley with his proud mother Mrs Stoodley and Ms Gina Sorensen

5Term

3.0 #2016

Term 3.0 #

2016

Student Volunteers Assistance ProgramMrs Elustu, Darren Tan (seated) and Jun Kha were three of those who volunteered their time in the Out of Hours Speed Reading Program. Darren has been a trained volunteer for over two years. He has given many younger students the benefit of his good advice. Jun joined more recently, and has gladly given his time, rain or shine. Mrs Elustu, who is experienced in many Key Learning Areas, has been on hand to lend her expertise to this program. Thanks go out to all the volunteers!

Peer Tutoring roll 35 says a fond farewell to peer tutors Harrison Lau and Connor McDonald. Harrison has been a trained MULTILIT tutor in this roll call since he was in year 9. Both young men will be missed! Thank you, gentlemen, for your good work!

Ms Judith Edwards

Learning Support

Mathletics! Parents at HBHS have paid for their sons to partici-pate. Teachers have assigned it as homework. But can every student access the internet at home? Some can’t.

The ILC (computer room near the Library) is open every Friday at 8:10 for students who need to com-plete their Mathletics assignment or need some help doing their other Maths homework.

There are limited computers, so first come, first on a computer!

Ms Judith Edwards

Learning Support

6

Breakfast Club 2016 At 7 30 every Thursday morning, twenty dedicated volunteers run the breakfast club at room 66. They passionately prepare restaurant-rating food such as hashbrowns, toasted bread, a variety of cheese and tomato bread, and a wide, healthy assortment of fresh fruit for the students and teachers at our school.

Providing some nurishment to hungry students helps them to concentrate through their days lessons and along with emphasing the importance of a healthy diet to grow strong young men.

7Term

3.0 #2016

Term 3.0 #

2016

CREATIVE AND PERFORMING ARTSThe annual Year 12 CAPA night that included Music and Visual Arts was again a very successful event that highlights the many talented students within the creative and performing arts in the school. Parents, friends, staff and teaching colleagues from our school region attended to see a fantastic selection of artworks from the Visual Arts students as well as some outstanding musical performances from the Music students.

Ms Audrey Juska and Mr Kim Attwood were the Visual Arts teachers and Mr Callum Alexander was the Music teacher who were in charge of the Y12 classes this year. We now hope all the hard work they have put in, will hopefully come to fruition when they get their final marks for the HSC later in the year.

Kim AttwoodHead Teacher Creative and Performing Arts.

Artwork by Nick Yit Teoh

Yr12 Music students Christopher Standard, Samuel Mansfield and Yr11 student Skye Lim

Artwork by Yakub Tanrisever

Artwork by Matthew Monroe

Artwork by Willian McKilbride

8

Selection of Artworks for Operation ArtWe have again had succes with two of of our students in the yearly Operation Art exhibition. Victor Zhang has had his artwork selected for permanent exhibition at a regional hospital and Scott Sun has had his artwork selected for the prestigious exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW.

The Visual Arts faculty at Homebush BHS has had a long history of success in this exhibition, where we have consis-tently had student work entered into the Operation Art exhibition and then having it selected either the Art Gallery of NSW exhibition and/or also chosen to go into children’s hospitals all over the state. We wish the boys success when the exhibition opens early this year.

Artwork by Scott Sun Artwork by Victor Zhang

Yr12 Music Student Samuel MansfieldYr12 Music Student Steve Kim

9Term

3.0 #2016

Term 3.0 #

2016

Public Speaking Matters.

Let the Speeches begin!On the 24th of March, a handful of Homebush Boys students took part in the All Boys John Symonds Public Speak-ing competition. This annual event encourages students to put forward their skills of engaging with an audience, presenting ideas and personal insights based on nominated topics.

Students ranged from year seven to twelve, with all sharing an interest in taking up the stage to have a say. It was truly astounding to see the quality and originality of each presentation with many putting their own imaginative spin on the given topics.

Although it was my last year being a part of this competition, I was delighted to see the enthusiasm of the year sev-ens taking up the challenge, hopefully the first of many competitions they take part in. And whilst awards had to be given, all participants on the day have to be commended for their efforts in participating in this event. A huge thank you has to be given out to Mrs Sahay for organising and continuing this annual competition.

And to the students, who are reading this and considering, do sign up next year. Give it a shot because you never know what could happen and you may very well surprise yourself in what you accomplish.

Adam Yoon Yr 12

Legacy Local FinalsOn Wednesday the third of August, Samuel Livingston and I, Tobias Buckley were accompanied by Mrs Sahay to at-tend the Local Finals of Legacy Public Speaking competition held at Marrickville High School. Despite the torrential rain, Samuel presented an amazing speech on Building Fences. I gave a spellbinding speech on Climate Change. The impromptu topic, “If I had a choice to have dinner with someone famous, I would choose….,” opened the forum to include a range of famous and powerful personalities ranging from Presidents to Pop groups.

I chose to invite all the speakers in the room as they were most suited to address problems we face in society today and will face in the future.

I was one of the three winners of the competition which included 15 contestants will be taking part in the Regionals on 19th August at The Arts Unit in Lewisham. This has been an exciting experience for me. I encour-age you all to take advantage of opportunities that come along.

Tobias Buckley

Regional FinalsAfter a heated competition which involved a lot of prestigious schools, Tobias was knocked out of the Regional finals. A lot of research and practice is needed to take part in competitions. I would like to extend my gratitude to all the parents, teachers and students who encourage our boys to take part in Public speaking. It is an amazing experience which gives them confidence to face life long challenges.

A vote of thanks!

A huge thank you to John Symond for sponsoring the annual Plain English Public Speaking for the last 15 years or so. Without his generosity and ongoing support, we not have been given the opportunity to ex-perience such wonderful opportunities that no doubt help us reach new heights.

A huge thank you to all parents and teachers who help keep such events on the school calendar.

10

HOMEBUSH BHS ACKNOWLEDGES OUR SASS STAFFEarlier in term 3 there was a special morning tea organized in recognition of our Administration staff in our front of-fice. Our school can proudly boast to have one of the best, friendliest and efficient staff in the region. Led by Marie Reardon the office runs like clockwork with every request is dealt with in a cordial manner and at times above and beyond their duty.

Both the teachers and the students in our school hold this fantastic team of women in high esteem. Students are dealt with in a caring manner whether they are injured and require first aid or if they have forgotten their timetable and need the expert assistance of one of the Admin staff. This group of women are the first point of any enquiry from staff, students, parents and the community and have a reputation that is welcoming and helpful to all.

11Term

3.0 #2016

Term 3.0 #

2016

NSW Combined High School (CHS) Athletics CarnivalMy name is James Wark, I’m 13 years old and one of the best shot-putters in the state. That may be a slight exag-geration, but of the thousands of kids in NSW, I am the 15th best. But that didn’t happen by chance. It all began at the School Athletics Carnival. A throw of 9.70m got me first and into zone, along with a few other events. At the zone carnival I came 2nd and qualified for the regional carnival.

This was one step closer to CHS which was very exciting for me. At regional, after a throw of 10.78m, I came away with a bright green jacket and another 2nd place, a sure spot for CHS. In the mail came my second jacket, the black and red Sydney North representative one. Finally, the day came. A decent throw and an OK position was good, but just the idea of being at the CHS made me ecstatic.

With the last jacket, light and dark blue, came the end of the adventure. After 4 months and 3 jackets later, I am pleased to have reached this level in my first year at Homebush Boys High School and look forward to next year where I hope I can improve.

James Wark Yr7

James Wark is congratulated by Mr Kennedy

12

Term 3.0 #

2016

Ersan, Victor, Ibrahim and Scott with Operation Art certificates

Ms Mariana Lacek being presented with her retirement medal from Mr Kennedy

Yr12 students Lincoln Dale and Adam Yau show their superhero drawings at the assembly

from the prefects camp

13

Mr Kennedy and staff with some of our Pre-Service teachers

Students with their school service certificates

14Term

3.0 #2016

Ms Juska and Mr Attwood presented with their 30 year Teaching certificates from Mr Kennedy

Mr Kennedy and Ms Cunneen with students that took up the Mental Health Speaking Challenge

15Term

3.0 #2016

Term 3.0 #

2016

Mr Omar Aljamal presents a plaque to Mr Abbou and Mr Kennedy in appreciation of the Ramadan/Iftar event.

Ms Lara Hasham and Mr Kennedy with the Yr10 debating team and their certificates

16

Leon Salsiccia, Scott Miller and Alex Jiang with their Distinction awards in the New South Wales Computer competitionSalsiccia

Mr Kennedy and Mr Sculthorpe with Joseph Shankar and James Yates who represented NSW in European hand ball.

17Term

3.0 #2016

Term 3.0 #

2016

Mr Everett with students and Science competition certificates Students with their Winter Premiership certificates

Students with their Winter Premiership certificates

18

Students with their Winter Premiership certificates

Students with their Winter Premiership certificates

19Term

3.0 #2016