GOVERNMENT HOUSE VISIT - Reservoir High School

1

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Contact Information

Address:

855 Plenty Road

Reservoir Vic 3073

Telephone:

03 9466 0900

Fax:

03 9471 0252

Email:

[email protected]

Website:

www.reservoirhs.vic.edu.au

March 2016 SEMESTER 1 TERM 1 2016 - issue No. 2

Important

Term 1 Dates

and

information on

the back pages

of this

Newsletter!

Diversity Excellence Success

A group of our International Students

(we have nearly 30 this year) were

invited by the Governor of Victoria,

Her Excellency The Hon. Linda

Dessau AM, to meet and tour

Government House last week.

Students, accompanied by Ms

Christine Farrugia (our International

Student Coordinator) had a wonderful

time meeting students from other

schools. They also had the unique

opportunity to meet and talk with

Victoria’s Governor.

CULTURAL DIVERSTY WEEK

Last week we celebrated our

multicultural community with our

English as an Additional Language

lunch. We have over 65 different

nationalities at Reservoir High. We

proudly communicate this fact as it is

one of our school’s greatest strengths.

The culinary masterpieces provided

by students (and their parents) were

enjoyed by all who participated in the

special lunch held in the library. We

have a diverse and cohesive school

community which was very evident to

all those present.

GOVERNMENT HOUSE VISIT

2

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT continued


GRADE 5 DAY

One of the highlights of the academic year

for me as Principal and the entire Reservoir

High community is our annual Grade 5 Day.

We had over 400 grade 5 students from 10

Primary Schools visit us and they spent the

day being introduced to all that Reservoir

High has to offer. From its broad

curriculum, to its extra-curricular activities

and sporting programs. Students enjoyed a

delicious pizza lunch and although

Melbourne’s summer returned with a

vengeance on the day, it did not slow

anyone down. The level of enthusiasm

demonstrated by the students and staff

present was amazing.

Many thanks to our own students, many of

whom came to school when they had been

given the day at home to enable the staff to

teach our visitors. They worked in

classrooms as mentors and assistants,

helped with lunches and performed in front

of the Grade 5’s to give them an

understanding of our thriving Performing

Arts Program.

PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE

It has been an amazing month in the life of our

new Performing Arts Centre. Almost every day

there is a new addition to the building with the

final touches being added. Over the past few

weeks air conditioning, completion of the toilets,

carpeting and painting of the walls and ceilings

have taken place. Carpeting within the theatre is

due this week and our external balcony has been

completed. It looks fantastic and directly overlooks

our newly developing netball and tennis courts at

the rear of the school.

Our Dance students took their first look at the

theatre last week as they commence their

preparations for this year’s School Production in

term 3 – FOOTLOOSE. By all accounts the

students were blown away by the facility.

The Performing Arts Centre will be officially

opened on April 28th, 2016.

The 300 seat facility will be

opened by a very special

guest presenter, Ms Deborah

Mailman.

(Photo on the right)

Deborah Mailman starred in The SAPPHIRES,

OFFSPRING (in one of the principal’s favourite

TV programs) and continues to appear in PLAY-

SCHOOL. She recently starred in THE SECRET

RIVER in THE SECRET RIVER with an

ex-student, Brandi Nelson. A limited number of

tickets will be available for the opening. More

information about this will appear on Compass in

the coming weeks.

PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE SEATING

One of the biggest costs associated with our

Performing Arts Centre has been the purchasing of

quality seating which we believe will make the

Reservoir High Performing Arts Centre one of the

best spaces for the Arts Community in this district.

If you would like to consider purchasing one of the

seats, which would then feature your name or

companies name on a plaque, please do not

hesitate to contact me to discuss this unique

opportunity a dozen seats have already been

sponsored and we look forward to a more in the

future.

3

PARENT MEETINGS

We have a thriving Chinese Parent Group and

Vietnamese Parent Group which meets once a term

with Ms Tsuey-Ming Hau (our Chinese and

Vietnamese Aide). Tsuey-Ming schedules the

meeting, arranges a dynamic agenda and Ms Volpe

and I and a number of other staff meet the parents

and discuss topics. These might include,

curriculum, reporting, school events and any other

issues which the parent groups wish to discuss.

These groups operate independently from the

School Council which is another avenue for parent

input into the Reservoir High community. Invites

will also go out next term to our first Parent

Contact Group meeting for interested parents.

SCHOOL TOURS

Requests for school tours of Reservoir High have

been greater than previous years and it has been

terrific to take large groups of prospective parents

and their children through the school on a

Wednesday morning - although we do make

exceptions for those who can’t make this time. An

added bonus this year is that we invite students

from the schools of the prospective students to

accompany us on the tour. This gives prospective

parents and students a greater insight into the

Reservoir High experience from a student’s point of

view. Our students are asked all sorts of questions

which they answer honestly and with great

confidence. Questions about camp, the work they

do, teachers, what it’s like being a student and how

the school handles student management and issues

of bullying to name a few of the questions asked by

those on the tours.

NEW STAFF

In our last newsletter I introduced the number of

new staff we now have at Reservoir High. As our

school continues to grow we employ additional

staff to teach students. It is always very gratifying

to see new staff settle in. For some, it is their very

first school as teachers. Ms Volpe, Mr John Rathjen

(our Staff Development Coordinator) and I met

with this group last week to talk about how they

were settling in and how we might improve our

Staff Induction Program in the future. All of those

present were very positive about their first term

experiences at school, highlighting their

interactions in the classroom as one of their many

highlights.

SCHOOL COUNCIL

Congratulations to the following parents and staff

who have been elected to School Council this year.

We had more parents nominating for positions than

we had positions available, so an election was

called and the votes counted last Friday.

The results of the election and for 2016 School

Council Members are as follows: Abey George,

Vaughan Koops, Maria Mandilas and Nick

Mandilas.

As always we look forward to working with this

great group of people who have joined to support

the continued growth and development of Reservoir

High as the school of choice in the area.



Ms Jenny Mortimer and Ms Tsuey– Ming Hau enjoying

international lunch day

Our new students Farida and Faiza being

welcomed by Ms Robinson

4



CHINA TOUR 2016

As I write this column, there is only one more sleep

left before 27 students and four staff (Ms Ros

Pizzey, Ms Voula Tsolakis, Mr Geoffrey Barker

and myself) head off to Beijing, Tianjin, Xian,

Suzhou, Hangzhou and Shanghai on 15 days of

adventures. Some of this time will be spent with

our Sister School – Tianjin Muzhai Middle School.

Everyone is very excited. Hotel room sharing

groups and the homestay arrangements were

delivered to the students and visas are organised.

On March 16th our final Parent/Guardian and

student evening took place where Chinese Sim

Cards were distributed. Final details for the trip

and the fundamentals of WeChat (the Chinese

equivalent to Facebook) will be organised to make

communications between families and the school

group easier and less costly than international

roaming costs.

The staff are thrilled with the level of commitment

demonstrated by our students and we are looking

forward to our time away with them very much.

LONG SERVICE LEAVE

It is with great pleasure that I wish Ms Volpe all

the very best for her Term 2 Long Service Leave.

She will venture into the depths of Europe visiting

family and friends in Italy, as well as seeing the

amazing sights that this part of the world has on

offer. We wish her well and look forward to her

return in week 8 of next term. Mr Darryl Forbes

(Head of the Junior School and Year 7

Coordinator) will become the Acting Assistant

Principal. You may remember he took on the same

position when I took leave in Term 3 last year. Ms

Ros Pizzey will become Acting Head of the Junior

School and Year 8 Coordinator and Mr Ian Wilson

will become Acting Year 7 Coordinator.

I look forward to working with

the team very much during

Term 2.

Mark Jessup

Reservoir High

Principal [email protected]

Here is how to follow the updates of

the Reservoir High 2016

China Tour.

As Facebook does not work in China, We are

going to use WeChat to post pictures and

comments and to communicate during our time in

China.

WeChat is a bit similar, but a much simpler version

of Facebook.

There is an area in Wechat called ‘moments’, and

this is where the updates show up.

To get onto WeChat:

What you need= A smart Phone, Internet Data and

Internet connection

Step 1: Download the “WeChat” app to your

mobile phone

Step 2: Create a WeChat Account using your

phone number and email address. Please keep

your name simple and one that identifies you,

therefore don’t use a trendy nickname.

Step 3: through the ‘contacts’ tab, and the little

icon of the person with the + sign next to it, located

in the top right hand corner, add

“barkerlaoshi” (meaning ‘barker teacher’ in

Mandarin)

The ‘Discover’ à ‘Moments’ section of WeChat is

like Facebook, where we will upload photos and

comments and news of the trip that will be

automatically shared with anyone in my contacts

list. – therefore to be up to date, I (barkerlaoshi)

need to be added to your contact list.

Zàijiàn

Geoffrey M Barker

WeChat: barkerlaoshi

5

JUNIOR SCHOOL REPORT


From the Junior School Team

Congratulations to our Year 7 and 8 students for

settling in so quickly and accepting the new

challenges of the 2016 school year. Most students

have settled in extremely well and are

demonstrating great commitment to their subjects

and our school expectations. Our mantra in the

Junior School is ‘Respect’ and we expect all

students to demonstrate Safe, Fair & Kind

behaviours in every interaction and on every day.

The Junior School Team have outlined to all

students the importance of being responsible for

their own learning and being respectful to all

members of our school and wider community. In

the Junior School, we are focussing on a smooth

Transition for Year 7 students and at Year 8 we are

focussing on positive engagement and enjoyment

of their learning. All students have a role to play

in being ambassadors for Reservoir High School

and we expect all students to play their part and

adhere to our school motto of Diversity, Excellence

and Success.

All Year 7 students recently began their Peer

Support lessons based on a terrific program

implemented by a number of trained Year 10

Student Leaders. The program takes place one

period per week (during Health) aimed to ensure

Year 7 students feel comfortable settling into

Reservoir High School. It is aimed at acquainting

students with the school buildings and

surroundings and to help them feel comfortable

speaking with peers and older students who can

assist them should they need support.

Junior Interschool Sport

Many Junior teams have recently represented

Reservoir High School in interschool sporting

competitions, including tennis, baseball, softball,

cricket and volleyball. All students represented

the school in excellent spirit and demonstrated

terrific fair play and respect throughout all games.

Congratulations to all students and all teams who

have participated in Sport in Term 1. In particular

congratulations to the Year 7 Boys and Girls and

Year 8 Boys Volleyball team who won their

district final, and are looking forward to the zone

finals.

Many thanks to all staff who have coached,

assisted and supported the Junior teams throughout

Term 1.

Matilda - Peer Support Leader, working with Year 7

students

Year 8 Girls Volleyball


Year 8 Boys Volleyball

6

YEAR 7’S WATERMARC YEAR 7’S WATERMARC JUNIOR SCHOOL REPORT Continued


Student of the Month (February)

The Junior School is proud to be again awarding

‘Student of the Month’ Awards in 2016.Students

are nominated by teachers each month for the

award based on the selection criteria below:

Attendance to classes

Very good work ethic

Academic achievement – does not have to be

an ‘A’ student, but demonstrates effort and

improvement

Classroom participation

Positive attitude towards others, their learn-

ing & learning of others

Demonstrates excellent citizenship and/or

involvement in the life of the school – e.g.

extra curricula activities, Breakfast Club,

Student Leadership, SRC, sporting etc

Demonstrates respect to staff & peers –

safe, fair & kind behaviours towards others

Many thanks to all staff who recently nominated

Yr 7 and 8 students for February.

We are pleased to announce the following

successful recipients and nominated students:

7A – Zijing (Jack) Yu & Kamakshi Ramdhony (nominations – Jasmeet Dehal, Adey Mohamed,

Madalyn O’Neill, Anthony Shea, Sofia Typou,

Dhruv Verma)

7B – John McCleary & Michael Cooper (nominations – Tayla Hume, Jordyn Lacey,

Rebecca Magno, Nathan Murphy, Laura Razzi)

7C – Hani Ataish & Melonee Hope (nominations – Seth Dixon, Ada Lam)

7D – Phoebe Brooks & Manoj Singaraju (nominations- Corey Chan, Nikhil George, Rachel

Goh, Electra James, Thamilini Thavachelvan,

Ying Zhou)

7E - Flynn Martin-Veness & Charlotte Regina-

to (nominations – Lavinia McArdle, Nikita

Milkic, Deniro Reid, Sunay Salioski)

8A – Anastasia Typou and Christian Wibowo

8B – Mitchell Groenewaldt and Billy Smith (nominations – Kurt Ansell, Moustafa Taleb,

Laura De La Friente, Rheannon Sharma, Naum,

Abbey Kaye

8C – Declan Hancock & Annabelle Cliffe

(nominations - Najma Ahmed)

8D – Alex Chen and Rithu Arun (nominations -

Olivia Moyses)

8E – Noah King and Mandy Hu (nominations-

Tahnee Oliveira, Crystal Demetriou, Alex Vinen,

Teinisha Barnes Scott)

Kind Regards

Junior School Team Mr Darryl Forbes – Year 7 Coordinator

Ms Ros Pizzey – Year 8 Coordinator

Ms Tammy Baines – Office Manager

Zafirah being presented by Mr Jessup with her scholarship

award

Nathan being presented by Ms Volpe with his scholarship

award

7

EAL


TOGETHER WE STAND IN HARMONY

This was the theme of 2016 Cultural

Diversity Week in Victoria

Our EAL students celebrated with their annual

lunch, and cultural exhibition in the school library.

Students from Year 7 to 12 who study English as an

additional language, invited their teachers to a

banquet of delicacies from their country of origin.

The students and their parents cooked the food and

brought it to school to be shared by all. Teachers

were also encouraged to bring their own traditional

food to share.

Items from all over the world and costumes were

displayed in the open area of our Reservoir High

Library which was decorated with flags from all

over the globe and balloons signifying the reason

for the celebrations.

Student work was also up for all staff and

classmates to read and admire. In the background

we had films created by our students playing and

depicting the importance of music and harmony

within their culture.

The winners of the Cultural Diversity week

competition were announced by Mr Jessup and the

students were awarded with certificates and prizes.

Music is the universal language that brings people

of all cultures together….as our celebrations

showed.

Until next year!!!!!

Voula Tsolakis

EAL Coordinator

Dear Ms Tsolakis

On behalf of all the EAL students I'd like to thank

you for participating in today’s lunch and welcoming

students from different cultures. There are more than

80 nationalities at this school. On this special day

students bring food from different backgrounds to

share. Our Library looked fantastic decorated with

the different costumes, flags, posters and so on.

It was an amazing day, we all got to help set up and

eat the food. Thank you to all the students, parents

and teachers that brought food.

From Ayda and Minaal - Year 9A

http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwie3rTssNDLAhXkXaYKHXbXAq4QjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwebclipart.about.com%2Fod%2Fspecialtyclipart%2Fqt%2FOrange-Awareness-Ribbon.htm&psig=AFQjCNGUej6txQlI10QxLcQ6_

8

HUMANATIES


YEAR 9 TALL SHIPS EXCURSION 2016

On March Friday March 11 all Year 9 students attended

a terrific excursion to Melbourne Docklands. This has

become an annual event.

Students experience a sail on a replica of an original

sailing ship that was important in Melbourne’s founding

history - The Enterprise. They get to steer, hoist sails

and explore the interior of the craft. Several brave

teachers even climbed the rigging. Unfortunately,

students need to be over 18 to do this.

As well as this voyage Year 9’s do a field work assign-

ment that meets curriculum requirements: mapping and

considering the viability of this part of the urban

experience.

A large group of students viewed the city from the

Melbourne Star Observation Wheel. This was an

optional extra, which was greatly enjoyed.

It was great that the weather held and wasn’t too hot. It

is a credit to students and our hardworking Humanities

staff that the day was such a success.

Special thanks to Mr Vass for attending.

9

YEAR 10 WORKSHOP


REALISE

YOUR

POTENTIAL

In what will, hopefully, become a regular calendar

item for RHS, NAB last Wednesday treated the Yr.

10’s to a workshop-Realise Your Potential- at their

stunning CBD building at Docklands.

This workshop was designed to provide students

with the opportunity to learn about different

careers, tap into the career journeys of some

current NAB employees, receive career advice/tips,

practice interview skills in a mock interview, be

mentored by experienced employees, view the

workplace of a large multi- national organisation

and practice independence by travelling to and

from the city.

We asked for feedback from students about the

day. The response was overwhelmingly positive

with most relating that it was the interview that

really was most beneficial to them. That and pizza!

We would really like to acknowledge the massive

role that NAB has played in this day-NAB

employees came in on their day off, gave freely of

their time with humour and grace, and provided the

space, the morning tea and lunch and show bags.

In particular we’d like to thank Kristen Boulton

(a Reservoir High School Alumni) and Tim

Charters, who took responsibility for the

organisation of the day. Their generosity and

commitment to our students was appreciated

immensely. To the students too- you handled the

step up required fantastically well and conducted

yourself maturely. Well Done.

Thanks also to staff who accompanied students on

the day-this is greatly appreciated.

Mr Devine, on behalf of the Careers Team (Ms

10

SENIOR SCHOOL REPORT


GLOBAL POLITICS

at

Monash University

Last week Mr Devine’s VCE Global Politics class

attended the welcome lecture for 1st Year Bachelor

of Global studies students at Monash University.

There we heard an address from Oliver Percovich

the founder of an NGO (non government

organisation) that sets up and runs skateboarding

programs in war torn or impoverished states such

as Afghanistan, Cambodia and the slum areas of

Johannesburg in South Africa.

Students were treated to nibbles and experienced

what a university lecture is like as well as receiving

a sense of how large Monash University is (as well

as how far away from Reservoir High it is!!)

(On the left ) Tehyali from 11B with the Minister of Education the Hon. James Merlino at Treasury

Gardens receiving her WANNIK Scholarship. (On the right) Tehyali with Mum, Auntie and Ms Rossini.

11

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS EVENT


VICTORIAN INTERNATIONAL

SCHOOL STUDENT WELCOME

EVENT 2016

Every year the Department of Education welcomes

new international school students studying in

Melbourne to an exciting welcome event at

Government House. This year I was fortunate to

accompany Giang Nguyen of 11E and Jaslene

Tran also of 11E, to this prestigious event. The

Governor of Victoria, Her Excellency The Hon.

Linda Dessau AM, greeted students and thanked

them for choosing Victoria to complete their

secondary studies. She also spoke about the value

of international students in enhancing the school

experience of local students through sharing their

culture and friendship. The welcome ceremony

was followed by a delicious morning tea and a rare

opportunity to explore the grand rooms of

Government House and catch up with friends

made at their language centres. A truly memorable

experience.

Giang and Jaslene waiting for the Governor to arrive. Giang , Ms Farrugia and Jaslene enjoying morning tea in

the grounds at Government House.

Aerial photo of the welcome event at Government House

12

SPORT


Year 7 Boys Baseball Year 8 Boys Baseball

Year 8 Boys Volleyball Year 9 and 10 Boys Volleyball

Ye

ar 9

Girls V

olle

yb

all

Ye

ar 9

Girls V

olle

yb

all


13

COMMUNITY


Every Victorian child should have access to the world of learning opportunities that exist beyond the classroom. The Camps, Sports and Ex-cursions Fund will ensure that no student will miss out on the opportunity to join their classmates for im-portant, educational and fun activities.

School camps provide children with inspiring experiences in the great outdoors, excursions encourage a deeper understanding of how the world works and sports teach teamwork, discipline and leadership. All are part of a healthy curriculum.

CSEF will be provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.

If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. The allowance will be paid to the school to use towards expens-es relating to camps, excursions, or sporting activities for the benefit of your child.

The annual CSEF amount per stu-dent will be:

$125 for primary school students

$225 for secondary school students.

How to Apply

Contact the school office to obtain a CSEF application form or download

from www.education.vic.gov.au/csef

Financial Assistance

Information for Parents

Camps, Sports & Excursions Fund (CSEF)

Closing Date You should lodge a CSEF application form at the school by 3rd June 2016.

Registered Specialist Orthodontists

Braces and Invisalign treatment for Children, Teenagers and Adults

Suite 1, Ground Floor, 340 Bell Street, Preston 3072T: (03) 9480 3188

E: [email protected]

www.modernorthodontics.com.au

FREE ConsultationAfter School and Saturday appointments available

14

DAVID AND JACK


Darebin Youth FReeZA Program

Congratulations to the following students who were

selected to participate in the Darebin Youth Freeza

program: Brandon Bains, Opheira Harder,

David Baker (Left)

And Finn Duggan.

The program aims to help students develop skills

involved in all aspects of the music industry.

Well done!

Mr Bayley

Literacy After-School Support

It has been wonderful to see a number of dedicated students come to the Literacy After-School Support

sessions to get assistance and a head start with their homework before the weekend. These sessions are

organised on a Friday during weeks 3 to 8 of each term from 3.20pm to 4.20pm in C3.

Whilst all students are productive in these sessions, I was struck by Jack Yu’s initiative when he first

started to attend the after school Literacy program. As a recent arrival to the country last year and as a

Year 7 student at the school, he always looks for ideas to create extra pieces of writing to improve his

skills. Also, he understands the benefit of receiving feedback about his writing. Recently, I asked Jack to

write a short piece for the School News-

letter and he was most obliging.

Goff Ripoli

Literacy Programs Facilitat

Jack is keen to improve his English writing skills by attending the Literacy After-School Support sessions.

From Jack

Last week, I started to do some extra study

on Friday after school. I think this class is

good. I wrote this paragraph in this class.

Then I can get help from the teacher with

my work.

Meanwhile, I can read my book and eat

some snacks. The teacher is really patient

and kind. He will fix your writing and tell

you what you should do next time. This is

15

COMMUNITY


16

IMPORTANT DATES Term 1 & 2

March

Wednesday 23rd Parent Teachers Interview 12:30 - 815pm

China Tour

Thursday 24th Last Day of Term 1 - 2:30 Finish

April

Monday 11th First day term 2

Wednesday 13th Open Morning 9 am - 10:30

Thursday 21st Information and Showcase Evening 7.00pm

Friday 22nd Year 12 Studio Art Industry Excursion

Monday 25th Anzac Day

Tuesday 26th Year 7 Immunisations Year 10 Psychology Latrobe Excursion Year 8 Swimming

Wednesday27th Year 7A,7B and 8B Swimming

Thursday 28th Year 7E and 8D Swimming

Friday 29th Year 11 Legal Supreme Court Excursion Year 8C Swimming


Documents

GOVERNMENT HOUSE VISIT - Reservoir High School