Hello everyone, At the end of the Term 3 we will be saying goodbye and good luck to Ms Wilson, Head Teacher Wellbeing. Ms Wilson has been with us for well over a decade and in that time she has cared for hundreds of students, supported dozens of Year Advisers, collaborated with many external agencies and made thousands of phone calls – all based on the wellbeing and care of our wonderful students. I would be a very rich person if I had a dollar for every time I have asked an upset student “Who can you talk to about this?” and their answer was “Ms Wilson”. The entire school community will miss Ms Wilson – students, parents, staff and personnel from our partner agencies, and I know you will join me in thanking her for everything she has done, and wish her and her young family well as they begin the next chapter of their lives in the Illawarra. The end of this term marks the (near) conclusion of secondary schooling for Year 12. Due to the disruptions of COVID, Year 12 will be largely back in class for the first week of Term 4, but their graduation assembly will be over and their reports will have been completed and distributed. A global pandemic is a tough time to do the HSC, but this year’s cohort have risen to the challenge. Can I take this opportunity to wish our Year 12 students well in their studies, their exams and their futures. A big thank you to our parents for your support and love of the young adult in your lives – parents are such an important part of the education equation. Thank you also to the many teachers whose professionalism and sheer hard work has supported our students to maximise their results and achievements. The Leadership Team is currently working on some new strategies to enhance positive behaviours in our playground. Recently, we have had a range of new seats and benches installed to improve social spaces, and some significant landscaping is occurring between the canteen and the back oval to again provide attractive and socially supportive areas. Early in the term, two permanent volleyball nets were installed in the grassed area in the playground and have been fully utilised since their arrival. Sadly, despite these positive improvements, we are still called upon to manage some negative social behaviours in the playground. These incidents actually involve a very small number of students, but their antisocial behaviours impact on everyone. These students require specialised support and learning, and we are looking at a number of strategies to build positive social skills in this space. This may require their attendance at a specialised program and an alternate break arrangement for a period of time. As the term ends, spring begins. The weather is warming and I am hoping this will align with an improvement in uniform as we lose the non-uniform jumpers! Also a reminder that our school shoes are black. Bright red runners are obviously very fashionable at the moment, but not for school. Enjoy the spring break with family and friends. Ms L Barnott-Clement

In 2015, I was excited to take on a new challenge - to support a cohort of students through the ups and downs of their six years of high school. You have experienced many things during this time, and I hope you remember it with fondness.

Over time, I have gotten to know many of your strengths and areas that needed support. Many of you embraced a range of extra-curricular opportunities and have developed into well-rounded young adults. We’ve seen you flourish on sporting fields, stages and inside the classroom.

If I reflected on the years and was to create a (very large) time capsule to represent our cohort’s high school years, I would include the following items:

Smart phone, AirPods and your digital footprint on social media

Recordings of all our talented musicians and performers

Our senior jacket

The photos of our remaining cohort on School Photo Day

A handball and footy

A sandbag to be filled for the trenches

A copy of the Hunger Games film

A watch and calendar to get you places on time and on the right day!

A ‘V’ can (I’ll remind you again, they’re not allowed at school!)

Something from McDonalds (let’s be honest…it would probably last! - and also,

not allowed at school!)

And if I could…a COVID19 vaccination.

As we move towards the final moments and I have to bid my farewells, I wish to leave you with some words of guidance…

Live your life with integrity and do not give into peer pressure- to try to be something that you’re not. Travel often and embrace the great wonders of our Earth and humanity. Pursue your passions, celebrate your bloopers and never stop following your fears.

I will miss seeing your bright, smiling faces each day but wish you all the very best for whatever road you decide to travel.

You are wonderful, please stay in touch.

Ms Sinclair.

In Term 3 the TAS Faculty purchased a number of prototyping kits including LEGO, SPar Prime, Micro Bits and Meccano model sets. While learning how to utilise these kits, students have been challenged to build a designated prototype, interpreting the visual and written instructions provided with each kit. This type of activity is challenging and TAS students have shown great persistence and patience throughout the process.

Project Micro Bits

Throughout Term 2 and Term 3, Year 8 students have been busy learning ‘Structured Prototyping’ in the subject Make Break Create (MBC). This subject was previously called STEM. They have been working in small groups and completing group challenges which include making a catapult, building a freestanding tower, and also building a simple pneumatic machine which was then used to create their own stop motion animation! Throughout this topic, students have been developing their communication skills and critical thinking skills which are necessary throughout our lives, as well as collaborating effectively with team members.

Ashley Souk

Stop Motion

Throughout Year 7 students learn Japanese with Mr Sun, and have recently been reading the book “Sadaku and The Thousand Paper Cranes”. This is a true story about a 9 year old girl whose life was seriously impacted by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Students in 7Mabo and 7Rose were so moved by this story, they decided they wanted to make 1000 origami paper cranes as a way to remember those lives represented in the book.

Throughout Term 3, Year 9 students have been studying poetry through the works of Wilfred Owen in their English classes. Their focus has been to understand the different experiences of people during WW1 such as that of soldiers who fought on the frontline and also their families who remained at home. This unit of work has allowed students to improve their writing through the creation of their own poems which included portrait poetry and blackout poetry as shown in the photos. The English Faculty has been impressed with the creativity and thoughtfulness of students… Who knew we had so many poets walking the hallways of Ambarvale High School!

Year 12 Drama have been eagerly preparing their Individual Projects over the past 12

months. All of their efforts came down to one brilliant, final performance on Thursday,

27 August 2020 to signal the end of the practical component of Drama.

The Individual Project – Monologue required each student to choose a 6-8 minute long

speech from film, television or a play to perform for external HSC markers. Each

performance was unique and each student did their best to bring their character to life

through costume, makeup and movement.

The HSC markers got to experience the delights of Scar from The Lion King, Leo Bloom for The Producers, Ms Ranevsky from The Cherry Orchard and Rambo! Special thanks to the Year 9 technical crew that made the day run seamlessly, Ms Nicoll for her tireless efforts as their teacher, and a huge congratulations to Year 12 on the completion of the practical component of the Drama course.

Yea

r 1

2 D

ram

a 2

02

0

At the beginning of Year 7, students began creating an artwork which represented themselves and their character strengths in the subject 4See. They undertook a process of multiple drafts to ensure that their finished product was beautiful work. Unfortunately they had to put this on hold in the middle of the years whilst we were working and learning from home. However, they revisited this project in Term 3, finally getting to finish it off. It was fabulous to be able to watch Year 7 students celebrate the completion of this project with their friends, with the library filled with sounds of laughter, and great beats from our resident DJ Mr Baptiste! As you can see in the photos, each student got to hang their pot plant with our special guest Mrs Fitzgerald, and they did so with pride. Congratulations Year 7, and thank you to the 4See teachers for their continued expertise and support of our students.

The PDHPE Faculty and wider school community was extremely proud and excited to have received the news that Mr Menyanu had submitted his thesis to receive his doctorate in Nutrition from the University of Wollongong during Term 3. Mr Menyanu has been working very hard on conducting academic fieldwork, compiling data and presenting his findings in research studies. All of this whilst also educating his very fortunate students here at Ambarvale High School. The focus of Mr Menyanu’s research was to determine what can be done to reduce salt intake at a population level in order to decrease the rate of hypertension in his native Ghana. His findings have also been used by the Ghanaian Government to inform policies and procedures for the implementation of their Non-Communicable Disease Strategy. Mr Menyanu is excited to share his amazing news and is looking forward to the next chapter of his academic career.

Week 1 - 12/10/20 All students return to school Week 2 - 20/10/20 HSC Written Exams begin Week 3 HSC Exams continue Week 4 HSC Exams continue Week 5 - 11/11/20 Exams conclude

Mr Menyanu working to collect samples as part of his research.

A reminder to our families that staff will never send a ‘friend’ or ‘follow’

request to students on social media. If your child were to receive such

a request from someone claiming to be a member of staff, please

contact the Principal immediately.