Kana KaresKana Kares Kanahooka High School Email: kanahooka-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

PO Box 302, Dapto NSW 2530 Web: www.kanahooka-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

Phone: 4261 4011 Fax: 4261 4700 Term 1 - Week 8 20 March 2015

KANAHOOKA HIGH SCHOOL IS A PROUD MEMBER OF THE DAPTO LEARNING COMMUNITY

Maths News Who can believe it’s Week 8 already!

This term has been an amazing one for the

Mathematics Faculty.

Our Year 12 students have now completed their

Semester 1 exams, achieving some very good

results for those students who have been working

hard since Term 4 last year. I encourage all

students doing their HSC, to continue to apply

themselves 100% to their classwork and strive to

achieve their best.

Year 11 students will be busy working on their

first assessment tasks – due at the end of this

term. Again, I encourage all our senior students

to attend the After School Tutorial (held on a

Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon in the Library)

to gain extra support in completing these very

important tasks.

As Term 1 draws to a close, Year 7 through to Year

10 will have received their first Mathematics

Assessment. These tasks are designed to support

either the upcoming NAPLAN (to be held early in

Term 2) or the topics covered this term (Years 8

and 10). These form 25% of the formal

assessment for all students, so it is very important

that these are completed and submitted to your

Mathematics teachers on time.

It is very exciting to see our Maths Club,

Mathemagicians commence this term. Held twice

a term, (week 5 and 10 in room 713) eight exciting

activities are planned for the year. The first was a

great success (who could beat Mrs Hood’s 2048

score). A flyer promoting the next activity has been

sent to all our local Primary schools and I look

forward to seeing as many of our Kanahooka High

students being there on 31 March to test their “card

expertise”.

Finally, I wish to commend 7A Maths and Mrs

Sterjovska for their outstanding Robots! It is great

to see such enthusiasm displayed by our new

Year 7 students.

Until next time.

Mrs K Lowis

Head Teacher Mathematics

Breakfast club is open every Tuesday.

All students welcome! Open: 7:30-8:20 am Location: Room 301

Banana Pancakes, Cereal, Juice & more

UPCOMING EVENTS Tuesday 24 March Car Restoration Program Period 2 - 4 Wednesday 25 March Year 7 Taronga Zoo Excursion Defence Force Talk Thursday 26 March Year 7 and 8 Netball Gala Day Nowra Friday 27 March Purple Mufti Day - Gold coin donation Tuesday 31 March HSC Stress Less Seminar Period 1 and 2 Car Restoration Program Period 2 - 4 Mathemagicians Club - Card Tricks Wednesday 1 April Year 12 Reports distributed Year 11 and 12 Parent Information Session

and Interviews 4.30pm to 7pm Thursday 2 April Cross Country Carnival at Kiama Last day Term 1 Monday 20 April Staff return for Term 2 Tuesday 21 April Students return for Term 2

Aboriginal Education and MEP News 2015 has seen a re-structure with the old MEP and Aboriginal programs combining. This is an exciting time for Kanahooka High School and means a whole new chapter in how we approach learning, equity and cultural understanding.

The 900 block has now been transformed into a centre for all students to access support in all school things. This could be anything from assistance with school tasks through to a warm ear and everything in between. We encourage students to come in and check out the space, say hello to our mums and babies, take a look at the Aboriginal artifacts on display, have a yarn about your future prospects or come in and heat up your lunch. Keep your eye out on this space because from time to time we have some yummy food on offer.

The hope for this area is that all students at Kanahooka access this and work ‘Towards a Better World’.

We look forward to seeing you in the 900 block. Ms J Burns CLO

Most Australians enjoy one of the highest life expectancies of any country in the world - but this is not true for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Indigenous Australians can expect to live 10-17 years less than other Australians. Babies born to Aboriginal mothers die at more than twice the rate of other Australian babies, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience higher rates of preventable illness such as heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes.

The mortality rates for Indigenous Australians is on par with some of the world’s most impoverished nations. Our Year 12 Aboriginal Studies class has taken up the challenge in 2015 and have been busy creating posters and flyers to run a fun day to inform students and staff at Kanahooka about the deficits Aboriginal people are facing in health equality. With your help we aim to close this health gap and achieve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health equality within a generation. 30 for 2030 petitions are available at the front office for any parents that wish to participate. Ms J Burns CLO

Just For Fun Year 10 Luna Park Excursion

During the last few weeks, Year 10 students have been studying the Principles of Motion in their Science classes. On Friday 6 March, many were able to experience motion in a variety of different ways, by participating in the Luna Park excursion. Whether it was the stomach churning 50 metre vertical drop of the Hair

Raiser, the dizzying spin of the Rotor or the sedate ride on the Ferris

Wheel, all the students were able to experience physically, some of the

finer points of Isaac Newton's three Laws of Motion. Many found their

intestinal fortitude to be far more robust than they first thought. To record

their experiences, there was the ever present worksheet, that brought

dizzied fun filled heads and wobbly knees back to the business of the day,

learning.

After an extensive day of “experimenting”, students gathered under the

northern end of the Sydney Harbour Bridge for the long, hot bus ride home

and chattering non-stop about their experiences on the different rides.

Mr G Stewart

Science

7A Maths - Robot Mania Class 7A have been exploring Shapes and

Angles in our Environment. Their challenge

was to investigate as many different shapes

and angles and construct a robot using

recyclable material from around the house.

Look at these impressive robots!

Well done 7A Maths.

Mrs G Sterjovska

Year 6 Open Night The Year 6 Open Night was held on 4 March from 5.30 to 7pm. Over one hundred

parents and students attended.

The staff showcased their subject areas and the parents gave us positive feedback

about our school and the learning experiences offered to students for 2016.

Mrs K O’Sullivan

Deputy Principal Stage 4

Relay for Life Mufti Day On Friday 27 March, the SRC have organised a Purple Day to raise money to contribute to

Ms Abarcia’s Relay for Life fundraising efforts. Wear something purple and bring a gold coin donation to support a great cause. Rumour has it that the SRC will also be spraying hair

purple for $1. Mr W Carney SRC Co-ordinator

Welcome BBQ

On 9 March, Kanahooka High School welcomed

students and their parents to 2015.

Our student leaders met and greeted parents and

ushered them into the quad. Parents met the teachers

and had informal conversations with them over a BBQ

supper.

There were over eighty parents and students who

attended the evening.

Sixty-four parents completed a survey on the night with

very favourable responses noted.

One hundred percent of the parents felt more confident

in communicating with the teachers as a result of the

Welcome BBQ.

Mrs K O’Sullivan, Ms D Walmsley, Mr T Panecasio

Deputy Principals

P&C News The Annual General Meeting of the P&C was held on Wednesday 11 March and commenced at 7.00pm. Members of the Uniform Committee, Ruth Billington, Karen Brown, Michelle Charles and Chris Toohey were congratulated on the successful introduction of the new school uniform. Jan Whitaker and Suzanne Richards were also thanked for their assistance to the committee.

Thanks were also given to the dedicated volunteers who staff the Canteen and to Jan Whitaker the Supervisor.

The outgoing members of the 2014 Executive Committee were thanked and the following members were elected for 2015.

President: Judy Bertinato Vice President: Garry Webster Treasurer: Alison Cambridge Secretary: Meghan Boyd

The next meeting of the P&C will be held on 13 May at 7.00pm in the Common Room.

Judy Bertinato P&C President

News from the Deputy’s Desk One of our exciting new initiatives at Kanahooka High School is the introduction of a Senior School

Tutorial Program in Stage 6. There is no doubt that Year 11 and Year 12 can be one of the most

challenging academic periods of any student’s life, so minimising any anxieties or lack of understanding

is crucial. That’s where the program comes in, with experienced university students from UOW helping

KHS students to structure and comprehend all the school work and stress that the HSC throws at them.

This direct educational and personal mentor support, will give the students the added edge to their

studies, allowing them to push themselves for higher marks and greater understanding. With continued

support form the Stage 6 leaders, the program will be open to all those with a strong work ethic no

matter what achievement level. Our UOW tutors are experienced in a wide variety of subjects, which

enables them to cover all areas of the curriculum.

As well as face-to-face sessions with the UOW tutoring students, the program also involves afternoon

senior-only study sessions, specially-crafted ‘HSC Survival Workshops’ and 24 hour access to help via

a soon-to-be established Moodle site. The combination of these three elements will help students be

prepared for their exams with minimised anxiety, a greater understanding of content and structure,

and a boosted sense of self-confidence at school.

Mr T Panecasio

Deputy Principal Stage 6

Cross Country Carnival

All students are required to attend the school’s Cross Country Carnival to be held at Kiama on Thursday 2 April 2015. This is a whole school activity and all student’s physical abilities are catered for. Our Cross Country Carnival has traditionally been a fun day, which includes the school providing drinks, lollies and the opportunity to go for a refreshing swim and participate in a number of activities at the completion of the event. The cross country course used is the Kiama Cycle Way. All age groups will start at Jones Beach. The finish line for all ages is Black Beach at Kiama. Students will be instructed to proceed at their OWN PACE to avoid over exertion and physical stress. Mrs A Sutherland Cross Country Co-ordinator

Premier’s Sporting Challenge On Monday 9 March Kanahooka High School students from Years 7, 8 and 10 participated in the Premier's Sporting Challenge at Dapto High School.

This involved Year 10 PASS students coaching Year 7 and 8 students as well as Years 5 and 6 students from local primary schools in a variety of sports such as Cricket, Football, Rugby League, Netball, Basketball and Basic Skills. This gave our PASS students experience and insight into how to plan and run a training session for a specific sport and provided our younger students with the opportunity to learn skills in sports they may usually not have tried.

Overall the day was a great success with some very positive feedback from Hayes Park Public School, on the way our student leaders conducted themselves.

Mrs Sutherland and I would like to thank everyone who participated.

Mr B Jardine