Term 3 22 August 2014

Respect, Responsibility and Learning page 1

Liverpool Boys High SchoolExcellence, Innovation, Opportunity, Success

Forbes Street, Liverpool NSW 2170 T 9602 7979 F 9821 4068 E liverpoolb-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Principal’s Address

At the Year 8 to 9 subject selection evening this year, we tried something a little different with families. We asked families to work in groups with staff to think about what learning means for them and what great learning looks like. Some of the responses included: “Reading, listening, creating, thinking, writing”; “Learning should be an ex-perience something that sticks with you, something that you will use for the rest of your life”; “Creativity, languag-es, fun, a career, opportunities, brainstorming, personal choice”; “Collaboration, skills, future focused, meaning-ful, independent”’ “Bolja buducnost (A better future)”; “Slusati druga misljenja (Listening to other people’s opin-ions)”.

Does this describe our school? Does it describe your edu-cation when you were in school? We think we do many of these things well at Liverpool Boys, but we are always looking for innovative ways to improve learning for our boys. At the subject selection evening, we launched a brand new Year 9 elective course called ichoose. I asked families on the evening this question: “think back to when you were 14, what would you have loved to learn about? What were you passionate about?” Whatever that might be, that is what boys will have the opportunity to learn about in ichoose. Just as the name says, the boys will choose what they want to learn about, and then they will do that learning with the support of teachers. This is about creating passion and excitement in learning. This will be challenging for the boys – they will be pushed. But it will also be an experience that sticks with them for the rest of their lives.

Thank you to all those families who worked with us on the subject selection evening. If you would like more informa-tion about ichoose or any other subject, please contact me on 96027979.

Mr. Saxon.Principal.

FLYBZ

On Friday, the 18th of July, as a belated part of Refu-gee Week celebrations, LBHS had the privilege of host-ing the Melbourne rap duo, the FLYBZ. Consisting of members Fablice, and his nephew G-Storm, the FLYBZ are unique in the way they combine autobiography and their passion for music. On Friday, these two young rap-pers told their stories of having grown up in Tanzania and Burundi, Africa, experiencing violence, civil war and extreme poverty. Fablice, the elder of the duo, also spoke about the terrifying time he was recruited to be a child soldier. After escaping from Africa as refugees, the two moved to Australia and began to transform their experiences into songs like, ‘Child Soldier’ and ‘When We Were Young.’ The duo performed these and other songs for Year 9 and selected College Classes, who were encouraged to ask questions and join in all of the per-formances.

The day was an incredible celebration of hope and free-dom from the fear of war and violence, and we can’t wait to have the FLYBZ back again next year. We encour-age all our boys and their parents to ‘like’ the FLYBZ on Facebook and seek out their inspirational music on You-tube.

Respect, Responsibility and Learning page 2

Term 3 22 August 2014

H.S.I.E News- The Aztecs Assessment Task

As part of an assessment task, Year 8 students were re-quired to write a convincing letter to Mr. Saxon descrb-ing the impact of the ancient Aztecs in Mexico:

Dear Mr. Saxon,

I’m here to tell you about the AMAZING Aztecs! Well, who were the Aztecs? What did they do? Well, I’m here to tell you all about them.The Aztecs wandered around Mexico for about 200 years before they settled down in the Valley of Mexico. Other tribes were living in the area. Rather than start a war for a place to live, the Aztecs settled down in the swampy land around Lake Texcoco.

They were clever people. They adapted to their environ-ment. They built canoes to fish and hunt. They filled the marshes with a combination of reeds and stone and dirt to create more farmland. They built dams and dikes to free even more land. Their engineers successfully built a bustling city, with wide plazas and many shops- all on a swamp!

After they settled in, the Aztecs begain conquering neighbouring tribes. Soon the entire Valley of Mexico was under their control. The Aztecs believed in human sacrifice. That was one of the many reasons why the other tribes hated and feared the Aztecs.

It was not until the 1500s, when the Spanish arrived, that the Aztecs were conquered. The Spanish brought guns, dogs, horses and disease. It was disease that con-quered the Aztecs. The Aztec empire collapsed. Today, in Mexico, there are about 1 million descend-ants of the ancient Aztecs. Human sacrifice is no longer part of their festivals, but beautiful art and clever Aztec games are still enjoyed today.

I hope you learned something about the AMAZING Az-tecs.Yours Faithfully,

Jez Aquino8J

The S.R.C Presents: Ms. Tucker, Science/ Support Teacher

1. What is your role as support staff member in our school?I look after the well-being and health of all the students.

2. Why did you become a blood donor?I felt a responsibility to society to provide something. I’m able to give something away without causing detri-ment to myself.

3. How long have you been a teacher?Since 1993.

4. Why did you decide to become a teacher? (Science)I love science! I hated the way how my science teacher teach me at school and I thought I could do better.

5. Do you remember your first blood donation, and how did you go?I was 18 when I first donated. It was at the city and I was excited.

6. How long have you been a blood coordinator in LBHS?Since 2006.

7. Why should we all be blood donors?We all have a responsibility to think beyond our self for our neighbours and families and also to save lives those around us.

Respect, Responsibility and Learning page 3

Term 3 22 August 2014

Junior AFL Team

National Tree Planting Day at LBHS

Year 10 Senior Subject Selection Night

Refugee Week FLYBZ Incursion- College Stu-dents

Respect, Responsibility and Learning page 4

Term 3 22 August 2014

Community News

Early this term, the Parent Cafe hosted a morning tea to celebrate Refugee Week 2014. Our Deputy Principal, Mr. Surace, joined our parents in celebrating Refugee Week with some of our refugee parents who were happy to share their stories with him.

“ Prior to arriving in Australia, I was very nervous be-cause I didn’t know what to expect, especially because I couldn’t speak English and my children could not attend school because of the war. Today I am happy to be in Australia. I would like to leave my negative experiences behind and move on. I feel safe here. My son is attending LBHS and is doing very well. I am also learning English at LBHS.”

For more information about our Parent Cafe or any com-munity questions please contact our CLO, Latifa Zuhbi, on 9602 7979.

Stay up to date with information and events at our school by liking our Facebook page at LBHS COMMU-NITY You can also visit our school website page at www.liverpoolb-h.schools.nsw.edu.

Calendar

28 August Zone Year 7 Gala Day5 September World Cup Day8 September Dental Van visits LBHS this week10 September College Economics Excursion12 September Luna Park Excursion16 September College 2 Picnic Day18 September College 2 Graduation Evening Year 7 Imax/ Wildlife Excursion19 September Last day of Term 3

Public Speaking and Debating News

On Thursday the 14th August, Year 9 student, James John Mansaray, competed in the regional finals of the Legacy Public Speaking Competition. Competition was tough with representatives from thirteen schools speak-ing passionately about their chosen topics, including the misrepresentation of Australian female athletes, the right of deviance, and the need to preserve the paper-back novel in the face of the e-book. The most impres-sive speech by far was the one delivered by our very own James Mansaray. His powerful rhetoric, humility and grace left everyone in awe. Speaking passionately about his vision for peace in our communities and the wider world, James’ call to action was not only genuine but inspiring, bringing to mind the great orators of the past, like Dr. King and Nelson Mandela.

The greatest obstacle towards the accomplishment of human peace is not the government, it’s not the op-position, neither is it the weapons that are being used to fight war. If we recount the sequences of history, the greatest obstacle towards the accomplishment of peace is our perceptions and ideologies. The way we perceive and think pose a greater, more detrimental threat than any weapon envisioned by man. Our inner thoughts and actions should not be separated from the objective of peace. The things we say should be our advocates for peace; the things we do should be our advocates for peace; the things we feel and think in itself should be advocates of the objective we stand by: peace…(An extract from ‘Peace’ by James John Mansaray)

While we didn’t progress through to the next stage of the competition, James did exceptionally well and we are all very proud of his amazing achievements in public speaking this year.

Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) High School-based Catch-up Vaccination Program 2014

Immunisation nurses will be visiting our school and offering one dose of free MMR vaccine to any stu-dent from Year 7 to Year 12 on 29th August 2014.

Please phone the school for more information. Al-ternatively, more information and consent forms and information sheets in other languages are avail-able on the NSW Health website at www.health.nsw.gov.au/measles