SEFTON NEWS

Term 2 2019

Sincerity , Scholarship, Service

Welcome to the Sefton News for Term 2.

By Humayra Autoshi Year 10

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

I have now had the honour of being at Sefton HS for just over 12 months and

I must say it has taken all this time and more to absorb the culture, the values

and the traditions of this fantastic school. People always ask me how is it

going? Or they may say “What is it like working at Sefton HS?” My answers

I suspect, always seem the same – extremely busy and extremely rewarding.

It is always gratifying at the end of every week to reflect on what has occurred

across Sefton HS and then to look forward into the next week’s calendar to

see and experience the industrious activity of staff and students working in

partnership to achieve our vision of Excellence in Education for All of our

Students. Our number one priority remains quality learning. The classroom

maintains primacy in all that we do. By the same token, it is often the things

that occur beyond the classroom that students, staff and parents enjoy. It

builds connection to the school and to the world around and I am grateful to

a committed staff who go above and beyond the call of duty to provide

students with holistic learning experiences in so many domains.

In no particular order let me touch on a few issues.

PARENT TEACHER EVENINGS

Every school in NSW does these from K-12. These evenings are critical for

student learning as they provide parents and staff the opportunity to

collaborate to ensure that there is an effective partnership between the school

and the home. These nights are not put on for the benefit of staff. It is done

purely for the parents and the student. At Sefton HS, in an attempt to draw

parents into the school we hold back Mid-Year student reports so that they

can be distributed to parents on the night. We also confirm currency of contact

details including email addresses. Staff have high expectations placed on

them for this evening including being available for the duration of the evening

and ensuring that they know their students and their learning progression

intimately. We write to every family in the week or so leading up to Parent

Teacher night to ensure that they know that it is on and that we want them to

come to the school. It is the same night every year. It is extensively promoted

in each class with your child, and advertised on our website and Facebook

page. We have interpreters booked and paid for ready to support parents. To

have so many parents therefore not attend is beyond my comprehension.

Our parent teacher night for Years 7-10 will be held at the school on

Wednesday 3rd July from 3,30pm until 7.30pm. Please set this date into your

calendars.

TH I S I S S U E

I N CL U DE S

Principal's Message

Granville School

Spectacular

Sporting Prowess – Table

Tennis and Lawn Bowls

Debaters

Student Wellbeing

History Happenings

English Engagements

Mathematics Faculty News

The Inaugural Sefton High

School Public Speaking

Challenge results

Year 11 Legal Studies

Sports Report Term 2

Knockouts

Visual Arts News

Photography Club

And In Other News

Anzac Day

Clubs

Year 12 news

Premier’s Reading

Challenge

Write for Fun comp

Student Representative

Council

Driving safely in and

around school zones

It shocked me at our recent Year 11 and 12 Parent Teacher evening just how many parents did not

engage in this process. I know many of our parents place high value on education and of the work of

staff. But parents, we want and need you at school for these evenings. A parent teacher evening

simply does not work if one of the two central players is not in attendance.

Our parent teacher night for Years 7-10 will be held at the school on Wednesday 3rd July from 3.30pm

until 7.30pm. Please set this date into your calendars.

TWICE A TERM STUDENT PROFILE REVIEWS

Our wonderful Deputy Principals, Mr Blaker and Mr Dimopoulos, and I get together twice a term in

Weeks 5 and 10 to review the learning and behaviour profiles of students. This systematic process

identifies areas of concern, and students are then assigned a response level letter. Level 1 simply

involves a letter of concern goming home. At Level 2 the relevant Deputy Principal intervenes and

interviews the student. This interview is very much a mentoring meeting designed to identify issues

and get students on track. At Level 3 the letter requests parents to come to the school to discuss what

strategies we may work on, in partnership with parents, to achieve the best possible outcomes for the

student. It is disappointing to see, with students at risk of not meeting course completion requirements

particularly in Years 10, 11 and 12, that often we are not hearing from some parents. I very much

thank the parents that do respond to this communication and ask that when these letters come home

that you touch base with either Deputy Principal so as to partner them in your child’s development as

an effective learner.

ACADEMIC EXPECTATIONS YEARS 10, 11 AND 12

This segways into this next important matter. In Year 10, the first real systemic expectation for

minimum levels of performance and achievement are placed on students in the form of the RoSA –

Record of School Achievement. Mr Blaker, Mr Dimopoulos and I are working with staff and students

alike to ensure that we are raising our already high expectations in terms of what we consider to be

satisfactory participation in learning. Using the language of the NSW Education Standards Authority

this involves students demonstrating sustained and diligent effort towards the set learning

experiences of each course and that they are achieving some or all of the course outcomes. We are

making it abundantly clear that academic credentialing for the RoSA and the HSC must be earned. It

is not sufficient to simply orbit the sun for one year to progress. Progression from Year 10 into 11

must be earned. Similarly eligibility for an HSC will be stringently monitored and unless a student

has a satisfactory level of attendance, engagement and achievement then they will be at serious risk

of Non Completion. Please call either myself, Mr Blaker or Mr Dimopoulos if you receive a Non

Completion Course Warning Letter home so that we may ensure you understand what the issue is and

how to move forward.

A MESSAGE TO YEAR 12 STUDENTS AND PARENTS

As we move ever closer to your ultimate test – the HSC exams - what you are doing daily is laying

the groundwork and foundations for success. I have worked extensively with HSC cohorts for a very

long time and the elements of success remain constant. Here are my top ten tips.

1. Your teachers are your new best friend. Partner them. Use them. Listen to them. Question them.

2. Know thy syllabus. Pin it to the bedroom wall. It is the only thing you can be examined on.

3. Have a weekly to do list that incorporates all that you do inside and outside school in a week.

4. Take care of yourself physically. Sleep, exercise, diet and routine matter.

5. Turn OFF and remove from the room all devices when you study. Stop kidding yourself on this.

6. If you need help, ask. Do not ignore the problem.

7. Attend EVERY lesson. Be present both physically and mentally.

8. Holidays are now study vacations that must incorporate a balance of study and downtime.

9. Success is not a number. It is goal driven personal best, characterised by continuous

improvement.

10. As would an elite athlete, practice specificity. Study by doing what the subject requires you to do.

PARENT AND COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES ON TEACHER SELECTION

PANELS

From time to time we are required to form panels to select teaching staff based on Department of

Education merit selection procedures. In every instant we have to have a parent representative on the

panel and in most cases a second person, often a parent who acts as a representative of a language or

ethnic community due to the cultural diversity of the school. Presently we have six people we call on

for this purpose and we would love to have two or three more. The only requirement is a bit of time

and a fluency in reading and listening in the English language. Please consider being a part of this

vital school work. If you have questions please give me a call to discuss.

UPCOMING EVENTS – SAVE THE DATE

Wednesday 26 June – Beyond Year 10 Parent Information Evening (Year 10 Parents)

Wednesday 3 July – Parent Teacher Evening and Reports Available – (Years 7-10)

As always – to keep up to date – like us on Facebook.

Mr K Humphreys

Principal

GRANVILLE SCHOOL SPECTACULAR

As it has been a number of years

since Sefton High School has

participated in the Granville

School Spectacular program, it

was suggested we combine

Stage Band, Vocal Group and

Dance Troupe to submit a

performance, with the hope of

performing at the Sydney Opera

House later this year. It is a

unique opportunity to showcase

our school’s talents in the

Performing Arts, and our

students jumped at the

opportunity.

The theme this year is

“Seasons” and our school chose

to perform the song “Seasons of

Love” from the musical Rent. Our Stage Band and Vocal group have worked hard under the tutelage

of Ms Frugtniet, while our dancers were given the task of putting together original choreography,

which told a story of the song and related to the theme. Ms Kacopieros & Ms Zadro oversaw morning

rehearsals to put the performance together.

On Wednesday 29 May, the program’s

audition panel arrived at our school to view

our piece. The students performed it twice,

with some feedback given in between the

two performances. The feedback received

was positive, with some constructive

critiques given to polish up the

performance. On Friday 31 May, our

school received an email that we had been

successful and were to be included in the

concert on Thursday 29 August. We

congratulate both students and staff for this

fantastic and rare opportunity to perform in

one of the most prestigious venues in the

world, and we know that they will proudly

represent Sefton High School.

SPORTING PROWESS

TABLE TENNIS SENSATION

Celine Chen (Year 7) was in Singapore at the end of March representing Australia in U13 for the

Junior Hopes Invitational Table Tennis Tournament. She was quarter finalist in the U13 Single event

and won the 2018 Oceania Hopes Challenge.

She represented Australia to compete in Oceania Hopes events hosted in Hamilton NZ at the end of

April.

2018 Australian National Junior competition, Celine won Gold and Silver medals in the U11 and U13

events. Celine is currently U13 Rank 2, U15 Rank 4, U18 Rank 12 in Australia. An extraordinary

effort for a great sportsperson.

KNOCK OUT LAWN BOWLS

The Sefton High School Knock Out Lawn Bowls team have been hard at work for the past two weeks,

hitting the green for the past two Fridays and facing off in some epic matches.

The team, consisting of

Jason He, Victor Huynh,

Christopher Predic and ably

led by team captain Thomas

Lam, impressed in the first

round of the competition –

winning two of their pool

matches. This first round

was a great display of

immense concentration, calculations of bowl bias and

aggressively attacking the jack. With consistent rotation

and strategic plays, all four members of the team chipped

in to ensure a lock on a second-round seeding.

The following week, after intense strategising, training and

preparation, Team Sefton went up against Camden High

School. They dug deep, pulled out all the stops, and

displayed all the skills of a seasoned lawn bowler … but

came up short in what was an extremely close contest given

the conditions and opposition.

Congratulations goes out to the team and we all look forward to the continued growth of the Sefton

High School lawn bowls culture.

The SHS Lawn Bowls Team

DEBATERS

History Debating

History Debating is back for 2019 at Sefton High School and the Year 10 and Year 11 teams continue

the long traditions of success that our school has in this competition. This year, Sefton High School

is part of two history debating competitions – the JA Thompson Competition and the Les Gordon

Competition. Both teams are being assisted by Ms Brown and Mr Elley through both competitions,

but the whole History Faculty often manages to find an excuse to help out and advise in their areas

of expertise.

Our school has a long and successful history with the JA Thompson Competition, successfully

winning the Year 11 tournament in 2017. This year, both Year 10 and Year 11 teams look to go far

while also learning a thing or two along the way.

The first round for the Year 11 team saw them argue the affirmative to the topic ‘That the attempts

of the US Government to solve the issues of the Great Depression did more harm than good’ against

St Benedict's Catholic College. In what was a very close contest, Sefton was unsuccessful in getting

the win. However, the team is still well and truly in the hunt for a place in the second round, with

their next pool debate against The King’s School coming up, arguing the negative to the topic ‘That

the Spartans should have retreated rather than fight the Battle of Thermopylae’.

The first round for the Year 10 team was also against St Benedict's Catholic College with the topic

‘That the use of atomic bombs against Japan to end WWII was justified’. Sefton High School’s team

proved up to the task and won the debate with very good feedback from the adjudicator. Their next

debate is against Good Samaritan Catholic College and they will argue the negative to the topic ‘That

the collapse of the League of Nations was inevitable’. Hopefully a win in their second pool debate

will see them move through to the second round with a strong position in the quarter finals.

The Year 10 team is also part of the Les Gordon History Debating Competition. This competition is

a knock-out competition – you lose and you’re out! Sefton High School had their first debate against

Menai High School to the topic ‘That Australia Day must change or die’, arguing the affirmative.

After a passionate and strong debate, Sefton came out the winners! The team has now progressed

through to the second round, with a debate against the Emanuel School, and will argue the negative

to the topic ‘That Kokoda was more significant than Gallipoli’.

Congratulations to both teams, and we’re all cheering on your continued success!

The History Debating Teams

STUDENT WELLBEING

From the Student Wellbeing Team

Semester 1 has been busy with a great range of activities addressing student well-being for all Year

groups. Students in Years 7 to 11 have been engaged in a broad range of activities organised by their

Year Advisors. Years 7 and 11 have attended well organised camps by their Year Advisors, Ms

Wood and Mr Lu, and Ms Kacopieros is currently in the midst of organising the Year 9 camp.

It is pleasing to see so many students being involved with fundraising during 2019, with year 9 having

run their ‘Beat the Blues’ day during term 1 , and Year 8 (Term 4) and Year 11 (Term 3) is the midst

of planning a range of fun activities to raise money for fantastic causes.

Students in Year 10 who have volunteered for the Student Assistant Squad have had an action packed

semester 1, assisting Mr Wolter and Head Teachers with a series of little jobs that make a massive

contribution to the smooth running of Sefton High School.

In other Student Wellbeing Team news, the School Prefects are currently working busily on their next

fundraiser, which is held annually in Term 2, Week 9. This event is known as SEMPH, which stands

for Social, Emotional, Mental and Physical Health. The event aims to raise awareness and provide

the platform for open discussion about topics that are still so hard for many to talk about. This year

all money raised by the Prefects will be donated to ‘Youth in Motion’, hence making SEMPH

fundraising an important day for the school year.

Students in Year 11 have almost completed the Life Ready program. This program is a compulsory

one, and is completed progressively through engaging lessons at school, Year 11 Camp and the B

Street Smart Excursion to be held in September. The program is designed to prepare and support

senior students as they encounter situations related to health and safety as they become more

independent and gain more responsibilities. Please note, the B Street Smart Excursion is at times

filmed and photographed by media outlets and there is some chance that we may be included in

footage taken on the day. If you have any concerns about this, please contact me directly.

Brainstorm Productions

Students in Years 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12 are all involved in a series of Brainstorm productions during

semester 1 that promote the importance of mental health, in regards to bullying, anxiety, depression

and the pressures of secondary schooling. These are important productions to highlight to students

the importance of recognising and seeking help should they be going through any of these issues.

Each relevant Year Advisor will have a brief follow up session with each grade, to further consolidate

the importance of Mental Health to our students.

NSW Health Vaccination Program

The NSW Health Vaccination Program for students in Year 7 has been initiated with stage 1 being

completed in February. The 2nd Year 7 vaccination will occur in Term 3, completing the vaccination

program for this grade. Ms Kacopieros has just successfully organised the Year 10 Meningococcal

vaccines. A valuable and free service offered by the NSW Public Health System. If your child has

recently enrolled at Sefton High School and has not received a vaccination from their previous school,

please do not hesitate to contact me as there are systems in place to catch up any missed vaccinations.

Mr Beggs

Head Teacher Student Wellbeing

Year 7 Camp

Stepping into Year 7 can be a daunting experience for any student, which is why in Term 1 we gave

students the opportunity to get to engage with their peers on a whole new level. In Week 9 of Term

1, Year 7 packed their bags and took a one and a half hour journey towards Gosford for their first

overnight high school camp experience. While they were there, they had the chance to develop new

friendships, to foster positive Teacher/Student interactions, as well as establish rapport with their

groups and to develop and implement leadership skills through fun challenge based activities. Overall

it was a fun and exciting two days that allowed all students to step outside of their comfort zone.

Pictures of the activities were posted on our Facebook page while the Year 7s were still on camp.

They engaged in a range of fun activities which focused on developing teamwork, cooperation and

communication, some of which included:

Flying fox – Students were able to race each other in a 150m metre long track which bursts out

over the campsites dam before finishing in a net on the other side.

Archery – They could test their hand eye coordination and even attempted to build a ‘cake’ based

on the points they were able to score.

Giant Swing - Standing at 12m high, students were strapped into a full body harness and a helmet

and then lifted to the top by their groups. They then had to build up the courage to release

themselves from the top and fly through the air in an adrenalin pumping ride.

High rope - Challenges consisted of tight rope wires, ropes, bridges and hanging obstacles. This

helped students in developing cooperation, decision making, self-confidence, positive risk-

taking, trust, self-esteem, leadership and teamwork.

Bushwalking - year 7 were able to go for a leisurely stroll through the local bush, while

experiencing some initiative exercises aimed at building team work and cooperation.

Gala Day

In Term 1, Year 7 started training hard in their PE lessons for their very first Sefton High School gala

day. Throughout the lessons they had the chance to develop skills, knowledge and strategic

understanding of Softball and Cricket in a team based setting. They were taught the foundational

skills and slowly built up their ability so that they could play each game successfully in their chosen

sport and team. Unfortunately, as the big day finally arrived we were struck by some wild weather

that forced the cancellation of our highly anticipated gala day. Luckily, we were able to reschedule

the gala day for Week 10 … but would you believe it, only to be rained out again halfway through

the day! Hopefully we have better luck in Term 3 as Year 7 get to partake in their second gala day.

Brainstorm Production

In Week 8 of Term 1 Year 7 got to watch the live production, ‘The Hurting Game’. It was a short

play which focused on the issues of cyberbulling, dieting and the pressures that we students are often

faced with in high school which was quite an eye opening experience for Year 7. In the following

weeks they will get to engage in a follow up session as a Year group that will readdress the concepts

covered and ensure all students are equipped with the knowledge and skills to maintain their safety

and wellbeing.

Mid Year Exams

Very shortly Year 7 will be entering the school hall to sit their mid-year exams for the very first time.

Whilst we understand this can be a stressful and daunting time, please don’t forget to remind your

children to take the time to look after themselves so that they can give their absolute best as they

attempt each exam. Healthy eating, positive stress relief and taking time to do something fun, with an

adequate balance of study and school work is all very important. All the best to Year 7 as they enter

this exam period!

Year 9 Leadership Committee - Fundraising in 2019

‘Life is about taking chances, trying new

things, having fun, making mistakes and

learning from it.’

Early this year, Year 9 raised money for

Beyond Blue - a mental health

organisation aimed to address issues

associated with depression, suicide and

other related mental health disorders.

We believed that issues such as these

were not getting adequate recognition in

our society, and considered it our

responsibility to contribute to an

important cause. We strived towards

making a difference as young people,

while encountering this new experience

as students. Creating an enjoyable fundraiser for both ourselves, our peers and our teachers was the

perfect way to do so.

In three months, we orchestrated our

grade fundraiser, including a variety of

entertaining stalls such as the photo booth,

a gourmet food stall, a frozen yoghurt

station, Bing Su, a cold drinks bar, a DJ

Party area as well as a raffle. In doing this,

we developed several essential skills such

as multitasking, creativity,

communication, organisation and

cooperation as well as taking this as the

perfect opportunity to learn about each

other. Being first timers (including our

Year Adviser Ms Kacopieros) we made

some rookie mistakes, however, with the

help of our team we were able to

persevere and continue with our preparations. After a term of weekly meetings, intense planning,

organising and advertising, we were finally ready to bring our fundraiser to life.

The anticipation and nervousness were among all of us on the day of the fundraiser. We had so many

questions. What if it rains? Is the food enough? Would we be able to have everything done in time?

What if we don’t make a profit? Our minds were churning with all kind of worries and fears. Despite

this, when the bell rang for lunch, our entire team was ecstatic and ready to savour the day they had

been planning for the last few

months. As the first few teachers

and students approached us, we

could feel the excitement building

in the air, ready to burst out like a

cork from a bottle of champagne.

And to our surprise...THE DAY

WAS A SUCCESS. We raised a

whopping $1200, which we were

happy to donate to Beyond Blue.

On behalf of the fundraising

committee, I would like to take a

moment to thank some of our

school staff for allowing such a

fantastic day to occur.

Ms Kacopieros - The BRAINS behind this fundraiser. Without her brilliant organisational skills

and her constant supervision and coordination with our committee, we wouldn't be able to pull

this day off.

TAS Faculty, Ms Unwin and Mr Lu - for assisting us in preparations on the day as well as taking

their time out especially to supervise and support us.

All the students and teachers who purchased from our stalls, and therefore contributed towards a

larger cause.

This experience was both entertaining and informative, and we look forward to making our next

fundraiser bigger and even better.

By Zara Khan

Ms Kacopieros (Year 9 Year Advisor)

HISTORY

Year 7 Mummification Process

High School has been such a new experience for Year 7. It has also been so much fun, especially in

history, where learning is so engaging, fun and easy to understand. Recently, we were learning about

Mummies, and the mummification process, the Egyptians performed on the dead. I found myself

wanting to learn more, do more, engage more. In one of our lessons we got to re-enact the

mummification process by wrapping our classmates up in bandages (aka toilet paper), and made them

into living mummies!

We formed groups, brought in toilet paper, then had the joy of wrapping them up. After lots of laughs,

my group won the best-mummy contest! All in all, History lessons are times when you have fun,

grow your knowledge and you always leave the room having learned something new!

Want to make sure a body gets reunited with its spirit in the afterlife? See how the Ancient

Egyptians made their mummies!

1. First wash the dead body in wine and Nile water. Make a cut in the side and take out the organs.

To get to the brain, shove a hook up the nose and jiggle it about. Then pull out this useless

organ* and chuck it away.

http://www.natgeokids.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/make-a-mummy.jpg

2. Clean the liver, lungs, intestines and stomach, then pop them in four special canopic jars whose

lids look like the gods that guard them. The heart will need to be put back in the body, though, as

it’s the centre of intelligence*.

3. Use a special Egyptian salt called natron to

fill up the cavities and cover up the body. This

will get rid of all the moisture. Leave it for

about 40 days to dry out completely.

4. Next, scoop out the natron and stuff the body

with spices, rags and plants so it doesn’t lose

its shape.

5. Wrap up the body in fine linen bandages.

Don’t forget to tuck in some lucky amulets,

and then utter spells to activate their magical

protective powers. When the wrapping is all

done, put the mummy in a coffin. Then put

that coffin in a coffin, and that coffin in

another one and so on. Then place the whole

lot in a tomb.

Cool but creepy, eh?!

Zeba Shaikh (7 History It)

YEAR 10 ELECTIVE HISTORY

Maritime Museum Excursion

It was ‘all hands on deck’ when Year 10 History Elective went to the Maritime Museum at Darling

Harbour to enhance our knowledge on Maritime History. Climbing on ships and submarines gave us

a real insight to how sea warfare is so crucial to the defence of our country and to the international

history of some of the topics we are studying in History Elective such as the Vikings, Tudors, World

Wars and even the Titanic!

It was very informative as well as

enjoyable. Not only were we able to learn

about the importance of artefacts, but also

the process of discovering them. We

gained an understanding of the tools used

to identify underwater artefacts. In

addition to this, we were able to explore a

real submarine ship, the HMAS Onslow,

and Australia’s largest museum vessel,

the HMAS Vampire. We were allowed to

get up close to the features of the ship,

proving to be both an entertaining and an

educational experience.

The HMAS Onslow was one of the six

Oberon-class submarines operated by the

Royal Australian Navy named after Sir Alexander Onslow. On board, there is a narrow passageway

which took us down to the torpedo room as we continued to follow the walkways. We got to

experience the difficulties of what the navy suffered through from cramped spaces to stubbing our

toes on the raised doorways.

The HMAS Vampire was another war machine

used by The Royal Australian Navy from 1959 to

1986. Once decommissioned, it was gifted to the

Maritime Museum where tourists as well as keen

Elective History students are able to board and

explore the wonderful creation once known for

war.

We also had a workshop educating us on how

marine archaeologists operate. Starting from the

past diving suits being made out of copper, brass

and/or bronze to our modern day SCUBA diving

suits. Did you know, SCUBA is actually an

acronym? Neither did we until this excursion. It

stands for Self Contained Underwater Breathing

Apparatus.

Overall, this excursion was a wonderful part of

our Elective History course and would encourage

many people to go and visit the Maritime Museum in their spare time to explore its magnificent ships.

Judy Tran and Lynette Nhan

Year 10 History Elective 2019

YEAR 11 ANCIENT HISTORY

How old is your Mummy? Fun being historians at the Nicholson Museum, Sydney University.

Year 11 Ancient Historians were eager to travel back in time to

greet the mummies of Egypt, the Ancient Greek civilisations

and become enthusiastic archaeologists. By the help of Sefton’s

most beloved teachers, Ms Konstantaras, Ms Itzstein and Mr

Collette, transporting from the future to the past was a piece of

cake.

At the Nicholson Museum, Sydney University, the adventure

began with Ancient Egypt. The curator helped the thrilled

students read hieroglyphics on Egyptian coffins, understand the

religious culture and significance of mummification, and

showed us a preserved brain and even a mummified cat! Our

Year 11 historians analysed artefacts from the Neolithic to late

Roman period,

including the

Mummy of the

Boy Horus, the

red granite

capital of Hathor, and the coffin of the mummy

Padiashaikhet. All students would like to thank

Charles Nicholson for excavating and discovering

these magnificent artefacts!

Continuing the journey from Ancient Egypt,

fascinated Year 11 students entered the Greek

mainland during the Bronze Age. There were several

antiques including ceramic vessels, terracotta figures and rich jewellery items. The most interesting

artefacts from the exhibition include the Hellenistic sculpture of Eros, attic black figure amphora and

geometric krater from the Dipylon cemetery.

The most unforgettable part of

the exhibition was the LEGO

Pompeii display. It is a gigantic

historical model constructed to

visually represent the moment

of destruction, its rediscovery

and the importance it holds in

the 21st century for western

culture.

The highlight of the excursion

was the special visit to the

museum’s hidden collection in

the crypts. Here we got a

chance to become professional

archaeologists by wearing

special gloves and handling

3000 year old artefacts. We had

to use our archaeological skills

to guess the purpose of each artefact. It was most surprising to realise how little life has changed from

the past to the 21st century! On behalf of all students, thank you Ms Konstantaras, Ms Itzstein and Mr

Collette for allowing us to have this exciting opportunity to become both historians and

archaeologists! This is Sparta!!! ⚔️

By: Angela Jihae Choi

11 Ancient History 2019

ENGLISH

Year 12 English Extension 1 Excursions

Year 12 English Extension 1 students have recently had their minds blown after attending two

enthralling and enlightening excursions. The elective module we have been studying since Term 1 is

‘Literary Mindscapes’, which is all about texts that explore the interior worlds of individuals, and

alternative ways of being and thinking through representations of the mind – desires, motivations,

emotions and memories. The three texts we are studying as part of this elective are Shakespeare’s

Hamlet, selected poems of Emily Dickinson and the film Lost in Translation, directed by Sofia

Coppola.

In May, we ventured out to the Seymour Centre in Chippendale to see a symposium on Hamlet

presented by the theatre company Sport For Jove. The managing director of the theatre company,

Damien Ryan, provided an erudite and eloquent lecture on Shakespeare’s most famous play through

the lens of ‘Literary Mindscapes’, which illuminated the internal struggle of the character of Hamlet.

Already depressed by the death of his father, and troubled by his mother Gertrude’s hasty marriage

to his father’s brother Claudius, Hamlet is visited by his father’s ghost, who reveals that Claudius

murdered him and demands that Hamlet avenges him.

Mr Ryan provided a thorough analysis of the many symbols pertinent to ‘Mindscapes’ in Hamlet, and

explained that Hamlet’s angst is more than just “Should I or shouldn’t I kill Claudius? Should I or

shouldn’t I kill myself instead?” His angst is the result of a brilliant mind being trapped in Elsinore

castle with people he can’t trust and that he despises. Hamlet is a student at the University of

Wittenberg in Germany and has returned to Denmark for his father’s funeral. He wishes to return to

Wittenberg, but his uncle, the new king, prefers to keep him under close scrutiny in Elsinore - “For

your intent/ In going back to school in Wittenberg,/ It is most retrograde to our desire;/ And we

beseech you, bend you to remain/ Here in the cheer and comfort of our eye, /Our chiefest courtier,

cousin, and our son.” The significance of Wittenberg is that it was the very university that Martin

Luther pinned his 95 Theses to the door; it was the birthplace of humanism – a philosophy that values

critical thinking and logic over religious dogma and superstition. Claudius literally prevents Hamlet’s

brilliant mind from returning to a progressive university that represents critical thinking, instead

imprisoning him in a medieval, parochial castle, where his mind is drawn to morbid thoughts of decay

and despair. How’s that for a mindscape? It certainly blew my mind.

Mr Ryan’s commentary was interspersed with some scenes from Hamlet superbly performed by

actors from the theatre company, including Hamlet’s most famous soliloquy – arguably the most

famous lines ever written – the ‘To be or not to be’ soliloquy, acted out by two actors, to illustrate his

conflicting thoughts vying for dominance.

The second excursion we attended was the English Teachers’ Association Extension 1 HSC Day held

at Newington College on a sunny Sunday a few weeks ago. Students had a taste of what it is like to

sit through long university lectures, simultaneously listening to and absorbing the profound things

being said by the presenters, and furiously taking notes at the same time. To take notes of what they’re

saying, or to take notes from what’s being projected on the screen – that is the question! Students

heard some excellent lectures on both their common module, Literary Worlds, and on all three of

their prescribed texts for their elective module, Literary Mindscapes. While the lectures were

enlightening and entertaining, sitting through so much profundity was a bit of a mind-bend. It made

us all feel a bit like the persona in Emily Dickinson’s poem ‘I felt a Funeral, in my Brain’:

‘And when they all were seated,

A Service, like a Drum -

Kept beating - beating - till I thought

My mind was going numb –’

We will endeavour to unscramble our brains before the upcoming HSC Trials!

Ms M Gyi

English Extension 1 Teacher

YEAR 11 ENGLISH EXTENSION EXCURSION TO THE NSW STATE LIBRARY

On Monday May 20, Year 11 English Extension students visited the NSW State Library to further

their research on their chosen texts in regard to their major project. At the State Library, students were

given the opportunity to delve into the online resources available through browsing the online sites

and the shelves of the grand building, including the underground shelving floors where a majority of

the books are stored. A State Library employee briefed the students on the process of borrowing,

locating and analysing the massive amounts of information and resources stored in the online archive

of the library. This gave the students access to more books and articles that will assist them in the

analysis of their chosen canonical texts. One of the most useful resources the students acquired at the

library was a state library card. It allowed students to access online versions of critical essays, peer

reviewed theses, papers from respected historians and authors from home.

In addition to their critical

study of Jane Austen’s

Pride and Prejudice earlier

this term, students were

able to explore Hyde Park

and view the regency style

architecture similar to that

of Jane Austen’s period.

After the students were

given time to individually

explore the library, Ms

Castino lead the class to the

Botanical Gardens. There,

a picnic circle was

established and snacks

such as homemade

brownies and quiches made

by students, along with

Krispy Kreme donuts

supplied by Ms Castino

were thrown into the

middle. This resulted in a

great swarm of invasive

ibises attacking the

stockpile of food.

However, the brave

students managed to

successfully deflect

oncoming attacks and maintain their intellectual conversations, despite several yelps of fear. The

picnic was an opportunity for students to collate their knowledge and bond with their classmates,

discussing many topics such as the best and worst texts studied over the years, their opinions of

famous Shakespearean plays such as Othello and Romeo and Juliet, and also the controversies

surrounding why the plural of ‘ibis’ is not ‘ibii’. The class departed the venue by train shortly after.

Overall, the Extension English students had an enjoyable experience at the state library. Many of

them have expressed their enjoyment of the excursion and believe that class trips establish a stronger

connection between peers and their classroom teacher.

Written by Tiffany Yang, Sarah Quach, Vanessa Yip and Michelle Nguyen

MATHEMATICS FACULTY NEWS

It has been a busy Term 2 with all teachers working hard to ensure that all students are receiving

adequate support to achieve their best.

Our Mid Year Mathematics Examinations and Assessment Tasks were conducted successfully,

teachers worked collaboratively and tirelessly to ensure the marking and setting of exams were

executed well.

There has been various teacher led activities happening during this semester with experiments

conducted to consolidate Ratios in Year 8 Mathematics. We also had teachers baking dome cakes to

explain the concept of Volume in Extension 1 Mathematics. It was great to see the outstanding

participation and results by students who competed in the CAT competition. The Coding Club has

been very engaging for the students with the latest excursion to the EduTech expo a success. We have

the STEAM Metro project and the Choose Maths Video competition in progress and are looking

forward to the end results.

It is important that the high expectations we set for our students at school be also followed through at

home. Students are reminded that consistency with their studies and revision will help them achieve

their full potential. Leaving revision to the last minute will not allow them to attain their personal

best. We encourage students to ask questions when unsure during class and continue to have a positive

attitude towards their Mathematics to succeed.

Thank you for your continued support and we are looking forward to a successful Term 3.

Ms Najem

Head Teacher Mathematics

Edutech Expo Excursion

On 6th June, students of the Coding Club were given the opportunity to experience the annual

EduTech Expo at the International Convention Centre at Darling Harbour. Here, students were able

to experience the latest technological developments in school technology, and even try them out.

Various companies, including Samsung, Microsoft,

Google, and a plethora of others brought in their newly

developed technologies which could be possibly brought

into schools. These included new interactive screens,

virtual reality sets, new school friendly 3D printers and

various other products that would improve the school

environment.

As the students roamed, they were delighted to see the

abundance of free goodies that were given at each stand.

No person came out of the building without a few extra

bags.

The students were also able to learn about the multiple

aspects of education. From a team of members of the

Navy, to a company selling timber for walls, students

learnt of the many aspects that affect their education. Did

you know that being able to see nature or have visible

green space can stimulate a person’s imagination and

help reduce stress?

Terrence Zhou, Brendan Cheng and Eddie Ha from Year 7.

All in all, the EduTech Expo was an exciting experience that showcased the latest developments in

educational technology, and a great opportunity for the students to take a glimpse into the future of

education in schools.

Tracey Ha

Year 10

Coding Club

Come join us at Coding Club after school on Tuesday afternoons from 2.20pm – 3.10pm. At Coding

Club, we’ve been learning the coding languages Python, HTML and CSS, and also about the

importance of cyber security.

Now, why learn coding? Coding is another language. As a result, it teaches us how to communicate

and collaborate which strengthens verbal and written skills. It combines logical and critical thinking

with creativity because we need to visualise abstract concepts. It’s all about wrapping our minds

around these intangible and complex ideas. When we understand the software behind devices, we

can make our way around these devices at home and at school much more quickly and at the same

time, appreciate how these things work. In this digital age, it’s not surprising to mention that the

demand for coding and programming careers are growing. In other words, coding is great for

problem-thinking and communication and can really benefit those of us wishing to pursue careers in

programming.

Furthermore, coding brings people together. It allows us to put all our brains together and share our

creations. This year, students from all over the world

participated in a web design competition on Grok

Learning. Grok Learning is the online interactive

platform that we use to learn programming.

In the Design Tournament, students were given the

HTML (coding for structure) for a travel blog and asked

to use their creativity (and CSS) to style the page.

Below is a screenshot of a section of Thuy Nguyen’s

(Year 10) work who managed to come 7th in the Design

Tournament Leaderboard.

If you have any questions about Coding Club, feel free to

ask Ms Li in the Maths Staffroom.

Jasmine Huang, Year 10

Computational and Algorithmic Thinking Competition

This year, students sat for the Computational and Algorithmic Thinking Competition (CAT) on the

2nd April. It is a one-hour problem solving competition designed to encourage student curiosity and

promote multiple modes of thinking. It is run by the Australian Mathematics Trust, which also runs

the Australian Mathematics Competition.

Students were able to participate with no previous programming skills required. The competition

helped identify students’ computer programming potential, something that they might not normally

have the opportunity to demonstrate. It was a challenging and ideal activity to encourage students to

solve real-world problems.

The competition had a mixture of multiple-choice and integer answers. Some questions tested the

ability to perform procedures, others required logical thought, while the more challenging problems

required the identification and application of algorithms.

Congratulations to all the students that participated in the competition and to the following students

who achieved outstanding results:

Junior Division

High Distinction – Natalie Lam (Year 8) and Best in School Award

Distinction – Jonathon Tran (Year 7), Timan Nguyen (Year 7), Paul Phan (Year 7), Nina Huang

(Year 8)

Credit – Jia Shao (Year 7), Joseph Duc Nguyen (Year 7), Alexander Chan (Year 7), Jack Li (Year

7), Ricky Tran (Year 7), Lucinda Ngo (Year 8), Sharon Chea (Year 8), Joshua Bui (Year 8), Kelvin

Ly (Year 8), Justin Bui (Year 8)

Intermediate Division

Distinction – Ethan Duong (Year 9), Jasmine Khuu (Year 10)

Credit – Chanel Cho (Year 9), Jason Dinh (Year 9), Alexander Paou (Year 10), Natalie Ngo-Ton

(Year 10), Antonia Rizova (Year 10)

Senior Division

Distinction – Sarah Chea (Year 11), Anh Le (Year 11)

Credit – Brendan Duong (Year 11), Joshua Luu (Year 11), Michael Trinh (Year 11), Peter Tran (Year

12)

Ms J Li

Mathematics Teacher

THE INAUGURAL SEFTON HIGH SCHOOL PUBLIC SPEAKING CHALLENGE

RESULTS

Public Speaking is a discipline that marries passion and intellect. It is an opportunity to illuminate an

issue that is not often spoken about. It is a chance to lift taboos, and start conversations about difficult

to understand problems that are often swept under the rug.

Not only did our public speakers engage audiences with their rhetorical flair and impassioned

delivery, they managed to do something much more important: shed light on social issues that they

then proposed expertly researched solutions to. Their audience, the future leaders, scholars, and voters

of Australia, were exposed to persuasive arguments and nuanced observations about our lives.

Congratulations to the following students for their achievements in the Sefton High School Public

Speaking Challenge:

Cindy Ly, Year 10, Finalist

Muhammad Ali, Year 10, Finalist

Joy Hanna, Year 12, Finalist

Stephanie Duong, Year 11, Finalist

Prasanna Roujouria, Year 11, Finalist

Jasmine Huang, Year 10, Runner up (Junior)

Daphne Ly, Year 11, Runner up (Senior)

Janet Diba, Year 10, Winner of the Sefton High School Public Speaking Challenge (Junior)

Christopher Predic, Year 12, Winner of the Sefton High School Public Speaking Challenge (Senior)

Cindy Ly (Year 10), Muhammad Ali (Year 10), Jasmine Huang (Year 10), Janet Diba (Year 10) and Joy Hanna (Year 12)

Ms Tran

English Teacher

Year 11 Legal Studies Incursion

In Term 2, Year 11 Legal Studies students had the opportunity to listen and speak to two lawyers

from Frank Law in Parramatta. They

explained practical elements of the Legal

Studies topic “The Individual and the Law” to

the classes, and students had question and

answer time toward the end of the

presentation. It was a great experience for

students to broaden their legal knowledge in a

real life context.

Mr Ma

Preliminary Legal Studies Co-ordinator

Social Sciences

SPORTS REPORT TERM 2

Zone Swimming:

Congratulations to all 37 students that competed at the zone swimming carnival. Sefton placed 3rd

behind Moorebank and Picnic Point High School. Also a big congratulations to Xavier Rosendale

who was the 13 years zone age champion.

Regional Swimming:

Another congratulations to the 31 students who attended the regional swimming carnival with the

following students qualifying for the CHS Carnival:

- Justin Lang (50m Freestyle)

- Xavier Rosendale (100m Butterfly)

- Halil Ibrahim Kilic (50m Freestyle)

- 14’s Boys relay (Kelvin Ly, Kevin Le, Halil Ibrahim Kilic and Jayden Quach)

- 17’s Boys Relay

Well done to all competitors from the day.

School Cross Country Carnival

The school Cross Country was again held at The Crest Athletics and surrounding fields on Thursday

2nd May. All students participated in the 3km or 4km track. Congratulations to the following students

who were Age Champions:

MALE FEMALE

12 Ali Sina Rahimi Atour Hammide

13 Adam Larosse Olive Kagi

14 Gal Agha Rahimi Josie Bennetts

15 Kevin (April) Tran Vivian Hoang

16 Nelson Pan Jasmine Huang

17 Ali Agha Rahimi Alice Liang

18 Christian Nguyen Kylie Dang

House points were as follows:

PLACE HOUSE POINTS

1 Bradman 893

2 Cuthbert 775

3 Thorpe 704

4 Court 547

Congratulations to Bradman House, which returned to winnings ways, and all of the Age Champions.

These students will receive their awards at the Presentation Day at the end of the year.

Bankstown Zone Cross Country Carnival

Sefton sent 104 participants to the Bankstown Zone Cross Country Carnival. The arduous running

paths of Flinders Slopes stood in front of our athletes, requiring them to run anywhere from 3-6

kilometres depending on their age. Despite this daunting task, Sefton won both the male and female

titles for yet another year. A fantastic achievement from our endurance athletes.

We had one successful Bankstown age champion:

- Alice Liang (17s Girls)

Sefton High School had 24 competitors who placed in the top echelon of their age group, progressing

to the Regional Carnival. These students will compete on Thursday 13th June in Camden. Good luck.

School Athletics Carnival

There was a great level of participation over the one and a half days of the Athletics Carnival.

Congratulations to the following students who were Age Champions:

The following students were awarded age champions of Athletics:

MALE FEMALE

12 Sultan Aljaberry Eaven Nathan

13 Lucas Doan Minghuan Shi

14 Jaden Tann Julianne Cinco

15 Brian Wu Sydney Tran

16 Favour Akuete Jennifer Mati

17+ Edward Nguyen-Do Daena De Luna

The house points were as follows:

PLACE HOUSE POINTS

1 Bradman 2120

2 Thorpe 1675

3 Cuthbert 1648

4 Court 1238

These students will receive their awards at the Presentation Day at the end of the year. Good luck to

those of you who have qualified for zone athletics and will be participating in week 10 of this term.

Sefton will be sending a strong team to this carnival, with 68 students attending day one and 89

students attending day two.

Grade Sport Season 1

Season 1 of Grade sport and Recreational sport concluded on Tuesday May 21 with Grand Finals.

Sefton teams performed extremely well again, with seven teams playing in the Grand Final. Three of

these seven teams won and were Champions. These teams were:

- Senior Mixed Netball A

- Junior Mixed Netball

- Junior Girls Volleyball

A big congratulations to these teams on an outstanding season, may there be even more success in

season 2 starting Week 7.

KNOCKOUTS

Basketball Senior boys

The senior boys basketball team set out to a central venue earlier this term to take on some of the best

schools in the area. With the squad being depleted due to earlier commitments. The boys rallied

behind Justin Tek, Daniel and the rest of the Year 12’s to proceed to the second round of the central

venue. Unfortunately, even after Justin Tek’s defensive prowess and due to numerous cases of muscle

the boys fell short of proceeding to the next round. Although a disappointing end to the day the boys

showed real grit to get themselves to the position they were in and represented the school proudly.

Mr Idle

AFL U15’s:

The boys under 15’s AFL team had been training relentlessly throughout the entirety of Term One

and beginning of Term Two. The boys continued to show enthusiasm towards this training especially

when it came to tackling. The first game was against Holsworthy and the boys found themselves in a

comfortable position going into the second half and came out on top by 30 odd points. Jaffar Kabaili

and Mustapha Mahfoud were stand outs on the day. After the AFL injury curse hit the team for the

second time in 12 months we went into the game on Monday a little undermanned but well prepared.

Unfortunately we fell short but the boys played valiantly from start to finish.

Mr Beggs and Mr Idle

Open Boys Touch Football:

The boys played well, resulting in an easy victory against Canley Vale High School, running away

with a 10-1 win. One stand out player was the captain Moeen Mohamad of Year 12 who led the team

to most of the tries and ensured that even with such a one sided game, the boys continued to play hard

in practice for central venue.

Moustafa Mahfoud (Year 10), Tacan Avci (Year 11) and Mohamed Ajaj (Year 12) also contributed

well to the win, each scoring and assisting in at least two tries each.

Mr Wotton

Girls Open Soccer

The Girls open knockout soccer team made history by becoming the first girls team to make it to the

2nd round. The first game was a tough encounter coming up against a strong Cabramatta team. Kaela

Goldsmith put the game out of reach with a fantastic goal late in the game to put Sefton 1 nil up and

win the game.

The 2nd round saw the girls take on East Hills Girls Technology High School. This was a hard-fought

game with a number of our girls absent with injury. Unfortunately, the girls went down but not

without fighting all the way to the end. Massive congratulations to all the girls and can’t wait to

progress further with them next year.

Mr Miranda

Handball Boys – Knockout report

Sefton High School competed in the yearly NSW European Handball Competition on Tuesday May

28. The boys were placed

in a tough pool coming up

against the likes of

Turramurra High School,

Hurlstone Agricultural

High School, Rosebank

Collage, Cronulla High

School and Hills

Grammar School. The

boys performed to their

best standard, finishing

3rd in their pool with

convincing wins over

Cronulla High School

and Hills Grammar

School. The SHS boys

team narrowly missed the

semi-finals but faced

some tough competition

against Hurlstone and

Rosebank. Congratulations boys on your effort, you represented Sefton well and should be proud of

your efforts.

Mrs Hillier

Open Boys Cricket

A hard fought victory in round one over Strathfield south, we scored 150 with major contributions

from Subhan Nadeem with the bat and Phillip Do with the ball. Second round we were up a much

stronger Picnic Point outfit and unfortunately couldn’t post a large enough target to defend and Picnic

Point chased it down. Muhammad Talha batted bravely and was the highlight of our batting effort.

Mr Atton

Open Girls Softball

We travelled to Homebush and came up against a number of strong sides in the competition. After

beginning the day with a 2-0 victory over Hurlstone, fatigue set in and we didn’t have enough in us

to make it through to the finals. Some strong performances from Whitney Pham and Trish Nguyen

with Kylah Nguyen defending our goals bravely all day. Despite the results not going our way a

commendable performance to see off the Year 12 girls.

Mr Atton

VISUAL ARTS NEWS

All our Visual Arts students have been very busy and engaged with finalising their artworks this

semester and building on their knowledge of the Visual Arts through their critical and historical

investigations.

Year 7 Visual Arts students completed tonal self - portraits and paintings which demonstrated well-

developed technical skills in various media and techniques.

Self – portait drawings and preliminary sketches were completed in the students’ Visual Art Process

Diaries where they were able to experiment with pencil and graphite using the grid drawing technique

prior to the completion of their drawing and painting assessment tasks. Their artworks were

stimulated by their study of self - portraiture in Visual Arts and their study of the art practice of Chuck

Close and Pablo Picasso.

Self portrait drawings by Year 7 sudents Jayden Nguyen, Emma Khuu, Tracey Lam and Daniel Pili Bake

Year 7 students Daniel Pili Bake, Adam La Rosse, Anora Pham, William Ngo and Isaac Cao working on their self portrait paintings.

Self portrait paintings by Year 7 students Jeremy Rosario and Emma Khuu

Our Year 8 Visual Arts students are currently refining their ceramic artworks after completing a

series of very successful watercolur paintings which were inspired by their study of oceans and marine

life.

Year 8 students Faiza Iqbal, Antina Chau, Melina Le, Michelle Lai, Sarah Rajab, Sharon Chea, Tranchau Nguyen, Vicky Vu, Ethan, Vo, Nicholas,

Thach and Tristian Wong refining their watercolour painting skills.

Watercolour paintings by Year 8 students Nicky Au, Nabial ElDannawi,

Nina Huang, Mahnoosh Murad, Sri Narayan, Sarah Rajab, Ethan Vo and

Vicky Vu

Year 9 Visual Arts students completed a unit of work this semester which was inspired by their study

of The Archibald Prize, an annual portrait competition held at The Art Gallery of NSW since 1921.

Students studied past and present artworks and finalists in class.

To consolidate their learning, our Year 9 students and Year 8 enrichment class were invited to attend

the Archie in Action educational program at The Art Gallery of NSW. Students had direct access to

a range of art and creative learning opportunities including a viewing of the current Archibald Prize

Exhibition.

After learning about The Archibald Prize and researching the art practices of various artists, Year 8

and Year 9 Visual Arts classes had the opportunity to visit The Art Gallery of NSW on Wednesday

22 May 2019 . Firstly, we viewed the traditional Australian and European collections which depicted

the changing social, cultural and political values of the 15th to 19th centuries. Later we toured the

gallery’s collection of 20th and 21st century artworks where we saw the works of Australian artists

such as William Dobell and Sydney Nolan who powerfully embodied their perceptions of Australian

identity within their works.

Our gallery guide and educator then gave us a tour of The Archibald Prize exhibition and helped us

build a deeper understanding of the personal and cultural significance of each artwork. We took notice

of how each and every artist had a unique approach to their art practice and we marveled at the

diversity of works within the exhibtion.

Our visit to the Art Gallery of NSW then ended with a viewing of The Young Archie Exhibition.

We were delighted to have been invited to The Art Gallery of NSW, we enjoyed our day and

appreciated the richness and sheer pleasure of being able to view art in a very engaging and inspiring

space.

Selina Nguyen and Elle Nguyen Year 9

Year 9 students, Jessica Lieu, Samira Alizada, Catherine Duong, Larissa Kuskoff, Jacqueline

Ngo, Andrew Nguyen Victor Lee and Elle Nguyen entered The Young Archie Competition which

is open to budding young artists between the ages of 5 and 18. These students completed portraits of

a person, well known to them and who plays a significant role in their life such as a family member,

friend or classmate. Students were required to make choices about pose, expression, composition as

well as the style of the works and the mediums used. There were over 2100 entries submitted for the

Young Archie competition at the Art Gallery of NSW this year and it was a pleasure to receive the

news that one of our Year 9 Sefton High School student portraits was selected to be a finalist.

Congratulations to Elle Nguyen whose portrait titled My Little Sister is now on display at The Art

Gallery of NSW and is also featured in the gallery’s online exhibition of works. Her portrait is also

in the running to be the possible winner of her age category. This will be announced in August of this

year and we wish her the best of luck with the next stage of the competition.

Young Archie finalist My Little Sister by Elle Nguyen Year 9

This semester, the Visual Arts Faculty launched The Sefton Archies competition to coincide with

The Archibald Prize. The Sefton Archies is a school portrait competition and is open to interested

students from all years at Sefton High School. Just like the Archibald Prize, entrants are required to

create a portrait of a well known person in our community and this year that person was Mr

Humphreys, our Principal.

Students who entered were allowed to use any medium on paper or canvas to produce their portrait

of Mr Humphreys and all entries had to be A3 to A2 in size. When the deadline for entries arrived on

the May 10, the Visual Arts Faculty received many exceptional and unique entries for The Sefton

Archies and afterwards put together an exhibition of the top 10 finalists which is currently on display

in the Library. Thank you to all students who entered the competition, they are to be congratulated

on their efforts and for making a positive contribution to our school culture.

The winner of the Sefton Archies 2019 was Hannah Lee from Year 11 for her coloured pencil

drawing titled Portrait of Mr Humphreys. Her portrait impressed the judges with her skilful use of

materials and for her attention to detail which enabled her to achieve a highly realistic and impressive

likeness of Mr Humphreys.

Our runners up were Lana Oey from Year 8 for her Watercolour painting titled Blooming

Humphreys and Tan Danh from Year 11 for his painting titled The Many Faces of a Principal.

Sefton Archies Winner - Portrait of Mr Humphreys

By Hannah Lee Year 11

Sefton Archies Runner Up – Blooming Humphreys Sefton Archies Runner Up – The Many Faces of a Principal By Lana Oey Year 8 By Nhat Tan Danh Year 11

A Selection of Sefton Archie Finalists

Mr Humphreys by Sana Bukhari Year 10

Shiny Glasses by Tranchau Nguyen Year 8

Mr Humphreys by Alice Liang Year 11

The Thinker by Chloe Dam Year 8

Year 9 Visual Arts students also created artworks

inspired by observations of their local environment and

suburbia this semester. Their pen and ink drawings

represented their homes, a familiar environment. A range

of cross hatching and stippling techniques were used to

suggest tone and texture and to suggest depth and form.

Students studied the work of Howard Arkley, Robyn

Sweaney and Jeffrey Smart to inform their artmaking.

Suburbia pen and ink drawings by

Year 9 students Jessica Lieu, Selina

Nguyen, Samira Alizada, Mary

Aboutayeh, Catherine Duong and

Larissa Kuskoff

All of these works and more,

including completed HSC Bodies of

Work and the work of the

Photography Club will be on display

at The Visual Arts and Photography

Exhibition evening to be held on

Wednesday 28 August 2019. Parents and students are invited to attend the exhibition in E16 from 5

– 7 pm.

Ms Simic

Visual Arts Teacher

Year 11 Visual Art

Year 11 Visual Arts have been working progressively

on the topic Sculpture for Term 2. Students explore

renaissance periods of sculptural art and are

introduced to abstraction through artistic practice and

working methods. For their second project students

are required to complete a realistic clay sculpture that

focusses on the Renaissance period and have been

experimenting with various tools and techniques.

Students are still working on completing their

artworks and are moving onto completing their

abstract sculpture. Images of their completed

sculptures will be posted to Sefton High School’s

Facebook page so please keep a look out.

Miss Unwin

Visual Art and Photography Teacher

Year 11 Visual Art students Malek Sub Laban and Teauiti Moroni White completing their sculptures.

Year 11 Visual Art students Mariam Aljabery, Miaya El

Masri, Jenan Alameddine and Jacob Ghamrawi completing

their sculptures.

Year 10 Visual Arts

This semester students have completed artwork on the topic Journals. They were required to explore

their everyday life and to complete works of

significance to any art

practice they favoured.

Student works were

produced in various

mediums using charcoal,

watercolour paint, pencil,

pen and every string.

Students worked extremely

hard on these projects and

produced outstanding

quality. This semester

students are working on their

Movie drawings, please keep

an eye out on the Sefton

Facebook page for

completed projects.

Miss Unwin

Visual Art and Photography

Teacher

Year 10 Collage of student work in their

Journals.

Year 7 Visual Arts

Students have been working on numerous projects throughout the semester. They have been exploring

many topics including Cubism. Cubism is defined as using geometric shapes and patterns to create

an artwork. Students were asked to produce their artworks using black micro pen with geometric

patterns and designs on one side of their A4 page. On the opposite side students explored organic

lines and patterns. This term we are working on completing their clay sculptural projects, please keep

a look at on the Sefton High School Facebook page for all work samples.

Miss Unwin Visual Arts and Photography Teacher

Year 7 student work

samples Henry Chao,

Ibrahim Jajieh, Amber

Aisha Elhassan and

Zeba Shaikh.

Year 7 student work samples Andy

Pham, Tania Thanh Le, Ziqiang

Xue and Jason Ta Phu.

PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB

Sefton High School’s photography club continues to explore various methods and techniques to

help improve their technical skills using a camera. Students have been actively working across the

school in all different areas of school life. These events include school assemblies, Sefton High

Schools athletics carnival and

photography projects.

Students demonstrate works in Black and

White Photography, Refraction of Light,

Landscapes and Using Photoshop to

slightly modify their images.

Photography Club continues on every

Wednesday afternoon in room F2 with.

Miss Unwin

Visual Arts and Photography Teacher

Year 9

Haifa Dargham Coloured Flower, 2019

Jessica Lieu

Black and White Portrait 2019

Annaliese Nguyen

Refraction, 2019.

Angeline Sheen Kha Landscapes, 2019.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

ANZAC DAY

At the end of Term 2, Sefton High School held their ANZAC Day assembly. Thank you to

Stephenie Beales, Muhammad Ali, Zahra Winter Jean, Sreypich Wang, Daniel Chen, Isbah

Rahmani, Angeline Hoang, Noelle Bahwach, Ali Mehdi who assisted and carried out the

ceremonies.

CLUBS

Chess Club

Chess has taken over the SHS Library!

Recently the Library has become home to nearly a dozen chess boards, including 4 BIG sets. These

sets are set up permanently for students to use (quietly and responsibly) before school, during recess

and lunch. It’s a great way to develop your thinking skills while also relaxing and taking a break and

de-stressing.

The queues for a board start before the

library is even open in the morning, and

whenever the opportunities present

themselves there’s thirty, forty, fifty

students playing, watching or quietly

commentating and discussing the next

moves. The games are always competitive

with edge-of-your-seat action, with the

full range of abilities and ages on display

- from Year 7 students through to Year

12’s!

Under the watchful eye of Mr. Richards –

the SHS Chess Team Manager – students

have been filling the library looking to develop their chess skills on their way to becoming Grand

Master! Everyone is welcome to come, play and make new friends.

Book Club

Book Club fosters a love of reading and a meeting of minds where every Sefton student is welcome

to share their passion for the written word. Years 7-10 meet on Wednesday’s to share a good yarn

with new and old friends and to take their reading and writing strengths to the next level in the second

half of lunch.

New recruits are always welcome. There’s only one requirement to join: That you absolutely love

reading. Most terms, an author speaks to the groups and currently we are planning an exclusive behind

the scenes excursion to the State Library. You really don’t want to miss out on all the exciting places

that reading can take you. All you need to do to join is see Ms Repin or Mr Boyko on a Wednesday

and they will take care of the rest.

Now that mid-year exams are coming to a close, you will probably want to replace all that studying

with reading to stay active and continue exercising your mind. And, if you're wondering what books

should be on your list - never fear. The Book Club has these helpful recommendations for you:

'A House of Night' Series by PG and Kirsten Last

'Eve' Series by Anna Carey

'Red Queen' Series by Victoria Aveyard

'Spark' Series by Rachael Craw

'Dragon Keeper' Series by Carol Wilkinson

'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' by Jeff Kinney

'Demon Road' by Derek Landy

'The Strange and Beautiful Story of Ava Lavender' by Leslye Walton

'No More Dead Days' by Gordon Korman

'I Have No Secrets' by Penny Joelson

'Lockwood & Co – The Empty Grave' by Jonathan Stroud

'Weirdo I-II' by Ahn Do

Happy reading, and we will see you in the Library.

The Book Club

YEAR 12 NEWS

Year 12 are working hard towards completing their mandatory course hours to attain their HSC.

Dedication and focus needs to remain strong leading up to their trial period. Year 12 have attended a

range of incursions and excursions to further their knowledge and understanding of HSC course

outcomes, allowing them to experience their learning on a deeper level.

Earlier this year, they also attended brainstorm production to aid in managing exam and Year 12

pressure, with a follow up session to occur later this term in the lead up period to the trial HSC exams

to reinforce key concepts, and revisit some useful strategies.

It is essential that Year 12 remember to be kind to themselves and implement effective study habits

and tips to maximise their chance of success. Some strategies that can help include:

Keeping yourself well rested by getting enough sleep, taking regular breaks and allocating time

to unwind and relax

Develop strong support networks and groups to help you study or to keep you on track to reach

your goals

Drop distractions by creating an environment that has little to no distractions such as your phone,

tablets and television

If you need help, ASK. If you feel overwhelmed, take some time for yourself, ask your support

network for additional assistance from your teachers or seek help from professional organisations

such as Youth Beyond Blue, Headspace and Youth in Motion.

Mrs Hillier

Premier’s Reading Challenge

Platinum Awards

The students listed below who received PRC certificates and medals have read at least twenty books

for seven years. Some starting under the new system from kindergarten others maybe skipping a year

but totalling seven years in all.

Whilst this is their own achievement we need to acknowledge the teachers who inspired them by

recommending books and talking about the books they have read, teachers who encouraged them by

bringing them to the library and even the many students and friends who encouraged them by

recommending books to them. As well we must acknowledge the parents, guardians, brothers and

sisters who also encouraged them to read by buying them books, taking them to the library and

recommending books they have enjoyed.

The student who received the Platinum Award are listed below:

YEAR 8 PRC PLATINUM AWARDS YEAR 9 PRC PLATINUM AWARDS

Joshua Huyen Ba Bui Ethan Duong

Hugo Brayden Chan Jacquelyn Nhu Ngo

Yousef Dani Anna Quynh Xuan Tran Nguyen

Serina Huang Rachel Nguyen

Grace Maya Huynh Tina Nguyen

Javaria Iqbal Dilpreet Singh Phagura

Edward Minh Khang La William Phan

Kelvin Ly Charlie Ta Phu

Salma Mohammed Mardawie Darren Thomas Wong

Mahnoosh Murad Andy Wu

Lana Mae Oey

Aaron Tran

Alexander Wei Zhi Wang

Kevin Wong

YEAR 10 PRC PLATINUM AWARDS Arif Hussain Azimi

Hayden Tri-Hue William Chau

Dounia Diab

Kevin Guo

Jacob Hong

Christina Lee

Natasha Carol Lin

Cindy Ly

Subhan Nadeem

Alan Nguyen

Leeanne Pham

Sydney Lu Tran

Premier’s Reading Challenge Medal

The Premiers’ Reading Challenge Medal is awarded to students who have demonstrated Outstanding

Commitment to reading by completing the challenge every year from Year 3 to Year 9 consecutively.

That is every year for 7 years.

In NSW this year, 640 students received this medal. Which equates roughly to two students per high

school.

Sefton High School far surpasses this average of two , we have twenty seven - yes 27 students who

have entered the Premier’s Reading Challenge since Year 3 and completed reading 20 books each

year consecutively.

These students have demonstrated outstanding commitment to reading (and hence their own academic

growth) and have brought great honour to Sefton High School and even more importantly to their

personal growth. The students are listed below.

YEAR 10 PRC MEDAL & LETTER OF CONGRATULATIONS

from the Premier NSW. Muhammad Ahsan Ali Kaitlyn Lee

Mia Elisabeth Bennetts Alicia Liu

Shebani Bhattarai Cindy Ly

Wilson Viet-Hung Chu Katherine Florence H Ly

Janet Chadi Diba Jiyoung Moon

Jayden Eap Natalie Tran Kim Ngo-Ton

Kaela Emily Goldsmith Anna Nguyen

Wilson Huang Tina Phan

Jessie Huynh Minh Thu Do Helen He Ta

Morgan Quoc Dat Huynh Martin Son Nhan Tran

Jasmine Mari Khuu Kathy Vuong

Henry Hung Lam Sunni Vuong

Catherine My-Phu Le Brain Minjie Wu

Leanne Mai Han Le

Handy Hints to achievement in Reading

1. When you return a book to the library always borrow another.

2. Always make sure you have a book to read in your bag you never know when you will have

a few minutes to spare.

Write For Fun Competition Sefton students from all year groups are to be congratulated on

their participation in the Write For Fun Competition. All

students who submitted their entries are to be commended on

their wonderful love for writing. Many students received

certificates for progressing through to the second round and

they will be congratulated during the school’s next assembly.

To all students, I say: Keep up the enthusiasm.

Mrs Schoeman

Student Representative Council

We are faced with troubling times: the world is rife with issues that need to be addressed. Climate

change to discrimination to the ignored population living in poverty or without homes. These are just

a few in the endless many that cause people like your family, friends and yourself to suffer in this

world.

In Term 1, our first fundraiser, ‘Straya Meme Day, we were able to raise $1354.45 for the Black Dog

Institute which will use the money to fund their services including counselling and research to better

the lives of those with mental illnesses. With all your contributions we, as a collective, were able to

help those living in difficulty.

However, we refuse to stop there. This term we will hold the annual talent Quest, honouring our SRC

motto of “For the Students, By the Students”. Although Talent Quest is as the title mentions, the

Quest for Talent, the student body unites as we encourage and support those who choose to express

themselves through their gifts.

The SRC strives towards the Sefton ideals, ‘Sincerity, Scholarship, Service’, we uphold ourselves in

a responsible manner and dedicate ourselves to the betterment of other students’ schooling

experience. The SRC are here to help.

SRC

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