Gang GangWarrandyte High SchoolIssue 7 | Term 4 | 2020

9844 2749whs@warrandytehigh.vic.edu.auwww.warrandytehigh.vic.edu.au

Cnr. Warrandyte & Alexander Roads,Warrandyte

Diary DatesFriday 30 October Year 12 Celebration Day

Monday 2 November Curriculum Day

Tuesday 3 November Melbourne Cup

Principal: Dr Stephen Parkin Assistant Principal: Joseph Caruana

School Captains:Caitlyn Bull and Brooke Bowyer

Welcome to Term 4 everyone! What a strange and challenging year 2020 has been! And it isn’t over yet. Earlier this month we were exceedingly pleased to welcome back our VCE and Year 7 students after a second long period of remote learning.The Year 12 students were treated to a personalised balloon with their name on it. Each balloon was attached to a care pack which every Year 12 student received. How appreciative and pleased the students were to receive their care pack which included chocolates, skin care products, a key ring, hot chocolate sachets and personalised letters from both their Year 12 teachers and the Year 12 Coordinator. A big thank you is also extended to the local community for helping to make this possible! Year 7 and 11 students were also welcomed warmly by everyone at Warrandyte High School. At recess, the students were invited to attend a special morning tea which was organised just for them. The Year 7 students also returned to their locker area to find a welcome back letter waiting for them attached to the outside of their locker! Here is the welcome letter the Year 7s found waiting for them on their locker, written by their Year Level Coordinator:

WELCOME BACK We are so excited to have you back on site, it’s been such a long time since we last saw you in person. Firstly, a big Congratulations to you for making it through remote learning. Your resilience and persistence through these tough times is something that all your teachers are incredibly proud of, and you should be too. I want to personally thank you for your efforts through remote learning and commend you for your dedication in what has been an unexpected first year of high school.  It has been a difficult climate to learn in, so hold your head up high, and be proud of the fact that you continued to log into your classes, submit work and engage with your teachers and the learning.Now that you are back on site, we want you to

enjoy this time, to interact with your friends safely, and we hope that you can continue to re-engage in your learning. Your teachers will be doing their absolute best to get through the curriculum and prepare you for Year 8. We are living in a new world, so adorn your faces with your fanciest mask and remember to keep your distance and not share drinks and food. We are so glad that you are back on site and we don’t want it to change because we miss you. Like always, if you need anything, your teachers are here to support you. You just need to ask. Your favourite Co-coordinatorMr Mason

We were equally excited to welcome back on site our Year 8, 9 and 10 students! They too have done an amazing job working and learning remotely for so long! Details regarding the welcoming back of these students will feature in the next Gang Gang edition.

HEADSTART – an exciting new pathway for VCE students! In 2021 we are introducing the Head Start program. The excitement! This is a program aimed at Year 11 and 12 students who are interested in attaining a traineeship or apprenticeship whilst completing their VCE studies! Indeed these students, upon the completion of their study with us, will have both their VCE certificate and an exciting traineeship or apprenticeship with a direct pathway to employment! How wonderful, no?

PARENT OPINION SURVEY Recently all of our amazing parents and carers received an invitation via Compass to participate in the annual Parent Survey. Your feedback is important and we would love to hear from you. The survey closes in mid November. 

Steve Parkin + Joseph CaruanaPrincipal + Assistant Principal

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Year 12 Exams / How to blitz the English Exam

We wish all of our Year 12 students the very best as they approach their final exams. English is the only 3 hour

examination and it will always count in the primary four – this means it will never be the subject that merely contributed 10% towards your child’s final ATAR score, it will always contribute 100%.’ So how best to maximise your English study score? Re-read / re-watch all of the texts! Read all of your texts a minimum of 4 times cover to cover! In my many years of teaching Year 12 English, the many students who received scores in the 40s all had one thing in common – they all knew all of their texts inside and out; they all had read each of their texts 3-4 times, cover to cover, to the point where you could give them any quote and they would be able to tell you exactly where in the text that quote is found and what is the context surrounding the quote. Correct, this is how well students must know their Year 12 English texts. Oh yes, students must memorise 30-40 quotes from each text! The best quotes are often very brief, just 1-3 words, which students can embed into their own sentence. Bring a dictionary! Students are allowed to bring a dictionary into the exam. It is madness not to do this. What if there is a word or words they are unfamiliar with? Immediately they are at a disadvantage. Bring a dictionary! We wish the class of 2020 every success with their final exams!

Joseph Caruana Assistant Principal

Year 11 F2D WorkshopOn Friday 9 October Year 11 students participated the online The Fit to Drive workshop. Presented by VicRoads trained facilitators, the workshops utilised the expertise of local Victoria Police and MFB emergency service providers, to provide students a deeper understanding of the complexities of decision making and risk assessment as a young road user. Students are given the opportunity to self-determine, with their peers, the tools, strategies and phrases they may need to stay safe on the road. 

Respectful Relationships -Staff Bystander TrainingWith research showing the dramatic effect that bullying and other forms of negative behaviour can have on the health and wellbeing of students and the school community, WHS staff participated in a Department of Education Bystander Training session on Thursday 8 October 2020.Complementing the school’s Respectful Relationships focus, the session aimed to develop a greater understanding of what it means to be a positive bystander, supporting those targeted by negative behaviour, developing positive attitudes and skills to address bullying and negative behaviours to ultimately promote a safe and inclusive environment. 

Wellbeing – A Priority at WHS! EMPATHYHaving the ability to understand and share feelings of another.SYMPATHYFeelings of pity and sorrow for someone else’s misfortune. Knowing the difference between Empathy and Sympathy can help you build strong and lasting relationships. Sometimes our friends, family members or colleagues just need to tell you how or what they are feeling, they do not want you to feel sorry for them or give them solutions to problems, but just understand how they are feeling.  You cannot change how a person feels about a particular event or situation they find themselves in, you can only be there, listen and try to understand their feelings and support them when they are in need. Below is a link to a short cartoon that demonstrates the difference between Empathy and Sympathy

Service What they do Contact

Reach Out Information on a range of subjects that will help with your Mental Health and Wellbeing.For Young People, Adults and Schools.

https://au.reachout.com/

Parentline Offers confidential and anonymous counselling and support on parenting issues for parents and carers of children from birth to 18 years old.

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/parents/services-for-parents/Pages/parentline.aspx?Redirect=1

Child FIRST and family services

For families experiencing difficulties that impact on their parenting and family life.

Delivered in your local area by community service organisations.

Kids Help Line Counselling service for people aged between 5 and 25

1800 55 1800https://www.kidshelpline.com.au

Headspace Provides mental health support for young people aged 12 to 25

1800 650 890https://headspace.org.au/eheadspace

Beyondblue Depression and anxiety support 1300 224 636www.beyondblue.org.au

DHHS Corona virus information https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/victorian-public-coronavirus-disease-covid-19

Corona Virus updates:DET updates https://www.education.vic.gov.auVCAA updates https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/HomePage.aspxDHHS updates https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus

Diet (there is a link between food and mood! www.foodandmoodcentre.com.au )Smiling Mind Apphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZBTYViDPlQ Remember to look after yourself and ask for help if you need it.

Jo MillerWellbeing

Manningham Youth Services ~ Trivia Thursdays!~• “Trivia Thursdays” will be run every Thursday afternoon throughout the month of October.

• Created by young people for young people!• The trivia will be played via Kahoot! and

participants will be mixed with young people from other schools in Manningham to connect and have fun.

• The aim is to break down the feelings of isolation and loneliness brought on by COVID-19 in a safe and fun environment.

• Dates and times will vary depending on the number of participants per age group.

• To register: Email ‘simone.webbey@each.com.au’ with your name, age, and school.

• If you would feel more comfortable joining with one friend, CC them into your registration email and include their name, age and school to ensure you’re in the same group.

Sports Update Whilst interschool sport has not been

able to run this year I wish to congratulate Kye Hunter (Year 9) and Elizabeth Silver (Year 11) for participating in the interschool

virtual athletics competition. Elizabeth participated in the 60m sprint, 200m sprint

and 800m run whilst Kye challenged himself in the 100m sprint, 800m run and 1500m run. It was fantastic to see these students take the opportunity to participate and challenge themselves against other students from all schools in Victoria.

Students can still involve themselves in the virtual track and field competition. To do so go to the following web address https://www.ssv.vic.edu.au/Pages/SSVVirtualTrackandField.aspx to see the events you can be involved in and how to enter your results. It would be fantastic to see more students involved and again congratulations to Kye and Elizabeth.

Katie Cook Sports Coordinator

Project RockitCommon reason why people bully others at school:

Strategies/Tips:Be preparedSeek supports and find a team of allies.• By bonding over a shared interest or

experienceShow your support• A bit of encouragement / support / help in

any form would be helpful• can be supportive either in person or

online, such like sending a comforting messageUse online power for goodOwn your weirdStand together

Christina GazeasWell Being

Elevate Global EducationElevate are a global education organisation that helps over 1-million students to improve their study skills and boost academic performance. You can learn more about them at https://au.elevateeducation.comHave a look at other upcoming webinars to help parents navigate school in 2020 at:

Christena Gazeas - Well Being