From the Principal

2013 Student Leadership Team Named Following an extensive selection process, the 2013 Student Leadership

Team has been announced. The process involved self-nomination, interview

by teachers (Ms Smith, Ms Mangraviti and Mr Ovens) and for those Prefects

who wished to be considered for a Captain‘s position, a short speech delivered

to the whole teaching staff and Prefect body, as to their suitability for the

position.

The School Captains are: Ruby Calder-Little and Harry Alexiadis

The Vice Captains are: Sunny Manola and Joseph Auciello

The Senior Prefects are: Tara Aftanas Jessica Allen Spira Anogianakis

Shaista Azam Natalie Bakrdanikoska Stephanie Bogdanovski Ruby Calder-Little

Lauren Evangelo Xiatong Liu Sunny Manola Hristina Mitrevska Claudia Poposki

Charlene Su Constania Tzavellas Wendy Yang Harry Alexiadis Joseph Auciello Edward

Khuu Constantino Kokkinidis Mark O‘Neill Jordan Seib Wira Tjo Vince Wang Aubrey

Young.

Congratulations to all of our new leaders.

Year 12, 2012, Nears Completion As you read this newsletter, Year 12 will be in the process of preparing for their HSC exams.

Their Trials were held earlier this term and I have been impressed with the way they have

continued to attend class to consolidate their learning in order to improve on their HSC Trial

results.

As part of their final days at Blakehurst High School, Year 12 have continued to raise funds to

provide their gift to the school. In Week 9 they held their ―Slave Day‟ – an enjoyable day where

the senior students put on performances for the junior years and then auctioned off their services

(for things such as note taking; bag carrying etc.) to the younger students for the rest of the day.

The students also ran a Gelato stall for the school. The day raised over $1000. This money will go

towards their gift to the school (i.e. contribution to the purchase of an electronic sign for the front of

the school). The Year 12 Graduation was held on Thursday the 20th of September. Their academic,

community and sporting achievements were acknowledged at this ceremony.

Semester 2 Merit Assembly The Semester 2 Merit Assembly was held in Week 7. Over 200 students from Years 8-12 were

recognised for their all-round work/effort at school. This ceremony is a bit different to the Presentation Night when we recognise academic and sporting

achievements for the year. At the Merit Award Assembly we are acknowledging the student‘s participation in school life. This includes;

Regular attendance

Wearing appropriate uniform

Behaviour and effort at school and in class

Sporting achievements

School representation in extra curricula activities such as SRC, assistants at after school

functions, sport etc

Contribution to the school community e.g. stream watch, library monitors,

fundraising etc.

The Merit scheme at BHS works on a hierarchical system i.e. BRONZE_SILVER_GOLD. Each level is achieved by the student receiving 10 individual certificates or nominations from their teachers. These nominations must be from a

variety of the categories mentioned earlier i.e. academic; community etc. To proceed from Bronze to Gold the student must also take on increasingly complex responsibilities e.g. Zone

representation, leadership in the SRC or Prefects etc. Therefore, to achieve GOLD award is quite difficult and many do

not achieve it until their senior years at BHS. It is great that at our assembly we celebrated a number of students who

qualified for the award of the GOLD medallion. Special mention must be made of Lik Wong Yu (Year 12) who achieved a

Triple Gold award – quite amazing. The other students (all Year 12) who received a Gold award at this assembly were:

Arielle ADRIAS Marcela CUBA-CHEN Matthew EDENBOROUGH Marija HRISTOVSKA Meg JOHNSON

Illia KLIANEV Mark LANGLEY Nicholas MARICIC Kristine MARINKOVIC Ella TUAAU-ALLEN Kiara MERES-WASTELL.

Thus you can see that our Merit System recognises ALL ROUND students. Congratulations to all award winners.

N E W S L E T T E R

Blakehurst High School

Your Outstanding Local Comprehensive

Secondary School

Term 3 Update – September 2012

270A Woniora Road BLAKEHURST NSW 2221 Ph: 9546 3281 Fax: 9547 1024 Email: blakehurst-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au Website: www.blakehurst-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

Blakehurst High School

PLEASE USE THIS FORM FOR CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS ONLY

Student Name: Roll Class:

Payment For: PAYMENT DETAILS: {Please tick on box} Please debit my credit card for $

Visa Mastercard Name on Card: Card Number: PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY

Expiry Date: / Signature:

(Receipt will be sent home with student)

2012 NAPLAN Results NAPLAN reports were distributed to Years 7 and 9 students this week. I will report back on the results in our next newsletter after having time to properly analyse our 2012 performance.

P&C Meetings At our recent P&C meeting on the 12th of September the members approved a number of funding requests, which included;

A major upgrade of the Hall‘s audio, lighting and video facilities. This will see the projectors and screens

replaced; the audio system redesigned to make it easier to use and more powerful/effective, as well as the

installation of lights which can be linked to a computer program for musical performances etc. All the

equipment will be state of the art and should enable us to improve the visual/sight quality of our assemblies;

public meetings and musical performances etc for years to come. This project will cost over $26000.

Continued support of the online study skills project. As such, the P&C will fund the scheme for 2013

(subscription is $1077 pa). Please refresh yourself as to the program and use it with your child. All students

and parents of BHS can use the site free of charge. Year 10 will also be using the site at the end of the year to

prepare for their senior studies.

www.studyskillshandbook.com.au

User Name; blakehursths

Password; 186results

I would like to thank the P&C for their ongoing support. As you can see they commit their funds for projects that

support your child this year and into the future. All parents are welcome to attend P&C meetings. The next meeting is

on Wednesday the 10th of October, at 7pm in the Staff Common Room.

School Fees

Again I would like to thank all parents for promptly paying their child‘s general and subject fees. As I have discussed before, these funds are used for the support of your child‘s education this year. Please feel free to contact me or Kim Morris (School Administration Manager) if you wish to seek assistance with paying these fees.

Parent Tips Published in the Department of Education Newsletter

Have a happy and safe holiday. All students return to school Monday 8

th October. The Higher School Certificate

begins Monday the 15th

October 2012.

Fun with Friends and Family

Want to encourage your child to try something new outside of school? Try the range of options provided by NSW Sport & Recreation – from camps and sailing to a variety of disability sport activities.

Go to: What‘s on around NSW – Sport and Recreation – http://www.dsr.nsw.gov.au/active/whatson.asp

Mr B Lester

Principal

Sickness

procedures

during the

school day

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL’S Report

This has seemed like a long term and there has been a lot of illness during this winter. Many children each day have

needed to go home. So that both the school and the parents are fully aware of where children are at all times, school

procedures are:

If a student is unwell they must see Mrs Paton or the Office Staff. Office

staff or Mrs Paton will contact the parents so that we know when they are

being collected, who is collecting them and that the parents have given

them permission. Students are not to initially contact their parents.

Parents must collect students from the front office. Unless there are

exceptional reasons, students will not be given permission to walk home or

wait at the front of the school.

Students must not leave the school without going through the front office.

Parents cannot give permission the following day for students who have left the premises. If students

leave the premises without our knowledge the absence is deemed a truancy.

Students should not be asking to go home during period 1. If a student is sick, they should not attend

school. It is highly unlikely, therefore, that students should need to go home so early in the day.

If parents cannot be contacted, students cannot go home. Siblings cannot give permission for students to

leave early.

Only people listed as emergency contacts can give permission for students to leave early.

Blakehurst High School does not have a sick bay or clinic. If students are not well enough to be in class they are

expected to be at home. Otherwise they need to be in class. Currently, Front Office staff and I are the only people who

assess whether students need to go home and contact parents.

Pole Depot Community Centre

Girls Space is changing to Tuesdays!

Girls if you are between the ages of 12-18 years come along and join in our new program. This term we are running a

gentle exercise and nutrition workshop learning all about the importance of nutrition and the benefits of having a

healthy body image and self esteem. If that’s not for you join in one of our other activities such as arts/crafts, cooking

lessons and mix media.

Every Tuesday: 2.30pm – 6.30pm

Free

Mums and female guardians are welcome

Supervised by female youth workers

Venue – 18 Treacy Street, Hurstville

For more information call Youth Zone – 9580 8008 or visit the website at poledept.org

Mrs Lyn Paton

Deputy Principal

News from the LIBRARY

Grow your Reading in September

How has your reading changed as you grow? Does your reading help you to

grow? It can, if you grow your reading habit and read at least 15 minutes a day

this month. Go on a reading journey of personal growth, or even just read

bigger books: those with more pages, not necessarily bigger print!

The holidays are a great time to start your journey: relax and lose yourself in a

book. Come up to the Library for some great holiday reading suggestions

Congratulations to all the 121 students from Blakehurst who finished the Reading Challenge for 2012.

Year 7 N Affouf, M Arvythis, A Avramovski, Z Azam, V Bojanic, H Cask, M Cheung, J Da Silva, N Driscoll,

S Fanunza, S Gaddes, M Gee, G Hattori, J Hawes, S Hayat, R Huang, J Jiang, E Leong, G Li, Y Lin,

J Liu, A Lu, A Muneef, S Nasser, S Ng, C Que, M Ruan, D Ruseski, T Sekulovska, J Shin, Z Su, C Trpkoski,

C Tsang, J Vishwa, A Wong, C Wong, R Wong, M Yao, E Yeung, E Yu, T Zheng

Year 8 N Afalon, D Alima, M Allen, J Atanasova, J Chen, M Chen, E Cvetkovski, C Dantos, F Diab, H Diasinos,

H Doad, E Doulkeridis, R Dunk, S Farran, J Feng, N Fong, D Hardy, R He, V R Herman, S Holden, Y Hong,

H Irving, L Judd, Z Khamhing, J King, E Koutsoukos, T Lambropoulos, H Lee, L Lin, R Malaxos, A McCuaig-

Walton, A McLeon, J Mohamad, T Nasser, I Neckovski, K Nguyen, M Ostrugnaj, A Petkovski, T Pham,

C Potross, G Qian, M Qin, V Rorris, D Roubekas, L Sun, A Taleb, M Tan, M Trajcevska, P Triantafyllis, A Tse,

J Wang, A Wang, G Watts, N Wong, J Xabregas, B Yeung, E Yuan, P Zheng, H Zhu

Year 9 K Abrakasa, L Auciello, E Bayas, J Bhagwagar, R Blatch-Williams, M Cheng, R Gray-Schwarz, A He, R Hu,

S Khan, T Kosasih, P Koutsoukos, M Kuang, E Kwan, M Liow, G Melas, A Psalti, N Stankovic, T Tang,

J Tsang, T Wong,

Great Effort!

Certificates will be presented in Term 4.

Ms A Alchin Teacher/Librarian

When asked earlier on in the year to coach the 13s Girls Basketball teams, my initial reaction was to decline. To

begin with, I did not know much about Basketball. More importantly, I had taught at a boys‘ high school for years and

coaching a girl‘s grade team was not a skill I could particularly boast on my CV. But I took on the offer, regardless, and

decided to give it my best shot. I was new to Blakehurst High. I was eager to please. I was in trouble.

The girls, I soon discovered, were a wonderful bunch of Year 7 students. Many already knew their basketball. They

were familiar with the many rules and could dribble, swerve, pass and shoot far better than I did when I was their age.

But skills aside, it was their good manners and overall positive attitude that I admired the most. Off the court they were

exemplary, following instructions and listening politely to their novice coach explain and, with a fair bit of luck,

demonstrate this practice drill or that (thank goodness for the miracle of youtube).

On the court they were model players, serious and hard-working but never too proud to laugh off a mistake or

congratulate an opponent player for a point skillfully scored. It was sportsmanship at its best—a light year away from

the stress, adrenaline and aggressive competitiveness occasionally displayed among boys. It paid off: the girls

enjoyed an uninterrupted winning season and progressed straight to the finals.

Then came the momentous day—playing on the neutral grounds of Hurstville Aquatic Centre and under the watchful

gazes of professional referees. Team B won the finals. Team A, despite their best efforts, lost. But that was fair,

considering the other team was eventually trained by a far more experienced coach and its members had played

particularly well on the day. Yet, after a long winning streak it was not the result I had expected and by the end of the

game I could not help but feel a touch disappointed with myself as a couch. Basketball was not for me, I thought. But

then the girls started shaking hands with the winning team, all smiling and in good spirits, and I watched them go about

it for a little longer and remembered the good old sage; how, in the end, life was not just about winning or losing, but

about doing your best and carrying yourself with dignity—regardless of the outcome. It was a poignant moment—the

teacher/coach taking a step back and learning a thing or two from his students. I was humbled…

Well done Girls! You did Blakehurst High real proud. Until we hit the courts again…

The Dream Team

13s Girls Basketball Teams

Mr K Estephan

Teacher Science

Mrs A Peachey

Head Teacher Mathematics

News from

Mathematics Faculty…

Great results in the Australian Mathematics Competition!

In early August over 100 of our students entered the Australian

Mathematics Competition. This is a prestigious and very difficult

competition and we are thrilled with our results.

High Distinction

Year 11 Aimee Chen. Distinction

Year 7 Alexia Mouratidis Year 8 Vincent Hu, Michelle Chen, April McLeod Year 9 Janice Chen, A He Year 10 Sam Chan, Patrick Su Year 11 Judy Hu, Wendy Yang, Michelle Liang, Jessie Wang Year 12 Jayne Cao Credit

Year 7 Geeann Li, Zalika Azam, Cassidy Que, Shelly Gaddes, Shafayat Hayat, Terina Zheng, Sandy Ng Anthony Lu, J Shin, Meggie Yao

Year 8 Mingtao Shi, Richard He, Patrick Huang, Gordon Qian Year 9 Frank Yao, M Chu Kit Cheng, M Kuang, Roger Hu, Ellen Huang, Michael Liow Year 10 Kirt Protacio, Amanda Dong, Alishia Lambropoulos Year 11 Daniel Bu, L Hao, Stefani Zou, Edward Huang, Elaine Chen, Lingbing Liu, I Cheng, S Ma, Tom Xiao Our favourite award, the most consecutive correct answers, was won by Michelle Chen of Year 8. Students detailed results and their certificates will be received and awarded later this year.

………………………………………………………………….

Donate your blood! Others need it!!

Our 2012/2013 Vampire Shield Campaign is

Underway!!

Well done to all students and teachers who donated blood in August; a wonderful gift of life.

More than 35 donations were made, including many first timers.

We will be going again in Term 4 so keep an eye out for posters around the school

A Message from NSW Health re Vaccinations…..

……Each year NSW Health Public Health Units offer the vaccines recommended by the National Health and Medical Research

Council (NHMRC) for adolescents as part of the school-based program. If you have any medical queries re the vaccinations,

please contact the Public Health Unit on 9382 8333.

Parent Information Kits will be sent home to parents/guardians. To consent to the vaccination of their child, parents/guardians

are advised to read all the information provided and complete the consent form. Only consent forms signed by the parent/guardian

will be accepted. To ensure your child is vaccinated, please return all signed consent forms to the school as soon as possible after

receiving them.

Parents/guardians who wish to withdraw their consent for any reason may do so in writing to the school Principal. The

procedure for Withdrawal of Consent is available on the NSW Health website at:

www.health.nsw.gov.au/PublicHealth/Immunisation/school_prog/withdraw_consent.asp . Please note that for the HPV vaccine

only: parents/guardians must record their Medicare Number (including all 10 digits) on the consent form, as this is required to

record the student‘s health information on the National HPV Vaccination Register and link to the National Cervical Screening

Program.

A Record of Vaccination will be provided to each student vaccinated at the clinic. Parents/guardians should ensure that this

record is kept for future reference and should not assume that their child has been vaccinated if they do not receive this Record of

Vaccination. It is also recommended that you inform your GP so they can update your child‘s records.

What happens if your child misses a dose of the vaccine at school? Provided you have returned a signed consent form,

any student who is absent from school and missed a dose vaccine will be caught up with at the next scheduled

vaccination clinic at your school throughout the year.

Vaccinations Year 7 Vaccinations Year 10

A Record of Vaccination…

…will be provided to each student vaccinated at the clinic. Parents/guardians should ensure that this

record is kept for future reference and should not assume that their child has been vaccinated if they do not

receive this Record of Vaccination. It is also recommended that you inform your GP so

they can update your child‘s records.

Visit 1 30/03/12

Hepatitis B Vaccine (dose 1 of 2 dose course) Human Papillomavirus Vaccine (HPV) (dose 1 of 3 dose course - GIRLS ONLY)

Visit 2 29/06/12

HPV Vaccine (dose 2 - GIRLS ONLY) Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis booster – (single dose) Varicella Vaccine (chicken pox) – (single dose) HPV and Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis vaccine –‗Catch ups‘

Visit 3 16/11/12

Hepatitis B Vaccine - dose 2 (for those who received dose 1) HPV Vaccine – (dose 3 GIRLS ONLY) HPV and Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis vaccine – ‗Catch ups‘

Visit 1 30/03/12

Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis booster vaccine - (single dose)

Visit 2 ‘Catch Up’

29/06/12

Year 10 Students

who miss the Visit 1

Vaccinations, can

‘Catch up‘ on Visit 2 or 3 Visit 3 ‘Catch Up’

16/11/12 Mrs J Smith

Welfare Co-ordinator

Another successful Year 10 Jumpstart

Program run in partnership with

Youthzone has run this term, this time for a

group of girls. In one of the seven sessions we

visited St George TAFE and after a very

interesting and informative presentation by the

Course Counsellor on TAFE and University

courses, we moved to the Montgomery St

Campus and were able to visit the Art Studios,

Graphic Design rooms AND visit the Fashion

Design Studios and talk to teachers and

students, who shared their designs, visions and

proudly informed us of ex- students being on Project Runway (look for local boy

Jamie this season).

At Jumpstart the girls have had opportunities to connect with each other and to discuss many issues that may confront them and

their peer group over the next few years. Positive affirmations about the value of education and the many and varied career

pathways available to them are central to this program. Parents of Year 10 2013, feel free to contact Mrs Lyons for more details

about the program, and/or to make an Expression of Interest for your student for next year.

The Yamaha Young Mechanics Student Grand Prix was held on the 6th

September. Our 3 grand finalists from the Year 9 boys

who competed last term were Braydon Pilot, Joram Kritas and Stefan Sarandopoulos. On the day of the Grand Prix the boys

worked on 9 different practical and theoretical tasks, alongside students from Peakhurst High and Hurstville Boys High.

Our students all did very well, with Braydon taking first place for BHS in the Grand

Prix. We will have an official presentation on assembly next term. As this

partnership blossoms, we hope to offer the same opportunities next year. Also

there will be work experience opportunities next term with local Yamaha

dealers.

Our partnership with Yamaha has been brokered by CBCC - Careers

Connections who also help us to develop a

network that includes

local businesses and Councils.

Parents may find the flyer from Kogarah City

Council (on the next page) useful in the very

topical issue of Cyberbullying. Please refer to

the flyer for booking details.

Transition Adviser’s Report

Janelle Lyons

Transition Advisor

Year 11 VET Students

Preliminary Exams have just been completed. Remember the examinations are

compulsory for all VET students up to and including the Trial exam (except for

Sports Coaching). After the Trial exam you may opt out of your HSC VET

examination if you do not require an ATAR.

If you have not completed your 70 Hours of Work Placement please see your class

teacher as soon as possible. Work Placement is mandatory for ALL VET

subjects and you will be N-Awarded if it is not completed.

Update:

Year 11 Hospitality students have successfully run the school Café 2221 this term

and are looking forward to developing their skills further next term.

Year 12 VET Students

If you would like to opt out of the HSC exam please see me for a permission note. There is no need to complete the HSC exam for

your VET subject unless you require it for your ATAR. Keep completing your class work to ensure you get the most out of your

training, i.e. your Certificate II. If you have not met the requirements in some competencies please see your teacher for the work

that is outstanding.

……………………….

St George Workplace Learning Partnership Inc.

School and Business Awards 2012

On Wednesday 12th September 2012 the following students were recognised for their great achievements in a VET course. The presentations were held at St George Leagues Club.

Congratulations to all our winners!!

Business Services - Jessica Garcia

Over the past two years Jessica approached Business Services

with maturity. She has participated willingly in every task asked of

her and always works to the best of her ability, displaying quality

work. At Work Placement, Jessica‘s colleagues were very

impressed with her and spoke highly of her work ethic. Jessica is

a worthy recipient of a VET Excellent Award for Business

Services.

Hospitality - Food and Beverage - Sarah Kennedy

Sarah Kennedy has been an excellent student in Hospitality Food

and Beverage. She demonstrates exceptional leadership skills in

all areas of Hospitality and always works in a diligent and

professional manner. Sarah is always willing to help out with the

running of the Blakehurst High School Café - Cafe 2221.

During her Work Placements, Sarah‘s work ethic was exemplary;

taking initiative when needed and always maintaining a

professional attitude. She made a conscientious effort to develop

and maintain professional relationships with all staff members and

the wider community. Sarah‘s determination and diligence has

assisted her in completing a Certificate II in Hospitality Food and Beverage.

Jessica Garcia & Sarah Kennedy with Mr B Lester

Mrs J Simpson

VET Co-ordinator

ENGLISH News

MONA WILLIAMS…….

The Mona Williams Incursion for Year 7 was held on the 14th

August.

Included in this report is an item from each Year 7 class who attended the

Incursion.

……………………………

Tuesday,

14th of

August, the

entire Year 7

went to the

library for a

storytelling presentation by a professional story teller,

Mona Williams.

After roll call, we all went to the library anticipating what

the storyteller had to tell us. After everyone streamed

into the room and calmed down, Mona Williams started to

introduce herself. She told us about her background –

that she was from New Zealand, and gave us a short

description of her life and her experiences.

She began her first story by relating it to our daily lives,

how we may feel excluded from our family or friends. Her

first story was entitled „The Outsider‟ which was one of

her first stories ever published about broken families.

„The Outsider‟ was based on her own experience as a

teenager. With divorced parents and sibling issues, she

felt left out and that she did not belong amongst her

family members. After years of separation from her

father, she finally had the opportunity to write to him

when she was 13. After several exchanges, she asked her

father how she got her name. Her father then explained

that her name was based on a life-threatening experience

that he had when he was young. He almost fell off the

edge of a waterfall called Mona Falls. In gratitude for

the fact that he had survived he named her „Mona‟. She

then understood that she was very special to her father

and that she was not unimportant as she had thought she

was. In a way, Mona Williams‟ father helped her to

understand herself and gave her a sense of belonging and

this and helped her to be „the insider‟.

After the first story which she presented in an animated

fashion, we had a little break, where she led us into a

short round of audience participation. In the game, we

had to listen to the rhymes and mimic after her. This

helped us to be more engaged with the stories; it also

gave us a chance to move around, and to prevent any

restlessness.

Callista Wong & Celeste Trpkoski 7BE

On the 14th of August Year 7 had a storyteller

come and visit us. Her name was Mona Williams.

Mona is a well-known storyteller who did an

excellent job of entertaining us. She told many

interesting stories and got us to interact by

singing songs and doing various activities

involving the stories.

Mona‟s first story was a personal one about how

she had always felt like an outsider in her own

family because she was a middle child. The

story was about how she had been given her

name and the impact this had on her. Her dad

had chosen it for her but he was in another

country and they didn‟t keep in contact. When

Mona was a little bit older, she wrote letters to

her father and asked why she was named „Mona‟.

It turns out that when her father was younger

he had gone on an adventure with some friends

and had almost died by nearly falling over a

waterfall while they were paddling down the

river against the tide. The waterfall was called

“Mona Falls” and he had vowed that if he

survived and had children he would call his

daughter “Mona” because it had a very

significant meaning for him as his life was

spared.

Mona felt very special when she learnt this and

felt loved and had a great sense of belonging as

she realised she was no longer an outsider but an insider. Mona‟s stories taught us that even

though you may feel like the odd one out

sometimes, we always fit in, just in different

ways.

Mona Williams‟ stories were interesting and

kept us entertained. We hope to see her again

and hear more of her fabulous stories.

Mona Williams then launched into her second story, which

was called „The Elfwyn Saga‟. The story was about a little

blind girl named Elfwyn. In the story, her clan had

disagreements with another clan, which was ruled by Gore

the Grim. Gore the Grim hatches an evil plan to hypnotize

Elfwyn‟s village, using an enchanted crystal. Elfwyn was

the only one in her father‟s clan that saw through the evil

plot. But nobody believed her, as they thought she was

nothing but a little blind girl who knew nothing. After

several failed attempts to convince her father about the

situation, she finally decided to take matters into her

own hands. Elfwyn broke the magic crystal and ultimately

broke the spell upon her village. In the end, she becomes

the heroine and earns the clan‟s respect. The moral of

the story is to never judge a book by its cover. Through

her storytelling, Mona taught us to never underestimate a

person, or object‟s worth.

The incursion was eye-opening and inspirational because

of the life lessons taught through the stories. We had a

wonderful time and it was a very worthwhile experience.

Cassandra Tsang Joy Liu

Jessica Jiang Caitlin Su 7K

Blakehurst High School has had an exciting year in

debating competitions in 2012. Our debating veterans of year

10 continued to battle other schools in two competitions: the

Premier’s Debating Challenge and the Macquarie

University Schools Day.

They had the opportunity to meet students from other

schools and challenge their impromptu speaking on mature

topics such as Queensland politics and the Australian mining

sector. They came painfully close to winning all three rounds

of both challenging competitions, and had a ball at the same

time. They made their coach proud!

The beginning of the year saw the establishment of two new

teams who attended training days and regular sessions with

their coach to hone their argumentation and speaking skills.

They competed against two teams from Moorefield Girls

High School on topics ranging from education, to media and

Australian society. The Year 7 team was congratulated by

their adjudicator from Sydney University for

making great improvements from the first to

the final round, while the year 8 team

became ZONE WINNERS after winning all

three debates.

Congratulations to both teams! You

have done us proud. The Year 8 team

will now go forth to compete in the inter-zone knock-out

round, against other zone winners. We wish them the best of

luck!

Ms Nozica

Debating Coach and Coordinator

Mrs J Hinson

Head Teacher English

LOTE Report

Year 8 French Students

This term has been

extremely busy for

the LOTE department. The Year 8

French class enjoyed an authentic

French Breakfast of chocolate

croissants and hot

chocolate.

The Greek students…

…enjoyed a delicious lunch at The

Island Restaurant in Sans Souci;

the senior students of Italian

visited Bar Reggio where they

were treated to authentic Italian

cuisine topped off with gelato from Gelato Messina and

finally students in Years 11 and 9 Chinese classes visited

the Chinese Gardens in Darling Harbour.

The Languages

Staff…

…were also involved in the Primary Links Program with

students from Carlton South Primary School. Our Year 9

French students worked with the primary students

explaining the significance of Mardi Gras and making

Carnival Masks.

The Greek Students Excursion….

……

Years 11 & 9 Excursion…. …On 24th August to the Darling Harbour

Chinese Garden and China Town. 52 junior

and senior students were mixed up into

small groups which created great

opportunities for International students to

make friends with the local students and

junior students to practice their Chinese

with the International students.

Mrs A Mangraviti

Head Teacher LOTE

Language Activities – Interviewing Each Other

Senior & Junior Students

YUM CHA at a Chinese Restaurant

CAPA ‘Column’

Term 3 has been a very busy term for the CAPA team!

Year 12 have now completed practical components of Drama

Visual Arts and Music. Year 12 Visual Arts completed their

Major Works for submission on 19 August. These works are

marked by itinerant markers early in Term 4. We will display

these works for viewing by our school community later in

Term 4 once the marking process has been completed.

Something for us all to look forward to! I have however

included some of our Year 11 Visual Arts students

photographs; some portraits and others landscapes.

Year 12 Drama students presented their group and individual

performances on Friday 31 August in the Drama Room.

Year 12 Music students were examined on their

performances on Thursday 6 September, Music 1 and

Monday, 10th September, 2012, Music 2. Thank you to Mrs

Codey, Mrs Bourtsouklis, Mr Jenkins, Ms Psarakis and Mrs

Bellato for your hard work and commitment to our Year 12

students and congratulations to our students for your hard

work and a job well done!

On a lighter note.......I am delighted to commend our Music

students for their performances during the term. During

Education Week earlier this term our String Ensemble

performed at Westfield Hurstville to an appreciative

audience, showcasing their pieces that they have been

working on.

Ruby Calder-Little sang with the voice of an angel,

accompanied on guitar by our 'resident rock star' - Harry

Alexiadis Fabulous performance!! If only there was a talent

scout around!!!

Both groups also performed at our annual Merit Awards

Assembly on Friday 31 August. Congratulations to our

performers for the wonderful entertainment they provide.

I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the

2012 Year 12 cohort on the completion of their schooling!

Yet another milestone in their lives. Good luck with the HSC

exams to follow in Term 4 and for the next steps they will

take in the rest of their lives! Well done!

Finally, I have some very exciting news to share with the

BHS community! Helen Elakis has safely delivered her two

gorgeous twin boys! The boys were born on Monday 3

September. Mum and babies are doing very well!!

Congratulations to Ms Elakis and her husband Crist on the

arrival of their beautiful babies Paul and Dimitri. We look

forward to Ms Elakis visiting us soon to show off her boys!!

On behalf of the CAPA team I wish you all a safe and restful

spring holiday!

Mrs J Jacobsen

Head Teacher CAPA

The Junior Prefects main

focus has been on fundraising for various charities and participating in school and community projects. They have conducted the Jeans for Genes Mufti Day,

Crazy Hair Day for the Leukemia foundation and were

involved in selling various merchandise for Daffodil Day.

They have also visited the local nursing home accompanied

by Mrs Smith, Mrs Loizos and Mrs Mangraviti. This was a

wonderful opportunity for the Junior Prefects to interact

with the elderly residents. They played the piano and

participated in games of balloon tennis and chatted.

The Senior Prefects have also been busy developing The

Student Leadership Webpage which will shortly be added to

our Website. They are also organising Slave Day the major

fund raiser for the year. Senior Prefects Health Week has

been very successful.

They engaged

students at

recess and

lunchtime in

a variety

of

physical

activities

fostering

harmony

and

interaction in

the playground.

Students were also able to

purchase healthy and delicious fruit kebabs. Some Senior

Prefects have volunteered to sell Legacy Badges on Legacy

Day in the local community.

EADERSHIP TEAM - Report

On Wednesdays 22 & 29 August, the Year 9 Junior

Prefects accompanied by Mrs Smith, Mrs

Managraviti and Ms Loizos, decided to pay a visit to

the Seniors in the Reirement Village in Cheddar

Street Blakehurst. Across the 2 weeks, the Prefects

took part in activities such as Balloon tennis, (the

Seniors favourite pastime), involving everyone sitting

in a circle and striking at a balloon with pool noodles

(quite fun if not just a tiny bit challenging). Each

Prefect spoke individually to some of the retirees

which in itself was an awe-inspiring experience due

to the fullness and hardships of most of their lives.

Visiting some of the Seniors in the dementia ward

was another experience in itself. To see such

brilliant minds with such a crippling disease as

dementia and to see an ex-Principal of a High School

suffer from it…well we, the Prefects, found it to be a

humbling experience in itself.

Due to the happiness (no matter how short) that was

given to the Seniors during our visit, it was decided

that the Junior Prefects are to make a tradition of

visiting the Retirement Village Therefore once every

term the Prefects are now to go and give just a little

more happiness to the retirees.

We now understand that life does get a little lonely

for those in Retirement Villages, not to mention those

with dementia, other illnesses, and those living by

themselves in their own homes.

To give just a little love and happiness is not much to

ask of anyone; after all it is why God put us all on this

earth.

Junior Prefects – Year 9

Mrs Smith/Mrs Mangraviti/Mrs Loizos

Leadership Team

PDHPE Faculty - Report Year 12 Students

Good luck to all of you as you prepare for the HSC next term.

The PDHPE team wish you all the very best and hope that

you all achieve the results you require to move into further

education or the workforce.

Congratulations…

…Matthew Edenborough who topped Year 12 in 2 Unit

PDHPE. Well done!!

Year 11 Preliminary Course

Year 11 you are coming to the end of this course, with final

exams in the last two weeks of Term 3. Have a pleasant and

relaxing holiday as the HSC course starts in earnest at the

beginning of Term 4.

Year 7 to 10…

…are continuing to work through their respective courses in

both theory and practical lessons.

The PASS and Soccer classes…

…in Years 9 and 10 have now completed the Premier

Sporting Challenge. Well done on your efforts and keep up

the good work and ―exercise‖.

Great news!

The newly developed Foster Street grass area will be ready

for use at the beginning of Term 4 for recess and lunch and

PE lessons. This area, at times, will need to be closed for

maintenance and repair to ensure its longevity. This will be a

fantastic area for our students and will be used by some PE

classes instead of walking to Carss or Todd Parks.

A Big Thank you…

...to all the families and staff who have bought in Coles

vouchers. I have sent in our wish list for sports equipment

which will be delivered after our ―7 bags‖ of vouchers are

counted.

END OF YEAR INTEREST ELECTIVES 2012

Monday 17th

, Tuesday 18th

Wednesday 19th

December 2012

During Week 11 in Term 4 Interest Electives will be held for

each year. This is a COMPULSORY program for all students

with further specific details, for each year, being circulated

early in Term 4. An overview of programs for each year are:

Year 7 Swimming and Life Saving including

Resuscitation.

Year 8 Activities with each student choosing the activity

they would most like to do from the choices offered.

Year 9 Peer Support Training for Year 10 Peer Leaders

Year 10 Be Study Skills/All My Own Work/Financial

Skills are compulsory for progression into Year 11

Year 11-25 Hour COMPULSORY PDHPE Course for all

students as stipulated by the NSWDEC. Components

include: Guest speakers, Resuscitation course

conducted by Royal Lifesaving Society and a peer

building adventure day at Cataract Park. This course

must be completed before a student can progress into

Year 12. The cost for this course is $85 which covers

the costs of all external providers and can be paid in

installments to the front office.

Have a great holiday!

PDHPE Sports - Report

With the completion of Winter Grade Sport and the

commencement of Summer Sport, we have finished Term III on

a positive note. Blakehurst High School had 25 teams

contesting grand finals in Week 7 – Wednesday 29th August and

I am very pleased to announce that we were victorious in 15 of

these finals. What a wonderful achievement by a talented and

enthusiastic group of students, with many thanks to the teachers

who coached these teams throughout the year. Congratulations

to the following teams who were Premiers in the Winter Grade

Sport Championship.

Congratulations also to the following teams, who have done an

incredible job to make it to the Grand Final, but unfortunately

were beaten. The Runners Up in the Winter Grade Sport

Championship are:

Yours in Sport

Mr T Yelavich

Head Teacher & PDHPE Team

Basketball Open Girls Mr Huxley 29-4 Basketball 13A Girls Mr Estephan 12-7 T/Tennis Open A Girls Ms Broadbent 4-2 Open B Girls Ms Broadbent 6-0 14B Girls Ms Alchin 6-0 Open A Boys Mrs Chen 4-3 Open B Boys Mrs Chen 4-3 Open D Boys Ms Winston Ms Lao 4-2 14B Boys Ms Butler 4-2 14D Boys Ms Qiu 5-1 Soccer 15B Boys Mr Irani 2-1 Netball Open B Girls Ms Lyons 7-4 13A Girls Ms Camilleri 20-19 Hockey Open Girls Ms Johnson 12-0 Tennis Open B Boys Ms Evangelinos 11-1

Basketball 15A Girls Mr Ahern 15B Girls Mr Ahern 13A Girls Mr Estephan Hockey Open Boys Mrs Allen Volleyball 15A Girls Mrs Louey 15B Girls Mrs Louey Table Tennis 14A Girls Mrs Alchin 14A Boys Ms Butler Tennis Open A Boys Ms Evangelinos Rugby League Open Boys Mr Van Munster

Oz Tag

On Tuesday 14th August, Blakehurst High attended the annual

St George Oz Tag Championship held at Scarborough Park.

With a record ten teams; four teams in junior, four teams in

intermediate and two teams in the open competition. Competing

with the sun shining, it was a great day to be playing sport

amongst their friends. After all the preliminary rounds, we had

six teams play in the semi finals, the most from any St George

Zone School. With some very tight matches, some going into

triple extra time. We managed to get three teams into the grand

final, again the most from any St George Zone School. With

three teams in the final, we were favourites in one and even in

the other two.

At the completion of the day, Blakehurst High were Champions

in the Open Girls (Year 11) and the Intermediate Girls (Year

9/10) and Runners Up in the Open Boys (Year 11). A great

achievement by all students, and many thanks to the teachers

who coached on the day. Results are published below.

On Wednesday 5th September, Blakehurst High‘s Open Girls

competed in the Cronulla Sutherland Oz Tag Tournament. With

these girls‘ impeccable unbeaten record in Oz Tag competitions,

they knew they would have to be on their game to compete

against many Shire Schools. Again our girls, went through to the

Grand Final undefeated and were not challenged in the final,

easily accounting for Sylvania High 4-1 in a dominant display.

Congratulations to all these girls and to Ms Berrett who has been

there every step of the way for the past five years.

Martial Arts Congratulations to Matthew Fong in Year 10 who successfully

competed at the Oceania Championships recently and brought

home two Gold and one Bronze medal. These achievements

were in:

Two Gold – Kung Fu

Bronze – Kick Boxing

As a result of Matthew‘s outstanding performances, he has been

selected to represent Australia at the World Chin Woo

Championships to be held in October in China. We wish

Matthew every success in these Championships over the next

few weeks.

Table Tennis On Tuesday 3rd September, Mrs Alchin took a talented group of

girls to the NSW Secondary Schoolgirls Table Tennis

Championships at Sydney Olympic Sports Halls, Homebush

Bay. These girls played extremely well, playing against much

older competitors and came away from the tournament with a

Silver and Bronze medal.

Of the seven teams that played, we had a record six who played

in the quarter finals which is a fantastic achievement and shows

tremendous depth in our school.

Congratulations to the following girls who won medals on this

day.

Silver – Michel Kuang Yr 9 & Natasha Fong Yr 8

Bronze – Tiffany Wong Yr 9 & Tamika Kosasih Yr 9

Athletics At the time of writing this report, we have four talented athletes

competing at the NSWCHS Athletics Championships. These

students are competing in numerous events and had a nice

surprise on Wednesday 5th September when Australia‘s 400m

Olympian Steve Solomon came to visit the school to present

some awards and wish these students good luck.

Steve is the first Australian to make the 400m final at the

Olympic Games in 24 years and only being 19 years of age, will

be a gold medal prospect in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. We were

blessed to have Steve in our company and for him to provide an

insight into his running career to date and also his future

endeavours. Many thanks must be extended to Mr Roff for

organizing such an elite athlete to present the students awards.

Mr Roff is very good friends and training partner with Steve on

the track. The following is a photo taken with our NSWCHS

Athletics representatives after Steve had wished them good luck.

Upcoming Events NSWCHS Athletics Carnival – Sydney Olympic Park Athletic

Centre, Thursday 6th – Saturday 8th September

Senior Grade Sport Summer Finals – Oct 31st & Nov 7th

Junior Grade Sport Summer Finals – Nov 21st & Nov 28th

Sport web sites The following sport web sites are useful for school sport notices,

zone sport information and Sydney East knock outs and

representation.

Blakehurst High Sport Information – http://www.blakehurst-

h.schools.nsw.edu.au/sport

St George Zone Sport Information –

http://www.stgeorgesssa.com.au/

Sydney East Sport Information -

http://www.sports.det.nsw.edu.au/syd_east/welcome.htm

Open girls Oz Tag Champions of both St George & Cronulla Tournaments under the

Blakehurst High School Tent.

S Woulf T Milacic M Soliman Steve Solomon D McCuaig-Walton

Oz Tag

Jnr Girls I & II Ms Grima Narrowly missed Semi Finals N/A Jnr Boys I Mr Kemp Semi Finalist Beaten 5-4 Jnr Boys II Mr Kemp Narrowly missed Semi Finals N/A Intermediate Girls I Ms Hawkins Champions 5-4 Intermediate Girls II Ms Hawkins Narrowly missed Semi Final N/A Intermediate Boys I Mr Tsattalios Semi Finalists (triple extra time) 7-6 Intermediate Boys II Mr Tsattalios Semi Finalist 8-4 Open Girls Ms Berrett Champions 5-1 Open Boys Ms Berratt Runners Up Beaten 2-0

Regards

Mr N Smith Sports Organiser

From the CAREERS Adviser