contact term 3 2014
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Darwin High School NewsletterTRANSCRIPT
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Volume 14 Edition 3 Term 3 September 2014
Contact Newsletter
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Principal’s Update As you may be aware a consultative process was
undertaken in Term 2 and Term 3 of this year with
the Darwin High School Council passing a motion
for Darwin High School to apply to become an In-
dependent Public School from the 2015 school
year.
What is an Independent Public School and what are the benefits?
Schools that become an IPS will remain within the NT government
system of schools and operate within the Education Act.
Becoming an IPS allows for greater autonomy or independence on
how the school makes decisions. This allows for tailored, school spe-
cific strategic plans and operations directly in line with school and
student needs.
It provides greater flexibility in areas such as staff recruitment, school
development, operations, management and programs at the school.
The principles of merit based employment selection and workplace
agreements remain intact.
School Council will operate as a Board, allowing for membership
from both within the school community and external to the school.
This enables the school to have access to a broad range of exper-
tise. The Board must still consist of a majority of parents.
The school’s accountability structure will be linked closely to the
Chief Executive of the Department of Education, rather than the cur-
rent multilayered regional structure.
A written application was submitted and last
week, a presentation was made to a panel of
four from within the Department and COGSO.
We hope to find out in early Term 4 if we are
successful so that planning can commence for
the 2015 school year.
School Council have also been heavily involved
in the planning of the new Northern Territory
Open Education Centre (NTOEC) building on
our campus. This will provide Darwin High
School with a new “front of school’ as well as
additional classroom space. Below is an artist’s
impression of what this building may look like.
I would like to thank all the staff and School
Council members for their work during Term 3.
With Year 12s counting down the weeks to ex-
ams and completion of all assessment, Year
11s starting to understand the commitment
ahead of them and Year 10s completing the
groundwork for the final senior years, we all look
forward to a busy and productive Term 4.
Trevor Read
Principal
Study Lines – Are they worth it?
This year Darwin High School introduced a
seven line timetable. This was in response to
the staff cuts and the need to increase face to
face teaching time of our teachers.
Many saw the benefits of a seven line timeta-
ble. Year 10 students for example had more
electives to choose from and Year 11 student
were given a ‘study line’ to allow them to com-
plete homework tasks and revision. Year 12
students who only needed to complete 4 sub-
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Year 12 News
It is hard to believe that we are at the end of Term 3. Our
Year 12 students have essentially completed their courses
and will now be preparing for their trial exams, final exams
and final assessment tasks for the non-examinable subjects.
Students need to ensure they recharge their batteries during
the week’s break as many are starting to show signs that the
long hours of study and completion of assessment tasks are
taking their toll. Then we need to prepare for the final phase.
We wish all our Year 12s all the best for the upcoming ex-
aminations.
Year 12 Arrangements for Term 4
Trial Exams Week, 6 - 10 October: Students who have
examinable subjects will have their trial exams during this
week. During this time classes may run as tutorials. Howev-
er, students will need to prioritise their time by studying for
and attending the trial exams.
Normal Classes, 13 - 23 October: Classes for Year 12,
both examinable and non-examinable subjects, will continue
as normal. The expectation is that all Year 12 students will
attend classes for vital revision work for the examinable sub-
jects, and the finishing of assessment tasks in the non-
examinable subjects.
Final Day & Final Assembly, Friday 24 October: This is
the final day for Year 12 students. The final assembly will be
a display of Year 12 talents and a farewell to Darwin High
School. The Year 12 cohort will be dismissed from the
School at approximately 9.30am and will be asked to go
home and not return to the school for the rest of the day.
Study Week, 27 October – 31 October: This is a study
week for all students and also an opportunity for students to
seek assistance from their teachers to prepare for the exam-
inations.
Final Exams, 3 - 19 November: Students will only be re-
quired to attend the school to sit their final exams where ap-
plicable.
Year 12 Graduation & Year 12 Formal, Monday 24 No-
vember: The Year 12 Graduation Ceremony will be held at
the Convention Centre and all are invited. The Year 12 For-
mal is open only to Year 12 Students. One ticket will be put
aside for each student in the current cohort. Students will
need to pay $120.00 at the Finance Office. Once students
have paid and returned all of their library books, locker keys
and laptop they will be issued their formal ticket.
Patricia Cryer
Assistant Principal Year 12
jects to qualify for an ATAR had even more time for study.
Unfortunately there were also some unintended consequenc-
es of the seven line timetable. Many Year 10 students com-
plained about the extra workload that seven subjects requires,
particularly homework and assignments. Year 12s were also
affected, but for different reasons. With the freedom of the
additional study lines, some Year 12 students found that they
had extra time on their hands. Instead of using this time effec-
tively, they wasted it. You may recall the adage about idle
hands. This has resulted in a number of Year 12s not achiev-
ing to their full potential.
So back to my question, study lines, are they worth it? The
answer is yes and no. For students who are motivated, well
organised and set short term and long term goals, the study
line has been worth it. Analysis of data comparing 2013 Se-
mester 1 Stage 1 results with 2014 Semester 1 Stage 1 re-
sults shows that there has been some improvement in aca-
demic achievement. (see below) However, this could also be
attributed to the cohort. Nevertheless, the introduction of the
supervised study must have had some positive impact.
In 2015, Darwin High School will revert back to a six line time-
table. We will be increasing the frequency that teachers meet
with students to four times a week. (Currently students have
two single lessons and one double lesson.) Study lines for
Year 11 students will only be given to those students who
have sufficient NTCET credits. Year 12 students in 2015 who
require an ATAR must take five subjects. Most students will
have just one study line and this time will also be required for
some summative assessment tasks. Study time at school will
once again be at a premium and there will be no place for idle
hands at school.
Kevin Northcote
Assistant Principal Year 11
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Ministerial Visitors
On 16 September, Darwin High School was honoured by a visit
from the Australian Government’s Minister for Education, the Hon-
ourable Christopher Pyne MP.
Minister Pyne was accompanied by the NT Minister for Education,
the Honourable Peter Chandler MLA, and an entourage of mind-
ers, media, security personnel and Commonwealth and NT Edu-
cation Department officials.
The Ministerial Party was met by Mr Read and student leaders.
They visited classrooms and the Science Faculty staff room
where they took a few minutes from their busy schedule to admire
the view from the balcony.
At the conclusion of his visit, Minister Pyne announced that the
NT Education Department would receive $1.61 million in funding
from the Australian Government to implement the Independent
Public Schools’ Initiative.
Darwin High School is one of five NT schools being considered by
the NT Education Department to begin operating as an independ-
ent public school in 2015.
Trevor Read Principal
Vietnam Veterans Day (also known as The Battle of
Long Tan Day)
Jordyn Nolan, Tina Cheng, Luke Jettner, Taylah Peters,
Micki Teng, Eric Beale, Russ Kundu and Meg Smith joined
about 200 members of the public at the Commemorative
Service at the Cenotaph to mark Vietnam Veterans Day.
Their presence was appreciated by the Veterans, many of
whom personally thanked the students for their attend-
ance.
Commodore Brenton Smyth RAN delivered the address in
which he outlined the history created by ADF members
who served in Vietnam. Vietnam was the first conflict to
employ modern battle tactics, which are still in use today.
During the Vietnam Conflict, members of the three arms of
the Defence Force fought as an integrated unit. Commo-
dore Smyth contrasted this style of combat with what hap-
pened at Gallipoli. He also compared the variance in the
public acceptance of the Vietnam Veterans with those who
returned from the First World War. It was a sobering re-
flection.
Many of the books laid by dignitaries at the Cenotaph will
be directed to Darwin High School.
Judy Boland
Business Faculty
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Year 10 Ski Trip
This year the Darwin High School ski
trip went to Perisher Ski Fields in
NSW, the largest ski field in the
southern hemisphere. This year we
had 29 excited Year 10 and Year 11
students and three staff on our trip.
Upon our late arrival, it was bitterly
cold and there was evidence of re-
cent snow showers. We woke up
early to the news that on the moun-
tain they had had continuous dumps
of snow and the conditions this sea-
son were some of the best they have
had in nearly a decade. And so,
thankfully our fears of doing bush-
walking rather than skiing were
pushed aside.
Our excitement grew as we picked
up our ski and boarding gear and
headed to Snowy Gums Chalet at
Perisher where snow covered cars in
the car park heightened our enthusi-
asm. This eagerness was still not
diminished even after we slid and
slipped over as we unpacked the
bus. After a quick but serious chat
about being prepared for the cold
conditions, we were off.
Those with experience hit the slopes,
keen to make the most of the powder
from the dump the night before. The
beginners had their first lesson. The
first session is always the hardest
but excellent dry conditions and sun-
shine made the process easier. We came in cold, tired and sore but excited about the skiing ahead.
Over the following days the weather remained perfect and meant that the students were able to learn quickly. By the end of
the second full day a number of students were good enough to start exploring the resort. Perisher has three mountains to ex-
plore and a series of terrain parks to keep the boarders happy. Pretty soon the top boarders were out-carving, out-jumping
and out-classing even experienced Aaron Dalgleish. Oh to be young and fearless! By the end of the week everyone had de-
veloped enough skills to ski independently and, aside from me injuring my knee on Day 2 and putting an end to my skiing ca-
reer, there were no other major injuries.
The trip was a huge success. We had great snow conditions with ideal weather and the Snowy Gums Chalet provided fantas-
tic accommodation and food. The students were also fantastic, showing great maturity and independence. I was very proud of
each and every one.
Rohan Ford
Year 10 Coordinator
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NTCET Information
Attendance and Special Provisions
Attendance is crucial to student learning and achieve-
ment. Teachers plan their teaching, learning and as-
sessment to take the entirety of the time allocated to the
course. On occasion, unforeseen circumstances and
incidents impact on a student’s capacity to attend and
demonstrate their learning during the time allocated.
Special provisions processes can be used to modify as-
sessment in this circumstance to still allow demonstra-
tion of all learning requirements. However, special provi-
sions are not applicable to absences of the student’s
own choosing, including absences for family holidays.
We encourage you to plan family holidays during the
designated school holiday period due to their impact on
student learning. Darwin High School’s Assessment Pol-
icy details our processes in assessment and special pro-
visions and is available on our website under curriculum/
policies.
Accessing Results Online
Students can check their final results for their NTCET by
logging into Students Online. It is a good idea to check
your log in details for this now to ensure that you can
access the site. Students Online can be accessed via
the SACE Board website at the address shown here
https://apps.sace.sa.edu.au/students-online/login.do. To ac-
cess the site, students will need to use their SACE Reg-
istration Number. This is available on all Darwin High
School reports. The default pin number is the first four
digits of the student’s date of birth. For instance the pin
number for someone born on 4 April is 0404. After log-
ging on for the first time, students will be prompted to
choose a new pin number. This pin number should be
recorded for the future use as password resets are un-
likely on the day of results release.
Contact Details
Students should also check their contact details on Stu-
dents Online. A hard copy of results and the NTCET will
be sent to the address recorded here. If this address is
incorrect, please notify the school as soon as possible
so that this can be changed.
Exams
All students have received their Trial Exam timetable.
The timetable for the external SACE Board exams is
available at the following address:http://
www.sace.sa.edu.au/the-sace/students-families/exams.
NATIONAL MATHEMATICS
SUMMER SCHOOL (NMSS)
This is a selective camp that
caters for students from all
over Australia who are in Year
11 in 2014 and who not only
enjoy Mathematics but also
are very mathematically able. It is a two-week
program held at the Australian National Univer-
sity in Canberra in January 2015.
Darwin High School is proud to have Harry
Booth represent the Northern Territory for the
2015 National Mathematics Summer School.
The fact that Harry is only a Year 10 student
but selected for this “Year 11 Maths program”
speaks volumes about Harry’s mathematical
capability and we congratulate Harry on his se-
lection for NMSS.
Esther Tan
Mathematics Teacher
This page also contains other useful information on
study and managing stress at exams. It is important
to note that both trial and external exams start
promptly at 8 am if they are in the morning and, at
12.30 pm if they are in the afternoon. Students are
not permitted to enter the exam room more than
half an hour after the start of an exam except in the
event of extenuating circumstances that are be-
yond the student’s control. The School should be
contacted in this event. Should a student be ill on
the day of an exam, the School should also be con-
tacted. In the event that the student cannot sit an
exam due to illness, medical evidence, must be
provided via the School, to the SACE Board.
Dress Code
A reminder that rules regarding dress code apply
during examinations. Students are to ensure they
are wearing covered foot wear and respectable
clothing.
NTCET Coordinator
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China Bound
Year 11 student, Joyce
Yeum was placed first in
the Chinese Bridge
Competition in Adelaide.
As the winner, Joyce
will travel to Kunming,
China to join other stu-
dents to make up the
Australian team in the
international competi-
tion. The competition,
which is nationally tele-
vised across China, in-
volves individual and team events which require students to use Chi-
nese language in a range of situations. Good luck Joyce.
Liam May
2014 Master Builder Association
School Based Apprentice of the Year
Civics Awards Presentation Lunch in recognition of the significant contribution made by these students to the School
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Public Speaking and Debating
UNYA NT The Evatt Trophy
A number of Darwin High School students believe along with the ex-Vice President of the United States, Hubert Humph-
rey, that “Freedom is hammered out on the anvil of discussion, dissent, and debate.” In teams of two, they have spent Sat-
urday, 13 September or Saturday, 20 September at CDU in a mock UN Security Council session, advocating for a country
they have been allocated by the organisers of the Trophy. Teams represented countries on all the continents apart from
Australia, and spent time before the event researching information and developing strategies for debating the motions that
were before the Council.
Josephine Ugwu and Stephanie Von Kanel
Courtney Buckley and Saurav Kundu
Furdosa Ababor and Kaavya Weearsundera
Meika Liveris and Charlotte Nheu
Marcus Low and Andrew Harding
Toby Williamsom and Robbie Lever
Chetan Ganesh and Sarah Banks
Aurora Jan and Matilda Dorman
Yada Katonchaleekul and Alex Perrett
Prathika Undi and Beth Hubble
Kokona Tomazos and Johannah Pastor
Christopher Teng and Max Stretton
Lauren Northcote and Shantelle Mazai
Ka Wai Teng and Krshna Capaque
Congratulations go to Chris Teng in Year
12 who singlehandedly promoted the Tro-
phy and urged students to form teams.
His reward was one of the highest num-
ber of teams to register in recent years.
Plain English Speaking Award
Shannon Hunt, the winner of the Plain
English Speaking state finals, represent-
ed the Northern Territory at the National
Finals in Adelaide in August. The state
finalists were treated to a weekend of ac-
tivities, including a tour of Haigh’s Choco-
late Factory, and given time for last mi-
nute rehearsal before performing on the
Monday.
The NT Coordinator, Ms Helena Monaghan, expressed her pride in Shannon’s performance, particularly her Impromptu
Speech, and although she did not win this very challenging competition, by all reports she represented the NT with distinc-
tion.
Susan Cameron
Coordinator, Debating and Public Speaking Activities
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Administrator’s Farewell Lunch
The 18th Administrator of the Northern Territory, the Honourable Sally Thomas AC, was farewelled by students of Darwin
High School in September, as Her Honour’s term as Administrator of the Northern Territory draws to a close.
Her Honour’s interest in education is well documented and she has also been a great supporter of Darwin High School.
On arrival at Darwin High School, Her Honour was met by student leaders Russ Kundu and Shannon Hunt who introduced
Her Honour to Regional Director Mrs Guppy and Principal Mr Read.
Shannon Hunt speaking on behalf of the DHS student body thanked Her Honour for the many opportunities she had extend-
ed to students of Darwin High School, and Mr Read thanked Her Honour for the rare privilege of formal dining in the gra-
cious surroundings of Government House which she had provided for two groups of Darwin High students.
An appetising two course luncheon was served by Ayak James, Forkpah Baliah, Olga Kondonis, Cheyenne Crowley, Ash-
leigh Rankin and Demi Pikos of the Integrated Learning - Catering class, led by Ms McIntyre.
Special thanks to all the Home Economics staff and students who facilitated this event.
Judy Boland
Coordinator
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Year 11 Health Checks
On Tuesday 19 August , the Stage 1 Nutrition class went to Charles Darwin University to take
part in a hands-on LifeLab Workshop run by Menzies School of Health Research. The Work-
shop was being held as part of Science Week 2014 and Darwin High students were the first
and only school group to take part in this free workshop. Students collected their own personal
data in workbooks provided by Menzies staff and this data was used as part of their first nutri-
tion assessment task. Menzies staff were in attendance all day, along with a qualified dietician
who provided guidance in completing the different health stations and to assist in explaining
results. The students found the workshop very interesting and the information relevant to not
only Nutrition but to their general health and wellbeing.
The LifeLab Workshop included the following measurements and all students completed each
station in small groups:
· Pulse oximetery (measure of haemoglobin and oxygen in blood)
· Blood pressure
· Ear otoscopy (examination of the ear drum and ear canal)
· Grip strength
· Smokerlyzer (measure of exposure to smoke)
· Bioimpedance (scales that measure body-mass index, fat content, metabolic age)
· Spirometry (measure of lung function)
· Effectiveness of hand washing.
This was a worthwhile activity and Menzies’ staff praised our students for their enthusiastic attitude and maturity.
Erin Crook
Nutrition Teacher
Shayne Eunice Alarcon having her blood pressure
tested
Josh O’Brien testing his metabolic
age on the Bioimpedance Scales
Alice Davies completing the Smokelyzer test Rachael Tynan completing the Pulse
Oximetery test
Christian Discussion Group
There has been an active group of students at Darwin High that love to generate robust discussion, hear what the Bible says
and sponsor a child in a developing nation. Rosie Reimers and Rev Bruce Chapman oversee the group one lunch time per
week.
A young girl in India, Vanshika, has been sponsored by the group. One successful sausage sizzle raised most of the money
required for her support ($44 per month) up until the start of November. I wish to commend the students whose enthusiasm
and hard work made this fund raiser possible. We believe people who are poor matter and love to see students engaging with a
vision to support someone in need.
We will soon say goodbyes to several Year 12 students as their examinations begin. Their leadership and enthusiasm will be
missed but we know they will go on to be successful in life. The group is open to students of any year level and participation is
a voluntary opt-in, bring lunch and join in for as many meetings as takes ones interest.
Rosie Reimers
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Bilingual Book Launch
Since late 2013, students of Chinese have been collaborat-
ing with the City of Darwin to develop a bilingual book titled
‘Life as a teenager in Darwin’ to exchange with Darwin’s
sister city, Haikou, where students also developed their
own book.
The official launch of the book was held on 8 August at
Casuarina Library. Year 12 student, Jacinta Mu led the
launch as English Master of Ceremonies, while Year 11
student, Joyce Yeum took on the role of Chinese interpret-
er. Year 11 student, Johannah Pastor also read an extract
from the book in both English and Chinese.
Marnie Foster
Chinese Language Teacher
Update Your Contact Details
If you have moved, changed work, email or home
telephone numbers, please contact the Front Of-
fice on 8999 1222. It is important that the School
has up-to-date information in case of emergencies.
Email Lists—Just Not Getting It?
Year level Assistant Principals send regular emails
to parents to keep them informed of important
events and opportunities. If you’re not getting
them, contact [email protected]
Beat the Build Up Heat
After hours Homework Centre in the Library
Open until 6pm—Monday to Thursday
Work in air-conditioned comfort
Tutor Support
Phone 8999 1213
15
CDU Maths Enrichment Activity
What does the game Battleships, the rectangles on a cheese-
board and the patterns of German folk dances have in com-
mon? These were all part of the challenging learning activities
used at the Maths Enrichment Activity at CDU.
From 14—18 July students from Darwin High School and sev-
eral other schools attended the Maths Enrichment Activity at
CDU. The workshop began with Dr Uwe Luck leading us
through an exploration of proofing techniques—direct, contra-
diction and induction. On reflection, this appears simple. How-
ever, on Monday morning, most of us bleary-eyed students
found the concepts perplexing and it was rewarding to ulti-
mately understand these concepts and watch the presenters
arrive at solutions in a seemingly effortless fashion.
Dr Uwe also discussed combinatorics (permutations and com-
binations), which investigates counting discrete units. Permu-
tations are selections from a set where order is important; for
instance, if three balls were selected from a bag containing ten
balls of different colours, a selection of green, red and yellow
would be different to a selection of green, yellow and red.
Combinations are selections where the order is irrelevant; the
two previous selections would be considered the same.
Dr Khalid Khan provided us with several intriguing puzzles.
The first kept us occupied for a while, as he asked us to deter-
mine how many rectangles and squares were present on a
chessboard. The solution was based on combinatorics, for a
rectangle only requires two vertices from two sepa-
rate rows of a chessboard; hence, we simply had to
determine the different methods of selecting two
vertices from two separate rows.
Dr Peter Shaw also lectured at the workshop and
gave us activities to determine the shortest possible
route that would connect all houses in a city, and
even allowed us to play several versions of Battle-
ships. These games laid the groundwork for his
presentations, which first involved the graph theory
where we discovered that complete graphs (graphs
where all vertices are connected in all possible
means) have a set amount of edges, as determined
by a specific formula.
Dr Peter also included sorting games. In the first
game, students were lined up in no particular order
on one side of a large map. The students followed
the map, and when any two students arrived at the
same point, the taller would move to the right and
the shorter to the left. As if by magic, this simple
sorting mechanism resulted in the students being
arranged in order of height by the time they reached
the end of the map. Through a German folk dance
we looked at how algorithms and computer pro-
grams function, with the individual numbers being
divided into smaller sections, then sorted within
groups, and finally, sorted to form an overall se-
quence.
Despite the challenges we encountered, the work-
shop was engaging and provided insight into the
diverse field of mathematics. It was a well-spent five
days, thanks to Dr Ian Roberts, Dr Judy Egan, Oli-
vera Bisevac, Dr Khalid Khan, Dr Peter Shaw, Dr
Uwe Leck, and of course, Mrs Tan, for giving us the
opportunity to be involved.
Kaavya Weerasundera
Year 12
16
Fannie Bay to Castle Bay, Karatsu
I have just returned from Castle Bay, Karatsu where
I competed in the Laser Youth 4.7 Worlds Regatta
with four other young Australian sailors. We sailed in
a fleet of 105 from 32 countries.
There is a lot to be said about Japanese hospitality.
In Karatsu, another Australian sailor and I, were met
at the station by the very obliging Taeko from the
sailing club who quickly took us off to dinner at a lo-
cal restaurant. I had some kind of noodles on ice,
which was my second weirdest meal. (This was
topped by eating live squid.) We stayed at inns and I
never have experienced a hotel where the owners
were so obliging and willing to help. As a sailor it’s a
rare treat when the hotel owners beat you to hanging
out your wet gear each day.
As for the sailing, Castle Bay is an interesting place.
Our days of training ranged from struggling to make
any ground against a five-knot tide, to battling a
three metre plus swell. However, at the end of the
four training days the whole team certainly felt well
prepared. Practice race day was interrupted by a
typhoon passing about 400 kilometres to the south
east that resulted in the frantic tying down of boats.
Thankfully, this was gone by the next day so we
could start the Regatta properly. The first day was
just like the entire following qualifying series, light
winds, big swells and big shifts. That kind of stuff
isn’t my favorite weather and I spent a lot of time
coming off the line well only to find that I was sailed
over by a whole cacophony of smaller Europeans
and Japanese. The following four days followed the
same formula of crazy shifts and big swells. It wasn’t
uncommon to see someone attempt a tack only to
be flung straight over by a crest. Luckily, by the time
we got into the finals—where I was the second last
boat in Gold Fleet, the wind picked up, but was
Hamish Wiltshire, representing Australia in Japan.
strangely blowing into the swell. This again made for some odd sail-
ing. The stronger winds brought about some better results for me with
the final race, an eighth place, being my best of the week. This led
into the last day of the Regatta where one stadium race for the top 30
was scheduled. Again I just scraped into this by one place. But for a
lack of wind this was cancelled—probably having a bit to do with the
180 degree wind-shifts too, and the Regatta finished a race short.
At the end of the Regatta I finished up in twenty ninth position. This
was a further back than I had wanted to be but with the winds, it was
probably a reflection of my size. Although I didn’t finish where I want-
ed, the Worlds was certainly a huge learning experience. From being
screamed at by raging Turks, doing a 720 and being passed by 15
boats, to having on-water chats with various other international com-
petitors, it is an experience that I will never forget and I am a better
sailor for it.
It has been great to get back on the water this week training in the
Minnows, instructing with the Tackers program and sharing my
knowledge and experience. My participation would not have been
possible without being proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory
Government and assisted by the Australian Sports Commission, Dar-
win Sailing Club and Yachting Northern Territory—which provided
sailing and training opportunities that allows NT sailors to compete
both nationally and internationally. My thanks also goes to Darwin
High School for being flexible with my catch-up study program. And
finally, without the support of Mum, Dad and my brothers and sister I
would never have got there. My biggest thank you goes out to them.
Ma tar ney (See you later)
Hamish Wiltshire
Year 11
17
Defence Transition Mentor News
National Scholarships 2015. The Australian Veterans’
Children Assistance Trust (AVCAT) provide a range of
scholarships and bursaries to children and grandchildren
of ADF veterans to assist with their future tertiary studies.
Applications close on 31 October 2014. For more infor-
mation and details of each of the scholarships see. http://
www.avcat.org.au/Students/Applicants.aspx.
The Top Ender, August/September issue. This issue
has a travel theme with five great stories focusing on very
different types of travel and very different locations. To
receive the Top Ender magazine, email
ADF GapYear. The Australian Defence Force Gap Year
2015 is open for applications. The program was launched
by Assistant Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert, who said
it provided an opportunity for young Australians, who have
finished Year 12 or equivalent, to experience 12 months in
the military without the obligation to make a longer com-
mitment. Successful applicants may be able to earn more
than $45,000 per year while on the program. Contact
www.defencejobs.gov.au , phone 131901 or visit Defence
Recruitment Centre in Mitchell Street.
New REDLO. Annick Beyderwellen has commenced at
the DCO in the role of Regional Education Defence Liai-
son Officer. Annick graduated as an Early Childhood
teacher and has taught in Darwin primary schools for 16
years. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience
to the position and is keen to support our Defence families
and students.
Please feel free to contact the DTM at any time.
Paul McConnell
Defence Transition Mentor
Darwin High School Stage Band performing at the Darwin Show.
18
Seniors’ Week Morning
Tea and Concert
To celebrate Seniors’
Month, Darwin High
School students contribut-
ed their diverse talents to
present ‘A Morning of En-
tertainment’ for the senior
citizens of the City.
The Darwin High concert
is now a well established
event on the seniors’ cal-
endar. This year it was
organised and led by the
Year 12 Leadership Group
and ably assisted by stu-
dents from the Secondary
Intensive English Unit
(SIEU).
It provided the SIEU stu-
dents in the Integrated
Learning-Work Course
with an opportunity to un-
dertake some practical
aspects of the course.
They assisted where
needed and became in-
volved in a very special
school-community event.
It provided them with the
opportunity to work with
mainstream students and
to meet and interact with
community members.
Student comperes were
Chetan Ganesh and Sa-
mantha Ramsey. Musical
items were provided by Omja Das, Ms Bryett, Sarah Banks, Eric Beale, Mr Northcote, Mr Atfield, Harrison Wy-
vill, Donald Sanger, Kristina Lee, Eugene Duffy, Bijou Daniels, Arran Barker, Teja Binti Solah, David Quested
Joshua Yick, Michelle Kerrin, Colleen Lo, Shiane Hawke and the Year 11 and Year 12 Dance groups.
A scrumptious morning tea was provided by the Integrated Learning - Catering students led by Ms McIntyre.
Thank you to all the musicians, dancers, caterers, student leaders, the SIEU cohort and all involved in the
Seniors’ Week Morning of Entertainment. It was a wonderful success.
Judy Boland
19
20
Dance
The Performing Arts Dance De-
partment exploded in 2014 and
staff Sarah Calver and Julia
Quinn offered different senior
dance programs with varying
degrees of depth and intensity.
We kick-started the year with our
annual fundraiser event Dance
14. This pivotal dance celebra-
tion gives voice to the diverse
range of dance offered at DHS
and in the broader community. In
May, we entered several works
into the WA and NT Dance Ei-
steddfod and won first prize in
the Group Ensemble and Lyrical
categories and second place in
Solo.
Following this, the talented Creative Arts Stage 2 Dance class, joined by 24 other fellow DHS dance students and graduate
students, presented BRAVE - a bold dance theatre work that tackled the many issues of bullying by award winning choreog-
rapher Joanna Noonan. This significant work was presented by our major sponsor SRA Information Technology in partner-
ship with DHS, SLIDE Youth Dance and EPRINT. The impact of this emotionally charged dance theatre work was very real
and it had a strong effect on all audiences.
The next day we flew to WA for a ten day dance intensive with 24 senior dance students. This excursion program is specifi-
cally designed to provide an opportunity for dance students to attend performances and rehearsals, participate in workshop
intensives, choreographic sessions and forums, meet artists working in the field and attend a leading Performing Arts tertiary
institution, the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowen University.
In September, the 2014 Stage 2 Dance classes presented a powerful and thought-provoking production called BLANK CAN-
VAS as their external group performance moderation. The exceptional talents of the 35 core dancers entertained capacity
audiences with their highly proficient performance skills. Evidence of the success of their dynamic performance is in the out-
standing comments made by audience members. For many students it was their first introduction to the magic of working in a
fully staged dance performance with myself and production team Tom Lydiard, Chris Os-
borne, Tahnee Cvirn, Julia Quinn and Steph Cvirn. Well done to all involved.
Another exciting event was a series of dance workshops by professional choreographers:
Imanuel Dado, graduate DHS and WAAPA student currently working with Sean Par-
ker Company
Kelly Beneforti from Tracks show You Dance Funny
Julia Grey from Sunameke Pacific Island Dance Company
Joanna Noonan local nationally acclaimed choreographer and
Jess Devroux Dance Animateur with Tracks dance Company
Kathryn Lawrence currently second year student at WAAPA
Jordan Bretherton and Mitchell Aldridge current first year WAAPA students
Rochelle Cabry from The Space Dance Centre, Victoria.
What’s On in Term 4
In Term 4 we have our Year 10
and Stage 1 Dance Showcase
on 7 November at DHS Tank
@ 6.30pm, followed by the year
10 Dance and Drama Produc-
tion at the Darwin Entertain-
ment Centre Studio Theatre.
Then on 25 October DHS hosts
the WAAPA audition for the
Bachelor of Dance program
2015 with Nanette Hassell the
director of the WAAPA Dance
Department.
21
22
23
Athletics – Top End Region
The Middle and Senior Schools Track and Field Champi-
onships for schools in the Top End Region was yet anoth-
er opportunity for students at Darwin High School to
showcase their talents.
The Darwin High team of Joseph White, Jackson Auston
Croft, Todd Richardson and Luwana Waianga swept all
before them, whilst Gemma Gray rendered sterling ser-
vice as an official for all the field events.
In their respective age groups, Joseph won the 400, 800
and 1500 metre events, was a member of the winning
relay team and won the triple jump with a leap of 10.10
metres; Jackson won the 100 and 200 metre events and
was also a member of the winning relay team; Todd was
part of the winning relay team too and also won the high
jump with a leap of 1.60 metres, whilst Luwana was
placed in the 100 and 200 metres events, won the long
jump with a leap of 4.57metres and the triple jump with a
leap of 9.87 metres. She also helped the relay team to
victory.
Competing schools in the Senior Schools section were
Essington, Marrara, St John’s, Kormilda, Darwin High,
McKillop, O’Loughlin, Good Shepherd, SEDA, Taminmin,
Jabiru and Tiwi.
Essington Senior took out the trophy for the most suc-
cessful school with a total of 106 points. Darwin High fin-
ished fifth with 41 points.
Well done to all Darwin High representatives.
Judy Boland
Manager
Squash Champions
Four students from Darwin High School competed in the
Squash Cluster Day at Marrara Squash Centre on 10
September. There were two divisions — individual and
team. Ranked third in Australia in the Under 17s and
tenth in the Under 19s, Joseph White (Year 11) won the
individual competition over fellow peer Chad Blenkinship
(Year 10) in a fast and very skillful final. Darwin High
School also won the team division 2-1 over Essington.
Nathan Smith
Manager
Table Tennis Champions
Darwin High School entered three teams in this year’s Cluster Day Table Tennis Tournament at Marrara.
Team ‘A’ were overall winners. Well done to all players. Kevin Northcote
Manager
NT Surf Life Saving Championships
Several Darwin High School
students were involved in the
NT Surf Life Saving Champi-
onships on 20—21 Septem-
ber.
Chad Blenkinship won the
U17 Age Champion and also
won the Open Men's Swim
and Open Men's Sprint and
the 2014 Open Men's Iron
Man . Mitch Hardy won Open
Flags, U17 Flags and U17
Ski. Congratulations to both
boys and to the others who took part.
24
Sports News In April this year, Ryan Mu, Marcus
Valastro and Patrick Taban were
selected to represent the NT in the
inaugural 2014 Australia Post U15s
AFL All Nations Cup held in Coffs
Harbour.
The Australia Post All Nations Cup
is a feature event of the year for the
Australia Post AFL Multicultural pro-
gram and all teams competing in-
cluded players from multicultural
backgrounds. The junior stars from
this event had the opportunity to be
selected by AFL talent managers to
play in the World Team at the NAB
U16 AFL Championships which was
held in the Gold Coast in July.
The boys all played well. Ryan Mu
won the ‘Most Valuable Player for
NT’ award and all three players
were selected to play in the World
Team. The World Team squad of 25
players consists of the best upcom-
ing AFL multicultural players from
across the nation, as well as several
talented international youngsters
from South Africa.
Carlton Champion and Hall of Fame
legend, Anthony Koutoufides, was
Head Coach of the World Team and
David Rodan Assistant Coach. The
players received elite training under
the guidance of these two coaches
and also had the opportunity to train
with the Gold Coast Suns players.
In July, Ryan Mu, Marcus Valastro, Thomas Brown and Matthew Blake were selected to represent the NT in the U15
School Sports Australia AFL Championships which was held in Sydney. The boys had a lot of fun, made many new
friendships and climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge. They attended the GWS and Geelong game at Spotless Stadium
and were invited to make a guard of honour with the U12s AFL Schoolboys for GWS.
At every U15 Championship an All Australian Team is selected to identify the gifted and talented players.
Congratulations to Ryan for being selected in the U15 AFL All Australian Team.