Cranebrook High School

Hosking Street, Cranebrook, NSW, 2749

(02) 4729 0777

Cranebrook High School Term 1, 2018 Newsletter

REPORTS

Principal

Deputy Principal (7 & 10)

Deputy Principal (8 & 11)

Deputy Principal (9 & 12)

Year Advisers (7 & 8)

Year Advisers (9 & 10)

Year Advisers (11 & 12)

Faculty News

A Message from the Principal

Mr Craig Dunne

I would like to congratulate our new Year 7 group for a great start to high school this term. Year 7 have shown great promise and are a truly wonderful group of students. They are already achieving really well in the classroom and are getting involved in activities around the school.

Year 12 are now more than half way through their HSC studies and with two terms to go the need to set up and maintain good study and time management patterns is highly important. The mentoring program here at school, the Study Skills Seminars, the careers and pathways information sessions, the learning and assistance faculty and students’ classroom teachers are all in place to assist our Year 12 students through this important year.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR FITNESS Do you want to get fit? Do you want to meet new people? Join the

Cranebrook High Fitness Program! Runs every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning from 7am until 8am. See your PE teacher for a note!

I would like to thank the school community for respecting the rules around the staff car park. The rule is that parent/carers do not enter the car park for “drop offs” and “pick-ups” at the beginning and end of the school day. Safety is very important and you would have noticed the recent signs that have been placed at the entrance to the car park.

School uniform is an important aspect of our school. Having students dressed appropriately each day helps to maintain and build a culture of high expectations for our children and young people. Our school uniform looks great and we regularly receive positive comments from community members about our students in school uniform.

Students are required to wear correct and appropriate school uniform each day at school. If you are experiencing financial difficulty around the purchase of school uniform for your child, please contact the Principal or the relevant Deputy Principal to discuss the matter confidentially.

Our uniform shop is open on Tuesday afternoons from 12pm to 3:50pm and on Friday mornings from 8am to 11:50am during the school term. If your child, for some reason cannot wear school uniform on a particular day, please provide them with a signed note outlining this. Students should then have this note signed by their Deputy Principal upon arrival at school.

A Message from the Deputy Principal Mr Stephen Uitterlinden 7 & 10

Term 1, 2018 has absolutely flown by and I am pleased to say that it has been a successful one for both years 7 and 10 to date.

Year 7 have commenced high school in a positive manner. Transitioning from Primary school where students have typically had 1 teacher and 1 classroom for the year to now having numerous teachers, all in different rooms, always takes some time to adjust. Visiting classrooms on a regular basis I have been extremely impressed with the level of student engagement in classrooms and the willingness to learn new and interesting concepts.

Year 7 has already started to engage well with our Merit award system and it has been pleasing to hand out various certificates at our Friday Year meetings to acknowledge the hard work, dedication and focus that is occurring on a daily basis in Year 7 classrooms. Remarkably, we have already presented a number of Year 7 Advisor Awards- keep up the high standards, Year 7!

Year 10 have been successfully working towards considering their futures and making important decisions around transitioning towards their senior studies or pursuing employment and further studies elsewhere. This has been supported by a number of activities at school run by our Careers Adviser, Ms El Mir. Mid Term 2 will see Year 10 attend the Year 10- 11 Subject Selection Evening where students and their families will have the opportunity to hear about Higher School Certificate requirements and also speak to a range of teachers and executive staff about elective subjects for Year 11 in 2019.

The formal Peer Support Program, facilitated by approximately 20 Year 10 students comes to an end this Term. Feedback from staff involved have indicated Year 10 have been the most successful and engaging Peer Support leaders in recent memory and I commend and thank all students involved in this important program for helping to shape the positive culture of our school. I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of Ms Wallace for her excellent work in facilitating the program.

Finally, Mrs Klaime, our wonderful Year 10 Adviser has commenced maternity leave. The school community and in particular, Year 10 wish Mrs Klaime all the best for the birth of her child. Whilst Mrs Klaime is on leave I am delighted to share that Mrs Crellin will be the relieving Year 10 Adviser role that she is excited to take on.

A Message from the Deputy Principal Mr Kenneth Bradley 8 & 11

The Year 11 Assessment Booklet for 2018 has now been distributed. It contains important information about the Preliminary HSC course and the particular assessments each of the students will do in each of their courses during Terms 1-3 this year. It also advises on what to do if an assessment is missed and consequences if a submitted assessment task is found not to be the student’s own work. The NESA HSC: All My Own Work program was completed by Year 11 students in week 6 before they received their first assessment task. Many students have now been notified of their first assessment task and parents will be able to get a good idea of what tasks are approaching from the Assessment Booklet.

The Student of the Month awards have been an outstanding success. At every Year Meeting the Year Advisers Ms Siddiqi and Ms Maynard have multitudes of weekly nominations for the student of the month for me to distribute to students in Year 11 and Year 8 respectively. Congratulations to all students receiving merits and student of the month nominations and a special congratulations go to Mikayla Carlin and Kyra Johnson. You are both very worthy winners and your student of the month photos for February look terrific in reception.

Year 8 classes have also settled well and there has been only one class change in the year to date. I attended one of the Graffiti Education Seminars with a Year 8 group earlier in Term 1 and was impressed with both the presenter of the workshop and the engagement and manners of our Year 8 students. Not only did the students enjoy the presentation but I’m sure they found it useful, interesting and thought provoking.

The big news about to break for Year 8 is the Year 8 Camp in Term 3. Details and permission notes for the camp will be distributed shortly but I can tell you it will be an overnight camp in August. Cranebrook High School has run an overnight camp for Year 8 for several years now and every student that has attended over the years has thoroughly enjoyed themselves and taken a lot out of the various activities at the camp.

Can I wrap up the term with a big “get well soon” to our good mate Kyle from Year 11. Kyle has been feeling a little poorly of late and everyone at school misses him and wishes him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back at school very soon.

What: Senior students (Year 11-12) have the opportunity to use the school library after hours. They can study, do assessment tasks or request for their class teachers assistance for individual or group study sessions.

When: 3-4pm every Tuesday

and Wednesday in the Library

Year 11 classes have settled nicely and all Preliminary HSC course data has been uploaded to NESA. There was some movement in classes over the first few weeks of the year while students were deciding on the best possible pattern of study to suit their needs. Class movements have ceased and all students will shortly sign their official NESA Confirmation of Entry for the Preliminary HSC.

A Message from the Deputy Principal Ms Judith Kempthorne 9 & 12

Year 9 students have settled into their studies, with any changes to Elective choices now finalised. They are really enjoying having the control over their learning that elective choices bring, and it is great to see the “Create, Shoot, Publish!” students honing their photography skills around the school, and the Cranebrook Café students dishing up a variety of treats for each other, staff and visitors to the school. As I write this, I know that our Agriculture, Ag. Showcase, Visual Art and TAS students are creating displays of their work for the Sydney Royal Easter Show, and I can’t wait to see them over the Easter weekend.

Year 12 students are about to sit for their Half-Yearly examinations, and to support them through this process and for the rest of this very important year, they each now have a Teacher Mentor. Students were asked to nominate a teacher they feel comfortable to check in with, be supported by, and seek advice from, throughout 2018. I’ve been thrilled with Year 12’s response to this program, and I know that the students and their mentors are making great use of the “HSC Survival Guides” they received last week, along with the ideas they’ve gained from the “Crossroads” and “Elevate” programs they’ve participated in, as a focus in starting the mentoring journey. But remember, Year 12, all of your teachers are here to support you in your final year at Cranebrook High School.

Although it’s only Term 1 of 2018, we are already welcoming our Year 7 students of 2019 to Cranebrook High School! On the evening of Tuesday 6th March, Miss Mansell, our Year 6 Student Adviser, welcomed prospective students and their parents and organised tours of the school with our fabulous Student Leaders. Year 6 really enjoyed seeing the specialist classrooms, like Science laboratories and Timber and Metal workshops, and everyone was ‘wowed’ by the quality of CHS student work that was on display – from models to research assignments; from book work to ANZAC biscuits!

YEAR 7 UPDATE Ms. Elle Grace- Year 7 Year Adviser

Congratulations to all Year 7 students for a successful and productive transition to high school. Many of you have demonstrated maturity and responsibility and have embraced new learning opportunities.

Throughout Term One, students of Year 7 have been involved in several rich and rewarding learning experiences. Each class has completed Library lessons, designed to support students in developing their skills in library literacy, and students have actively engaged in the Wordflyers program during English lessons. This program offers a range of reading and writing activities that students win rewards for completing. In HSIE, students had the opportunity to design and create dioramas that represent diverse landforms and landscapes. Many students produced remarkable projects connected to their classroom learning.

The Swimming Carnival of Term One saw students demonstrating strong school spirit, with many students participating in races and novelty events and achieving fine results. On Thursdays, Year Seven have showed outstanding sportsmanship during sports programs run by Cricket Australia, Netball Australia and NRL Australia.

Year Seven classes have also engaged positively with Peer Support programs every week, developing supportive and respectful relationships with classmates and Peer leaders during team-building and problem solving activities.

Congratulations to the new Year 7 SRC representatives, who have been elected by their peers to be a part of the student representative body, and to make valuable contributions to the direction of school and community initiatives.

Finally, Year Seven continue to be very well represented in the Cranebrook High School THINK program. So far, several Year Seven students have been awarded THINK prizes. Students from all Year Seven classes continue to maintain excellent standards of behaviour and collect THINK tickets from their teachers as rewards.

YEAR 8 UPDATE Ms. Vashti Maynard- Year 8 Year Adviser

Year 8 have returned for another successful term and have had a great start to 2018. Earlier this term, Year 8 participated in Penrith City Council’s `Don’t be a fool, tags aren’t cool’ Graffiti Education Program. The program was very engaging and focused on the differences between graffiti and street art and the consequences of illegal graffiti. The students were polite and respectful to our guest presenter and were a credit to our school.

This year, we have continued to celebrate our “Student of the Month” nominations at our weekly Year Meetings. Our winner for February was Kyra Johnston. Kyra has demonstrated an excellent attitude and commitment towards her learning in the first half of this year and received nominations from Maths, Science and Visual Arts. Well done Kyra! Congratulations to all the students that received nominations for “Student of the Month” throughout the term.

The above photos show Year 8 participating in Penrith Council’s Graffiti Education program along with Kyra Johnston showing off her Student of the Month Award.

Congratulations also to Lara Knox, Xenia Ocampo and Mary-Jane Deacon who have received Year Advisor awards this term.

In Term 3 Year 8 students will be invited to Year 8 camp. Details of the camp are currently being finalised and more information will be provided to students soon.

Enjoy the break Year 8 and I look forward to seeing you all for another productive Term in May!

YEAR 9 UPDATE Ms. Zoe Wallace- Year 9 Year Adviser

Year 10 have made a fantastic start to what is set to be a very busy year! The Peer Support leaders have begun mentoring our Year 7 students. They have built their capacity by demonstrating leadership, enthusiasm, organisation, and initiative.

Many students have started to organise their first round of work experience. Work experience is a fantastic opportunity for students to gain the confidence and practical skills needed to succeed in the workplace. In preparation for this, Year 10 students were involved in a careers program. This was run over half a day and enabled students to explore the world of work and build career awareness based on their likes and dislikes.

In the next term, students will participate in their week of work experience and have the opportunity to attend the Year 10 into 11 subject selection evening in preparation for their subject choices in their Higher School Certificate.

Year 9 has had a positive start to the year with our students starting their elective subjects for the first time. Many of our students have really enjoyed their subject choices, with a few changing into ones that they would prefer. We had a record number of nominations by teachers for 'Student of the Month' for February, which is an indication of their excellent effort so far this year. Our first 'Student of the Month' winner is Max Thripp for February, congratulations to Max! A couple of other students doing great things include Jacob Gorman and Lewys Moses who have joined students in other years to compete in the FIRST Robotics Competition this term. Our school team competed recently at the regional competition at Olympic Park and received the judge’s choice award for “a team’s unique efforts, performance, or dynamics merit recognition.”

YEAR 10 UPDATE Mrs Sabina Klaime- Year 10 Year Adviser

We have had other students compete in the Zone Swimming Carnival and other sporting competitions as well. We have a fantastically talented group of Year 9 students who will continue to achieve so much throughout the year.

YEAR 11 UPDATE Mrs Madena Siddiqi- Year 11 Year Adviser

Wow, I can’t believe how fast the beginning of the year has flown!

During this term, our Yr 12’s have been very busy firstly completing a valuable Crossroads program, fulfilling

assessment requirements and now they begin preparations for the mid-year exams. Ms Kempthorne has worked tirelessly in ensuring everyone has a mentor and

that student attendance stays above 80%. Thanks and congratulations to those that have come on board with our Yr12 Organising committee group… positive vibes coming through with our fundraising, presentation and

formal to prepare for.

The year 11 students started their senior year with a positive attitude. In week 3, all year 11 students completed a compulsory course called Cross Roads which focussed on the wellbeing of students during their senior year in terms of mental health, physical health, time management and career choice with incorporation of sport. This program ran from Thursday 15th to Friday 16th of February 2018 with a special lunch barbeque on Friday, prepared by our SRC team for all year 11 students completing this program and help celebrate the beginning of their senior year. Many year 11 students provided positive feedback on this program. I look forward to a productive year with the year 11 students.

YEAR 12 UPDATE Mr Simon Enese- Year 12 Year Adviser

Lords of the Rings

The Middle Ages came to Cranebrook when students in the ED faculty started to explore the Medieval skill of Chainmaille. This metalwork art, originally performed by armourers, has seen a resurgence in the last few years, due to the interest in Medieval Re-enactment and jewellery.

Year 10s first learned to Chainmaille last year and are joined by Year 7 and 8 students this year. It was really gratifying to see the older students teaching the younger ones, refreshing their own skills and passing on this time honoured activity.

The students are so interested in Chainmaille that they want to start their own mini company and sell jewellery in school in Term 3! This will be a wonderful opportunity to use the art in a cross curricular fashion to explore Business, Maths, History, Science and English.

Homework Club is run every Wednesday afternoon from 3pm until 4pm in the library. Come along for assistance with study,

homework or assignments! See a teacher for a note.

Learning Assistance

Meet your Learning Assistance teachers: Selvi Nandlaskar, Ana Ralic-Hanrahan and Amanda Formby. We are here to support students with additional needs to achieve their best at Cranebrook High School.

We specialise in:

Transition

Individual Education Plans

Behaviour Management Plans

Disability Provisions

Classroom/Assessment Support

Literacy/Numeracy Testing

Intensive Literacy Programs (Quicksmart)

Playground Hub

and much more!

If you ever have any concerns regarding your child’s learning needs, please feel free to call us on 47290777

HSIE & LOTE Earlier this term, Year 9 and 10 elective history classes (Time Travels) went on an exciting and educational excursion to the Australian Museum in Sydney. Students explored the Westpac Long Gallery in the oldest part of the historic museum and explored many of the museum’s most treasured items including but not limited to an ancient Egyptian mummy, Australia’s first bank note, a great gold nugget from the 1800s and other cultural artefacts from Australians ancient past, the Torres Strait, Papua New Guinea and other surrounding island nations. There was also a quick visit to the international exhibit “Mammoths: Giants of the Ice”. Both the students and the teachers had a great day!

Recently, Year 7 students submitted their amazing Japanese models and dioramas. Mrs. Crellin is impressed with the high quality of these assignments and huge effort her students have obviously put into completing their work. Well done or as we say in Japanese .... "Yoku dekimashita"!

ANZAC Day at Penrith Paceway

A collection of students from the Student Representative Council and Student Leadership Team represented our school with pride at the Penrith RSL Sub-Branch student ANZAC Service. The students, accompanied by Mr Robertson, Ms Palmer and Mr Keating, displayed an immense

amount of maturity in their behaviour and conduct throughout the commemoration. The school captains paid their respects by placing a wreath on the memorial and actively engaging in the

proceedings. Our school aided in the distribution of brochures to all of the schools as they entered the Paceway, which was acknowledged gratefully. We were honoured to be apart of the ceremony

for the commemoration of ANZAC.

Student Representative Council

The SRC and Student Leadership team have been working hard across the school this term, organising a number of events and continuing to build the integrity of the school.

One of these included being cupids of the school, fluttering about on Valentine’s Day, delivering messages of love, care and friendship with treats to tantalise the taste buds, and

roses of the richest red, purple and pink.

The students also had the opportunity to build their leadership capacities through their attendance at the GRIP Student Leadership where they actively engaged in a variety of

activities and seminars that focused on building an effective team within the school, transforming their integrity, and capacity.

The SRC and Student Leadership Team would also like to extend a warm welcome to our Year 7 representatives for the SRC:

- Corey Deheaume - Joe Li

- Mikayla Wickett - Dominic Boultwood

- Noah Edwards - Rebecca Dransfield

English The school year is in full-swing and students are revising what they have learned and preparing for assessments! In English, we receive many enquiries around homework and wholeheartedly welcome parent support in monitoring the efforts of their children to practise what they have learned.

The best evidence suggests homework should be short and sharp, focused on revising what has already been learned. It is helpful for parents to monitor the completion of homework, but helping your child can be counterproductive. The clearest picture of your child’s abilities helps to inform what teachers focus on in the classroom.

Students in junior school should be working on our digital platforms Wordflyers and Accelerated Reader (if not completing QuickSmart). Senior students should be completing shorter writing tasks building toward the extended responses common to HSC examinations. Students across all grades should complement this regular homework with revision and preparations for assessment tasks.

Please contact your child’s English teacher if there are concerns in this area.

Music

Year 7

Year 7 has been working hard this term learning the fundamentals of music. Students have been practicing their rhythms, learning to play songs using the glockenspiels and have settled in well.

Year 8

Term one has seen Year 8 engaging in music using technology. Students have been learning how to play piano using iPads featuring apps such as Virtuoso, Garageband, Bandblast and LaunchPad!

The Library

Life in the library has been a pleasant and busy place both in class and break times. Our Year 7 students have been a pleasure to teach in their Library Orientation lesson. They have also learnt how to operate the Oliver Library enquiry system, and shown how to access the new Britannica online resource we have for the first time this year at CHS, to help students find credible information in assignment research. English teachers have introduced them to the Accelerated Reading program, an excellent literacy resource. Last year saw the addition of many new fiction books in the library to support this program by giving the students a wider choice of reading material. It has been good to see the year 7 and 8’s getting involved in this program. Homework Club on a Wednesday afternoon has been well attended and it is pleasing to see the students remaining on task for the whole hour.

Yr 7 Library exploration lesson Wednesday Homework Club

I have been impressed this year at how well the Yr11 and 12’s are using their Study periods. While some might come in to have a brief relaxation break, many more are on task, busy with their assignments. They are looking to be on track for a good HSC result.

Our library monitors this year are as follows: Tara Couzins, Lachlan Hamilton, Heath Griffiths, Eowyn Walker, Haylee Young, all in Year 8. I am looking at a few Year 7’s to add to the team in the near future, so if interested in helping in the library in your spare time, let me know.

My thanks to Ms Quinn and Ms Nix who have done a great job as library assistants this past term while Ms Kratz has been AEO.

At the start of the year we had a ‘Back to School’ reading challenge and activity, with prizes of useful school items. A later display was to celebrate International Women’s Day, and for the end of term there was an Easter display and various fun activities for the students to see the first term out on a happy note. Good work earned merit awards and of course, Easter eggs. Thanks to all who took part in the fun this term.

CAREER EDUCATION

Term one has seen the Cranebrook High School Career Education program off to a great start with all Year 10 students engaging in their first Careers Day. All students are encouraged to explore career ideas and Year 10 is a great time for students to develop their understanding of the vast range of occupations available.

Our Term one Year 10 Careers Day: Career Planning and Organising Work Experience focussed on introducing students to various career websites to help them discover and research information about duties involved, qualifications, personal requirements of different occupations.

On the day, students especially explored the JobJump website.

This is a great “one stop shop” careers website with loads of information and links to other excellent sites. (JobJump is accessed by using a password so just ask Ms El Mir or your teacher for the school’s password). Students and parents can also access brilliant careers related information by visiting our own careers website www.cranebrookhighcareers.com

Work Experience is a very important way for students to experience the day to day activities of an occupation and to learn more about the world of work. As a lead up to their senior subject selection, all Year 10 will be participating in a week of Work Experience in Term 2, from the 4th to 8th June. With the help of their parents/ carers and the Careers Adviser, students are encouraged to organise their Work Experience as soon as possible

this term.

Please help your child with this important learning experience and please let us know if you are able to assist with a work experience placement for a student!

Students wishing to do Work Experience in the building & construction industry must complete a White Card course and one has been organised to run at school on Wednesday 9th May. Interested students should see Ms El Mir for a permission note and return it as soon as possible as places are limited.

Through our partnerships with industry & community organisations Cranebrook High School looks forward to offering lots more great opportunities to students to enhance their career development and equip them with tools for success in life and work.

Upcoming Term 2 Careers events include the Year 10 Careers Day 2, Year 10 subject selection evening, Work Experience (wk6), and the commencement of Yr10 TVET courses.

A special note to parents & carers. Please feel free to contact Ms El Mir (Careers Adviser) for any further information or assistance with your child’s career planning

TAS Faculty

The TAS students and staff have got off to a very busy start this year.

Katie Borg and Hayley Nash both won prizes for their wood stool project at the Luddenham District Agriculture Show, with thanks to Miss Bunt for her hard work in helping prepare these.

The Year 12 and Year 9 agriculture students are preparing “Broiler Hens” meat birds for competition at the Royal Easter show. Whilst the Show team are brushing up on their Alpaca Handling for the Royal Easter Show Schools Competition.

The Yr 9 3D Printing students and Mr Wakeling are working on a 3D model of the school. We will keep you posted as this project gets underway.

The Wakakirri Dance Team are busily rehearsing for this year’s production “Hear us Roar”. Mrs Cutajar is keeping the nuts and bolts of this a surprise for the moment so more news and photos to come.

Year 7 are making some great pillows in Textiles with some very creative designs as the photos show.

STEM Project

This year, a new Stem program involving a selection of 16 students (6 female and 10 male) from year 9 to 11 along with staff from Science, Maths and TAS took place. The team participated in the First Robotics Competition (FRC). FRC is a program that pairs adult mentors and high school students to design and build robots that compete against one another in a high-energy environment. Under strict rules, limited resources and time limits, our team of students were challenged to design a team “brand,” hone teamwork skills, and build and program ROBOTS to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors. This STEM program reflects “real-world” engineering to the students. The students are encouraged to display gracious professionalism, help other teams, and cooperate while competing. The team attended the competition on Friday the 16th, Saturday the 17th and Sunday the 18th of March and won the Judge’s choice award for “a team’s unique efforts, performance, or dynamics merit recognition.” Congratulations to the team and we hope to compete again next year.