132 Old

Illawarra Road, Barden Ridge NSW 2234 Phone: 9543 8317

Email: lucasheigh-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au Fax: 9541 0036

‘HEIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS’

LUCAS HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SCHOOL

K-12

Term 4 Volume 19 November 2013

Years 5 and 6 Visit Mogo Zoo and Canberra

On 30 October Years 5 and 6 went on a camp

to Mogo Zoo and Canberra. We drove for

about 4 hours before we arrived at Mogo

Zoo. When we went inside we saw a variety of

animals ranging from tiny meerkats to large

lions.

After around two hours at the zoo we

travelled to a gold rush colony. At the gold

rush colony we saw a machine used for

crushing rocks. The machine helped to

extract gold. We also panned for gold and

whatever we found we got to keep. We looked

at the old village and also went in a mine

shaft.

At the end of the day were we able to go to

our cabins to relax. There were 6 to 8 people

in each cabin. After the tour we had a

fantastic meal and then we all participated in

a bush dance, it was fun.

The next morning we packed our bags, went

down to the dining room where we had a

delicious breakfast. After breakfast we

headed to Canberra. After 3 hours of driving

we arrived at the War Memorial. We saw

many things including a real helicopter and a

real bomber plane. We also visited ‘The Tomb

of the Unknown Soldier’ and walked around a

wall that had the names of everyone who died

serving their country. Here we were able to

place a red poppy next to some family names.

After the War Memorial we went to our

motel. On the way to the motel the whole bus

had a sing along. When we arrived we sorted

out the rooms, unpacked our bags and

chatted with our friends. Around 5:30pm we

had a wonderful dinner which was lasagna and

mashed potato. After dinner we went to

Questacon. It was fun, quirky and strange.

The free-fall was the best. We had to fall

from two storeys high! It was scary and most

people screamed.

After Questacon everyone was tired so we

all slept well. The next morning we had a

tasty breakfast of bacon, eggs and cereal

YUM! After breakfast we went to Old

Parliament House and then onto New

Parliament House. We found both places very

interesting.

Around 1.00pm we started our journey home.

Unfortunately our bus broke down half way

home. We were on the side of the road for

about two hours. When we finally arrived at

home we were exhausted. It was the best

experience we’ve

ever had, but we

were really glad to

be home.

Tavia E 5B and Jessica O 5S

Years 5 and 6 Visit Mogo Zoo and Canberra

Students from our school have recently undertaken an

education tour of the national capital. Students were given the

opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs

with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy.

The Australian Government recognizes the importance of all young Australians being

able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To

assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is

contributing funding of $20 per student under the Parliament And Civics Education

Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate will be paid directly to the school

now that we have completed the excursion.

Principal’s Report ….

This Wednesday night, 4 December at 7.30pm,

we will be conducting a presentation on how

some schools are now funded and how all NSW

schools will in future be funded. Also at that

same meeting, we will be talking about the

school’s future directions with technology

education and how we intend to support that

with the use of specific computer technology. I

encourage interested parents to attend and ask

questions and express your views.

I am disappointed to report that the NSW

Teachers Federation has called a stop work

meeting for two hours on the morning of

Tuesday 3 December to seek a vote on various

issues including a campaign in support of federal

government education funding.

I am currently surveying staff to see whether I

am able to have the school remain operational on

that morning. As soon as I am able to provide

further advice to parents, I will do so and I will

endeavour to have that advice out by way of

notes and emails by this Friday afternoon. In any

case, parents, as per previous advice, should

have a contingency plan in place for the

supervision of their children in the event that the

school is not operational but even if the school is

not operational this Tuesday morning, it will be

lessons as usual from Recess onwards.

Thank you for your support of your children’s

learning.

Kevin Haydon

Thank you

Thank you to Mrs Wilson who

generously donated a drum kit to the

Music faculty. The children will make

good use of the drum kit in their

performances.

Helena Turner

Presentation Evening

Tickets

Tickets for Presentation Evening

on Thursday 12 December

will go on sale

Thursday 5 December

from 9.30am

on the following website:

www.trybooking.com

Carolyn Lakiss, Deputy Principal

More Year

5-6 Photos

from

Canberra.

LUCAS HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SCHOOL

P&C Meeting

Wednesday 4 December 2013

at 7.30pm

in the Junior School Hall

Allocation of resources

Future Direction of Technology

The Principal and Deputy Principals will

present information on the significant

changes facing public schools,

especially in the way schools are funded.

Technology in 1/2L

This year we have been going to the computer

room every week to learn skills on Power Point.

Everyone in 1/2L have been busy writing

information reports on The Sea, Minibeasts and

Space. We used Powerpoint to publish the

reports on the computer. After inserting pictures

from the clip art we wrote the information into a

text box, changed the font, size and style and

then connected each slide of the slide show with

different transitions. Finally we used a

microphone to record our voices reading the text

and inserted the file on the page so it would play

automatically. It has been great fun and

excitement watching everyone’s presentation.

We also learned how to use Kidpix to draw

pictures and the various tools that are available.

This culminated in a space picture. Finally we

have been using Word and learning how to write

text, insert pictures from Google images and

publish stories in this format. We made a special

title page for our work on Celebrations.

1/2L have been trialing the use of iPads in the

classroom. We used the program iMovie to

produce a movie of our reading activities for the

term. We practiced the well known plays from

our class Gingerbread Man, The Little Red Hen,

The Three Little Pigs, and The Three Billy Goats

Gruff. After putting actions to the words we

filmed the actors acting out the plays. Using

iMovie we put the clips together and added a

title page. The movies were fun to watch and we

are learning how to change the volume, insert

music and upload the movies to somewhere

where we can all watch them. There are still

problems to overcome. The APPS on the iPad

we have used are the Solar System, Moose

Maths, Animalia, Reading eggs, Connect the

dots and Pop words. We are all enjoying the new

technology.

New Payment Options

Pleased be advised that we can now accept

cash, cheque and Eftpos transactions.

However, until the new SALM (Student

Administration Learning Management) is

up and running early next week we won’t

process these as we need to ensure students

are invoiced and receipted correctly.

We can definitely no longer accept online

payments until the new parent portal is

available. This should be early next year.

Thank you for your understanding.

Regards,

Sally Ann Copp

School Administrative Manager

Published Photographs

Parents are reminded that if they do not wish

to have their child's photo in the newsletter /

website or any other school publication,

contact must be made with the office.

Bruce Redman

Exciting New Vacation Care

Program

Sutherland Shire Council has an exciting new

line up of activities at its Vacation Care program

operating from Lucas Heights Community

School.

There’s plenty of fun to keep busy minds and

bodies active and interested during the summer

school holidays. Children can enjoy a range of

activities, from magician visits and scavenger

hunts to water fun, science workshops and craft

making.

The new summer program features daily

activities specifically tailored for 5-12 year olds

and 10-14 year olds. Children are cared for by

highly qualified and energetic teams.

Lucas Heights Community School

Vacation Care

from 19 December 2013

to 24 January 2014

7.00am to 6.00pm

For children aged Kindergarten to 14 years

For further program details

and enrolment, visit

www.sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au

or call 9710 0466.

It’s Space Month in LHCS Science and on Foxtel discovery channel!

Following all our current space activities the LHCS science department is thrilled to once again

advertise the DEC schools Space Camp program.

www.spacecamp.com.au

We have had two students attend this program in the past and both guys have been thrilled with what

they learnt, the friends they made and the experiences they had. The link above shows this year’s team

who attended Alabama Space Camp 2013 and provides you with pictures and stories to get you

thinking …….

Could this be you in 2014?

LHCS is once again interested in sending our own group of students to attend the 2014 program.

Interested students should advise Ms Rogers and ensure they contact the organisers of the 2014

Mission via the contact details on the flyer below.

The picture (left) looks like two galaxies right at

the exact point of impact, doesn't it? But actually

that entire structure on the left is a single entity

called the Cartwheel Galaxy. About 200 million

years ago (from our perspective), another galaxy

collided head-on with it, sending out that blue

shock wave of stars and dust. Since then, the ball

busting gravity at the centre has steadily been

trying to put things back together again, and if

you look closely, you can see the strings of

material trying to reform its spiral structure.

The picture (right) is the Homunculus Nebula.

As you can see it’s spewing out gas. This picture

is right on the edge of going supernova. What is

even cooler is that when it happens it will be the

closest one to Earth we’ve ever witnessed - if

we’re still alive when that happens. See, the

problem is that these things are so unpredictable,

it could blow up as you’re reading this article, or

a million years from now.

Can you help?

Your P&C require the assistance of an accountant to be the Treasurer from the beginning of 2014.

Due to the school taking over the running of the Uniform Shop from 2014 the role will be greatly reduced.

The Treasurer receives and deposits monies, maintains records, draws cheques and presents accounts. The Treasurer presents a report in the form of an income and expenditure statement together with a reconciled bank statement for each and every P&C meeting, approx. 8 times a year.

If you can help or have any questions, please call, text or email

Tania Petrou on 0400 672 773 or taniapetrou@outlook.com.

As you will see by

the iPad trial

article, the science

department is well

into the 21st century

with our use of

technology in the

classroom. All six

labs are equipped

with data

projectors, internet

access and interactive whiteboards. And we

have a bank of laptops at the ready for any

junior class who does not currently have their

own. We all learn best when we are engaged

and inspired and as you can see by the delight

and concentration on these Year 12 students’

faces, technology can open these doors faster

and further than ever.

Digital microscopes

are superseding the

monocular and

stereomicropes and

provide students

with a whole new

skill set. Here the

Year 12 Biology

class are studying

plants looking for

insect infestations and viral or bacterial diseases

not readily spotted with the naked eye.

And here Year 11

biology are recording

their findings directly

into a spreadsheet that

can be electronically

shared by all members

of the group freeing

them to engage in

more detail in the

experiment at hand

rather than spend their

valuable research time recording observations.

Year 10 marine studies students using their

phones as a way of recording marine life they

viewed at Manly Sea Life Sanctuary. Students

capture images of their own, making tasks

richer and more relevant to their own lives.

These images can be imbedded in a variety of

ways to then share research findings throughout

the class using prezi, pecha kucha style

powerpoints etc.

Ms J Rogers, Head Teacher Science

Science Technology

Year 7 Author Visit

On 8 November Peter Carnavas (children picture book author/

illustrator) came to Lucas Heights Community School to visit

Year 7.

Peter gave an engaging talk on how he writes and illustrates

picture books and how to scaffold and prepare a basic copy of a

picture book. Peter also demonstrated his drawing skills by

drawing while he talked!

Also, Peter showed Year 7 how to draw basic illustrations and

gave them all a tutorial on how to draw an angler fish. Year 7

enjoyed the visit. Thank you Peter.

Year 10 Mock Interview Day: Thursday 21

November 2013

Year 10 students got a sneak peak at the “real”

world of work last Thursday by participating in a

Mock Interview situation. Each student was

given a 10-15minute time slot where they were

interviewed by members of our business

community. Students presented their resume and

cover letter and then were critiqued on

punctuality, presentation, preparation,

confidence and their ability to think on their feet.

All students are to be congratulated for their

enthusiasm and participation. The endless hours

of organization and preparation within the

classroom finally paid off for the students as the

day proved to be a huge success for everyone

involved.

We are very grateful to the following

interviewers and the businesses they represent

for giving up their valuable time. Without their

assistance this opportunity would not have been

possible: Deb Neish, Lyn James, Wayne

Joyce, Bob Levine, Alex Carr, Paul Lehane,

Joy Packer, Lyn Graham, Barry Fisk and our

very own Julie Rogers.

Year 10 Work Experience: 25 November

to 6 December

Work experience is again underway for Year 10

students. Students had the opportunity to try a

different work place this term to broaden their

experiences and assist in their planning for the

future.

Congratulations Year 10 on your participation in

work experience, we hope it was a valuable and

rewarding few weeks and has assisted in giving

you a better idea of your future work pathways.

Australia’s weirdest jobs

13 March 2013 by TAFE NSW

With Year 10 out at Work Experience I thought it

would be a great opportunity to share this article

with everyone.

There really is no excuse for staying in a

boring job

There’s a million different ways to earn a dollar

in Australia, and many of them don’t involve the

standard nine-to-five office job.

Australia is a big country that boasts a wide

range of industries, so it’s not surprising that

there’s pretty much a job to suit every interest.

Here’s our list of the five most unusual jobs.

1. Senior submarine cook

When the Royal Australian Navy advertised that

it was willing to pay up to $200,000 for senior

submarine cooks, it attracted worldwide media

attention. It seems that there aren’t too many

individuals with the cooking skills and

organisational ability to produce morale-

boosting food in a cramped galley. While you’ll

need to learn your submariner skills elsewhere,

you can get the ball rolling by doing a cooking

course at TAFE NSW.

2. Construction diver

Australia is the middle of a resources boom and

many of those resources are being extracted

from under the sea, necessitating the building

and maintenance of offshore platforms by

divers. Construction diver employers prefer to

hire those with a metals and engineering

background, so doing a TAFE course in fitting,

plumbing or welding will increase your

employability.

3. Crop duster pilot

With Australian food crops in fast demand,

there’s lots of work for pilots who can spray

pesticides on the nation’s crops. The good news

is that it pays well; the bad news is it can be

dangerous and involves a lot of expensive

training and licensing requirements.

Uniform Shop Hours

Monday Closed

Tuesday 8.45 to 9.15am

2.45 to 3.15pm

Wednesday 8.45 to 9.15am

Thursday Closed

Friday 8.45 to 9.15am

2.45 to 3.15pm

IMPORTANT

SCHOOL BANKING UPDATE

In light of the new improvements made by The

Commonwealth Bank to the web-based School

Banking System, the following changes take

effect this year and Term 1 2014:

At the end of Term 4 this year, the number

of tokens each child has collected (up to a

maximum of 9) may be carried over into

2014. Children currently holding 10 or

more tokens would then need to redeem

them in 2013.

Dollarmite moneyboxes will no longer be

available in 2014, but children can redeem

more than one moneybox for the rest of

this year providing they have enough

tokens.

Two new Reward items will be available for

the children to redeem each term in 2014.

This will be tracked automatically when

each deposit is made, and your child will be

notified by the School Banking Co-

ordinator when they are eligible to select a

prize. Tokens will still be given to your

child, but this change will simplify the

rewards tracking system.

The Bank has revised its Rewards System, in an

attempt to simplify reward tracking and to

offer better prizes to your children.

Updates on the prizes available will follow

shortly.

Thank you again to the families who support

School Banking at LHCS, the commission made

on deposits is used to purchase resources to

benefit your children’s education.

If you have any queries regarding the new

changes to School Banking, please email

lhcspandc@gmail.com or leave a note with

your contact details at the Front Office.

Warm regards,

Rebecca Embury and Tania Petrou

LHCS School Banking Co-Ordinators

4. Shark tagger

Those tags that allow marine biologists to track

the movements of great white sharks don’t

magically attach themselves. If you’re willing to

haul a shark onto a boat and help with the

surgical implantation of a tracking device before

throwing it back in the water, you probably

won’t find yourself competing for jobs with too

many others.

5. Koala catcher

As part of a campaign to lure British workers,

the government of South Australia has

advertised a number of attention-grabbing job

vacancies in the UK, including ones for people

to help control Adelaide’s koala population.

With so many exciting options on offer, there

really is no excuse for staying in a boring job.

With a little research and possibly a bit of

training, you can find yourself doing work that

you previously didn’t even realise existed.

Mrs Eagles and Ms Smith, Careers Advisers