From the Creative and Performing Arts Faculty

Bern has been a part of the CAPA faculty for the last 10 years. Her love of the creative and

performing arts was immense and although she had previously been a graphic artist, it was as an art

teacher that she really shone. She was always kind, gentle and encouraging and was able to make

beautiful connections with her students in and out of the classroom.

She was an exceptional artist in her own right.

This year Bern had the opportunity of taking her first HSC class, something she was also very passionate about. She helped

her student Bonming Wong to achieve the ultimate accolade by having her work, “To My Dearest Father”, selected for the

2018 Art express exhibition.

Bern was a member of the schools “RELAY FOR LIFE” team, a cause which she was

committed to. She had a connection to the event long before the Crestwood High School

team was established and had read the oath as a survivor with past student Laura Johnson in

2005. She continued to support the cause supported by her family and friends.

Earlier this year Ms McLoughlin was a recipient of an “Excellence in Teaching” award issued

by the Castle Hill Rotary Club. This was presented to her in the company of her family and

was something she was very proud of and her certificate hangs by the front door of her

home. In her humble way she was in fact surprised to be nominated for the award and

when she received the phone call to inform her of the ceremony she thought that it was

someone playing a joke.

Bern loved a celebration and was always eager to take

an opportunity to dress up. St Patricks day was her

favourite and I am sure none of us will forget her

gorgeous leprechaun outfit along with the enthusiasm

she demonstrated for Christmas and multicultural days

with various costumes and hats. For Bernadette, life was a celebration.

Vale Bernadette.

Band … The Crestwood High School Concert band will dearly miss their band coordinator, Ms

Bernadette McLoughlin. From 2014, when the band program was re-started, Ms McLoughlin played a

vital role in the administration of the Concert band, helping it attract new members and engage in a

variety of external and internal performances. With Ms McLoughlin’s help, the band has successfully

participated in competitions such as The Hawkesbury and Ryde Eisteddfods, charity events such as the

Hills Relay for Life, numerous community performances as well as performances within Crestwood High

School. Ms McLoughlin’s contribution to the running of the band has

allowed important links to be established with the local primary

schools, enabling young musicians to continue with their musical

pursuits in a High School context. Ms McLoughlin will be remembered

for her dedication, encouragement and generous disposition towards

the band members. Her work with the band has provided a solid

platform from which the band will undoubtedly continue to grow and

reach new heights of musicality and performing experience.

Quentin Bamford.

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From The Literacy Team … Bernadette always showed up to the Literacy Team

Meeting with a smile and a willingness to do anything she could to improve the opportunities for

our Crestwood students. This year, the Literacy Team introduced a page for the newsletter, that

aimed to provide information about new literacy initiatives. At one meeting we discussed an

appropriate name for the page and Bernadette, with her characteristic sense of humour,

suggested the title, ‘Words Fail Me’ and it stuck. What was unfailing though, was Bernadette’s

commitment to the kids and her colleagues at Crestwood, her consistent positivity no matter what

she was asked to do and her willingness to try new approaches that might help her kids do a little

bit better.

I feel very privileged to have worked with

Bernadette in this area and learned so much from

her about teamwork, teaching and how important

the arts are to every aspect of our roles.

The Literacy team will miss Bernadette very, very

much.

The Support Unit …

When the students of the Support Unit were told

the sad news of Bernadette’s passing many of their

responses were “but she’s the only Art teacher

we’ve ever had”. I believe what they were trying

to express was what many of us were grappling

with at that moment; trying to imagine the

unimaginable; carrying on with our normal daily

lives without the inspirational presence of Bernadette. I am in awe of and will remain in awe of

Bernadette’s ability to look at a squiggle on a piece of paper or a lump of clay and encourage a student

to resolve that into an outstanding piece of art.

I had the honour earlier this year of nominating Bernadette for an Excellence in Teaching Award and

attending the ceremony with her and her family when she accepted that award. What became evident

on that night was that Bernadette was not only a fantastic teacher but a truly humble person who was

not aware of the joy that she bought to so many lives. I am comforted by the fact that through this

award I had the opportunity to express to her how valued she was by the students and staff in the

Support Unit and throughout the school.

VALE BERNADETTE

From The Principal …

CRESTWOOD HIGH SCHOOL

Telephone: (02) 9639 7422

Facsimile: (02) 9686 3462

Website: www.crestwoodhs.nsw.edu.au

Newsletter Date

8th December, 2017

Week 8, Term 4

Special Points of

Interest:

Gifted and Talented

Sports news

English and Drama

news

TAS Times

Library News

Support Unit

Copies of all

excursion notes can

be found on the

school

website.

http://

www.crestwood-

h.schools.nsw.edu.au

Crestwood In fol ine . . .

Week 9 Term 4

Week B

11.12 Yr 7, 8 & 10 Recognition assemblies

12.12 Coffee Barista training

14.12

Assembly day

15.12 Last day of school for students

2018

Week A

30.1. Yrs 7, 11 and 12 students return

31.1 All students return

Planning for 2018

As we approach the close of term 4, it is a good time to reflect on the challenges and triumphs

of the past school year. This is a good time for parents to discuss the contents of the school

report (soon to be issued in year assemblies) with their child and possibly discuss learning

goals to be set for the new school year. Students and parents can rest assured that all

evaluation, programming and planning done by staff will always have the best interests of the

students at the core of their business in pursuit of fulfilling student potential.

The new school plan 2018—2020 is under construction taking on board the input and

contributions from students, parents and staff. Feedback has been gathered from the “Tell

Them From Me” student survey, Student Leadership team, Parent survey via google forms,

teacher survey and extensive academic data. There will continue to be a focus on explicit

professional learning for staff to strengthen collective efficacy. This will focus on teacher

capacity to deliver personalised learning for all students to maximise learning outcomes for all.

The new school plan will be published on the school website in term 1 2018.

Year 12 Formal

On Wednesday 15th November it was my pleasure to

attend the Year 12 Formal. The event commenced with

refreshments in our beautiful Rose Garden served by

our Student Leaders 2018. At 4:45pm our Year 12

students were transported to Doltone House

waterfront venue at Jones Bay wharf. The cityscape view was almost as stunning as our Year

12 students in their formal attire. However it was not merely suits, gowns and make up that

made our students shine. Their character and personality shone throughout the evening as

they danced the night away. Congratulations to all students, parents and staff in reaching this

milestone. Many thanks to Mr Smith (Year 12 Student Advisor) who coordinated the evening,

ensuring it was a memorable event for all.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

I would like to wish all students and their families, staff and friends of Crestwood High School a

happy and safe holiday break. Thank you to all who work with our school to support the

education of our students and providing them with a positive learning environment to come to

each school day.

Best Wishes, Therese Hourigan.

When you realise this is the last newsletter for the year you can’t help but think how quickly the year has

flown. Last night we held our 37th annual Presentation Night which is the showcase of our academic,

performance and achievement awards. The students at Crestwood excelled last night throughout the four

musical interludes highlighting our three school bands – the concert band, the jazz ensemble and the

Crestwood acoustic string ensemble as well as two individual performances by Year 10 girls on the guitar.

Our academic and sporting award recipients from Years 7 – 12 are to be congratulated for their

consistent and applied effort throughout the year. Recognition and reward for the time and effort they

have put into their training and study all year was acknowledged last night.

We are fortunate to have many well respected

leaders in our community present the awards

at our Presentation Evening. Those presenters

included Mrs Denise Hazell the Principal of

Crestwood Public school, Councillor Reena

Jethi and David Elliott members for the Hills

Shire Council, Reverend Craig Foster from

Norwest Anglican Church and Captain Jacob

Choi from the Australian Defence Force among

other guests. We appreciate the time these

people give at this busy time of year to be a

part of our celebrations.

It is also an evening where we recognise the

immeasurable role of parents in supporting and

guiding their children through their educational,

social and personal journey throughout the

school years. Usually behind every successful

student are supportive parents who continually

try to balance the role of ensuring a good work

ethic, keeping their teenager on task, factoring

in social time, giving necessary feedback while

trying to remain level headed. We thank all of our parents for their continued support of us and the

school throughout the year. We know how fortunate we are in having such great parents at the school

and we look forward to working with you and your continued support in 2018.

Last night I publicly acknowledged the work of one of our longest serving P&C members Carol Hooke.

This year Carol has been the driver of the restructuring of our uniform shop to be operated by the P&C

therefore redistributing more resources to the school and students. Carol’s commitment to ensuring the

best outcomes for our students is admirable and very much appreciated. Carol’s own children have left

the school many years ago and her dedication to the P&C and the time she gives benefits us all. It is with

much gratitude and appreciation we recognise and acknowledge Carol for all of her efforts.

From The Deputy…

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From The Deputy cont…

Year 6 into 7

On Tuesday 5th December 2017, 150 keen year 6 students arrived at Crestwood High School for Orientation Day.

They had the opportunity to meet new friends and their year 9 peer support leaders. While participating in a range

of activities they were able to increase their familiarity with the bigger high school site in preparation for the start

of year 7 in 2018.

A highlight of the day was the oval activity where students arranged themselves in groups to spell out the school

name. The school drone was used to photograph and record their efforts, impressing both staff and students alike.

The recipient of our staff gold award last night was Woosin Cho. Woosin was our male Year 12 school

captain for this year who has displayed outstanding leadership capabilities. He possesses well developed

interpersonal skills and is very well liked by students

and staff alike. He is a serious and diligent student

where his academic success is concerned but he is

also passionate about giving back to his local

community. Woosin arrived in Australia with very

limited English and has overcome the challenges of the

language and grown into a remarkable and impressive

individual. His family are also extremely supportive

and proud of his achievements.

It was a fitting end to a successful and productive term

here at Crestwood.

I would like to wish all of our Crestwood families a

very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy holiday

period. We look forward to seeing you all next year.

Tania Wright

Page 6

Sport News

Sport 2018

Grade sport trials for years 7—10 in 2018 will occur on Wednesday the 31st January (Week 1, Term 1) this is the first day

back for years 8—10 so please be prepared.

Surf School

On November 27th, Year 9 and 10 PASS attended surf school at Dee Why Beach.

While some students were experienced beach goers, others were entering the surf for

the first time. The instructors spoke to our students about safety in the surf and what

to do in case of emergency. They also demonstrated tips and techniques on how to

maintain balance on a surfboard. Students thoroughly enjoyed the experience and

walked away with some valuable surf skills! Thank you to Mr Salhani and Mr Lam for

organising the excursion.

School Spectacular

On November the 24th, students from Crestwood High school attended the annual Schools Spectacular performance at the

Qudos Bank arena. We were lucky enough to get front row seats and enjoy the amazing performance which included a

variety of singing, dancing and acting by many talented students from across the state. Students from Crestwood were

interviewed on the day and they can be viewed on the Schools Spectacular website.

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Year 7 Swim School

In term 4 week 9 all year 7 students have participated in the annual swim school and lifesaving program at Waves fitness

centre. Students learnt swimming techniques, first aid procedures and water safety methods. It was a fantastic week and

students gained valuable lifelong skills. Congratulations to all the year 7 students for their participation and excellent efforts.

Futsal

The Macquarie Zone U14s Futsal Gala Day was held on November 24th, with three teams from Crestwood entering. Of the

two girls teams, one moved through to the semi final undefeated and no goals scored against them, whilst the second girls

team played valiantly against some much bigger and tougher opponents but did not make it through the initial rounds. The

boys team also made it through to the semi-finals undefeated. Both semi finals were played against Colo. With two players

injured the girls team was defeated, and the boys team played well but the Colo team outplayed them by 1 goal.

Congratulations to all students involved: Rachel Kim, Chelsea Lum, Mansi Ram, Lauren Sivalingam, Tegan Monk, Sophie

Williams, Breanna Buccini, Grace Fairhurst, Devashee Tarde, Leila Ibrahimi, Sasha Mekari, Joel Hoskin, Dylan Bradley, Max

Bloomfield, Akshith Muppavaram, Ben Bowles, Deniz Sen, Marcus Cenciotti, Anvay Goulkhar.

Sport News cont.

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The Turning Page - English and Drama News

Debating and Public Speaking

Himaja Dave from Year Ten recently attended the Junior State Debating Championships held at The

Women’s College of The University of Sydney. Himaja was selected as one of four students to represent

Western Sydney to compete against the other regional teams across the state. The other students came

from Colo High School, Penrith Selective and James Ruse Agricultural High School.

The Western Sydney team was successful in winning the State Final and we congratulate Himaja for her

important role as second speaker in this win.

Drama and Theatresports

PERFORMING ARTS AT CRESTWOOD

- A YEAR IN REVIEW—

Opportunities to excel in the performing arts continue to grow at Crestwood High School. This year

featured two of our most ambitious annual productions yet, as well as our annual Theatresports

competition and various other classroom and extracurricular activities!

Earlier this year, we made it to the Semi Final of the Impro Australia

Theatresports Schools Challenge. Our Year 11 team, consisting of

Rayna Bland, Claire Feighery, Imogen Huntley, Lauren Leaver and

Aaron Whale, competed against a number of private and selective

schools. Despite not making it through to the final round, many

audience members approached our students to congratulate them on their excellent team work. Their

“Stunt Doubles” scene from the night will remain one of their coach’s favourite improvised moments

ever!

Additionally, this year we also stated a production of Disney’s

family favourite, Beauty and The Beast. This show was our big-

gest yet, featuring many talented newcomers to the stage in-

cluding Year 12 student, Callum Brosnan, in the titular role of

Beast. Combined with professionally tailored costumes, full

cast choreography and packed audiences every night, this

year’s musical was undoubtedly very popular within the school

community. As part of this production, the Directing Internship

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role continues into its second year. The

internship, which is offered to students to

provide insight into the process of staging a full

scale musical, presents the successful candidate

with opportunities to engage in scene work with

the cast, assist with stage management and op-

erate behind-the-scenes under the tutelage of

the director, Miss Stephanie Merriman. The year, Year 11 student Rayna Bland

was selected. Of her experience, she learned: “The performing arts is so much

more than the two-hour performances audiences get to see. [My involvement

in the production] made me realise the dedication and time that is required to

create and present decent shows.”

For the last few years, our school has hosted our very own

Theatresports competition. Students from various year groups form

teams to battle it out in a series of improvised games for the enviable

Crestwood Cup. This year’s competition featured the return of the

infamous Hourigan’s Hooligans, consisting of Mrs Deb Hennessy, Mrs

Donna Whale, Mr Joel Palmer and new (but very talented) team

member, Mr Rob Hitchcock. However, the teacher team was once

again defeated by the students! Merriman Made Us Do It, a Year 11

team, were ultimately victorious. However, special mention must go to the Year 7 team, Fried Eggs,

who won Moment of the Match for their very memorable scene involving a toilet …

For the second year in a row, our school presented a second

annual major production. Under the direction of Ms Karla

Olmos, students from Year 7—10 were selected to perform in A

Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare.

However, we decided to do something a little different

for this year’s show by utilising the Environmental Area

in the school. An abridged version of Shakespeare’s

classic comedy was staged outdoors; trees were strung

with fairy lights, incense was burned and colourful rugs

and pillows were strewn around for a bohemian picnic.

Despite a few menacing clouds, we were blessed with

sunny weather and the show was a success!

Page 10

Alongside our diverse range of extracurricular opportunities, our Year 7 Drama Club continued in

Semester 2 this year, taught on rotation by the skilled Drama teachers at our school, including Mrs Tarsha

Mournehis. Participating students have been enthusiastically learning about puppetry and acting to

camera. Our timetabled Year 8 Drama classes also continued this year. As part of their study, students

learned about performance styles such as Commedia dell’Arte and rehearsed a class play to perform in

front of an audience of their peers. Of this experience Year 8 have said:

Finally, casting will be announced at the end of the year for our highly anticipated 2018 production,

Footloose. We are excited to bring you a “rebooted” version of this production, which graced the

Crestwood High School hall in 2004 (in fact, this was where ex-students Mr Palmer and Miss Merriman

first became part of the

musical family!) . As always,

we have been very impressed

with the talent at Crestwood

High School! We look

forward to staging this

production June 26, 28-30.

Tickets will be available for

purchase in Term 2!

“Drama has been an amazing experience … I have learnt how to act, show emotions through body

language, how to audition and, most importantly, I learnt how to perform in a play.”

“Honestly, if auditioning for the play wasn’t compulsory … I don’t think I would have done it, but I

am so glad it was because I am really having a blast doing it and learning things about myself that

I didn't know, like surprisingly—I can act”

“This year I have enjoyed drama as it helped me feel more confident about speaking or acting

something out in front of people and I am looking forward to performing the plays at the end of

the term”

“I’m glad my class has drama this year as it has enabled me to be able to let loose, put all my

energy into fun, expressive activities and become a more confident person in front of my other

class members.”

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Gifted and Talented

As part of the Gifted and Talented program, 7C participated in a school based Tournament of Minds (TOM)

competition on Tuesday 28th November. TOM provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate creative

skills and develop problem solving skills in an exciting and vibrant way.

The competition has two elements: one long term challenge that teams worked on for a number of weeks and

one spontaneous challenge that was presented to teams on the day. Teams could select a challenge from one of

four areas: Language Literature, Science Technology, Social Sciences and Engineering Mathematics. Teams were

judged on their creativity, presentation skills, technical accuracy and success of demonstration. The spontaneous

challenge was titled “Play your cards right”. Society deems that the monarchy is no longer relevant and teams had

4 minutes to suggest replacements for the King, Queen and Jack from a deck of cards. Teams were judged on their

group thinking processes, teamwork and creativity.

The winning team chose the Science Technology challenge.

The scenario:

The world has gone through an unpredictable major catastrophe.

Your team has survived! There are a couple of downsides to this

though. You are all trapped in your school and have lost your

hearing. From your vantage point in the school grounds you

receive a signal from afar. The team realises that this is a message and

needs to respond in a similar manner to let others know that there are

survivors.

The challenge:

Using non-verbal communication skills your team must work out what

the signal means through the recreation of making a machine that may

have sent out the message. This machine must use sound scientific and

technological principles with only materials easily located in any school

around the world.

The winning team approached the challenge with creativity and

flair. The catastrophe was the result of a war between America

and North Korea, which is a clear response to today’s current

global political landscape. The team used strong presentation skills

to communicate non-verbally and engage both the judges and the

audience. They created a device to communicate with the outside

world through lighting and Morse code. Congratulations to the

winning team: Phoebe Tjoa, Maria He, Sanae Prasad, Kiara

Morgan, Zac Bechara, Curran Bhindi, Briahna Sutherland-Smith

and Poppy Williams, who scored a whopping 233 points out of

270. Thank you also to Mrs Hennessy, Ms Merriman and Mrs

Brien for judging the competition.

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TAS Times

Page 13

Term 4 was busy, successful and full of fun for the Support Unit students as they were involved in lots

of activities.

Celebration of International Day of People with Disability

An art workshop incursion was organised for support unit students to celebrate International Day of

People with Disability. Students had a wonderful day with fun, educational and creative workshop run

by RAW Art. Students were exposed to a wide range of art experiences and they all completed a take

home project.

Celebration of Diversity Day

Students participated in different activities

Luna Park Excursion

Support Unit

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Parent Survey

A huge thank you to all those parents/carers who

answered the survey. Your responses help us in planning

for our future direction for the school.

Library News

Congratulations to students in Years 7, 8 and 9 who

participated in the Premier’s Reading Challenge in

2017.

This year 291,000 students participated in the PRC

across NSW. The aim of the challenge is for students

to read widely, foster a love of reading and improve

literacy.

This year’s participants included:

James Phillips in Year 9, (one of 480 students) from Years 3—9 across NSW to receive a

medal.

Platinum Award Certificates were presented to students who have participated in overall 7 years

in the PRC in Primary School and High School and winners included:

Rushil Singh Yr 7, Baran Tas Yr 7 and Caleb Zhou Yr 7

A Gold certificate was awarded to Shuluxon Indratheepan Yr 7 for 4 years participation in the

PRC. Students received their awards on Assembly on Thursday 30th November.

Students in Years 7,8 and 9 will also be receiving PRC Certificates at Recognition Assemblies in

Week 10, in recognition of their participation in 2017.

Library Monitors

Our dedicated team of Library Monitors have worked hard in the Library on a variety of tasks. A

group of students in years 7, 9 and 10 participated as Library Monitors in 2017. A special thank

you to Lavieen Uthayakumar, Adrien Riviere and Liam Ahern for their reliability and service

working in the Library and providing a good example to younger students.

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Crestwood High School does not necessarily endorse the businesses that advertise in this newsletter.

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Crestwood High School does not necessarily endorse the businesses that advertise in this newsletter.