k h s n e w s le t te r 2019 term 2...t h i s y ea r w e a r e f or tu n a te to h a v e m r s s h...
TRANSCRIPT
KHS Newsletter Martin St, Katoomba, 2780 | Ph: (02) 4782-2622 [email protected]
2019 Term 2
Week 6
What’s On
June ● 19th KHS P&C meeting ● 22nd Saturday WINTER MAGIC ● 24th-28th Year 10 Work
Experience ● 24th June - July 5th HSC Trial
Exams
Duke of Edinburgh Challenge The Duke of Edinburgh continues to be an extremely valuable opportunity for our students. Katoombas largest ever Gold Duke of Edinburgh group has just completed a circuit of the Jamieson Valley over 4 days. Three groups worked with their teachers to plan, navigate and develop strong team skills, ensuring a highly successful trip. The Highlights included the Ruined Castle, The Knife Edge Ridge up to Mt Solitary where strong winds added to the challenge, increasing the exposure of the students to the elements before completing the section of the walk. The group was greeted at Kedumba campground by a vast number of Kangaroos and a spectacular sunset. Well done to all involved.
Environment at the heart of Teaching and Learning In a new course at the High School, year 10 Outdoor Education students have the opportunity to explore and understand the natural environment. On a recent excursion, students were able to experience the diversity of the rainforest environment at Empress Falls. Students are working this term to examine the diverse local Blue Mountains environments.
The Minds of the Future This year we are fortunate to have Mrs Sheryl Cootes from Blackheath, an experienced and enthusiastic mentor for the Tournament of the Minds this year. We have a great team who are already generating creative ideas and solutions to the challenges set by the TOM organisers.
Visual Feast for Winter Magic Festival Katoomba High School was successful in a grant application to create an art installation for Winter Magic 2019. Yr 10 Visual arts have created large, organic sculptures. This collaborative project is fun, creative and a great way to work even more with the local community. It is a huge class and having Linda Seiffert working and advising us is such a bonus!!! We need to dry before loading the kiln and then finally we shall add colour, celebrating the 'magic'!
Katoomba High School - Website | Facebook | Parent Portal 1
KHS Newsletter Martin St, Katoomba, 2780 | Ph: (02) 4782-2622 [email protected]
2019 Term 2
Week 6
Earn and Learn Update Well done to everyone who has handed in Woolworth's stickers. We have a collection box at school and one at Katoomba and Leura Woolworths. Keep those stickers coming in! We are happy to announce that we have 6420 stickers. However, we need another 13,000 to purchase calculators so keep bringing them in. Great start.
Students steal the show at Little Shop of Horrors The much anticipated Little Shop of Horrors Musical lived up to expectations with outstanding performances by students. The practice paid off as all cast members were able to display their talent and skills in a slick and professional manner. The CAPA faculty, teachers across the school, musicians and support crews and the Musical Director have all played a crucial role in ensuring the success of this musical.
Ultimate Frisbee Students aged 13 years and older and families are invited to join the Blue Mountains Ultimate Frisbee games each Monday 6pm until about 8:15 pm. Meet at Katoomba Falls Reserve (near Katoomba Cascades). Ultimate is a non-contact sport involving teamwork, strategy, frisbee skills and lots of running! For more information contact Graeme Scott Smith [email protected]
Mousetrap Racers Year 10 MARS students have recently designed and built mousetrap racers. The objective of the racers was to travel the furthest distance possible. They could only be powered by a single mousetrap and built from basic materials such as balsa wood, dowel, string and CDs. After a slow start, where some racers did not even move, the students’ problem-solving skills came into play. Following some minor, or major, redesigns many racers managed to travel over 6 metres with the record distance being set at 15.4 metres.
Katoomba High School - Website | Facebook | Parent Portal 2
KHS Newsletter Martin St, Katoomba, 2780 | Ph: (02) 4782-2622 [email protected]
2019 Term 2
Week 6
KOALA at Katoomba High The Science Faculty has taken up an opportunity to take part in a pilot program jointly funded by the Office of Environment and Heritage and Queensland University. The program is titled Knowing Our Ambient Local Air-quality, This KOALA is a small solar-powered air quality measuring instrument - It's out there on school grounds looking very inconspicuous! This instrument provides us with real-time air quality data and interestingly up until this point there was no air quality measurement taking place west of Penrith To see the real-time data go to http://bluemountains.sensors.net.au/
Animal Farm Performance at Parramatta Riverside Theatre “All animals are equal but some are more equal than others.” Year 9 and 10 Drama attended a production of Animal Farm on the 3 rd of May. The classic written By George Orwell was given a unique twist. It was performed by one actor who embodied each of the characters from the story. Students found the production engaging and inspiring and will explore their own version of this classic in the months to come.
Australia’s Got Talent. On Monday, the 13th May Katoomba High School CAPA students attended a live recording of the television show- Australia’s Got Talent. Students were entertained and enthralled by the recording of the live program. Students viewed acts ranging from dancing dogs to highly talented musicians. This opportunity gave our students insight and knowledge on the behind the scenes productions of live television programs.
Student Fundraising Orlando is a Year 7 student who loves to knit. Turning his passion into a fundraising venture, Orlando knitted Dreamcatchers with wool kindly supplied by the school. As Orlando explained, “Dreamcatchers are placed above your bed to collect all of your bad dreams, leaving only the good ones behind.” Orlando sold many of these Dreamcatchers to teachers at Katoomba High School raising $160. This money was then donated to the Mark Hughes Foundation for research into brain cancer. Well done, Orlando!
Year 11 Mock Trial Legal Eagles The Katoomba High School Mock Trial team has now participated in two rounds of the competition. The Mock Trial is an inter-school competition coordinated by the Law Society of NSW. The team consists of two barristers, two witnesses, a solicitor and a court officer. Students are required to learn complex trial procedures and then apply them in a hypothetical court situation. In the two trials conducted, our team has performed superbly, winning the first trial against Richmond High School and narrowly losing the second against All Saints College in Bathurst. Working with our students has been a great pleasure and they deserve high praise for their attitude and achievement. They have a desire to challenge themselves, learn new skills and also have fun. Their next trial will be on June 12th in the Katoomba court house.
Western Sydney Wanderers Schools Cup It was cold, it was windy and it was dark. Well, it was in Katoomba, but for our lucky Year 7/8 football teams it was 20 degrees and sunny in Penrith for the Wanderers Cup. The competition was pretty hot too. Our girls had a great day out and managed to get a draw and sneak a
Katoomba High School - Website | Facebook | Parent Portal 3
KHS Newsletter Martin St, Katoomba, 2780 | Ph: (02) 4782-2622 [email protected]
2019 Term 2
Week 6
win. They lost their other two games but were certainly not disgraced. In fact, at the end of the day, they finished 4th. Our boys had a tough draw, losing their first game. After some tinkering with the style of play, they won their next two games to make it to the semi-finals. Unfortunately, this is where the run ended as, despite scoring two good goals, they didn't stop the opposition (and eventual winners) scoring more. It was a fantastic day of football and Mr Daniels & Mr Boothroyd would like to thank all students involved as their attitude and teamwork was exemplary.
KHS Swimming Stars
A huge congratulation to the senior girls relay team that consisted of Kaleigh Martin, Rory McKay, Arliah Varnel and Pippa Ridley. The girls went on to represent Sydney West at the Combined High Schools Swimming Championships and raced against some of the best swimmers in the state. It is always great to show the world that mountains people can still swim!
Zone Cross Country Carnival 2019
Another successful year at the Zone Cross Country Carnival for Katoomba HS. The perfect weather conditions helped the athletes throughout their races, as well as the enthusiastic supporters who were persistent in encouraging their teammates throughout the whole day. Well done to the following athletes who will go on to represent the Nepean Zone at the Sydney West Cross Country carnival.
Year 7: Lewyn Mortensen, Shelby Fisher, Tessa McKay Year 8: Caitlyn Martin, Lili Roth, Tobey Shyne Year 9: William Corlett, Ella Mortensen, Jordan Buckley Year 10: Ryan Starr, Olias Heslip-Morgan Year 11: Zachary Rothwell
Mountain Rocky. Stubborn, assertive, inspiring. Son of the sky, lover of the sea. Who loves nature, growth and to soar above his dreams. Who hates following, fears falling and hates failure. Who fears violence, fears exclusion and fears the wrong path. Who has led armies forth, protected the lost and saved the sinners. Who wanted to see change and inclusion for all of nature. Born in a garden and grew in a forest. Snow. By Ajay Hughes | Year 8.
KHS musicians Katoomba High has amazing students. Year 7 musician Jake Campbell has been selected to play the French Horn in the Senior State Wind Band. Olivia Anderson also in year 7 has been selected to play the clarinet in the State Wind Band for a second year. Jim Schoeler, in Year 10 has will be performing with the State Stage Band.
Katoomba High School - Website | Facebook | Parent Portal 4
KHS Newsletter Martin St, Katoomba, 2780 | Ph: (02) 4782-2622 [email protected]
2019 Term 2
Week 6
Careers Expo
Fifty three Year 10 and Year 12 students ventured down to Moore Park today to attend the Careers Market. The students found the day interesting and informative and very helpful in making decisions about their future. Thank you to Ms Glasscock for accompanying us. Mrs Tully. Careers Adviser
Parents Showcase
KHS is delighted to be one of only 5 schools in the Sydney area to be selected to host the FREE Parents Showcase. This is an awesome opportunity for mountains families to understand the pathway options for young people. You will not have a better chance to gather the information you need. Ideal for families with young people in years 8, 9 & 10. Please book in early and come along to this exciting information night. BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL.
Katoomba High School - Website | Facebook | Parent Portal 5