Later this month all parents will receive some important documents providing information about our school - a copy of our 2013 Annual Report and our 2014-2016 School Business Plan. These documents will allow parents to see our progress in meeting the achievement targets of our previous Business Plan alongside the directions we are taking to further develop Lesmurdie as a distinctive school of excellence.

An important aspect of our next phase as an Independent Public School [IPS] is to strengthen our links to business, community and tertiary education. Tangibly this can be seen in the addition of three new School Board members – Margaret Knight (Administration Manager Crabb’s Kalamunda IGA), Ian White (President of Kalamunda Lions)and Dr Jennifer Howell (Senior Lecturer Curtin University).

In addition, we have begun the planning of two vital partnerships that will provide a raft of benefits and opportunities for our students and staff.

The first of these is a sister school partnership with Karratha Senior High School. Ex-Lesmurdie SHS Deputy Principal Greg Kelly is now Principal at Karratha and, with funds supplied by the North West Shelf Project, is working with us to promote regular exchanges of students and staff between the two schools.

Curriculum leaders on our staff will offer professional learning for Karratha teachers, assistance with resources, assessments and curriculum understandings. They will follow up with visits to Karratha Senior High School for

April 2014

The

Link

work shadowing and revision classes with Karratha senior school students. Rachel Richards, one of our Biology teachers, is currently Acting HoLA of Science at Karratha while their staff member is involved in other duties. For us, Karratha teachers will visit to co-teach classes and to offer additional revision opportunities for our students.

We strongly believe that our students will benefit from this partnership. Our Student Councillors will fly to Karratha to work with their student leaders. We intend to build in reward trips to Karratha as part of our Student of the Month Rewards System. Lesmurdie Senior School students keen on careers in mining will be able to travel to Karratha to visit mine sites, hear from industry representatives and see first-hand what life is like in the North West.

The second partnership is with Curtin University. Newly appointed School Board member Dr Jennifer Howell, is a key player in formalising a Memorandum of Understanding [MOU] between Curtin Uni and Lesmurdie allowing direct access for our teachers to Curtin lecturers and tutors for resources, subject content assistance

and access to current trends in their specific learning areas. Our staff and students will be able to attend Curtin Uni to sit in on lectures and labs. All these are exciting professional learning opportunities!

In exchange, the Curtin Uni School of Education will place a number of their pre-service teachers at Lesmurdie throughout the year. We already take pre-service training very seriously at Lesmurdie and this partnership will strengthen the processes and procedures to ensure that these Curtin Graduates are enthused and ready for their teaching careers.

I think you will see why we are very excited about both of these partnerships. They will provide wonderful experiential opportunities for our students to learn more of the world outside of Lesmurdie and assist many with decisions about future careers. For our staff, these partnerships will encourage professional growth, motivation and the opportunity to invest further in our teaching profession.

John Stone, 0417 961 811john.stone1@education.wa.edu.au

New Board Members Margaret Knight, ian White and Jennifer Howell

OpEN DAY

UpCOMiNG DATESAPRIL

11 April Anzac Assembly 10.00am Fun run last day of Term 128 April School Development Day29 April Term 2 commences

MAY

12 May p&C meeting 6.30pm13 May Dance Night30 May Open Day

STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

Matthew Joseph

Matthew JosephMatthew JosephMatthew JosephMatthew JosephMatthew JosephMatthew JosephMatthew JosephMatthew JosephShanae O’Keefe

Sheldon Fazio Adam Byett

Amarissa Tjoa Emily Cole-radice

Matthew JosephMatthew JosephMatthew JosephMatthew JosephMatthew JosephMatthew JosephMatthew JosephMatthew JosephDale Cummings

Hayley Holdsworth Stacey Van Aarde

YEAR 9 YEAR 10 YEAR 12YEAR 11YEAR 8

Bryce Cushing

Congratulations to this month’s Student of the Month Award Winners. These students were nominated fro their enthusiastic approach to learning.

OPEN DAY

OPEN DAYTour starts at 9.30am

Reid Road, Lesmurdie

9291 1200

Friday 30 MayThriving in a Nurturing Environment

LESMURDIE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

All parents are welcome to join us for a look at our school in action on Open Day Friday 30 May. Open Day begins at 9.30am with an information session in the library followed by a tour of the school.

To register, please go to the school website lesmurdie.wa.edu.au and click on Quick Links. Open Day runs from 9.30 - 11.30am. We look forward to seeing you there.

pUpil FrEE DAYChange of Date

The Term Three School Development Day that was scheduled for Monday 21 July has been moved to Monday 25 August. This means that Monday 21 July will be a normal school day for students.

The change is necessary to enable all schools in our network to have a combined School Development Day with a number of guest speakers and presenters. lesmurdie SHS will host the event.

YEAr 8 CAMp

Bendigo Bank IT GrantThe Forrestfield and High Wycombe Bendigo Community Bank branches recently announced a School Tech Initiative project to invest in technology in schools within the Kalamunda Shire. We are delighted to announce that lesmurdie SHS is eligible for $20 000 for this project which will enable us to improve technology within our school.

National Secondary School Computers Fund The National Secondary School Computers Fund [NSSCF] that was instigated years ago by the Federal Government to achieve a 1:1 computer to student ration for Years 9-12 has been wound down. A final grant of $241 000 was issued to our school to enable final purchases of IT equipment and services. A committee representative of all Learning Areas in our school has met to discuss our school’s needs and the following equipment has been ordered:

• Additional 30 data projectors to ensure that most of our classrooms have this vital equipment enabling interactive teaching and learning

• 135 ipads on trolleys to enable teachers in various areas to book these for classroom use• 55 additional desktop computers to supplement existing machines in open areas and computing labs• 16 MacBook pros

FUNDiNG

Over the past two Fridays, the English Department has run essay writing workshops for Senior School students. These have focused on building essay writing skills such as structuring essays, evaluating other students' work, vocabulary enrichment and breaking down essay questions.

With 55 students at the first workshop, it was clear that many students identified a need to improve their essay writing. All students applied themselves beautifully to the tasks given to them and we are already seeing valuable improvements in students' in-class essays. The feedback we have received from students has been positive.

The final essay writing workshop will be held on Friday 11 April where we will focus on writing good introductions, conclusions, linking sentences and smooth incorporation of quotes. We encourage all students in Senior School to attend this workshop in order to finish off Term 1 with a deeper understanding and greater confidence in their abilities for Stage 2 and 3 English. Miss Fairbairn, Mrs Gallager and Mrs Ginks, English

ESSAY WOrKSHOp

Last week, 149 Year 8 students went on camp at Serpentine Baptist Campsite. It was cloudy and humid, hot during the day and cold at night. Mr Oliver, Mr Collins, Ms Smith, Mrs Bunting and Mr Armstrong stayed for the whole camp, with lots of other teachers rotating through.

We slept in dorms that were pretty tight because there were four bunks to a miniature room. There were five dorms per block and each block had showers. We were in Bushland (Mark) and Blueridge (Jarrett). It was half bush but it was about 500 metres from the highway and you could hear the trucks.

We went on camp to meet new people and make new friends and to get out of school for a few days. Whilst we were on camp we did raft building. Most broke as soon as they went in the pool. We also played Lost Pilot and got to use CB radios. It was pretty hot playing Lost Pilots because it was the middle of the day and we had to do lots of running and walking.

Archery was really fun. Mr Armstrong got a bullseye and the arrow just about went through the board. We did the low ropes course, blindfold maze, tyre shifting and lots other team activities.

At night we played basketball and walked around with torches and a had a quiz night. Mr Oliver was very exasperated when everyone got up very early one morning, but that night we were really tired.

There was lots of food but not enough seconds for everyone. We ate hamburgers, fish and chips, hotdogs, a roast, jelly, icecream and mousse. Mrs Jennings made the biggest cake for Luke’s birthday. It was massive. We did have to wash up though.

The best thing was free time in the pool. The worst thing was getting up so early and the pool was freezing. Mark Ashby and Jarrett Salter, Year 8

Senior School Students at the Essay workshop

CGEA AT WOrK EXpEriENCE

CUrTiN liNK Up

The Year 10 CGEA students have commenced their work placements for Semester One.

Students have undertaken placements in a variety of industries including retail, hairdressing, childcare, vehicle repair, construction and agriculture.

The aim of the work placements is to immerse the students in an industry of their choice so that they can be exposed to a hands-on, practical environment where they can make more informed career pathway decisions.

The feedback from both employers and students has been overwhelmingly positive and we sincerely thank the employers for taking the time to mentor and guide our students this semester. Michael Fusco, CGEA teacher

liam Cain - iGA Kalmunda Kirsty-leigh Williams - Buggles Childcare Luke Dyson -JB Hifi

ryan Sojan - iGA lesmurdieTenielle Condidorio - Mussan Hairdresser

Sam McDonald, Amy-louise ross and pearl Clarke at Curtin Connor Bell and Conor Davies learn about referencing

Year 11 2AB Maths class spent the day at Curtin University as part of the Curtin Link Up program. We learnt about referencing and spent time in the Library. Incorrect referencing can have serious repercussions so it was good to know the right way.

We also spent time in the $200 million gym playing volleyball. Some of us alos went to a Japanese Art exhibition made entirely of toys before we got together for an excellent lunch. Connor Bell, Year 11

MUSiC pErFOrMANCES

liBrArY WElCOMES NEW COMMUNiTY liBrAriANVisitors and library users can look forward to fresh and engaging programs and activities with the addition of Veronica Antulov to the Lesmurdie Community Library team. Veronica joins Teacher-Librarian Chris Dall to serve the public library users of our joint-use, School and Community Library.

At the Shire of Rockingham’s Warnboro Community Library, another joint-use library, Veronica was Young People’s Services librarian for a number of years and involved with running a range children’s, youth and adult programs.

Lesmurdie Community Library is open to the public each week day from 8.15 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., Tuesdays from 8.15 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. and Saturdays from 9.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m. All members of the public are welcome at all times to browse, borrow use the internet facilities and enjoy the company of the staff and other library users. Chris Dall, Teacher-Librarian

As well as performing at the Girls and Boys Breakfasts, Lesmurdie Senior High School music students finished the term with a series of concerts.

Guitar Ensemble

Brad reynolds

ramon SkaneMatthew Joseph and Elijah Hue’ge de Serville

Veronica Antulov

lESMUrDiE BAll 2014

Grip CONFErENCE

OUTDOOr ED GOES ABSEiliNGThe Year 11 Outdoor Education students ventured down to Margaret River for an amazing weekend of abseiling and adventure caving. Beginning at the Wilyabrup sea cliffs, they descended great limestone cliffs with waves crashing only 30 metres away. The famous cliff, called Stainless Steel, was the students favourite for the day, with a breathtaking view of the beaches north of Gracetown as they dropped 45 metres.

The afternoon session involved adventure caving at Calgardup cave where students climbed through holes and wandered deep into a hidden cavern filled with flowstone and stalactites. As the evening approached, an abseil into the cave through a small solution pipe was an offer to good to refuse. Sunday brought on a new challenge at Brides Cave, a 50 metre free fall with cathedral shaped features to watch on the descent.

The abseil camp is a wonderful opportunity for Outdoor Education students to experience new challenges and develop confidence and resilience in one of the most beautiful areas in Australia. Greg Taylor, Outdoor Education

Tim robert on stage

Student Councillors at the Conference

luke Wilson Amy-louise ross and luke Garver

Fellow Student Councillors and I attended the GRIP Leadership Conference held at the Perth Convention Centre. Schools from around Perth attended the conference which was supported by Edith Cowan University. Through different seminars we learned the true value and importance of becoming a great leader. As a group we also learned that to achieve our full potential we need the support of our peers.

We had an array of seminars to attend including ‘Creating Unity at School - lessons from Nelson Mandela’, ‘Creating House Spirit - lessons from Cathy Freeman, ‘Being a Leadership Group of Influence’, and many more.

The seminar I attended was ‘Creating Unity at School - lessons from Nelson Mandela’ based on Nelson Mandela’s fight to unify his beloved Africa. This presentation provided us with lessons that will help us to have a positive influence and create unity at school.

Overall, GRIP Leadership wanted us to walk away from the conference with a ‘clear vision, a solid understanding and dozens of ideas for our time as school leaders’.

Thank you to Mrs Bretnall and Mrs Harrington for attending and assisting the Councillors on the day.

Ashley Fraser, Year 11

2015 ENrOlMENTS

HOST AN EXCHANGE STUDENT

SEASONS FOr GrOWTH GriEF prOGrAM

STAFF CHANGES

Application for Enrolment forms for Year 7 and Year 8 in 2015 are now available. They can be downloaded from the school website, or mailed by calling peta rumble in Teaching and learning on 9291 1218. Application forms must be returned to the school, with required documentation, by Friday 25 July 2014.

lesmurdie Senior High School's prime focus is to cater for the families and students in our defined local intake area. Students currently enrolled in Year 7 at local intake primary Schools must submit enrolment forms.

Students who live outside the Department of Education defined local intake area for lesmurdie Senior High School will be considered with all out of area applicants. intake area maps can be viewed on the school website

lesmurdie.wa.edu.au ordet.wa.edu.au/schoolsonline

Where room exists in classes we are able to receive out-of-area enrolments in line with Department of Education policy as follows:

First priority - A child qualifying for a

Specialist program approved by the Director General for that year ie lEAp.

Second priority - A child who has a sibling also enrolled at the school in the current year, (other than siblings enrolled in Specialist programs approved by the Director General), and who lives nearest the school.

Third priority - A child who does not have a sibling enrolled at the school in the current year, or who has a sibling enrolled in a specialist program approved by the Director General, and who lives nearest the school.

17 July- 18 August 2014For the past eight years, a program has been in place offering the opportunity to young French students aged 16-17 years to discover Australia and its education system. We are looking for families willing to host students for the four weeks of their visit (two weeks would be fine if the family finds it more convenient, The student will then stay with 2 families).

The students will be part of a larger group of 25 students who spend four weeks, travelling to and from school with their host family.

The purpose of the program is for these French students to experience living with an Australian family, to see how an Australian school operates, to improve their English language skills through this full immersion and to create a strong friendship with their Anglophone peers. The program is highly successful and both Australians and French students greatly enjoy the exchange. Many families still keep in touch long after the exchange is over.

if you are interested in hosting. please contact Martine Floyd, aupairoz@iinet.net.au or 0403 019 609.

• We farewell Mr Roley Ritchie at the end of term and thank him sincerely for his work in our Maths classes since the beginning of the year.

• Ms Jessica Cubbage returns to our Home Economics team from the start of Term 2.

• Mr Phillip Tonkin joins our S&E team to teach Geography and lower School S&E. He replaces Ms Erin Smith who has helped us out wonderfully since the departure of Ms Carolyn robinson earlier in Term 1.

• principal John Stone will be on long service leave for weeks 1-2 of Term 2 and Leo Surjan will be Acting principal for this time.

• Deputy principal Kim Lloyd will be on long service leave for weeks 3-7 of Term 2 and Steph McDonald will be Acting Deputy principal for this time.

Learning to live with change and loss

Change and loss are issues that affect all of us at some stage in our lives. At lesmurdie Senior High School we recognise that when changes occur in families through death, separation, divorce or related circumstances, young people may benefit from learning how to manage these changes effectively. We are therefore offering a very successful education program called Seasons for Growth which will commence next term. This program is facilitated in small groups and is based on research which highlights the importance of social support and the need to practice new skills to cope effectively with change and loss. The program focuses on issues such as self-esteem, managing feelings, problem-solving, decision-making, effective communication and support networks.

Selected students will receive a notice in the near future with more details about the Seasons for Growth program. if you think your son or daughter would benefit from Seasons for Growth we would encourage you to talk to him/her about participating in the program.

Lesmurdie Senior High School is pleased to be able to offer this important program and we are confident that it will be a valuable learning experience for those who request to be involved. If you require further information please contact Tenille Wright, School psychologist on (08) 9291 1200.

MY DESSErT rUlESThe Year 10 Special Occasion Catering classes were involved in the Year 10 Dessert competition over the last couple of weeks. Students were required to produce a dessert in forty-five minutes with a budget of only $3.50. The amazing results were testament to their planning, with some groups trialing the recipes at home.

Thank you to all the staff that volunteered their time to be competition judges.

The winners were:

Class 1- Aaron Hutchison and Rhys Cushing- Strawberry Cream HornsClass 2- Matthew Oxford and Christine Sutherland- Banoffee pie

Class 3.Ashleigh Turley and Hannah Jones- Strawberry Cream Crepes

Teachers - Danica Hocken & Christine Evans

lESMUrDiE STUDENTS p.A.r.T.Y.Twenty Year 10 and 11 students attended the P.A.R.T.Y. program at Royal Perth Hospital. The 'Preventive Alcohol and Risk Related Trauma in Youth' (P.A.R.T.Y.) program, aims to educate teenagers around the world about the consequences associated with risk-taking behaviour. During the intensive one-day program, aimed towards high school students in Years 10, 11 and 12, ambulance paramedics, trauma doctors and nurses give presentations to educate the students about the consequences of 'risk-taking' behaviour. Students also hear testimonies from survivors and victims.

In the program, students toured the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit and Trauma Ward in Royal Perth Hospital (RPH). During the tour, students were encouraged to explore, touch and feel their surrounding environments. Not only did the students get to see the possible outcomes to people who indulge in risk-taking behaviour, but they also get to feel it by spending time in a wheelchair. This activity allowed students to experience the difficulties of having limited access and mobility when using a wheelchair.

Students were asked to fill out a survey at the beginning and the end of the day, reflecting on what they learnt, how effective they believe the program is, and whether they will enforce these lessons in their own lives.

According to a survey conducted by RPH, based on the responses of 4500 students, 63 per cent said in future circumstances the information they obtained from the program, would stop them from participating in 'risk-taking' behaviour. 77 per cent of students said they would share the information they learnt from the program with peers, friends and family.

Ally Goodhew, SSEP Teacher

Amanda Joiner and Kym Smith judge the desserts Aaron Hutchison and rhys Cushing win with their Strawberry Cream Horns

Matthew Oxford and Christine Sutherland winning Banoffee Pie

Troy Webster, Beau Drosdovs and Tyronne Kopp at the pArTY program

SCiTECH iNGENiOUS FESTiVAl

DANCEYOHFest

YOHFest is Western Australia’s biggest youth performing arts event, giving high school students throughout WA the opportunity to take part in an innovative and revolutionary approach to health education. Each year Lesmurdie SHS enters YOHFest in the Dance, Drama and Visual Art categories. Dance and Drama auditions are already taking place for our 2014 casts. This is a fantastic event that teaches our students about commitment, teamwork and leadership and also enhances their skills in performance. YOHFest uses the performing and visual arts as a platform to explore important youth issues. The theme this year is "Our Community". Rehearsals for the Dance and Drama casts will start early next term to prepare for Heats in Week 6 of Term 3.

Senior School Dance ExcursionEach year our Senior School Dance students are provided with the opportunity to view live performances by local Youth dance companies. On Friday 28 March, we viewed 'Ecobots' by Buzz Dance Theatre Company at the Perth Town Hall. This multi-discipline work, incorporating theatre, dance and multimedia, and addressed the relevant issue of climate change in a humorous and entertaining way. Viewing these live performances benefits our students in their further understanding of choreography, performance and the use of design elements to create their own engaging work. Although we left with mixed reviews, it was an excellent day! Lauren Nisbett, Dance

Senior School Dance Students YOHFest auditions

Year 9 LEAP Science students attended the Ingenious Festival at SciTech. At the festival, the students were able to interact with the Ingenious exhibition, an exhibition designed to take students through the scientific process and challenge them to create innovative solutions.

They also had the opportunity to meet engineers and scientists to talk about what their occupations entail and how they got into such an interesting profession.

The students took the opportunity to get really involved in all the activities. At the end of the day, Declan McLeod and Nathan Byrom held the record for the best floating structure at the Engineer without Borders activity. Great work! Sharon Bergman, Science Teacher

John Quantum

Brianna HerdenCameron Wilson

SenseAbility

BrEAKFAST ClUB

KANYANA

FrOM THE CHAplAiN

COMiNG UpMID-YEAR DANCE NIGHT

Tuesday 20th May6pm-7:30pm

Kalamunda Performing Arts CentreTickets on sale for $5 early next

The Breakfast Club has started very successfully with invited students enjoying a variety of fruit, cereal, toast, hotcakes and as the weather cools, milos and toasties.

Next term, the Tuesday morning breakfast will be available to any student. listen out to Daily Notices for more information.

Calling all 12-15 year olds interested in wildlife

Wednesdays 4 - 5pm. from April 30th for 5 weeks

Meet the animals, hear their stories and see how we care for and rehabilitate them.

Cost: $40 payable in advance, credit card facility available

Email your interest to info@kanyanawildlife.org.au with the heading “Teen interest” giving your name and phone number.

Term 1Easter Raffle

The Heart Foundation

Term 2Donations for

Foodbank 2014 Schools Food Appeal

Term 3Themed Dress Day

BeyondblueTerm 4

Themed Dress Day Teen Cancer Council

This year, the Student Council’s focus for fundraising is

Harry Cox, Jaedin Price and Cam Price at the Breakfast Club

Have you ever wondered how we mature from children to adults? Up until more recent times when concepts of adolescence have abounded, most cultures used various forms of ancient initiation ceremonies to mark the transition between childhood and adulthood. However, in our post-modern culture, these rites of passage processes have seemingly been lost.

Andrew Lines (author of the “Rite Journey”- a youth program focused on developing ‘responsible, respectful and resilient’ adults) believes that if a society lacks these essential rites of passage, then many teens will create their own unhealthy versions, often involving such behaviours as hoon driving, sexual activity and excessive drinking.

Interesting thought. Do we, in our society, need to reinvent or reinstate such rites of passage, or are they just ‘white elephants’ and best left in our past as they hold no inherent value in our current culture?

What do you think? Grant Collins, Chaplain

FUNDrAiSiNG

Building Resilience in our Students

in Term 2, some Year 9 students will be offered the opportunity to participate in a new program called SenseAbility. The program is aimed at building resilience in young people to help them manage the life challenges that are an inevitable part of growing up.

The Essential Skills component of SenseAbility consists of six modules focusing on the development of life skills. it is NOT counselling, it is an education program that uses a wide range of creative activities to help young people learn how to manage well in difficult times. It is also an opportunity for students to work with a small group of peers who have experienced similar issues. parents are welcome to look at the SenseAbility materials by visiting www.beyondblue.org.au/senseability.

please contact Tenille Wright, School psychologist, on (08) 9291 1200 if you have further questions.

iNTErSCHOOl SWiMMiNG CArNiVAl

OPEN DAYMAY 30 2014

TOUR STARTS 9.30AM

Lesmurdie Senior High School is always happy to promote the successes of our students. Please contact Katharine Harrington on 9291 1245 or by email at katharine.harrington@education.wa.edu.au with information and photographs.

TUESDAY 6 May 10:00am − 3:00pmKalamunda Performing Arts Centre, 48 Canning Road, Kalamundawww.kalamunda.wa.gov.au

For further details contact

9257 9933

KALAMUNDA CAREERS EXPO 2014

CREATE YOUR FUTURE!

Want to study? Try a trade? Pursue a profession? Check out the expo!

Selected students represented our school at the Interschool Swimming Carnival held at Challenge Stadium. We had several stand out performers, Hannah Van De Velde won Champion Girl, 14 years, Bec Robinson swam up an age group and won Champion Girl, 16 years and over, Connor Glover won Champion Boy, 16 years and overs and Ashleigh Ezard received Year 11 Girls Runner-Up Champion. A huge thank you to all our swimmers that participated, especially those of you who put your hand up and competed in events other than those you qualified for. We had a great team that came together and competed as proud Lesmurdians to finish an impressive 6th overall cementing our place in Division B for next year. Well done Nikky Dowset, HP&E teacher

lesmurdie’s Champion swimmers

Connor Bell

Hannah Van De Velde, Champion 14 Year old Girl

Champion Boy and Girl 16 and Over Connor Glover and Bec robinson