may 2012 parent bulletin - elderslie high school · be teaching dance/pdhpe. congratulations and...

PARENT BULLETIN MAY 2012

Elderslie High School Educating all students to achieve their personal best

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

There have been a number of changes

occur at the school since our last

Parent Bulletin. Firstly we farewelled

our wonderful Head Teacher PDHPE,

Mr Peter Russell. Mr Russell was not

only one of Elderslie High School’s

most dedicated teachers, but he was

also a valuable leader and one of our

staunchest advocates. He honestly

cared about the students and would

always ensure that their needs were

addressed, first and foremost, in the

most positive way. We will miss him.

Mr Arthur and Ms Crossingham will

both be sharing the Relieving Head

Teacher PDHPE role, Mr Arthur for

the first 3 weeks of Term 2, followed

by Ms Crossingham.

We also welcomed Ms D Lysaught and

Ms E Donaldson to our school. Both

teachers were successful in gaining

permanent teaching positions at our

school through the merit selection

process. Ms Lysaught will be teaching

English/History and Ms Donaldson will

be teaching Dance/PDHPE.

Congratulations and welcome to our

school.

Ms Grimston-Eason started her

maternity leave on 30 April 2012. We

wish her and her husband well for the

upcoming birth of their baby. Ms

Donaldson will take over Ms

Grimston-Eason’s timetable whilst she

is on leave.

The school P&C operated canteen

also finished at the end of Term 1.

The ladies in the canteen, Margaret

Anderson, Sue Taylor and Gail Lees

worked in the Canteen tirelessly over

many years. We would like to wish

them well and sincerely thank them

for all their hard work. We would also

like to thank the many parents who

volunteered their time in our canteen

over the years. A big thank you should

also be conveyed to the executive of

the P&C, who 18 months ago finalised

the process to make the canteen

operation align with the P&C

Federation requirements.

At the beginning of this term we

welcomed new operators in our

canteen. This company has helped the

school significantly, during the holiday

period, to meet the needs of our

students. The current arrangement is

for this term whilst the canteen lease

is advertised for tender. Welcome to

Elderslie High School. More

information about the canteen is

included in this bulletin.

It was wonderful to hear from Mr

Quinn that over 30 students and 6

staff marched in the ANZAC Day

ceremony held in Camden. This was

preceded earlier when our two

captains Sarah Trethewy and Bradley

Roe laid the wreath during the dawn

service. Mr Quinn was extremely

proud of everyone. The Camden

service and march are held in high

regard in our community and it is

always positive to see younger

Australians recognise the

commitment and sacrifice of our

service men and women. On Friday 27

March the school held our ANZAC Day

ceremony. This emotive, but

significant event was organised by Ms

Malcolm and her Year 9 history

students – well done!

In this Bulletin you will also read

about the outstanding efforts and

achievements of our swimmers at the

CHS Swimming Carnival. Whilst we

were a creditable fourth in the overall

points score, the girls’ team from

Elderslie High School was first. We are

overwhelmed by the effort and

commitment of our swimmers and

they all deserve our praise and

congratulations. I wish however to

PARENT BULLETIN

MAY 2012

Upcoming Events

• 8/5 P & C Meeting

• 15-17/5 NAPLAN

• 14-16/5 SWS Dance Festival

• 18/5 Fast & Fresh Comp

• 20/2 Animal Nursery Family

Fun Day

• 21-22/5 Snr Ext English Camp

• 23/5 Zone Cross Country

• 24/5 Yr 7 Vaccination

• 29-30/5 School Athletics

• 6/6 Science Comp

• 12/6 P & C Meeting

See back page for more details

Inside This Issue

Principal’s Report 1-2

Technology, Learning

Support 2

D of E, Library 3

English 4

Maths, Welfare 5

TAS 6

CAPA 6-8

Agriculture 9-10

Sport 11-12

Year 7 Poetry 13

Proposed Calendar 14



single out one significant achievement. This is the

announcement at the carnival that Brittany Stoker was

awarded “Swimmer of the Meet”. Although Brittany was

the runner-up in the age championship, she entered in

not only her individual events, but also four relay teams.

An outstanding effort that was acknowledged by the

organisers. We also learnt last week that Brittany has

been invited into the NSW Emerging Talent Squad.

Congratulations Brittany, you are an exemplary

sportswoman and student. We know your family is

extremely proud of you and we just wanted to let you

know that we are too. Well done!

Brittany Stoker

During Week 2 we held PBL (Positive Behaviour Learning)

lessons for Years 7 to 10 students in relation to school

examinations. Students were made aware of such things

as examination expectations, how to read the

examination timetable and where they could get support

regarding study techniques. Timetables were issued

during Year meetings held on Wednesday. Examination

timetables are also available on our school website:

www.elderslie-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

I would finally like to invite parents to the next P&C

meeting to be held on Tuesday 8th May 2012.

Mrs Fawcett

Principal

TECHNOLOGY – DER LAPTOPS Year 11 – Warranty and Repairs The Year 11 DER laptops are no longer under warranty as

of 14 April 2012. This means that any damage to the

laptops will incur a cost to repair them. Damaged laptops

should still be brought to the TSO for an initial assessment

and then you can choose to have it repaired either

through the school (this will cost $249) or you may find an

alternate company to carry out the repairs.

NOTE: The exception to this is if the motherboard is

damaged, then it must be repaired via the school.

Year 9 – Updates The Year 9 laptops will be undergoing a hardware update

throughout this term. The update will take place during

Week 8. All Year 9 students need to back up any work

saved on their laptop and have them ready for collection.

A letter will be sent out shortly detailing the collection

and return process.

Timothy Arkell, TSO

LEARNING SUPPORT Peer Tutor Reading Elderslie High School would like to thank Camden Rotary

Club for their sponsorship of $1500 for the Peer Tutor

Reading Scheme. We appreciate the ongoing support.

Thank you to Stephanie Bates from Campbelltown TAFE

who did a great job training 11 Year 10 Peer Tutor

Readers. Staff, students and parents appreciate the

dedication of the tutors who support Year 7 students with

their literacy needs.

NAPLAN All parents and carers of students in Year 7 and Year 9

should have received a note issued on Thursday 26th April

with the school’s arrangements for NAPLAN. If you did not

receive a letter your child can see their Year Adviser or

Mrs M Moore for a letter.

NAPLAN Assessments for Years 7 and 9 will be on:

Tuesday, 15 May: Language and Writing

Wednesday, 16 May: Comprehension

Thursday, 17 May: Numeracy (calculator needed)

If any student is absent, he/she will be required to catch

up doing these assessments on Friday, 18 May in the

library at 9:05am; after he/she has had their roll call

marked they should then go straight to the library to

meet Mrs M Moore. (This includes students involved in

the SWS Dance Festival)

Equipment needed: glasses if worn, pencil, eraser,

sharpener, a calculator for Maths, a reading book and a

bottle of water in a clear plastic bottle. All mobile phones

are to be switched off and left in bags or not brought to

school.

P & C SCHOOL CANTEEN It is with regret that I have to inform you that the P&C

School Canteen has ceased to exist at the end of Term 1.

Unfortunately it became untenable for the P&C

committee and members to continue with this

commitment. On behalf of all present and past parents I

wish to express a sincere thank you to all the canteen

staff and parent volunteers who have provided a valuable

service.

In particular I wish to recognise the wonderful service

provided by Margaret Anderson (Canteen Supervisor).

For over two decades she has ‘filled’ the stomachs of the

pupils as well as put smiles on their faces!



Sue Taylor and Gayle Lees have ably assisted Margaret for

many years. Thank you very much ladies. I wish you good

health and much happiness in the future.

D Moore

ex President of EHS P&C

EHS P & C MEETING Tuesday, 8 May The next meeting of the P&C will be held in the staff

common room starting at 7.30pm.

At this meeting we shall attempt to elect a committee for

2012. All parents/guardians and members of the

community are entitled to attend these important and

informative meetings, so please make time to attend and

consider standing for one of the four offices. This is a

practical way we can all support our children and their

school.

DUKE OF EDINBURGH Another year of D of E is in full swing. All the Gold and

Silver expeditions have been successfully completed,

despite some trying weather conditions during Term 1.

Bronze expedition training will commence in Term 3 with

expeditions commencing in Term 4.

It is important that all D of E participants regularly log

onto the ORB and complete the other sections of the

award. I would anticipate that all sections for students in

Bronze and Silver level be completed by the end of Term 4

this year (2012) so that the next level of award can be

commenced early in 2013.

Just a reminder that a new “continuation” fee has been

introduced by the Award Office. Participants are now

required to pay $45 to progress from one level to the

next. This money needs to be paid to the Student Office.

Elderslie High School will again have the annual ski trip in

late August for D of E participants, this is a great

opportunity and I encourage all participants to attend.

More information will be forthcoming in the next few

weeks.

If there are any questions or enquiries please do not

hesitate to contact me.

Paul Marshall

D of E Coordinator

OUR PEER READING SCHEME For many years our school has run a reading scheme for

students in Year 7 which allows them to improve their

reading and literacy skills. 11 students in Year 10 are

undertaking this TAFE Peer Tutor Literacy course and for

25 minutes every day we work with our Year 7 tutee

through texts that they are currently doing in class. Both

tutees and tutors think this is a rewarding scheme where

we learn from each other and become friends.

All students in the scheme have improved drastically since

the beginning of the year and to celebrate we had a pizza

day at the end of last term. They are all continuing to

improve and when this course is over the Tutors will have

finished a TAFE course and the tutees will be much better

in reading and literacy.

Everyone involved in the scheme would like to thank both

Mrs Moore and Mr van der Zwaag who put in their time

to organise this scheme and allow it to happen. Also each

year we receive funding assistance from the local Camden

Rotary Club who covers the costs of the program and so

we thank them as well.

Elizabeth Knowles

Year 10 Peer Tutor

LIBRARY NEWS We’re excited about recent

enhancements to our IT facilities

in the library. With 6 new

desktops and 20 laptops, we’ve

achieved our goal of ensuring

every student visiting the library

with their class has access to a

computer.

It is very satisfying also to see so many enthusiastic

readers borrowing from our book collection. Many of our

borrowers seemed to have an insatiable appetite for

‘Hunger Games’ just before the holidays.

Thanks to everyone who made suggestions for our ‘Books

We Should Get’ display. You should spot some of those

books in the collection by now.

R van der Zwaag

Teacher/Librarian

Our Year 10 Tutors



ENGLISH Year 11 English Studies Preparing for Work Year 11 English Studies recently completed a unit of work

designed to give them an advantage in the workforce.

This unit assisted students in seeking appropriate

employment, compiling resumes, drafting letters of

application and preparation for formal interviews. As part

of their formal assessment task, Year 11 English Studies

students were required to undertake a panel interview

with two Human Resource Officers from My Gateway

Employment Services and Mrs Skaroupka, our Careers

Advisor. The students were required to attend in suitable

interview attire, submit a resume and documentation. All

students should be acknowledged for their participation

and application to the task. Jarrod Crick, Bryton Noble and

Kieran Baughan all performed particularly well and

Christopher McClymont was the star interviewee of the

day. A special thanks to My Gateway Employment

Services for allowing their staff to participate and Mrs

Skaroupka for her time and guidance.

Year 11 Students preparing for

work/interviews



MATHEMATICS Year 10 Class Changes Due to changes in student numbers, we have reduced the

number of Year 10 classes this term. The students who

were in 10 ME, taught by Ms Juske and Mrs Rouen have

been moved to other classes and several students have

been moved into the 5.3 course based on their overall

performance and work ethic. All of these changes were

made in the consultation with their classroom teacher.

Year 7/9 NAPLAN All of Year 7 and 9 students will be sitting their NAPLAN

examinations in Week 4. Students can prepare for the

numeracy component by using MATHLETICS and their

teachers will also use some lesson time to review their

skills and examination technique.

MATHLETICS With the half yearly examinations fast approaching, all

students in Years 7 to 10 should be regularly using

MATHLETICS to consolidate the skills they have learnt in

class.

We would expect students to complete 1 to 2 activities

each night if they have no other Mathematics homework

allocated. We still have several students who have not

paid for their MATHLETICS, and this could disadvantage

them in their upcoming examinations. As soon as students

make this payment they should see Mrs Amos or their

classroom teacher to be given their username and

password.

Mathematics Competition The Australian Mathematics Competition will be held on

Thursday 2 August and the Maths Faculty would like as

many students as possible to be involved. All students

wishing to enter need to pay $5.50 to the Student Office

by Tuesday 8 May as the official entry must be completed

then. Students on Academic Scholarships and all Year 8

and 9 Gifted and Talented students will be automatically

enrolled into the competition. If there are any queries

about the competition, students need to ask their maths

teachers for more details.

Half Yearly Examinations The Half Yearly Mathematics Examination dates are:

Year 7 - Friday, 11 May (calculator and non calculator)

Year 8 - Tuesday, 8 May (non calculator in class)

- Thursday, 17 May (calculator in the hall)

Year 9 - Thursday, 10 May (calculator in the hall)

- Monday, 14 May ( non calculator in class)

Year 10 - Friday, 18 May (calculator in the hall)

Aboriginal Numeracy Challenge A group of 11 students from Years 7 to 10 attended the

Aboriginal Numeracy Challenge during Term 1 at Sarah

Redfern HS. They were: Lori Craker, Georgia Eggert, Keely

Formosa, Courtney Jones, Kimberley Rouland, Catherine

Lambeth, Rhys Worger, Joshua Rouland, Erin Worger,

Brock Humphries and Matthew Lambeth.

During the day the students participated in a range of

numeracy activities including; Deadly Data, Jeopardy,

Problem Solving and Thinking on Our Feet. Overall our

school came second on the day.

NSW PREMIER’S STUDENT

VOLUNTEERING The Premier’s Student Volunteering program is on for

Years 9-10. If you are participating in any voluntary

activity you are eligible to log on the Volunteering website

where you log in your hours and after only 20 hours of

volunteering you have achieved your bronze award. You

can achieve 5 different awards within the program from

bronze to black opal, plus you have helped your local

community, which is a great achievement. This will also

help you in applying for a job, you can show these awards

to your employer, which will help your chances in

becoming a worker.

Volunteering can include work such as coaching a sport

team, we will be coming around to your roll classes to ask

who would like to log in their hours for volunteering. If

you have any enquiries, see Mrs Rouen, Mr Kafataris or

Miss Zammit for any help and enrolling in the program.

We hope to see you volunteering in the near future!

Tim and Lachlan

WELFARE Year 7 is thankful that the first visit by the vaccination

nurses is over and all have survived. There was, however

an administration error. All parents received a sealed pack

from SW Sydney Area Health. A small number of the girls’

packs contained information only in the Varicella

(measles/yellow) envelope. They did not contain the

vaccination form. If you did not receive this form and wish

your child to be vaccinated for measles – you may either

contact the school, leaving your daughter’s name and we

will arrange for them to receive a card or your child may

come to the Welfare office and collect a card.

Year 10 students will receive their vaccination cards

during Term 2.

P Skaroupka

Congratulations to ex-student, Peter McWhirter, who

has won the Country Music Channel’s Best New Artist Best New Artist Best New Artist Best New Artist

of the Year.of the Year.of the Year.of the Year.



A reminder to parents to notify the school

about your child’s health We welcome information from parents about your child's

health, even if you are not requesting specific support

from our school. Our school asks for medical information

when you enrol your child. It is also important that you

let us know if your child’s health care needs change or if a

new health condition develops.

Information about allergies, medical conditions such as

asthma and diabetes and other health care related issues

(including prior conditions such as medical procedures in

the last 12 months) should be provided to the school by

parents. Please provide this information in writing to the

principal. This will greatly assist our school in planning to

support your child’s health and wellbeing.

Please also remember to notify staff in the school office of

any changes to your contact details or to the contact

details of other people nominated as emergency contacts.

We appreciate your assistance in this regard and assure

you that any information you provide the school will be

stored securely and will only be used or disclosed in order

to support your son or daughter’s health needs or as

otherwise required by law.

ANZAC DAY MARCH On Wednesday 25

April, Elderslie High School participated

in the Camden Anzac Day March. Many members of the

SRC, School Captains and students were there to show

our School colours and our respect for the Anzacs. It was

an amazing day filled with amazing people. It was such an

honour to be a part of this celebration.

MUFTI DAY At the end of Term 1 Elderslie High School held a School

Mufti Day to raise money for Chris Gruar’s ride around

the world from Australia to England.

We raised $500 for this worthy cause. Chris was an ex-

student and we are happy to support him.

Todd Thurlow and Jasmine Bonnici

SRC

TAS News Camden show Students from Years 9 & 10 Textiles had the opportunity

to enter various items into the Camden Show.

Thanks to the following students who entered: Sophie

Lindsay, Raelene Carter, Chantelle Oliveri and Julie

French. Congratulations on your great results!

Year 8 Child Studies Year 8 child studies have been studying nutritious lunch

boxes. They have participated in a number of practical

lessons to prepare a variety of nutritious lunches.

They have also been studying their family trees and have

had a baby photo competition.

Year 11 Textiles Year 11 Textiles had the opportunity to attend the Craft

Show at Rosehill Racecourse. Here the students were

able to view the “Textyle” Exhibition and a variety of

stalls, all featuring interesting products to inspire their

creative works.

Thank you to the students who supported this activity.

Year 10 Child Studies Year 10 have been learning about toddlers and their

behaviour, sibling fights, temper tantrums and toilet

training, these are some of the topics being discussed.

During this term we will cover pregnancy and childbirth.

Students will get to take the electronic baby “ELLIE” home

for an evening. I am sure they will enjoy it.

Mrs Ulrich

CAPA NEWS CAPA Update Congratulations to all of the winners from the Talent

Quest and to the Vocal Ensemble and the cast of Singin’

In The Rain, who performed on behalf of Elderslie High

School in the NAB School Performance Tent at Camden

Show. Congratulations to Bradley Roe from Year 12, Leah

Morgan and Bronte De Sousa from Year 10 and Jamie-Lee

Turner from Year 10 on winning the Battle of the Schools

Talent Quest Best Performance Item at Camden Show.

Well done to all!

Congratulations to Bradley Roe from Year 12, Jessica Olah

from Year 11, Jamie-Lee Turner from Year 10, Kara

Valente from Year 10 and Brooke Murray from Year 9 on

your amazing performances at the Live Smart Festival on

Sunday, 1 April 2012. You represented Elderslie High

School admirably and we appreciate you giving up your

time on a Sunday to perform.

During Week 6 of Term 1 the Ballroom Dance Ensembles,

Dance Company and Dance Ensemble taped their dance

pieces for the South Western Sydney Dance Festival,

2012 and for Schools Spectacular, 2012. Congratulations

to the Dance Company, Dance Ensemble and Ballroom

Dance Ensemble on gaining selection for the Festival.

Permission notes have gone home and need to be

returned with payment for transport, to the student

office. Good luck to those groups. Costume hire and

fundraising chocolate money is now overdue. Please



organise payment immediately to the Student Office.

Costumes for all of the groups are filtering in and will all

be organised as soon as they arrive.

Nominations are open for the Junior and Senior State

Dance Camps held at the Sydney Dance Company

Studios. Dancers have the opportunity to be taught

various styles of dance by industry professionals. If

students are interested please see Ms Dennis in the

Drama Studio for more information and how to apply.

Applications for the Junior Camp are due on Monday, 14

May 2012. Applications for the Senior Camp are due on

Monday, 21 May 2012.

The Creative and Performing Arts polo shirts and singlets

are now available in all sizes from the Studio. Students

must pay at the student office and present their receipt to

Ms Dennis or Ms Grimston-Eason in the studio to collect

their polo shirt/singlet. Polo shirts are $25.00 and singlets

are $15.00.

On Thursday, 22 March 2012 Year 11 - 12 Drama students

viewed a performance of Cosi. The students’ behaviour

was impeccable and they found the performance

interesting.

On Monday, 2 April 2012 the Year 11 CAPA students

presented Bound by Time to an audience of parents and

friends. The students would like to take this opportunity

to thank all of the people who attended on the evening

for their support of their work. If you missed the Drama

performances on this evening, the Year 11 Drama

students will be competing in the State Theatresports

Challenge to be held at Inaburra School, Bangor on

Tuesday, 8 May 2012 from 7 pm. Please come along and

support TEAM ELDERSLIE in this competition. We need

lots of cheering!!

The Year 11 Drama students are looking forward to

competing in The Theatresports Challenge on Tuesday, 8

May 2012 at Inaburra School from 7.00 pm. Good luck

Year 11!

The Year 12 Drama students are looking forward to

competing in Fast and Fresh on Friday, 18 May 2012 at

Riverside Theatre. They will be presenting their playbuilt

work Time To Eat. Good luck Year 12!

The Dance Transition Program with Mawarra, Elderslie

and Cobbitty Public School is in full swing, with one of our

five rehearsals complete we are well and truly on our way

to creating a fabulous routine for the Sydney Eisteddfod

in July.

The Year 7, 8 and 9 Drama students will be attending a

performance of Romeo and Juliet on Thursday, 24 May

2012 at the Sydney Opera House. The students will gain a

much clearer understanding of this wonderful

Shakespearean play. Permission notes and money are

due to the student office asap.

CAPA Faculty

Mock Trials Update A group of dedicated Year 10 and 11 students are taking

on the world of Mock Trials this year. The team members

are Claire Meikle, Brad Pearson and Isabella Wisniewska

from Year 11 and Tianna Bell, Lachlan Burke and Erin

Middleton from Year 10. The students have been working

hard during lunchtimes and after school to perfect their

knowledge of the legal system, court processes and the

case they are studying.

The team competed admirably in their Round 2 encounter

against St Patrick’s College, Campbelltown.

Congratulations on your win! Our Third Round encounter

will be in early May. Good luck team!

Debating and Public Speaking Update On Friday, 4 May 2012 Elderslie High School will host the

District Final of the Plain English Speaking Award on

behalf of The Arts Unit. We will welcome senior public

speakers from local government and private schools.

Good luck to Caitlin Hooper and Suzanna Moschetti from

Year 12 who will represent Elderslie High School at the

Final!

Congratulations to the Year 12 Debating team, consisting

of Suzanna Moschetti, Alicia Sullivan, Kahli Bailey and

Mitchell Christie on their win in Round 1 against Hoxton

Park High School and their win in Round 2 against

Hurlstone Agricultural High School. Good luck in Round 3!

The Year 11 Debating Team will be starting their

competition in a few weeks. Years 7 – 10 Debating will be

starting in a few weeks time so listen to the notices for

meetings.

Ms Dennis

SCHOOL FUNDRAISING The Good Guys, Campbelltown Homebase

Unit 13-15, 24 Blaxland Road, Campbelltown

Our school is registered to take part in the “School Dollar Program”.

When a member from our school community makes a purchase of

$25 or more we are entitled to a $1 fundraising. A $500 purchase will

earn the school $40 in fundraising rewards.

What Can You Do? When you purchase any goods please ask for

“school dollars”. The school dollars are then filled in with date and

receipt number and handed into the school office. The more

purchases with the Good Guys, Campbelltown, the more reward

dollars our school will earn.

Please support this venture as it will enable the school to purchase

valuable resources to assist in the education of your child.

NOTE: Please make sure that the back of the school dollars are filled

in with all details.



Singin’ In The Rain is coming to Elderslie High

School Singin’ In The Rain is a fabulous musical not to be missed.

Come along and join in all of the fun as Elderslie High

School sings, dances and laughs in the rain in 2012. If you

enjoy Musicals then you will really love, Singin’ In The

Rain. Rehearsals are in full swing and the cast are really

looking forward to the challenge of staging such an

acclaimed musical.

Just a reminder to the cast and orchestra that they have

their second extended rehearsal on Tuesday, 1 May from

3.25 pm – 8.30 pm in the School Hall.

If there are any members of the School Community who

would like to advertise their business in the Program for

the Musical, please contact Ms Dennis in the CAPA

Faculty. We would love your support!

Ms Dennis is also in search of a few set items for the

Musical. If anyone from the School Community could

help me source some of the following items, please

contact MS Dennis in the CAPA Faculty ASAP. The items

are:

White iron table and two chairs (Like picture below)

Wooden park bench

So stay tuned for

regular updates on

our progress.

Tickets will go on

sale towards the

end of May from

the Student Office.

Singin’ in The Rain

will be presented to

the school

community on the

28 – 30 June 2012

at the School Hall.

Creative and Performing Arts Faculty

Talent Quest 2012 The Elderslie High School Talent Quest 2012 was held on

Friday, 9 March 2012 in the School Hall from 7.15 pm. It

was a wonderful evening full of fabulous entertainment.

Congratulations to all of the performers, organisers and

stage crew members. Thank you to the school

community for coming along and really supporting the

performers on the evening. Thank you very much to

Joseph Gatehau for coming along and performing on the

evening. Thank you to our judges; Ms Prigg, Pastor Paul

Stevens from Lifehouse Church, Mr Jacob Nicastri and

Miss April Pickering from CentreStage Dance Studio.

Thank you also to the past students who performed on

the evening; James Gadd, Daniel Almer and Jacob Nicastri.

Many thanks to all of our sponsors; Clintons Toyota,

Runnymede Technologies, Macarthur Credit Union,

Narellan Town Centre, United Cinemas, McDonalds and

Barenz – Camden. Without your support the evening

would not have been such a wonderful success. Start

preparing your acts for Talent Quest 2013!!!

Gifted and Talented Program At Elderslie High School there are many programs

happening to enhance student learning in faculty areas.

The Gifted and Talented program is designed to support

what is already happening in classrooms and to offer

students some extra opportunities. Fifteen students from

Years 8 and twenty students from Year 9 have been

identified by staff for the program and a further fifteen

students from Year 7 will join the program after the half

yearly reporting period.

The Year 8 students have just completed a two period

Science Workshop with Mr Kairouz. The Year 9 students

have just completed a two period Visual Arts and

Literature Workshop with Mr Baylis. Photos from both of

these workshops are on the Gifted and Talented notice

board outside the Studio. More workshops will be

organised for the students after the examination period is

complete.

The Year 9 Gifted and Talented students, in conjunction

with Mr Burke and the VET Entertainment students, will

be preparing an entry in the Great Schools Showoff

competition. Stay tuned for updates on their progress.

Twelve of our senior Gifted and Talented students will be

offered the opportunity to attend the Gifted and

Talented Conference for 2012 later this term.

We will be participating in Mind Marathon and

Tournament of the Minds later in the year. Details about

these events will be available very soon through the Daily

Notices.

The Gifted and Talented Team have been busy compiling

a list of all of the opportunities for our Gifted and

Talented students. This document will be featured in a

future bulletin & also on the school website.

Stay tuned for more exciting things happening for the

Gifted and Talented students at Elderslie High School.

Gifted and Talented Team



AGRICULTURE NEWS What an exciting end of term we had in Agriculture!

Camden Show is always a highlight of the year. Our

display this year featured “Trees on Farms” depicting the

many advantages of trees to the whole farm environment

as well as the commercial value. The display was

constructed by students from Years 9 and 10 and is an

excellent opportunity for us to showcase our school to the

wider community. An enthusiastic group of students, Nic

Palmer, Emily Walker, Nathan Sanjivi, Christine

Newsome, Jory Collins, Wade Whittaker, Lachlan Bain,

Sage Ockers, Sophie Lindsay, Lucy Powell and Todd

Thurlow, worked tirelessly to man the display over the

period of the show and did a fantastic job talking to

children and adults about our display and Agriculture at

Elderslie High School.

Year 8 students, with a little advice from some of the

older students, constructed a scarecrow, “Mr

Sustainability”, for the Scarecrow Competition. He

incorporated many of the sustainable gardening practices

that the students had learnt about earlier in the year and

was awarded 1st

Place in the High School Category – the

prize is a sustainable project donated by Bunnings.

Several students, Sage Ockers, Emily Wilson, Georgia

Mazurkiewicz, Sophie Lindsay, Alysha Coleman, Shayla

Baxter and Jesse Spinks were involved in parading beef

and dairy cattle and did a fantastic job.

In their “spare time” at the show, our enthusiastic Ag

Team also entered the “Young Farmers Challenge” (1st

in

their heat), the “Iron Man Competition” (Jory Collins

came 2nd

in the Junior competition) and the “Wheelie Bin

Relay” (3rd

Place). It was fantastic to see Elderslie High

School being represented in so many different areas of

this community event. The students always look fantastic

in their “Ag Shirts” and present a very positive image of

the school.

Sydney Royal Show began on the last day of term and

many of our Agriculture students attended our excursion

where they were able to see, first hand, a large selection

of the different breeds of livestock involved in Australian

Agriculture. The behavior of these students was

exemplary and a great day was had by all. The Sydney

Royal, for many of our students, however, began early in

Term 1 as they began preparing our entries for the show.

6 weeks before the show we received a batch day old of

meat birds to be reared for the “Meat Bird Pairs

Competition”. It was interesting for students to compare

the growth of these with the Year 7 layer chickens that

arrived at the same time (the meat birds grew at almost

10 times the rate of the layers). The birds had to be cared

for and monitored over this period. Many students

assisted with this project but particular credit needs to be

given to Christine Newsome who was at the school farm

Ms Dennis and Ms Grimston-Eason proudly present……

“Almost Famous” launches @ Elderslie High School

Classes at Elderslie High School Hilder St, Narellan

Ph: 46581110

Thursday Night

5.30 to 6.15pm ZUMBA

7.30 to 8.15pm

Ballroom/Latin/

New Vogue

$8.00 per class Bridal Couples available upon request

$15 each/45 Minutes

All profits made through “Almost Famous” support

Performing Arts at Elderslie High School

Dance classes catering to Dance classes catering to Dance classes catering to Dance classes catering to

Adults. Adults. Adults. Adults. “It’s time for the parents “It’s time for the parents “It’s time for the parents “It’s time for the parents

to have some fun!”to have some fun!”to have some fun!”to have some fun!”



every day feeding and monitoring the birds. A team of

layer hens also needed to be prepared. Results of feed

intake and egg production were recorded throughout the

term and a poster was prepared to be displayed at the

show. Once again, several students assisted with this

project coordinated by Emily Walker who did a fantastic

job. Sage Ockers, as well as being our chief Chook

Selector, also competed in the Poultry Showmanship

Competition and Junior Poultry Judging.

So, despite having 10 of our best purebred chickens stolen

prior to the show, our major awards were as follows:

Champion School Duck

Champion School Drake

Champion School Waterfowl

1st

Place for our Female Meat Bird Pair (out of 60 entries)

1st

Place for our Female Meat Bird Pair Carcass

2nd

Place for our team of Layers

1st

Place for our Egg Production Poster

As well as numerous placing for our pure breed chickens.

The combination of these awards made us the “Most

Successful School Poultry Exhibitor” – not a bad

achievement at Sydney Royal where 45 different schools

were competing! And, as an extra bonus, we won $1,170

in prize money.

Animal Nursery News Even though it was the beginning of the school holidays,

we had a large turnout of students to assist us with our

Animal Nursery at Cobbitty Markets on Easter Saturday. It

was a busy day and thanks to the students who

represented the school, helping the young children

handle the animals. Our next nursery is at Cobbitty

Markets on 5 May and then we are will be at the Camden

Council Family Day on Sunday, 20 May.

Bulb Fundraising Thanks to all of the families and friends who supported

our Bulb Fundraising Drive – all students have now

received their bulbs. We made a profit of $1,130, which

will be spent on shelters for our animals in the paddocks.

M Atkinson

Camden Show Display, Lachlan Bain, Nic Palmer, Nathan Sanjivi,

Christine Newsome

Christine Newsome, Jory Collins and the Meat Birds

Isabelle Prudhomme, Emily Walker and James Craven with the Egg

Production Poster

Sage Ockers and the Champion

School Waterfowl



FUTSAL SOCCER

Elderslie High School Girls’ U14 and U16 Futsal Team

entered in the regional championships on Tuesday 24 and

Thursday 26 April.

The U16 competition was on Tuesday and the whole team

is U14, except for one girl who is U15. The girls lost the

first game to Warilla High 5 – 2. They then played U13

well in the next 2 post games to defeat Leumeah High 8 –

10 and Illawarra Grammar 5 – 0.

The semi-final was against Campbelltown Performing Arts

High and was a tough game. The girls played

exceptionally well and won 3 – 1.

The final was against Warilla, again, and the girls were

very flat and unfortunately were beaten. They now

qualify for the State Finals in August. The team is: Melina

Manna, Erin Brennan, Naomi Raimondo, Rachel Warda,

Chelsea Strutt, Jordan Coe, Lillian Ralston and Yardley

Polsen.

The U14’s competition was on Thursday and our girls

were much more confident playing their own age group.

They won their pool games 8 -10 against Hoxton Park 5 –

1, Cecil Hills 4 – 1, Illawarra Grammar they won the final 9

– 0 and are Regional Champions!

They have a great chance to be State Champions in

August. The team is: Erin Brennan, Naomi Raimondo,

Rachel Warda, Chelsea Strutt, Jordan Coe, Lillian Ralston

and Yardley Polsen.

W Douglas

MACARTHUR ZONE SWIMMING

RESULTS 2012 Elderslie 2038

Camden 1661

Picton 1135

Mt Annan 839

Elizabeth Macarthur 835

Robert Townson 507

Thomas Reddall 154

Macarthur Zone Swimming Age Champions 2012 The 2012 Macarthur Zone swimming carnival was again

held at Camden Pool on Wednesday 7th

and Thursday 8th

March 2012. This year also enabled further change to our

carnival through the use of the electronic timing

equipment hired by the Zone from the Camden Swimming

club.

Many thanks must go to Sue Putvinas from Elizabeth

Macarthur High who operated the timing system for us

and enabled our swimmers to instantly see their times

after each event on the electronic scoreboard.

Congratulations must go to our Macarthur Zone Age

champions for 2012 who are listed below. We again

witnessed a number of fine individual achievements

during the carnival including a number of new records

being set by our swimmers.

The following students all broke Individual Zone records

at the carnival:

� Brittany Stoker (Elderslie) – 4 records

� Adam Taiba (Elderslie) – 1

Finally, many thanks again must go to our school Principal,

Mrs Fawcett, for her continued support of sport within

Elderslie High and Macarthur Zone.

Many thanks.

Dave Arthur (Elderslie High)

Macarthur Zone Swimming Convenor

Macarthur Zone Schools Sports President

OPEN BOYS TENNIS KNOCKOUT A great win against Camden High School. Madison Down,

Joshua Rouland, Luke Burgin and Connor Burgin displayed

excellent skill and a great fighting spirit to secure their

first win. The score was 6 sets to 2. Connor (Year 7

student) played against players twice his height and

successfully triumphed. We await for our next challenge

against either Liverpool Boys or Cecil Hills High.

Bruce Lim

BOYS

Name School

12 Deni HOXHA Elderslie HS

13

14 Daniel TAIBA Elderslie HS

15

16 Adam TAIBA Elderslie HS

GIRLS

Name School

12 Stacey KEARNS Elderslie HS

13

14 Brittany STOKER Elderslie HS

15 Karlee FRANEK Elderslie HS

16



SYDNEY SOUTH WEST REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2012

Zone Pointscore

1. Macarthur 1,865 5. Hume 394

2. Westfields 776 6. Lansdowne 392.5

3. Bankstown 729.5 7. Fisher 261

4. Bernera 566 8. Edmondson Girls 161

School Pointscore (Top 10 Schools)

1. Westfields SHS 776 6. Picton HS 235

2. Elderslie HS 695 7. Elizabeth Macarthur HS 214

3. Camden HS 477 8. Mt Annan HS 181

4. Picnic Point HS 474 9. Moorebank HS 181

5. Hurlstone Ag HS 240 =10. John Edmondson HS 172

=10. Campbelltown PAHS 172

SSW Secondary Age Champions – 2012

GIRLS BOYS

12 years Stacey Kearns Elderslie HS

13 years

14 years

15 years Karlee Franek Elderslie HS

16 years

17 years

New Records – 2012

Girls 14 years 50m Freestyle Brittany Stoker Elderslie HS 28.22

Girls 14 years 100m Freestyle Brittany Stoker Elderslie HS 1:01.15

Girls 14 years 100m Backstroke Brittany Stoker Elderslie HS 1:09.88

Girls 15 years 5 x 50m Freestyle Relay Elderslie HS 2:00.23

Girls 4 x 50m Medley Relay Elderslie HS 2:13.18

Another fine performance from all our Macarthur Zone swimmers easily enabled us to win the competition as being the

best Zone at the Regional swimming championships held on Monday 13 March, at Bradbury Pool, Campbelltown.

The most pleasing and obvious highlight of Macarthur Zone’s dominance in the pool was the placing of FIVE Macarthur

Zone schools in the Top 10 Regional schools pointscore (listed above). We also had a number of fine individual performances,

which resulted in Macarthur Zone having TWO (2) students being awarded the prestigious Age Champion title (see above).

This is a truly remarkable achievement from Macarthur Zone!!

I would also like to highlight to you some extremely impressive individual swimming results that included a number of new

regional records being set by our swimmers which are listed above.

Finally a big thank you must go to our strong contingent of parent supporters for getting all our swimmers organised in such

a short space of time from the zone carnival to the regional carnival (only a 2 day turn around), which helped enable our

swimmers to achieve these fine results.

Many thanks,

Dave Arthur (Elderslie High)

Macarthur Zone Swimming Team Manager

Macarthur Zone Schools Sports President



YEAR 7 POETRY COMPETITION Congratulations to all the Year 7 students who entered

the English Faculty’s poetry competition! Each class

teacher selected the top poems from their class to enter

in the grade competition. The poems we received were

fantastic and showcased the students’ new skills in using

figurative language. Well done to our first place winners

Deni Hoxha for his touching sonnet, ‘Mothers’ and

Annabelle Christie for her clever poem about a car,

‘Abandoned’. Second place went to Zeb Senior and third

place to Olivia Garcia.

We were moved by many of the heart-felt pieces, and in

the spirit of Mother’s Day thought we would publish two

beautiful poems about mothers. You can read all our

winners’ poems on the school website.

Mothers, by Deni Hoxha

‘When I need help or just fall off the tracks,

Whenever I fall down or just lose hope,

My mother will be there to get my back,

But lately she just slips away like soap.

Flooded with work and stress she fades away,

Veiled by all the work which pulls her apart,

No matter how much I beg her to stay,

I know beneath the stress still lays in her heart.

Telling myself it’s just a short-small stage,

She starts to realise what she has become,

I know it won’t forever stay this way,

After this she will come back to her son.

Nothing can defeat a mother-son bond

It is something that will always live on.’

The Day You Left, by Olivia Garcia

‘The day you left, it broke my heart

I couldn’t feel my soul, I didn’t have your love.

Cancer had stolen your life.

I felt no joy, no happy world

I was eight, a heart-broken girl.

The globe stopped spinning, the sun shone no light;

I lost my happy when you lost your life.

I still felt your love, but life lost some meaning -

All that happened when you stopped breathing.

That day was dark and the moon wouldn’t give light,

But I still think of you every night.

What had I done to deserve this?

For you to live was my only wish..

You were sweet, kind and smart

I loved you from the start.

Not one day passes when I don’t think about you

Not even one, nor a few.

How does my heart beat when I lost your love?

How can I breathe when your soul is up above?

How can I bear another day?

Because when you left I stayed away.

Now I’m twelve.

It’s been four years and I still wish you were here.

But I am fortunate- at least we met.

I still love you and wish I was there

The day you left.’

To students of all ages who love writing, don’t forget

to enter the upcoming competitions.

Dorothea MacKellar Poetry Awards – due 30 June.

What does Climate Change mean to you? Essay

Writing Competition – due 15 July.

Write-a-Book-in-a-Day for kids with cancer – to be

completed a day before August.

For more information on writing competitions, or to

join the Edmodo Writers Group, please see Miss

Zammit.

A MESSAGE FROM THE CANTEEN Fresh Bites Canteen would like to thank Elderslie High

School for allowing us to operate your canteen for the

interim. Our aim is to provide fresh, healthy,

affordable food together with high quality service.

Fresh Bites Canteen has developed a menu featuring a

range of nutritional foods that are appealing and

beneficial to students and teachers of Elderslie High

School. Our quality menu offers fresh nutritional food

whilst providing value for money to the students and

teachers. Nicole, the Canteen Manager, is available to

assist students with any queries and we would

encourage you to stop by and say hello.

The Canteen will be open from 8.15 am for breakfast

and to receive all pre-ordered lunch and recess items.

To avoid disappointment and queues please pre-order

at breakfast.



PROPOSED CALENDAR EVENTS:

Wk MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

3A

7 May

8 May

P & C Meeting 7.30pm

9 May 10 May

Yr 12 Legal Studies Assess

11 May

4B

14 May

SWS Dance Festival

15 May

SWS Dance Festival

NAPLAN

16 May

SWS Dance Festival

NAPLAN

Yr 11 Maths Ass Task

17 May

NAPLAN

18 May

Yr 10 Geog Coastal exc

Fast & Fresh Drama Comp

20/2 Animal Nursery Family

Fun Day

5A

21 May

Snr Ext English Camp

Sydney Writer’s Festival

22 May

Snr Ext English Camp

Extended Musical rehearsal

23 May

Zone Cross Country

24 May

Yr 7 Vaccination

Yr 8 ‘Tjupurru’ performance

Yrs 7,8,9 Drama to Opera

House

Yr 12 Careers UWS exc

Yr 12 Mod Hist Study Day

25 May

6B

28 May 29 May

School Athletics Carnival

commencing period 2

Dance Transition Program

30 May

School Athletics Carnival

31 May 1 June

7A

4 June

Yr9 laptop collection for

repair project

5 June

Ext Musical rehearsal

6 June

Science Comp

7 June

World Vision

Yr12 AH Pompeii Study Day

Yr11 U-turn the Wheel Day

8 June

World Vision

8B

11 June

QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY

12 June

Ext Musical rehearsal

Dance Transition Program

P & C Meeting

13 June 14 June

Regional Cross Country

15 June

Hilder Street

Narellan NSW 2567

Phone: (02) 4658 1110

Fax: (02) 4658 0219

[email protected] www.elderslie-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

Excellence Honour Service

EHS – Proud to be a public school

P & C MEETINGS ALL parents of students and interested members of

the Elderslie community are invited to these meetings.

Meetings are held in the Staff Common Room on the

second Tuesday of each month starting at 7.30pm

Dates for 2012 are as follows:

8 May

12 June

14 August

11 September

9 October

13 November

Positive Behaviour Learning – PBL During the beginning of this term, Elderslie High School has

been focussed on our school environment and keeping it

clean.

Students have been encouraged to “Bin It” and to keep their

classroom and playground areas free of rubbish.

We have recognised a group of students for their

outstanding efforts in response to the PBL “Bin It Blitz”.

may 2012 parent bulletin - elderslie high school · be teaching dance/pdhpe. congratulations and...

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