WHSPA - High Notes

From the Principal’s desk ………...

Dates to remember :

23 May Shakespeare Carnival 25 May Regional Shakespeare Carnival 25 May Young Masters Exhibition 1 - 3 June Dance Festival 3 June Regional Cross Country 7 June 9 Music Showcase 8 June 10 Music Showcase 9 June Certificate of Achievement

Issue 5

May 2016

Proud to be Public

P O Box 222 Fairy Meadow 2519 - Phone : (02) 4229 6844 - Fax : (02) 4226 4128 www.wollongong-h.schools.nsw.edu.au - Email : wollongong-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

TERM 2 WELFARE TEAM

Head Teacher Welfare : Nicole Kaiserfeld

Year 12 Student Advisor Andrew Pirie Year 11 Student Advisor Kate Stehr Year 10 Student Advisor Heidi Whelan Year 9 Student Advisor Melissa Meafou Year 8 Student Advisor Marc Kates Year 7 Student Advisor Laura Cram

Earlier this term saw Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts hold its ANZAC Ceremony. This was one of the most beautiful and moving ceremonies that I have attended. The speeches, music and drama performances were outstanding and the entire school community approached the occasion with respect and dignity. Special; thanks must go to Mrs Lekkas and Mr Tanner for their outstanding organisation of the event. Also thanks to Mrs Nethery and Mrs Cunningham for their work with student performances and Mr Williams for his help with setting up on the day. The students at WHSPA are outstanding. How proud was I this week of the students at Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts!! First up, Mr Saunders relayed the information to me in regards to the wins by the open football teams. I was ecstatic to hear that both teams had won their respective matches, but equally impressed to hear that they had all worked together as a team to achieve these wonderful results. Congratulations to all involved in the games. Last week also saw our inaugural SRC Induction ceremony. I was filled with pride as the SRC Representatives filed into the hall to accept their badges. We were joined by a group of parents and students from the school to celebrate the success of our student leaders. I place a great deal of emphasis on building capacity in regards to student leadership at the school and this ceremony can only move on to become firmly embedded in the calendar of events for the school. Congratulations to all students who participated in the event and also a big thank you to Mrs Haggar for organising the ceremony and mentoring the students. Finally, a very big thank you to the Parents, Staff and Students who attended the first Centenary Working Bee on Saturday 7 May. This hard working group of people cleared the garden in the senior area to make way for new plants which will be added later in the term. From the whole Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts community, we thank you for your efforts on the day. Paul Ryan Principal

In this edition of Highnotes I am focussing on two resources that can support the mental health and wellbeing of students. I am doing this as we are receiving a number of reports of students under stress and strain from the demands of homework and assessment tasks. This can certainly be the case for our senior students as both Preliminary and HSC courses move to completion at the end of Term 3. Some of these resources I have written about before but refreshing people’s memory is always useful.

‘Smiling Mind’ - modern meditation for

young people.

This website has been developed as a resource to support the mental health and wellbeing of young people. The following text is taken from the ‘Smiling Mind’ website: Smiling Mind is modern meditation for young people. It’s a simple tool that gives a sense of calm, clarity and contentment. Smiling Mind is a unique web and App-based program developed by a team of psychologists with expertise in youth and adolescent therapy, Mindfulness Meditation and web-based wellness programs. Smiling Mind is a free tool that will assist in improving the lives of young Australians, and is available online or as a smartphone App. In recent years, Mindfulness Meditation has surged in popularity for use in the treatment of stress, resilience, anxiety, depression and other physical and mental illnesses. (smilingmind.com.au) If your child experiences stress and anxiety you may want to explore the website and/or download the free Smartphone app to judge its potential for yourself.

ReachOut.com

ReachOut.com is Australia’s leading online youth mental health service, where you can get the help you

WHSPA - High Notes

need, where and when you need it. Every year ReachOut.com helps hundreds of thousands of people under 25 tackle everything from finding motivation to getting through really tough times. You can access ReachOut.com no matter where you are, with tools and tips for making everyday life a little easier. It’s the perfect place to start if you don’t know where to look. On ReachOut.com you can find: Factsheets, stories and videos that help you recognise when a little problem might be becoming a big one and give you tips on what to do if you’re feeling out of your depth. Information on mental health issues, everyday life problems and what to do about them (and where to go if you can’t beat it on your own) Guides, tools and apps to help you build on your strengths, develop some new skills or just generally sort stuff out. Forums where you can connect with other young people who have been there before, chat to experts and share your tips for health and wellbeing. ReachOut.com by Inspire Foundation is the organisation behind the website. The Inspire Foundation is an Australian non-profit organization with a mission to help young people lead happier lives. Everything on ReachOut.com is created in partnership with experts and young people, so you can be sure to find information that’s not only evidence-based but also relevant to you. Student Half Yearly Reports This term is a busy report writing term for teachers. You can expect to receive your child’s report in the following weeks: Year 12: Term 2, Week 5 Year 7: Term 2, Week 7 Year 9: Term 2, Week 8 Year 11: Term 2 Week 9 Year 8: Term 2, Week 10 Year 10: Term 3, Week 1 Outside of these dates you can also get informal reports about the progress of your child(ren) by contacting their class teachers or relevant faculty head teachers Doug Hearne Deputy Principal

Sydney Writers Festival excursion Some year 12 English students and I were lucky enough to attend the Sydney Writers Festival this

Doug’s

Column

Library News

Library News…cont’d

VISUAL ARTS FACULTY

month at the Roslyn Packer Theatre in Walsh Bay. We heard from four fabulous authors discussing their journeys to becoming writers and they also passed on some great tips about creative writing and becoming an author. Irish author John Boyne, author of The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, talked about the role of history in his books, and about his new book, a follow on book from Stripped Pyjamas, The Boy at the Top of the Mountain. American author, Michael Grant, author of Gone and BZRK, talked about writing fiction and the challenges of incorporating real life events. Australian author Vikki Wakefield shared stories from her difficulties growing up and how she’s managed to come through it all and make some major changes to her life and become a successful author. She is the author of Friday Brown and her new book, Inbetween Days. Finally, Australian and local Wollongong author, Claire Zorne gave a humorous talk about how she used to be a terrible speller and terrible at grammar, yet here she is now a successful writer. She also talked about the power of creative writing. Claire is the author of The Protected and The Sky so Heavy. Do yourself a favour – and get reading these great books! All writers were so entertaining, and I can’t wait till next year’s Festival!

Printing in the Library Just a reminder - if you have an Apple computer, and are using Pages for your assignments, convert your document into a Word document for printing at school. If you don’t know how to do this, pop up and ask one of the Library staff. Costs: B & W – only 10c Colour – up to 50c a page, depending on the amount of colour used.

Book Review Rich & Rare: a collection of Australian stories, poetry and artwork, by Paul Collins

A collector of computer games, a knitting needle ninja, a violin that comes to life, a cat with many names, a love that cannot be bought, a prince who finds a friend, an alien invasion… Welcome to a world of 'beauty rich and rare', a world of natural (and unnatural) gifts on every page - from humour to horror, thriller to fantasy – encompassing the past, the present

and the future. Our 'young and free' creators include: Michael Gerard Bauer, Gary Crew, Justin D'Ath, Scot Gardner, Kerry Greenwood, Libby Hathorn, Leigh Hobbs, Sofie Laguna, Kirsty Murray, James Roy, Shaun Tan and Gabrielle Wang. (from Goodreads).

WHSPA - High Notes

Library Website Check out my Library website – it’s on the WHSPA website. It’s full of information, great links, helpful study documents, recommended reading, funny videos, and book trailers. Liane Pfister Teacher Librarian

Legally Blonde WE NEED YOU! Would you like to advertise your business in the Legally Blonde Program? You will be helping WHSPA fund the production while opening your business up to many new customers. Benefits:

We always have sell-out shows with hundreds of people attending and buying programs

We will have 8 fabulous sell-out shows

Your Ad will appear in: - the Musical Program - a Sponsor Board at the Theatre - advertised on our school Facebook page and our

Legally Blonde Facebook page. Advertisement Costs:

1/4 page Ad $150

1/2 page Ad $200

Full Page Ad $300 These ads include GST and are tax deductible. Please email or call Liane Pfister in the Library asap Liane.pfister1@det.nsw.edu.au; 42296844 X 106 Liane Pfister Teacher Librarian

Year 11 Visual Arts Term One Charcoal Self-Portraits The Year 11 Visual Arts students have worked in Term One to creat large-scale realistic charcoal self-portrait. These artworks were inspired by the work of contemporary Indigenous artist Vernon Ah Kee and his hyper-realistic portraits of relatives. Students worked from photographs, focusing on accurate tonal representation, three dimensional modelling to emulate a realistic form and contour work. The Visual Arts Faculty is very impressed with the calibre of work completed this year and is looking forward to seeing the next two terms’ creative projects, culminating in the students Senior Bodies of Work.

Elijah Moynihan’s Charcoal Self-Portrait

Pfreya Villarey’s Charcoal Self-Portrait

Visual Arts…cont’d

Particular mention goes to the finished pieces by Pfreya Villarey and Elijah Moynihan, for their outstanding personal representations.

Marcella Hayes Accepted in National Art School HSC Study Course The Visual Arts Department would like to congratulate Year 11 Visual Arts student, Marcella Hayes on the wonderful news of her acceptance into the National Art Schools Intensive HSC Study Program. This elite program is offered each year to a select number of Year 11 Visual Art students in NSW. Students must submit an application and portfolio, and competition is strong for the limited spots.

Students select the particular area they wish to explore, in Marcella’s case, ceramics and then attend two courses. These four and five day sessions will focus on material experimentation and building conceptual depth, with students instructed by a number of specialised teachers. This is a great opportunity for selected students to not only build skills and meet students with similar interests and abilities, but also as valuable preparation for their HSC Bodies of Work. The National Art School is located in Darlinghurst, Sydney and was previously known as the Darlinghurst Goal, and then the East Sydney TAFE before becoming the specialised Visual Arts University it is today. We wish Marcella all the best with this exciting endeavour and look forward to seeing her finished works when she returns from the second workshop.

WHSPA - High Notes

Kate Stehr Teacher Visual Arts

Year 7 Visual Arts Collective Year 7 have made a fantastic transition into the Visual Arts collective class at WHSPA. Consisting of 16 students who auditioned to be a part of this class the class has demonstrated their capabilities by producing outstanding large-scale drawings of hands, in charcoal. We are very proud of their achievements.

Francis Odlum and Anais Murphy show how large-scale their drawings are.

Francis Odlum Anais Murphy

PDHPE FACULTY

7E2 NEWS!

Visual Arts…cont’d

More hands by Georgia Limbrick -

and Yasemin Pellow.

Anna Peterson Teacher Visual Arts

7E2 Personal Interest Project 7E2 have enthusiastically set off on their individual paths towards creating their own projects, something outside the box. They have been given the opportunity to develop their own Personal Interest Project this term. A Personal Interest Project (PIP) is a project on a topic that interests the students. They will conduct research and create something that reflects their interest and allows them to explore and investigate their topic. The benefits of being involved in completing a PIP are:

Research and organisational skills

Higher order thinking skills

Independent learning skills

Effective Time management skills

Oral and written communication skills

On completion, a great sense of achievement Each student has been assigned a teacher mentor related to their topic, and Ms Armstrong and I are meeting them every fortnight to check on how they are

WHSPA - High Notes

going and help where needed. As the Co-ordinator, I’m also available anytime for the students to come to for help and support. The students will be presenting their project/product in Term 3 to their parents and peers. I can’t wait! Liane Pfister Teacher Librarian 7E2 PIP Co-ordinator

HSIE 7E2 are studying global environments and environmental issues in Geography with Mr Brennan and Ms Pantaleo. They have had a visit from Cath Blakey, a former student and representative of the Greens, to discuss local environmental issues. From that, students have created their own Green Flicks film entry highlighting an environmental issue. Their films were shown on May 17th to highlight the students' awesome work! Samples will be available for viewing through High Notes in the coming weeks. http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/communities/green-flicks-short-film.htm Laura Cram Year 7 Year Advisor

Swimming Success For Matt Hearne - Year 11

Earlier this term Matt represented WHSPA and NSW Combined High Schools (CHS) at the NSW All Schools Swimming Championships at Homebush. At these championships Matt competed in 6 multi-class events in the 16-19yo Male Multi-Class category (100m freestyle, 50m freestyle, 50m breaststroke, 50m butterfly, 50m backstroke and 4x50m relay). From this list of events Matt won 4 gold and 2 silver medals. At the end of the championships Matt was also named the 17+yo Male Multi-class Age Champion. As a result of Matt’s achievements, he has been named in the NSW team to compete in the School Sport Australia Swimming Championships in Darwin in September this year. This will be the 4

th consecutive year that Matt has

made the NSW team for these championships. Congratulations Matt, WHSPA is proud of your achievements!

School Notices (cont’d) WHSPA - High Notes

SCHOOL CALENDAR FOR TERM 2 - 2016

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

1 A

25/4

26/4 Staff Development Day

27/4 28/4 Motivational Media all years

29/4 High Notes Out

2 B

2/5 Faculty Meet-ing ANZAC DAY CEREMONY

3/5

4/5 Athletics Carnival

5/5 6/5 7 Vaccinations

3 A

9/5 Focus Group Meeting Zone Cross Country 12 WP Entertain-ment

10/5 12 Reports to HT Careers Expo 10,11 & 12 NAPLAN 7 & 9 12 WP Entertain-ment Finance Meeting

11/5 Careers Expo 10,11 & 12 NAPLAN 7 & 9 12 WP Entertain-ment

12/5 NAPLAN 7 & 9 12 WP Entertain-ment

13/5 12 Reports final-ised by HT High Notes to Office-VA NAPLAN catch up 12 WP Entertain-ment

4 B

16/5 Faculty Meet-ing

17/5 18/5 Music Camp

19/5 Music Camp

20/5 High Notes Out Music Camp

5 A

23/5 QT Meeting 12 Reports issued this week Young Masters Ex-hibition Bump In Drama Showcase

24/5 7 Reports to HT Drama Showcase

25/5 Young Masters Opening Drama Showcase

26/5 Drama Showcase

27/5 7 Reports finalised by HT Drama Showcase

6 B

30/5 Staff Meeting Dance Fest Bump In

31/5 9 Reports to HT Dance Fest Reh

1/6 7 & 8 VAC Ex Dance Fest

2/6 Dance Fest

3/6 Staff Wellbeing Event 9 Reports finalised by HT High Notes to Office-HSIE Reg Cross Country Dance Fest

7 A

6/6 Faculty Meet-ing 7 Reports issued this week Music Showcase setup

7/6 11 Reports to HT Finance Meeting 9 Music Showcase

8/6 10 Music Showcase

9/6 Certificate of Achievement Legally Blonde Reh

10/6 11 Reports final-ised by HT High Notes Out Legally Blonde Reh

8 B

13/6 Queen’s Birthday

14/6 8 Reports to HT 9 Reports issued this week Musical Tech Bump In

15/6 9 & 10 VAC Ex Musical Tech Bump In

16/6 Musical Tech Bump In

17/6 8 Reports finalised by HT Musical Tech Bump In

9 A

20/6 Focus Group Meeting 11 Reports issued this week Legally Blonde Bump In

21/6 10 Reports to HT Zone Athletics Car-nival Legally Blonde Bump In

22/6 Legally Blonde Bump In

23/6 Legally Blonde Mat + Perform

24/6 10 Reports final-ised by HT High Notes to Office-PA Legally Blonde Mat + Perform

1 0 B

27/6 Faculty Meet-ing 8 Reports issued this week

28/6 29/6 Legally Blonde Mat + Perform

30/6 Legally Blonde Mat + Perform

1/7 High Notes Out Morning Tea PE/Lib/VA Legally Blonde Mat + Perform