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The Oak Leaf Armidale High School

Friday 10th February 2012

Butler Street, Armidale, N.S.W., 2350 – PHONE: 6776 7466; FAX: 6776 7424 Email: [email protected] Website : http://www.armidale-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/

Issue 1 – Term 1 – Week 2

WELCOME TO ALL OUR NEW STUDENTS AND WELCOME BACK to those students returning! We are well-known in town as the ‘friendly’ school and we hope that all our Year 7 students and new students in other years, especially those who have just moved to Armidale, are feeling settled and have made some friends here. We will be having a Welcome BBQ for Year 7 students and parents and for other families who are new to the school on Tuesday 21st February.

Yesterday evening, we held two sessions for Year 9 and their parents for the distribution of the DER laptops and I know that teachers and students are very excited about using these devices in the classroom with our extensive wireless network. I would like to congratulate our Technical Support Officer (TSO), Arden Parker, on his organisation of this whole process. Arden was working here last year in a relieving capacity but we welcome him to the permanent staff now that he has been transferred to AHS. We continue to add more interactive whiteboards in various areas around the school and our staff is highly motivated and enthusiastic to learn about and to use new technologies with students.

Over the holidays you may have seen promoted in the local media our fantastic HSC results. All students who received a Band 6 or E4 (in extension subjects) were invited to the school today to be awarded a certificate and to speak to our current Year 12 students to give motivation, inspiration and some helpful tips. Congratulations to all our Year 12 students from 2011 – nearly all our subjects’ results were at State Average or above making our HSC results the best in the New England. Anne Matley Principal

Outstanding Science Successes

Armidale High School’s phenomenal HSC 2011 results included reasons to celebrate for the Science Faculty pictured here with the school’s Principal, Anne Matley and School Education Director, Phil Jones. Students who achieved outstanding results in Science included Codey Burton (equal first in the Region in Biology and Distinguished Achievers’ List), Tousif Islam (first in Chemistry and Distinguished Achievers’ List), Ishita Lath (first in Senior Science and Distinguished Achievers’ List) and Genevieve Snell (equal first in Biology and Distinguished Achievers’ List).

Other students to achieve New England’s top results and placement on the Distinguished Achievers List were Emma Channon (Textiles and Design), Joshua Dobos (German Beginners), Isabelle Hunt (Hospitality Examination), Sean Ihde (General Maths), Ishita Lath (French Beginners), Emily O’Connor (Drama), Samuel Prosser (Music 2 and Music Extension), Byron Smith (Mathematics), and Logan Davies (English Extension 2).

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Armidale High students also achieved an unprecedented number of nominations to exhibitions and performances which celebrate the very best of HSC works from across the state. We congratulated Emily O’Connor, Sorcha Harrop, Julian Boggs, Stephen O’Hern for Onstage; Sam Prosser for Encore ; Stephen O’Hern for Bravissimo ; Anna Roberts for TexStyle ; Kate de la Motte for Artexpress and Chris McGrath and Toby Knights, both nominated for InTech . Final Staff Morning Tea 2011 Staff said farewell to Sue Fisher, on secondment to District Office and to Allan Thomas who we wish all the best in his retirement The final staff morning tea for the year also saw the return of past Principal, David Gee, and Science teacher, Phil Oxley. Chris Upton’s commitment to the Maths Program at Martin’s Gully was recognised.

David Gee, Phil Oxley, Anne Matley and Cathy Archer in a reprise of the past year which drew heavily and humorously on Handel’s Messiah

for its inspiration.

Anne Parnell, Head Teacher Maths, is working with the QuickSmart Team at UNE following the successful implementation of the QuickSmart at AHS last year. She is involved in collating information and presenting workshops in this nationwide project.

2012 - First Days

Monday, 30th February was the first day at Armidale High School for Year 7 and Year 11 students. Ms McCue welcomed students in her roll class.

(From left-right back) Kwami Atsrim (Year 7), Tom Bruce (Year 11), Clarrie Barker (Year 7), Darcy Waters (Year 7), Gabi Smith (Year 7), Katie Eveleigh (Year 7) (Front) Tyson Kliendienst (Year 7), Connor Edmonds (Year 11), Katie Power (Year 7), Jay Harris (11), Mari Juhala (Year 11 - all the way from Finland).

Allan Thomas

Chris Upton and Ms Matley

Sue Fisher on right



Tuesday 31st February saw the entire school gather in the gym as the long awaited renovations are beginning in the Auditorium. The Principal, welcoming the students to a new academic year, commented on the unprecedented number of new enrolments. She urged all continuing students to ‘extend a warm welcome to students new to our friendly school.’

Opening the Cupboard

Term 5 saw the renovation of the drama room with the construction of a huge cupboard to allow for the safe storage of the many magnificent costumes we have acquired over the years. Anne Matley is shown here cutting the ribbon at the “Official Cupboard Opening”. ALL ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND THE FIRST P & C MEETING FOR THE YEAR, TUESDAY 21ST FEBRUARY AT ARMIDALE CITY BOWLING CLUB, 7.00-8.00PM.

That’s a Rap Tom Thumb is a B-Boy, MC and Beatboxer Extraordinaire who has performed to acclaim in Scotland, New York, London, New Zealand, Taipei); Omar Musa is a rapper and poet who won the Australian Poetry Slam in 2008 and the British Council’s ‘Realise your Dream Award’ in 2007 and Emilie Zoey Baker was winner of the 2006 Nimbin World Performance Poetry Cup; she has performed all over Australia at the Big Day Out, National Gallery of Victoria, Next Wave Festival and Mildura Writers’ Festival. Together with Shane Johnson from Beyond Empathy, which sponsored the visit to Armidale, the four created a vibrant rap scene at Armidale High School during Activities Week. Shane Johnson explained that Beyond Empathy was interested in showcasing youth cultures in positive ways and focus on the things kids are passionate about. ‘They are very aware of the outside world and are able to express themselves powerfully,’ he said. ‘Projects such as these at Armidale High allow young people time for self-reflection; they are empowered through performance as the skills they gain in communication transfer to situations throughout our lives,’ he added. Rowena Teege, the teacher responsible for co-ordinating the activity at the school, commented on the level of engagement of the students and on the sense of discipline and commitment they brought to the task. ‘It would be great to be able to offer a similar experience to other groups of students, too,’ Mrs Teege concluded.

The girls’ rap told of the power of facebook in their lives.

The boys’ rap investigated power and where it lies in our society.



Valentine’s Day Tuesday, 14th February Show a friend, that special someone, or even your favourite teacher, that you care! Year 12 will deliver roses ($6) and/or chocolates ($3) perform songs ($4), craft and deliver love letters ($2.50). To place an order go to T11 at lunchtime or recess.

Valentine’s Day 2011: Year 12 serenade 2012 Captain, Manon Drielsma. Jessica Prince For the fifth year in a row, Jess Prince has been a member of the North West Softball team; she is heading to Blacktown to play in the five days of round robin competition involving teams from across the state which will be played in the stadium built for the Sydney Olympics. Jess was unable to attend the zone trials in Tamworth but won her way into the team on the strength of her past record. She is really looking forward to the training day on the 18th February which will focus on ball skills, batting and on forging a strong bond between the team members. ‘One of the noticeable things with the city teams is that they have many more opportunities to train together than we do; the intensity of their training is formidable and team members often know each other’s play well as they play together often whereas our team comes from as far away as Narrabri and Inverell,’ Jess said.

Her career highlight was being awarded the medal for the Most Valuable Player (chosen by players, manager and coach) in 2007. ‘I really wasn’t expecting my name to be called,’ Jess said. Jess’ favourite position is catcher, the position for which she volunteered when the team’s chosen catcher dropped out five years ago. ‘I love softball; it’s a great sport and all team members are given the opportunity to contribute’, she said.



House Captains 2012 Congratulations to our House Captains, Vice-Captains and Junior Representatives, chosen during meetings on the first sports afternoon of the year: (in order of Captain, Vice-Captain and Junior Representative). Chandler: (Boys): Jonathon Brown, James Newberry-Dupé, Jayden Smith (Girls) Olivia Cahill, Shontaleigh Fuller, Sharnae Widders-Smith Dumaresq: (Boys): Jone and Navi Tiko (joint Captains), Ethan Cranfield, Tyran Blair (Girls): Birrahlee Cutmore, Katie Kelly, Ada Garvey Oxley: (Boys): Maximilian Makeham, Nick Kelly, Lachlan Millett (Girls): Olivia Grzazek, Ebony Cleall, Natalie Waters Salisbury: (Boys): Darren Scurr, Kieran Smith, Philip Raue (Girls): Jaime Randell, Julia Waters, Maeve Shakeshaft Homework Centre

School Library Monday afternoon 3.30 to 5.00

3.30 to 4.00 afternoon tea; work in Library till 5.00pm

Bus home for students living inside the town boundary.

All students are welcome but especially those new to the school

• bring lots of assessment tasks and homework

• meet some great, helpful staff.

Additional information from Gaylia Bigg.

Strong Indigenous Girls Group The girls had a very busy year in 2011; they worked hard on many different projects. The girls took part in the Core of Life program run by Community Health and The Division of General Practice. They were also involved in a project making a DVD with the community health workers. The girls have learnt a lot about themselves and should be proud of their achievements this year.

Standing L-R: Jo Lockwood, Leila Fuller, Miaya Tighe, Cath Moran, Emma Keenan, Feleesha Naylor, Auntie Ivy and Jordan Trindal-Eveleigh. Sitting L-R: Michaela Gordon-Briggs, Payton Baines and Jasmin Barwick. Indigenous Art and Garden Project Throughout term 4, 2011 our acting Aboriginal Education Officer, Bob Kirk, and in-class tutor, Joanne Lockwood, involved students in planning and creating a design for a large mural and Indigenous garden in the school grounds behind the science block. The students were very privileged to have Daphne Wallace come and present a workshop with them to give them inspiration for their works. Daphne is a proud and talented Indigenous woman who is originally from the Gamilaroi/Uralli-Ullaroi Language Group. Some of the comments the students made were: # “I was inspired by the beautiful colours in the artwork.” – Tyisha Fernando (Year 9). # “I was interested in hearing the stories Daphne told us, like when she went to the Northern Territory and her elders told her to make sure she didn’t leave any hair around because they could



“sing” her. So she cut her hair before she went up there and she also cleaned her brush every time she used it and burnt the hair that was in it” – Paula Cutmore (Year 9). # “Daphne told us she can’t have her photo taken because her elders told her it takes her spirit away.” # “Listening to Daphne made me think more about going through ceremony. It has given me motivation to do this.” – Tyran Blair (Year 9).

In term 4, some Year 8 students had an ONIGIRI making contest. The students had fun making different faces and characters on their rice balls.

TRIP to JAPAN - We are planning a trip to Japan this year in September for YEAR 9 and 10 students of Japanese. Any interested students should start saving their money and doing jobs

around the house to seriously begin planning for this trip. We will have a meeting in the next few weeks for interested students and hopefully do some fundraising events. It will be around $3000 - $3500 to travel around Japan and visit our sister school as well. It is anticipated the trip will be around 15 days travel. Collaborative Class Project – At the end of last year, Year 8 Japanese were involved in a collaborative online Edmodo group communicating with students studying Japanese from four other schools across the state. They were able to use Japanese to communicate and also have interacted with native speakers of Japanese to learn about Japanese Culture. We will be continuing this project this year and hope to enhance it even further by having twice a term Video Conference lessons as well as create a blog to showcase our project. iPad Trial – This year we will be using iPads in Japanese class. The students will be able to use them to learn the Japanese alphabet using various apps. We will also be creating lots of stories and making interactive books and also connecting with our sister school in Japan. I will be sending further information home about this over the next few weeks. Students may ask to download some of the apps we are using in class onto their ipods at home. I will be making a list of apps they use. Most of them are free. Mrs Moore

Armidale High School students and Mrs Moore at Disney -land, September 2010.

JAPANESE



SWIMMING CARNIVAL 2012 RESULTS CHANDLER: 374 DUMARESQ: 394 OXLEY: 578 SALISBURY: 576 Highest Point Score Boys: Matthew Turner Highest Point Score Girls: Madison Russell AGE CHAMPIONS BOYS 12 Years Kevin Rothschild 13 Years Luke Logan-Clarke 14 Years Blake Struck 15 Years Matthew Turner 16 Years Kyle O’Hara 17 Years Clancy Lawler AGE CHAMPIONS GIRLS 12 Years Amber Burton 13 Years Chloe Maunder 14 Years Madison Russell 15 Years Eleanor Parker 16 Years Madeline Dyall and

Isabelle Howland 17 Years Jasmine Caldwell

OUTSTANDING SWIMMER: Madison Russell



Armidale District Football

Association Email – [email protected]

ADFA will be holding pre- season Skill’s

Development Sessions commencing on Thursday 16th February 2012 at the Rologas Fields (Rologas

12) which run for 5 weeks from 5pm to 6.30pm. These sessions are for players aged from U8’s to U14’s. Total cost is $10 per player. The sessions will be supervised by Howard Stubb’s (Football Manager for NIF) and Chris Horneman (ADFA

Head Coach).

All players are required to: Wear shin-pads and football boot

Bring water bottle Sunscreen and hat are recommended

Please arrive 30 minutes before the first session for

registration purposes. BasketballArmidale Basketball kicks off the season with trials for Representative Basketball on Sundays 6th & 13th February at The Den from 10am to 12 noon. If you are interested in participating in the higher levels, come along and find out more. Information and training will happen at these sessions.

For those who like to have a more social game, nominations for the pre-season competition are now being called. Teams are based on years 7&8 combined and Years 9 & 10 combined for girls only and boys only. There are no mixed teams in the first 3 school terms. Cost is $65 for registration of 12 months plus game fees. Game fees are $35 for term 1 (or weekly $6). Get some friends together and have some fun. Nomination forms are available from Struddy's or Sportspower. If you would like to participate in this fabulous game, please contact Judy Monaghan on 6772 7771 or at [email protected]. If you don't have a

team, but would still like to play, contact us and we will try to organize a team for you. If any student has uniforms from previous competitions, could they please return them to 165 Brown Street as soon as possible.

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Use it or Lose It Armidale High’s Canteen is a non-profit business which is operated by the P & C and employs a manager and part-time assistant. We need the help of parents and student volunteers if we are to keep this great resource.

The Canteen offers a healthy and varied range of good quality fresh food as part of the Healthy Kids School Canteen Association. The Canteen is open at recess and lunch with a set menu and daily specials. Students are encouraged to pre-order for lunch or recess either before school in the morning or at recess. The order will be ready for collection at the lunch-order window at the requested time which saves waiting in the queue and avoids disappointment. The Canteen can only continue to function with voluntary assistance. Anyone (relatives, friends) with even a spare hour is welcome from 9.00 a.m. to 1.30 a.m. to help with preparation and/or service. Previous volunteers say

• it’s a great way to meet teachers

• the students are polite and pleasant

• you can make new friends and develop skills

• it’s satisfying being part of the team.

Students are invited to help with service at recess and lunchtime as part of the Premiers Volunteering Challenge. Please call between 8.30 and 3.30 to offer help; speak to Helen on 67724800.



2012 Antique & Collectables Fair

Friday 24th to Sunday 26th February

Armidale Town Hall

This is the major fund-raising event of 2012 for the AHS P&C, with all proceeds going to our school.

However, WE REALLY NEED HELP from families & friends of AHS to ensure the Fair continues to be a success. We need help with: set up Thursday afternoon

(some lifting involved) door ticket sales kitchen staff & food sales donations of cakes / slices /

biscuits

pack up Sunday afternoon (some lifting involved)

It’s a great way to support the school & only needs an hour or two of your time. So please consider helping out at this year’s Fair.

For further information, or to sign up as a volunteer, please contact Trudie Laffan: 0427821069, 67713097, [email protected]

2012 Antique & Collectables Fair

2 for 1 entry:

Sunday 26th February 2012

(after 1pm only)

one adult ($6)

+ one adult (free)

Present this coupon at the Town Hall door.

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