Senior School

Weekly A Message from our Head of Senior School

Welcome to Term 4, I hope you had a restful break and spent valuable time

with family and friends. It is great to be back; the energy is uplifting as we

immerse ourselves into Term 4 programs. Our theme is social and emotional

awareness, and this will be evident in all programs. Senior School commenced

the term with our Transition to High School program for Year 6 students with

workshops focused on study skills, organisation and time management. Our

core objective is to create a supportive environment for students. Interaction

with Senior School Teachers forms an essential component of the program

since research shows that Teachers’ ability to support students is a crucial

element for quality learning environments. Students who feel supported by

teachers are found to have a positive motivational orientation to schoolwork

and they experience positive social and emotional wellbeing’ (Bru, Stornes,

Munthe & Thuen, 2010). Throughout Term 4 senior grades will participate in

programs that run over several weeks including, Invest Smart, SELFY, BRO

Active, and Outdoor education.

We had our first HSC exam today; we pray for our HSC students and ask God

to calm their hearts and clear their minds. Bless every person who has given

themselves on this journey, family, friends and classmates.

Welfare Awards highlight student achievement in areas of academic, social,

emotional, and spiritual development. Special mentions for this week….

Consistent Academic Achievement

STEM Ali Badami 8RCH

CALE Mhbooba Akbarzada RCN

PDHPE Roukaya Hijazi 9RCK

HSIE Yasser Al Mousawi 10RCM

Code of Conduct Award Muhaimen Radhi 8RCN

Citizenship Award Rim AlSamir 9RCJ

Attendance Award Hamida Amiri 8RCH

Uniform Award Abdullah Waqar RCS

Term 4, 2019

HSC begins

Term 4, Week 1

Year 10

Work Experience

begins this week

Year 6 Transition

into Senior School is

on Friday 18th

October 2019

Coming Up:

Annual Bellfield

Swimming Carnival

Year 9 SHE Summit

Things to come…..

Welfare Awards

Congratulations to our award

recipients from Term 3

Recognition Assembly

Silver Award Susan Azra

Mariam Hodroj

Yahya Al-Ghinzawi

Bronze Award Malak alkassar

Abbas TAwbe

Batoul Tawbe

Mariam Kobeissi

Mostafa Amiri

Mhbooba Akbarzada

Nour Haidar

Rayan Nassour

Zahra Golbou

Ali Al Tememy

Ali Merhi

Hussein Karnib

Aqsa Batool Housaini

Syed Shabar Raza

Elaha Ali

Zainab Al-Musawi

Moammal Al Malky

Dahlia Hallani

Sabilla Karnib

Mariam Alkhazali

Welfare Award Mohamed Fozan

Issra Hassan

Mohammed Hayek

Mujtaba Moosawi

Mostafa Amiri

Fatima Toufaili

Faraz Rahimi

Rida Saif

Gabriel Mazloum

Sedra Bakhtyari

Hisham Ahmadi

Chantel Karaki

Batoul Tawbe

Dana Hariri

Faraz Rahimi

Sakina Kazmi

Susan Azra

Mhbooba Akbarzada

Sadaf Kazmi

Nour Hariri

Ahmed Hossaini

Ammar Shireen

Nour Haidar

Fatima Abdul-Munhem

Letters of Commendation Susan Azra, Rayann Bazzi, Mariam Alkhazali, Muhaimen Radhi, Mariam Hodroj, Moussa Abraham, Ibrahim

Elreda, Batoul Tawbe, Aya Haidar, Shahbano Jaffri, Sakina Kazmi, Dana Hariri, Mariam Toufaili, Amal Al

Hussein, Haidar Al Khafaji, Kadeesha Hallani, Hussain Jaafar, Mostafa Amiri, Zahra Golbou, Malak Alkassar,

Syed Shabar Raza, Zahraa Taimori, Zeinab Al Musawi, Soukaini Chebli, Mariam Sakhidad, Issa Wacha-Hasan,

Sadaf Kazmi, Roya Hussaini, Fatima Hammoud, Mhbooba Akbarzada, Faezah Hatif, Gabriel Mazloum

Sport Award Fatima Abtan

Abbas Chokr

Zainab Dodor

Hussain Jaafar

Muhaimen Radhi

Sadaf Kazmi

Yasser Al-Mousawi

Tahera Rahimi

Shahnaz Yousofi

Syed Basit Abbas Zaidi

Leila Zeineddine

Fawziah Albisherawy

Erfan Hussaini

Ali Hammoud

Dunya Boussi

Rayan Nassour

Mariam Toufaili

Dana hariri

Mostafa Amiri

The 2019 HSC officially kicks off Thursday 17th October 2019

'I blew a mental tyre'

How to survive the mental

stress of the HSC

You are living the most intense period in your life to date. Everywhere you go, the HSC is the only thing people are talking about, thinking about, preparing for, pointing out that there are now just days before it starts. In your school environment it is easy to form the firm conviction that from the Tweed to the mighty Murray, out to Broken Hill and all the way to Hay, the approaching HSC is the only thing that counts for the whole population. The truth, though? Out here in the wider world, among those of us who don't have a family member directly involved, we are vaguely aware that if spring has sprung, likely the bell has rung, and 80,000 or so of you are now on the final run-in. But the first thing to note is that if you are in a blind panic, approaching each day with a terrible dread convinced that Armageddon is just up ahead and nothing can save you, GET A GRIP. And if it is truly starting to overwhelm you, then talk to your parents and see a mental health professional. This is no joke. Every year at this time, mental breakdowns among HSC students start to spike from young 'uns who have completely lost their way in the intense environment. And yes, I get that the reaction from some of you guiltily sneaking a read of the paper is that I don't understand, that this really is the most important thing in the world, that the success or otherwise of your whole life is hanging in the balance. My point is that when you are in the middle of that morass of exams, all too often you can't think straight. But the truth is, there is life after exams, even ones you fail. And while there are many cases where brilliance in getting great marks in exams translates into having great lives and careers afterwards, a far more reliable indicator are the people that have the chance to work in a field they are passionate about. As my wife is fond of saying, "Find a job you love, and you will never work again." None of this means you shouldn't study. Quite the reverse. If you've been bludging to this point you should study harder than ever. But the point is, don't panic. Settle down. Get into the rhythm of the work. Try to move beyond the grind of simply memorising the surface stuff and get to the gravy, the essence of what you are learning. Understand the core principles, get intellectually interested in them, and the rest will sort itself. Come the exam proper, you may well feel sick at heart. But take heart. At least the promised land, the release from this pressure, is just up ahead, and come the moment of beginning you might find that you're like a roaring chainsaw that at last gets to cut into wood. Rather than roaring and shaking to no effect, you will be doing what you're meant to be doing and that in itself is calming. Enough. Go hard!

We wish you well. Hit it hard and do your best! Peter FitzSimons

SELFY PROGRAM

Program Outline Social and Emotional Learning For Youth

The Social and Emotional Learning For Youth (SELFY) Program is designed to equip young people with

the knowledge and skills to meet the ongoing challenges they face in their daily lives. During adolescence,

students can face a variety of challenging situations, including increased independence, peer pressure and

exposure to social media.

The knowledge, skills, and attitudes within CASEL five competency clusters form the basis for the

objectives of the SELFY Program.

Over a 4-week period, our Year 8 and Year 9 girls will be participating in this program on campus.

BroActiv ‘BroActive’ is a program that empowers and provides opportunities for young men aged 12-25yrs to

become positive pillars of strength and leadership in their communities. The program breaks down and

explores the rigid constructs and ideologies of masculine identity and seeks to develop young men’s

abilities to challenge these notions in positive pro social ways. We are hoping to pilot an upcoming

BroActive program, which consists of a life skills clinic, where the students learn about a specific topic

(example: communication), which is then followed by a sports clinic, where they have the opportunity to

implement what they learnt into practical scenarios. This program will be occurring in Term 4 for a

duration of 4 weeks, with the potential of a Trisport Tournament to be held at the end of the program,

where different schools can compete against each other in various sports. If this sounds like something

your students can benefit from, I would love to hear back from you to set up a potential meeting time.

Over a 4-week period, our Year 8 and Year 9 boys will be participating in this program on campus.

Year 7 Art are in the final stages of their

Still life Assessment task. Students have

produced amazing 2D mixed media

artworks, incorporating space, line, shape,

tone, colour and texture. Students started

with a pencil drawing and extended into a

watercolour underpainting focused on tone.

Students then completed painting in the

colours depicted. To complete their works

students detailed and enhanced their work

with oil pastels.

Look out for a display in the library early next term.

TAFE Enterprise offers a range of short courses

perfect for upskilling your team — faster. Taught by

experienced trainers, your staff will gain skills to

immediately apply, adding instant value to your business.

Year 10 Work Experience commencing Term 4, Week 1

Work experience is a short placement undertaken by year 10 high school students. Students complete

this placement to:

• Gain an insight into a particular kind of career

• Gain exposure to what working life is like

• Establish a professional skill set, to help them in future job positions

Year 10 work experience is an awesome way to expand on your experience in the working world – it helps

Year 10 students to develop the necessary skills and helpful experience that looks great on your resume

when applying for first jobs and the like. By working with a company that has a Year 10 work experience

program, you are exposed to what the professional world is like. It is the perfect

opportunity to get a taste of an industry or profession that you are considering pursuing

once you graduate high school.

Year 10 Work Experience I had a mini adventure yesterday visiting our Year 10 students at their work experience locations. I

was quite impressed with their professionalism and sophistication in the workplace. All their supervisors

complimented their respectful and humble nature and their willingness to take on any task.

Miss Haidar – Careers Advisor

Photo: Top – Batoul Tawbe and Sakina Kazmi

Middle - Abdullah Al Hir and Dana Hariri

Bottom – Shahabno Jaffri and Mariam Toufaili

Benefit mindset:

Beyond a growth

mindset

The impact of the mindset work of

Carol Dweck has been profound. Since she published her book ‘Mindset’ in 2006 there’s barely

a school in the developed world that hasn’t been touched by its methodology. Parents now remind

their children that they may not be good at maths, but with application

they can be. Major corporations such as Microsoft, Google and NASA have made Growth mindset an integral part of company cultures.

What is a growth mindset? A growth mindset is the belief that ability and talents can be developed with effort. A fixed mindset is the belief that ability and talent is innate. With effort and a good strategy anyone can

succeed at math says the growth mindset followers, while you’re either good at math or your not according to the fixed mindset brigade.

At Parenting Ideas we believe firmly in the notion of developing a growth mindset in children and young people. That is, remove self-imposed limitations so kids can grow. While a growth mindset focuses on developing a child’s full potential there’s a place for developing

a child’s leadership and community development potential as well. When children and young people recognise they can be of value to others they go beyond simply developing growth mindset to develop a benefit mindset as well.

So what does a benefit mindset look like in a child? The Benefit mindset is where ‘me’ meets ‘we’. A child with a benefit mindset is open to learning,

but is also focused on how he can assist and help others. They don’t succeed at the cost of someone else’s success. They focus on the needs of their group, class or family.

The challenge for parents is self-apparent. How do we develop a benefit mindset when children by their nature can be self-centred? We’re confident that with maturity and when surrounded by nurturing, community-minded people (i.e. family, school, peers) children can learn to focus more

on the needs of others, than on just their own. Here are some simple every day ways to develop a benefit mindset in kids of all ages:

1. Expect them to regularly help at home without being paid 2. Encourage them to volunteer in some capacity within the community in age-related ways 3. Share stories with children and young people of community, leadership and volunteering

4. Give kids leadership opportunities (with accompanying responsibilities) among siblings and friends

5. Conduct regular family meetings to enable kids to contribute positively to their family

A benefit mindset focuses on a child doing good, rather than being good. It also encourages kids to develop strengths within the context of contributing to the wellbeing of others in their families

or communities rather than focusing on their own ends. That sounds a lot like leadership to us.

Michael Grose