PerthModernSchool news Sep2015_7.indd

Transcription

OCT 2015
NEWS
Perth Mod Lights Up for Science Week
The theme for 2015 National Science
Week was ‘Making waves – the science of
light’, based on the International Year of
Light. In light of National Science Week,
the Science Department organised a
plethora of fun science activities, talks
by experts and a Science Fair between
17–20 August.
A series of talks by experts in the different
fields of science commenced with breakfast
talks on ‘particle and theoretical physics’ and
‘physics in marine science and technology’.
Science Week was opened with a
collaboration between Arts and Science,
with students creating their very own
hologram in a dark room laboratory of an
object that they had artfully designed.
Students were given the opportunity to
be in the spotlight during the Science Fair
where they presented scientific research on
a range of science topics and were in the
running to win some fantastic prizes.
Other lectures centred on forensic
chemistry, astronomy including the square
kilometre array, optics and biomedical
engineering and epigenetics.
Students were able to participate in a panel
discussion, ‘speed dating with the scientists’,
with three scientists in the fields of
mechanical engineering, molecular biology
and geology explaining what it is like to
work in science based professions.
Finally, students were dazzled by a mind
blowing experimental light display that
showcased the scientific principles of light.
Perth Modern School was awarded a
National Science Week school grant that
contributed towards Science Week activities.
Year 8 students working on their holograms for Science Week: Midaiah Harnett, Melissa Lee, Hayley
Andrews, Victoria Henderson and Savanna Kileff.
in this issue
Page 4
Mod wins WADL Junior
Championships
Page 11
Melbourne Food
and Art Tour
Dr Phebe Verbrugghe,
Science Teacher
Continued on pages 12 and 13.
Pages 18 and 19
Meet the School Board
From the Principal
Leaders are moved by what they care about to make their community, and
the world, a better place. Those who aim to lead must develop a skill set
to adapt to change, craft creative solutions and seize opportunities, ideas
being embraced by the new Australian Curriculum commencing in 2016.
Perth Modern School is committed to student leadership development
as a cornerstone in supporting students to become engaged citizens. I
am delighted at the number of our students who are ably demonstrating
leadership qualities as members of the Student Council, and as House
Captains and Form Captains. Other students demonstrate their leadership
capability by becoming involved in committees, entering community
competitions or putting their hand up to organise a charity event. Students
are often not aware of their inherent strengths as leaders until they are
provided with the opportunity to further develop their skills in this area. The
School is striving to help students engage and explore leadership experiences
so that they may flourish as individuals and become life-long contributors to
strengthened communities. I encourage all students to seek out and embrace
leadership opportunities as a means for personal development.
Once again Perth Modern School’s
bands and orchestras have put in
exceptional performances at the
ABODA and related Festivals,
with four outstanding and four
excellent ratings achieved.
Congratulations and thanks to
Roger Hey for his organisation
and oversight of the participating
students and special thanks to
Neil Coy, Amanda Johnson,
Phil Hatton, Laurissa McCarthy,
Nicola Brayshay, Katherine
Pearce, Celia Christmass, Grant
Rickman, Clare How, Graham Hall
and Jeremy Peet who directed
the orchestras, bands, choirs and
guitars to such success.
Despite the challenge of rainy
weather, the House Athletics
Carnival provided an opportunity
for all students to enjoy a physically
challenging, fun and collegial day.
Students actively participated
despite the less than ideal weather
conditions, with Downing proving
victorious, followed by Sampson,
Brown and Parsons. Thanks to
Toni Jones, Physical Education
staff, Steve Jurilj, Grant
Staffe and all staff members for
their support.
Science Week was a spectacular
success with students involved in
a series of ‘enlightening’ activities
inspired by the theme ‘Making
waves—the science of light’, based
on the International Year of Light.
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The festival opened with a hands-on
workshop for students to create their very
own hologram in a dark room laboratory.
A series of talks by experts included
theoretical physics, marine biology, forensic
chemistry, astronomy including the square
kilometre array, optics and biomedical
engineering and epigenetics. Students
were given the opportunity to be in the
spotlight during the Science Fair where
they presented scientific research on a
range of science topics and were in the
running to win fantastic prizes. To end
the week, students were impressed by
an experimental light display. Thank you
to Science Department staff, in particular
Ant Meczes, Phebe Verbrugghe, Anne
Sasheygi, James Giles, David Broomfield
and Andrew Montgomery.
Students studying Visual Art and Food
Science enjoyed a magnificent Food and
Art Tour to Melbourne, exploring the
vibrant culture of the city, undertaking food
and drawing classes and touring cultural
landmarks. Students had an excellent time
and we hope to run the tour again in the
future.
The Senior School Arts Showcase enabled
the family and friends of WACE Art students
to view the impressive body of art work
created during the year. On show were
wonderful paintings, sculptures, landscape
photographs, portfolios and original solo
drama productions.
NEWS October 2015
The showcase clearly impressed all those
who attended. Thank you to Sally Floyd
and staff in Arts and Technology for their
hard work in producing this fabulous event.
R U OK? Day was ably organised by the
Student Council with students making a
gold coin donation to come in free dress,
and a variety of talented musical and dance
performances entertaining the crowd
along with a sausage sizzle and bake stalls.
Students raised an impressive $1686.90 for
the RU OK? Foundation.
Students in Year 11 enjoyed a fun night at
AQWA for their Dinner Dance, with the
girls looking radiant in their stylish threads
and the boys looking dapper in their suits
as they enjoyed mingling with their peers
and dancing up a storm. Thank you to Ian
Hunt for his organisation and all staff who
supervised on the night.
Students have achieved exceptional
results in the Australian Mathematics
Competition (AMC) with 19 students
achieving a prize for coming in the top
0.05 per cent of participants, 81 students
achieving High Distinctions for coming
in the top two per cent and 341 students
receiving a Distinction for achieving in the
top 5 per cent. Special congratulations goes
to Huxley Berry in Year 7 who was awarded
with an AMC medal for achieving the
highest score in the State for his age level.
Exceptional schooling.
Congratulations to the following students
on their successes in a variety of activities:
• Year 10 students Lucy Skeldon, Ella
Davies, Elizabeth Marsh, Sonia Lal,
Sagar Badve and Isabel Boogaerdt
won the Grand Final of the Western
Australian Debating League (WADL)
Junior Competition.
• Year 8 English students performed
extremely well in the Children’s Book
Council Make Your Own Storybook
Competition. Melissa Lee won first
place in the Picture Book category with
Katrina Hooper in third place and Flynn
Hardcastle-Sharp in second place for the
Story Book category.
• Alan Cheng and Virinchi Rallabhandi in
Year 11 have been invited to the National
Mathematics Summer School, out of only
six students in total from WA. Alan was
top student and is the 2015 recipient of
the Larry Bakers Scholarship.
• Ahra Oh in Year 11 won two awards
in The West Australian Design an Ad
Competition.
• Year 12 students Henry Yoo, James
Arcus and Sze Wan Ng each won a prize
in the UNSW Economics competition.
• Radheya Jegatheva in Year 11 came
second in the Emerge: Youth Art
Awards and Exhibition 2015 with his
‘pen on ink’ art work called ANZAC in the
Womb. He also represented Australia in
the 10th True A-Math Thailand Open
King’s Trophy 2015 in Thailand, which
is an event that uses mathematical
equations instead of words as in
traditional scrabble. In addition, Radheya
won the Best Overall Film award in the
Asiagraph Reallusion 2D Animated
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Film Competition and the Best Story
Prize for his 3D entry.
Two teams participated in the
Tournament of Minds, with one team
winning the regionals and making it
through to the State Final and one team
coming fourth and receiving honours.
Well done to Year 10 students Naomi
Cha, Shi Han Su, Rohit Kanna and
Andrew Thanur, Benjamin Caulfield in
Year 9 and Jasper Jackson and Ezekiel
Goh in Year 7 for making the final. Well
done also to the honours team of Julia
Aguinot and Avril Keenan in Year 7, Julia
Seitz, Jemima Loveland and Aayushi
Shah in Year 9 and Laura Prince and Jina
Ahn in Year 10.
Benjamin Caulfield in Year 9 is the
Royal Commonwealth Society
of Western Australia Speech and
Leadership Contest State Junior
Champion.
Jay Choo and Chloe Fairchild in Year
7 and Bryony Glass in Year 12 were
awarded with ‘highly commended’
certificates in the Tim Winton Award for
Young Writers.
Year 11 students Anuki Jagodage,
Michal Czepiel, Lois Affleck, Abby
Kendall and Radheya Jegatheva had
their art work chosen for display in the
Emerge Youth Exhibition.
Lauryn Coombes in Year 11 was chosen
to display her art work ‘Correspondence’
in the MetaMORPHosis Exhibition.
Senior School students Angela Antoff,
Matthew Collins, Rebecca Green, Sonia
Lal, Lauryn Coombes, Hongyi Gao,
Jana Ilievski and Supisara Suk-Udom
have been selected to participate
in special Alliance Française oral
examinations.
• Arun Jha in Year 10 was first, Karuna
Nair in Year 11 second and Priya Fisher
in Year 11 third in the West Australian
Association of Teachers of Italian
(WAATI) examinations.
• Rana Ibrahim has won the Year 8 Dante
Alighieri WA Speech Contest.
• Parmida Ghorbanian in Year 9 was the
overall winner of the Language Perfect
State Competition. Perth Modern School
was second overall.
• Maxine Williams in Year 10 won first
prize and Ali Park in Year 9 second
prize in the State Chinese Writing
Competition. Year 9 students Aron
Thian and Gwynneth Tan won the
second and third prizes respectively in the
Chinese Background Level 3 category.
• Dylan Cloutman in Year 10 has
been awarded with a Flight Centre
Scholarship to Italy in 2016.
• Pooja Ramesh in Year 9 won the State
wide Alliance Française Poetry Recital
Competition for the second year in a
row.
• Year 12 student Jessica Leonie Knight
was awarded best overall in the Clarinet
and Saxophone Society of WA concert
and Philip Tsen in Year 12 came third.
• Aron Thian in Year 9 has come first in the
U13 Foil, U15 Mixed Foil and U17 Foil in the
State finals of FencingWA.
• Tyler Mathewson in Year 9 and Lara
Ilievski in Year 10 have won medals in the
International Athletic Championships
in Malaysia. Tyler won a bronze medal in
the 400m and anchored the WA team
to gold in the 4 x 400m relay. Lara won a
gold medal in Javelin and a bronze medal
in Discus.
Lois Joll, Principal
Vale Julia Leat (Munday) 1935–2015
Julia Leat was born in 1935 and commenced her teaching career at Perth Modern
School. In 1961 when the school became Perth Modern Senior High School she was
given responsibility for lower school girls.
Julia was married while teaching at Mod
and as Julia Leat was promoted to Eastern
Hills High School as Principal Mistress
1971–73, then to Girrawheen Senior High
School as Principal Mistress 1974–79,
returning to Mod as Deputy Principal
Female 1980–85 and was Relieving
Principal for Term 3, 1981.
Exceptional students.
Julia was subsequently promoted to the
position of Principal, Newman Senior High
School in 1986, moving to Principal at
Lockridge Senior High School 1987–91, and
Principal, Coodanup Senior High School
1992–94 where she retired to live in the
Mandurah area. She died peacefully at
Wearne House, Mandurah on 19 September,
aged 80.
Julia Leat
Perth Modern School
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NEWS October 2015
3
Perth Mod wins the WADL Junior Championships!
The Perth Modern School Junior Debating team have won the West Australian
Debating League (WADL) Grand Junior Final against Shenton College.
To make the Grand Final, a team had to win
a series of ten debates.
The Grand Final topic was ‘Religious
organisations should not provide
rehabilitation services for drug and alcohol
addicts,’ with Perth Modern School arguing
against the proposition.
Team member Sagar Badve, 15, said a lot of
preparation and many hours of hard work
had gone into making the grand final.
‘We were so thrilled to be announced as the
winner as the team from Shenton College
had performed really well on the night so
we knew it would be a close call,’ Sagar said.
‘We are really proud of how well we worked
together a team, we encouraged each other
all the way through and we had a lot of
laughs too.’
Junior WADL champions: Sagar Badve, Lucy Skeldon, Ella Davies, Isabel Boogaerdt, Elizabeth Marsh and
Sonial Lal.
The team featured Year 10 Perth Modern School students Ella Davies, Sagar Badve, Lucy
Skeldon, Sonia Lal, Elizabeth Marsh and Isabel Boogaerdt.
‘I really encourage other students to get
involved in debating as it teaches you
how to structure an argument, how to
present yourself articulately and how to be
persuasive,’ Sagar added.
Storybook winners in a class of their own
Three Year 8 Perth Modern School students have won a prize in the Children’s Book
Council Make Your Own Storybook Competition.
Melissa Lee won the Picture Book category
for The Shadow; Katrina Hooper came third
for her Picture Book A Dog’s Eye View and
Flynn Hardcastle-Sharp won second place
for his Story Book No Way Out.
Melissa Lee’s winning entry The Shadow
is based on the allegory ‘life is a race’ and
features a character whose goal is to run,
but trips and falls, which is symbolic of
experiencing failure.
‘There is a growing awareness of mental
illness and depression features a lot in the
news, and I wanted to use The Shadow
to help young children understand the
condition and know there are strategies
that can help and can be accessed in the
community,’ she said.
‘The main character in The Shadow
experiences failure, as everyone will in some
way throughout life, but with the right
help, was able to battle to overcome it and
achieve his goal.’
When the character trips up, a shadow
appears and begins following him
everywhere. The shadow represents
depression and no matter how hard the
main character tries to run away, the shadow
always follows.
Eventually, the character stumbles across
a man sitting on a bench who offers him a
glowing stone, which he uses to defeat the
shadow.
‘I was over the moon when I found out
I won as I was really proud of what I had
created,’ Melissa said.
Make Your Own Story Book winners: Katrina Hooper, Melissa Lee and Flynn Hardcastle-Sharp.
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NEWS October 2015
Tim Winton Award for Young Writers
Three Perth Modern School students, Jay Choo and Chloe
Fairhead in Year 7 and Bryony Glass in Year 12, have been
awarded with ‘highly commended’ in the Tim Winton Award for
Young Writers.
The award encourages creativity and imagination, and is a great
opportunity for young authors to develop their writing skills. 1800
young writers submitted their stories for the awards.
Bryony’s entry, Bush, suburb, city, features on page 20.
Chloe Fairhead and Jay Choo.
National Mathematics
Summer School awaits for
Alan and Virinchi
Alan Cheng and Virinchi Rallabhandi in Year 11 have been selected
for the National Mathematics Summer School (NMSS). NMSS is a two
week residential school held each January at the Australian National
University for mathematically gifted and talented senior high school
students. Alan was announced as the top student based on his
results and was awarded with the 2015 Larry Bakers Scholarship.
Alan Cheng and Virinchi Rallabhandi.
Huxley tops WA in the Australian
Mathematics Competition
Huxley Berry in Year 7 has won a medal in the Australian
Mathematics Competition (AMC) run by the Australian
Mathematics Trust. Huxley achieved the highest score in the
State for Year 7, scoring 130 out of a possible 135.
Students who enter the AMC are asked to solve 30 problems in 75
minutes, without the use of a calculator. Medals are usually given out
to only one in 10,000 students.
Huxley Berry
Dylan wins Scholarship to Italy
Dylan Cloutman in Year 10 is excited to be spending eight
weeks in Italy in 2016 after being the successful applicant for a
Flight Centre Scholarship.
He will live with an Italian family in Rome and go to a local school
with his host brother. Dylan says he is very excited about this
opportunity and is looking forward to immersing himself in Italian
culture, eating delicious food and becoming more fluent in speaking
Italian.
Dylan Cloutman
Perth Modern School
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NEWS October 2015
5
Radheya’s films win international awards
The Australian animated film industry’s future looks bright with Year 11 student
Radheya Jegatheva taking out the best film prize in the Asiagraph Reallusion 2D
Animated Film Competition for his film Don’t Look Under the Bed.
In addition, another film he made, Finding
Home won the Best Story Prize in the
Asiagraph Reallusion 3D Animated Film
Competition.
Workshops on Crazytalk animator for 2D and
iClone for 3D were held earlier in the year at
Perth Modern School.
Radheya
Jegatheva
He won $1,000USD for Don’t Look Under the
Bed and $300USD for Finding Home.
‘Making animated films is a really fun way to
be both creative and technically proficient
with computer software,’ Radheya said. ‘I am
ecstatic to have won the awards as I would
love to become a film director in the future.’
Radheya beat dozens of film entries from
around the world.
Emerge Youth
Exhibition
The Emerge Youth Exhibition is a City of
Nedlands initiative to help promote the
talent and creativity of budding artists
under 25 years of age.
Perth Modern School had five entries in the
exhibition, Anuki Jagodage, Michal Czepiel,
Lois Affleck, Abby Kendell and Radheya
Jegatheva. Special congratulations to
Radheya for his entry ‘ANZAC in the Womb,’
which was awarded a Highly Commended
prize and a $250 cheque.
Anuki Jagodage, Abby Kendell and Radheya Jegatheva with Radheya’s winning art work ‘ANZAC in the Womb.’
Young Originals Exhibition
Every year, secondary students
in government schools have the
opportunity to submit artwork for
selection in the annual Young Originals
Exhibition held at Spectrum Space at
Mt Lawley’s ECU campus.
This year Perth Modern School was well
represented with a Stop Motion animation
by Year 7 students Annisa Endro, Gabriela
Schwert and Caroline Tsang Kwong. In
addition, a cardboard and papier-mâché
Tiger Mask by Shivangi Sharma in Year 8
was on display and Year 11 students Anuki
Jagodage, Radheya Jegatheva, Angela Le
and Louis Zhang submitted paintings based
on the theme of heroism.
L–R: Annisa Endro, Gabriela
Schwert and Caroline Tsang
Kwong with their ZILO and
ZYLER paper-cut stop motion
animation.
‘Madame President’
by Angela Le.
Tiger Mask by Shivangi Sharma.
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NEWS October 2015
MetaMORPHosis 2015
BERNADETTE WOODS, ART TEACHER
Each year a selection of the Year 11 and 12 Art and Design students from Western
Australia are exhibited at the Central Institute of Technology’s MetaMORPHosis
Exhibition.
Lauryn Coombes in Year 11 was Perth Modern School’s representative this year and displayed
her piece ‘Correspondence’. It tells the story of Lauryn’s great-grandfather who fought in
World War I. He used to send letters home to his wife, never mentioning the horrors of war,
but rather writing of his undying love for his wife and young family whom he was eager to
get home to. Lauryn discusses themes of self-censorship and the real censorship undertaken
at the Italian prisoner-of-war camp he was writing from.
The title ‘Correspondence’ points not only to the act of letter-writing but also to the
concept of correspondence between the truth and what is told. Lauryn’s depiction of her
interpretation of his story won her a place in this prestigious exhibition.
Lauryn Coombes with her artwork ‘Correspondence’.
Robocup Junior Competition
WALTER WILSON, ROBOCUP COORDINATOR
This year the Robocup Competition at Curtin University on 7 and 8 August attracted
more than 500 participants.
Perth Modern School was represented by 32 students in 11 teams made up of students in Years
7–11. The students worked hard and enthusiastically to build their Lego robots and to program
them. Some of the designs were amazing and what those robots could do was impressive. More
than a few Perth Modern School teams made it to the finals. Congratulations to all students who
spent hours at lunch, recess and after school to get the robots ready for the big day.
Students participating in the Robocup Junior Competition.
Students soar to great heights in Chinese
YI YUAN AND MEI LI, CHINESE LANGUAGE TEACHERS
Perth Modern School Chinese language students have produced some excellent
results in the State Chinese Language Speech and Writing Competition.
Jiwan Park and Emily Crock in Year 8 took part in the Speech Competition. Jiwan’s speech
‘Music Dream’ and Emily’s speech ‘Loving Sports’ were greatly praised, with Jiwan achieving
fourth place out of 15 contestants.
Six students from Years 9 and 10 participated in the State Writing Competition. From the
130 entries from 25 schools, Maxine Williams of Year 10 won first prize and Ali Park of Year 9
won second prize in the Second Language category; and
Year 9 students Aron Thian and Gwynneth Tan won the
second and third prizes in the Chinese Background Level
3 category, respectively. Maxine described her love of
learning Chinese, Ali recalled her exciting China trip this
year and Gwynneth told her family story and her plans
for the future. Aron’s writing titled ‘Peace, Friendship and
Understanding’, together with a beautifully designed
poster, greatly impressed the judges.
YCT is not only a language test, but also
a language learning platform to promote
student learning.
Year 10 student Alice Colvin said the test
‘meant that we had to study a wide range
of words and types of sentences. This really
broadened our Chinese study. It was a very
useful experience.’
A total of 51 Perth Modern School students from Years
8–10 took part in the Chinese Youth Test (YCT), an
international Chinese language proficiency test run by the
Confucius Institute at UWA.
Gwynneth Tan, Ali Park, Jiwan Park, Emily Crock and Maxine Williams.
Perth Modern School
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NEWS October 2015
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Geography students visit Alcoa
RICK MCMAHON, GEOGRAPHY TEACHER
Year 11 Geography students recently had the
opportunity to visit and tour both the Alcoa Huntly
mine and Pinjarra refinery as part of their fieldwork
studies into Bauxite mining as a Western Australian
export commodity.
Year 11 Geography students at the Alcoa Huntly Bauxite Mine.
Students had the opportunity to experience firsthand the
extent of the operations in the Jarrah forest and the efforts
of Alcoa in rehabilitating the areas mined. By examining
the nature, location, mining and processing of bauxite,
students were able to study the role played by technological
advances in mining operations. Students marvelled at the
crushing plant, which is a world first in that it moves on its
own legs to whatever location is next being mined.
Year 7 Geography Reward Excursion
ARABELLA BROSNAN, REGINA RAHARJO, CAMERON PATTERSON, NICHOLAS MAHONEY AND CHLOE FAIRHEAD, YEAR 7
Top Year 7 Geography students were
rewarded with a visit to the Newmont
Gold Mine in Boddington.
The new mine has the potential to become
the largest gold mine in the world and the
visit was well worth the two hour journey.
Learning about the processes involved
in the extraction of the microscopic gold
particles and the different techniques in
which gold can be collected was all part
of the fun. Students were amazed at the
incredible size of the two pits and the
machinery.
It was amazing to see the immense size of
the machinery, with a single haul pack truck
costing four million dollars! Students got a taste of 1850s life when given the opportunity to
give gold panning a try. Gold mining has a great future in WA, a fact we were all excited to
hear.
Year 7 Geography students at the Newmont
Gold Mine.
Great participation in Mock Trials
JANE NICHOLSON, MOCK TRIALS COORDINATOR
Four teams of enthusiastic students from
Years 11 and 12 participated in the 2015
Mock Trials Competition.
The competition involves students forming
a team and taking on the various roles of
a court trial, such as a witness, barrister,
solicitor, court orderly etc. Each team receives
case materials and will either be tasked with
the defence or the prosecution of the case.
The school had four teams compete and
the students involved deserve high praise
for their commitment and dedication to the
competition with many students coming in
on Sundays for training. A special thank you
goes to our excellent coach, Vlada Lemaic, for
helping to guide the teams so successfully.
Some of the participating students in the 2015 Mock Trials.
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Titration Stakes
TONY GAO, YEAR 12
This year, I was fortunate to participate in the Titration
Stakes competition.
Two Perth Modern School teams took part in this prestigious
challenge for talented young chemists: Perth Modern Team 2
(Hui Min Tay, Hyerin Park and Michael Hou) and Team HAT (Hayley
McMillan, Aston Taminsjah and myself). During the weeks leading
up to the competition, we dedicated many hours to the honing
of proper titration techniques. From rinsing, pipetting, debating
over the correct End Point, as well as mastering the fabled ‘quarter
drop’, a lot of fun was had amidst all the hard work.
On the day of the competition, we were pitted against more
than 100 other schools at the Curtin University Chemistry Lab.
After three hours of intense swirling, washing, dripping, and
scribbling, we handed in our result sheets with a sense of pride
and apprehension. Then came the wait. After indulging in the
free dinner, chatting and exchanging information with students
from different schools, we got our results. Perth Modern Team
2 had made it into the top 15 schools, with Team HAT following
close behind.
Aston Taminsjah, Hayley McMillan, Hyerin Park, Tony Gao, Hui Min Tay and Michael Hou.
Thank you to Ms King, Ms Sashegyi and the lab technicians for all of
their help.
TWITCH highlights the search for a cure for Huntington’s Disease
SINEAD CORR, SCIENCE TEACHER
As part of the Year 10 Genetics program, 30 students visited
the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research to view the
fascinating but sad documentary, TWITCH, about a young girl,
Kristen Powers, and her journey to discover whether she would
fall victim to the fatal genetic disease, Huntington’s Disease.
Huntington’s Disease (HD), a neurodegenerative brain disorder,
destroys an individual’s ability to walk, talk, think, and reason,
eventually leading to death.
Kristen’s mother was diagnosed with the disease in 2003. As a
precocious nine-year-old, Kristen decided that she would not let
this disease conquer her life, despite knowing she had a 50 per cent
chance of inheriting the same fate as her mum.
The documentary follows Kristen and her family as they struggle
with living with this fatal disease, along with her decision to undergo
genetic testing. Students were fortunate to meet with Kristen and
ask her about her experiences, the controversy surrounding genetic
testing and her drive for a cure for the disease.
The emotional viewing gripped the student’s attention from
beginning to end and opened up a great deal of conversation
regarding the cure of genetic diseases and genetic testing.
Joelle Chen, Raeann Ng, Sarah Sun and
Nisargi Prajapati.
Kristen Powers
UNSW Economics competition
NICOLA REILLY, ECONOMICS TEACHER
The success of students studying Economics has continued in 2015,
with three Year 12 students winning prizes in the UNSW Economics
competition.
James Arcus was awarded the coveted title of ‘State Winner’ along with $200.
Henry Yoo and Sze Wan Ng were also successful and received a certificate and
$50 each, which will no doubt come in handy for their upcoming summer break.
Henry Yoo, James Arcus and Sze Wan Ng.
Perth Modern School
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NEWS October 2015
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High action in the second annual Pedal Prix
ANT MECZES, HEAD OF SCIENCE
What use is the frame of an old chair and
the foam within, pipe insulation, corflute
and chromoly? The answer is that these
are all materials that can be used to
build a Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) to
compete in the Pedal Prix.
Perth Modern School entered two teams,
one made up of Year 9 students and one
made up of Years 11 and 12 students, into
the second annual Pedal Prix competition in
WA which was held in Busselton on Sunday,
9 August. Students met regularly outside of
school times leading up to the competition
to build and prepare the HPVs for racing.
Skills in teamwork, welding and problemsolving developed strongly throughout the
project.
Despite the wind and rain swept drive down
for scrutineering the teams worked tirelessly
to get the HPVs ready. The race itself was
high action throughout, with spills and thrills
and mechanical difficulties to negotiate,
but the teams persevered. BadModbile
finished in thirteenth place overall (out of
43) and fourth in their category. Lightning
Modqueen finished 32nd overall (twelfth
out of 16 in their category). Tyler Mathewson
recorded the seventh fastest lap of anyone
racing, including the professionals, an
astonishing achievement.
Getting their HPV ready in the
workshop: Karrison Driver,
Lachlan Duncanson, Claudia WaltonMcDermott and Jacinta Carroll.
Teams:
Thank you to Subiaco Council, who
gave financial support and to Bunnings
and Supercheap Auto, who donated in
kind. Also, thank you to Paula Munt and
several members of the P&C who helped
immensely by providing materials and
obtaining donations.
Lightning Modqueen team members.
Well done and congratulations to all students involved
and thanks to the parents for their support in making
this a truly memorable event. The teams are
already thinking and planning for next
year’s Pedal Prix.
• Lightning Modqueen
(Year 9): Lachlan
Duncanson (Captain),
Kiran Tibbals, Catherine
Hill, Shaun Doss, Jacinta
Carroll, Rahul Jegatheva,
Tyler Mathewson, Claudia
Walton-McDermott, Elena
Christophers and Karrison
Driver.
• BatModbile (Years 11
and 12): Owen McConney,
Nicholas Hall, Georgia
Brand, Molly Brand, Marlon
Skeldon, Thomas Mayes,
Nataniel Stephenson and
Alexander Israel.
Left: Members of the BatModbile team:
Thomas Mayes, Marlon Skeldon, Owen
McConney and Alexander Israel.
Right: Tyler Mathewson recorded the seventh fastest
lap on the day.
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Melbourne Food and Art Tour
BERNADETTE WOODS, VISUAL ART TEACHER
For 18 Visual Art and Food Science
students, the anticipation had been
almost too great as we waited for the
flight to take us away for five days of
exeriencing the fabulous food and
art culture of Melbourne.
After arriving in the evening, we woke
up fresh and ready to explore the
Victoria Markets, and quickly sought
out delicious donuts, cheese and
freshly squeezed juice. That afternoon
we looked at contemporary Australian
Art and developed a pastiche of
artworks that inspired us.
The days that followed allowed us to
sample gelato, fresh pasta, chilli chicken
dishes (which were mostly chilli with a
dash of chicken), pizza, pancakes and
other fresh produce. A visit to the Yarra
Valley taught us how the Black Saturday
fires had affected the local farmers and
the ways which they were overcoming
the repercussions.
Above: Drawing class by the Yarra.
Right: Belinda Luu and Angela Le.
Below: Tour of the Yarra.
We walked the early Sunday morning
streets seeking and admiring
Melbourne’s famous street art, then
dabbled in the world of fashion and lost
ourselves in the hustle and bustle of the
city. Our last day was full of Malaysian,
Vietnamese and Ethiopian foods and
finally a Moroccan feast made by us!
We came back to Perth more cultured,
artistic and with our stomachs full.
Lower left: National Gallery workshop.
Lower right: Cooking Class.
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Perth Mod celebrates National Science Week 2015
Delving deep into Science
POOJA RAMESH, EMILY TANG AND RACHEL TANTULAR, YEAR 9
National Science Week 2015 whizzed by and exploded with a bang, with students
immersing themselves in the many special activities on offer. Students gained
valuable insight into many diverse areas of science, with interesting presentations by
renowned scientists and professors organised by the Science Department.
Sahil Gera won a family ticket to AQWA for his
Science Fair project.
interesting and informative talk culminated
with a step-by-step recounting of forensic
developments in the 1992 kidnapping and
murder case of Exxon Oil Executive Sidney
Reso.
Students enjoyed a talk ‘Explore the Epigenome’ with Professor Ryan Lister.
A lecture on Quantum Physics and
Mechanics with Professor Igor Bray during
the ‘Physics Breakfast’ marked the start of a
fascinating week. It touched on aspects of
atomic collision theory and the fundamental
few-body quantum physics problems.
It was particularly fascinating hearing
Professor Bray discussing the applications of
Quantum Physics and Mechanics, such as
the generation of electricity through fusion,
and how they play such a significant and
valuable role in shaping our future scientific
society and daily lives.
The second breakfast lecture was delivered
by Dr Christine Erbe, Director of Curtin
University’s Centre for Marine Science and
Technology. Drawing on her extensive
background in physics and geophysics, Dr
Erbe spoke of her research and interest in
the marine field, particularly underwater
acoustics, and intrigued students with the
sounds of different marine creatures that a
hydrophone (underwater microphone) had
recorded.
‘An Introduction to Forensic Chemistry’
kicked off Science Week’s lunchtime lecture
series, delivered by Professor Simon Lewis.
The presentation covered forensic principles
regarding an exchange of evidence and
comparison, as well as processes for
identification and individualisation, with
a focus on latent finger marking. This very
The ‘Square Kilometre Array Update’
address, presented by Professor Peter
Quinn, transported budding astronomers
into galaxies far, far away in an attempt
to view the beginning of the universe,
utilising the fact that the further away
something is, the older it is. ‘Making Waves:
The Science of Light’, by Professor David
Sampson celebrated the ‘International Year
of Light’ and recognised the significant role
it plays in our everyday lives.
Students were also able to ‘Explore the
Epigenome’ with Professor Ryan Lister’s
fascinating talk about the complex human
genome and epigenome, delving into the
discipline of DNA at a truly microscopic level.
We discovered how, using Next Generation
DNA Sequencing and understanding DNA
characteristics, such as methylation, we can
analyse this dynamic genomic pattern to
decipher the composition of the human
genome from development to disease—
truly remarkable!
‘Dating with the Scientists’ offered students
a chance to step into the life of a scientist
and experience what it’s really like to be
one. A variety of scientists, including our
very own Mr Broomfield, gave intriguing
speeches on their respective fields and what
it took to get there. Students in all years
were also encouraged to show off their
mind-blowing skills in Science Fairs and
exhibitions held throughout the week.
Year 9 students with Professor David Sampson.
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We must now wait in anticipation for another
year to experience Science Week in order
to witness the ever-changing innovations
and inventions that are continually being
developed to benefit our lives.
A glimpse into science heaven
ARKA CHANDA, YEAR 11
For Year 11 students, it’s that time in
our lives where we have to consider our
future career choices.
It’s not an easy task, but it doesn’t have to be
done without help. Such was the purpose of
Science Week 2015 with students interested
in scientific careers lucky enough to learn
some ins and outs of the industry from
experts in their field.
Other students simply enjoyed the many
varied and interesting talks. Kathryn Levey
from Scientists in Schools has a geological
engineering background, and from her we
learnt about the fascinating applications
of science in procuring everyday materials.
She taught us about the extraction of oil
and/or natural gas from the ground, and
how it is purified. She also taught us
some hints and tricks about entering
this competitive field, such as what
is important if you want to gain
admission, and what you can do with an
engineering degree.
Just for fun, and to understand the
process of oil extraction, we conducted
a simplified experiment with brand
new distillation equipment, extracting
ethanol from a mixture of water
Kathryn Levey supervises an oil extraction experiment
and ethanol. It was simple, but the
with Year 11 students.
experiment was nothing like what we’d
done before. Ms Sashegyi and Ms Levey
were extremely helpful, and added to the plethora of new experiences that day.
This is just a glimpse of the fantastic experience that was Science Week, a week of heaven for
all those with an interest in the subject.
Forensic chemistry helps nail criminals
JASMINE HUNT, YEAR 8
Now don’t get me wrong, science isn’t
exactly my favourite subject. I’m okay
at it, but I don’t get all excited that
‘hydrochloric acid and magnesium
makes magnesium chloride and
hydrogen!’ Yay!
So when Science Week was on the horizon,
I was only slightly enthusiastic. But putting
my slightly dubious thoughts aside, I went
to a talk about forensic chemistry.
And it was really good. The methods
of modern forensic chemists and how
much they could discover about a
criminal from a single piece of ducttape surprised me, and I kept asking
myself why they never had this sort
of chemistry in my favourite murder
mystery books. It almost seemed like
all you needed was a chemist and a
microscope, and you had your criminal
mystery solved! I ended up thoroughly
enjoying it.
Professor Simon Lewis with Dominique Bresse
and Arielle Watts.
Hologram workshop
ANNIE MILLS, YEAR 8
My favourite activities during Science Week were the hologram workshop and the light show. I got the chance to make my own
hologram in a dark room, and learnt about mirrors and reflection by making portable projectors that could project an image off
our phones.
These activities were extremely enjoyable
and reminded us all that science is a super
fun subject!
Some other activities that were on during
the week included the science fair, physics
breakfasts and talks from well-known
scientists.
All in all, Science Week was an amazing
experience that catered to all interests
and ages.
Megan Cheng and Phoebe Irawan.
Far right: Arsam Bahrami.
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Community Service ethos continues to thrive at Mod
SCOTT MARSHALL, YOUTH AMBASSADOR COORDINATOR
Amazing fundraising result for
World Vision
Over $15,000 was raised this year by Perth Modern School
students for the World Vision 40 Hour famine.
What propelled this amazing result was an enthusiastic group of ten
Year 10 students attending the Global Leaders Conference to learn
the best way to get other students involved.
Attending the conference was a fantastic learning curve for
students, and paved the way for them to act as leaders by
encouraging so many of their fellow students to get involved in
fundraising for this worthy cause.
40 Hour Famine student organisers Phoebe Sun, Celia Wong, Anna Lee and
Joelle Chan.
Youth Ambassadors shake things up
Youth Ambassadors have once again gone above and beyond
with their before school tin shaking activities.
They braved many early winter mornings to raise money for Daffodil
Day, which also involved students selling Daffodils at school. With
over $250 raised, it was a big success. Credit goes to Year 12 student
Anuki Kotuwegedara who put in a great deal of work organising the
activities.
We also had a good number of students shake tins in Subiaco and
West Perth for the Legacy Foundation, raising much needed money
for the men and women who have served our nation overseas.
The Legacy Foundation paid tribute to our enthusiastic, polite and
persistent students.
Year 11 Youth Ambassadors. Back row: Anh Nguyen, Anuki Jagodage, Simone Pandit, Luna-Faye Veld, Sophia Park and Max Yap. Front: Milindi Weerasinghe,
ViVi Phan-Tran and Alex Majri.
Best Volunteering Spirit
awarded to Mod
‘Best Volunteering Spirit’ was awarded to the Perth Modern
School volunteers at this year’s City to Surf event held on
August 30. Students were stationed in Floreat at a water station
that was 5km from the finish line.
A volunteering team of over 50 students were encouraging of all
competitors as they ran, walked, or even crawled their way past the
water station. The volunteers from Mod kept everyone extremely
hydrated and were in fantastic spirits the entire time.
The School also had an excellent number of runners comprised
of both staff and students, with many posting fantastic times.
A special mention must go to Mr Giles, who completed a full
Marathon, and Mr Meczes for training students after school as part
of the ‘Running Club’.
Mr James Giles and Mr Scott Marshall ran in the City to Surf.
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Gidgee the Guide Dog models for visual art
Students at Perth Modern School have enjoyed a visit from ‘Gidgee’ the Guide Dog,
who patiently sat as a model during an art class.
Students also lined up to have a photo taken
with the photogenic Labrador, with pupils
donating a gold coin to Guide Dogs WA for the
privilege.
Three extremely cute puppies-in-training also
came along for the visit, bringing delight to
students and teachers alike.
The visit from Guide Dogs WA was organised
by Year 12 student Keisha Low, who is an active
supporter of the organisation.
‘Guide Dogs provide so much support and
comfort to people who are vision impaired, and
allow them to lead relatively normal lives and
actively participate in the community,’ Keisha
said.
‘Having Gidgee and the three Labrador puppies
visit the school was a lot fun and dozens of
Left: Gidgee patiently models for the Year 10 Visual Art class.
students were keen to have their photo taken.’
Over $300 was raised for Guide Dogs WA.
Above: Sarah Dang and Lauren Lee with Gidgee the Guide Dog.
Year 8 Thinking Project
PAUL GREEN, ENGLISH TEACHER
Throughout Term 3, all Year 8 students
have been participating in the Creative,
Collaborative and Critical Thinking
Project (C3TP).
On the last day of term, each Year 8 class
showcased their Thinking Project work
at the C3TP Symposium. Parents and
teachers who attended gained a better
understanding of the thinking processes
that each group had explored while
reaffirming the exceptional thinking and
learning that each student experienced.
They have worked collaboratively to pitch
and create a product, followed by a group
reflection on the process. The products
varied from creating fictional worlds
to improvising comedy performances,
designing concepts for games or
podcasting and developing strategies to
support people with special needs.
Two of the classes visited the students
at Joondalup Primary School to perform
their comedy shows. One class developed
a storyline to investigate issues around
starting at a new school, while the
other class looked at climate change.
The performances were extremely well
received and the written feedback from
the audiences was able to be coded and
critiqued to provide a clear picture of how
they could improve their product and the
way they work together as a team.
Year 8 students at Joondalup Primary School to
perform as part of their Thinking Project.
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A fond farewell to our Italian Exchange students
SARAH TANG, YEAR 11
It was a sad day all round when we had to say goodbye
to the Italian exchange students, Dario, Alessandro,
Marianna, Maya, Isabella and Adele. They’d been at Perth
Mod for about three months, learning about Australian
culture, helping us with our Italian, improving their
English and of course, making lifelong friends.
Italian exchange students with Italian language students.
At the end of their stay, we wished them a buon viaggio, sincere
thanks and goodbyes at the river cruise that had been organised
for all of the exchange students who had come to WA. A night on
the Swan River with a DJ, dance floor and pizzas abound made for
a memorable occasion, ending with plenty of hugs and laughter.
A presto amici!
ROBERTO RUGGIO, ITALIAN NATIVE SPEAKER ASSISTANT
One cannot fully realise the greatness of Perth Mod until you actually step in it and
start working.
Italian language assistants Roberto and Beatrice.
As Italian language assistants in the
Languages Department, we have the
pleasure and privilege to experience the
magical exchange of knowledge and
culture happening in the classroom.
Students are eager to learn about Italy and
it is interesting to see how Italy is viewed in
such a faraway land.
The opportunity to be hosted by local
families is proving to be an invaluable asset
to our life experiences as it provides the
opportunity to practice and improve our
English, and also live the Australian way of life.
We’re grateful to Perth Mod for the amazing
experiences it has provided, and for the fond
memories that will always be with us.
Entrepreneurs engage
DR RAYMOND DRIEHUIS, YEAR 9 LEADERSHIP AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP COORDINATOR
Six students from the Year 9 Leadership and Entrepreneurship program flew to
Melbourne for the iAWARDS, to pitch their innovative idea called ‘Dear Dad’, a
complete sanitary pack aimed at single fathers with teenage daughters that could be
ordered online or through a smartphone app.
The ‘Dear Dad’ team pitched in a very smart and professional manner to a panel of industry
experts in Information Technology and Innovation. Also on the trip, the team attended a
conference on IT and Innovation as well as a Gala Dinner for 900 guests where the winners for
each category in the National iAwards were announced. While ‘Dear Dad’ was not successful,
the team came extremely close in what was described by the master of ceremonies as a
highly competitive category.
Elena Christophers, Jessica Shimmin, Lauren Lee, Rahul Jegatheva, Joel Scott and Mandar Karkhanis.
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Ahra’s
advertisements
catch the eye
Ahra Oh in Year 11 has won two
awards in The West Australian
Design an Ad Contest 2015.
Ahra was awarded for the
advertisements she had
constructed for SunSmart and
Sizzler. This annual competition
gives students an opportunity to
design an advertisement based
on a real advertising brief and, in
doing so, learn about advertising,
design and persuasive language.
Ahra Oh
Lowes offers great service for school uniforms
The Perth Modern School Uniform
Shop is now being run by Lowes, a
private, family-owned, Australian
menswear chain established in 1898.
The Perth Modern School Uniform Shop
is located near reception outside the
Andrews Building and can be contacted
on (08) 9388 3543. Parents can also
purchase uniform items from the
website lowes.com.au.
The Uniform Shop is open during term
on Mondays and Thursdays,
8.00 am–11.30 am.
Right: Anna runs the shop on
Mondays and Thursdays.
Perth Modern School Uniform Shop.
Second Hand
Uniform Shop
The Perth Modern School P&C operates
a Second Hand Uniform Shop with a
range of good quality current uniforms
including music ‘concert’ uniforms.
The shop is staffed by volunteers and opens
on the second and fourth Monday morning
of the month during term from 8.00 am–
11.30 am. The shop is located opposite the
staff room in the Andrews Building.
The shop runs on a cash or card, no return
basis. Most items are donated, but some
can be sold on consignment in which case a
signed consignment form must be included
with items.
Second Hand Uniform Shop volunteers Ivelina Staneva and Helen Cooper.
All money raised goes to the P&C.
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17
Meet the
School Board
The following biographies are for the
non-staff members of the Perth Modern
School Board.
Michael Henderson – Chair
Michael and his wife Jody have four
beautiful children under the age of
14, with their oldest daughter at Perth
Modern School in Year 8.
He is a self-employed professional, with
national/international businesses in the areas
of Architecture, Design, Angel Investing
and Emergency Trauma Services. His
background has empowered him with strong
collaborative leadership skills, business and
financial management skills and an ability
to expertly manage large groups of diverse,
multi-located human resources.
In 2011 he was awarded the Ernst and Young
Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award (WR),
in recognition of his vision and capacity to
create and build the International Skills and
Training Institute in Health (ISTIH), based at
the University of Western Australia.
Mark Ogden – Deputy Chair
Mark Ogden is Professor of Chemistry
at Curtin University, and parent of two
Perth Modern School students (Class of
2013 and 2018).
He completed his PhD at the University
of Western Australia, after which he spent
three years as a postdoctoral fellow at the
University of Oxford. His current role includes
teaching chemistry at undergraduate level,
as well as supervising postgraduate research
students. Outside of work, he has been
actively involved in junior sports, and is
currently registrar of the Jets Basketball Club
based at Willetton, and is a life member of the
Riverton Rossmoyne Junior Cricket Club.
Mary O’Hanlon Creed (Secretary)
Mary moved to Perth from Melbourne
11 years ago. A ‘retired lawyer’, she now
focuses on being a full-time mum and a
part-time farmer.
She has a daughter in Year 7 at Perth
Modern School and a son in Year 5. She
has held many voluntary roles, including as
Company Secretary for the Forrest Family
Philanthropic Trust and more recently was
Chair of CASE for Refugees for three years,
the only free dedicated legal service for
refugees in WA. She cantors at New Norcia,
helps coach the Tournament of Minds teams
at Mod and is Vice-President of the Auxiliary
at Christchurch Grammar.
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Back row: Andrew Stevens, Scott Henderson, Nigel Hunt and Mary O’Hanlon Creed (Secretary).
Middle row: Jet Kye Chong (Head Boy), Val Furphy (Associate Principal), Ken Michael AC, Paula Munt, Ross
Fuhrmann and Frances Lamont (Head Girl). Front: Michael Henderson (Chair), Lois Joll (Principal) and Mark
Ogden (Deputy Chair). Absent: Irene Froyland and Margaret Nadebaum.
Irene Froyland
Irene Froyland is a criminologist who
recently retired from her positions as
Director of Corruption Prevention in
the Corruption and Crime Commission
and Director of the Sellenger Centre
for Police Research at Edith Cowan
University.
She was a student at Perth Modern
School from 1955 to 1959 from which she
graduated with a General Exhibition, and
was nominated to the Board by the Perth
Modernian Society. She holds a Master of
Arts (Psych) from UWA and a PhD (crim) from
Simon Fraser University. In her retirement
Irene serves on the Boards of Arthritis and
Osteoporosis WA (Vice President), Perth
Modern School and Newborough Primary
School. She holds a Honorary position as
Professor at Edith Cowan University.
Scott Henderson
Scott Henderson joined Edith Cowan
University in February 2012 as VicePresident (Corporate Services).
Prior to joining ECU, Scott was Chief
Executive Officer of Netball WA and the West
Coast Fever. His previous roles included Chief
Executive Officer of Harvey Beef and Skywest
Airlines. In the late 1990s he was State
Manager for United Airlines in Victoria, before
being appointed Manager of International
Strategic Planning for United Airlines in
Chicago.
Scott was a commissioned officer in the
Royal Australian Navy for more than a
decade prior to completing a full-time MBA
and embarking on a commercial career.
Nigel Hunt
Nigel joined the school board in May
2015. He is the head of the Perth Mergers
and Acquisitions team of King and Wood
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Mallesons, an international law firm,
with offices in Australia, China, South
East Asia and Europe.
He has three children and his eldest
daughter is a student in Year 8 at Perth
Modern School. Nigel has extensive
experience advising boards, including
government/not-for-profits on governance
and significant matters. Nigel serves on both
the national and international boards of
King and Wood Mallesons and has spent the
last 25 years working in the Perth business
community.
Ken Michael AC
Dr Ken Michael AC was installed as the
thirtieth Governor of Western Australia
in January 2006, retiring from this
position in May 2011.
He was educated at Perth Boys’ School
and Perth Modern School. He studied civil
engineering at The University of Western
Australia and at Imperial College of Science
and Technology in London. He had an
extensive career with Main Roads Western
Australia and served as Commissioner of
Main Roads.
He was also Chancellor of The University of
Western Australia. He continues his support
of the community and is currently Chairman
of the Australian Defence Force Assistance
Trust and Chairman of Broome Future.
Paula Munt
Paula works as a pharmacist part-time in
the Health Department administrating
the Poisons Act, which includes allowing
safe access to medicines and poisons. After graduating as a pharmacist from Curtin
University, Paula spent 14 years in the Air
Force, working at a pharmacist. The RAAF
took her around Australia and showed her
experiences she could never have expected,
Meet the P&C Executive
including abseiling on the Grampians,
flying in a Fighter jet and winching into
a helicopter. She has an interest in gifted
education, and has assisted the Gifted and
Talented Children’s Association of Western
Australia, which assists parents recognising
and providing for the needs of gifted
and talented children. In her spare time
she enjoys cycling, golf and skiing. She
recently completed a 300 kilometre cycle
to Margaret River to support the Prostate
Foundation. Her son is in Year 12 so this will
be her final year on the School Board.
Margaret Nadebaum
Margaret served for more than 30 years
in the Western Australian Education
Department in a number of positions
including classroom teacher, Deputy
Principal, Superintendent of Education,
Regional Director of Education and
Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of
Education.
She has also been the Principal of Methodist
Ladies’ College in Perth and a member of a
number of education-related government
boards and committees nationally and
locally including the National Curriculum
Corporation. Currently, she is involved with
a number of organisations in a voluntary
capacity including Kings’ Park Education
Centre and Naturescape, the SolarisCare
Foundation and the Berndt Museum of
Anthropology.
Andrew Stevens
Andrew spent 16 years in oilfield services
managing large and successful crews
of technical labour in all the diverse
terrains of the world.
Whether in jungles, deserts, mountains,
swamps, farmland or urban, he learned
the privilege of travel and comradery
by committed and capable people. In
2003 he returned to the UK as executive
director on the board of a manufacturing/
engineering company to oversee eight years
of prosperity. The Stevens family moved to
Perth in 2012 to enjoy the sunshine, where
both girls joined Perth Modern School.
Andrew now divides his devotion between
the family, the school and fitness for
cycling. As a School Board member, Andrew
believes that pupils should be offered the
widest range of opportunity in the most
supportive learning environment and uses
his positions on the Board and P&C to
support the school in this.
Sujay Karkhanis, Andrew Stevens, Surendra Bisht and Megan Norsdvan.
Andrew Stevens (President)
Andrew has extensive business
experience from various countries
and was an executive director on the
board of a successful engineering and
manufacturing business.
In 2012 Andrew migrated to Australia
with his wife and two daughters, Kalini
and Navina who were accepted into
Perth Modern School, where they are
now in Years 11 and 9 respectively. He
has enjoyed overseas postings in 18
countries during which he employed
and managed local staff and as a
result, believes in acting with respect
and empathy towards all cultures and
religions. Andrew has been active
in the P&C since February 2012 and
nominated for president in February
2013. He believes that provision of
facilities enriches the pupil’s educational
experience and hopes to deliver funds
for that aim.
Sujay Karkhanis
(Vice-President)
Sujay works for Woodside Energy Ltd.
He has a Master of Engineering
qualification and significant experience
in Engineering and Oil and Gas projects
both overseas and in Australia. He
also has some experience of teaching
engineering students in Australia. Sujay
migrated from India to Australia in 1994.
After getting married to Shilpa, he lived
in Melbourne for 10 years and moved to
Perth in 2005. They have a son Mandar
who is in Year 9 at Perth Modern School.
The family are keen participants in various
school activities and are very proud to be
associated with the School. Sujay is keen
to make a difference to the school by his
involvement in P&C.
Megan Nordsvan (Treasurer)
Megan has an undergraduate degree
in Business and has worked in and
with Local Government finance and
administration in both NSW & WA since
leaving school.
She now provides accounting assistance
to Country Local Governments remotely.
Megan has been a member of P&C since
mid-2014, and is happy to be able to
volunteer her professional skills in the
role of Treasurer. Megan, husband Glenn,
daughters Amy and Katie live in Henley
Brook and regularly indulge in the delights
that the Swan Valley offers. In her spare
time and as a break from financial work
Megan works at a small Italian family
winery in Caversham, and along with
Glenn aspire to develop their acreage into
a self-sufficient patch.
Surendra Bisht (Secretary)
Surendra is an engineer by profession
who migrated to Australia in 2010
following an illustrious career as an
Officer with Indian Railways. Surendra has been the Secretary of the
Perth Modern School P&C Committee
for the last two years since his twin sons
joined the Academic Selective Program.
Surendra, through his role as the P&C
Secretary, aspires to be involved in various
school activities and is willing to contribute
in the development of the School.
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Student Voices
Perth Modern School has many talented writers across Years 7–12. From travel writing to short stories, poetry and even
political commentary, student voices shine through in their creativity. Here is a selection of some of their work.
Bush, suburb, city
BRYONY GLASS, YEAR 12
This piece received a ‘Highly Commended’ in the Tim Winton Award for Young Writers.
My arms are long and they’re white and
they sway. My hair is green and lush. My
eyes are everywhere.
My ears pick up every sound and song and
speech. My body touches the sky, but I don’t
loom. I stand.
My feet know the ground.
I don’t know the real you.
See; the bush. A description. I am young
now. All my friends are here. There’s a
constant chatter of the black birds with their
hidden sunset tails and their blushing yellow
cheeks as they rest along my arms and
cackle loudly with the laughing fowl who’s
always so happy to be. Around us is brown
and green and grey and it glows from the
sun. There’s long fingers that rise from the
ground and they’re red. They’re a pattern,
the spirals, and the claws that match the
paws of the kangaroo who lounge in the
shade by my side. The dingo protects and
respects. The bush is endless around us, and
envelops us. We are. Together.
And there’s you, in your small timber cabin
to my right, and it’s pillowing a rough
smoke. It smells of my friends. And the
meat cooking in your fireplace is from the
kangaroos that fell down with a bang that
hurt my ears, as the others ran away while
shrieking in fright. The talking birds and
the laughing birds, they cower and then fly
away. They’re too scared to stop you.
See; the suburb. A description. I am middleaged. My friends are gone. I still stand,
but now I am in a garden. The grass steals
the green from my hair, the picket fence
is whiter than my arms, there’s piss on my
feet; the dingo is a dog now. The chattering
birds, their sunset tails, with their laughing
friends, are all black. Their sound is ugly, they
feast on the dead and watch you with beady
eyes. Behind me there’s a house of metal,
bone, and behind that is a wire skeleton
where you hang cloth in the sweltering sun.
Your child, sitting in a boxed sandpit, picking
its nails, not knowing where the freedom is
as you hit me with flying red spheres so hard
they hurt.
And there’s you, in your hard hat, and it’s
yellower than the sun. It blinds me.
And the big pages in your fists show the
detail and they rustle and it drowns out the
The Sound of Tranquillity
sounds. You’re speaking and it carries on the
wind that you curse as it steals your plans.
The wind is trying to stop you.
See; the city. A description. I am older now. I
don’t remember. Your child became you. He
moved away. Now on either side of me are
roads. They’re black. They’re sad. They burn
with the heat of the sun. The nasty black
birds have gone. Now they are greedy white
ones with grey wings and white feet. The
houses are gone. Suddenly I’m small. There
are buildings that tower taller than I’ll ever
be. Glass.
And there’s you, in your metal boxes that are
cold inside. They remind me of what you’re
like as they poison the air, feed out of the
ground and burn their feet on the bitumen.
No one is there to stop you.
My arms are short. They’re grey. They’re stiff.
My hair is dry. Gone. I don’t want my eyes.
My ears pick up every motor. Mower. Moan.
My body is smothered by the sky. And I
don’t stand. I lean.
My feet are stuck in the ground.
I know the real you.
GIULIA VILLA, YEAR 11
This story won The West Australian Young Travel Photojournalist Contest.
There were many aspects of Japan I
wasn’t prepared for. I wasn’t prepared
for the cold, for a start. I wasn’t prepared
for the lack of English speakers, nor
was I prepared for the deliciousness of
Japanese food. But most of all, I wasn’t
prepared for the silence.
Quiet is an adjective I never would have
associated with Japan and its 127 million
people, let alone with its capital city. I
wouldn’t go as far as to describe Tokyo as
relaxing, with its constantly flashing screens
and the trucks that circle the busy roads,
decorated with life-size renditions of pop
stars, blasting music. However, standing in
a temple, strolling through market stalls or
simply taking a seat amongst commuters
on the metro, one becomes immersed in a
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stillness that is so peaceful, it’s almost eerie.
Even at the Tokyo Skytree, faced with the
breathtaking scene from 630 metres above
ground, something struck me as peculiar.
What I could see couldn’t have been
compared to the view from the top of the
Empire State Building, or the Eiffel Tower. I
wasn’t overwhelmed with a rush of life and
movement. On the contrary, the city gave
off an aura of calm and tranquillity, as if time
had stopped. The dizzying colours of the
screens were muted from that far up, and
the silence reached deafening levels.
The next day, leaving Tokyo behind, I
entered an even more surreal world:
the Japanese countryside. The almost
imperceptible whirr of the bullet train was a
NEWS October 2015
melodic accompaniment to the landscape
that whizzed by, unperturbed.
It was drizzling when we arrived in Kyoto.
The smell of rain on concrete seemed to
mingle well with the historic feel of the city.
I wondered how many stories it had to tell,
how many feet had walked the same streets
as me. The places around me seemed to
breathe and sigh and whisper forgotten
tales that lived only within the walls of the
temples or buried under the roots of the
cherry blossom trees. When we arrived at our
Ryokan, a traditional Japanese hotel, a kind
kimono-clad lady offered us some green tea.
‘Good for soothing the nerves,’ she said. I
politely shook my head. At that point, I don’t
think I had anything left to soothe.
Das Graffiti
Königreich
Viridi
ISABELLE HOW, YEAR 12
JULIA SEITZ, YEAR 9
The town is like a fairytale. The Oak and Willow trees being
giants that have decided to protect
the kingdom, as long as it may last.
Long winding paths lead to secret
gardens, and hundreds of acorns cover
fluorescent grass.
Ancient bakeries line the corners,
creating a strong scent of yeast along
the streets as you follow the intricately
designed houses, layers of paint
peeling off the side of the brick walls. But Kingdoms are not perfect, they
can be broken down with glass bottles.
Cigarette smoke hovers, clouding the
minds and breaking the fair maidens
that sit outside Starbucks. Graffiti lines the corridors where the
majority of the elderly population
walk. The lack of youth is clear, and
those youth are suppressed by the
ideas of the ancient. The citizens are
scared of war and invasion. They try to run away from the
Kingdom, but they are also scared of
the outside world. They circled her.
Their dark grey pelts seemed to melt into
the mist, turned insubstantial in the writhing
cloud. She stood still, her eyes closed. Her
hair cascaded down, blacker than midnight
amongst the shades of twilight. The girl
wore only a shift, luminous blue in colour,
and the hair on her arms made her skin
appear as mottled as a series of hills viewed
from a great distance. They continued
circling her, heads down, ears back.
The girl took a breath, hair moving away
from her face as she exhaled. There was
something strange, but familiar, in the
planes of her profile. Suddenly, her eyes
snapped open. Green eyes, brighter than
purest emerald, gazed out around dark,
star-shaped pupils.
RUSSELL WATT, YEAR 12
Perth Modern School students regularly contribute to an online
publication, called The Cactus Magazine (perthcatcus.com).
This blog entry is just one of many on the site.
Not many people know that the amateur and professional astronomy
scenes are pretty big in Perth. Fewer know that they’re large enough to
warrant having two state-of-the-art optical telescopes in the heart of Perth.
And next to no one knows that these telescopes are available for anyone
who wants to access them through the wonders of the internet.
The project was developed through
the UWA SPICE initiative, a program
designed as a secondary teacher’s
enrichment program, in order to give
high school students an opportunity to
expand their scientific horizons. SPIRIT
was designed to give students a chance
to make their own discoveries, in one
of the only fields that still has room for
amateur discovery: astronomy.
Before you even take any images, you’ll
need to download a program like
Stellarium. This allows you to see what’s
in the sky in Perth at the time you’ve
booked to use the telescope.
You can use the NGC number, and
the telescope will track the object for
you, but you’re far better off using the
co-ordinates, which are conveniently
given to you in Stellarium. Good objects
to image are Orion’s Nebula, or the
Sombrero Galaxy.
Again. And again. And again.
SPIRIT: An eye on the skies of Perth
I am, of course, talking about the two
SPIRIT (SPICE Physics ICRAR Remote
Internet Telescope) telescopes, that sit
on top of the UWA Physics Building.
Giulia Villa in Japan.
Their golden eyes seemed to glow in the
half-light as they paced. One way. Then the
other.
Taking photos on the
telescope is more an
art form than a skill.
Taking photos on the telescope is more
an art form than a skill. It requires a lot
of trial and error, and fiddling around
with settings, but you will always have
overexposed images on your first go.
To help avoid overexposing, don’t take
photos on the night of a football game,
and generally try to take pictures of
objects to the south, where there’s less
light pollution from the city.
Both the telescopes carry a variety of
different lenses in order to capture the
different wavelengths of light that come
from stars, galaxies and nebulae. Most
people wonder why this is needed,
but in the world of astronomy, the
only photos you can take are in black
and white. Of course, with some basic
Photoshop skills, and use of colour
channels, you can create colour images,
but it takes a bit of effort and skill.
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21
Fulfilling Lives: Staff Profiles
Natasha Harlond
Finance Officer and Food Connoisseur
‘I have been at Perth Modern School since 2012. I enjoy the sense of community at
Mod as well as the variety of activities around the school. It is never dull.
My primary role at Perth Modern School is
a Finance Officer, which entails amongst
other things processing payments for school
excursions and camps. In addition to this I
process payments for the external creditors
who provide goods and services to the
school. I also help with assembling student
reports and any general enquiries that come
through.
Outside of work, when it is warm, I like to go
kayaking, camping and fishing. In winter I
like going to the football—go Eagles! When
I have time I like to read comedy novels
and biographies. In the past I used to play
netball, now I limit myself to coaching my
youngest daughter’s Net-Set-Go team. I am
married and have three daughters aged
20, 17 and 9. I also have a dog, a cat, two
budgies and four fish.
Whilst I find cooking dinner every night a bit
dull I do enjoy cooking and experimenting
with new recipes and techniques. Often
on weekends my daughters and I will
get together in the kitchen just to cook
something we have never tried before. I
find desserts the most challenging and
time consuming. In the past I have cooked
Adriano Zumbo’s croquembouche and
Heston Blumenthal’s Apple Arlette, which
took two days including 12 hours slow
cooking the apples in the oven.
Every year I go to the Gourmet Escape
in Margaret River as well as smaller food
festivals around Perth. As a fan of Heston
Blumenthal’s cooking I was lucky enough
to secure a reservation in the ballot for a
meal at The Fat Duck in Melbourne in July.
I went with my mother, cousin and one of
my daughters. This was truly a once in a
lifetime experience. It is always interesting
to try new flavour combinations and whilst
I’m not a big fan of fish it was certainly
Natasha at Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck
restaurant in Melbourne.
different to have salmon poached in vanilla
with a liquorice gel. The lunch went for five
hours and we were served 17 courses. The
general consensus was that the Botrytis
Cinerea which appeared in the Masterchef
Grand Finale was the most memorable.
Surprisingly the dish I was most sceptical
about, snail porridge, turned out to be one
of the best. I can certainly see why he is
famous for it.’
Celia takes music teaching to an
exceptional level
Celia Christmass has followed the same path as her father, John
Christmass, and become a music teacher at Perth Modern School.
It is a job she has relished making her own.
Celia Christmass
Perth Modern School Music Teacher
‘I first taught at Mod on teaching practice as a UWA Music
Education student in 1987, then, was fortunate enough to become
a staff member here the following year.
Celia Christmass with Year 10 Music students David Yoo, Nathanael Crouch, Zachary Xiao, Abigail Campbell-Young and Kira O’Dell.
Apart from one year at Kelmscott Senior
High, six months at Lesmurdie High, one
term at Scotch College and two years
overseas studying I’ve been here ever since.
Teaching music and directing musical
ensembles provides an opportunity to develop
a unique working relationship with students
and colleagues. Working together towards a
common goal and experiencing musical highs,
and lows, as part of a musical team creates
an extraordinary bond and sense of trust
between the members of that team.
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Music has given me a sense of purpose
throughout my life. As an individual
performer, as an ensemble member and
ensemble director, as a student and as a
teacher, music has provided me with a sense
of achievement and fulfilment. My closest
friends are ones with whom I share a musical
background.
The most enjoyable and rewarding
challenge in my professional life is to be
able to demonstrate to a student who has
little faith in their own ability to sing/play
NEWS October 2015
that they are able. Sometimes this involves
a lengthy and persistent ‘battle’ on behalf
of student and teacher but a battle that is
invariably proven so very worthwhile.
Outside of school I have my own choir
for children called Aaralyn, which means
beautiful melody or song. I formed it initially
for primary aged students but it currently
has membership of students from Years 4
to Year 9. I continue to have singing lessons
myself and teach for the Kodaly Music
Education Institute of Australia.
Farewell
Mr Steve Lowry
My dad, John, was a frightening task master
as a piano teacher and I regret that I never
made significant progress as a pianist
under his tutelage. I did, however, gain a
very strong background in music theory
that stood me in good stead throughout
my high school years. I’ve sung in choirs
directed by Dad at school and university and
worked professionally with him in the Best
of British and New Year’s Eve productions
that he mounted annually. I learned a
strong sense of discipline as a chorister from
Dad and I envy him his energy and always
optimistic outlook. In his eyes anything is
possible! More than any of his numerous
musical achievements I admire in Dad his
genuine and practical concern for family
and friends who need support and care.’
John Christmass
Former Perth Modern School Senior Master (Music)
‘I first became interested in music when I was six or seven years of age. Music has
taken me to Melbourne to study at the Uni Conservatorium, to China, Japan, South
Korea with groups and three tours of Germany with I Voci.
As a music teacher, I enjoyed the musical
repertoire but the interaction with
interested kids was fantastic and many of
them remain my friends to the present day.
I was appointed to Perth Mod in 1967, its
first year as a special music school, and was
placed in charge as Senior Master (Music)
the following year with a brief to make sure
it succeeded.
My biggest achievements are starting a
music program at Churchlands Senior High
School, the Mod program, the Pygmalion
theme production, the choral concert at
the Concert Hall (the only one ever staged
there) and founding and running I Voci
for 35 years. I also conducted the ANZAC
Service for 50 years, founded the ‘Best of
British’ concert series which ran for 23 years
and the New Year Vienna Pops concert
which ran for 25 years and raised half a
million dollars for Rotary charities.
In Northam I ran a private studio, founded
children’s and adult choirs, staged operettas
and brought shows from Northam to Perth
with success.
Mr Lowry was known for his great
enthusiasm for the teaching
and learning of Geography, his
extensive and eclectic knowledge
of Social Science and genuine
interest in providing students
with a range of opportunities
beyond the classroom. The school
community wishes him all the best
in retirement.
Above: Steve Lowry.
I stay involved in music nowadays by
listening to Classic FM a
great deal, undertake a
little teaching and try my
hand at composition.
I am delighted Celia has
chosen to follow in my
footsteps and believe
she has surpassed my
choral efforts with a
huge range of repertoire,
many groups and the
highest standards, plus
innovative choreography.
I hope my love of choral
music flowed on to Celia
and that it inspired her to
greater heights. Celia has
inspired me with a wider
range of choral work. I
am very proud of Celia’s
integrity, hard work
and outstanding choral
expertise.’
John Christmass when he was Senior Master of Music at Perth Modern School.
Social Science teacher Steve
Lowry has retired after a 38-year
career with the Department of
Education, many of which were
spent at Perth Modern School.
Meet our new
Head Boy and Head Girl
Congratulations to our Head Boy
for 2016, Brandon Boccola and
Head Girl, Nhi Danh. Brandon and
Nhi are looking forward to serving
the school community in their new
roles.
Nhi Danh and Brandon Boccola.
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23
Sustainability ‘I’ Form 2015 – Empowering Young Environmentalists
ROSEMARY BURTON, EYE COORDINATOR
Hey look at my cucumber! This year the Sustainability form received a shock when
we returned to school to find that the garden was bursting with life. Cucumbers,
watermelons and rockmelons galore, we waded through the weeds to uncover the
fruits of our labour.
The visit to the Resource Recovery Centre
was the ideal introduction to our Earth
Carers course which took place over five
consecutive advocacy periods. The focus for
the course was to get students involved with
positive environmental actions so that they
could make a difference both at home and
at school.
Amy, Nabila and Libby who are Earth Carers
from the Western Metropolitan Regional
Council, led hands-on sessions which began
with rubbish sorting and progressed to
making compost, beeswax lunch wraps and
home-made deodorant. Students also had
home challenges to complete in order to
graduate as Earth Carers. Ten students are
now fully accredited Earth Carers who are
able to volunteer for Earth Carers at events
such as the Royal Show.
Right: Sorting waste.
Below: Learning how to make our own deodorant.
Summer Bailey-Kerber, Dmitri-Coco Kain, Vivian Luu and Jordyn Odenko.
So far this year we have been very busy in
our garden and in organising our wildly
successful second hand stall for Mufti Day.
The focus of this stall was recycling and
promoting sustainable practices within our
community. Members from the Food Science
class also used rhubarb from our garden to
make pies to sell on Mufti Day. Throughout
the course of the year we hope to integrate
produce from our garden into the café and
plant more natives. Next term we hope to
further promote recycling within the school
as we build our very own worm farm using
food scraps.
The second excursion was further afield to
the Canning Vale Resource Recovery Centre
where we were able to gain a real insight
into the problems that waste produces
for Perth. We saw the whole process from
the general recycling trucks entering the
facility and depositing the household
garbage into the two giant composters,
to the recycling facilities for plastic, paper,
wood and metal. Materials that cannot be
recycled or composted are sent to a landfill
site, which like all of the current Perth landfill
sites, is filling fast. It was a real eye-opening
experience for all the students.
Our continuing drive to become a more
‘Sustainable School’ saw 12I students go
on two excursions, both of which were
made possible by a generous grant from
Subiaco City Council. The first excursion
was to buy plants and supplies from the
Subiaco Bunnings store. We were fortunate
enough to be guided in our plant, seedling
and garden supplies selection by Ben the
horticulturalist. These were then planted in
the raised garden beds and the native part
of the school garden, where they are all
growing well.
Sarah Sun, Jina Anh, Jordyn Odenko,
Vivian Luu, Summer Bailey-Kerber with
Amy and Libby from Earth Carers.
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Top: Filling the school compost bin.
Above: Making beeswax wraps.
Another initiative was to plant a tree in
the school grounds as part of the Planet
Ark/Bunnings partnership for Plant a
Tree Day. The Subiaco Bunnings store
donated a Crepe Myrtle tree to the
school. Amy Kim and Summer BaileyKerber did the hard work and planted
the tree near to the tennis courts, where
it should provide a spectacular floral
display later in the year.
Amy Kim and Summer Bailey-Kerber planting the
Crepe Myrtle tree donated by Bunnings.
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25
Year 11 Dinner Dance a Night to Remember
Photography by Bliss Studio.
The Dinner Dance for Year 11
students held at AQWA on Friday,
18 September was certainly a night
to remember! Students looked
fabulously stylish in their fashionforward outfits, as they danced the
night away to retro and some more
modern-day hits.
There were lots of laughs as teachers
attempted their best dance moves,
which were a little hit or miss. It was an
enjoyable evening of fun, friendship
and style.
Brandon Boccola and Esther Allan.
Aron Hamiltion, Alistair Langston, Samual Addison and Kyle Bartlett.
Annie Vu and Kaizan Xia Wei Hong.
Phylicia Suhartono and Sean Bong.
Nicola Thomas and Veronica Tan.
Below: Back row: Annie Tran, Elizabeth Knight, Joshua
Lindsay and Sarah Conlin.
Middle row: Jake Ellwood, Samuel Roberts, Lachlan
Goddard and Joseph Gooding. Front row: Radheya
Jegatheva and Menso Jagtenburg.
Georgia Crowe, Emily Lyon and
Stephanie Beckham.
Anuradha Venugopal and James Colasanthe.
Joshua Ong, Kalini Stevens, Alexander Israel and Riley Houlahan.
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Students reminded to ask R U OK?
R U OK? Day is the national day of action dedicated to reminding people
to regularly check in with family and friends.
R U OK? Day is an initiative of the R U OK? Foundation, a not-for-profit
organisation commited to encouraging all people to regularly and
meaningfully ask ‘Are you ok?’ to support those struggling with life.
The Perth Modern School Student Council organised a fun day of activities
for R U OK? Day, with students donating a gold coin for free dress to help
highlight the importance of mental health, community connectedness and
showing care for others.
A total $1686.90 was raised, which was donated to the R U OK? Foundation.
Above: Matilda Anderson and Medha Agarwal.
Left: Jack Moore, Sean Li, Veronica Tan and Stephen Wild.
Below: Leticia Tan and Sophia Park.
Caitlin Quick, Luke Winter, Zacharia Winter and Logan Frost.
Right: ViVi Phan-Tran and Phylicia
Suhartono.
Above: Aryan Sharma and William Dronfield.
Right: Sonia Lal, Elizabeth Marsh, Eve Fitzpatrick,
Nimisha Thomas, Alice Colvin, Jenny Ngo, Shae Davies
and Alex Bowers.
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27
Brown slices the opposition and Sampson takes the cake
The House Bake-Off was a recipe for success this year with the largest number of entries
ever received! The Years 11 and 12 House representatives plus lots of willing staff members
had the tough task of overloading on sugar to judge the winners.
The results were very close. Congratulations to all the place getters.
Overall Winning House
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Brown
Parsons
Downing
Sampson
Right: Mathilda Hunt with her
watermelon cake.
Cakes: Individual Winners
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Pooja Ramesh
(Sampson)
Andrew Minto
(Parsons)
Wendy Qu
(Parsons)
Ella De Bruyn
(Downing)
Overall Cake winners
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Sampson 100
points
Parsons 75
points
Downing 50
points
Brown 25
points
Slices and Biscuits: Individual Winners
First
Second
Third
Claudia Walton
McDermott
(Brown)
Hayley Andrews Anneliese Ng
(Parsons)
(Downing)
Fourth
Alex Van Shie
(Sampson)
Some of the delicious creations entered into the House Bake-Off.
Joseph Parsons Library
The Joseph Parsons Library celebrated books lighting up our world during Book Week
in August.
The Curtin Travelling Science Show enthralled
students with their popular Optical Illusions
Expo. Students could choose from a whole
range of optical illusion activities spaced out
around the library and really test their skills and
understandings about how we see the world.
Dymocks Morley booksellers came in to give
students the opportunity to choose new books
for the library during Book Week. Dymocks
brought in a wide range of books and talked
about new releases to Year 8 English classes
who then got to browse through the books and
select those that they would like to read.
Can you help?
Missing Plaque
The Perth Modernian Society is
seeking the return of a plaque that
was once displayed outside the gates
of Thomas Street Primary School,
which is now the Stokes Building.
The plaque honours former students
who died in the battlefields of World
War I. If you have any information
on the missing plaque please
contact the Perth Modernian
Society on (08) 9487 1192 or visit
perthmoderniansociety.org.au.
Optical illusions: Emma John, Talola John and Senuri
Manikdiwela.
Dymocks Book Fair.
Perth Modernian Society Vice President
Sallie Davies with a replica of the missing
plaque.
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Perth Modernian Society Annual Reunion and Concert
PERTH MODERNIAN SOCIETY
The Concert
2015 marked the centenary of the formation of a Perth Modern School Orchestra,
Western Australia’s first school instrumental ensemble comprising 1915 teachers
and students at the School and this was highlighted in the program.
This year the Perth Modern School Music Department presented performances by the
Perth Modern School Wind Orchestra and the Perth Modern School Symphony Orchestra
which once again delighted the audience representing graduate years from 1933–2011.
A donation of $1000 to was presented to Orchestra Director Neil Coy for the Perth Modern
School Music Department in appreciation of the wonderful performance.
Acting President’s Address—extract
Vice president Annemie McAuliffe (nee Davies), student 1965–69
Welcome to the 2015 Annual Reunion, just 20 years since our incorporation. Our Annual
Reunion is the Society’s way of thanking all our members for their support and we want
you all to have a great time. The Perth Modernian Society is a collegiate of and for ALL
past students and staff. What does that mean for each and every one of us?
Perth Modern School Reunion Concert.
‘I attended the Annual Reunion and Concert
last Saturday. It was wonderful to see the
school as it is today and to be entertained by
the superb orchestras and be served a lovely
lunch. Thank you to the society for putting
on such an enjoyable occasion’
Jen Haselhurst (nee Lyall), student 1964-65
Don’t be afraid to become involved but we understand that continued involvement of
any kind is a personal choice. We need to think about ways to encourage past and present
students to take time from their increasingly busy lives.
The future of our Society depends on our capacity to engage our members. In order to do
this surely we have to ask the question of what engages us and inspires us to be involved?
What is our primary interest and aspiration? Undeniably every one of us is different with
different aspirations, inspired by different things.
Please tell us if you have ideas about how we might connect with all those Modernians
out there and what we should offer them. We ask you to encourage every one of our
alumni you know to get involved at whatever level.
MC Rebecca Dollery
Annemie was delighted to have the opportunity to thank Rebecca Dollery, our wonderful
special guest MC for the day. Rebecca attended Mod from 1997 until 2001, having
been selected to be part of the Music Scholarship group to study voice under the
tutelage of Mrs Elizabeth Pascoe. She joined the ABC in 2009 after working at a London
communications firm and is now a radio and television reporter, news reader and weather
presenter based in Perth.
Modernian Society Vice President
Annemie McAuliffe and Rebecca Dollery.
Former teacher Eric Strauss honoured
‘I think that Eric always retained an understanding of what it was to be an adolescent boy, and
tailored his teaching to harness the strengths and weaknesses of the species.’
Bill Macpherson, PMS student 1951–53
Principal Lois Joll invited Ann Strauss (nee Roberts), student 1947–48 to join Annemie in
unveiling a plaque in honour of her late husband. This will now be permanently mounted
alongside this new sports facility.
Plaque honouring former teacher Eric Strauss.
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29
2015 Senior School Arts Showcase
SALLY FLOYD, HEAD OF ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY
The annual Senior School Arts Showcase gives the school community an opportunity
to view the work our talented Arts students will present as part of their WACE
examinations.
The Photography and Visual Arts showcase opened in the Mills Building on Wednesday, 18
September, followed by Drama performances in the Casey Drama Centre. A light supper was
provided by our Year 11 ATAR Food Technology students.
Congratulations to the following students for their awards:
School Acquisition Artwork
Year 11 Highly Commended Artwork
Year 11 Most Outstanding Artwork
Year 12 Highly Commended Artwork
Year 12 Most Outstanding Artwork
Year 12 Highly Commended Photograph
Year 12 Most Outstanding Photograph
Alexander van Oss ‘Food Fight’
Lauryn Coombes ‘What Face Shall I Wear Today’
Stephanie Beckham ‘Cranium’
Cooper Fox ‘Heaven Must Have Sent You’
Kirsten Hoffman ‘House Anthropoids’
Owen McConney
Alexandra Watt
Stephanie Beckham Year 11 Most Outstanding
Artwork.
VISUAL ART
The Year 12 Visual Arts students exhibited
their final production pieces on the theme
of ‘Commentaries’. This exhibition was
the culmination of a year’s practical work.
The Year 11 students also displayed their
postmodern sculptural pieces reflecting the
theme ‘Identities’.
Kirsten Hoffman Year
12 Most Outstanding
Artwork.
Cooper Fox Year 12 Highly Commended Artwork.
Anuki Jagodage
Lois Affleck
Left: Louis Zhang
Right: Lauryn Coombes
Year 11 Highly
Commended Artwork.
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DRAMA
The Year 12 Drama
students performed
their Original Solo
Production (OSP), a
component of their
WACE Drama practical
examination. The OSP
is a culmination of their
drama understandings
as students undertake
the roles of dramaturge,
scriptwriter, designer,
actor and director in
creating an original
performance.
Patrick Morrison as Captain Cook in his WACE performance.
Top: Alexander van Oss School Acquisition Artwork.
Above: Naomi Cha.
PHOTOGRAPHY
The Year 12 Photography students
exhibited a collection of landscape images
professionally printed and framed, and
a collection of Environmental Design
portfolios that showcased fifteen A3 pages
of design work.
Alexandra Watt Year 12 Most Outstanding Photograph.
Owen McConney Year 12 Highly Commended Photograph.
Perth Modern School
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NEWS October 2015
31
It was raining gold at the 2015 House Athletics Carnival
TONI JONES, HEAD OF HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION
It felt more like a swimming carnival for much of the day at the 2015 House Athletics
Carnival with lanes one and two almost flooded.
The students were simply amazing, displaying resilience and offering few complaints as they
battled the elements including the rain, wind and briefly, lightning. The new ‘block of events’
format was a massive hit and subsequently provided all students with the opportunity to
participate in everything they wanted to compete in. The new Novelty Cup and team game
format saw more students than ever participating for their respective Houses.
Many students and staff displayed their house allegiance on their faces which was quickly
washed away but it in no way dampened their enthusiasm for the rigours of competition.
There was a dominant display of athletic prowess, however, by the team wearing ‘yellow’. Not
only did Downing smash their competitors on the track, but they also proved that they had
the weight of numbers in the novelty events, taking out the inaugural Novelty House Cup as
well. Congratulations to all students who participated.
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Perth Modern School
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2015 House Athletics Carnival Results
Runner Up
Champion
Year 7 Girls
Elia Fatin (D)
130 points
Danielle Rhia (D)
194 points
Year 7 Boys
Ryan Kim (B)
123 points
Lachlan McNeil (P)
181 points
Year 8 Girls
Chidera Oyemade (S)
149 points
Tyara Aung (D)
152 points
Year 8 Boys
Lachlan McDonald (S) Morgan Fletcher (D)
127 points
201 points
Year 9 Girls
Catherine Hill (P)
128 points
Georgia Burden (D)
151 points
Year 9 Boys
Kiran Tibballs (P)
111 points
Tyler Mathewson (P)
160 points
Year 10 Girls
Lara Ilievski (S)
167 points
Danielle Spicer (S)
195 points
Year 10 Boys Arun Jha (P)
131 points
William Bailey (D)
145 points
Open Girls
Nicola Thomas (D)
133 points
Caitlin Revell (D)
198 points
Open Boys
Jordan Power (B)
123 points
John Newcombe (P)
161 points
Overall Champion House – Champion Cup
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Downing
3349
Parsons
3103
Sampson
3094
Brown
2252
Overall Champion House – Novelty Cup
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Downing
462
Sampson
386
Brown
363
Parsons
360
Perth Modern School
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NEWS October 2015
33
Senior Touch Rugby
ADELE WILLIAMS, YEAR 12
Sunny skies featured on the day of the Senior Rugby Competition. The Year 11
Physical Education studies class made up one of the two boys’ teams and contributed
three students to the girls’ team.
The teams had trained for all of Term 3
with a specialist coach and member of the
Australian Junior Touch team, Alex Turvik.
The other boys’ team featured students from
Years 10–12 selected by Mr Sonder-Sorensen
and had been training since the beginning
of the year.
The Senior Girls’ team had come together a
couple of days before the tournament and
was made up of willing learners and some
with a little more experience. Considering
their hurried beginning, placing third in their
pool was a great outcome.
The competition included specialist touch
rugby schools and it was great to see our
teams taking the challenge right to them.
Each Perth Mod team had some wins and
some losses with everybody having a
wonderful time.
Senior Touch Rugby Girls’ team. Back: Danielle Spicer, Laura Boyle, Pia Durk, Darcy Stirling and Nicola Thomas.
Front: Adele Williams, Victoria Holman and Bridgette Mularcyzk.
North of the River
Junior Basketball Championships
ADELE WILLIAMS, YEAR 12
During the qualifying rounds of the North of the River Junior Basketball
Championships, the Boys’ teams finished fifth and eighth and the Girls’ B team
finished fifth.
We saved our best for last though as the
Girls’ A team dominated the qualifiers. Nine
very excited Year 9 girls, two dedicated
referees, three coaches and Mr Forte made
the trek down to the State Basketball Centre
for the Finals. The three matches in the
initial pool were back to back, with the
team performing outstandingly to finish
in first position in the pool and eventually
fourth overall. This is a great achievement,
considering they were playing against
schools with West Australian Basketball
League (WABL) players.
Tyler Mathewson and Lara IIievski.
Tyler and Lara
go for Gold
Tyler Mathewson in Year 9 and Lara
Ilievski in Year 10 have won gold
medals in the International Athletics
Championships held in Kuala Lumpur.
Tyler won a bronze medal in the 400m and
anchored the WA team to gold in the 4 x
400m relay.
Lara won a gold medal in Javelin and a
bronze medal in Discus. She holds the
West Australian U15 record for Javelin and
she temporarily held the Australian Little
Athletics record for U15 Javelin.
West Australian
Volleyball League
Champions
MIKE BRUTTY,
VOLLEYBALL COORDINATOR
After losing to their arch nemesis
in a preliminary final a few
weeks earlier, the Year 12 Girls’
team rose to the occasion when
they came face to face again in
the West Australian Volleyball
League (WAVL) Grand Final.
Winning the championship
is a great reward for all the
commitment and dedication they
have shown towards training and
competing.
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Perth Modern School
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The WA Volleyball Schools Cup
Junior Girls
On the day of the Western Australia
Volleyball Schools Cup, the members
of the Junior Girls’ team were excited
to see how those early 7.30 am training
sessions would pay off.
By the end of the day, we had won three
of our four matches in straight sets, but
the most enjoyable match was our narrow
loss to the impressive team from Mercedes
College! Even though we would have loved
to win, we know we played well as a team
and pushed Mercedes all the way.
Tyara Aung, Year 8
Junior Boys
The Years 7 and 8 Girls’ team. Back row: Jasmine Hunt, Alexandra van Schie, Milly Petterson, Danielle Riha
and Waiira Zachariassen. Front row: Tyara Arung, Rachel Lim, Tessa Cliff and Akhilaa Kumar.
The Years 7 and 8 Boys’ team were playing in A-division so winning was always going
to require an exceptional effort.
In the end, they won three games and lost three. They learnt a lot throughout the competition
and are already eager to get back to training and step up their game to the next level.
The Seniors
The Year 10 Boys’ team worked very hard to finish top of their pool before winning
their B-division grand final in straight sets.
The Year 11 Boys’ team faced the hardest challenge and played exceptionally well against
teams with players in the state and national squads. The Year 12 Boys’ team impressed again,
finishing top of their pool in the honours division before losing to a very strong team from
Mandurah.
The Years 10 and 11 Girls’ team were pushed by some very strong teams and it was pleasing
to see them put all they had learnt this year into practice during the competition.
The Year 12 Girls’ team showed promising signs of improvement as they prepare for the
Australian Volleyball Schools Cup in Melbourne later this year.
Mike Brutty, Volleyball Coordinator
The winning Year 10 Boys’ team: Back Row: Shathish Nagulan, Brett Russell, Tasman Harris, Christopher
Guneratne, Nicholas Baxter and Mr Mike Brutty.
Front Row: Jasper Huynh, Simbarashe Makotsa, Riley Houlahan and Kevin Tran.
The Year 12 Boys’ team impressed
again, finishing top of their pool
in the honours division...
Aron’s stellar results
in Fencing
Aron Thian in Year 9 has
dominated the 2015 FencingWA
Finals, coming first in the
following events:
• U13 Foil Final
• U15 Mixed Foil Final
• U17 Foil Final.
Aron Thian
Perth Modern School
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NEWS October 2015
35
Next Generation Schools Program
RACHEL GUIZZO DRI, YEAR 9
Year 9 students enjoyed the chance to learn
about the Oil and Gas industry working with the
Next Generation Schools Program organised by
Petroleum WA. In groups, students selected to
specialise in one of the careers within the industry.
A variety of guest speakers spoke about their role in Oil
and Gas and explained how important the industry was
in our society. Some groups were then lucky enough
to get chosen to present their group work at Curtin
University and work through many fun and exciting
activities throughout the day. Curtin made sure to make
us feel very welcome by offering us a delicious shared
lunch with the other schools presenting there too. There
was even a lucky prize at the end to win an iPad!
Learning about Oil and Gas careers was a very exciting
and beneficial experience. Any preconceptions that this
industry was all about engineering careers evaporated
when it became clear that there is almost every career
represented in the resources industry from shot firer
(explosives experts!) to doctors and lawyers.
Above: Rachel Guizzo Dri, Clare Cheng, Adya Ranjan and
Jacinta Carroll.
Right: Clare Cheng and Adya Ranjan.
Back row: Rachel Guizzo Dri, Clare Cheng, Ja-Yee Loh, Kai Kurasho, Brian Chi, Eve Matson, Julia Seitz, Roisin Callery and Jemima Loveland.
Front row: Adya Ranjan, Gwynneth Tan, Charlotte McEwan, Jacinta Carroll and Catherine Hill.
Perth Modern School
Roberts Road, Subiaco, WA 6008
Tel: +618 9380 0555
Fax: +618 9380 0550
www.perthmodernschool.wa.edu.au
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Perth Modern School
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PerthModernSchool news Sep2015_7.indd

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