School Captains - Blackburn High School

School Captains
Joanna Alexander
Principal
Tristan Webb & Bonnie Hodge
Inside this issue
Page
Principals Student Advisory Group
From the Principal
1-2
Assistant Principal
3
As Principal, I believe it is important that student leaders are provided
Dunlop House
4-5 with an opportunity to have direct access to the Principal team about
Freeman House
6-7 issues relating to their school experience. This week, the Principal Team met
Hollows House
8-9 with the student leaders for the Principals’ Student Advisory Group breakfast
Melba House
10
where we discussed a range of issues relating to their school experience over
Teaching and Learning
11
scones and jam. The concept of improving the ‘student voice’ within our school
e-Learning
11
community is important because it facilitates the development of an inclusive
Sport News
12-13 learning environment where students feel that they are heard, valued and
respected. Photographs of our student leaders are proudly located at reception
Music News
14
and in the Principal’s Office.
Literacy News
15
Int. Exchange Program 16
School News
17
School Calendar
18
Please remember to
advise the relevant
House Assistant by
9:30am if your child
will be absent from
school
Melba—8804 6407
Freeman—8804 6408
Hollows—8804 6409
Dunlop—8804 6410
Music Dept: (Direct)
8804 6411
Term
1.
2.
3.
4.
Dates in 2015:
30/01—27/03
13/04—26/06
13/07—18/09
05/10—18/12
Next School
Council Meeting
Wed 16 Sept 2015
Issue 12 - 21 August 2015
Working Bee
On Sunday, the Assistant Principal Tim Dalton was joined by a small but very
determined group of parents who generously volunteered and participated in the
school’s working bee.
Parents were involved in weeding and planting around the school grounds that
improved the learning environment for all of our students. Involvement in schools
by parents and carers helps students achieve the best possible learning outcomes
and is a powerful symbol that helps to build strong bonds between the home and
school.
Acknowledgement of Carolyn Nette
On behalf of the Blackburn High School Community I would like to acknowledge
the outstanding contribution of Carolyn Nette as both a School Council President
and as a Councillor for the past decade. Carolyn stepped down as the Council
President last term following five years at the helm, where she demonstrated her
commitment to ensuring that we placed the students at the front and centre of
our decision making. She worked closely with the previous Principal Sandra
Woodman during a period of significant growth in student numbers, the
completion of the first stage of the building upgrade and the transformation to
the new organisational structure. In addition, Carolyn was a strong advocate for
the school’s herb garden and a keen participant in the working bees.
Blackburn High School
Telephone: +613 8804 6464
60 Springfield Road, Blackburn Vic 3130
Facsimile: +613 8804 6499
Website: www.blackburnhs.vic.edu.au
Email: [email protected]
From the Principal
cont.
Joanna Alexander
Principal
Debating at Blackburn High School
I am pleased to announce that Alyse Clarke has been appointed to the newly
created student leadership position of Debating Captain. Alyse will join the
other student leaders on the Principals’ Student Advisory Group.
Congratulations to Chris Mcduff for his work, passion and leadership of the Debating Program
at Blackburn High School. He ensured that our students have been able to pursue their
interest in public speaking. The Debating program has, this year, increased to six teams
across all divisions. The Year 7-12 students competed in the Debater's Association of Victoria
School Competition in the highly competitive Camberwell region. Individual team success
came across all grades, particularly with one Year 11 team finishing in equal third position,
and one of the Year 10 teams in equal fourth, after a total of 5 rounds. The competition
formally opens at Year 9 level, but our Year 7 students decided to take on the challenge and
learned so much through the experience of coming up against seasoned debaters. All of the
students grew throughout the year in terms of confidence, critical thinking, and speaking
ability, which was amazing to see. The Year 11 teams also traveled to Blackburn Primary
School to engage with the Grade 6 students and perform a debate and share their
experiences.
Chris is hoping to expand the program next year and encourage all students to consider the
opportunities for self-growth, both personally and academically that are available in
debating.
Symphonic Band Performance at the Victorian School Music Festival
I was privileged to be in the audience at the Victorian School Music Festival on Tuesday 18 th
August, where our Symphonic Band under the direction of Jemima Bunn brilliantly performed
songs from Lyndsay-Andrew Boysen Jr and the folk song suite no.3 by David Stanhope.
Feedback from the visiting expert was very positive and highlighted the solo performances as
well as the cohesion of the band. Congratulations to the students and to their teacher,
Jemima Bunn.
Page 2
Issue 12 - 21 August 2015
Assistant Principal
Jane Richards
Assistant Principal
Subject Selection
We are progressing through our subject selection timeline with most of the
students in Years 10-12 having now submitted courses for 2016. We have also
received elective information from students going into Year 9 in 2016. If your child has not
submitted their course preferences, they should do so promptly or they risk missing out on
subject choices. Developing a timetable is a complex process and we now need to develop
the blocks or groupings for each subject for Years 10-12. Sometimes this results in clashes
which is why students have reserve choices as part of their selections.
Students Not Returning in 2016
If your child is not returning in 2016, please advise your child’s House Admin Assistant so
that we can remove them from the lists and put in place the relevant information to ensure a
smooth transfer to their new school.
Volunteers
As the Principal team, we would like to acknowledge the work of all the parents and other
members of the community who give time to support programs at Blackburn High School. We
are grateful for the time and expertise provided by members of the Friends of Music (FoM),
School Council, Chaplaincy, those who assist with working bees and of course all the parents
who get students to school events and spend time supporting our school programs by being
audience members at concerts, debating and sporting events.
Student Leaders
Blackburn High School is fortunate to have such high calibre student leaders. Thank you to all
our student leaders for their work running our assemblies and providing valuable feedback to
the Principal team on what matters to them from a student perspective. We met with the
Student Advisory team this week for breakfast and enjoyed great discussions about school life
at Blackburn High School.
Uniform
We have reminded members of the community about expectations regarding our uniform in
the last two editions of the newsletter. We ask parents to assist us by ensuring that their child
has the appropriate uniform and wears it according to the guidelines. Students out of
uniform with a legitimate reason must bring a note from a parent or guardian explaining why
they are out of uniform and when they will be back in full school uniform to avoid
consequences for being out of uniform.
Vale Jenny Morrish
The Blackburn High School community
was saddened to learn of the death
last week of one of our class of 2001,
Jenny Morrish. Jenny was heavily
involved in the Music Program at
Blackburn High School and played
violin in the Symphony Orchestra and
was principal percussionist in the
Symphonic Band (see photo left) and
continued her love of music after
leaving school playing overseas and
with Orchestra Victoria. We extend our
condolences to Jenny’s family and
friends. The “Music for Jenny” tribute
event will be held at the Orchestra
Victoria hall 25 Albert Road, Drive
South, Albert in Albert Park on
Sunday, August 23rd, with funds raised
being split between the Alfred Hospital and the Peter McCallum lung cancer research
group. We have posted details of this event on our Compass system.
Page 3
Issue 12 - 21 August 2015
DUNLOP HOUSE NEWS
Claire Greve
Dunlop House Leader
“I have a conviction that it is only when we are put at full stretch that we can realise
our full potential’ Sir Edward
‘Weary’ Dunlop.
D5 Mentor
Group
Presentation
House Assistant:
Liga Darzins
8804 6410
NOTICES AND INFORMATION
As things settle down in to a more comfortable rhythm here in Dunlop after the
Fundraising Day and Weary Dunlop commemorations, we would like to remind you of
some very important school procedures.
SIGNING IN AND OUT
It is very important that all students coming late to school or having to leave early, do
so via the Sign In/Out book in Liga’s office. All students coming in late or leaving early
need to provide a parent note, a note on Compass or a parent telephone call to the
school.
Year 11 and 12 students leaving early on Wednesdays must also sign out.
This week we are sending home student absence letters, which list all of the periods
that a student has been marked absent from class. Please discuss these absences
with your students and advise the school of reasons for absence by completing the
details on the absence letter and returning it to Liga in the Dunlop office.
UNIFORM
Please continue to wear correct school uniform. A note must be provided, and a
uniform pass obtained from your Mentor Teacher or from the Dunlop Office if, for
unavoidable reasons, you are not able to wear full, correct winter uniform.
SUBJECT SELECTIONS FOR 2016
By now everyone should have submitted their online subject selections for next year,
including preferences for Year 9 Art, Technology and Sports units. If you have not
done so, please speak to your Mentor Teacher as soon as possible.
Please note that special forms are required for VCE students who will be studying Unit
3 and 4 Chinese, Chinese Advanced, Korean, Indonesian and Japanese as a
Second Language at an external Language School. P lease see Liga in the
Dunlop Office to get these forms.
Students intending to study Unit 3 and 4 EAL next year also need to complete a
special application form, which will be given to you in your Mentor Group sessions this
week. Please make sure you see your Mentor Teacher about this.
Page 4
Issue 12 - 21 August 2015
DUNLOP HOUSE NEWS
Claire Greve
Dunlop House Leader
“I have a conviction that it is only when we are put at full stretch that we can realise
our full potential’ Sir Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop.
MENTOR GROUP PROGRAM
The mentor group program this semester has included sessions on:







Looking after your health and mind
E-smart
Pathways options
Report reflections
Learning to learn
Engage with Asia activities
KLA activities, and more.
Mentor Groups have also had time to create their presentations to the rest of the
House and we thoroughly enjoyed the D4 Family Feud presentation last Friday, and
the D5 Deal or No Deal presentation last Tuesday.
House Captain
Sarah Turner
ALPINE SCHOOL
A special mention this week to five Dunlop students who are attending the Alpine
School for Student Leadership, living away from home for four weeks. It’s a great
opportunity for students to develop their social, interpersonal and leadership skills.
We look forward to hearing their stories when they return.
Keep up the good work Alice, Roy, Sophie, Faith and Jack.
Page 5
Issue 12 - 21 August 2015
Freeman House News
Geoff Vezey
House Leader
Student achievement.
Chloe Salter (Year 9) represented the school during the July
holidays at the Victorian Interschool State Championships. She
came first in the 80cm Combined Training on her pony Roy and
was awarded a State Championship rug.
House Assistant
Denise Strahan
Chloe is participating in dressage tests in her school uniform at State Championships.
See photograph below.
Chloe has been selected to represent Victoria at Nationals during the September
holidays in Sydney. Chloe will ride her pony Roy. She will be competing in
Elementary Dressage and Freestyle.
We wish Chloe and Roy well and look forward to hearing about her progress.
Mr Vezey— Freeman House Leader
Page 6
Issue 12 - 21 August 2015
Freeman House News
Geoff Vezey
House Leader
Student achievement.
Many students have made significant achievements recently.
Alyssa Forato won a class award for
The Night of the Notables.
Evita Liu was awarded a distinction in
University of NSW Science Competition.
House Captain
Andre Burborough
Lisa Woods and Luke Brito-Babapulle
were awarded School Athletic
Age-Champion medals.
Andrew Guo and Lazarus Pereira
won the Freeman attendance raffle.
Gabriella De Angelis won the poster award for
promoting a clean school
World Vision
Nick Hugo has been raising money for this cause by
getting to and from school and around school in a
wheel chair. Well done to Nick for this effort and raising
awareness of people who are confined to a wheelchair.
If you are able to sponsor a student and/or donate
please do.
http://www.40hourfamine.com.au/
Mr Vezey.
Page 7
Issue 12 - 21 August 2015
HOLLOWS HOUSE NEWS
Mark Pasquali
Hollows House Leader
BLACKBURN HIGH APPEARS ON FRED HOLLOWS
FACEBOOK PAGE
It was great to see a thank you to Blackburn High on the Fred Hollows Facebook
page. The Hollows Foundation would like as many people as possible to “like” the
page. Here is the excerpt of the text on the page.
“We love hearing what people do to support Fred. This inspiring group of
students from Blackburn High School in Victoria ran bake sales, sausage
sizzles and muffin days to support our sight-restoring work. They raised an
amazing $6600—outstanding effort guys, were amazingly proud of your hard
work!”
From Fred Hollows Facebook page 2015
House Assistant
Kaye Sampson
8804 6409
FANTASTIC MENTOR GROUP PRESENTATIONS
Congratulations to our last two Mentor Groups for their entertaining and informative
assembly presentations. Last week Mr Conte and H5 delivered a great presentation
about donating blood (they also presented this at Freeman assembly this week). This
week Ms Pennell and H6 did a fantastic blind food tasting competition. Please see
pictures below. The Mentor Group presentations have been well received. Well done
to all involved.
Page 8
Issue 12 - 21 August 2015
HOLLOWS HOUSE NEWS
Mark Pasquali
Hollows House Leader
NOT LONG TO GO FOR THE YEAR 12s!
Only 7 weeks to go for our Year 12s and over the next few newsletters
we will be featuring profiles of our Hollows graduation class of 2015. Here
are the first 6 this week.
House Captain
Lucy Fist
Name: Dylan Fulton
Been at Blackburn
Since: Y ear 7
What have you liked
about BHS?
The large variety of
opportunities provided
to me.
What are your plans
for next year?
Archaeology at
university, travel and pushing into seniors
with football umpiring
Favourite Subject? History
Favourite Food? Grandma’s Lamb
Casserole, Aaron’s dad’s fried rice
Favourite Colour (apart from Hollows
Green)? Red
Favourite Pet? Dog (Kelpie)
Name: Curt W ebb
Been at Blackburn Since: Y r 9
What have you liked about BHS? The
support of friendly staff members
What are your plans for next year?
Manager of EB Games
and radio trade and
Save at EB games.
Favourite Subject?
History
Favourite Food?
Chilli Con Carne
Favourite Colour
(apart from Hollows
Green)? P eriw inkle
Favourite Pet? Rock
Name: Holly M cCarthy
Been at Blackburn Since: Y r 7
What have you liked
about BHS?
The opportunities and
the people
What are your plans
for next year? Event
management course
Favourite Subject?
Food Tech
Favourite Food?
Anything with minced
beef
Favourite Colour
(apart from Hollows Green)? Orange
Favourite Pet? Dog(Dalmation)
Page 9
Issue 12 - 21 August 2015
Name: Kate Fyander
Been at Blackburn Since: Y r. 11
What have you liked about BHS? The
music and the people
What are your plans for next year?
Hopefully studying at Australian Institute
of Music
Favourite Subject?
Music Performance
Favourite Food?
Pasta
Favourite Colour
(apart from
Hollows Green)?
Purple
Favourite Pet? Dog
Name: Aisha P aetzold
Been at Blackburn Since: Y r 7
What have you liked about BHS? The
teachers and students I have met over
the years
What are your
plans for next
year? Go to uni to
study a Bachelor of
Education (Primary)
Favourite Subject?
Health, German
Favourite Food?
Chicken Schnitzel
Favourite Colour
(apart from
Hollows Green)? P urple and Blue
Favourite Pet? Dog
Name: Law rence Leung
Been at Blackburn Since: Y r 7
What have you liked about BHS?
Culture and environment
What are your plans for next year?
University—Commerce Degree
Favourite Subject?
Business
Management
Favourite Food?
Fried Rice
Favourite Colour
(apart from
Hollows Green)?
Blue
Favourite Pet? No
typical favourite
MELBA HOUSE NEWS
Martin Baxter
House Leader
Student Life
As a house that prides itself on its academic and co-curricular programs we know that there is
always something happening for students and the last few weeks have been no exception. We
have had our Age Champions from the Athletics Carnival, where we came a close second to
Hollows, again! They were:
Tristan Webb—Boys 20 Years
Issac Tuinauvai —Boys 17 Years
Niamh Mebalds—Girls 13 Years
In addition, here is a picture of Louise who is the Victorian Irish
Dancing State Champion 2015. She won the Championship last
weekend on Saturday August 8. If only we could arrange a House
Irish Dancing competition we might get to beat Hollows!
Finally, our Student Leadership group has been very active visiting
our community partners and are working with Ron Hansen,
Assistant House Leader, to plan how best to assist them in 2015.
The following reports will provide an insight to their thinking on
these matters.
House Assistant
Sally Bonnyman
8804 6407
M Baxter
Melba House Leader
Excursion to a local charity
House Captain
Graziella Estrada
On Thursday 13th of August, students of
the Melba leadership team visited the
Eastern Emergency Relief Network,
based in Mitcham. A short walk from
Mitcham station, the EERN is an
organisation dedicated to helping those
in need providing furniture, nonperishable food, toiletries, and other
essential items. The students were taken
on a guided tour around the warehouse
which was filled with tables, chairs,
bookshelves, and many other things. The
EERN collects these items through
donations, and people requiring these
come through a member agency and
receive them for free. Although the EERN
receives many furniture donations, there
are never enough toiletries or food, so
they cannot rely solely on donations and
must purchase these. Blackburn High
School has assisted with this in the past, collecting hundreds of toiletry items to pass on to
the EERN. We are eager to continue assisting those in need in the future, and hopefully we
can donate well into the thousands this year
Eamonn Field Melba Student Leader
“I t w as a really eye opening experience to learn about and experience the process
that goes into running the Relief Network. I’m excited to be helping a charity of such caring
and hardworking people”
Kerryn King. M6 Mentor Group Student Leader.
“Going on this excursion I have learned the effect that donating un-needed house hold items
such as foods, toiletries and furniture can have on a family that really needs it and that
making a donation can be a simple process.”
Graziella Estrada. Melba House Captain.
The people working at the EERN are volunteers and chose freely to spend their time sorting
through, and organizing goods to help those who greatly need it. To see the staff work in
person was a truly inspiring opportunity.
I feel that I speak for all the mentor leaders when I say that I highly anticipate the upcoming
fundraising day and especially after this excursion am excited to be working once again with
such an amazing charity.
Callum Gibson Melba Student Leader
The fundraising day for the EERN will be on Friday September 11.
Page 10
Issue 12 - 21 August 2015
Teaching & Learning
Shona McEnaney
Director of
Leaning and Teaching
I would like to take the opportunity to introduce myself as a member of the
Teaching and Learning Team at Blackburn High School. I am excited to be
part of a dynamic team who will be working to further improve the teaching
and learning opportunities for students at Blackburn High School.
In this role I will be working closely with the Principal team, other Directors of Learning
and Teaching, Arlene Roberts, Margaret Graham and Jemima Bunn and the Learning Area
Leaders for all the various subject areas within the school. Together we will form a
Curriculum Working Party to ensure that the curriculum choices and the delivery of these
within the classroom reflects high quality learning for all.
Our first step is to map our current curriculum to identify opportunities for further
enrichment and collaboration within and across our Faculty areas. The opportunities to
reflect and share our knowledge of practice from different perspectives helps to further
shape and enrich the nature of the teaching and learning environment in all classrooms.
My passion is high quality teaching and learning and the development of the academic,
social and wellbeing of all students. I look forward to being part of this process and will
keep you updated of our progress through these newsletter editions.
eLearning News
Margaret Graham
Director of Teaching and Learning
eLearning Coordinator
Return or Purchase of School Netbooks
As outlined in an earlier newsletter and via Compass newsfeed, we are
planning to sell our school netbooks to students who are currently in possession of them.
We would like to offer you the option of purchasing your child’s device at a cost of $50.
If you choose to purchase your child’s device they will remain connected to the school
server and have access to most of the programs they have currently whilst enrolled at
the school. Please note that some software will be removed at time of purchase due to
licensing issues. Once your child has left the school the programs and operating system
on the device will remain active for up to 90 days, after this time you will need to
purchase the software you require.

Details of the purchasing process have been uploaded to Compass newsfeed.
If you decide NOT to purchase your child’s device it will need to be returned to the school
by September 4th. At this point we will organize a refund of your deposit minus any
damage costs. There will be no refund for devices which are not purchased or returned by
the due date plus these devices will have software removed and be removed from having
access to our school network.
If you are planning to return the netbook and purchase a new device for your child we
would encourage you to purchase a Microsoft Surface or ACER device as per our BYO
Device school policy.
The full policy booklet can be found on the school website and on Compass under the
Community -School Documentation tab.
http://www.blackburnhs.vic.edu.au/curriculum/bring-your-own-device-program/
Page 11
Issue 12 - 21 August 2015
Music News
Upcoming
Events
Term 3:
26 Aug
Intermediate Big
Band
27 August
Junior Big Band
28 August
Senior Jazz Orchestra
3-5 September
SNR Music Camp
29Aug—5 Sep
RSS Performances
17 September
Senior Ensembles
Concert
Jemima Bunn
Director of Music
JNR BAND @ VICT. SCHOOL MUSIC FESTIVAL – Tuesday 30 July
The Junior Band, conducted by Ingrid Martin, performed at the Victorian
School Music Festival on Thursday 30 July. They represented the school
beautifully, being the wonderful group of people they are. Thanks to Ingrid
for stepping in this term after Wyana O’Keeffe left us to move to Canberra.
The group has worked with their new conductor only twice before going to
Festival.
The band received a Platinum Award for their performance, the highest
possible, scoring 'outstanding' ratings against almost all musical criteria.
After they played they worked onstage with an adjudicator to polish aspects
of their playing further, and heard two other bands perform in the historic
Hawthorn Town Hall. This was a very exciting way to begin Term 3 and we
are looking forward to further musical growth over the coming weeks.
MUSIC CAMP – JNR Strings, JNR Band, Concert Band – 3–5 August
The Music Department has returned from a wonderful few days at
Rutherford Park with Junior String Orchestra, Junior Band and Concert Band.
We left with an ‘air of excitement’ returning with ‘a sense of satisfaction of a
job well done!’ Aside from room 19 and 20 – the students were well
behaved and courteous to all. Aside from their work in their ensembles,
they were challenged in smaller groups to rehearse and perform a set work
for adjudication, to test their skills in trivia and Spicks and Specks. It was
great to see leaders emerge from our ranks – some expected, some
surprising – and to see the entire camp work together, with everyone
pitching in and working towards a high level of music making.
Thanks to conductors Robyn Carrington, Ingrid Martin and Sue Wedding;
and to all the staff who attended - Dave Palmer, Adrienne Ferre, Ron
Hansen, Sandra Birze, Andy O’Connell, Brendan Smith, Sean Hamilton.
GLEN WAVELEY BEGINNER STRINGS AND BLACKBURN HIGH SCHOOL
QUATTRO STRINGS – Wednesday 12 August
Joining with the Glen Waverley Secondary College Beginner Strings, the
Blackburn High School Quattro Strings enjoyed the day working in a mass
string orchestra of over 60 students. With all students starting on their
instruments this year, it was a great opportunity to learn from new friends,
reinforce concepts covered and to put it all into practice. Students learned
three works for a short concert in three periods for a short and informal
concert to an appreciative audience of year nine music elective.
Thanks GWSC and our own Robyn Carrington and Josh Dema.
OLD ORCHARD CHOIR VISIT – Wednesday 12 August
Forty primary school students from Old Orchard Primary School trooped
over on Wednesday afternoon for an adventure with our Chamber Choir.
Singing ‘Happy’ as a massed item, the catch up provided an opportunity for
our students to perform but also to work with the primary school students
on singing with good posture, good diction and good energy.
Thanks to Sandra Birze and OOPS.
Contact
Details
Music Department
8804 6411*
*Direct line to
Maureen
Jemima Bunn
8804 6464 (extn
6526)
Fax: 9894 2751
Page 12
VISIT BY JAZZ @ LINCOLN CENTRE – Wednesday 12 August
Blackburn High School welcomed Reggie Thomas and Jazz at Lincoln Centre
to workshop with our Senior Jazz Orchestra and Intermediate Big
Band. JALC run a host of education based programs all based on preserving
the historical foundations of jazz and big band music. We were honoured to
have had Reggie impart his wisdom to us.
The program has been quite a-buzz with students reacting so positively to
Reggie and his experience as a musician and teacher. As a teacher, it was a
wonderful opportunity to step back from the rehearsal process, to hear our
students respond, to reflect on the further possibilities for them and to be
able to see new possibilities on the horizon.
Thanks Jazz at the Lincoln Centre that they should think sending people out
to Australia for activities such as these to be worthy of their investment.
Royal South Street: information on Compass and in hand outs to
students
Issue 12 - 21 August 2015
Sports News
Nadine Roche
Sport Coordinator
House Athletics Results
Finally, the official results for the House Athletics Carnival are in.
The overall house points were as follows;
1st Place—Hollows 2,709 points
2nd Place—Melba 2,668 points
3rd Place—Dunlop 2,431 points
4th Place—Freeman 2,146 points
Our Age Champions for the day were;
13 Years—Niamh Mebalds & Luke Brito-Babapulle
14 Years—Annika Lad & Bhavesh Punyani
15 Years Skye Cody & Julian Scott
16 Years—Lauren Schreiber & Iisake Tuinauvai
17 Years—Lisa Woods & Patrick Quiton
20 Years—Melissa Webb & Tristan Webb
Page 13
Issue 12 - 21 August 2015
Sports News
Nadine Roche
Sport Coordinator
Whitehorse Athletics Carnival
Our Athletics Team has been announced and the names and events are up in the breezeway
between the gym and the music block. Due to there only being 5 schools in our division, both the
1st and 2nd placegetters for each event from our carnival have qualified to compete.
It is so important that students check this and also their Compass schedule and let me
know if they are unable to attend for some reason. Bus bookings are made based on
numbers and we have a large team this year of almost 150 students so we really need
accurate numbers ASAP. You can either come and find me in Dunlop House or email me;
[email protected]. Also, if you wish to drop out of a particular event
let me know as I can replace you with someone else.
The event date is Wednesday 2nd September
SENIOR BOYS HOCKEY MAKE STATE FINALS
Our Senior Boys’ Hockey team played off in the State Finals last week which was a fantastic way to
end a successful hockey campaign. For many of the boys it was their final day of Hhockey after
making the state finals on two occasions.
To get to the State Finals Blackburn had to come through a fiercely contested Regional carnival.
After a strong performance against Norwood, Blackburn came up against a strong Balwyn team.
After a neck and neck battle it was Blackburn that prevailed from a penalty stroke from our star
player Hayden Morris. It then came down to a final game against Monash SC. Both teams were
placed at the top of the pool and the winning team would go through to state. A draw would favour
Blackburn as Monash had lost a game earlier in the day. The ensuing match that followed was high
quality and it finished in a brilliant 2-2 draw qualifying us for the State Finals.
The State Finals pitted the best 8 schools in the state and would undoubtedly be high quality
hockey. The first team we played were Nagle College of Bairnsdale whose whole school team played
for the club on a Saturday. The boys conceded a goal before half time before a superb equaliser
from Alex Delios after a great pass from super sub Tristan Webb. Nagle scored again and we held
them to 2-1 for most of the second half before our opponents went away to a strong win (they also
won the State Title). Our next game against Maribyrnong College saw us lose 4-0 but another
creditable performance considering our opponents run an elite coaching program out of their school.
Our final game was a strong performance against St Arnoud where we finished with a 2-0 loss. I
would like to thank all the boys for their amazing hockey over the years. To get that far with only
one regular hockey player is a credit to all the boys involved. I would like to pay a particular tribute
to Hayden who captained the side and also to Andre Burborough who was the best goalkeeper you
could ever see.
Mar Pasquali—Proud Coach
Page 14
Issue 12 - 21 August 2015
Literacy News
Madeleine Taylor
Literacy Coordinator
Once again, Numeracy and Literacy week is nearly upon us. From the 31st
August to the 6th September, Melbourne and BHS will be celebrating the
important cross curricular skills of numeracy and literacy.
In Mentor Groups students will be competing for the prestigious title of
best house speller (hopefully inspired by the painful Great Australian
Spelling Bee).
Year 9 students will be presenting the
results of the Writers Workshops at
“Stories of Us” Literary Evening. In
Writers Workshops, classes have
focussed on the fine details of good
writing and editing using mentor texts
as examples. Year 9 teachers and
students have genuinely enjoyed the
experience of writing, writing, writing.
Staff have worked on finalising a
punctuation resource sheet as part of
the Whole School Literacy approach. The
resource provides simplified rules
around punctuation, with the aim that
students have punctuation explained
with consistency across teachers and
subjects. We would all love to see less
exclamation marks and incorrect
commas, and the rise of their more
sophisticated cousins the colon and semi-colon.
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Issue 12 - 21 August 2015
BHS’s International Exchange Program
Nicole Taylor
We are still seeking families to host………….
2015 German International Student Exchange Program – Host a Student from our
Sister School
You have a wonderful opportunity for your family to make global connections with a family
just like yours from our German Sister School, Friedrich- Ebert-Gymnasium (Sandhausen), by
hosting one of their delightful students when they visit Blackburn in October this year. The
school is bi-lingual so the students have excellent English and of course if your child is
studying German he or she will be able to practise their German. The student will join your
family for 14 days with the student attending classes at Blackburn during that time.
Please note : Students do not need to be studying German to take advantage of this
wonderful, cultural, learning experience, although this is an outstanding opportunity for
students who are learning the language.
Contact Nicole Taylor to register your expression of interest in hosting a student and for more
information, including dates etc.
Email: [email protected] (places are limited so please register early)
Students who host a Sister School student in October will automatically be given the
opportunity to travel to Germany in June 2016.
2016 German International Student Exchange – Visit our German Sister School,
Friedrich- Ebert-Gymnasium (Sandhausen), Germany.
If you would like your child to be part of our exciting, culturally enriching student exchange to
our sister school in Germany in June 2016 please register your interest with:
Nicole Taylor: [email protected]
The cost will be approximately $3,400 for 17 days and will be set up as a payment plan over
the next 12 months ($700 deposit, then 10 x $270 monthly payments)
2016 Chinese International Student Exchange Program
A fabulous opportunity to visit this ancient and fascinating land which is a vital part of our Asia
Pacific region. Students who have participated in the Global Learning Program or will be
participating in 2016 are invited to express their interest in this outstanding cultural exchange
program which will visit China in October, 2016. The 8 day program takes students to China
where they will learn first-hand about the wonders of this mystical land and experience
student life at Shaxi High School with their Shaxi buddy. The cost will be approximately
$3,200.
If you are interested in your child having the opportunity to join this wonderful exchange
please contact:
Aaron Bear, Global Learning Leader. Email: [email protected]
A World of Educational Experiences Awaits
Our International Student Exchange program provides students with a wealth of personal and
educational experiences that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. It is a program that
broadens students’ horizons and allows them to:

travel within the host country and further afield with local students or other
international students,

Meet people from around the globe and develop new, often lifelong, friendships.

Gain independence and confidence.

Learn more about themselves and another culture

Attend classes in our sister schools

Be an Ambassador for Blackburn High School
Students can choose from two International Exchange Programs visiting schools in Germany
and China
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Issue 12 - 21 August 2015
School News
Working Bee Thankyou
A huge thankyou to the families who came along to our School working bee on Sunday 16
August. We built a new garden at the pedestrian entrance on Williams Rd, rejuvenated
planting at the entrance to Springfield Rd, as well as pruning and generally tidying up.
It’s great to have people willing to lend a hand for a few hours... it makes such a positive
difference to the School environment. Thankyou to Christina Moore, Peter Hives, Simon &
Carolyn Nette, Tim Dalton, Allison Webb, Jeff Zhang, Hua Wang, Qizhi Mei and Anthony
Kost.
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Issue 12 - 21 August 2015
School Calendar Aug—Sept 2015
Sunday
23
Monday
24
Tuesday
25
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
26
27
28
29
2
3
4
5
Victorian School Music Festival
30
31
1
Whitehorse Division
Athletics
6
7
8
9
Year 7 Basketball,
Hockey & Table Tennis
10
11
12
Student Progress
Conference Year 7-9
We are looking for: Local families to host International Students
from overseas who will be studying at Blackburn High School from Years 10—12.
Homestay families are paid approximately $270- $280 per week. You must be
English-speaking, willing to help the student(s) adjust to life in Australia and help
improve their English through a variety of means. Please contact the International
Students’ Program Coordinator Isabel Zhou on 8804 6464 if you would to have any
further information please email: [email protected]
Have you lost your phone or spectacles?
Please check at the front office as we have a lovely selection to choose from.
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Issue 12 - 21 August 2015