Mitchell High School
Transcription
Mitchell High School
Mitchell High School Delivering excellence, innovative and unique learning opportunities for student success School Newsletter August 2013 The Mitchell High School P&C Association meets on the second Wednesday evening each month at 7.00 pm in the Mitchell High School Common Room. All parents and friends are welcome to attend. Mitchell High School Principal’s Report – Mrs T Baghurst ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Principal Mrs T Baghurst Deputy Principal Mrs Pares (Relieving) (Relieving) Deputy Principal Ms E Marinis P&C President Mrs C McMillan Address Keyworth Drive Blacktown 2148 Telephone 9622 9944 / 9622 8926 Fax 9831 2805 Email [email protected] Website www.mitchell-h.schools.nsw.edu.au SMS Absences 0427 463 129 Dates to Remember in August/Sept _______________________________________________ Trial HSC 5 – 16 August HSC Commences 14 October 2013 P&C Meeting Wednesday 14 August, 7.00pm Staff Common Room Year 7 2014 Self Select Information Evening Tuesday 20 August, 5.00pm to 6.00pm School Hall P&C Meeting Wednesday 11 September, 7.00pm Staff Common Room Prefect Induction Ceremony Wednesday 4 September, 11.45am School Hall Year 11 Yearly Exams 9 – 18 September Year 12 Graduation Assembly Thursday 19 September Last Day of Term 3, 2013 Friday 20 September March 2013 Newsletter Mitchell High School Respectful Engaged & Active Learners Past students share their wisdom at a Recognition Formal Assembly during Term 3 Week 1 Years 10, 11 and 12 and our Self Select classes were given an opportunity to hear directly from six of our high achieving past students. A Question and Answer forum was set up involving six young adults who answered questions about their choice of study, their choice of university , course direction and subsequent changes and their aspirations for the future. The questions came from the students and staff and this light hearted but informative session of our assembly was appreciated by both staff and students. Mitchell High has many highly successful ex- students who have followed a wide range of career choices. Some have involved tertiary studies, others have been highly successful in TAFE or apprenticeships or have followed other pathways in the fine, dramatic and / or performing arts. I would like to thank Eunice Estaris, Nandan Subramaniam and Taylor Tracey who are studying courses at the University of NSW and Shiva Chandra who is studying at Sydney University and Lazarela Cecez who is studying at Macquarie University and Irene Nocillado who is studying at the University of Notre Dame. All of the students spoke positively about their time at Mitchell High School and thanked the staff who inspired and led them in their studies. They spoke about the positive aspects of studying year 11 and 12 at the same school and spoke about the support and guidance that enabled them to develop as individuals and follow their dreams. The students helped others celebrate their success by awarding our gold and platinum award recipients. It was uplifting to see our successful young leaders recognising the achievements of current young leaders. I would like to again congratulate all of the award recipients and thank their parents some of which were able to join us in the celebrations. Page 1 A morning tea was enjoyed by those receiving the awards, their parents and family, our past students and representatives from the Mitchell High School staff. I would like to thank our organising staff and students from CAPA who provided an excellent showcase of their talented students in Dance and Music as well as our senior executive team who assisted in the forum, our Mooting team lead by Mrs. Andrea Edwards in Social Science, our Library staff Mrs. Judy Bunt and Mrs. Melissa Smallwood for assisting in the organisation of morning tea, our rewards and recognition committee in particular Mrs. Penny De Giovanni and our Media Committee who organised the event particularly Mrs. Carmel Lindsay for all of her hard work in coordinating the past students, awards and the program. School Start Time School starts at 8.45am. There is minimal supervision prior to 8.30 in the morning and students must remain in the area outside of the Deputy Principal’s office. Year 12 students have a flexible timetable and must be at school throughout the school day and during study periods unless given special exemption by the Senior Executive. Mrs. Tanya Baghurst Relieving Principal Deputy Principal’s Report Pride Card and School Service Recipients Congratulations to all students who were successful with their P.R.I.D.E card applications, these cards are give the holders huge discounts at local retailers. This year : BCF (Mega Centre Blacktown) Bing Lee (Mega Centre Blacktown) Cake it Away (Blacktown) Daylight Sportswear (MHS Uniform Shop) Featherdale Wildlife Park (Doonside) Frickers Shoes (Blacktown) Gametraders (Westpoint Blacktown) Gloria Jean’s (Westpoint Blacktown) JB HiFi (Westpoint Blacktown) Just Cuts (Westpoint Blacktown) Mc Donalds (Mega Centre Blacktown) Mitchell High School Canteen Robbos Spare Parts (Mega Centre Blacktown) Service awards A large number of certificates are to be awarded to students who have involved themselves in a huge variety of activities at Mitchell High School. Well done to all involved. Our pride card and service awards morning will commence at 9.30 on Thursday 29th August all in the hall, morning tea will be served at the back of the Library at the conclusion of the ceremony. Parents and Carers of awards recipients were sent invitations on the 5 th August, 2013. e-Mail Addresses. A big thank you to all of those families that have provided their e-mail details to the school so that we can provide information about the school to you electronically. At this stage we are sending a message to all parents that have provided their e-mail to 1. Test the system and 2. Gain permission to send information electronically. (please send your reply back ASAP, if you have already replied this newsletter may already be the electronic version). It is hoped that in the future once we have set up systems and procedures correctly that hardcopies of future newsletters will be provided only to those students and families who do not have or use e-mail communication. If you change your e-mail address in the future please advise the administrative staff of such changes either electronically or in writing. Self Select Self Select applications for 2014 will be available from the front office from Wednesday and must be completed and returned to the front office by the 10th September 2013. Self Select Class Policy Rationale Mitchell High School recognises, and caters for the needs of all students who desire to make a commitment to, and assume responsibility for, their own learning in order to achieve their best educational outcomes. One way that students can do this is by nominating themselves members of Mitchell High School’s Self Select class. Criteria Self Select students are distinguished by, and accepted into, Mitchell High School’s Self Select classes on the basis of their: Positive Attitude Good Behaviour Excellent Class Work “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” ― Nelson Mandela Elena Marinis Deputy Principal Sate Wide Jewelers (Westpoint Blacktown) Workout World (Mega Centre Blacktown) March 2013 Newsletter Mitchell High School Respectful Engaged & Active Learners Page 2 Deputy Principal’s Report Inter Schools Culinary Challenge Winner Uniform Staff taught a lesson in the first week of term about the benefits and importance of wearing proper and full school uniform. It has been very pleasing to see more students complying with the school uniform policy as well as following the procedures when they do not have full uniform on. The process is simple and parents are encouraged to continue to encourage your child to set the high standard of uniform at our school. If they are unable to wear an item for some reason then please follow the policy and send a note to be signed by the Head Teacher of the roll call block or a Deputy Principal. The third heat of the Community First Credit Union Inter Schools Culinary Challenge was held on 9th August, 2013 at TAFE NSW Western Sydney Institute The Hills College, Baulkham Hills Campus to highlight careers in Commercial Cookery and to showcase the culinary skills of students studying hospitality at high school. Assembly Students have also been encouraged to improve their level of engagement and participation with our regular weekly school assemblies. It was fantastic to stand out the front and talk to the students last week with total compliance. It made me very proud to be a staff member of Mitchell High School. On the day Hospitality students represented five (5) local high schools. They were required to prepare and present Pan fried Lamb Rump with ratatouille, black olive tapenade and basil oil as demonstrated by local leading Chef Chris Starke from Youeni Foodstore. The key focus of this event was on "technical skill" and the ability to present a dish as shown on the day for the panel of industry judges. Outstanding performances on the day resulted in Kyara Sloan, Year 11 being announced overall winner and achieving first place. Congratulations Kyara. Trials and N-Awards We continue to keep Year 12 in our thoughts this week as they continue their very important final preparation exams (Trials). Good preparation and lots of study combined with good nutrition, sleep and exercise are all key features to doing well. Year 9, 10, 11 and 12 are all encouraged to continue to get their N-Awards cleared if they still have them. Failure to do them could mean repeating a year or not being able to continue with some subjects into the next year. Please make every effort to finish these up – the school provides much support to students through the Learning Centre, working with Mr. Bywater and during sport time in the library on a Tuesday afternoon. There really is no excuse for these not to be completed. ABCN High School Scholarships Worth $7000 Now Open! All Year 10 students are eligible to apply for 12 new Australian Business and Community Network Scholarships worth $7,000 by completing the application form, writing the essay and submitting the application initially to their school principal. Endorsement of the application by the School Principal is mandatory for student eligibility. Applicants must be Australian citizens or permanent residents. Any interested Year 10 student needs to see Mrs. Pares for more details. Mrs. Pares Relieving Deputy Principal We have registered in this year’s “Support your School – Fundraising with Karl” program offered by The Good Guys, Prospect, as part of their Local Businesses Partnering for our Local Community initiative. The program gives our school the opportunity to earn Reward Vouchers through purchases made by members of the school community (such as students, parents, extended family and friends, teachers and support staff). HOW DOES IT WORK? Every time a member of the school community makes a purchase of $35 or more at The Good Guys Prospect, they will earn rewards for our school. Each $35 spent will earn a $1 Reward Voucher. All you need to do is mention that you would like Mitchell Mitchell High School Respectful Engaged & Active Learners Page 3 High School to receive the reward points for your purchase at the time of payment for your goods. Please note that only schools/groups registered for this program are eligible for the reward benefits. At the end of each month the school will receive the reward vouchers earned and are then able to use these for future purchases to benefit the School. Participation in this program is at no cost to you or the school. A HUGE THANKYOU to the following people for mentioning “Mitchell High School” when making a purchase from “The Good Guys” at Prospect already this year : Suzie Viola, Shaama Khoury, Sophie Prins, Patrick Mahony, Josie Campbell, Barbara Hume, Brad Plain, Vanessa Hutchinson ,Tony Hasna, Stephen Simone, Bruce Davidson and Kathie Smith. Together you have raised $685 in Reward Vouchers to date. We hope that if you do make a purchase from The Good Guys Prospect you will join in this fund raising venture to benefit the school – even if only in a small way. If you have any queries or any staff member has a request for resources, please do not hesitate to contact the Coordinator of this programme, Denise Armstrong, School Administrative Officer (Science). A Science Encouragement Award Certificate to add to their Portfolio A REAL Certificate 5 points will go towards their House A McDonald’s Food Voucher As well as their names being announced at assembly and published in the Electronic School Newsletter. The Recipients of the Science Encouragement Award for Term 2 2013 are: Year 7 Student Teacher Name House Jacki VH/SM K PASKE Logan VMS C P BAWAN Bawen RP M O CONSTANTINE Blake MDu M S ZHANG Rose MDa K Y MIJIC Alana SD C G SABA Simon MDa C Teacher Name House VH/SM C Class Surname First Name R ZHOU B Year 8 Labscene @MHS 2013 HSC Science Exam Dates: 18/10/2013 Earth and Environmental Science 9.25am - 12.30pm. 23/10/2013 Senior Science: 1.55pm - 5.00pm. 30/10/2013 Chemistry: 9.25am – 12.30pm. 1/11/2013 Physics: 9.25am – 12.30pm. 4/11/2013 Biology: 9.25am – 12.30pm. Science Encouragement Award 2013 – Term 2 For the second time this year at MHS the Science Faculty will be presenting Science students with an award called the “Science Encouragement Award”. One student from every Science Class in Yr 7- 10 is nominated for this award once a Term by their Science Teacher. To become a recipient of this award – the student must be a REAL learner in the classroom, show interest in the subject, has made a consistent effort with their learning, shown improvement and is willing to get involved in all activities. The winner of such an award will receive: Mitchell High School Respectful Engaged & Active Learners Student Class Surname First Name A NGUYEN Tatiana B Wu Kang MDu K C SHONG Brandon VMS K D SAEED Awatie RP K E OLSEN Nathan MDa C F MOES Teigan SD C G CORNISH Emily AW M H THOMAS Annabel DS K Teacher Name House VH/SM M Year 9 Class Student Surname First Name A BOYD Kayla B ASHBYBRIGANDI Jordan VMS M C KONNEH Sombo DS B D BOOTH Renee VH/SM M E CRAMPTON Lara MDu M F HIGGINS Liam MDa B G IVANIC Emma AW B Page 4 Year 10 Vouchers to the Science Faculty at MHS. I would also like to thank Ms Walker for coordinating the McDonald’s Food Voucher to help support the Science Faculty’s cause. Student Class Surname First Name Teacher Name House A DOSTOVALOV Michelle SD M B WU Jenny RP K C PAP Joshua MDa C D WHIPPLE Ethan DS K E MARFO Prince AW C F BIASON Shiena VH M The Science Teachers are now looking for new recipients for Term 3 – so keep on trying and good luck. Yr 7-12 Science Assessment for Term 3 2013 Year 7: Week 7 – Classy Features Task 25% Year 8: Week 6 – Student Research Task 25% Year 9: Week 6 – Acids and Bases Practical Exam 20% Year 10: Week 8 - Mystery Solutions Practical Task 20% Year 11: Just to add a little more excitement to this award – Mr Harper has selected one recipient from each year group by placing all the Term 2 recipients into a hat and drawing a winner to receive a Hoyts Movie Ticket. Biology – Week 7 Field Work Report 20% + Week 9 and 10 Yearly Exam 40% Chemistry – Week 1 Research, Week 6 Practical Task 20% + Week 9 and 10 Yearly Exam 40% Earth and Environmental Science – Week 9 and 10 Yearly Exam 40% Physics – Week 8 Research Task 25% + Week 9 and 10 Yearly Exam 40% Senior Science – Week 4 Field Trips 20% + Week 9 and 10 Yearly Exam 40% The Recipients for the Movie Ticket are: Year 7 Class O Student Surname First Name CONSTANTINE Blake Year 12: Year 8 Student Class Surname First Name A NGUYEN Tatiana Year 9 Class G Student Surname First Name IVANIC Emma Year 10 Class E Student Surname First Name MARFO Prince Biology – Week 4 and 5 Trial Exam 35% Chemistry – Week 1 Practical Task 30% + Week 4 and 5 Trial Exam 40% Earth and Environmental Science – Week 4 and 5 Trial Exam 40% Physics – Week 4 and 5 Trial Exam 40% Senior Science – Week 4 and 5 Trial Exam 35% To all Science students doing Assessment Tasks this term – feel free to consult with your Science Teacher for further support, if required, to assist you with achieving the best possible mark. Good luck from the Science Faculty. Quote for the term: “If you listen to your fears, you will die never knowing what a great person you might have been” Robert H. Schuller (16/9/1926). Congratulations to all recipients - from the Science Faculty. Mr S Debrincat Head Teacher Science I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Managers of the McDonalds store at St Martins Village East Blacktown for kindly donating the McDonald Food Senior Science Excursion During August students from the Year ll Senior Science class went to Bicentennial Park to participate in fieldwork activities run by the Sydney Olympic Park Education Mitchell High School Respectful Engaged & Active Learners Page 5 Centre. The students were able to practise what they had been learning in the classroom and carried out the tests enthusiastically. They completed a transect of the wetlands and tested the abiotic features of the environment. Furthermore they were able to observe the distribution and abundance of species and how the organisms within the wetlands interact. The students represented the school with pride and were respectful to all who they encountered. Science Competition Last term 115 students from Mitchell High School participated in the ICAS Science Competition. Congratulations to all those who took part, the competition ran smoothly. Among the students was 1 Distinction, 14 Credits and 100 Participation certificates awarded. I would also like to thank the many students, particularly Tyla Rata, Gillian Jansz, Mariah Jamall and Daniel Mayor who have contributed either as speakers or in an organisational capacity. Mr Thornton Debating Co-ordinator Distinction Year 8 George Dalianas Credit Year 7 Amy Hardie Zhihuan Luo Year 8 Harsimran Saini Gavin Bloomfield Liam Dean Jason McKenzie Tatiana Nguyen Year 9 Renee Booth Denise Clemente Jamison Ghinis Matthew Taylor Dylan Wang Year 10 Sneha Bhamra Yunfei Zhao Congratulations to all students involved. Miss A. Walker Debating I would like to congratulate Alannah Miceli, Stefan Gutic, Xie Wu and Sneha Bhamra for having won their Inter-Zone debate, in convincing fashion, against Greystanes High. They now progress through to the Quarter Final of the Regional knockouts. The team has made considerable progress since the beginning of this year's competition and are demonstrating increasing confidence as individual speakers as well as a pleasing ability to organise and deliver a convincing argument. It is a number of years now since Mitchell has reached this stage of the competition and we wish them well for the next round. Mitchell High School Respectful Engaged & Active Learners Sport Report CHS Cross Country Congratulations to Sinead Davidson (Yr 7) and Ryan Fitzpatrick (Yr 12) who represented Sydney West at the CHS Cross Country championships on Friday 19th July 2013. Sydney West Athletics Congratulations to the following students who represented at the Sydney West Athletics Championships held on the 25th and 26th of July at Blacktown International Sportspark. Guistino Annechini, Jordan Ashby, Eden Carter, Mariah Correia, Sinead Davidson, Aisling Davidson, Bridget Farkas, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Mohammed Halawi, Nathan Hamilton, Aaron Hulley, Nihal Khurshid, Michael Komolafe, Adolph Koudakpo, Denis Ocharya, Celina Tran 2013 Gold Coast Netball Carnival Congratulations to the following students: Caitlin Buckley-Rich, Rianna Clarke, Shannen Chovanec, Chloe Graham, Rachael Daniels, Kaitlyn Hulley, Divya Lal, Kaitlyn Leverton Jayla Moy, Melanie Philpott, Brielle Simpson who represented Mitchell High School at the 2013 Canterbury Gold Coast Netball Carnival. The students enjoyed playing games of Netball against teams from SA, WA, NT, Qld, Tas and NZ as well as visiting the theme parks. Expression of interest notes for the 2014 trip have been issued to students. Silver Duke of Ed Congratulations to the following students who have completed their Silver qualification. To qualify students had to complete six months of physical activity, volunteering and learning a new skill. The Students completed the Six foot track as their qualifying hike. Page 6 Caitlin Buckley-Rich, Eden Carter, Dusana Cecez, Ashleigh Kok, Amy Mcmillan, Tori Robinson, Brielle Simpson and Amanda Wade. We have already sewn together 3 blankets and are well on the way to completing quite a few more. Many thanks to those who donated wool and needles. Term 4 Sport Selection Notes The sport selection notes for Term 4 have been issued to students. Notes are to be returned to the Sports box outside the PE staffroom by Friday 23rd August 2013. Students who do not put a sport selection in will have their sport chosen for them by Mrs Maguire. Once sport selections have been determined there will be a grace period of a week for changes to be made. Once sports have been finalised there will be no changes allowed. Sport Uniform on Tuesdays Could you please ensure that your child has their sport uniform ready for Tuesday. If the uniform is misplaced, lost or in the wash they will still be allowed to participate if they bring a note and alternate sports gear. Students will be allowed to participate if they have running shoes but will be issued with a uniform note for the incorrect uniform. Students who do not bring their full PE uniform will be sent to Sport detention for the afternoon. Tuesday Early Leavers and Sickness Students who require an early leaver’s pass on Tuesday are to bring a note with a parent/caregiver contactable phone number on it. Students bring this note to the print room at Recess. The Parent/Care giver will be contacted by Mrs Maguire to verify the reasons for the early leavers identified in the note. Students who are sick or injured are to bring a note to be signed by Mrs Maguire in the PE staffroom by the end of Recess. These students will then go to the Library during sport time. Mrs. Maguire Sports Co-ordinator C.A.P.A. Night The Creative Arts Department are organising a showcase for the Dance, Drama and Music students as well as the schools Dance Ensembles. It will showcase the works they have developed this year and will express their talent in these subject areas. Please come along and support our students. The evening is Thursday the 22nd of August. 7pm in the school hall and will finish at approx 8.30pm. Tickets will be sold at the front office for $5 each. Students will need to collect the tickets from the CAPA department. Wrap with Love Knit-In at Mitchell 2rd On Friday August a group of over 30 students participated in our 7th annual Knit-In in the library to coincide with similar events being held in venues all over Australia for Wrap with Love. No tickets will be sold at the door on the evening. Students had an opportunity to interact with members of the community who came to morning tea and helped us with our knitting or crocheting squares. These squares will be sewn into blankets and eventually be distributed by Wrap with Love to communities in Australia and around the world, to people suffering from the cold. Mitchell High School Respectful Engaged & Active Learners Page 7 Heritage Day Photos from Heritage day Friday 26 July, 2013. Mitchell High School Respectful Engaged & Active Learners Page 8 The Maths Report Free Graduated Licensing Scheme Workshops for Learner Driver Parents in the Blacktown City area Young drivers are three times more likely to be involved in casualty crashes. That's why the Roads and Maritime Services has introduced a new licensing scheme, with more supervised driving practice for learner drivers. To help parents in supervising learner drivers, the Roads and Maritime Services has set up a FREE 2 hour workshop for parents that offers practical advice on how to help learner drivers become safer drivers. A FREE parents' workshop will be conducted by David Riches and hosted by Blacktown City Council on Monday September 9th at Blacktown City Council Offices from 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm. Early bookings are essential, by phoning David on 0434 964764 now to reserve your place, or email [email protected] Australian Mathematics Competition Congratulations to the 122 students from years 7-10 who participated in the Australian Mathematics Competition on st Thursday 1 August. It is a prestigious competition that attracts competitors from around the world to demonstrate their ability to solve higher order problems. All the participants will be receiving a certificate of participation later this year. Calculators Casio scientific calculators are available for purchase from the school. The price is $24. Students from Years 8 now require calculators to complete their class work successfully. Year 12 General Mathematics tutoring Free tutoring for year 12 students in General mathematics will resume in the library on Thursday afternoons between 3:15 and 4:15 in week 6, after the trials. Students are encouraged to attend and take advantage of these sessions by completing their homework sheets, doing past years papers or learning new techniques of revising and completing HSC examinations. Examination Date Reminders Years 9 & 10: Term 3 Test in Week 8 Year 11 : Yearly Exam in Weeks 9&10 Olympiad Dates Mock Trial Team 2013 Olympiad 4 : 21st August Olympiad 5 : This year the Mock Trial Team faced some tough competition, competing against a mixture of public, private and selective schools from across Western Sydney. Although the team did not progress into the elimination round this year, they consistently received praise from the solicitors who acted as magistrates for the trials. The team gave up countless lunchtimes and afternoons to prepare. Their dedication and teamwork were admirable. Congratulations to the 2013 team: Sneha Bhamra, Stefan Gutic, Aimee McGowan, Amanda Wade, Jayne Salvo, Jenny Wu, Alannah Miceli, Tionne Stark, Kirsty Vanderweide, Fariha Habib, Tyla Rata Thank you to Mrs Edwards and Ms Frenzel for their support and assistance in preparing and transporting the team. 11th September Luna Park Excursion for Year 9 Luna Park maths excursion is scheduled for 6th December, week 9 in term 4. All the Year 9 students are encouraged to start saving money so that they can participate in all maths activities involved with the rides at Luna Park. Students will be receiving the information on the costs, travel and permission notes of the excursion later this term from their Maths Teachers. Vivo News With the introduction the Vivo Reward System this term, Maths Department is pleased to add a limited number of calculators and Luna Park Excursion vouchers (includes travel and entry fee) to the Vivo Shop soon. Students need to complete homework sheets, class work and follow all the classroom rules during maths lessons to earn Vivos to buy these items. Mrs Morris, Social Science Mitchell High School Respectful Engaged & Active Learners Page 9 Problem Solving 1. ABCD is a square with diagonal of 8 cm long. Calculate the area of the square. 2. 2,3,5,7,11... are examples of prime numbers. Suppose the length and width of a rectangle are prime numbers and the perimeter is 36 cm. Find the largest area of that rectangle. 3. A kangaroo chases a rabbit which starts 40m ahead of the kangaroo. For every 4m jump of the kangaroo, the rabbit makes a 2.4m hop. How many jumps will the kangaroo have to make to catch up to the rabbit? (Check your answers with Mr Ranjit or in the September Maths Report) Vaccinations The third phase of the school’s Vaccination Program will be on the 14th October (Week 2, Term 4). This is for students that have commenced the program and returned vaccination forms. Catch up vaccinations will also be administered on the day. Boys in Year 9 will receive their third HPV vaccination. Girls and boys in Year 7 will receive their third HPV, second Hep B and Chickenpox vaccinations. Ms Cate Superviser of Girls English News ICAS English Competition 76 students sat the ICAS English Competition on the 31 st July. The competition assesses student knowledge and understanding of English related skills such as interpretation. These students will receive an individual report and a certificate acknowledging their participation. Claymation Workshop A selection of students from Years 8 and 9 had the opportunity to participate in a Claymation Workshop. Students had to use their imagination to create a story that would be transformed from ideas on paper into clay figures and props to make a one minute short film using digital technology. The students added sound, music and dialogue to their films and used editing techniques to refine their works. The day ended with a showing of all the fantastic film creations and each student was presented with a copy of their film. Mitchell High School Respectful Engaged & Active Learners Academic Challenges Science & Engineering Challenge Twentyfour Year 9 and 10 students travelled to UWS Kingswood to compete against eight other schools in a series of challenges which combined Science and Engineering skills. They worked in teams of three and were highly successful, winning or coming second in several challenges. The school was complimented on the very respectful and co-operative attitude of all the students. I would like to add my praise to the group with whom I was very proud to be associated. The students are: Matthew Taylor, Rebekah Moore, Kimberley Simone, Jordan Cabot, Victoria Maltese, Ayechan Khin, Sneha Bhamra, Kirsty Vanderweide, Georgina Kidwell, Annette Creighton, Tayla Moes, Denise Clemente, Zerene Catacutan, Jasmin Li, Mariah Jammal, Fariha Habib, Jessica Oo, Marie Sadek, Aaron D’Hary, Alex Cousins, Jeremy Libunao, Eden Carter, Amy McMillan and Prachi Patel. Mrs Mahony Aurecon Bridge Building Competition Year 9 students, Jasmin Li and Zerene Catacutan, spent many hours building a bridge from a limited supply of balsa wood in order to compete in the Bridge Building Competition at the Art Gallery of NSW. Both girls now have a greater appreciation for the design process and the difficulties of building a weight bearing structure. Their final product was an impressive bridge designed around the principles of the strength of triangular shapes. Jasmin and Zerene are to be commended on their dedication to this task and congratulated on their final product. I would also like to thank Miss Bell for accompanying the girls to the Art Gallery. Mrs Mahony Chinese Visit This week has been very busy at Mitchell with the arrival of 40 students from Shangrao No.4 Middle School, China on Tuesday. The students from both schools were very excited as they met their buddies and went home for their first night as guests of our students. The students worked together on Wednesday at school in a variety of activities including cooking, dot painting, theatre sports, boomerang throwing and Maths and English lessons. The students also had the opportunity to hear Daniel Dellow from Year 8 play the didgeridoo. Communication was not a problem and all the students enjoyed themselves with lots of fun and laughter the order of the day. Both our Mitchell students and our Chinese guests will have many memories for years to come from these few days. Page 10 I would like to thank those families who have opened their homes to our guests – we really appreciate your generosity. I would also like to thank the staff and students who have assisted me throughout the week – an event like this would not be possible without you! Mrs Mahony Mitchell High School Respectful Engaged & Active Learners Page 11 TAS Faculty Update Staffing – Mrs. Depalo is currently relieving Head Teacher, TAS whilst Mrs. Pares is Relieving Deputy Principal. Any concerns or problems can be directed to her. Mrs. Tyson is replacing the classroom teacher load of both Mrs. Pares and Mrs. Depalo. Ms. John has replaced Mr. Connelly in some of the TAS classes as he has moved into the Socia l Sciences faculty. 9/10 Engineering The Mitchell H.S Bi-annual CO2 Car race was help On Friday 31st May in the School hall between Mr Shupe and Mr Ellwood's year 9/10 Engineering classes. With a variety of shapes and designs of cars the races were well matched. At the end of the races 5 car remained in the hunt, 3 from Mr Shupe's class and 2 from Mr Ellwoods. The vast majority of participants enjoyed the races and reveled in the disappointment of some when disaster struck. With all the car's running the 150 metre course in under 2 seconds speeds were in excess of 250 Km per hour. Mr. Ellwood to and learn about life skills. It’s also a time to get out, have fun and interact with others. I got the chance to play around with them and visit their classrooms. They really inspired me by how happy and joyful they are, and to see them smile, just brightened up my day. Also the teachers there are amazing with the work they do as they are so patient, loving and friendly. Johanna - Our class went to Kurrumbee School on Thursday to interact with the children with disabilities. We were introduced to many of the children and teachers at the school and got to spend time with some of the kids in the playground and in the classroom. It was interesting how some aspects of the school were different and some aspects were similar to mainstream schools. Bianca - It was fantastic getting shown around the school, then we got to interact with the children, got to know them a bit and understand that they are people who need regular leisure time – not just constant care. Then we went into the classroom and got to spend more time with different children to the ones at break time. We saw them eat and even one child being tube fed, then some leisure time. Amanda - Visiting Kurrumbee SSP school was an amazing experience for me. Wanting to be a disability worker, this experience helped me develop knowledge of what to expect during my future career. Meeting all the children and watching them play and learn made me realise how much they enjoy themselves. Seeing them in class and watching their different learning techniques was very interesting and being with the children and helping them with their work was an amazing experience. Sharon - Today we went on an excursion to Kurrumbee SSP School at Werrington. Going to Kurrumbee and learning all the stuff that the teachers have to do to help the children around and learning how the children work was amazing. Seeing all the different stuff they play with in the playground and in the classroom was great. It was really good going to Kurrumbee and seeing and learning how things work at the school. 12 Exploring Early Childhood excursion to Kurrumbee SSP – Werrington Subject Contributions It is really important that parents try to have all their subject contributions paid by the end of this term as it is this money that we as a faculty use to purchase goods such as food, textiles, wood and metal for the students to use in the classroom. It is especially important for Year 12 to finalise these payments before they finish up at the end of this term. The following are some of the experiences that the students had whilst on this excursion: Naomi – Going to Kurrumbee SSP school was a real eye opener for me and I loved the fact that I got to experience going there. It’s such a lovely environment for the kids to go Mitchell High School Respectful Engaged & Active Learners Page 12 IS HERE!!! Designed by schools for schools, Vivo Miles is an award winning web-based rewards system. Vivo is proven to improve student engagement, raise attendance, improve grades and help achieve school values. At the beginning of Term 3 we introduced a new reward system for the students in Years 7 – 11 called VIVO. All students have now been given a log in and their VIVO card to keep on them. Students need to log on to the following website if they have not done so and change their password to something they can remember – www.vivomiles.com.au Teachers now reward students online for the various things they do that they would normally have been given REALies and REAL awards for. Students can log on to their account and see how many points they have and also what they have been rewarded for. After they have accumulated enough points students are able to use their account and points to purchase items from the VIVO shop which includes some school based prizes. There is never any cost to the students just their VIVO points! One of the benefits of this new system is that parents can become involved and use it as part of their own reward system for your students. Look out shortly for more information on how to get involved. The following information is from the website and explains a little about parental involvement. STATISTICS So far this term we have had 43,578 vivos given out with 11,645 of those in the last week. We ared able to track the students by years, roll call and houses to see how many are being given. Three weeks into the program we have the following league table by years and Houses: Year 7 10 097 HOUSE POINTS Year 8 10 751 Brigalow 10 216 Year 9 9 711 Cooramyn 11 730 Year 10 6 635 Kareela 10 024 Year 11 6 352 Mirrabooka 11 576 Mitchell High School Respectful Engaged & Active Learners Page 13 For Parents The Vivo Parental Engagement Platform has been designed to positively "engage and inform" parents. With your own personal Vivo account you can view information relating to your child’s rewards. Everything is presented in a way that is clear and easy to understand and delivered in a format you choose. With the option to receive updates by email, information can be pushed to you in real time or on a periodic basis, and you can access your account wherever you have access to an internet enabled PC. https://www.vivomiles.com.au/for.parents.php Parents have access to: Monitoring Access information on your child’s rewards. Pledges Make a private pledge to your child, linked to progress at school, to increase motivation. SMS updates Pocket money Receive real-time or periodic updates on your child’s daily transaction history, including all rewards, teachers’ comments and purchases/donations Link pocket money to your child’s progress at school. For Students So, Vivo, eh? What’s all that about? It’s the 21st century right? So, when you do something worthy of a reward at school, you want something a little more interesting than a sticker or a stamp in your planner from your teacher, yeah? Ok, so how about having your own personal rewards card, just like a bank card? Well that’s what you get with Vivo! Here’s more about how it works: Mitchell High School Respectful Engaged & Active Learners Page 14 Staff are very excited and keen to see students be rewarded for their positive behaviours and we hope all parents and students engage with this new system. Bronze, silver, Gold and Platinum certificates will continue to exist with this new system so that students still have the certificates to add to their resumes and CV’s. Any questions or additional information can be obtained from Mrs. Pares, Ms. Scheerhoorn or Mr. Ranjit. If any parents are able to donate prizes that we can add to the system we would be most appreciative. R.E.A.L. Awards for the Month of June The following students have achieved certificates in the following categories: BRONZE Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 12 SILVER Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Olivia Atfield, Matthew Campbell, Scott Campbell, Mariah Correia, Sarah Cupitt, Sinead Davidson, Pauline Deliso, Amaya Greco, Amy Hardie, Leon Karagic, Bikram Khanna, Simon Lin, Elma Mesanovic, Alana Mijic, Calissa Nguyen, Henry Oo, Logan Paske, Krishnil Singh, Mansimran Singh, Cloey Van Duin, Kasey Yarrington, Jackie Zhou Gavin Bloomfield, Andreana Cassar, Emily Cornish, Patricia Dionisio, Heath Lee-Eyles, Rikki Libunao, Harsimran Saini Daruka Acouth, Jordan Ashby-Brigandi, Purushotam Bhandari, Sayed Hashemi, Jason Ison, Aye Khin, Rebekah Moore Stefan Gutic, Xie Wu Veronica Chiu, Jennifer Sanchez, Johanna Whelan Year 10 Year 12 Matthew Campbell, Sarah Cupitt, Pauline Deliso, Calissa Nguyen, Krishnil Singh, Jackie Zhou Emily Cornish, Rikki Libunao, Harsimran Saini Daruka Acouth, Jordan Ashby-Brigandi, Purushotam Bhandari, Sayed Hashemi, Jason Ison, Rebekah Moore Xie Wu Veronica Chiu, Jennifer Sanchez GOLD Year 8 Year 9 Year 12 Harsimran Saini Jordan Ashby-Brigandi, Sayed Hashemi Veronica Chiu, Jennifer Sanchez Mitchell High School Respectful Engaged & Active Learners Page 15 Mitchell High School Respectful Engaged & Active Learners Page 16 Mitchell High School Respectful Engaged & Active Learners Page 17 Mitchell High School Respectful Engaged & Active Learners Page 18 Mitchell High School Respectful Engaged & Active Learners Page 19 Mitchell High School Respectful Engaged & Active Learners Page 20