Issue 7 – November 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

Welcome back for our final term of the year as we enjoy the beautiful weather it brings.

Last term we farewelled our Year 12s at their final school assembly, and look forward to seeing all our Year 12s again at Valedictory on 15 November.

Year 12 Principal’s Award 2019

Each year at the final Year 12 assembly, I present a Principal’s Award to those students who consistently show outstanding attitude, effort and behaviour in all their subjects. They are not necessarily the ones who have achieved the top marks, but they are those who have given of their best and who are to be commended on these high standards. Congratulations to Jasmine Aulsebrook, Olivia Caubo, Kelsie Huisman, Selina Hutcheon, Caydon Johns, Ebony Kirkup, Jasmine Loly, Georgia Luderman, Olivia Nanut, Briony Rothnie, Benjamin Smeulders, Olivia Trimboli, and Lara Whiting.

Mental Health Awards

I am pleased to share that our school has been selected as a finalist in the Education section of the WA Mental Health Awards for 2019. Winners will be announced on 18 November.

Congratulations to Jenny Edmonds (our school psychologist) and the Student Services team for the amazing work they do in raising awareness and supporting the positive mental health of students and staff.

Year 12 Student Leaders for 2020

At the end of last term, we undertook our selection process and announced at our final assembly, the Year 12 Student Leaders for 2020. Congratulations to all those who nominated for these positions. Our leaders for 2020 will be

Head Boy - Brennan Nairn and Deputy – Nic Takac
Head Girl - Chamoda Idamgedara and Deputy – Sarah Gerace

Joining this student leadership team are Brodie Fowler and Jazmine Hogg as prefects, and as House Prefects –Erin Rovacsek for Pegasus, Mika Berman for Draco, Shelley Dewrance for Phoenix and Richard Jewell-Tait for Orion.

Congratulations to our new leaders and we look forward to a great year ahead.

Twilight Concert

This was an amazing evening showcasing our talented music students under the stars. Despite the sprinkling rain it was a magical evening with the finale of Bohemian Rhapsody bringing together over 100 in this performance.

Thank you to Marcus Roberts and Michelle Vivian, Peter Hind, all the IMSS staff, technical support and amazing MusiKal parents for pulling together such a stunning and memorable event.

Cause to be proud

Phornchita Sullivan (Year 11) received an A+ (High distinction) in her Grade 5 Classical Guitar AMEB exam. Well done Phornchita.

Congratulations to Riley McCallion (Year 12) who has passed her audition for studying Clarinet at WAPPA for 2019

Fright Night

Congratulations to all our students (both current and former) who were part of this Kalamunda Zig Zag Community Arts event. It was an amazing display of home grown talent and thank you to Mr Roberts and our music staff for their support of our students.

Gifted and Talented Art Exhibition

Our talented students’ work was on display in the annual exhibition. Opening on Saturday 26 October and again on Sunday, nearly 300 visitors attended this wonderful exhibition over the weekend. Thank you to our Coordinators Charlotte Gee and Zoe Wittber, our Art staff and tutors, our canteen for the catering and our student musicians who provided the entertainment.

Sustainability Committee

Thank you to our Committee who have been very active and productive this year, and special thanks to Sarah Adams for her leadership of this group.

They have recently achieved gold status in the Department of Transport’s Your Move program. Well done!

City of Kalamunda - new Parking and Parking Facilities Local Laws 2019

Please be aware of these new Local Laws as they have already come into effect on 25 October 2019.

Farewells and welcomes

Last term we farewelled Mrs Dunstan who is taking leave until the end of 2020. Mr Henry will be taking her media classes until the end of the year.

We welcome the following students to our school Holly Douglas, Kahlan Elliss, Mickayla Fowler, Declan Justice and Jesse Smith.

Best wishes for Term 4.

Helen Deacon
Principal

Senior School Report

Term 3 concluded eloquently with our customary Year 12 Breakfast which was held in the Cafeteria and was absolutely superb for all who were there. Our final Year 12 Assembly was exceptional, lots of intuitive words, a few funny moments and a final heartfelt farewell to our Year 12s, the Class of 2019, before they headed of for their valedictory rehearsal and ATAR exam venues.

With the ATAR practical exams and school mock exams during the last school holidays completed, the Year 12 students embarked on their final couple of weeks of school completing work, receiving mock exam feedback and preparing for their ATAR exam. Even though some students were feeling anxious which is not unusual for this time of the year, the last couple of weeks finished off the school year for the 12s well. Our ATAR exam venues tour helped to make sure those students doing ATAR exams know where to go and the procedures for their exams. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our Year 12s, the Class of 2019, every success and happiness in whatever they pursue in their futures.

The Year 11s are keenly finishing off final assessments and preparing for their exams or work placements. We have also been making plans for their much anticipated leavers jacket. The present Year 11s are an enthusiastic and determined group of young people and we all anticipate an extraordinary year ahead with many highlights to come. Good luck to those students doing exams and work placements, hopefully the year will end on a positive note for all.

The Year 10 students are looking forward to Transition, where they get the opportunity to have a taster of what courses they have chosen for Year 11. This is always a time of much excitement and some trepidation of what next head will hold for them. As customary, our Year 10 Dinner Dance will be held at the end of Transition and is always a wonderful night enjoyed by all.

Sharon Andrews
Head of Senior School

Year 9 Report

Exams are in full swing this week for Years 9 to 11. The exams play an important role in preparing students for Senior School. It is a time for students to develop their organisational skills which are imperative in the senior years of high school ensuring they check their exam schedule each morning and they have the equipment required for the exam. I wish them all good luck with their remaining exams and hope that they achieve the goals they set for themselves.

The end of semester reward is the Year 9 River Cruise which will be held on the 17 December in the evening. Students who are in good standing will be receiving an invitation in the next few weeks and it is important that they maintain their good standing until the end of term. Please encourage your child to wear full school uniform, attend 90% of the time and to behave respectfully in our school community as this will ensure they remain in good standing.

Congratulations to the group of girls who attended Triple Challenge at the end of Term 3. They challenged themselves in canoeing, high ropes and cycling. It was fantastic to see the support they showed to each other to help spur each other on to achieve each challenge.

Let’s keep up the momentum to the very end of the term and finish off our middle schooling doing the very best that we can.

If you have any queries or concerns please feel free to contact me. The best form of communication is via email at laura.cheetham@education.wa.edu.au

Laura Morris
Year 9 Coordinator

Year 8 Report

Term 4 has already commenced and it has been great to see all the Year 8 students renewed and ready to tackle their final term for the year as a Year 8 student!

This term is an important term as we have the middle school exams and formal tests and we also have some exciting rewards coming up for students who have held their Good Standing. One is the Rewards Day which will be a Year 8 Outdoor Cinema Event held at the school on Thursday the 12 December, from 5.30 – 9.00pm. We will be screening the classic and retro musical: GREASE!

In terms of well-being and high-care our school Nurse Lousie Jonker has been running the ‘In Real Life Program’ which helps students to build upon their social and interpersonal skills nurturing their well-being whilst at school. I’d like to thank Louise for all her efforts this term and this year.

I look forward to a constructive term where students will continue to develop their own voice, academic skills and uphold the school vales of Respect, Resilience, Pride, Community and a Love of Learning.

As this is my first year taking on the Year 8 cohort as their Year Coordinator, I could not be more proud of my cohort for their efforts and all the parents that I have spoken to throughout the year. I honestly believe that parental support and feedback is vital to the growth of our Year 8 students and the school.

Thanks you once again and I hope to see your child at the Rewards Day!

Best wishes.

Ashley Meaden
Year 8 Coordinator

“Oh yes, the past can hurt. But, you can either run from it or learn from it.” – Rafiki, The Lion King

Science Update

Stay Calm and Chainsaw

Students doing CALM (Conservation and Land Management) with Ms Morris in Year 11 have completed a learning sequence on correct pruning technique in plant management. This of course means that appropriate tools must be used (and safety protocols followed), including the use of a moderately sized chainsaw. Taylor Duncan showed no mercy to our school hedging, and Ms Morris captured the moment from a safe distance whilst supervising.

Lindesay Pound
Science Teacher

Music News

The start of Term 4 hit the ground running with our biggest event of the year the Twilight Concert on Wednesday, 23 October. Although the rain dampened the grounds it didn’t dampen our spirits! Performing over two stages were all of our IMSS performance groups featuring Strings, Guitar ensembles, Concert Bands, Choirs, Rock Bands and Chamber groups. The grand finale featured 100 music students performing Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. Michelle Vivian arranged the grand finale and also worked closely with Tashana Tweddle whilst collaborating with the Gooseberry Hill Primary School students for the opening item ‘Mama Mia’. It was a really fun evening and a special big thanks goes to Musikal for supporting the concert and all the volunteers who worked tirelessly to make it happen.

On Friday, 25 October my Year 11 certificate of music students collaborated with Zig Zag Arts and Junkadelic in putting on a Halloween styled youth music concert event called ‘Friday Fright Night’. The event featured lots of current Kalamunda Senior High School (KSHS) music students across several year groups and also past KSHS music students. There was a wonderful sense of community and creation over the night and I would like to congratulate my Year 11 music students for organising, stage managing and performing in the event. There were even specially designed tee shirts and custom spooky guitar picks.

Overall both events were a huge success and I would like to congratulate all the students for their efforts! Bravo!!

Marcus Roberts
Director of Music

Gifted and Talented Visual Art

Wow! What a busy time Term 4 has been already. Our Gifted and Talented students have been producing fantastic art work, exhibiting and entering competitions and in Week 2 hosted our very own Art Exhibition. In our Saturday workshops, students are focussing on traditional art mediums and conventions in drawing and painting developing observational skills. This term we have had an array of students selected to exhibit in the Darlington Arts Festival, being awarded for their entries:

• Lucas Yeates (Year 7) - winner Youth Art Encouragement award ($250 art supplies);
• Jessica Burton (Year 8) - People’s Choice Award winner $450);
• Georgia Luderman (Year 12) - Highly Commended ($50); and
• Charlotte Eden (Year 12) - Highly Commended ($50).

Later this term, the prestigious Lester Prize awards will be announced; which one of our Gifted and Talented Art student Sarah Hoey (Year 11) is a finalist.

Our 2019 Art Exhibition was a wonderful event. The feedback from visitors, parents and staff has been absolutely wonderful; viewers were delighted with the standard of art work our Kalamunda SHS students produce. Visitors have been particularly impressed with the Year 7 cohort and the level of determination and skill evident in our students’ work.

Outstanding Achievement Award winners 2019 GATE Art

Year 7 - Leah Kuckelkorn, Year 8 - Lucas Rummer, Year 9 - Stella Pryde, Year 10 - Hayleigh Kerr, Year 11 - Sarah Hoey, Year 12 - Riley McCallion

I am so proud of all the Gifted and Talented Art students at Kalamunda SHS. Our students continue to blow me away with their passion, perseverance and talent in the arts.

Charlotte Gee
Gifted and Talented Visual Art Coordinator

Year 11 Fashion Design

Roll up, roll up to see the greatest show on earth! The Year 11 Fashion students created circus inspired costumes for their wearable art project. The amazing Year 9 KPA students volunteered to be models and happily got into character. A special thanks goes to Jacinta in Year 11 for taking all the photos. Hoop-la!!

Claire Eden
Visual Arts Teacher

Italian Opera Night

Year 8 and 10 Italian students experienced a very elegant night at His Majesty’s Theatre for an Italian Opera Experience. Alongside Saint Brigid’s College and Mount Lawley SHS, we were the largest school group, of over 50 students to attend this prestigious event! Year 10 students had been studying Macbeth in English class so it was beneficial for them to link this renowned play to the Italian language. The Italian composer, Giuseppe Verdi had an obsession with Shakespeare and he was inspired to create dramatic scenes of conflict and crisis which would in turn fully reveal characters on the stage. Students were invited to the Puccini Room, the upper level of His Majesty’s Theatre, where they met the Italian Ambassador for Australia and the Italian Consul of Canberra. Students were recognised and congratulated for their continuation of their Italian studies. The 24 September was also the International Day of Italian language and culture. Students were approached by ‘Il Globo’ Italian newspaper (which is distributed Australia wide) and interviewed about their Italian studies and opera experience. This article will appear in the next edition. Students were very impressed by the live orchestra, stage props and lighting and exuberant costumes. This experience gave them a different perspective of the Arts and reminded them how the Italian language and culture can be connected and applied in various industries.

The night was made extra special with the attendance of our lovely office staff, Desi our Chaplain, Jenny Smith and Helen Clues. I would like to thank our Italian and Japanese assistants, Benedetta and Hazuki, for their support and participation at this excursion. Students really appreciated this excursion and sharing it with you.

Lastly, I would also like to acknowledge the parents who joined us at the Opera. It was a memorable way to be part of a school event. On behalf of the Languages Department, thank you for your enthusiasm and love of languages!

Maria Pennington
Teacher in Charge of Languages

Indonesian

Murdoch University Excursion

Students in Years 9 and 10 studying Indonesian visited Murdoch University to immerse themselves and extend their cultural understanding about the Indonesian way of life. They played the Angklung musical instrument and visited the Murdoch University.

It was a fantastic day to see these students immersing themselves without hesitation in the Angklung Ensemble Workshop. The respect and their participation was exemplary.

They also took part in a quiz in the afternoon with the Jason Doyle.

The Angklung is a musical instrument from Indonesia made of a varying number of bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame. The tubes are carved to have a resonant pitch when struck and are tuned to octaves, similar to Western handbells.

Bahasa Indonesia

Recently 45 Year 7 students participated in the Indonesian Dance Incursion. Suara Indonesia from Sydney came over to show our students dance movements from Aceh, Sumatra. The students showed so much of enthusiasm and were not hesitant to participate in all the dance skills.

Saman (or the dance of a thousand hands) is one of the most popular dances in Indonesia. Its origin is from the Gayo ethnic group from Gayo Lues, Aceh province, Sumatera, and is normally performed to celebrate important occasions. The dance is characterised by its fast-paced rhythm and common harmony between dancers.

The Ratoeh Duek is performed in a horizontal line where dancers are in a sitting position, shoulder to shoulder. The distinctive movements including body percussion, intricate hand movements, and partner work with technical exactitude and prowess.

The students were introduced to a melodic phrase at a moderate tempo and repeated the phrase at increasing speeds until finally bursting out at breakneck speed. Our students watched and erupted in cheers at the apex after the first few phrases, and soon learned to watch with anticipation as each new phrase was introduced, never losing enthusiasm as countless phrases were performed. All the students followed the direction of Alifira (director of Suara Indonesia).

Below are photos of our Year 7 students performing the dance.

Ibu Kaler
Indonesian Teacher

Spotlight on Sustainability

It has been a busy time for the Sustainability Committee as we continue our participation in a number of school-focused programs. We are proud to announce that Kalamunda SHS has now been accepted into the Water Corporation's Waste Wise program. As an accredited school we have access to a wide range of wonderful incursions to help support student education. We look forward to seeing students access this program in 2020. We also celebrated National Water Week during October and had a school wide focus on sustainable use of water across campus.

We have also been continuing our involvement in the Department of Transport's Your Move program which encourages schools to promote active travel options. Through our active role in this program we have moved from our bronze level announced earlier this year, have surpassed silver, and are now recognised as gold members. A huge thank you goes to Mr Stott's Year 8 Outdoor Adventure Program students who recently allowed us to interview them about bike education. Sharing their views with Your Move was key to lifting us to this accreditation level. Here is what some of the students had to say about their participation in the OAP course:

"We get the opportunity to ride throughout the local area and develop an awareness of bike safety." - Max L

"It's very fun because you get to spend time outdoors being active." - Noah G

"It's fun, educational and provides us with a really valuable skill set." - Caitlin S

"Each year progresses allowing us to learn essential skills including bike safety." - Siobhan S

We look forward to celebrating National Recycling Week from November 11 to 17 and sharing an update about our Waste Wise Activities, too.

Sarah Adams
English Teacher

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Lesmurdie Legends Swimming Club

Opera at Twilight

WAAPA Summer School Holiday Program 2020