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As we near the end of our Term 1 – I hope our students and families have had a successful start to the new year.
Building update
Our STEM project to provide a new Science classroom and Home Economics classroom is set to get under way over the upcoming holidays. This work will be completed over the next few terms, and we are looking forward to being able to access these new facilities later in 2023 and in 2024.
Our main building project for the new teaching block, ESC and Art block is currently working through a tender process to appoint a new builder. We look forward to hearing news that work will recommence in the near future.
Principal’s award
Thank you to Maria Pennington for nominating me for this award. I was very humbled by the nomination and I want to really acknowledge the amazing work of our language teachers and the leadership of Maria – who is an inspiration to all our staff and students. Her passion and enthusiasm for language learning is contagious and we are very fortunate to have her leading our language program.
STEM award
We congratulate our Year 11 students from the My Chemical Robots – Team 9191 who participated recently in the national FIRST robotocs competition in Wooloongong. They won the 'Rookie Allstar' Award and Toby Trent won the 'Dean’s List' award. We are very proud of their acheivements and you can read more about there success in this issue. I would like to sincerely thank our teachers Mitch Winstanley and Amber Bullock for giving up their time and energy to support these students. Thank you also to the parents for their ongoing support for the STEM robotic club.
World’s greatest shave
We saw an amazing example of our school values during the World’s Greatest Shave recently – where many of our students participated in fundraising, sponsoring others, donating and raising awareness for people impacted by blood cancers. Seven of our students shaved their hair for this worthy cause and collectively we raised nearly $5800.Kalamunda 2023 | World's Greatest Shave | Leukaemia Foundation
Career expo
We recently held a Year 10 Career expo at our school organised and coordinated by our Career Practitioner Amanda Moreno-Diaz. We had a great selection of industries, tertiary education providers and TAFE represented. We thank all these professionals for their support in helping our students explore different careers and Amanda for her amazing work coordinating such an amazing opportunity for our students.
- Defence force- Defence Jobs Australia - Browse Jobs
- City of Kalamunda- Environmental Health and Art&Culture Department
- Kids Hq- Day care centre
- CTF-Construction Training Fund | Funding Training, Building Skills (ctf.wa.gov.au)
- Muresk Institute- Muresk Home (dtwd.wa.gov.au)
- Gold Industry group- Gold Industry Group
- Aurizon- Aurizon - Australia’s largest rail freight operator
- CCIWA-Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA — CCIWA
- Police- Let's Join Forces - WA Police Force (letsjoinforces.wa.gov.au)
- Financial Planning Association of Australia- Financial planners | Financial Planning Association of Australia | FPA
- Hospitality Group Training- Hospitality Training | WA (hgtwa.com.au)
- Emergency Service- Kalamunda Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade – Kalamunda Bush Fire Brigade (kalamundabfb.org.au)
- MPA-MPA Skills – Painting and Plumbing Pre Apprenticeships, Apprenticeship Employment and Training Courses in Perth
- Roshana Care Group- Roshana Care Group - Home
- ICRAR-Home - ICRAR
- SkillHire- Australia’s Leading Training, Staffing & Employment Agency | Skill Hire
- St John Ambulance- St John WA - Supporting the wellbeing of our local communities
- Senior Legal Division- Explore the department: | Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (commerce.wa.gov.au)
- Public relations – Keegan Berke
- TAFE north and south- Discover your game plan | North Metropolitan TAFE (northmetrotafe.wa.edu.au)
- ECU-ECU | Joondalup Campus : Our campuses : About ECU
- Murdoch University- Murdoch University
- Curtin- Curtin University | Make tomorrow better
- UWA-The University of Western Australia - Seek wisdom with a leading university for employability (uwa.edu.au)
- Notre Dame University- Notre Dame | Notre Dame
Staffing updates
We wish Grace Oorschot and Rosie Fitoussi all the very best for the safe arrival of their babies and we welcome Tom Hall, Sarah Walker and Ruth Dogovski who will be covering their classes while they take leave.
We also wish Ibu Kuldeep Kaler all the very best as she retires at the end of this term. Ibu Kaler has had a long 43 year career in teaching, with the last 19 years at our school. She has been a passionate and caring teacher, enriching her classes with cultural experiences, overseas trips and exchange programs. She has been a valued staff member and we wish her all the very best for the future.
Wishing everyone all the best for the start of term.
Helen Deacon
Principal
As Term 1 draws to a completion, we can reflect back, and it has been a relatively smooth start to the year for our Year 12 students. They are all hopefully back into the rigor and routine of school. Workshops during meeting periods, excursions and incursions provided, are all intended to provide the students with the skills and strategies to support them in achieving the best results possible, and to also help them navigate their transition to life after school.
Swimming carnival, school photos all behind them now as they eagerly await the Leavers Jackets due to arrive early in Term 2 and they will very quickly become a winter uniform essential for our Year 12s, confirming they are the class of 2023.
Just a reminder that it is imperative for each Year 12 student to be mindful of information gained during incursions/excursions, ensure all assessments and assignments are handed in, and on the due date. Students should be well into the habit of putting in every effort and using their study time to give themselves every possible opportunity for success. Finally, it is also important to have a good life balance to help each one of you perform at your very best.
Happy Holidays and please be safe.
Sharon AndrewsProgram Coordinator Student Support
Year 11 is a bit like a marathon, you need to pace yourself, manage your time appropriately and not go at full speed otherwise you are at risk of burn out. With the holidays approaching, it is the perfect time to take a bit of break and get back on track with those good habits. Check in with yourself and ensure you look after both your mental and physical health. Take some time to get organised and prepare yourself for Term 2. This will help to reduce your stress as you approach first semester exams or work placements. It is important to spend some time reflecting on your progress and implementing strategies to improve. A good starting point is to identify your strengths and weaknesses in each course - this will allow you to make a targeted approach to your study. Be sure to use your unit outlines and student planners to help you achieve your goals.
Well done to those students who just completed their OLNA testing, and I would like to congratulate our Year 11 students who represented our school at the Interschool Swimming Carnival. A huge thank you to the Student Leadership team for their help and support during the World’s Greatest Shave. It was a huge success! Lastly, just a reminder, if you need any support in navigating Year 11, please do not hesitate to get in contact.
Have a safe and restful holiday.
Special Programs for 2023 School Visits
Very soon I will be starting to attend some of our local primary schools and speak to the Year 6 students about our Special Programs. Please note that the closing date for these applications is Monday 5 May so if you know someone who may be interested in applying for one of them, then please direct them to our website for more information.
Student Planner
As a reminder, can you please ensure that your students have their Student Diary and are using it. A great way to check is to write a note in it and have them get the teachers to sign it. This is a great communication tool and also helps to develop those planning skills which are becoming more vital in an ever changing employment market.
Cybersafety
I have been fielding some questions on Cybersafety lately so I want to remind you about the Office of E-safety . This is a wonderful resource for all ages and discusses very real examples of how to keep your child safe in an Online world.
Year 8 Bibbulmun Challenge
Our tradition of taking our Year 8s out into the wonderful community and seeing what is just at our back door. We take each Year 8 mentor class about 11km (by bus) from Kalamunda and we then pick up the Bibbulmun Track and walk back to school. It is a great day that really builds resilience and a wonderful sense of accomplishment. I have attached the timetable below and notes will come out about 2 weeks prior to the day.
Mentor Class |
Date |
Week |
Mentor Teacher |
MG8.02 |
Friday 31/03/2023 |
Week 9 Term 1 |
Ms V Thornton |
MG8.03 |
Mr G Sloan |
||
MG8.01 |
Thursday 6/04/2023 |
Week 10 Term 1 |
Mrs L Morris |
MG8.04 |
Friday 28/04/2023 |
Week 1 Term 2 |
Mr B Hart |
MG8.05 |
Mr M Roberts |
||
MG8.06 |
Friday 5/05/2023 |
Week 2 Term 2 |
Mr J Wittber |
MG8.07 |
Dr M Aslett |
||
MG8.08 |
Friday 12/05/2023 |
Week 3 Term 2 |
Mr S Jay |
MG8.09 |
Ms S Bee |
||
MG8.10 |
Friday 19/05/2023 |
Week 4 Term 2 |
Ms T Smith |
MG8.11 |
Mr G Forrest |
Just in closing please stay in touch with your child’s teachers as high school is a partnership. We need and want your input on how things are travelling so please do not ever be afraid to contact us by emailing kalamunda.shs@education.wa.edu.au and your email will be forwarded to the relevant staff member.
It has been pleasing to see the Year 9s make a positive start to school this term. In their third year of high school, many students have their routine down pat. However, it’s important not to become complacent. As the eldest students in the Middle School, Year 9s are role models for their younger peers. In our Student Council, the student leaders are beginning to take a more active role in the school and soon we will select the Middle School Leaders. This will be announced at our end-of-term assembly.
I’d like to take this opportunity to highlight the importance of regular attendance. Did you know, that just one day off school per fortnight equates to 4 weeks of absences per year? Every day counts. Every day, students build on what they already know and develop new skills. Some tips to encourage school attendance include:
- Talk about school in a positive way with your child so they want to go.
- Talk about the benefits of school and value for them.
- Ask your child how they are going at school and about their friends.
- Support them to identify solutions to any issues or concerns they may have.
- Encourage your child to set personal goals related to school each term and acknowledge their efforts and achievements.
- Find out about what your child would like to do in their future and discuss the pathways available to them.
This year, the Year 9 students have the opportunity to participate in the Triple Challenge. Students can nominate by seeing Desi at recess or lunch. The Triple Challenge is a fantastic opportunity to undertake outdoors activities, develop friendships and reflect on our school values such as resilience, respect and pride. The challenges include activities such as canoeing and cycling. This is an opt-in activity, so make sure you contact Desi if you’d like to be involved.
As we head towards the Easter break, I’d like to remind parents to book an appointment at our upcoming parent night to discuss your child’s progress in their classes.
Kelly Walker
Year 9 Coordinator
The Year 8s have had such a positive start to school this year and I have enjoyed meeting with each of the mentor groups over the course of the term. I have been particularly impressed by the number of positive reports from staff about how engaged and respectful our Year 8 students have been in their classes.
On March 17 our school participated in the World’s Greatest Shave. We are proud of Year 8 students Felix and Lachy who volunteered to shave and contributed to raising funds for the Leukemia Foundation. This demonstrates their courage and generosity – well done boys! A big thank you also goes to our Student Councillors and House Representatives who helped with the organisation and promotion of this event and assisted with the bake sale on the day.
Over the coming weeks, students will be completing an increasing number of assessments and winter sports will soon be starting, too. I know for many students this means juggling competing commitments. Students are strongly encouraged to regularly check their Connect classes and to take time to revise their schoolwork and complete any outstanding work. Maintaining a routine is a great way to keep on top of their study load and social life. School diaries have been provided to all students and these are an excellent way to keep track of the different tasks they need to complete. If your student did not receive a diary, please ask them to check in with their Mentor teacher.
Over the coming weeks, Year 8 students will be participating in one of our much-loved Kalamunda SHS traditions: The Bibbulmun Challenge. Mentor groups will be walking a section of the Bibbulmun track as part of our focus on our school values of Pride, Resilience and Community. Students will bring home additional information as their opportunity to participate approaches and I look forward to taking on the challenge with the students over the coming months.
Starting high school can be an exciting and overwhelming time for students. It marks a new chapter in their lives and presents opportunities for growth and development. To make the most of their time at school this year, here are a few tips:
- Set goals: high school is a time to explore new interests and passions. Students should take the time to set personal and academic goals for themselves. At this time of year, students have started to receive feedback on their assessments; it’s a perfect time to reflect and set goals for Term 2.
- Join clubs and extracurricular activities: high school offers a variety of activities and students should use these to meet new people and develop leadership and social skills. Why not grab a basketball at lunch and get up a game on the courts? I’ve been pleased to see Year 7s getting involved in Robotics club and joining the debate team! You might also be interested in AV club, Spectrum or Maths Club. If you have an idea for a club, let me know.
- Get organised: high school can be demanding so make sure that you avoid procrastinating and use your time effectively to get on top of homework and other commitments. All students have now received their diary via their mentor classes so that they can keep track of homework, assessments, and important events.
I’d like to congratulate the Year 7s for their mature and responsible approach to NAPLAN this term. Although tests can be stressful, the students did a great job of navigating the online platform, working quietly, and finding their way to different classrooms as required. Coming up on the calendar we have our Parent Teacher meetings on the 5 April and we look forward to meeting with you to discuss your child’s progress so far this year.
In the FIRST® Robotics Competition teams design, program, and build a robot starting with a standard kit of parts and common set of rules to play in a head-to-head challenge. In the 2023 theme of Charged Up two competing alliances process game pieces to bring energy to their community by retrieving their game pieces from substations and scoring it into the grid. Human players provide the game pieces to the robots from the substations. In the final moments of each match, alliance robots race to dock or engage with their charge station!
In March, Team '9191 | My Chemical Robots' travelled to Wollongong in New South Wales to compete in this year’s Southern Cross Regional event. Our travel involved 2 planes flights, 4 train journeys, 8 elevators and we lost count of how many kilometres of walking… all while transporting our robot and tools. During the qualifications matches we placed 12th out of 38 teams. This led to us becoming an alliance captain for the playoffs during which our alliance tied for 7th place.
As a team we were awarded the very prestigious Rookie All-Star Award. This award celebrates the rookie team exemplifying a young but strong partnership effort, as well as implementing the mission of FIRST to inspire students to learn more about science and technology. Our team captain, Toby Trent won the coveted Dean’s List Finalist Award. This award recognises the leadership and dedication of FIRST’s most outstanding secondary school students.
Through our Rookie All-star Award our team has qualified to attend the 2023 FIRST® Championship in Houston, Texas! I am so very proud of this amazing and inspiring bunch of humans!
Amber Bullock
STEM Teacher
On 14 March, the Mathematics team celebrated international Pi Day. Pi is an irrational number that is pivotal in Mathematics as it is used when dealing with all things circular. Did you know that Albert Einstein was born on Pi Day in 1879? How many digits can you recite? Congratulations to Cassidy Bottrell in Year 10 who was able to recite one hundred places!
π = 3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944 …
This year, Pi Day occurred on a Tuesday which meant the whole school was able to start the day with some fun activities in Extended Mentor. The word puzzles certainly created a lot of discussion between staff and students. Mathematics staff also provided an extra puzzle, modelling their new shirts for 2023. Do you know what it says?
It was nice to be able to celebrate this special day in a small way and we hope that everyone enjoyed exploring Pi. I have attached photographs showing highlights from some of the class activities.
By now, all students will have completed at least one assessment. Please check Connect to see how your child is progressing. Don’t forget that students have access to Mathspace, where they can work on any content that has been covered in class.
Alanna Webb
Head of Mathematics Learning Area
It has been a busy start to the year in the English Department. We wish Ms Geneve the best on her long service leave and Mrs Fitoussi and Ms Oorschot well as they go on maternity leave. We are sad to see them go, but we are very excited to welcome Ms Pritchard, Ms Gordevich and Mr Hall to our teaching team.
Our Year 11 and 12 ATAR Literature students attended a performance of 'Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Perth City, which was a part of Perth Festival. The show combined stage and audiovisual performance which was highly engaging and thought provoking. Thank you to Ms Stokes for organizing the excursion, and Ms Stuart and Ms Geneve for taking the students.
Five Year 9 students have joined the Young Writer’s Collective. They attended their first workshop at the Fremantle Literature Centre with author Barry Jonsberg. Some highlights of the workshop were his stories about acting and friendship with Miriam Margolyes, of Harry Potter fame, how not to and how to write effective description, writing short stories and the all-important editing, which is surprisingly his favourite part of the editing process.
Ms Walker’s 7.01 class held a poetry competition. The students were required to submit an innovation of the poem ‘My Country’ by Dorothea Mackeller as part of their poetry unit. Some excellent versions were submitted, and the 3 winners were Esmae Roberts, Evan Dunning and Joshua Green.
Ms Oorschot has teamed up with Ms Davies from HASS to create the Kalamunda Debate Team. The team has attracted exciting numbers and they are meeting on Mondays at lunch time to enhance their argumentative skills. It is also an opportunity for students to practice their public speaking.
In Year 8 we have been practicing reading and visual comprehension whilst learning about the importance of sustainability and looking after the environment.
Nicolee McNally
English Teacher
Recently, the Year 10 GAT and ATAR Visual Art students went on an excursion to ECU Mount Lawley to learn Dry Point Etching with print specialist and lecturer Paul Uhlmann. The student came up with amazing artworks which they pre-prepared as illustrations based on the theme of Distortion. It was a fantastic opportunity as we had access to a whole range of print making presses which made the process seamless. The students were very articulate in discussing their ideas on the day and were very industrious and engaged. I was very proud of our students who represented the school very well by with their polite manner and conscientiousness. Well done to all our students!
Dusty Ward
Head of Arts Learning Area
Kalamunda Performing Arts (KPA)
It’s been a busy and productive start to the year for Kalamunda Performing Arts. It’s been wonderful to welcome the new Year 7 cohort, in both the General and Music streams. All year groups are busily working on their first tasks for the year and it is delightful to see their talents continuing to develop. On the 9 March, Michelle Vivian and Anna Head took the combined Year 8 classes to visit Gooseberry Hill and Darlington Primary Schools to promote the program. We were also able to take our Year 9 rock group along to perform as well. The students were wonderful ambassadors for the program and the school, and we were very happily received by both Primary schools.
Anna Head
KPA Coordinator
Harmony Day and Harmony Week
Harmony Week is all about celebrating the amazing cultures that make up our country. Australia is one of the most multicultural countries in the world – from the oldest continuous culture of our First Australians to the 49% of Australians who were born overseas or have a parent who was.
Our cultural diversity is a great strength and brings with it a whole host of traditions, religions, languages and of course, food! It helps us to do things in different ways, reduces discrimination and lets us accept difference. Despite this, being anything other than Anglo can sometimes be challenging in Australia. It can feel like there’s nobody else like you and people’s lack of understanding sometimes leads to conflict.
You might know this event as 'Harmony Day' – it's been renamed 'Harmony Week' to recognise the diversity and inclusion activities that take place during the week e.g. at schools and workplaces. Harmony Week includes March 21, which is the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. We’ve put together some tips for how to make the most of Harmony Week.
Share a meal
Get your mates together and host a Harmony meal – if there’s one thing that brings people together, it’s food! You could ask everybody to bring a dish that means something to them – it could be an old family recipe, a lunchbox favourite or a dish they like to whip up when they want to impress. Get everybody to make a card for their dish explaining what it is and why they brought it, helping everybody connect to each other's cultures.
Our mouths are watering just thinking about these recipes that young people on the ReachOut Online Community shared:
- Jewish chicken soup with matzo
- Bengali beef samosas
- Korean stir-fried noodles
- Sri Lankan chicken curry
Check out local community events
There’s plenty happening around Harmony Week so have a look if there’s an event in your local area. The folks who organise Harmony Week have made a handy calendar. Some events might even be after volunteers or people to share their story – if you’re up for it reach out to the organisers!
Share your story
It can be super powerful to hear other people’s stories. Realising that somebody else has felt the same way or made the same mistake helps you feel less alone.
Whether you’re thinking you might share at a Harmony Week event or you want to speak to your colleagues/friends/random strangers on the street – have a think about why you’re sharing and what you want to get across. Check out this short vid to hear from Roxy on how she found the strength to share her story.
Watch/Read/Listen!
Hearing or seeing your native (or second) language can be really comforting.
- Many local community radio stations have culture-based shows and SBS Radio has shows in 68 different languages PLUS some awesome music shows like PopAraby, PopDesi and PopAsia.
- You can hit up SBS again for a some awesome foreign-language films, check out Palace or Dendy Cinemas if you want to get out of the house to watch something, or even go old-school at your local library which should have a DVD collection you can borrow freely from. Oh, and of course there’s always Netflix!
- When it comes to reading – the world is your oyster. All bookshops and libraries (whether online or IRL) have foreign-language sections you can browse. If it’s been a while since you’ve read something in the language you could even ask a family member to help you – bonding time and culture!
Ask others about their culture
Hearing from others about their culture can be super interesting - it can also help you process your own thoughts and feelings. Carve some time out to hang with a friend or family member and ask what culture means to them.
Feeling nervous about having a chat? Check out our 3 steps to better communication.
Reconnect with the people you miss
It can be hard living apart from loved ones, especially if, for you, that means they’re in another country. Use Harmony Week as a chance to prioritise a Zoom or FaceTime session.
Reconnect with the places you miss
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, put some time aside to spend on country. If this is something that you do regularly, you’ll probably already have a good idea of what works for you. If spending time on country is a little harder or unfamiliar, you could ask an Auntie, Uncle, Elder or friend to welcome you onto their land and learn about their traditions and practices. This sort of reconnection with land can be healing and beneficial for your wellbeing.
For others, think about visiting a favourite restaurant, park or a friend’s house that reminds you of your culture. If you’re in a major city, you could even head to a cultural enclave – just google your city and the culture and you’ll be able to find the locations. For instance, in Sydney you’ll find a large Vietnamese population in Cabramatta, in Brisbane Sunnybank is where you go for Chinese culture and in Melbourne, Dandenong is the home of the Indian community.
Feeling a sense of belonging is really important to make you feel good. Taking the time to connect with and share your culture will go a long way in helping you feel like you’re not alone.
Article by ReachOut.com
Aundraea Stevens
Convenor of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Committee