high school musical a smash hit - · pdf file2 perth modern school | news october 2016...

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Pages 6–7STEAMpunk Festival of Science

2Robocup champions

Page 32House Athletics Carnival

in this issue

More photos on pages 16 and 17.

The Perth Modern School rendition of Disney’s High School Musical played to sold-out audiences over three nights.

High School Musical a smash hit

students snuck in to watch best friends and

classmates.

Opening night fi nally arrived on Thursday,

11 August and trials and tribulations were

forgotten as the house lights went down

and Mrs Hamer started the opening number

with C’mon Wildcats. Over the next two

hours the story unfolded: Troy Bolton,

captain of the basketball team and shy

new girl Gabriella Montez, an intellectual

powerhouse, together

challenged established norms

in a high school setting and

inspired their classmates not

to ‘stick to the status quo’.

The magic of ‘the high

school musical’ transcends

the stage and is evident in

the friendships that developed between the

many students involved. In the lead up to

the production students gathered in groups

around the school rehearsing, songs were

taught by music students to ‘non-music’

students, Year 8 students were teaching

Year 11 students choreography and Year 12

students were earnestly conversing with the

Year 7 students. New skills were developed

in all aspects of the production but none

more so than in the production team as

they worked alongside specialists using

industry specifi c equipment.

Mrs Andrews, Mrs Hamer and I are so proud

of our High School Musical family and wish

to thank the Perth Modern School

community for their support of the

production.

Term 3 had started with a buzz as actors,

musicians and crew counted down to the

performance of the biennial school musical.

The Beasley Auditorium stage was pushed

to its limits as the impressive set was

positioned. Fifty students sung and danced

their way through the fi nal rehearsals as

crew negotiated the movement of set

pieces and properties. The placement of

the musicians was an exercise in creative

problem solving as space was at a premium.

Dress and technical rehearsals quickly

came and went as actors adjusted to radio

microphones and music and lighting cues

just in time for our fi rst performance in front

of incoming Year 6 students.

Tickets became a scarce commodity as the

three evening performances rapidly sold

out. Teachers were coerced as enterprising

SALLY FLOYD, DIRECTOR

2 Perth Modern School | NEWS October 2016 Exceptional schooling.

From the PrincipalAn important goal of Perth Modern School is to provide an environment

of inclusiveness by supporting students to take the lead and participate

in a variety of leadership opportunities. Giving students a voice promotes

responsibility, educational engagement and preparedness to meaningfully

participate in society. Supporting students to be active participants in

their schooling plays a vital role in improving their social awareness and

establishing a skill set that will be highly valued in the 21st Century. The

formal student leadership structure involves nominating to serve as Student

Councillors, Form Captains, House Captains and Vice Captains and House

Representatives. Students in Year 9 undertake a tailored Leadership Program

which aims to nurture their leadership abilities. Informally, across the

curriculum students are encouraged to develop leadership skills including

critical thinking, persuasive arguments, decision making and problem solving.

In the classroom, students are empowered to explore and debate issues, think

critically, collaborate with others and communicate eff ectively. Partnerships

with local community groups, charities and businesses off er opportunities

for students to engage in issues they are passionate about. I am delighted

to see so many of our students becoming young leaders and the School is

committed to supporting them in fulfi lling their leadership potential.The Raise the Roof Quiz Night

held in the Tyler McCusker Sports

Centre on Friday, 26 August was

a fantastic night of trivia, raffl es,

games, spot questions and fun with

more than $12 000 going towards

a new 700 seat multi-purpose

auditorium. Thank you to Michael

Henderson, our School Board

Chair, for acting as quizmaster.

A silent auction with fabulous

prizes that had been donated by

generous businesses, parents and

staff was very successful. The quiz

was won by one of the teacher’s

tables.

The whole school production

of High School Musical was

a stunning success with three

sold out shows in the Beasley

Auditorium. Students performed

brilliantly and really gave their all to

the production with some standout

performances from the cast. From

the set to the costumes to the

music, the show was a delight from

start to fi nish and is a tribute to the

hard work and talent of Director

Sally Floyd, Choreographer Lisa

Andrews and Musical Director

Elizabeth Hamer. Congratulations

to all students and staff involved.

Science Week was a fabulous and stimulating week with students involved in a series of

activities and presentations based on the theme ‘Drones, Droids and Robots.’ The Day of

Notables was a special highlight with presentations from the Chief Scientist, Professor

Peter Klinken, WA Governor Kerry Sanderson and Dr Karl Kruszelnicki. Dr Karl was

introduced to the students by Zorabot, an interactive robot that can read books, conduct

exercises, tell jokes and play games. Dr Karl presented to the students for 90 minutes and had

three messages of hope for the students – that global warming could be fi xed, that most of

mankind lived in an era of unprecedented peace and that young people held the future in

their hands by going into fi elds like politics and science. Dr Karl also had lunch with around 30

students who had won the chance to sit with him and pick his brain.

For Science Week Year 10 students participated in a day of STEAMpunk Science, selecting

two workshops in either Coding, Food Science, CSI: Forensics, Laser Cutting, 3D Printing and

Drones, Dissections, Sci-Fi Writing, Sustainability – Recycled Art or The Genome Project. Year 8

students visited Scitech and participated in a forensic activity and Year 9 students participated

in the ‘Fireballs in the Sky’ activity with Curtin University, which was in collaboration with

the Library for Book Week. Students in all years participated in a ‘Smarter than a Scientist’

quiz and a marshmallow catapult competition run by House leaders. Thank you to Science

Week Coordinator Tania Elliott and all Science Department staff for a wonderful week of

enrichment activities.

The House Athletics Carnival was a very successful celebration of the House system with

students provided with an opportunity to challenge themselves physically and to interact

with their peers and teachers in a fun atmosphere. Student participation was excellent

with many students dressed in colourful and creative House outfi ts. Parsons came fi rst,

Downing second, Sampson third and Brown fourth. Downing was victorious in the Novelty

Cup, followed by Brown, Sampson and Parsons. Thanks to Head of Health and Physical

Education Mark Muir, Physical Education staff , Steve Jurilj, Grant Staff e and all staff

members for their support.

The Student Council organised a fun day of activities for RU OK Day which raised

approximately $2000 for the RU OK Foundation. The Foundation works to ensure there is

a sense of connectivity amongst us all and that we regularly think to ask our friends and

acquaintances R U OK? Thank you to Deb Leske and the Student Council for organising this

successful event.

Perth Modern School | NEWS October 2016 3Exceptional students.

Congratulations to our newly elected

Head Girl Naomi Cha and Head Boy

Sagar Badve. Both students have

proven leadership qualities fi nely honed

as Student Councillors over many years

and will undoubtedly do a fi ne job

representing the student body and

acting as Masters of Ceremonies at offi cial

events. Congratulations also to all Student

Councillors elected by their peers and thank

you to all students who participated in the

election.

Perth Modern School staff bid a sad farewell

to Jo-Anne Guthrie who has retired after

working in the Front Offi ce for 16 years. Jo,

as she was known, was a well-respected

member of the administration team,

providing her support and expertise to the

many managers, principals and teachers

with whom she worked. Jo has left to spend

more time with her family including two

small grandchildren and we wish her all the

best.

Congratulations to Mathematics teacher

Jarrad Strain who was nominated for a

Beginning Teacher of the Year award in

the 2016 WA Education Awards.

Congratulations also go to Front Offi ce staff

member Kaylene Nilsen who was a fi nalist

in the WA State Registrar’s Association

Awards in the Outstanding Administrative

Support Offi cer category.

The Modernian Society held their annual

reunion at the school on 11 September

with Perth Modern School orchestra

students performing a concert in the

Beasley Auditorium and Modernian and

ABC presenter Rebecca Dollery acting as

MC. Thank you to Roger Hey and Music

Department staff for their hard work

in preparing the music students for the

concert.

I congratulate the following current and

former students for their successes:

• Claire Chua in Year 12 is the

Australia-wide winner of the Dorothea

Mackellar Poetry Awards Senior Division

for her poem ‘the concrete jungle safari’. Claire’s prize includes national promotion

of her poem, $500, a trophy, a collection

of books and a trip to the National

Presentation ceremony in Gunnedah.

• Year 10 students Orlagh Latawski,

Jemima Loveland, Amy Whittle-

Herbert and Eloise Oakley were the

Grand Final runners-up in a close decision

in the Junior Division of the West

Australian Debating League.

• Patrick Pham and Darren Moh in Year 9

were the WA winners of the Australian

History Competition Year 9 category

and Ronan Pettit in Year 10 was the WA

winner for the Year 10 category.

• James Townshend and Ali Bahar in

Year 7, Katrina Hooper and Hasti Bahar

in Year 9, Reagan Trac, Dylan Toop,

Kevin Linarto, David Yoo and Ee Keat

Beh in Year 11 won fi rst place in their

divisions in the 2016 RoboCup WA State

Championships. Calvin Workman and

James Fernihough in Year 9 placed third

in their category.

• Laura Prince in Year 11 is the recipient

of the City of Armadale Young Writers

Award for Years 11 and 12.

• Radheya Jegatheva in Year 12 and

sibling Rahul Jegatheva in Year 10 were

selected as part of a team of four to

represent Australia at the World Youth

Scrabble Championships in Lille, France.

Rahul ranked 51st and Radheya 65th.

• Anna Babriecki in Year 9 won third place

in the lower secondary category of the

Tim Winton Young Writers Awards.

Grace Oakley in Year 7 was a fi nalist.

• Maia Harlap in Year 9 was the top female

student at the WA Schools State Chess

Championships.

• Emily Tang, Swarna Gajendran,

Kimberley Tay and Senuri Liyanage

in Year 10 placed fi rst in WA in the

Australian Brain Bee Challenge with

Emily placing second individually.

• Raeann Ng in Year 11 was awarded fi rst

place in the WA Japanese Language

Speech Competition and represented

WA at the National Finals in Sydney.

• Ali Park was fi rst for Second Language

and Jessica Yang fourth for Background

Language in the State Chinese Speech

and Writing Competition for Year 10.

• Robert Campbell in Year 8 achieved

fourth place in the State Chinese

Speech Competition. He also achieved

a Certifi cate of Excellence in the State

Chinese Writing Competition.

• Oliver Pulsford and Liane Chinnery

in Year 11 and Rebecca Green, Jesse

Hafner, Bedanta Dhal, Angela Antoff

and Matthew Collins in Year 12 were

invited to participate in the Alliance

Française Oral Examinations.

• Parmida Ghorbanian in Year 10, Oneli

Weerasinghe in Year 7 and Imasha

Weerasinghe in Year 8 achieved an

elite award in the Language Perfect

Competition for Japanese.

• Keith Wong in Year 7 was the joint

winner in the Australian Geography

Competition for his year group.

Tommaso Puccini in Year 7, Arabella

Brosnan and Ezekiel Gohin in Year 8 and

Ethan Dowley in Year 9 achieved in the

top one per cent.

• The combined team of Kylie Tan, Julia

Seitz, Jemima Loveland and Aayushi

Shah in Year 10, Sophie Kemp and Julia

Aguinot in Year 8 and Andrea Tan in

Year 7 won the Creativity Award in the

Tournament of Minds.

• Alden Bong in Year 12 and Andrew

Thanur in Year 11 are the state-wide

winners in the Senior and Junior Divisions

respectively in the UNSW Australian

Economics and Business Studies

Competition. Ankit Rangan and Arun

Jha in Year 11 and Arka Prava Chanda in

Year 12 achieved High Distinctions.

• Radheya Jegatheva in Year 12 won the

Best Youth award for his short fi lm Finding

Home in the ReelOzInd! Australia

Indonesia Short Film Competition

and Festival, the Gilbert Adler Award for

FilmCom Down Under and Best Student

Short Film in the Highway 61 Film

Festival in Minnesota, USA.

• Angel Yu (Class of 2011) has accepted a

great job with Google in Silicon Valley.

• Flynn Burgess Hamilton in Year 9 and

Rahul Jegatheva in Year 10 won multiple

medals, including gold, in the WA State

Swimming Championships.

• Robert Scriba in Year 9 was awarded A

Division Most Valued Player in the WA

Volleyball Junior League.

• Former student Tamsin Cook came sixth

in the 400 freestyle in the Rio Olympics

and won a silver medal in the 4 x 200m

Freestyle relay.

Lois Joll, Principal


Students asked R U OK?

The Student Council put on a fabulous show for R U OK Day

in 2016. The highlights included a delicious sausage sizzle, a

popular Boost Juice van, booths from various local community

health groups including beyondblue and a visit by a volunteer

from the Shenton Park Dog’s Refuge who brought along a

super cute furry friend, Zeus.

The R U OK Foundation’s vision is a world where we’re all connected

and are protected from suicide. Their mission is to inspire and

empower everyone to meaningfully connect with people around

them and support anyone struggling with life.

From the day’s events, Perth Modern School raised approximately

$2000 for this very worthy cause.


Fun at the Raise the Roof Quiz Night

The Raise the Roof Quiz Night

held in the Tyler McCusker

Sports Centre on Friday,

26 August was a fantastic

night of trivia, raffl es, games,

spot questions and fun with

more than $12000 going

towards the Raise the Roof

campaign for a new 700 seat

multi-purpose auditorium.

The quizmaster was Chair of

the School Board, Michael

Henderson, who entertained

and thrilled the audience with a

variety of challenging questions.

A silent auction with fabulous

prizes that had been donated

by generous businesses, parents

and staff was very successful.

The end result was a close aff air,

with one of the teacher’s tables

being named the victors.

Thank you to staff members

who made the event

possible: Steve Jurilj, Val

Furphy, Samantha Bennett-

Bremner, Kerry Kitson, John

Harris, Deb Leske, Sally Floyd,

Nigel Bateman, Mark Muir,

Lisa Manners, Grant Staff e,

Stacey Burton and Karen

Wedemeyer. A very big thank

to Photography teacher Mark

Temov for his donation of two

stunning, framed images for the

auction.

Above: Principal Lois Joll,

Business Manager Stacey

Burton and Business

Support Offi cer Karen

Wedemeyer.

Above: A game of heads or tails

was based on geographical

locations of countries.

Above right: Winners are grinners.

A table of current and past Student Councillors topped the student tables. Student volunteers Sonia Lal and Ella Davies.

Right: Students enjoying the

challenging questions.

Head of the School Board Michael Henderson

was the quiz master and his assistant was

Associate Principal Steve Jurilj.


STEAMpunk Festival of ScienceTANIA ELLIOTT, SCIENCE WEEK COORDINATOR

Science went STEAMpunk in 2016 with a ‘Festival of Science’ giving all years a taste of

the action for Science Week.

Year 8 students spent the day at Scitech and

had a wonderful time exploring Science in a

diff erent way. Year 9 students had fun with

the ‘Fireballs in the Sky’ project run by Curtin

University which won the Eureka innovation

award. The program is the outreach arm of

the Desert Fireball Network project, which

aims to understand the early workings of the

solar system by studying meteorites, fi reballs

and their pre-Earth orbits by capturing their

paths in the sky from multiple viewpoints.

Our students had a fi rst-hand look by

downloading the app and following a

projectile on their phone. The projectile was

shot from a cannon on the school oval.

Year 10 students were involved in choosing

from a variety of elaborate and creative

scientifi c workshops such as CSI MOD-Crime

Scene Investigations, The Science of Food,

Dissections, The Genome Project, Sci-Fi

Writing, and using 3D printers and laser

cutters to build Science models.

Years 11 and 12 students were fortunate to

have a variety of scientists work with them

in their classes as part of the Scientists and

Mathematicians in Schools program.

The Day of Notables featured visits from

Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, Chief Scientist Peter

Klinken and WA Governor Kerry Sanderson

AC. Zora Zorabot from Smartbots was the

MC and entertainer, talking about her skills

and impressing all with her dancing. Prior

to his talk to Years 10 to 12 about STEM

and the importance of Science, Professor

Klinken was interviewed by several of our

top Science students which was fi lmed by

the Department of Cabinet for their website.

Students thoroughly enjoyed listening to

Professor Klinken as he was informative,

engaging and talented.

Zora also introduced and bantered with

Dr Karl whilst wearing a bright Dr Karl style

shirt. He donated $300 worth of his own

books to the school’s library and had lunch

with about 30 students who had won the

chance to sit with him and pick his brain.

Dr Karl had three messages of hope for

students – that global warming could be

fi xed, that most of mankind lived in an era

of unprecedented peace, and that young

people held the future in their hands by

going into fi elds like politics and science. He

urged our students to think about getting

into politics or science so they will be in a

position to make an ethical diff erence.

Head Boy Brandon Boccola meeting with Zora

Zorabot.

Alexandra Monson, WA Chief Scientist Peter Klinken, Rebecca Green and Mohammad Siddiqui.

Head Boy Brandon Boccola, WA Governor Kerry Sanderson AC, Associate Principal Steve Jurilj

and Head Girl Nhi Danh.

WA Governor

Kerry Sanderson AC.


Dr Karl with Zora.

Above: Bella Fitzpatrick

with Dr Karl.

Students participate in the Fireballs in the Sky project.

Students had fun driving Human-Powered Vehicles (HPVs).

Students ham it up with Dr Karl.


Claire’s concrete jungle poem wows the judges

Year 12 student Claire Chua said she entered the national

Dorothea Poetry Awards for fun, never expecting to win.

But Claire has won the senior secondary division of the competition

for a poem she wrote, the concrete jungle safari.

Claire’s prize includes national promotion of her poem, $500, a

trophy, a collection of books and a trip to the national presentation

ceremony in Gunnedah, in north-west NSW.

Claire said she was completely shocked but delighted when she

found her poem, which had been her fi rst English assessment for

Year 12, had won the national competition.

The judges said her poem was a fabulous evocation of ancient

Australia within the context of a contemporary urban environment.

the concrete jungle safariWELCOME TO THE CONCRETE JUNGLE,

You’re sitting within a

Wooden tram

Made with purring,

Metal-bodied engines.

Your legs shiver with the desert cold.

In the corner of your eye, you think you spot a dingo.

But then you blink, and then it’s gone.

Your journey begins.

WELCOME TO THE CONCRETE JUNGLE,

If you look above, you can see the city edifi ces glistening—

Like beads and jewels in the neck of this brick-paved outback.

Does it sometimes feel like a dream?

Do you sometimes feel the hiss of the rainbow serpents,

Sliding across sandy linoleum corridors

As the offi ce vents whisper cold air over your collarbones

In the language of the spirits?

Totems and paperwork mingle under fl uorescent lights.


If you look above you will be able to see—

A sacred bird,

Gliding, soaring,

Two engines,

A propulsion system.

A lingering scent of

The past, the present—

The then and the now.


Oh.

The dingo is back.

You lean over the metal bars of the tram to get a closer look.

And in these streets you feel

The industry-patented air

Clawing at your cheeks.

Carbon, nitrogen…sulfur.

Toxic.

The creature howls,

Golden fur mirroring the sun’s rays.

But you cannot tell if it’s a cry of excitement

Or pain.

(Simply put—you may never know.)


Where sacred Jacaranda trees burst

Spewing purple confetti

Over a House of Opera,

And thundering applause.

Down the street the tram goes.

And you notice that

Lean totems line the roads like streetlights…

Or was it that streetlights lined the road like lean totems?

And a voice: THIS HEREBY CONCLUDES THE CONCRETE DESERT SAFARI.

WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE RIDE.

* * *

Until your eyes snap open.

You gradually fl oat out of the reverie, and then back into reality.

You hear voices, trailing passing fi gures, shadows; they’re walking

so fast it’s a violent blur that presses into your ribs. People hustle by

you, their pallid white uniforms a second skin. But when you look

at their eyes, you see… black holes. You rub your eyes. That’s when

you realise you’re standing on a platform of marble and brick and

concrete.

Trains hurtle past. There’s the clink of metal chewing on metal in

a ravenous brawl from the construction site two blocks down.

Light refracts on every surface, a chaos of physics and sunbeams.

Someone pushes past you, the dusty scent of perfume lingering

even as its perpetrator scampers into the crowd, disappearing. You

look down. Clutched in your hand is a bag full of papers and projects

and words and worries.

But where did the dingo go? Is it gone?

(Answer: It’s not. No one leaves the home that is rightfully theirs.)


Brothers relate to ScrabbleSTIRLING TIMES

Two Scrabble stars from Perth Modern School fell just shy of a top

50 ranking in the World Youth Championships in France.

Brothers Radheya and Rahul Jegatheva were part of a four-member

Australian team that competed against 140 of the world’s best Scrabble

players.

In the fi nal game, the duo needed wins to place 50th and 30th but both

fell at the last hurdle. Radheya fi nished in 65th place while Rahul was

ranked 51st, his best showing at a world championship.

This year’s championships held in Lille were Radheya’s second

championships and Rahul’s third. Year 12 student Radheya said he and

his brother qualifi ed for the championships after gaining enough ratings

points through monthly tournaments. ‘We have been playing Scrabble

for most of our lives because our dad used to play with us,’ he said.

Year 10 student Rahul said he shared a rivalry with his older brother.

‘I think it is really fun, there is just a really enjoyable element about it,’

he said.

Radheya and Rahul Jegatheva. Courtesy of the Community Newspaper Group

Grace Oakley with Tim Winton.

Success in the Tim Winton Award for Young Writers

Anna Brabriecki in Year 9 has won third place in the lower secondary division

of the Tim Winton Award for Young Writers with her story, Euterpe.

Beneath the Surface, a short story by Grace Oakley in Year 7, was selected as a fi nalist.

Extract of Euterpe by Anna Brabriecki

The cellist and the pianist were fi ghting in their music. You could hear it in the way

that the notes fl owed—not steady and fl uid like a river, like music should be, but

rocky and fi ghting for dominance. You could see it in the intense way that the cellist

gripped her bow and the way in which the pianist frowned at the lack of sheet music

in front of her.

You could hear it in every note that they played; some in unison, some not.

The time and key signatures kept changing. The pianist seemed determined to keep

the song in a haunting minor waltz, with occasional sprinkles of major winding

through like sprouts of green fl ourishing in a dark, dark forest. The cellist, on the

other hand, kept her bow moving, as quick as a hummingbird’s wings, keeping it to a

snappy cut time rhythm that threatened to move into nine-eight at any cost possible.

The result, of course, was that the song never stayed the same.

The cellist looked like she was trying to win whatever contest they had chosen for

themselves, and the pianist appeared to be letting her, pausing in the sweeping

music at intervals to let the deep melody take over. But then she would dive in with

a wild improvisation at the top of the keys, spiralling down into chords again. The

cellist would then fl ick her dyed hair back (not quite red, a bit too deep to be pink),

adjust her boot-clad feet around the base of the cello and let out a silent bark of

laughter, eyes twinkling with mischief, and dive right back in.

The pianist, for her part, looked equally amused, although she didn’t take her eyes off

the keyboard—almost as if she were afraid that if she did, she’d lose the thread of her

song and be left with a few pathetic-sounding G chords. Her plain brown hair—

a sharp contrast to the cellist’s—was messy and falling out of its clumsy ponytail. Her

faded blue t-shirt was slightly sweaty, but she was smiling like the oddly-matched

duet was the most fun she’d ever had—despite its impromptu form.

Anna Brabriecki and Tim Winton.


HASS students are the best in WALOUISE SECKER, HEAD OF HASS

Perth Modern School students have excelled in

competitions across a range of disciplines in Humanities

and Social Sciences (HASS).

Australian History CompetitionCongratulations to Patrick Pham and Darren Moh in Year 9

and Ronan Pettit in Year 10 who were the top performers in

the Australian History Competition for Western Australia.

Perth Modern School also had a signifi cant number of students

achieve in the top 50 students nationally. Perth Modern School

was third nationally in the Year 8 category and fi rst nationally for

the Year 9 category.

Australian Economics and Business Studies CompetitionOnce again our students have excelled in the

University of New South Wales’ Australian

Economics and Business Studies Competition.

Congratulations to Alden Bong and Andrew Thanur

who were the state-wide winners for the Senior

and Junior divisions respectively. In addition Arka

Prava Chanda, Ankit Rangan and Arun Jha received

prize money for achieving High Distinctions in the

competition.

Australian Geography Competition

Arka Prava Chanda, Andrew Thanur, Alden Bong and Ankit Rangan.

Ronan Pettit, Darren Moh and Ms Rosie Leece.

Ezekiel Gohin, Arabella Brosnan,

Ethan Dowley, Keith Wong and

Tommaso Puccini.

Keith Wong clearly knows

a thing or two about

geography, being named

the equal fi rst winner in

Western Australia for Year 7

in the Australian Geography

Competition.

A number of students also

achieved in the top one per

cent nationally and are to be

commended on their fantastic

achievement: Tommaso Puccini

in Year 7, Arabella Brosnan and

Ezekiel Gohin in Year 8 and

Ethan Dowley in Year 9.


The School of Spatial Sciences at Curtin

University opened Year 10 Geography

students’ eyes to the wide world of

surveying and Geographic Information

Systems.

Rather than using tallies and numbers,

surveying land uses tools such as

theodolites and automatic laser levels

which help measure horizontal distances

and vertical levelling. The talks and activities

were led by a group of Curtin students and

lecturers to attract us to a lesser known, but

by no means unenjoyable, career option.

You frequently hear that ‘there can be only

one winner’ when it comes to participating in

competitions.

This refl ects a point of view that being the ‘last man

standing’ is the sole criteria for success. At the recent

Grand Final for the Western Australian Debating League

(WADL) it was wonderful to hear the Master of Ceremonies

acknowledge Perth Modern School as being successful

due to the large number of students who participated in

the competition this year. We entered 34 teams comprised

of 170 students, with 15 teams winning their division and

17 teams invited to participate in the fi nals.

All our debaters are to be commended on the extra hours

they put into preparation, the level of analysis in their

arguments, the comprehensive evidence displayed as well

as how well they articulated their case in each debate. The

persistence and dedication demonstrated over three terms

by our debaters has been commendable.

Congratulations to Orlagh Latawski, Jemima Loveland,

Eloise Oakley and Amy Whittle–Herbert who competed

in the Grand Final and were named Runner-up Junior

Champions. The team presented an incredible case

Outstanding participation in debating championshipsLOUISE SECKER, DEBATING COORDINATOR

WADL Runner-up Junior Champions: Jemima Loveland, Amy Whittle–Herbert,

Orlagh Latawski and Eloise Oakley.

arguing the negative on the topic ‘we should only give native title to

indigenous groups that are democratically elected’ but were just edged out in

a close decision.

Student Geographers get spatialRAMITHA KOTUWEGEDARA, YEAR 10

Surveyors have the luxury of both practical

and desk work in their jobs—which is very

appealing to many of us. After all, very few

people want to sit in front of a desk all day.

One of the fi eldwork activities was to

explore the campus on an interactive tour

using a GPS. These GPSs diff ered from the

ones found in a car. They were handheld

and able to show many location details

such as longitude and latitude. We visited

many iconic landmarks such as the Curtin

Hexagon, the Hammock Motel and other

buildings on campus.

We also had the opportunity to use

Australian Bureau of Statistics data to create

information maps of the Perth Metropolitan

Area showing information such as house

and land values and crime rates. One

pattern we observed was the high crime

rates in the suburbs at the end of train lines.

The trip to Curtin was extremely

entertaining and opened us to a whole

new array of occupations. Thank you to

Mr McMahon for providing us with this

opportunity.

Greg Lahaye and Darren Doh creating GIS maps.Learning how to measure height.


Robocup Junior WA State Championships

Robotics is tipped to transform the

world in coming decades and Perth

Modern School students are right at the

forefront.

The School entered four of the six categories

available in the 2016 Robocup Junior State

Championships and unbelievably won

three of them from stiff competition as

well as achieving a third placing. Students

from Perth Mod have embraced robotics

with enthusiasm thanks to the hard work

and time invested by Computing teacher

Mr Walter Wilson who runs several after

school computing and robotics clubs.

Results:Secondary Dance:

First place Hasti Bahar and Katrina

Hooper (Year 9)

Soccer Gen II:

First place Reagan Trac, Dylan Toop, Kevin

Linarto, David Yoo,

Ee Keat Beh (Year 11)

Soccer Lightweight:

First place James Townshend and

Ali Bahar (Year 7) Third place: Calum

Workman and James Fernihough (Year 9).

In other robotics news, James Townshend

in Year 7 has qualifi ed for the World Robot

Olympiad to be held in India in November

due to his recent results in the State

Championships and the 2015 National

Championships last year in which he came

second individually.

David Yoo, Dylan Toop, Mr Walter Wilson, Kevin Linarto, Ee Keat Beh and Reagan Trac.

Top: Hasti Bahar and Katrina Hooper.

Middle: James Fernihough and Calum Workman.

Left: Ali Bahar and James Townshend.

School Chess State Finals

CRAIG GANNON, CHESS COORDINATOR

After winning the Regional Chess

Championships in June this year,

Perth Modern School entered the

State Finals with a team made up of

only Years 7, 8 and 9 due to the study

commitments of our Senior School

students.

Playing in the open division against other

schools with students from Years 10, 11

and 12 we fi nished in third place, which

means we qualify for the National Titles

to be held at the end of November.

It was a great eff ort from all students with

Maia Harlap in Year 9 being awarded the

medal for the top female chess player.

Our top player of the tournament was

Andrey Lugovskey in Year 9 who fi nished

the competition in fourth position

overall.

Congratulations to the Perth Modern

School team of Anthony Hicks, Chas

Underwood, Christopher Manasseh

and Anthony Luk in Year 7, Jay Sharma,

Dylan Guo and Jarvis Wileman in Year 8

and Maia Harlap, Andrey Lugovskey and

Victor Sun in Year 9.

Maia Harlap in Year 9 was the top-ranked

female participant.


Creativity Award won at Tournament of MindsKOUROSH ROOHI, TOURNAMENT OF MINDS COORDINATOR

Australian Brain Bee ChallengeEMILY TANG, YEAR 10

The Australian Brain Bee Challenge is a neuroscience competition for Year 10

students designed to increase awareness and dispel misconceptions about

neurological illnesses.

Emily Tang, Swarna Gajendran, Kimberley Tay and Senuri Liyanage.

Above: Creativity Award winners Sophie Kemp, Andrea Tan, Julia Seitz, Jemima Loveland,

Aayushi Shah and Julia Aguinot. Absent: Kylie Tan.

Below and below right:

Tournament of Minds teams in competition.

Two teams competed in the Tournament of Minds

Regional Finals held at ECU Joondalup on Saturday,

27 August.

Team 1 comprising Julia Seitz, Aayushi Shah, Jemima

Loveland, Kylie Tan, Julia Aguinot, Andrea Tan and Sophie

Kemp took part in the Language Literature Challenge,

whilst Team 2 comprising Tabriz Prahnyo, Alice Rosario,

Heberet Wa Azaro, Ethan Dowley, Patrick Morgan, Tristian

Chetty and Joseph Newman took part in the Social

Sciences Challenge.

Both teams did a fantastic job representing Perth Modern

School, with Team 1 achieving the overall highest score

in the Spontaneous Challenge and receiving the 2016

Creativity Award.

After successfully completing round

one, an online quiz in school, Senuri

Liyanage, Swarna Gajendran, Kimberley

Tay and I had the opportunity of

representing Perth Modern School

in the State Final, hosted by the

University of Western Australia. We

participated in engaging lectures from

neuroscience researchers as well as

a fascinating, interactive tour of the

anatomy laboratory where we viewed

dissected human specimens and were

able to hold a preserved human brain,

before knuckling down for the highly

anticipated rounds of live questioning.

We put our knowledge to the test on

a wide range of topics, including the

nervous system, intelligence, memory,

emotions, sleep and neurological

diseases against strong competitors

from other schools. Our team claimed

victory with fi rst place, winning a

stereomicroscope for our Science

Department. In the individual rounds,

I placed second in WA after a close,

suspenseful competition. Immersed in

the world of neuroscience, I think we

can all agree that the Australian Brain

Bee Challenge was a valuable and

insightful experience.


Perth Mod students are Language Perfect

Congratulations to

Parmida Ghorbanian

in Year 10, Oneli

Weerasinghe in Year 7

and Imasha Weerasinghe

in Year 8 who achieved

an elite award in the

Language Perfect

competition for Japanese.

Perth Modern School

ranked fi rst in WA in the

competition and won a

pizza party which was

greatly enjoyed by all

participating students.

Oneli Weerasinghe, Parmida Ghorbanian

and Imasha Weerasinghe.

Emily Cheng and Zoe Masson enjoy the

Language Perfect pizza party.

State Chinese Speech and Writing CompetitionsYI YUAN, CHINESE TEACHER

Perth Modern School students achieved

some excellent results in the State

Annual Chinese Speech and Writing

Competitions.

The Speech competition was held on

10 September by the Chinese Language

Teacher’s Association of WA (CLTAWA) at

UWA. Year 8 student Robert Campbell

achieved fourth place in the speaking

competition with his speech on learning

Chinese martial arts and kung-fu moves.

This was a fantastic achievement as he had

only been learning the language for six

months.

The Director of the Confucius Institute has

invited him to participate in ‘The Chinese

Bridge’ competition next year. He also

achieved a Certifi cate of Excellence in the

Writing competition.

From over 120 students from 25 schools,

our students also performed strongly in the

State Writing Competition. Congratulations

to the following students on their fantastic

achievements:

Year 10 Chinese Second Language

Ali Park (First)

Year 10 Chinese Background Language

Jessica Yang (Fourth)

Year 8 Chinese Second Language

Nina Adam (Fifth)Jessica Yang and Ali Park.

Raeann wins fi rst place in the WA Japanese Language Speech

CompetitionMAYA ASANO, JAPANESE TEACHER

Raeann Ng

Year 11 student Raeann Ng was recently awarded fi rst place in

the WA Japanese Language Speech Competition for her entry

on the Japanese expression ‘the stake that sticks out gets

hammered in’.

After winning at state level, Raeann travelled to Sydney to represent

WA in the 47th Japanese Language Speech Contest where she

placed third.


Fogarty Foundation Leadership ConferenceCLEO WEE, YEAR 11

Science Café 2016SINEAD CORR, SCIENCE TEACHER

Scitech and UWA’s Science Café was back for another year with Perth Modern School

students joining WA scientists and engineers for a morning tea where inspiration was

on the menu!

Year 10 students took the opportunity to chat one-on-one with scientists and engineers and

gain practical knowledge about careers in science, technology, engineering and maths. The

event was again a great success, with this year’s emphasis on STEM careers.

Year 10 students Senuri Liyanage, Emily Tang, Navina Stevens, Hannah Clapperton and Januki De Zoysa.

The Fogarty Foundation Leadership Conference held during the October school

holidays was a fantastic opportunity for seven Year 11 students and I to develop and

enhance our leadership, problem-solving, public speaking and entrepreneurship

skills.

The conference consisted of a three-day camp for 42 Years 10 and 11 students from around

WA who participated in engaging workshops and listened to inspiring guest speakers such

as founder and CEO of zero2hero Ashlee Harrison and Young Australian of the Year Drisana

Levitzke-Gray.

During camp we also met amazing people from all over WA, bonding over onesie parties

and campfi re sing-alongs. I would highly recommend current Years 9 and 10 students

apply for this conference next year as we all left camp with an invaluable set of new skills

and feeling a renewed sense of motivation and confi dence in our abilities to succeed and

achieve our goals.

Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival

YI YUAN, CHINESE TEACHER

A stage performance was held at the

UWA Octagon Theatre to celebrate

the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival

which is always held on the 15th day

of the eighth month of the lunar

calendar.

The festival celebrates three

fundamental concepts which are

closely tied to one another:

• Gathering, such as family and

friends coming together, or

harvesting crops for the festival. It’s

said the moon is the brightest and

roundest on this day which means

family reunion.

• Thanksgiving, to give thanks for

the harvest, or for harmonious

unions.

• Praying (asking for conceptual or

material satisfaction), such as for

babies, a spouse, beauty, longevity,

or for a good future.

Perth Modern School was invited

to participate with Year 11 students

Annie Jarman and Navina Stevens

performing a fantastic pop dance

to popular Chinese music. Their

performance demonstrated the

spirit of the youth in Australia and

their passion for Chinese music and

culture.

Navina Stevens (front) and Annie Jarman

perform on stage as part of the Chinese

Mid-Autumn Festival.Cleo Wee, Imogen Sorby, Shami Mohdar, Anton Soloshenko, Sanchita Gera, Naomi Cha, Millie Muroi and

Ria Ronghe at the Fogarty Foundation Leadership Conference.


Troy and Gabriella inspire

their classmates not to

‘stick to the status quo’.

Based on the Disney Channel Original Movie


Youth Ambassadors spread community spiritSCOTT MARSHALL, YOUTH EDUCATION OFFICER

More than 30 students have shaken tins in the early

hours of the morning this term for charities Legacy

and St Vinnies as well as helping out as ushers at

the Tournament of the Minds competition, assisting

with Football Parking and serving tea, coff ee and

biscuits at the High School Musical production.

A select few students have also been involved in the

Blood Drive, travelling down to the Red Cross Blood

Service in Perth City and bravely donating their blood.

It is an initiative that has recommenced at Mod with

the hope large numbers of Senior School students will

participate.

Youth Ambassadors enjoyed a speech from the

Governor of Western Australia, Kerry Sanderson AC

who told students about her career path and how

she had become the Governor of Western Australia.

The Governor encouraged students to enjoy their

time at school which would set them up for further

opportunities later in life.

Father’s Day gifts aid CambodiaCLEO WEE, YEAR 11

By selling gifts for Father’s Day including bears and ‘Best Dad’

trophies over two lunchtimes, Youth Ambassadors raised more

than $345 for projects to be carried out by the Cambodia Tour

group for the Stellar Children’s Trust.

On behalf of the students who helped out I would like to say a huge

thank you to all staff and students who bought a Father’s Day gift or

donated to this very worthy cause. Many children in Cambodia will have

access to educational support and supplies thanks to your generosity.

Book Café raises funds for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation

AMSHA YOGARAJ, YEAR 12

Year 12 students from the Mod Time Community Service Club decided to organise

a Book Café, to raise funds for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, a charity

that works to improve the literacy levels of children living in remote Aboriginal

communities and enable them to make the most of educational opportunities.

A range of books from teen fi ction to thriller and crime were kindly donated by students,

parents and teachers and sold at lunchtimes over three days. The students also sold

scrumptious food such as cookies and rocky road as well as a hot cup of coff ee or hot

chocolate. Overall the Book Café was a fabulous success, raising $437. Thank you to

everyone who supported this great cause.

Jemima Loveland, Cleo Wee and Noemi Finaldi.

Shimaa Ibrahim and

Madelaine Tan peruse

the books on off er at

the Book Café.

Ben Brooks and Gregor Gear

shake tins for St Vinnies.

Vinnoth Loganathan, Shimaa Ibrahim, Trinity Elsom

and Alex Manescu assist with Footy Parking.


World Vision 40 Hour FamineSCOTT MARSHALL, YOUTH EDUCATION OFFICER

City 2 Surf 2016SCOTT MARSHALL, YOUTH

EDUCATION OFFICER

More than 70 enthusiastic Perth

Modern School students carried on

the tradition of helping out at the

annual City 2 Surf.

Over 40,000 keen runners/walkers

turned out for the event, which

raises much needed funds for over

550 charities! This year, close to fi ve

million dollars was raised with our

volunteers a vital component of

this fantastic result.

Our volunteers gave out water at

various points throughout the race,

and distributed clothing and much

sought after medals to competitors

upon completion of the race.

Volunteer organisers were very

impressed with our students,

commenting that they were a credit

to themselves and to the School.

Race participants being handed water by Perth Mod volunteers.

City to Surf volunteers.Students had fun dressing up for PMH’s 107th birthday.

Princess Margaret Hospital’s 107th BirthdayMATILDA ANDERSON AND TABRIZ PRAHNYO, YEAR 9

In late June, a small selection of students from Years 9 to 12 went to Princess Margaret

Hospital to celebrate its 107th anniversary.

The students were set the task of making goodie bags as well as assisting with children’s

daily playtime. It was a fantastic experience, especially seeing the joy and excitement on the

children’s faces. The visit was eye-opening and students were incredibly happy to be able to

give back to people in the community.

For another year, students helped to fi ght global hunger by giving up food, furniture,

talking, technology, Facebook and a whole list of other comforts. They did this to

support World Vision projects that help families improve their nutrition and health as

well as helping to deliver long-term solutions to hunger.

Phoebe Sun and Joelle Chen.

The Perth Modern School group was led by

Year 11 students Phoebe Sun, Celia Wong

and Joelle Chen and was comprised of more

than 100 students.

The girls organised a Signup Day and

invited Georgia Naughton, a World Vision

representative, to talk to students and

inspire them to get involved. The girls also

sold jelly cups to donate to this worthwhile

cause.

In total, we raised over $8000 which is a

fantastic eff ort and as Georgia told me,

would ‘help 399 families increase food

production for a month or train 1596

mothers on how to improve child health

and nutrition.’


A fond farewell to JoSTACEY BURTON, BUSINESS MANAGER

The Perth Modern School community recently

farewelled long-standing staff member Jo-Anne

Guthrie. Jo had worked at Perth Mod for 16 years.

Jo was a well-respected member of the administration

team in the Front Offi ce, providing support, expertise and

experience to the many business managers, principals and

teachers with whom she worked. Her friendly and helpful

manner contributed to the smooth running of the offi ce, as

well as to the success of the Front Offi ce team as a whole.

Jo took on the huge responsibility of controlling the

student reporting cycle and coordinating the exam

preparation and her calm, measured approach to these

tasks was greatly appreciated by her colleagues and

everyone she came into contact with.

Jo has left to devote more time to her family including two

beloved grandchildren. We will miss her and wish her all the

best for the future.

Kaylene Nilsen, who works in the Front Offi ce in administration, has been recognised

by the WA State Schools Registrars’ Association as a fi nalist in the Outstanding

Administrative Support Offi cer category.

Kaylene has worked part-time at Perth Mod since 2008 with her main duties including

customer service, daily fi nance processing, coordinating the school resource lists and all

aspects of human resource processing.

Kaylene says she enjoys the unique nature of the school and its students and working

alongside dedicated and professional colleagues which makes her job a pleasure.

‘When I found out I was shortlisted as a fi nalist for the award I felt honoured and humbled,’

Kaylene said. ‘I believe that my fellow School Offi cers are equally deserving of recognition for

their commitment to the role.’

Farewell drinks: Carol Fursa, Stacey Burton, Jo Guthrie, Karen Wedemeyer and Tina Smith.

Jarrad nominated as Beginning Teacher of the YearJarrad Strain from the Mathematics Department has been nominated

for a WA Beginning Teacher of the Year award in the 2016 WA

Education Awards.

Jarrad began his professional working life in the banking sector but decided

to make a career change and now relishes teaching Mathematics to the

gifted students of Perth Modern School. He is also involved in the Leadership

course for Year 9 students. He is an enthusiastic and dedicated addition to the

Mathematics Department and is thoroughly deserving of his nomination.

Jarrad Strain

Kaylene Nilsen

Kaylene recognised for outstanding work


Akishima ExchangeKANAKO MATSUO AND MAYA ASANO, JAPANESE TEACHERS

Everyone at Perth Modern School who came

into contact with Japanese exchange students

from Akishima, Tokyo in Japan enjoyed their

interaction. The students had fun staying with

their host families and likewise host families and

students benefi tted from learning more about

the Japanese culture as well as improving their

Japanese language skills.

During the week, most Japanese language classes

were fortunate to practice their language skills

through programs with our visitors including a

Japanese quiz competition, cooking, and producing

an Australian artwork.

To learn about a diff erent culture can be somewhat

interesting, but to experience it is something truly

special. Welcoming my exchange student Yusuke Shin Yi Wong with Tatiana Ng, Casidhe Gerrish, Rena Hasegawa and Haruki Koyama.

Daniel Juhasz and his mother with their Japanese exchange student

Yusuke Kawamura.

Fun activities with Akishima studentsJASMINE HUNT, YEAR 9

Jasmine Hunt (R) with Honoka Makita.

While the Akishima students were visiting our school, our

Japanese language class had the chance to do fun activities

with them.

We participated in a really enjoyable scavenger hunt that sent us

running around the school looking for the answers to clues with our

new Japanese friends. The clues were written in Japanese, so we

needed to collaborate and use English and Japanese communication

to solve the puzzles. The team who solved the clues and got back

to the classroom fi rst won a tasty Japanese biscuit with our group

being the lucky ones. Playing the game was really exciting and so

was meeting and getting to know better the students from Japan.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with the Japanese students and I can’t

wait for the next time they come back to visit.

into my home was a humbling privilege. Over the course of one

week, we shared some quality banter and memories we will

remember for many years to come. My family isn’t originally from

here, which allowed my student to embrace a wide variety of

cultures present in our society, which is what I believe Australia

is about. I would recommend to anyone with the opportunity of

hosting a student to take it up with open arms – it is an experience

of a lifetime.

Daniel Juhasz, Year 10

We had a sushi making session with the Akishima students. They

were really friendly and polite. I enjoyed making and eating the

sushi and getting to know them. We also had some speaking

practise with them which improved our Japanese. It was a great

experience for everyone.

Shin Yi Wong, Year 8


Transition activities for incoming Year 7 studentsNICOLA REILLY, MANAGER MIDDLE YEARS

New friends, new teachers, new locations and

new subjects were all part of the Transition

Program in Term 3 for the incoming Year 7

students for 2017.

Transition activities started with an amazing High

School Musical performance, followed by a three

week enrichment program run by Senior School

students off ering classes in Creative Writing, Public

Speaking, Drama, Dance, Music or Biology. Senior

School students enhanced their teaching skills which

were highly appreciated by the Year 6 students.

In addition to the Enrichment programs, teachers

embraced the Academic, Arts and Technology

transitions. The students enjoyed being in the

classroom and seeing what ‘High School’ was

really like.

Music students performed a fabulous concert for

incoming students which whetted the appetites of

the budding musicians. The transition program ran

exceptionally smoothly due to the exemplary Year

8 Peer Supporters who welcomed, chaperoned and

supported the Year 6 students within their various

activities.

My thanks go to all the staff and students

involved in making the Transition activities such a

wonderful success.

Year 8 Peer

Supporters with

Manager Middle

Years Nicola Reilly.

Year 6 students enjoy an activity in the Library with Tyara Aung and EJ Bitangcol.

Transition students having fun in a music lesson.


Frank Mills art donation

Top: Bella Alexander

and Laura Prince

participate in the

Shadowboxing

workshop.

Above: The characters

Benj and Cat.

Farhan Anwar, Jadzia

Bamford, ‘Cat’, ‘Benj’,

Matthew Kursar and

Jacinta Carroll.

Shadowboxing performance and workshop

A generous donation by Christine Simpson

of two Frank Mills artworks featuring the

landscape of Northam will soon have pride

of place on the walls of the Beasley Building.

Frank Mills was a well-known artist and art

teacher who had been appointed to Perth

Modern School in 1939. The works belonged

to Christine’s mother, Edith Ellen (Nell) Hill, who

had lived in Northam from 1923 until sometime

before 1940. Edith’s father, William Carson, was

WA Government Land Inspector for the Northam

District from 1923 until his retirement.

Principal Lois Joll and Christine Simpson with the donated

Frank Mills artworks.

Year 10 English students enjoyed a performance of the Black Swan State Theatre

Company’s Shadowboxing. The performance and workshop explored the journey

of two characters Cat and Benj who are at a party. But as the party becomes less

appealing, Benj escapes to the co-existing world of Shadow, a limitless place fi lled

with possibility and hope.

In Shadow he is free to be another version of himself. In Shadow he has friends and

freedom to be. In Shadow he feels more at ease with himself than in reality.

We are so accustomed to disguising

ourselves to others, that in the end

we become disguised to ourselves

– Francois de la Rochefoucauld.

Cat joins Benj in Shadow as his

sympathetic friend Idgy. They become

close, trust is built, secrets told,

friendship is born. But only in Shadow!

But how can Benj have his Shadow

friendship in the actual world too?

Students greatly enjoyed the

performance and the themes

explored in the workshop.


Write a Book in a DayCASSIDY PEMBERTON, YEAR 9

Grazie mille from ItalyMARTINA LEO AND SARA VILLA, ITALIAN EXCHANGE STUDENTS

Write a Book in a Day was one of the most fun but also stressful days I’ve had this year. It is an

Australian-wide competition where teams in each state raise money for their local hospital by

writing a book in a day. The books are for children in hospital to read.

Perth Modern School had three teams with

about eight or nine people in each, all up

early and at school just before 8.00am,

buzzed and ready to write. Each team

had limitations for their plot, two human

characters, a non-human character, a setting

and a problem and fi ve words we had to

include somewhere in the story. As soon

as we got the parameters, we were away,

planning the plot, characters and setting.

The story had to be distinctly Australian,

so we set it in Margaret River and Perth

and because our problem was an insect

plague we had them destroy several Perth

buildings including Perth Arena. Our team

had the foresight to get two amazing

student artists to join us who drew non-stop

and sometimes even drawing whole new

pictures when they didn’t fi t with the plot

we’d written.

The seven writers in our group spent about

three hours writing our respective chapters

before giving them to our editor who spent

two painstaking hours huddled in front of

her laptop editing the writing so it would

have the same writing style and fl ow. Then

it was my turn to be the formatter for the

entire book which involved collating the

illustrations, writing up all the pages we

needed including a contents page and

designing the various pages so it didn’t look

generic. Time constraints made this job

pretty stressful.

I fi nished at around 7.15 pm, forty-fi ve

minutes before the deadline and so we

merrily trotted to the mystical rooms behind

Student Services to have our book printed

and bound before we sent it off .

Overall, the twelve hours we all worked was

extremely rewarding and fun and everyone

did a fantastic job. We look forward to

October 26 when we will fi nd out if any of

our teams won an award in the competition.

Talented illustrator Elycia Lao. Ethan Dowley and Aria Warddharna work on their book.

The 11th Plague. Illustration by Elycia Lao and

Sherry Zeng.

We would like to thank Perth Modern School for hosting us for two months.

We have noticed a lot of diff erences between Australian and Italian schools

such as wearing the school uniform, conducting many experiments during

Science classes and above all the friendly relationship between students and

teachers.

Here we have found lovely and beautiful people who helped us during the entire

experience. First of all we would like to thank the Principal Ms Joll who let us study

here, thanks to our teachers who taught us new and interesting things every day

and last but not least, we would like to say ‘thank you’ to all our new friends for

always being kind and making us feel part of the group.

We have appreciated all that everyone has done for us. We will never forget all this.

This has been the most beautiful time in our life.Sara Villa and Martina Leo.


Professor Fiona Wood shares her life storyJAMIE CLEMMANS, YEAR 11

Rio Olympics inspires the 2016 Great House Bake Off CHRIS RAPLEY, HOUSE LEADER

Students and staff

taste and vote in

the House Bake Off .

Delicious and

colourful Olympics

inspired House

Bake Off creations.

The Great House Bake Off was in full

swing in 2016 as students raided the

pantry and jumped into the kitchens

at home to produce some amazingly

inspired creations.

We trust they were equally enthusiastic

about cleaning the kitchen up after! The

Rio Olympics and the pending Athletics

Carnival provided the spark for innovative

and creative delights in the form of brilliant

biscuits, scrumptious slices and copacetic

cakes. There were designs and fl avours and

colours that may never have been seen

together before—or since.

More than 40 slices and biscuits plus

more than 100 cakes were entered from

students or teams of students who had

taken the time to follow some home-

grown recipes and then place the most

amazing cacophony of colour on their

culinary masterpiece. The sight and taste

of the treats brought together many of our

staff and students to ‘judge’ the produce.

Congratulations to all the winners and a big

thanks to our marvellous cleaning staff for

returning the Andrews to its normal tidy and

clean state.

For more than a decade, British-born plastic surgeon and burns specialist Fiona Wood

has been dedicated to researching and contributing to the science community.

Professor Fiona Wood presents her talk.

She is Director of the Burns Service of

Western Australia, Consultant Plastic

Surgeon at Fiona Stanley Hospital and

Princess Margaret Hospital for Children and

Winthrop Professor at the School of Surgery,

Faculty of Medicine at UWA as well as the

Chair of the Fiona Wood Foundation.

Perth Modern School had the privilege of

hosting Ms Wood, who spoke to the Years

10, 11 and 12 students about her journey

to becoming a renowned surgeon, mother

of six and Australian of the Year in 2004.

Her speech documented the struggles she

faced being one of only 12 women studying

medicine at her college and the challenges

she has overcome and the lessons learnt in

her life as a medical researcher.

Ms Wood told us about her experiences

in treating burns patients, including those

aff ected by the Bali bombings in 2002 and

shared her passion for helping those in

need. Students were greatly inspired by

Ms Wood’s presentation including Year

11 student, Ada Shackleton, who said,

‘Professor Wood really made me feel that I

could achieve anything in the future if I tried

hard enough. She was very inspirational.’

Another Year 11 student, Naomi Cha said,

‘I’m not entirely interested in Medicine, but

Professor Wood made me want to be a

surgeon for the day. She was so engaging

and made me feel like I should seize every

opportunity I get.’


Generosity and hard work of the P&C transforms campus

Did you know that the Perth Modern

School Parents and Citizens (P&C)

has provided over $340000 worth of

valuable equipment for students over

the past six years?

From shade sails to air conditioning,

landscaping to hand dryers, climbing

equipment to computer applications, ping

pong tables and 3D printers, the P&C has

worked hard to generously provide for the

additional extras that make the campus a

welcoming and stimulating environment

for students.

The P&C is made up of volunteers who

aim to provide benefit to students in ways

that are not supported by Government.

As the school’s intake is not local, the P&C

also provides a social focus for families to

make friends, build networks and discuss

school related matters. The P&C meets

twice per term in Week 3 and Week 7 and

all parents are welcome.

Top to bottom: Gazebo.

Nivin Kumarapeli and Gregory Bell enjoy a game

of foosball.

Student furniture in the Stokes Building.

Shade sails for the Agora.

Opposite page, top to bottom:

Auditorium projector.

3D printer.

Dyson hand dryer.

Climbing equipment Year 7 area.

Students using the ping pong table.


Major P&C spending to

benefi t students 2011–2016

2011 (to the nearest $1000)Shade sails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $48000

Air-conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$30000

Track lighting – Mills Building . . . . . .$10000

Landscaping Andrews Building . . . .$10000

2012Stokes and Andrews Building

furniture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$29000

Science lab coats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1000

Gazebo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5000

Build the Dream Donation . . . . . . . .$25000

2013Landscaping Andrews Building . . . .$25000

Dyson hand dryers. . . . . . . . . . . . . $15000

2014Landscaping Andrews Building . . . . $17000

Climbing Equipment

Andrews Building . . . . . . . . . . . . .$35000

Flexischools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7000

2015Ping Pong table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7000

Platform seating – Year 9 Area . . . . . $2000

Contemplation garden . . . . . . . . . . $15000

2 x foosball tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . $14000

Gardham Furniture . . . . . . . . . . . .$45000

2016Auditorium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $18000

3D Printers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $12000

2011–2016 Total Spend . . . . . $342000


Hollywood glamour at the Year 11 Dinner DanceSINEAD CORR, HEAD OF YEAR 11

Hollywood was the theme of the Year 11

Dinner Dance held at the Esplanade

Hotel in Fremantle and the night was

full of plenty of glitz, glamour and

paparazzi.

The room for the event had been

beautifully staged and was complete with

crystal centrepieces, stylish table settings

and lighting. Cameras fl ashed all night

capturing the glamorous outfi ts, friends and

smiling faces. There were ‘Oscar’ awards

for the best dressed male and female,

most original outfi t, and best dancer. From

beginning to the end of the night the

room was fi lled with excitement, laughter

and dancing. It was a wonderful and fun

evening enjoyed by all.

Isabelle Lan, Mavis Wong, Belinda Luu and Liane Chinnery.

Nicholas Baxter, Christopher Guneratne, Joshua Poi and Cyril Harkin.Chase Houghton, Maxine Williams, Cleo Wee and Jasmine Brown.

Alannah Chan, Shae

Davies and Benjamin

Taplin.

Mark Tiernan, Kevin Wellaloagodage, Cameron McCracken and Ankit Rangan.

Above: Samuel Hicks

and Emma McElligott.

Left: Elizabeth Marsh,

Eve Fitzpatrick and

Nimisha Thomas.


Modernian Annual Reunion and ConcertSALLIE DAVIES, PERTH MODERNIAN SOCIETY

MC Rebecca Dollery with Principal Lois Joll.

Colin Ross and David Treloar 1949–53.

Rod Keals 1952–56.

Stewart Gould 2007–11.

Gordon Ewers 1929–33.

Alan Porter receives his 2016 Inaugural Moderna Scola Award

from Peter Farr.

Jeanette Smith and Audrey Dawson 1955–56.

Margaret Hodges and Coral Stewart 1955–56.

It was wonderful to see so many Perth

Modernian Society members enjoying the

lively Orchestral Concert as part of the

Modernian Annual Reunion.

Alongside the concert, participants enjoyed

hearing from Principal Lois Joll, who spoke

about various interesting events and

opportunities that had happened at the school

over the past twelve months and some of

the outstanding achievements by students.

School Board representative Irene Froyland

and member of the Raise the Roof Committee

provided a progress update on the Raise the

Roof campaign for a new 700 seat multipurpose

auditorium and encouraged contributions while

Peter Farr discussed Modernian Society activities

and presented Perth Modernian Society awards

to honour the following volunteers for their

signifi cant service to the advancement of

education at Perth Modern School through

their services to the Society.

Honoured VolunteersModernian Fellows:

Barrie Baker (1954–58) and

Ian Jarvis (1954–58)

Moderna Scola Awards:

Deborah Beresford (Teacher-Librarian

1974–2007) and

Alan Porter (1943–47).

We were pleased to welcome ABC presenter

Rebecca Dollery, student 1997–2001 as MC

for a second year and who led the more

formal proceedings. This included the roll call

which this year recognised the presence of

centenarian Gordon Ewers, student 1929–33, the

cohorts of 1956 celebrating 60 years on and a

presentation of Perth Modernian Society awards

to honour the volunteers for their signifi cant

service to the advancement of education at

Perth Modern School through their services to

the Society.

It was our privilege to hear the Year 12 students

in their fi nal appearance with the Perth Modern

School Symphony Orchestra and the Wind Band

and wish them well in their future endeavours.

Soloists Scott May, James Youll, Finlay Cooper,

Joshua Lindsay, Jane Pankhurst and Samuel

Addison underlined the wonderful talent

departing with the 2016 graduates from the two

ensembles. President of the Perth Modernian

Society, Peter Farr, thanked the students and

Musical Directors Neil Coy, Neil Barclay, and Celia

Christmass with the presentation of a cheque

from the Society for the School’s Music program

in recognition of the wonderful performance.


Arts and Technology Senior Showcase SALLY FLOYD, HEAD OF ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY

Our very talented senior art students

had the opportunity to display their

impressive artworks at the Arts and

Technology Senior Showcase offi cial

opening on Wednesday, 31 August.

Visitors to the Casey Drama Theatre and

the Mills exhibition space were treated to

a collection of work from Year 12 Drama,

Years 10–12 Visual Arts, Years 10–11 Digital

Media, Year 10 Design and Technology

and Year 10 Photography students. The

Year 10 Food Science students cooked and

served scrumptious foods for the exhibition

goers and the Mills foyer was fi lled with the

wonderful sounds from the string quartet.

The Year 12 Drama students had one of the

hardest jobs on the night as they delivered

their Original Solo Performance to an eager

crowd. It was an emotional rollercoaster but

enjoyed by all.

The Senior Showcase awards were judged

by Miranda Brown of Linton and Kay

Galleries, who was impressed with the fresh,

innovative ideas presented by our students.

Congratulations to the following students

on their awards:

Above: Abby Kendell with her award.

City of Swan HyperVision Art

ExhibitionBERNADETTE WOODS, ART TEACHER

HyperVision is a youth art

competition created and run

by the Hyper Team in the City

of Swan. Each year artists

who are WA residents aged

between 12 and 25 are invited

to submit work in photography,

sculpture, traditional media,

fashion/jewellery, short fi lm and

experimental categories.

The organisers of the exhibition

asked artists to submit works that

represent their view on reality,

asking them ‘what is real?’ in their

lives, community and on the world

stage.

Year 12 student Abby Kendell

submitted her piece Defi ance

by Degrees and won the overall

sculptural section. She received a

prize of $200 and had her sculpture

exhibited in a pop-up gallery at

Midland Gate Shopping Centre.

WACE Drama students and Mrs Lisa Andrews

after Original Solo Performances.

School Acquisition and Highly Commended

Year 12 Artwork: Abby Kendell.

Dylan Toop

Most Outstanding Year 11 Artwork: Xuan Zhu.

People’s Choice: Stephanie Beckham.

Digital Media Most Outstanding:

Darren Do

Year 11 Highly Commended Artwork:

Elizabeth Ellis

Year 11 Most Outstanding Artwork:

Xuan Zhu

Year 12 Highly Commended Artwork:

Abby Kendell

Year 12 Most Outstanding Artwork:

Anuki Jagodage

School Acquisition:

Abby Kendell

People’s Choice:

Stephanie Beckham


Bell Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s DreamROISIN CALLERY, YEAR 10

Stephanie Beckham with her artwork Girl, CorruptedAnuki Jagodage with her entry, Reconstruction of Form.

Meta2016 Exhibition for Art and DesignBERNADETTE WOODS, ART TEACHER

Perth Modern School had two student

artworks entered in the Meta2016

Exhibition for Art and Design, organised

by North Metropolitan TAFE. This is an

exhibition that showcases the excellence

and originality achieved by Year 11 and

12 students enrolled in art and design

studies.

Stephanie Beckham’s artwork Girl, Corrupted

depicts that identity can be lost in

translation and even when a person tries to

present an honest version of one’s-self, other

people’s perception can corrupt the original.

Anuki Jagodage’s artwork Reconstruction

of Form explores the idea of human form

and our tendency to create characters from

vague shapes by giving them personalities.

Anuki’s piece was awarded Year 12 Most

Outstanding Artwork at the Arts and

Technology Senior Showcase.

Both students’ artwork represented many

hours of hard work and their inclusion in

this exhibition demonstrates their quality of

ideas and execution.

The Years 10 and 11 Drama students at the performance of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Both the Year 10 and 11 Drama

classes had the wonderful

opportunity this term to attend

Bell Shakespeare’s production of

A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the

University of Western Australia’s

Octagon Theatre.

From the moment we entered the

theatre the talented actors transported

us into another world of magic and

mishap. Each character was captivating

and the set was as intriguing as it

was unique. The production was a

huge success with both students and

teachers alike as the play was made

accessible through a mix of traditional

Shakespearian language and modern

touches. However, at times it was

almost diffi cult to watch the play as we

all had tears in our eyes from laughing

so hard.

Watching A Midsummer Night’s Dream

performed by one of the world’s most

esteemed Shakespearian theatre companies

was an incredible experience and the

Year 10 students are very excited to be

completing a workshop with the actors

to bring to life our own Shakespearian

production, Much Ado About Nothing.


Faster, Higher, Stronger, DrierMARK MUIR, HEAD OF HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

The Rio Olympic Games provided an ideal lead up to the 2016

House Athletics Carnival.

The event was a great opportunity for students to enjoy a whole school

celebration, socialise with their peers and participate in novelty events

as well as the traditional track and fi eld events. With the memory of

last year’s very wet conditions still lingering, the mostly fi ne day was

celebrated in style as students and staff found creative ways to show off

their House colours.

It was Parsons and Downing who fi nished triumphantly at the end of

the day, with Parsons winning the House Cup and Downing coming out

on top in the Novelty Cup. Congratulations to all participants for their

enthusiasm and a big thank you to all staff , parent and student offi cials

who helped make the day such a success.

2016 House Athletics Year ChampionsRunner Up Champion

Year 7 Girls Claudia Clyne (Downing) Emily Mawle (Downing)

Year 7 Boys Ryan Jeong (Downing) Ryan Toh (Sampson)

Year 8 Girls Milly Petterson (Parsons) Abbey Green (Sampson)

Year 8 Boys Lachlan MacNeill (Parsons) Remi Young (Sampson)

Year 9 Girls Chidera Oyemade (Sampson) Tyara Aung (Downing)

Year 9 Boys Blake Glossop (Parsons) Morgan Fletcher (Downing)

Year 10 Girls Catherine Hill (Parsons) Georgia Burden (Downing)

Year 10 Boys Tyler Mathewson (Parsons) Kiran Tibballs (Parsons)

Year 11 Girls Lara Ilievski (Sampson) Mia Judkins (Sampson)

Year 11 Boys Liam Bowman (Downing) William Bailey (Downing)

Year 12 Girls Vivi Phan-Tran (Sampson) Nicola Thomas (Downing)

Year 12 Boys Sam Robertson (Downing) Jordan Power (Brown)

Athletics Champion House Cup

1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Parsons

3996

Downing

3721

Sampson

3627

Brown

3345

Athletics Champion Novelty Cup

1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Downing

300

Brown

293

Sampson

235

Parsons

180

Parsons Captains Hayden Krammer and Eliza Tester hold up

the House Carnival Champion Trophy.


2016 House Athletics Year Champions.


Flynn and Rahul are WA State Swimming Champions

Flynn Burgess Hamilton in Year 9 and Rahul Jegatheva in Year 10

both medalled in the WA State Swimming Championships held at

HBF Stadium.

Flynn won two gold and two silver in the 13-year-old category and

Rahul won one gold, four silver and two bronze medals in the 14-year-

old category.

The swimmers train several times a week with both Flynn and Rahul

saying they were enjoying the sport and were just seeing where it

takes them in the future.

Flynn Burgess Hamilton and Rahul Jegatheva.

Silver medal in the SSWA Open Boys Netball CupMARK MUIR, HEAD OF HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

SSWA Open Boys Netball Cup participants and coaches.

Six teams made the trek to Fremantle in late July to compete

against city and country schools in the School Sport WA Open

Boys Netball Cup with the Year 12 Boys team winning the silver

medal.

All female coaches from Years 11 and 12 provided enthusiastic

coaching and were very pleased with the skill and fl air demonstrated

by the teams. Three teams played off in the qualifying fi nals with our

Year 12 Boys team qualifying for the fi nals at the WA Netball Centre

and ultimately winning their way through to the Grand Final.

In a very close and entertaining game, Melville SHS proved too good

on the day. WA Netball offi cials presented our team with their silver

medals and commented on the outstanding skills and attitude

demonstrated

by both teams.

Congratulations

to team members

Brandon Boccola,

Jack Broadbridge,

Jake Ellwood, James

King, Robert King,

Thomas Mayes,

Dean Moore, Joshua

Thomson, Eric Tian

and to team coaches,

Stephanie Melvin

and Priya Fisher.

Junior Basketball ChampionshipsMARK MUIR, HEAD OF HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

The recently redeveloped Warwick Stadium was

the venue for our girls and boys basketball teams to

compete against other north of the river schools at the

SSWA Junior Basketball Championship.

The extensive training provided by our senior student

coaches leading up to the carnival paid off with our

teams performing with great skill and determination. Our

Boys A team qualified for the North of the River Finals at

the State Basketball Centre and achieved a very credible

fifth place, competing against many basketball specialist

schools. Well done to all squad members and a big thank

you to all our coaches.Girls Basketball Team.


WA Volleyball Schools CupMIKE BRUTTY, VOLLEYBALL COORDINATOR

Two teachers, seven coaches and 11 teams made

up of 100 students represented Perth Modern

School over four days at the WA Volleyball

Schools Cup. We’re pretty good with numbers at

Perth Mod, and as it turns out, we’re not too bad

with volleyballs either.

Of the 11 teams, fi ve fi nished at the top of their

pool and four fi nished mid table which is a massive

achievement given the calibre of their opponents.

Coming back on the Sunday for the fi nal rounds was

nine teams and six of those teams made it through to

the semi-fi nals with a further three progressing to the

Grand Final. In the end, the Year 10 Girls B team and

the Year 11 Girls A team both lost in their grand fi nals

but came away victorious none the less with silver

medals.

Our Year 9 Boys played a great game in their Grand

Final to win two sets to one backing up their fi rst

place earlier in the year with another gold medal to

add to their collection. Robert Scriba was named the

Most Valued Player.

Year 12 Boys in action.Year 12 Boys Volleyball Team.

Year 12 Boys make dramatic improvement in the WAVL

After a very challenging 2015 season

which saw the then Year 11 Boys

lose every game of the season, the

new and improved Year 12 team

were eager to put all they’d learnt

into action in the West Australian

Volleyball League.

The level of their game play had

improved immensely and the extra

training sessions aided them as they

got off to a cracking start. After 10 wins

and only three losses, the team fi nished

second on the ladder. Unfortunately,

they were eluded a fairy-tale ending as

they were knocked out in the semi-fi nals.

However, the boys were very deservedly

proud of their achievements and their

never-say-die attitude.

Volleyball Junior LeagueThrough our affi liation with the UWA Volleyball Club, Mod registered three

teams who competed every Friday night over Terms 2 and 3.

Regular game time saw a vast improvement for our Year 12 Girls, Year 11 Girls and Year 8

Boys teams. They are commended for their commitment throughout the season.

Congratulations to the Year 8 Boys who won the Grand Final in their fi rst ever season

playing together. Many thanks go to their coaches, Manu Nair and Lisa MacNeill.

Year 11 Girls volleyball Team:

Emma McElligott, Stephanie

Castleden, Caitlyn Viskovich,

Elizabeth Marsh, Ellen-Rose Lenny,

Millie Muroi, Lara Ilievski, Lydia

Ellwood, Eve Fitzpatrick, Davina

Staneva and Roshni Sriranjan.

Above: Junior League Year 8 Boys Champions Jack Tonkin,

Ryan Kim, Aiden Duryea, Ben Caddy, Jay Sharma, Imraan Aung,

Lachlan MacNeill and Coach Lisa MacNeill.

Right: Year 9 A Division Most Valued Player Robert Scriba.


Perth Modern School

Roberts Road, Subiaco, WA 6008

Tel: +618 9380 0555

Fax: +618 9380 0550

www.perthmodernschool.wa.edu.au

In July, Emma McElligott and I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Uganda for

a week as part of the Global Youth Ambassador Program. The program is run by the

not-for-profi t Global Volunteer Network which aims to equip young leaders with the

tools to inspire change.

Condiments donation to Uniting Care WestKASIA CASTLE, FOOD TECHNOLOGY TEACHER

Inspiring change for women in UgandaALANNAH PATON, YEAR 11

Above: Alannah having her

hair braided by children from

Hopeland Junior School.

Alannah Paton and Emma McElligott on the Nile River

in Uganda.

We worked alongside and learnt from

countless inspiring people, including the

amazing women of the Hopeline Women’s

Group in Mayindo and the women behind

the Grace Daycare and Orphan Centre.

We were overwhelmed by the women’s

resourcefulness and joy.

Our Youth Ambassador team is continuing

to support women’s empowerment and

community development in Mayindo, to

create sustainable business endeavours

and open a local medical centre to provide

health care and employment opportunities.

A massive thank you to everybody who

has helped us reach this point, but our

involvement does not stop here.

If you are interested in donating to our

team’s fundraising page, it can be found

at: www.gvnfundraising.org under ‘GYAP

Uganda July 2016. ‘

As part of the task they had

to package and label their

recipes following the Australian

Food Standards Code. We

decided it would be nice to

then donate these condiments

(jams, chutneys, dried fruits and

butters) to those less fortunate

than us and together we came

up with the organisation Uniting

Care West. The condiments were

distributed through the their

Inner City Service Centre which

is a drop in facility for people

experiencing homelessness so

they have access to a breakfast

and food hampers.

Year 11 Food and Technology students Dylan Cloutman, Abby Longmuir, Julia Seitz, Katherine Dumas, Pooja Ramesh, Jasmine Schmidt and Alex Bowers.

Students in the Year 11 Food Science and Technology ATAR class have been investigating different preservation principles.

Students had the task of investigating three different preservation principles and choosing food commodities to go with

each principle.

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