Lurnea High School

Hillview Pde

Lurnea NSW 2170

Phone: 02 9602 5704

Fax: 029822 5094

Lurnea-h.school@det.nsw.au

Meet your Leadership Team for 2012 from left: Janet Havili, Simone Hall,

Chantelle MacKenzie, School Captain Narmian Dennaoui, Kevin Mai,

Sally McCarren, Elias Arsalah and School Captain Erfaan Arif (absent

Brendon Mudaliar)

Students from Year 11 and 12 Photography classes visited the Royal Botanic

Gardens on the 1st March. They explored the genre of the nature and the landscape in

their photographs. The students had the opportunity to take wonderful photographs of

greenery, rocks and water and produced some great compositions in their work

Term 1, 2012 Hello to the community of Lurnea High School! It is with great pleasure that I write my first message as your new Principal to all our students and their parents and families. I am excited to be the key leader and manager of this great school. In the short time I have been at Lurnea, I have been thrilled by the commitment and dedication of the staff, the many respectful and friendly students I have met and the caring parents and families I have had the opportunity to meet and talk with. I feel very privileged to be here. This year our school is beginning a new chapter with new Priority Areas which we will focus on for the next three years. These areas are:

Literacy and Numeracy

Student Achievement and Attainment

Leadership and Management

Curriculum and Assessment

At the end of March, you will be able to see on our school’s website our details in relation to these areas in the School Plan (2012-2014). You will also be able to view our Annual School Report (for 2011) and read about the many achievements of the past year. That report highlights the collective commitment and caring that the staff and our other partners in learning have made to the school’s ongoing drive to improve the educational and life opportunities of all our students. Some of our term 1 highlights:

Successful Year 7 Orientation week

Ongoing Chaplaincy program of mentoring support for vulnerable students

Year 6 Primary visits to Casula, Prestons and Lurnea PS followed by mini

lessons here at Lurnea HS

Community of Schools networking with Casula PS, Lurnea PS, Prestons PS,

Dalmeny PS and Casula HS – developing partnerships for collaboration and

shared learning

Year 6 Orientation Evening – showcasing the many learning opportunities for

future students

Meet the Teacher Afternoon for all years 7, 8 and 9 students and families

Successful Swimming Carnival

Seeking parents support:

1. PSP Survey – the Priority Schools Program (PSP) survey requires attention

from parents of all year 7, 8 and 9 students. This is a strictly confidential

survey that assists the Equity Portfolio in State office in deciding if our school

is eligible for additional funds to support student learning. We need your help

in ensuring we get 100% return of all surveys by the end of term.

2. Student Attendance – In line with the NSW School Attendance Policy (2005)

regular attendance at school is compulsory. Parents are responsible for

ensuring that their sons and daughters attend school regularly, explain the

absences of their child and take measures to resolve any attendance issues of

their children. I ask for your continued and active support in this important

area.

3. Uniform – I am pleased to see that Lurnea High School is a uniform school. I

ask that all families support the continuing implementation of our uniform

policy by ensuring that all students wear appropriate school uniform and

appropriate footwear (black leather shoes). Appropriate footwear is essential

as a matter of Work Health and Safety regulations in all Science labs and all

hospitality and industrial arts workshops

I look forward to meeting as many parents as possible at our term 2 Parent Teacher Night (seniors in week 7 and juniors in week 9) to discuss your son or daughter’s learning achievements. Thank you also for your ongoing support and partnership with the school in our aim to improve the educational and life opportunities of all our students. Regards, Jenny Holland Principal

Welcome back to 2012! It has been a great start to the year!

Year 7 students have settled into high school well and are making pleasing progress. We

have four Year 7 classes which are quite small in size. Therefore, the learning opportunities

for the students are extensive and provide for a lot of one-on-one assistance in the

classroom.

Year 8 students have returned and are focussed on learning. They have been working well

in class and are taking a mature approach to their studies.

Year 9 students have just received their laptop computers for use in classes and at home. I

will remind students that having their laptop does not mean they do not need to bring

other equipment to class. Laptops do not replace books and pens!

The student run cafe is up and running. I would like to congratulate David Roberts and

Hamza Ahmed for being selected as managers of the cafe. The managers have been

interviewed and hired a team of staff (all students from across the school) to work in the

cafe fulfilling different roles. The student have been trained in use of the barista style coffee

machine and have been working before school and recess time serving hot drinks to our

school community. I think the cafe will be a huge success and am looking forward to

working with the team on this important whole school project.

Lastly, I would like to remind everyone about school uniform. It is very important that all

students wear full school uniform every day. The junior students need to be wearing a

white polo shirt with the school logo on it. Plain polos are not part of our school uniform.

Also, as the weather becomes colder students need to be wearing a red school jumper with

the school logo. This is the only acceptable jumper for winter. Plain red jumpers and name

brand jumpers are not allowed. School uniforms are available from Maria at the canteen.

Should you require assistance with uniform, please feel free to ring me to talk about it.

To all the students, keep up the great work! I am very pleased with the way the year has

started and I want you all to continue to work hard in the lead up to the half-yearly

reporting period.

Julie Perkins

Deputy Principal (Year 7/8/9)

Welcome back to the start of another productive and exciting year. Students in years 10, 11 and 12 have already settled back into their rigorous program of study. Several new students have enrolled into the three different year groups that I supervise. Many of these new students have made application to enrol at Lurnea to take advantage of the special programs and support structures that have been put in place at our school like our Homework Centre, After School Tuition, and Norta Norta tutoring. At this time of year there are several key issues that need to be addressed and require parental support and cooperation in the management of these issues. Attendance: Regular attendance is a must. All students must meet Board of Studies

requirements and maintain an attendance record better than 85%. Lateness: All students need to be at school by 8.40 am to ensure they are at roll call Uniform: School uniform must be worn at all times. This includes the wearing of white

polo school shirts for the juniors and white business style shirts for the seniors. Both styles of shirts have the school logo located on them. Black shoes are also the required standard of foot wear. New supplies are now available from the canteen.

Assessment Tasks: All set assessment tasks must be completed to the best of the student’s ability

and submitted on time. All students in year 10, 11 and 12 have an assessment schedules and know exactly when assessment tasks are due well in advance. Forward planning is a must.

Sport: All year 10 and 1 students must attend and participate. Students must meet

the required outcomes in sport for the successful completion of a stage 5 and meet the requirements of a Preliminary Certificate.

At this point in time all students in 10, 11 and 12 are currently checking and confirming that their details on their Student Confirmation forms are accurate and correct. This is an important requirement from the Office of the Board of Studies in managing future student credentials. Year 12 students who have elected to formally drop a subject for their HSC studies now have access to independent study sessions in the staffed Learning Centre. This staffed resource again providing additional support for all students in managing the timely completion of their assessment tasks. This year the school has set aside a designated Wednesday afternoon for all senior students to attend the Homework Centre. The homework Centre offers free tutoring in a range of subject areas every Wednesday afternoon from 3.00pm to 5.00pm and provides that valuable support for all students in preparing and submitting their a assessment tasks. I have already had the pleasure of meeting many of the parents of our new students and look forward to meeting all parents at upcoming school events. Success at school does require a working partnership between home and school and as such I look forward to working with you in supporting and assisting all students in their attempt to take advantage of all of the opportunities here at Lurnea High as we endeavour to promote and develop safe, respectful learners.

. Jim Samphier Deputy Principal Year 10, 11 and 12

Literacy and Numeracy news

Welcome back to a new and exciting year at Lurnea High School and a special

welcome to all our new Year 7 students and their parents/carers. As the third Deputy

Principal at Lurnea High school I have a very important role of addressing the

Literacy and Numeracy needs of our students. Next term NAPLAN (National

Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy) testing will take place on the 15th –

17th May. It is vital that all students in Year 7 & 9 are present at school on

these days.

You child will complete the following tests:

1. Language conventions – spelling and grammar

2. Writing – persuasive (sample question below)

3. Reading

4. Numeracy – calculator and non-calculator

FREE NAPLAN after school tutoring has begun with 60 students taking up this

opportunity in years 7 and 9. Tutoring takes place every afternoon from 3pm – 4pm

with 20 staff members from Lurnea High school working through activities with

students so they are able to complete their Individual Literacy and Numeracy plans.

All Individual plans are due to Ms Cahill completed by the 11th May. Any parent who

has not applied for tutoring for their child can still do so by calling Ms Cahill (9602

5704).

Tips for Parents to help your child prepare for NAPLAN

Ensure your child attends tutoring each week

Ensure your child is working on their Individual Literacy & Numeracy

Encourage your child to complete some type of reading everyday (a book,

magazine, newspaper)

Encourage your child to practice their timetables everyday either by writing

them out on paper or saying them aloud to you

Persuasive Writing Competition

Any student in Year 7 or 9 are invited to complete this persuasive writing activity.

Using the stimulus below, write an article for our next school LINK which shows what

you think about the topic ‘Too much money is spent on toys and

games’.Students need to complete their answer on one A4 page and it can be hand

written or typed. All entries need to be handed to Ms Cahill by Monday 2nd April

(week 11 this term).

Rene Cahill Deputy Principal IEC and Support

Welcome back to 2012, I hope that everyone had a safe and relaxing holiday Welcome to all our new students and families to the Lurnea High School community. We hope that all of you will get involved in some way big or small. This could be by attending Parent and Teacher Nights, Community Information Meetings, Sports Carnivals and the Specials Days (Harmony Day Education Week and the Creative Arts Festival) I hope that I will get to know all of you in your time at Lurnea High School. Lurnea High School has just employed May Jouni as another Community Liaison Officer who can communicate in Arabic. May has been at Lurnea High School for 3 years as a School Support Learning Officer. Next term May and I will be hosting Adult Computer Lessons, English Lessons. If you are interested please contact the school. The next Community Information Meeting will be held on Tuesday 28th March starting at 9.30am and finishing around 10.30am. Come and join us in our new café, we would love to see you there. Annette Ollerton and May Jouni Community Liaison Officer’s

Brother and Sister Chris Obrien and Jessica Obrien visited Lurnea High School in Term 4 2011. Both of them were in the Class of 2009. It was great to see them and learn what career path they have taken.

Jessica has finished her Certificate 111 in Childcare. She started her trainee-ship in 2010 and finished in March 2011. For 7 months Jessica has been working at a Childcare facility in Five Dock traveling 3 hours every day to work. Jessica also said that being in the child care industry is amazing and rewarding.

Chris Obrien has joined the Australian Defence Force (Army) attending training at Duntroon in the ACT. At the end of his training he will have the title of Commissioned Lieutenant. Chris has done 10 months training and will finish in July 2012. Chris said that the theory is very much like a school environment and you live in. We do a practical application and field skills and lots of physical training.

Jessica Obrien Chris Obrien

“The Hot Seat”

Ms. Holland

Full name: Jennifer Lynn Holland

Hobbies: reading/ crime fiction and watching good movies ‘’ anything with George Clooney

it ’’

Favourite Movies: The Shawshank Redemption, Terminator 1 and 2 not 3, Blade Runner,

Pride and Prejudice (any version) and Lord of the Rings “all of them”.

Favourite Sports: Rugby League “go the Tigers”, Cricket and AFL “go the Swans!”

Date of birth: 2nd June 1959 (Gemini)

Favourite singers: Louis Armstrong (African American who plays the trumpet), Elton john

(singer and piano player) and heaps of others ( yes I also like Tupac- especially his poetry!)

Favourite TV show: Grand Designs- anything on the ABC

Favourite Foods: potato chips ‘chippies’, and Lebanese food, then Italian, then Thai

Why did you want to become a teacher/ principal? ‘I wanted to lead a group of teachers

and also because I absolutely love working with kids, I missed being in schools. I strongly

believe that I can help make a difference’

What did you want to become when you were younger: an actress (NIDA) and a vet

Previous jobs: I have never had any other job other than teaching

Favourite subject: English and History and I also love the Creative Arts!

Students in Year 7 enjoy science with Ms El Foul. The class was given three different colour pieces of play dough. The students had to create solids, liquids and gas. The students rolled the dough into spheres to represent particles in a solid; the spheres were placed on their desks in a uniformed pattern to form a solid. The next task was to make liquid which are particles that are touching but in any order, finally the students had to make gas were particles are not touching. All the students in the class has a fun time learning.

Solid Gas

Liquid

The SRC has organised two events this year for Lurnea High School which included ‘Dress up

as your Dream Job’ and ‘Clean Up Australia Day’. Both of the days were a success and were

a lot of fun for the whole school. Our recent Mufti day saw students dress up as various

dream jobs like; Doctors, Astronauts, Teachers, Football players and a range of other

occupations. The SRC would like to thank everyone that was involved with those events and

everyone who participated. Over $450 was collected and is going to be put aside for the

sponsorship program we are running with World Vision.

Clean Up Australia Day saw more than 80 students volunteer to help clean up our school

environment. The clean-up was a success with over 20 bags of rubbish collected!! The SRC

would like to thank the participants that were involved and thank them for their

participation. A reminder to the students in the school from the SRC is to make sure that as

a team; we keep our school looking clean and dispose of our rubbish in the bins fitted

around the school and NOT the ground.

There are a variety of exiting project s that the SRC are doing throughout 2012 that

students should look forward to! One of the events that we are very excited about is

Harmony Day! Harmony Day is happening on March 21st 2012 and is going to involve

students experiencing other cultures and accepting them. This day will bring loads of fun for

students; we hope everyone enjoys it as much as we will! Another event to look forward to

is Crazy Hair Day on Wednesday 14th March 2012 which is to fundraise for Sally McCarren.

Sally has decided she is going to be brave and shave to participate in shave for a cure. Come

to school with the craziest hair styles to support Leukemia Research and bring a gold coin to

help the cause.

Introducing the 2012 Student Representative Council

The SRC are in charge of representing the voices of all students in the school and contribute ideas in meetings to be implemented. We take action to continually improve the quality of the school’s environment for students; we like to make sure that the voices for young people are heard. The SRC are also in charge of fundraising for charities and organisations. We have currently supported countless charities, some of which include: World Vision, Canteen, SIDS Kids, RSPCA and Shades for Aids.

Introduction of SRC Members for 2012 Year 7 Year 11 Liam Goodall Brandyn Nget Alanna Mckew Mohammad Chahoud Luke Hume Chris McCarren Isabella Khoshaba Adarsh Narayan Dianne Kameraniya Year 8 Charmaine Haare Dayna Rameka Lamley Wellington Hebba Barghachoun Monisha Khalid Tarik Basha Mustapha Alameddine Year 9 Year 12 Leadership Team Nathan Mackenzie Brandon Mudaliar Rowanne Hawchar Elias Arsalah Sam Timu Kevin Mai Mariam Jamaleddine Sally McCarren Simone Hall

Chantelle Mackenzie Year 10 Batoul Salman Omar Chahoud Maymouna Dennaoui Fatmeh Al Masri Yasmine Saboune

Establishment of New System In SRC: Portfolios

The SRC has established a new system which involves 4 portfolios which focus on different areas of the school and the community. Environment Health and Bodies Leadership Community Links More information on each of these portfolios will be included in the next issue of the link. Stay tuned! Quote of the day “Don’t let anyone tell you that the sky is the limit, because there are footprints on the

moon”

Just a friendly reminder about Lurnea High Schools and the Department of Education’s Policies regarding attendance, truancy and lateness. These policies and procedures have been developed to maximise your child’s attendance at school, enabling them to best reach their potential. Some of the consequences of poor school attendance, lateness and truancy include:

If students are late to school on one occasions without a note, then they will be issued with a Head Teacher Lunch Detention. If they are persistently late without an adequate reason then they will require a parent interview.

Students are required to attend school at least 85% of the time. If they fail to meet this requirement then they are in jeopardy of not meeting Board of Studies requirements and may be given an N Award Warning Letter or possibly face repeating their current year.

In relation to truancy. If students truants a class then they will be issued with a Head Teacher Lunch Detention. By the 4 or 5 incidents they will be placed on an attendance monitoring card and parents will be notified to discuss, possible in-school suspension or suspension.

Again these measures have been put in place to allow your child to gain the most out of their local High School and to help them obtain sound educational outcomes. Mr A Browne (Head Teacher Administration)

PSP Survey 2012

WHAT IS PSP? PSP stands for the Priority Schools Program. The Priority Schools program aims to identify schools from low socio-economic areas and give them additional funding to improve the learning outcomes of the students. Lurnea High School is classified as a ‘Priority School’. WHY DO WE NEED TO DO A SURVEY OF OUR FAMILIES? Every FOUR years, a new list of schools is identified according to survey responses from parents in that school community. To stay on this list of schools, our community must participate in this important survey. It is essential that we get a 100% return rate. This year, we will be surveying the families of every student in Years 7, 8 and 9. WHAT DOES THIS FUNDING MEAN FOR YOUR CHILD? This funding is VERY IMPORTANT to all of the students at our school. It means that we can hire additional staff (a third Deputy Principal, Community Liaison Officer, Learning Support Officers, and administrative staff). It also allows us to run fantastic programs that many of your children have been involved. It helps us to improve the levels of literacy and numeracy in our school. WHAT DOES THE SURVEY ASK? The survey is a simple 1 page document that asks you things like: Your current employment status Your type of employment Your highest level of schooling Your highest qualification after school Whether you are a sole parent family Whether you are from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background IS THE INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE CONFIDENTIAL? ABSOLUTELY. Your child will be asked to return the form in a sealed envelope. No one from the school will look at the answers you have provided. You do not put you name on the survey. DO YOU HAVE TO DO THE SURVEY MORE THAN ONCE IF YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE CHILD IN YEARS 7 -9? NO. You only complete one survey per family. The survey will be given to your oldest child in Years 7, 8 or 9. WHEN DO WE NEED TO COMPLETE IT? The survey will be given out during Week 7 on Tuesday 6th March. It is essential that you or your child returns the survey on the following day

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Week 7 Priority School Program Week

Tuesday 6th

March Years 7 and 8 Meet the Teacher

Tuesday 6th

March Year Laptop Information Night

Week 8 Thursday 15th

March Year 10 Sport

Week 9 Tuesday 20th

March Community Information Meeting

Wednesday 21st March Harmony Day

Thursday 22nd

March Year 10 Sport

Week 10 Monday 26th

March IEC Swimming School

Tuesday 27th

March LHS Cross Country

Thursday 29th

March Year 10 Sport

Week 11 Thursday 5th

April Last day of Term 1

Week 1 Monday 23rd

April School Development Day

( No school for students on this day)

Thursday 25th

April ANZAC Day

Week 2 Tuesday 1st May Links to Learning

Week 3 Monday 7th

May Year 12 Half Yearly Exams start

Tuesday 8th

May Goals Induction

Year 10 Subject Section Night Expo

Week 4 Tuesday 15th

May Community Information Meeting

NAPLAN Starts

Wednesday 16th

May NAPLAN

Thursday 17th

May NAPLAN

Check out the new School A to Z webcast which features an expert panel

answering the most common questions parents have about how they can best

support their children at school. Four video chapters cover doing well in class,

social life, behaviour and technology. Watch the videos and contribute questions:

www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au/wellbeing/development/getting-off-to-a-good-start

Schools have a zero tolerance of bullying, but with mobile devices such as

phones and laptops, bullying can follow children past the school playground. Get

the lowdown on bullying from School A to Z: the signs to look for, what to do if

your child is being bullied and how you can help your child. There are expert

articles to read and videos to watch.

www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au/wellbeing/behaviour

It’s easy to fall back on the same tried and tested school lunches, but why not try

something new, tasty, easy and healthy?

Quick and scrumptious school lunchbox ideas are available at School A to Z

(www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au/wellbeing/food/recipes) and the Heart Foundation,

www.heartfoundation.org.au/recipes which also offers a wealth of information

about maintaining a healthy body weight and, of course, heart health.

Visit our Website @

www.lurnea-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

or Google Lurnea High School

Keep up to date with all the latest

news and current events for

Lurnea High School.

Did you know that Lurnea High

School sold black leather shoes?

Size 6.5 $29.95

Sizes 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 $39.95

For further information please

call the school 9602 5704

Please join Lurnea High School in Celebrating Harmony Day. All

students are encouraged to wear orange.

Stepping Out School of Dance

$8.00 per Lesson

Jazz, Hip Hop and Tap

Ballet & Irish

Glee Club

Private Singing

Cheerleading

Contact: Christine

Phone: 9605 7472 Address 9/45-47 Whyalla Pl, Prestons

MOB: 0409 548 396

Email:rain.drops@bigpond.com.au

www.steppingoutdance.com