Respect ~ Perseverance ~ Growth

Principal Matters by Mark Watson

Tom Browne We received the very sad news on Tuesday this week that our previous general assistant, Tom Browne, passed away peacefully in his sleep. Tom worked at our school from 2008 until 2019. He brought exceptional skills to the position. As a trained carpenter, he was very handy around the school creating, fixing and building. In a previous career, Tom had driven Contiki Tour coaches across Europe which was very useful when we needed to transport a group of stu-dents to an event, Tom would hire and drive the bus. Tom built strong relationships with those he worked with including staff, teachers and parents. In fact, we have already been contacted by our former environmental group who have placed a tribute to Tom in this newsletter. When I joined the school in 2010, it did not take me long to realise just how important Tom was to the running of the place. He had an enormous amount of knowledge about the school, knew where everything was and was always supportive. Tom will be greatly missed. Bus Routes 591 and 582 Survey A big thank you to all the students who have taken the campaign survey for an extension to the 591 route to include a St Ives High loop and more frequent 582 services to Gordon Station. These changes would greatly benefit our students from both drawing areas so the more student responses we can gather the better our chances of success. The survey takes five minutes to complete and closes at 10am this Sunday. Please take five minutes out of your day to support this St Ives High P&C initiative. Good bus services to Yarrabung Road would have a huge positive impact on the wellbeing of our students and the SIHS wider community. Multi-Cultural Day On Friday we saw the welcome return of Multi-Cultural Day to our annual calendar after skipping 2020 due to COVID-19. The day was a mix of guest speakers, cultural rooms and interactive performances of Hip Hop, Martial Arts and Commedia Dell’arte. Some adjustments had to be made to the day to take into account our changed facili-ties and this included the organisation for the distribution of lunch with an extensive cultural flavour. This year our soccer competition was replaced with basketball to take advantage of the new Gym. The winning team will be an-nounced after the finals are played early next week. The day ended with the traditional concert held in the school hall. Thanks to Ms Joynes and her team for organising the day. There will be a full report in next week ’s newsletter.

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Duke of Ed COVID-19 played havoc with our Duke of Edinburgh program in 2020 leaving us with a backlog of students needing to complete their adventurous journeys. This week a team of very dedicated staff made significant inroads in catch-ing up on these. Bronze, Silver and Gold students all tackled sections of the Great North Walk, the amount they cov-ered depended upon the level they were working towards. Congratulations to all of the students completing a walk this week. Thanks go to the team of staff who made it possible, especially to Mr Collins who led the team of staff. See his report in this newsletter.

COVID Update Advice from the Department of Education in conjunction with the Department of Health remains unchanged. Stu-dents and staff can continue to attend school except when they are sick. They must remain at home if they are un-well, even with the mildest of symptoms. If they are unwell, they must receive a negative COVID test and be symp-tom free before returning to school. IEC Presentations Students from the IEC travelled to Evans High School in Blacktown to participate in the NSW Intensive English Pro-gram Oratory Showcase on Thursday this week. Two students from the IEC, Hazel Y and Andy Z, gave a speech titled “There should be same currency worldwide” at the presentation. Another two students attending our IEC re-motely, Tom Z (in China) and David S (in Hong Kong) zoomed into the presentation and gave a speech titled “Benefits of doing sports for individuals”. Over the entire day we heard speeches from students across all of the IECs in NSW. The variety of topics and delivery styles made the day very enjoyable. Thanks go to Bill Bartlett and staff from the IEC for organising our students to participate in the showcase.

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Japanese Delegation Visit A delegation of visitors from the Department of Education’s Interna-tional Students Centre and agents working in Japan visited the school this week. We were one of a number of schools visited this week to investigate the feasibility of students from Japan studying in Australia for the year. The plan is for the students to do 6 months in the IEC and then six months in the mainstream. While we have capacity in the IEC, we are above our CAP in the mainstream and this will limit the chanc-es we have to participate in the program. Thanks go to Mr Bartlett and Mrs Bodley for meeting the delegation. School Building Update Building work on the community hub next to the hall is well underway. This week concrete was poured for the footings for the building. It is expected that the project will be completed around the middle of next term. The facility will include a large space that can be used for re-hearsals by our school ensembles and for smaller groups such as our music tutors. The facility will also be able to be hired for community use when completed. Initial discussions were held this week for the design of the COLA (Covered Over Learning Area) that will cover our new outdoor basket-ball court. The project also includes the reconnection of covered walk-ways to join our existing buildings and cover to the new Gym. The next step will be drawings upon which costings will be based. It is anticipat-ed that work on these structures will take place early in 2022. Subject Selection - Year 11 2022 The subject selection process for Year 10 students is drawing to a close. This week students were coached with staff about their selections. This is the final step before students actually select their subjects online. Parent teacher night In another first this week, Stage 5 students, parents and teachers took part in face-to-face meetings after all of these were cancelled in 2020. While the night was a wonderful opportunity to share information, parents were also able to understand how their child was progressing compared to the rest of the year group. Subject Selection – Year 9 2022 Following a similar pattern of steps used for the Year 11 subject selections, Year 8’s selection of subjects for Year 9 2022 will get underway at the end of next week. Subject selection information will be distributed to students at the end of week 9, this will include an information booklet and website details. Subject briefing will be held during peri-ods 2 and 4 on Monday of Week 10. Parent teacher night will be held on Tuesday evening of week 10. A presenta-tion for parents regarding subject selection will run for 5-10 minutes on the half hour from 3.30-6.00pm in the MFS. Boot Camp This week’s boot camp was able to make use of the recently purchased equipment for the fitness lab in the Gym. The equipment was purchased with a donation from the P&C and the community and includes exercise bikes, weights, benches and mats. A big thank you to our P&C and parents for the donation, the PE staff for organising the equipment and Mr Lawler for the weekly boot camp which takes place every Friday at 7:30am.

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Congratulations Nate D competed last month in the 2021 Baseball National Intermediate League Championships in Mildura. His team, the Ryde Hawks, qualified for Nationals when they won the NSW Intermediate League State Championship in April. At Nationals, the Ryde Hawks won 3 of their 4 games and topped their pool putting them in a strong position for the semi finals. Unfortunately, the Victorian COVID outbreak resulted in the tournament finishing early and Nate and his team re-turned to Sydney before getting a chance to play in the finals. Nate is an all-round baseballer and played as pitcher, catcher, fielder and batter during the competition. Well done to Nate and his team for a great performance.

We had 16 students participate as members of the Kur-ring-gai Zone XC team at Gosford last Friday. Great results all

round with 4 of our students qualifying for the NSW All Schools State Championships to be held early next term. Con-

gratulations to Kirsty F (1st Girls 18 years), Aiden L (2nd Boys 18 years), Evan C (2nd 15 boys) and Malena O (5th girls

15 years)

Best wishes

Mark Watson Principal

PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES

Year 8 Parent Teacher Conference Tuesday 22nd June is now open for bookings.

1. www.schoolinterviews.com.au2. Click ’Make a booking’3. Enter the code mqau54. Fill in the details and book with their student’s teachers

Bookings close Sunday, June 20 at 6.00pm

A presentation regarding Subject Selection for 2022 will be held every 30 minutes in the MFS.

Year 7 Parent Teacher Conference Tuesday 20th July

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Tom Browne and E-BRANCH

Like everyone else who knew him, my boys and I were heartbroken to hear that Tom is no longer with us.

Back in 2010 I had taken over the P&C role of Grounds Co-ordinator. My predecessor, Carol Parr, had organised some amazing work on the endangered Sydney Turpentine Ironbark Forest, and even more more interestingly had drawn up a number of exciting potential environment projects. Our new President, Dieter Weinand, promoted the concept of the Triangle - students, staff and parents/carers working together. So along these lines we had our first

meeting in Paul Ramsay’s office, attended by our GA Tom Browne. Towards the end of this meeting, someone asked Tom if he had anything to add. “Yes” he said, “you spelled my name wrong!”

That was the start of a deep and wonderful friendship which lasted for years to come. Tom told us to forget about the grounds work, he would do that so that we could concentrate on the environment projects. The group became E

-BRANCH (inspired by James Bond’s Q Branch). Parents Dave Balchin & Ian Houghton, and their sons Robbie and Andrew, along with Benedict Wong, joined the main outdoor projects group. Boaz Ng helped write the School Envi-

ronmental Management Plan and designed the E-BRANCH logo. Other staff involved included Andrew Foster (woodwork projects) & Julie Robertson. For the next 4 years Tom was always there to help on so many weekends, usually early in the morning, preparing various sites and opening up his toolshed so that we could use his tools and

workbench.

So it came as a shock in later years to hear of his diagnosis of a particularly inaccessible tumour in his head. And whenever I met him it was hard to reconcile the medical updates I had heard (“not good”) with the person who al-

ways appeared so energetic, happy, and interested in everything except himself.

Tom fought a long battle against his cancer, but always with kindness, generosity, good humour and immense cour-age. I hope his family know just how well-loved and appreciated he was.

Keith Oliver ( St Ives P&C 2008 - ) Jeremy & Julian Peiser-Oliver

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SYDNEY UNIVERSITY’S AMGEN BIOTECH EXPERIENCE This week, Miss Margalit, Mr Lawrance and Miss Fong ran a Year 12 Biology incursion to investigate the use of genetic technologies. The students used a kit on loan from Sydney University's AMGEN Biotech Experience which included the use of micropipettes, gel electrophoresis and Polymerase Chain Reaction machines. The students were very fortunate to have this experience in Year 12, as these investigations are usually conducted at universities. The objective of the incursion was to genetically modify a bacterial plasmid to include a Red Fluorescent Protein gene, making the bacterial colonies appear red once plated on agar. The students worked fantastically all day and gained a lot of knowledge to as-sist with components of their Biology Depth Study. Thank you to Yvette, Sally and Nilu for their tireless work in preparing the incursion.

Ashleigh Fong Science Teacher

STAGECOACH

This week saw the end of our Stagecoach Program with St Ives Primary School for students in Year 5. These students have been visiting our school for the past three weeks and attended lessons in Science, Visual Arts and Language.

Next term, St Ives Park Primary School will be completing the Stagecoach program. St Ives Primary School will be back with Year 6 in Term 4 along with St Ives North Primary School.

Thank you to Mr Small, Mrs Crooks and Ms Furber for their participation in the program and making the transition expe-rience authentic and valuable for the students.

Adrian Zaboklicki Transition Coordinator

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DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD Hike Trip Report 7th June -10th June 2021

Resurrecting the Duke of Edinburgh Program in a post COVID world has been a challenge for the DoE staff team, but certainly one worth pursuing as evidenced by its popularity. 90 students took part in either 2, 3 or 4 day hikes this week, furthering their experience in outdoor skills, resilience and confidence in their own ability. Our Gold and Silver Award students went out first on Day 1, completing their first day in record time from Thornleigh to Hornsby Station. They also had the last of the good weather. Over 80 Bronze Award students from Years 9 and 10 joined them on Day 2 at Hornsby Station, putting 90 students and 6 teachers on the track for the 16km hike to Cross-lands Reserve. While we arrived in good time, and camp was quickly set up, it wasn't long before the rain reminded us about preparation and the quality of the gear we take on these expeditions. Wet shoes, clothes and sleeping bags were dealt with in one way or another, and on the whole students were in excellent form and rolled with punches in a positive manner. Morning came and students readied themselves for the trip home. Before setting off, teachers asked students to put into practice the time honoured tradition of the emu bob, given students were less than observant of their environmental im-pact . This will be a focus for their qualifying hike in Term 4 where there won't be any bins... A fresh team of teachers arrived Day 3 to take the Silver and Bronze students up the trail to Berowra station which in-volved a not insignificant climb and another 9km hike with packs full of wet gear. These two groups now have completed their Practice Journey requirement. Well done everyone. Meanwhile, the small group of 3 Gold students broke loose from the pack and headed towards Berowra Waters and on to the Ridge Top campsite heading towards Cowan. This was a brutal day of near vertical climbs and descents, made all the more challenging by the 3 days worth of provisions and equipment they were carrying. In good spirits and supporting each other, these students individually overcame the mental challenge that exists when the body is fatigued. Not one complaint was uttered. The small party of 3 students and 2 teachers set up camp and enjoyed a campfire while prepar-ing their evening meal, knowing all too well (courtesy of the internet) that a cold snap and rain was on the way overnight. Needless to say, it was an early evening. The morning of Day 4 was indeed cold, around 5 degrees, and the rain started to sprinkle as the porridge was being stirred. It was a wet pack up and trudge for the remaining few climbs out of the Berowra Valley, mak-ing it to Cowan Station by lunchtime. Congratulations Gold Award stu-dents. The Duke of Edinburgh team would like to take this opportunity to thank the P and C for their ongoing support of the program. So too all the teachers who volunteered their time, as the number of participants grew, to escort the unusually large group. Special thanks to Miss Karen Astrom who stayed overnight at very short notice, and to the indomitable Mr Matthew Bond, who spent 3 days in the rain and cold, scaling the same near vertical hills as the Gold students, while carrying extra emergency blankets, rations and first aid equipment for the students in addition to his own gear. Quite simp-ly, superhuman. Josh Collins TAS Faculty

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YEAR 10 GEOGRAPHY AND TARONGA ZOO

On Monday and Tuesday, the Geography Elective students set off to Taronga Zoo to attend the Take3 Youth Sum-mit where we learnt about plastic pollution and how it was affecting our oceans. There were multiple passionate guest speakers who came and talked to us about the significant increase in marine pollution. Lucy and I were lucky enough to be given the opportunity to sleep over at the zoo. As part of this, we were given a private meet and greet of several animals including a blue tongue lizard, a shingle back lizard, a blacked headed python named ink, and a spiny stick insect. Following this, we were taken on a night safari around the zoo where we met several animals and were given stories on how they arrived at the zoo. On the second day we met up with the rest of the Elective Geography students to listen to more guest speakers both national and international. We then split off into our school groups and collaborated on ideas to reduce plastic pollution in our school. Ethan did a fantastic job presenting our ideas to the rest of the Summit participants. Overall, the two day excursion was really enjoyable and informative! Written by Rhian S-P, Year 10 Elective Geography

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SIHS VOLLEYBALL

The rise of the volleyball program at St Ives continued last week as 4 brave teams entered the Schools Cup competition, held at Sydney Olympic Park. These students have been utilising the fantastic new sports centre facilities for week-ly training sessions in the bitter cold winter mornings, and were incredibly excited to be playing in a tournament.

We entered 4 teams (Boys A & B, Girls A & B) with varying levels of experience, but the consistent theme across the day was the resilience and tenacity of our students. Every game was against a quality opposition, most of whom have established volleyball programs that have been running for many years. However, our brave teams dug deep and played in an outstanding manner during every game.

Our A’s teams had a very successful day. These students have been training since the start of the year for this tourna-ment and the fruits of their labours were evident throughout the day. Both teams played with an outstanding structure and discipline that rivalled some of the more experienced schools. Their passion too was evident whenever someone pulled off a big spike or block. They’ve been training for these moments all year and it was a joy to watch! Both teams also managed to snatch a win in their last game of the day.

Our B’s teams had a larger mix of players. Some have been regularly attending training and some wanted to give the sport a try. Our more experienced players leveraged their experience and were effective leaders on the court, allowing our newer players to really settle into the game. The improvement of these teams across the day was truly staggering; these teams went from struggling to put a serve in to playing an effective and competitive game of volleyball.

When we look back on the 2021 Schools Cup tournaments in a few years’ time, they will be significant events for the volleyball program here at St Ives. The enthusiasm for the sport continues to increase within the student body, and eve-ry player can be proud of their efforts throughout the day. Students involved today are the ones that have kickstarted the sport here at the school. A massive thanks must go to Mr Sutanto for his work with our volleyball players at training and on the day, and to our parent volunteers who kindly drove students to and from the venue.

Training will continue in the Sports Centre for the rest of the year with a slightly different schedule. On Mondays at 7:30, we will run a beginners/intermediate session mainly focusing on technique and gameplay dynamics. Thursdays at 7:30 will be for our intermediate/advanced players to work on positional play and advanced skills. We hope to see you at a training session soon. Until then, remember to trust your setters and snap your wrists!

Mr Williamson & Mr Sutanto Volleyball Coordi-nators

St Ives High School P&C Meeting AgendaHybrid On-line Zoom / In Person in MFS Meeting

Thursday 17 June 2021 7:30pm – 9:30pm

1. Welcome, Acknowledgment of Country and Introduction by Libby Cameron

2. FormalitiesA. AttendeesB. ApologiesC. Approval of Previous Draft Minutes

3. Items for Discussion/VotingA. Principal's Report (school plan update) (20 mins)B. President's Report (10 mins)C. Treasurer’s Report (5 mins)D. Grants for discussion and voting - Tracey Wallbridge (10 mins)

a. Year 12 Pizza’s after first trial exam - $785b. P&C Archie’s Competition Prizes - $500c. Screens for Art Exhibition - $3000

E. Succession Planning for 2022 (5 mins)F. Life Membership Policy Update (5 mins)G. Fundraising/Event Update (5 mins)H. Year 12 Graduation Update (5 mins)I. Alumni Proposal Update

4. Items for NotingA. Year 7 Parent Survey (5 mins)B. Traffic and Transport Update (5 mins)C. Uniform Shop Report (5 mins)D. Respect Initiative Update (5 mins)E. Insurance claim lodged for student injury (5 mins)

5. General BusinessA. Opportunity for any general business or questions to be raised (10 mins)

6. NEXT MEETING: Thursday 5th August 7.30pm

7. CLOSE at 9:30pm.

Online meeting protocol● Please sign-in using your name (no company names), video on and audio muted● To ask a question add it to the group chat, use the raise hand feature or raise your hand visiblyand wait to be called on● Votes will be conducted using Zoom poll, only votes from financial members will be counted

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