Heading 1Q~NewsIN THIS ISSUE

Swimming Sports

QTablets

Year 7 Begins

Year 12 Camp

Alpine School

Kew HigH SCHool NewSleTTeriSSue 1 MArCH 2013

Indifference - complacence, inertia, aloofness, apathy, disdain, disinterest, having no influence, involving no preference, unconcerned, neutral.

This year students at Kew are being reminded that they have an opportunity to speak out and to be heard and we are challenging them to do this. We are prompting them to accept their bystander responsibility and not turn a blind eye to injustice, poor behaviour or lack of respect. Each of us at some point in our lives is called on to use our voice.

Our focus is on not being indifferent. We need each student to stand up, to make a mark, to make a difference. In line with this they are urged to participate in all that is offered and to share their opinions and ideas.

The Student Leaders have met and they are all enthusiastic about activities they will organise this year. The leadership team is divided into two groups, the first is called student connections and includes Nick Davey, one of our School Captains and one SRC Captain Sam Bishara as well as SRC leaders Georgia Couvalias, Meg Post, Noah Martin, Deanna Trikolas and our student leaders in Art - Isabelle Butera, Sophie Greenwood; Sport - Erin Murphy, Josh Batterton; Music - Ollie Bradley - Smith, Alexandria Moon; Drama and Media - Christina Wells, Joshua Beams, Sarah Graham; Debating - Alvin Huang.

The second team is called community interconnections and includes our second School Captain Lynn La, other SRC Captain Hasitha Bandara and SRC leaders Sarlotte Jakse, Annie Bloomfield, Dom Cullen, Lachie Stewart as well as the leaders for International students - Bonnie Wang, Justin Dang; Environment - Ella Cehun, Miles Ranogajec; Social Justice - Vivienne Le, Tahli Langborne, Jessica Nguyen.

Each group has an active and significant role to play in the life of Kew High School this year. They will harness our student voice and honestly represent their peers and we are calling on them to speak out, to initiate discussion and debate, to highlight issues of concern, listen to other students, and seek opportunities for improvement and to communicate clearly as they invite others to be involved and overcome student indifference.

Individually and together they can make a difference.

Clare Entwisle

From the Principal

(1963 – 2013)

The year 2013 marks a significant milestone in the history of Kew High School.

The faces have changed from year to year as teachers and students have come and gone. The curriculum has evolved as have the teaching methods and pedagogy, but through it all, a school is one of those institutions that define a community.

Kew High School has been part of the Kew Community for 50 years, opening its doors to provide secondary education in 1963. Staff, parents and alumni will be nostalgically reflecting on these 50 years during our 2013 celebrations.

The 12 member committee is currently in the process of fine tuning the official launch. The celebrations (scheduled for late August/early September) will include among other things, an Open weekend; a Cocktail party; a Concert and Art show. Year 8 students will also be involved in a cross-curricula program relating to the 50 year celebrations.

Specific dates and details of events will appear on our website – www.kew.vic.edu.au

Natalie Kotaidis, Liaison CoordinatorKHS 50 Years – Steering Committee

School Captains Celebrating 50 yearsI am very excited to be this year’s School Captain. I came to Kew High in Year 7 from Kew East Primary School. I have really enjoyed my years at Kew High and have experienced many wonderful times: School Productions, House Sports, School Camps, Music, Outdoor

Education and attending The Alpine School in Year 9. All of these opportunities have given me many valuable skills that I hope to share with our students, teachers and the broader community.

Together with Lynn, I would like to encourage you all to become involved in our active school community and to make the most of the many wonderful opportunities our school has to offer. Please feel free to share your ideas with us. As we celebrate our 50th Anniversary this year, I look forward to working with you all and making this a great year for everyone.

Nick Davey, School Captain

As School Captain this year, I am hoping to engage the students through all the year levels, encouraging them to seize the different opportunities Kew High School has to offer. Working alongside the other captains to further the positive culture I feel here at school, I hope we can make

Kew High’s 50th year a year to remember.

Lynn La, School Captain

The opening of the legal YearOn January 29, Pamela Ximalissakis and I were invited to speak at the Opening of the Legal Year on the issue of human rights and how it affects us as young people in the world today. The function was run by the International Commission of Jurists’ (ICJ) Victorian Branch and was held in Waldron Hall at the County Court. It was a great opportunity for Pamela and I to put our public speaking skills to work and both our presentations were very well received by the audience of over 100 people which included the Chief Justice, various Supreme and Family Court judges and several other dignitaries including the Dean of Melbourne Law School and members of Parliament. Accompanying us on the day were our Legal Studies teacher, Ms Vicki Goodman, former Assistant Principal, Ms Bernie Lloyd along with Ms Kylie Kollmorgen and the Kew High School string quartet. We would like to thank the ICJ for inviting us to speak at this event and also for the opportunity to meet people who are well known and respected in law and justice.

Lachlan Stewart,Year 12 Legal Studies

Maths Homework HelpKew High School is pleased to be able to offer Maths Homework Help again in 2013. Students have used this as a wonderful opportunity to gain some extra support or just work in a quiet environment. Some students have attended regularly; some on a casual basis; some just come when they need some help with their mathematics.

Students are encouraged to use this as an opportunity to keep up-to-date throughout the year as well as just prior to assessments. There is no cost for this service. It is in Room 1 from 8.00 to 8.50 am every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Stephen Francis, Mathematics and Numeracy Leader

languages overseas exchangeKew High School students joined overseas study programs in record numbers in 2011/2012. Stays of two weeks to six months made a life-long impact on participants. They have used their experiences to excel in languages and incorporate a broader world view into their daily lives.

2013 is Kew High School Exchange Campaign Year to increase opportunities for students. Students and parents are encouraged to contact your language teachers or visit one of the many registered overseas exchange organisation websites offering programs in France, Japan and elsewhere. Many organisations have free information sessions and some have spoken at school assemblies already. Teachers are happy to support student applications and provide advice about options. Planning is essential due to cost and scheduling with the academic year. Families are advised to start investigating as soon as possible.

Andrew Cerini, Languages Coordinator

2013 ushers in a significant educational opportunity via technology for our Year 9 students. On Wednesday 20 February, Year 9 students joined our Year 10 and 11 students in receiving a pen based tablet as part of our QTablet program. They received a Dell Latitude XT3 Tablet with a touch screen interface, Windows 8 and Office 2013.

At Kew High School, our focus is on building student capacity and expanding their skills, knowledge and attributes to enable them to participate in the world beyond school as competent and thriving adults with information, communication and social skills. As you know, having a computer on hand all the time does not by itself improve learning. Therefore, we see the importance of teaching students to use ICT in innovative and creative ways, to enhance their learning. It’s not about keeping students busy, but being engaged in higher order thinking through the use of ICT which will transform their learning.

This is an exciting time and we look forward to our students using the devices to enable and enhance their knowledge, develop 21st century skills and give them the opportunity to flourish in our world.

Lyndsey Hubber, VELS Pedagogy and ICT Leader

QTablet program

The first school event for the year has come and gone with the House Swimming Carnival, and what a day it was! The thermometer tipped the scales at a warm 36.7°C with not a cloud in the sky. The competition was intense throughout the day, as everyone was getting involved in events just to keep cool.

The VCE students were all dressed up in their house colours, with many awards going out to Best Dressed, Best Home-Made Costume and Best House Spirit, as well as many more.

It was a great day and it was fantastic to see the younger students stepping up and getting involved. Keep it up!

They came from far and wide to compete in the day and help their team to victory, but at the end of the day the winners were announced:

1st Place - Boroondara

2nd Place - Cotham

3rd Place - Barker

4th Place - Wilsmere

Congratulations to all who participated throughout the day, with every little point counting towards each House’s score.

Let’s all rally together and keep it up for the upcoming House Athletics at the beginning of Term 2.

Go Bears!Georgia Couvalias, Boroondara House Captain

Boroondara Does it Again

On 18 February, we went to the Swimming Sports. I did the 25 metres backstroke and I came fourth. My friends were watching me and they thought that I was excellent. I think everyone did their best. The diving was really fun to watch as some of the boys did some silly dives. It was a nice day but it was a bit hot. Everyone participated, even the teachers. It was a bit sad as it was our second last swimming sports, but we had lots of fun.

Sayuri Williams (Barker) and Nialla Riazi (Wilsmere) Year 11

Paul Paxinos and I performed in Adelaide and Perth for the Chinese New Year celebration for the Chinese community. We met many people from Adelaide and Perth City Council as well as from the Chinese local organisations.

WangZheng-Ting

In 2012 the following students enjoyed time at Gnurad Gundidj: Maggie Murphy, Joe Findlay, Harry Dehne, Hannah Spring, Olivia McDonald and Rohan Hurst. One of their teachers, Danielle Willis sent the following report:

We hiked from Timboon along the rail trail to Glenfyne where we camped, cooked, had a fire, toasted marshmallows and went on a night walk. Joe and Harry had fun jumping out and scaring us along the way. Rohan worked on a hut that had been built by another student. He made it a door and added more branches and cushioning, making it a really sheltered comfortable spot. It was pretty impressive! Meg and Hannah had the opportunity to run a review each: Meg on day one and Hannah on day two. These chats are a huge part of the learning that occurs on these trips and they did a great job. Olivia made us laugh along the way, filming herself and Hannah cooking dinner and just being a great support and fun to be around.

There has been some more great work in the team’s Community Learning Project (CLP). They are making contact with the schools they are interested in presenting activities and information to, about waste reduction and better waste management. It is so great to hear them mention more sustainable practices every now and then, for their CLP. They are all are quite passionate about making a difference.

Our 2012 Alpine School Students, Tiger Hongmung, Josephine Lake, Andrew Papathanassiou, Sara Bruce, Ben Maher and Holly Tsalikidis are thriving, facing new challenges and making new friends at the Snowy River Campus at Marlo. The course features several Expos (outdoor camping expeditions) and this has been a first for some, camping and hiking overnight. They face future challenges with greater confidence.

In the weeks ahead the students are planning their Community Learning Projects. Initially they had two ideas; one to work with primary students on issues of cyber-bullying, the other was to beautify the grounds at the back of the library. We will see how their ideas evolve over the weeks to come.

After several emails and phone calls it was lovely to catch up with the group via video Skype last week. With smiling faces, they told me how much they were enjoying the school and how close they had become as a group.

Dr Karen Lynch, Assistant Principal

Alpine school 2012 Alpine school 2013

Chinese New Year Celebration

greetings from the school ChaplainHello and welcome to all of the new students and families. My name is Rosemary Carter. As the Kew High School chaplain I am involved in a range of programs in the school including CONNECT and year 7 Peer Support. Students are welcome to come and see me to discuss

any issue of concern. I also look after the school lost property. You can find me in room 105 – you can’t miss my office as there are three big tubs for lost property right outside.

Thursday 31 January marked the first day of school for the year 7 students. It was also the first day of the Peer Support program for 2013. Thirty eight newly trained year 10 students attended school with the year 7 students for their first day as Peer Support Leaders. The Peer Support program is aimed at helping year seven students transition into high school life. A wide range of topics are covered over the semester including: finding and keeping friends, getting organised and working through hassles. Welcome to the new year 7 students and congratulations to the year 10 Peer Support Leaders for 2013.

The Second-hand Uniform and Book Shop have again had a busy three months with the volunteers running a highly successful end of year sale. A big thank you to the volunteers and to Ruth Woolvern who coordinated the shop for the first time in 2012. Despite many changes in text books this year the sales have been very successful. The

shop is open every Tuesday lunch time (12:22 – 1:07pm) in the room next to M4. Please feel free to drop in to peruse the large supply of uniforms and books on display. New volunteers are encouraged and welcome to join our team. For information on volunteering or to find out how to sell your own uniforms and books through the shop please see the school webpage www.kew.vic.edu.au.

The team from Bridge Church in Richmond are back for 2013, Marissa Karagiorgos will be heading up the EMPIRE activity program on Friday lunch times in the basement gallery. EMPIRE will include a wide range of fun activities for students.

The Mustard team are also back for 2013, Ben Hewitt and Andrew will again be the leaders. Mustard meets every Tuesday lunch time in room M1. The program involves fun, games, activities and discussions on the issues of life. Students can voluntarily attend anytime during lunch.

The Chaplaincy at Kew High School is supported by a small Committee of parents, staff and community volunteers. If you are interested in finding out more about the school chaplaincy, or the great programs we run or you are willing to become involved with the chaplaincy committee or volunteer in the Chaplaincy Second Hand Uniform and Book shop you can find more information on the school webpage or you contact the school chaplain (email) rosemary.carter@kew.vic.edu.au

Rosemary Carter, School Chaplain

Year 7 Begins

Heading 1

1393 Burke RoadEast KewVictoria 3102P 03 9859 8652F 03 9819 7880www.kew.vic.edu.au

No stamp requiredIf posted in Australia

Year 12 2012 DestinationsDuring last year our Year 12 students performed extremely well and the 2012 results certainly reflect their achievements. With careful planning and visits to course and career expos as well as experiencing the campuses of various Tertiary institutions during the year, the students were able to make their choices for 2013 and beyond in an informed manner. Well done, Year 12 of 2012.

Laura Walsh, Careers Advisor

Year 12 Camp

GAP Year

or working

TAFE University

Victoria

Melbourne

LaTrobe

RMIT

ACU

Deakin

Monash

Swinburne

university Destination of 2012 Cohort

Destination of 2012 Cohort