tempe high school...mr farrell is replacing her with mr jackson as relieving head teacher. farewell...

TEMPE HIGH SCHOOL Innovation, Opportunity, Excellence Unwins Bridge Road TEMPE NSW 2044 Phone : 9558 2023

Fax : 9558 9460 TERM 2, WEEK 1, 2010

Email : [email protected]

Website : www.tempe-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

Principal’s Report Welcome back to Term 2 to our 860 students and 62 teaching staff and 13 clerical staff. Term 2 of any academic year is synonymous with teaching, student assessments, half-yearly reports and parent-teacher interviews. Term 1 ended with another visit from Premier Kristina Keneally to launch the Premier’s Sporting Challenge. She was accompanied by N.R. L. David Gallop, Olympic swimmers, footballers and other well known sporting celebrities such as Mario Fenech. Our students had the opportunity to engage in some sporting clinics and enjoyed the ac t i v i t i es an d f un . Se e t he accompanying pictures.

Welcome to new staff:

Ms Wang (Chinese Teacher replacing Ms Yuan) Ms Riad (H.S.I.E.) Ms Jennings and Ms Bolton back from maternity leave Ms Plioplis (H/T H.S.I.E.) is working this term with the Centre for Learning Innovation (C.L.I.) Mr Farrell is replacing her with Mr Jackson as relieving Head Teacher. Farewell to Mr Popovich who has transferred to Ryde Secondary College. Mr Gouzoulis is relieving Head Teacher (H.T.) Mathematics till a panel is formed to select a new head teacher. Earlier in the term we held a successful Open Night for prospective students in 2011. The big attendance figures reflect the growing reputation and the high standing of our school within the local community. Demand for places far exceeds supply and all years are currently full. Parents and young students were keen to experience our school’s special features and attributes that are being continually amplified within the Sydney Region.

Our school is proving to be a very popular attraction for parents and students seeking a safe, friendly, supportive and engaging learning community. In Term 1 we celebrated our school’s H a r m o n y / M u l t i c u l t u r a l D a y . Congratulations to Ms Vimalarajah and her student anti-racism committee for organizing a spectacular day with great food and wonderful entertainment. The message echoing through our school was “Everyone Belongs”. This day was about staff and student participation, inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone within our school community. Early in Term 2 all Year 9 students will receive their laptops. The laptop is considered to be a tool for assisting student learning both at school and home. All teachers and parents have the responsibility of ensuring all students are aware and up to date with concepts involving Digital Citizenship and Cyber Educat ion. Dig i ta l citizenship is defined as the accepted s tandards of appropr iate and responsible behavior regarding the use of technology. Cyber education involves the raising of awareness in adopting secure and safe online practices and behaviours.

TERM 2, WEEK 1, 2010



Year 12 students will soon receive their mid-course reports whilst Year 11 commence their mid course exams in Week 2. All students should be concentrating in class, completing all assessment tasks and ensuring they do their personal best. Invoices for 2010 school fees have been issued. Please assist us by paying promptly so that we can continue to provide a high quality education for all. In cases of financial hardship, please contact the Principal or Ms Papasavva in the Front Office. All information is confidential and will be treated sensitively. Fees may be paid in instalments or in full by cheque, cash or eftpos. A uniform reminder. Most students are correctly attired in school uniform and we thank parents and students for your continued support in this matter. School shoes must be black leather, enclose the whole foot and be strong and supportive. Ballet slipper type shoes, canvas shoes of any type and sandals are not permitted. They are not safe and do not meet Occupational, Health & Safety (O.H.S.) regulations. Years 7 & 8 may wear sports uniform on Tuesdays. Other years must charge into Sports/P.E. uniform at school and wear the correct uniform to and from school. All students have been issued with a school diary. Please encourage your child to use a diary and check it regularly. Organised students are successful students. I hope you enjoy reading the reports and student contributions in this copy of the Tempe Newsletter.

John Fairburn Help for high school study

If you know your child’s learning style, you can help them find the best study approaches and support for them. In the latest School Parents ezine read an informative article on helping your high schooler to study; whether they be an auditory learner, visual learner or kinaesthetic learner. Go to: www.schools.nsw.edu.au/ezine

Education Tax Refund Eligible families can claim up to $375 per primary student and $750 per secondary school student for legitimate expenses under the Education Tax Refund (ETR) but according to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) only half have lodged claims. For more information go to:

www.educationtaxrefund.gov.au or phone 132 861

Choir Report On the 18th of February , Tempe High School’s senior choir performed at the official opening of the school year at City Hall Angel Place. The choir consisted of Year 9 and 10 students including Gina Beard, Joanne Truong, Andrea Fung, Olgica Najdenska and Susan Vu. We all met Miss Vernillo at Sydenham station first thing in the morning and made our way to City Hall, stopping for coffee on the way. On arriving at the venue we assembled with choirs from other schools such as Newtown Performing Arts, Dulwich High, St George Girls and the Sydney Region choir. We did vocal warm-ups, a dress-rehearsal then went off and had lunch in the CBD !! Back at the event, as official guests arrived for the concert we rose and sang ‘Amazing Grace’ a capella, (which means voices only- with no accompaniment). This was followed by a number of performances and speeches. The choir had one last piece to sing at the end called ‘Expanding Horizons’, which is a musical story of travels through China. Although Tempe High’s choir was only small we were proud to represent our school. We had a wonderful time and hope these type of events will often be available for us to attend. by Elyssa Deang (Year 10)

This was a fun experience for me. It gave me a chance to get involved with performing which I love to do. I was very excited and it turned out to be a great day. Also, I got to have a day away from the classroom and to spend time with other people in the choir! by Keziah Gutierrez (Year 10)




Art Express Excursion On the third of March, all year 9 Tempe High Visual Art students went on an Art Express Excursion. We went to two venues; first at Homebush , and then at the Art Gallery of NSW. Art Express is an exhibition of a selection of artworks produced and developed by year 12 HSC students who scored highest amongst the state. We were all very inspired by all the creative ideas and depth of meaning portrayed in these artworks, produced by people not very much older than the rest of us. It made us think about art on a completely new perspective. For example, one of the artworks, ‘Return to Sender’ by Madeleine Mouton addressed the issue of Asylum seekers and Refugees. A simple yet effective and modern work that had expressively drawn pictures of people’s faces on parcel boxes with stamps of their country, except you can see that they have been ‘rejected’. We thought this was a very clever idea, and conveyed their concern for the asylum seekers. We enjoyed every part of this exhibition, and each of us had gained a lot from this excursion. We will be looking forward to it soon next year.

Parents and Guardians of Year 7 Students As the end of Term 1 has completed, I hope that your children have had a smooth transition and are enjoying their time at Tempe High School. I have already had the opportunity to talk to several of you and would like to offer my email address as an additional form of communication. Please still feel free to contact me at school by phone, however, I realise that for many parents email is more convenient. I hope that you all had a happy and safe holiday and I look forward to speaking with you in the future. [email protected] Jeanette Trotter, Year 7 Advisor

P & C News There was a terrific start to the year with a talk from Luke Edwards, from Catholicare, about Resilience factors in teenagers. It included how we as parents can keep the communication channels open with our children as they go through the interesting time which is adolescence. Our March meeting saw the election of the following office bearers: Lyn Coghlan was re-elected as Secretary, Chris Small as Vice-President, and Karen Turvey has accepted the position of Treasurer. Thank you to these people for being willing to take on the responsibilities which go along with the office. In May we will have the new Head Teacher of Welfare, Ms White, discuss the reward system and disciplinary measures which are in place at Tempe, and hear what else her role encompasses. The June meeting (8/6/2010) will have a guest speaker from the Board of Studies, as requested by parents. This will be a night to find out how different subjects contribute to your Child’s ATAR Score.(new term for UAI), i.e. the H.S.C. Parents will be able to find out how to maximise their child’s ATAR score, and the evening will be invaluable, especially for those parents with children in year 10. Even if your child is in only year 7, by coming along you will find out information which can help you make choices in the next few years. For example will a band 3 in 3 unit Maths result in a better score than a band 6 in 2 unit maths? As a larger number of parents are expected at this meeting, it will be held in the library. We welcome all parents to the meetings: 2nd Tues the month at 7 pm. Dianne Picton (President)

A Reminder from the Careers Advisor

• Work experience, for Year 10, is set for late Term 4 2010 (from the 15th November).

• Students are reminded that they need to start

pursuing their placement as early as possible to avoid disappointment. Call up a potential employer by phone, or better still, visit them in person to request a placement.

See Mr Fawcett is you need assistance. • Tax File Number Applications are available from

Mr Fawcett also.




HSIE—Term 2 It’s hard to believe that Term 1 is finished already. And what a busy term it was. Year 12 have completed their mid-course exams and for them, the year is half over already. They face perhaps the toughest part of their school career in the coming two terms, and we wish them all the best. Congratulations to those who performed well in the exams just completed. Those who did not do as well as they had hoped have gained a valuable learning experience, and should put all their efforts into improving in the lead up to the HSC. HSIE subjects being studied by HSC students this year at Tempe High School include: Ancient History (2 classes), Business Studies (4 classes), Economics (3 classes), History Extension (1 class), Legal Studies (1 class) and Modern History (1 class). In Week 9, students from Years 8, 9 and 10 competed in the Australian Geography Competition, which is a joint initiative of the Royal Geographical Society of Queensland, the Australian Geography Teachers' Association and the National Geographic Channel. The Competition promotes the study of Geography in Australian secondary schools, and students who do well in the competition have a chance to be members of Australia's teams to three international Geography competitions. All the best to those who participated. Results will be announced later in the year.

Another competition coming up in August is the NSW Geography Competition, run by the WSSSTA (Western Suburbs Social Science Teachers’ Association). There is no entry fee for this competition, and all of Year 10 will be competing. More information on this will be given closer to the time. A mandatory component of School Certificate Geography is fieldwork. Year 10 this year undertook their fieldwork in Week 10 of Term 1 at Homebush Bay Inter-tidal Wetlands. Here, they made observations and undertook measurements in order to collect data for their RAP (Research Action Plan) assessment tasks on Issues in Australian Environments. The students gained valuable experiences, had a great time and were a credit to the school in all aspects, including behaviour, dress, the quality of the work they did, the thoughtful comments made and the insightful questions asked. The pictures below show students testing water quality of the wetlands and recording their results. I look forward to seeing the completed written reports and oral presentations resulting from this work. Mrs Jennifer Plioplis, Head Teacher, HSIE

CHANGE OF DETAILS

• Have any parents changed their work phone numbers/mobile numbers?

• Has your emergency contact person changed? • Have any families moved to a new address

recently?

Please let us know immediately. It is essential that we have up to date contact details for all parents. Every day we ring parents regarding a number of important issues including student welfare attendance, learning behaviour and students ‘reports’, so the contact details are really important.




Taronga Zoo Excursion On Thursday 25th July Year 8 Tempe High School students studying Visual Arts and Science went on an all day excursion to Taronga Zoo to draw, sketch and scientifically investigate animals from many parts of the world. We were taken to the zoo by the Visual Arts and Science staff. On the day of the excursion, we were assigned two different groups one for science and the other for art. We had started off with art in the morning. We saw the nocturnal animals in the pitch black tunnel, walking around or sleeping. Then we saw the birds in the aviary flying around. When we looked up, we saw a rock wallaby climbing the cliff. We saw some of the reptiles which included the snake, long-necked turtles and the blue tongued lizard aiming its tongue at us. After lunch, we changed for Science. On our way to the animals’ enclosures we saw the domestic pig it looked filthy rolling into mud staring at me with a dirty gaze. The most interesting animal we saw was the Komodo dragon it looked evil ready to kill an animal for dinner that night. We learnt a lot and drew a lot and enjoyed ourselves. By: Danielle Nguyen and Sophie Gammon (Year 8)

Music Report On the 21st of May Tempe High School will be visited by the Queensland based international performer Adrian Fabila Tjupurrula – aka Tjupurru. He is a descendant of the Djabera Djabera Tribe of the Western Australian Kimberlies. Tjupurru has toured extensively throughout Australia and collaborated with musicians of all styles, including invitations to work in New Zealand, New Caledonia, Korea, Japan, France and the USA. Locally, he has performed at the Sydney Festival’s ‘Jazz in the Domain’ concert, the Sydney Opera House and at the Dreaming Festival at Woodford. Tempe High’s Year 7 students study Australian music

in the classroom and this amazing concert promises to

bring the music off the page, out of the classroom and

into the hearts, minds and imagination of the audience.




IMPORTANT DATES

TERM 2 - 20 April - 02 July 2010 23 APRIL - ANZAC DAY assembly 26 APRIL - Public Holiday 27 APRIL - Year 11 Midcourse Exams 28 APRIL - T.E.A.M.’s session—some Year 10’s working with Fuji-Xerox 04 MAY - Grade Sport (winter) starts 07 MAY - School Cross Country 11 MAY - P & C Meeting—7.00pm - All Parents Welcome 21 MAY - Zone Cross Country 26 MAY - Marrickville Residents for Reconciliation 09 JUNE - School Athletics Carnival 14 JUNE - Queen’s Birthday holiday ** 08 JUNE - Parent /Teacher/Student evening for Years 7, 11, 12 ** 29 JUNE - Parent/Teacher/Student evening for Years 8, 9, 10 02 JULY - Last day Term 2 20 JULY - Students return for start of Term 3 TERM 3 - 20 July - 24 September 2010 TERM 4 - 11 October - 17 December 2010 Year 8 Camp - 18-20 August 2010 TRIAL HSC - 16 August, H.S.C. commences: Thursday 14 October 2010 YEAR 11 - Preliminary Exams - 6 September 2010 YEAR 11 - Crossroads Camp - 20 -22 September 2010 YEAR 10 - Trial S.C. 11-15 October 2010; S.C. Exams 8-11 November 2010 ** REVISED UPDATES FOR PARENT/TEACHER/STUDENT EVENINGS




PHOTOS FOR HARMONY DAY

FREE fun program for kids to become

healthier, fitter and happier! Do you have children 7 to 13 years old? Are you worried about them being overweight?

The NSW Parenting Program is an established healthy lifestyle program to improve health, fitness, self esteem and confidence in children above their ideal weight.

What happens in the NSW Parenting Program?

The program runs over one school term (10 weeks). There are 20 sessions (2 sessions/week, 2hrs/session). All sessions run after school. Sessions include:

Games, activities and swimming for kids Easy, effective ways to improve your child’s self esteem and confidence Demonstrations, games and tips on healthy foods, label reading and portion sizes A fun supermarket tour and a chance to try delicious new foods!

Thanks to funding from the NSW Department of Health, Sydney South West Area Health Service (SSWAHS) has 15 places on the program in your local area, completely FREE of charge. The next program will be running in School Term 3.

How can I join the program?

Places on the Program are being given away on a first come, first served basis. Children need to be 7-13 years old and above their ideal weight to qualify for the program. Contact Natasha Fayle (Program Manager) on (02) 9780 2811. You can also visit www.mendprogramme.org and click on ‘Join a MEND Program’.

*Please note a parent or carer must accompany each child to every session*

Photo courtesy of MEND Australia Pty Ltd

tempe high school...mr farrell is replacing her with mr jackson as relieving head teacher. farewell...

Documents