What s happening in Science?!?

Transcription

1 Kingswood High School Kingswood Kapers What s happening in Science?!? Term 1 has been busy for all our students in Science, Agriculture and Marine Studies. Year 7 has been busy getting their Bunsen Burner licences and learning about our world of matter. Year 8 has been busy learning about the structure of the Earth and geological landforms. Now they are learning to be budding scientists in the future, designing experiments. Year 9 had fun dissecting the brain and learning all about the advanced systems of the body including the nervous, hormonal and immune systems. Year 8 ESSA results from 2013 will be sent home in week 10, if you do not receive it please contact the school on Year 10 started off their year with a taste of Chemistry studying fuels. Now they are learning about genetics and getting a taste of Senior Biology. Ask your children about DNA lolly models! Agriculture students have been busy preparing their vegetable patches to plant their seedlings. They have learnt to trim the animal s hoofs and muster sheep. The latest project is horse care. Talk to your children about what they have been doing in Science and share the wonderful world we live in. 1

2 The SRC Times Issue#1 Wednesday, 26 th March 2014 The Student Representative Council is comprised of responsible, enthusiastic and compassionate students who care about their school and the wider community. They take part in leadership conferences and training days, and use their new skills to be better leaders and role models within the school. They meet twice a week to plan fundraising activities to support charities and plan initiatives that will make a difference within their school. At the beginning of this Term new members of the SRC were nominated, and our new leaders for 2014 were elected. Congratulations to the following student representatives. Year 8 Shonte MATAVAI-TUIMALEALIIF Tayla DANGERFIELD Julianna VAIGALEPA TEVAGA Year 9 Praise GALUVAO Danika FITZPATRICK-COOK Ryan FINDLATER Ernest BRINAS Year 10 Brooke COLEMAN Kiana FILIKITONGA Kamaljeet KAUR Sara HASSAN Year 11 Jennifer ZULENI April JACKSON (Vice President) Curtis ROBINSON (President) Ben FINDLATER Kingswood High School SRC The SRC is looking forward to a busy 2014 with many events planned for the year ahead. We are in the process of coordinating a number of activities, which will be organised throughout the year. Fundraising initiatives for charities and the school will take place in many forms, including Pancake Day, whole school disco and Multicultural Day. The first event for 2014 was the World s Greatest Shave and Crazy Hair Day. Staff and students were extremely brave, waxed their legs and shaved their heads for the Leukaemia Foundation. Mr Stone and Mr Pearn shaved their heads, while Mr Lebens sat through a painful leg wax. Annika Martin (11) was the bravest of them all and shaved off her beautiful pink locks for this wonderful charity. Annika gave the word brave a whole new meaning. Staff and students cheered in the crowd as more hair fell to the ground and more wax strips were ripped off. It was a huge success, raising just over $800 for the Leukaemia Foundation on the day. A HUGE thank you goes out to the students who fundraised at home (Dallas Starr and Annika Martin), Mr Creighton from filming the event, Mrs Stokes for lending us her hair dressing equipment and giving us her expertise and the generous staff and students who donated their money to the cause. 2

3 LIBRARY REPORT Reading Competition We are again running our reading competition throughout the year with numerous prizes and certificates to be awarded each semester. The Kingswood High School Reading Challenge was introduced several years ago and our borrowing rates have soared by over 100%! Students should register with any of the library staff. Some prizes are drawn from all students who read a book each term. The more books you read the more entries in the draw you get. More details are available in the library. There are no set book lists so readers of all abilities can take part by reading books suited to their interests and abilities. Hundreds of dollars in book prizes will be allocated throughout the year. Our first draw will occur Week 4 next Term, so it s still not too late to start!! Other Competitions We regularly give away small prizes such as books, Yu-Gi-Oh cards, posters and bookmarks. Every year we place several Golden Tickets in books throughout the library. Unfortunately, you won t win a trip to meet Willy Wonka. However, you will win book prizes. Recent completion winners include: Lucky Reader Competition - Klarissa Dixon (Yr 7) complete set of Vampire Dawn Great Book Giveaway Competition: Rhys Slater (Yr 7) Agent 21: Codebreaker Caleb Scanlon (Yr 8) Earthfall Katlyn Lockyer (Yr 9) - Rapture Sara Hassan (Yr 10) Dead Reckoning & Dragon s Oath Jesse Turner (Yr8) Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D s & Hover Car Racer Sabrinna La Cioppa (Yr 11) The House of Hades Dallas Gillespie (Yr 11) D. Gray-Man 22 Cassandra Clark (Yr 10) Alone Quarantine Isaiah Bavadra (Yr 10) Sailor Moon 1 Matthew Woodhouse (Yr 11) Allegiant Klarissa Dixon (Yr 7) Percy Jackson& the Last Olympian and The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict Jason Cosentino (Yr 11) Witch & Wizard 2 Angela Clifton (Yr 9) Eragon Brooke Trezise (Yr 11) - Witch & Wizard 3 Jozef Ostrowski (Yr 11) Eldest MangaWe now have over 100 different manga series! The Japanese published manga titles actually come with a suggested age rating. Most of our collection is rated for Teen 13+ and includes many which are on morning TV anime series like Naruto, Dragon Ball and Yu-Gi-Oh. However, we do have a significant collection rated Older Teen 16+. Most of these titles involve vampires, supernatural themes and mild violence. Some contain themes relating to teenage relationships. The level of Violence/Teenage Themes is on a similar level to many popular younger teen novels like Harry Potter, Skulduggery Pleasant, Tomorrow When the War Began, Hunger Games, Percy Jacksonetc which obviously do not have ratings. The big difference is that manga provides visual, not just mental, pictures. As a courtesy, however, junior students who wish to borrow these titles are asked to take a note home to be signed. Parents should monitor their children s reading habits in a manner simi lar to their TV and online habits. Most of the manga can be viewed by parents online. New Books & Themes Our current theme in the Library is If you liked the movie, you ll LOVE the book. There have been some wonderful movies over recent years which have been adapted from novels. However, there is nothing like reading the book itself for increased excitement and other emotions. There is greater depth of character development and much greater detail of characters thoughts and emotions. Below is a small sample of books we are promoting under this theme: Divergent by Veronica Roth. This is set to be one of 2014 s blockbuster movies and is the first of a trilogy. Set in distant future Chicago, the city is divided into five different factions based on an aptitude test taken by all 16 year-olds. Main character, Beatrice Prior, receives inconclusive test results which place her in three different factions a very unusual occurrence, making her divergent. She is warned to never tell anyone about these results, and what follows is an action-packed and emotional roller-coaster ride. Ender s Game by Orson Scott Card. Another new movie and another trilogy. In Earth s future, the planet is invaded by insectoid aliens. In preparation for an expected third invasion, children as young as twelve are trained using increasingly difficult games. The central character of the book, Ender Wiggins, is identified as having exceptional tactical genious he wins all the games! But is he smart enough to save the planet? Holes by Louis Sacher. Stanley Yelnats isn t too surprised to find himself at Camp Green Lake, digging holes in the dried-up lake bed, day after scorching day. After all, his family has a history of bad luck. The boys at Camp Green Lake must dig one hole each day, five feet deep and five feet across. But what are they digging for? Why did Green Lake dry up? And what do onions and lizards have to do with it all? The answers lie in Stanley s own past Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. Charlie Bucket may well live in the poorest family in the world. But one day his dreams come true when he finds one of Willy Wonka s Golden Tickets and wins a tour of the famous Chocolate Factory! What happens to the other greedy and naughty winners of the tour? Follow Charlie s wonderful adventures and all of Wonka s amazing inventions. Other titles that have been made into popular movies include the Harry Potter novels, the Hunger Games trilogy, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings,Tomorrow When the War Began and the Star Wars novels. Suggestions We are always looking for suggestions to help improve our collection and the facilities and services we provide. If there are particular books or genres you are keen on then let us know. If you feel as though there are not enough appropriate resources for a particular assignment we will try and purchase some. The suggestion box can be found on the circulation desk. Mr Holburn 3

4 COMMONWEALTH BANK WORKSHOPS On Thursday 13 th March, Year 9 and 10 Commerce classes, Year 10 Work Education and Year 11 Business Studies classes attended workshops run by the Commonwealth Bank. Each workshop was an interactive learning experience that was designed to engage students and empower them to make confident financial choices. Targeting common financial issues faced by students, the workshops covered a range of topics through the use of scenarios that related directly to their own experiences. SmartEarning Workshop: Using real-life scenarios, this hands-on workshop highlighted the vital information students need to make their first job count. By exploring a variety of topics associated with earning money - such as getting your first job, rates of pay, taxation and workplace rights and responsibilities. SmartSpending Workshop: This workshop challenged students to ask why? before they buy. By exploring the sometimes overwhelming influences that affect their decisions as consumers, students were equipped with practical spending strategies to help save money. SmartSpending inspired students to make responsible and discerning personal financial decisions. SmartEnterprise Workshop: The world of enterprise might seem foreign and far off to students, but small businesses make up more of the Australian economy than any other entity and their exposure to the business world is far closer than they may think. This workshop examined the characteristics of entrepreneurial thinking and how students can apply these insights in their own lives. HSIE Teachers Western Sydney Parklands Trust Tree Planting Program On the 19 th of March, a number of year 7 students were chosen to participate in the 500 Schools Planting Program. The aim of the day is to raise awareness in the students about the reduction of the Cumberland Plain Woodlands. The students were educated about different types of vegetation, planting practices and sustainability. Approximately thirty native plants were planted. It was fantastic to hear from the organisers that our students were one of the best behaved schools that they had seen. Good work year 7! Mrs. S. Rigney By Naomi Zammit Vietnam Veteran s Visit: A Student s Perspective Today, Year 10 s got to meet Vin and his wife, Nancy. Vin is a Vietnam War veteran. He was 20 years old when he was conscripted and he ended up fighting in the war from Vin told us how he had just finished a university course and was about to seek work when he ended up being conscripted. According to Vin, he was happy to fight in the war and just wanted to give it his best shot. Vin met his wife, Nancy, after the war. She is no stranger to the war, having had her father fight in World War Two and her brothers and cousins fight in the Vietnam War. Vin and Nancy s presentation to our school gave our year a first-hand insight on what the war was like from a soldier s point of view. He was able to recount some of the experiences the soldiers went through and the conditions they had to fight in during the battles. One of the most interesting parts of the presentation was when students dressed up in uniforms that the Veterans wore. Vin spoke about all the different jobs that different troops had and described some of the weaponry and equipment used. Overall, it was a great experience to have a real Vietnam veteran talk to us about his time in the Vietnam War. Thankyou Vin and Nancy. 4

5 Congratulations Gary Donoghue!!! A huge congratulations to Gary Donoghue who was awarded a Variety Club Future Kids Scholarship for Education and sport. Gary Donoghue is a young man who demonstrates the level of success that determination and support can achieve. He is one of the friendliest and happiest people that you will ever meet and embodies the type of child that deserves the success, positive praise, support and sponsorship that he has received. Gary has excelled in all areas of sport. In school based competitions Gary has represented his school, district, region and even state. He has travelled as far as Tasmania to represent the NSW Combined High School team in Cross Country and has also competed at the State Athletics and Swimming Championships. Outside of school Gary is also an excellent Softball player. He currently plays for Penrith City and this year alone has played in the Under 19's Men s KFC Australia Day Softball Challenge held in Canberra where his team won 1st Place, he was also selected into the Under 17's Penrith City Softball Representative Team where they came 2nd in the tournament. Through the Future Kids Program, Variety gives children the opportunity to enhance their learning through the provision of technology, musical and sporting equipment, and scholarships. The Future Kids Program allows children to fuel their passion for learning and extra-curricular activities by giving them the opportunity to engage in activities that they would otherwise be unable to. Since winning his Variety Scholarship Gary has had an even more positive outlook on his life as he feels that his achievements are limitless. Finally, a special thank you to the Variety Club NSW for their amazing work and ongoing support of Kingswood High School and their students. Thank you Hertz Penrith, Variety Club and all our Sponsors!!! KHS would like to acknowledge and thank our wonderful community for their support to fundraise for school buses and a Bus House (garage). It is amazing to see the generosity of some community members, organisations, staff and students. As you may know we now have a 21-seater Toyota Coaster to help transport the students. This was was due to ouir major sponsors Variety, Gloria Jean s and the De Lambert Largesse Foundation. We also have on loan a 12-seater Toyota commuter. This is due to the generosity of Hertz, Penrith. We can t thank our supporters and sponsors enough. Hertz, Penrith 2066 Castlereagh Road, Penrith 2750 Phone:

6 ICE SKATING This term has been a great success at ice skating with lots of spills and thrills. The new Year 7 students have been initiated into high school sport by learning the art of staying up right and trying to avoid greeting the ice up close and personally. Students have had to learn to move in a new fashion and their styles have differed to include:- hugging the rail as you progress around the rink; doing the quick step as you try and not fall over, sliding on your bottom across the cold icy surface after doing the quick step; and my favourite landing in a heap as you drag your friends down with you. Mrs Nagpal got up the courage to don a pair of skates and join in the fun of staying up right. After several failed attempts of meet and greet with the ice, she was finally stable enough to let go of the railing and work her way around the rink. All be it nice and slow. Mr Erickson soon had speed skating down to a fine art. This was in order to get away from the screaming children who love to see grown-ups sprawled out over the ice and the risk of being pushed from behind in a sneak attack, by kids of course. The use of the buses has been fantastic. It has cut travel time down immensely and now students get to spend more time participating in the sport. Also students and staff get to spend quality time together and many laughs were shared throughout the team. We would like to thank the Ice Palace staff for the discounted price and the fact that they are always happy to assist our students. Liz O Keefe Sydney West Opens Water Polo Gala Day On the 14th of March 7 students from Kingswood High School competed in the Sydney West water polo gala day. The boys were a bit inexperienced and faced some tough competitors with schools such as Hills Sports and back to back winners Winmalee fielding very strong teams. However, they performed with grit and determination and played well throughout the tournament. It was a great effort from the boys and they should be proud of their performance and progress. Karl Erickson Coach Basketball NSW Visits KHS Kingswood High School have joined forces with Basketball NSW and the NSW Department of Sport and Recreation to develop a new program to extend pathway opportunities for young athlete with a disability. This program develops the skills of Support students that they will need to possibly represent NSW in national competitions or even possibly Australia at a future Paralympics. The new program being developed is based on the coaching clinics that Basketball NSW ran with Kingswood High School last year and they are now looking to extend the program beyond KHS to include numerous schools in the community. The students have been working with players and coaches from Basketball NSW on their passing, shooting, dribbling and team work. There have been a lot of smiles and some great ability demonstrated already. The pilot program will continue to run at our school for the rest of the term before it will culminate in a 5 week school versus school tournament that will be run by Basketball NSW at the Cambridge ark Indoor Centre next term. The KHS students have already started eyeing the inaugural tournament as one they d like to win so more news will follow in the middle of the year. Karl Erickson 6

7 SPORT UPDATE Open Girls Waterpolo Sydney West Gala Day Players Montana Ojeda Bridgette Potter Brooke Coleman Ashley Day Georgia Britton Tazma Miles On Monday 10th March 2014, the girls played really well with no reserves. Brooke Coleman was great in goals, whilst Montana Ojeda top scored with 5 goals and was well supported by Ashley Day and Bridgette Potter. Our 2 Year 7 junior players Georgia and Tazma, worked hard whilst learning the game and new skills. Game 1 versus Castle Hill drew 2 2 Game 2 versus Erskine Park won 4 0 Game 3 versus Blaxland High lost 2 8 Girls Open Netball The Girls Open Netball team competed in the Werrington Cup on March 13 th. They did extremely well winning four out of their six games. With the games they lost they only lost by minimal points. All girls did an outstanding job, displaying great teamwork and skills in their positions. Overall it was a fantastic day, the Kingswood girls should be very proud of what they accomplished and how well they represented Girls Open Touch Since the beginning of term the open girls have participated in the Werrington Cup and the Sydney West Knock Out competition. The Girls performed really well at Werrington Cup, they ended up coming 3 rd overall and from the day Chantelle Trovato and Nicole Protacio of Year 9 have been selected for the Werrington Zone Touch team. Unfortunately, the girls got knocked out in round two of the Sydney West Knock Out going down to Nepean High School. For both competitions the girls did extremely well, they displayed excellent skills and overall sportsmanship. Girls Open Basketball Unfortunately the girls lost their first round match to Penrith High School. In a very tight match, our girls fought hard and played some impressive basketball to come within 4 points of the opposition. Unfortunately a lack of substitutes for us on a very hot day was the difference between the win and a loss. Tennis Unfortunately the girls lost to an impressive Penrith High School side in the first round of the Tennis. They played well and learnt many new skills throughout the match. Players included Brooke Coleman Georgia Britton Tasma Miles Bridgette Potter The Boys are through to their second round after defeating St Marys High in a close match last week. They play Penrith High next term.players include Josh Rodman Long Fogg Matt Maley Muzammil Hussain 7

8 Boys Touch Football The boys touch football team has got off to an excellent start this year has seen a few new faces into the side and a new format to the Knockout competition. Kingswood had an away game against Glenmore Park High in Round 1, which was played on a very hot day. The boys out-ran and out-played the Glenmore park team to win 8-4, with Kyle Clarke (Year 10) scoring an impressive 5 tries! Round 2 was played against Erskine Park High and again the boys were unstoppable. They never gave Erskine Park a chance to get into the game, beating them 8-0. The boys now progress to the top 16 teams in Sydney West region and will compete at a gala day on Monday 12 th May at the Kingsway Playing Fields, St Marys. We wish the boys the best of luck heading into this gala and hope they continue their good form. Werrington Cup The Touch Football Werrington Cup gala day was played on Thursday 20th March at Cambridge Park High. The Kingswood boys continued their impressive run this year, beating all 6 schools in the Werrington Zone area to take out the Werrington Cup undefeated for a second year in a row!! It is so great to see the boys really gelling together as a team and working for each other. Each player knows their role in the team and all players have really stepped up the standard for the other schools to follow. From the day, 6 boys were selected to represent Werrington Zone at the Sydney West Carnival to be played on Friday 28th March at the Kingsway Playing Fields, St Marys. Congratulations to: Jordan Bolt (Year 12), Kyle Clarke (Year 10), Jarrod Considine (Year 10), Chris Curran (Year 12), Brendan Hearne (Year 11), and Caine Matthews (Year 10). Miss S. Renny Touch Football Coach Girls Volleyball The girls played their first match against a very strong Chifley Bidwill Team and were competitive although they lost. A big commitment from some of our senior players and new comers to the group. The girl s skills continue to improve which can be attributed to their participation in the TAP Volleyball program. Boys Volleyball The boys are through to the fourth round of the State Knockout Competition defeating Katoomba High, and most recently Hawkesbury High. The students continue to impress us with their enthusiasm, high skill quality and level of sportsmanship. The next match will take place early next term against Baulkham Hills Selective high school which should prove to be a tough match. 8

9 AFL Greater Western Sydney Giants On Thursday 27 th February, 2 development officers form GWS Giants came to school and ran a workshop on AFL to the Year 10 Elective PASS class. The students were involved in a variety of activities that included sprint and agility testing equivalent to those that the AFL conduct on professional players before the draft. The students had a great time experiencing all forms of the game and participated in a friendly full sized game towards the end of the session. This session was free of charge. The Giants AFL club donated the resources to enable it and for that we are grateful. This program was in conjunction with the Sports From Around the World Unit we have been learning in class. Rugby League The Werrington Cup Rugby League gala day was played on Tuesday 11th March at Ridge Park, Colyton. Five schools from the Zone were involved and Kingswood entered an Opens and U/15 s team. All students played really well on the day and exhibited a high level of participation and skill. The Opens team played particularly well and went through to win the Werrington Cup, which is an outstanding effort! A special mention goes to new comer to the school, Caine Matthews who was awarded as Player of the Tournament. A great effort! Congratulations to the following students who were chosen to represent Werrington Zone at the Sydney West Carnival in the Opens division: Brendan Hearne, Joseph Filikitonga, Caine Matthews, Joshua Rodman and P.J Vaigalepa. The following students were selected in the U/15s division: Jarvis Afualo, Jacob Goodwin and Dylan White. Good luck to these boys. Mr Pearn Rugby League Coach Term 1 Soccer Report Futsal The Open age and U/14 Boys teams showed their talents at the Penrith Area NSW Futsal Championships earlier this term. The Open Boys Team had some mixed results, winning against Glenmore Park in the first game then unfortunately going down to St Marys and Erskine Park. This lead to an unfortunate early exit from the tournament. The U/14 team saw more success in their campaign by placing second overall and qualifying for the State Titles in July. The boys had a draw against Glenmore Park, lost to Wollemi and won against Belmore Boys to advance to the semi-finals. A Team List: Joel Marfo, Liam Finch, Jonathon Souripanyo, Emin Mujanovic, Joshua Bloem, Matthew Maley, Matthew Bugg, Joshua Rodman much improved performance against Wollemi in the semifinal saw them win and come up against a much stronger Belmore Boys team in the final. After a spirited effort the team went down 2-1 but it will be great to see them again put their talents on show, along with the U/16 Boys team at the upcoming Hawkesbury Titles. Team List: Ivan Medina Beigbeder,Lleyton Pagett, Brayden Hollard, Jarrod Burgess, Tristan Potts, Brad Allen, Dylan Ajamian, Jai Rogers It is a privilege and an honour to be chosen to represent Kingswood High School and even more so, when chosen to represent Werrington Zone and Sydney West. When a student is chosen to represent at any level, they must take this seriously and return notes, pay money and turn up on the day. If for some reason a student is unable to attend a carnival or gala day, it is imperative they inform the Coach or Sports Organiser (Mr Pearn) ASAP. Otherwise teams are left short and there are other players who want to play who then miss out. 9

10 Werrington Cup The Open Age boys and girls teams also recently competed in the Werrington Cup competition against local schools. The girls performed fantastically by defeating St Clair, St Marys and Colyton on the day to finish third overall. The boys also defeated St Clair and Colyton and displayed strong performances against St Marys and Erskine Park. Congratulations to Bridgette Potter, Chantelle Trovato, Liam Finch and Matthew Bugg who were all selected to compete for Werrington Zone at the Sydney West Championships. Bridgette Potter also made the Possibles vs Probables match at the end of the Sydney West Carnival and Matthew Bugg was selected to play for the Sydney West Shadow Squad with his outstanding goalkeeping efforts throughout the whole campaign. Team List: Joel Marfo, Nathan Ajamian, Stuart Potts, Matthew Bugg, Matthew Maley, Emin Mujanovic, Jonathon Souripanyo, Ivan Medina Beigbeder, Joshua Bloem, Theo Marfo, Liam Finch, Joshua Rodman, Long Fogg, Jai Rogers, Tristan Potts Team List: Chantelle Trovato, Bridgette Potter, Lavinia Brunt, Shontay Bolt, Tanya Nestorovic, Erin Jones, Maram Al Jerman, Skie Burnham National Clean Up Schools Day On February 28 th, Kingswood High School took part in National Clean up Schools Day. In order to raise money for prizes, the students in the EnvironMEN- TALS held a cake stall which saw $250 raised. With that money, they were able to purchase prizes such as movie tickets and itunes vouchers. On the day of the clean-up, over sixty students participated and collected over 40 bags of rubbish. It was wonderful to see the students race around with so much enthusiasm. Mrs. S. Rigney FEES NOTICE Please be aware that the Fees statement has been posted this week. All Year 12 students fees have to be paid in full in order for your child to attend the Year 12 Graduation Ceremony and the Year 12 Formal. 10