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Cnr Deakin & Stanford Streets, Kurri Kurri NSW 2327 P: 4937 1877 W: http//www.kurrikurri-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/

Newsletter Term 2 2017

Important DatesJune 20 Black Dog Presentation Yrs

10-12June 21 Starrs Cyberbullying

Presentation year 7June 23 Vivo Rewards ExcursionsJune 27 P&C Meeting 5.30pmJune 29 7-360 Conferencing Year 7June 30 End of Term 2July 17 Staff Development DayJuly 17-28 HSC Trial ExamsJuly 18 TERM 3

BEGINS FOR STUDENTSJuly 21 PitStop Year 9 GirlsJuly 25 P&C Meeting 5.30pmJuly 27 Year 6 Transition DayJuly 28 PitStop Year 9 BoysJuly31- Aug 4

Education Week

Aug 1 Merit AssemblyAug 1 EdFestAug 2 Years 8-10

Parent Teacher NightAug 7 Year 12 Skills for SuccessAug 8 Year 10 HiP DayAug 22 P&C Meeting 5.30pmAug 24 Year 6 Transition DayAug 25 Yr 10 Pathway InterviewsSept 4-15 Year 11 Exams

KURRI KURRIHigh Schoo lExcellence Respect Safety

A word from the Principal - Tracey BreeseI love learning. Every day, I am still a learner, discovering or rediscovering new ways of doing things. Seeing the possibilities in the world for our learner is something that drives me every day. My belief that learning is the key to great futures is what drives my passion in this role as the lead educator in our school. At times, I have to stop and think- how do we as a collective community keep the momentum up? Change is hard. Change is inevitable and being comfortable in the uncomfortable is not easy for all our staff. In saying that, I really want to draw your attention to the shift in practice that is happening at KKHS. We have been working for 12 months on a shift in the way we deliver education for your kids. We are aspiring to bring future focused leaning to life at our school. In year 7, this is happening in our new HUBS. Here is how it happens daily for year 7.

In this new environment our teachers are co-teaching, co-creating lessons, collaboratively marking and having amazing conversations around learning. All staff will tell you the first 10 weeks were really hard work and absolutely pushed them out of their comfort zones, they are now working and getting into the ‘swing’ of the new way of teaching. The students are developing as independent learners and thinkers and are using things like peer critiquing to reshape their learning. It is a buzzing and exciting environment.

As educators, we are also self-reflecting, evaluating and gathering data on the successes and the pitfalls to shape the future for 2018. We are also looking at how we immerse the other year groups into the projects and learning in this way.

Our seniors are well into their studies and we had a great turn out for Mr Rippon’s parent session on surviving the HSC. The feedback was very positive and well received. The trials are not far away and students need to know there is always help at hand. Our Year Advisor Mr Davis is available to support parents and students. Michelle Weir, our HT Wellbeing can be called upon and of course, our excellent counselling team. A call to the front office requesting a call back is all it takes. Headspace are also a great support tool.

Year 10 will be making choices for subjects soon. More information from Mrs Pratt and Mrs Glasson will follow. Our Deputy Principals will be running some small student driven workshops to hear the thoughts of the students and how they would like their school and learning to look in the future. Mrs Brady’s Year 10 Maths class are constructing a project around future schooling spaces and will be pitching their designs before the end of the term, with the authentic work being developed somewhere in the school. We are also looking to survey parents at P&C on the operating of the school day. One of the models we are looking at is a 3 period day. This will provide the opportunity for deep learning as students will have the time in class to dive deeply into concepts and work to solve problems in learning. A whole new way of ‘doing’ school. Year 11 anecdotally have made some really good suggestions and we will be surveying the students on what they would like to see in the future. All of this tailors into our new school plan for 2018-2020. We are keen to see more parents at our parent learning groups. Look out for upcoming sessions on the new parent portal and using technology to support learning on Facebook and through the App. It is such an exciting time to be in education and leading a globally aware, collaborative, creative and innovative team. Keep up with us on Facebook, via the App and through our webpage. If you have a keen interest in being consulted over term 3 on our future, please call and speak with Peta Smith our PA to register your interest.

Term 2 Newsletter 2017


Hopefully as the school vacation approaches all Year 12 students have begun their revision and study plan. The trial High School Certificate Examinations start Monday 17th July with English paper 1 Area of Study and English Studies. All other courses will be examined over the two-week period from 17th July to 28th July. The assessment weighting of the trial examinations is fairly substantial, so it is absolutely critical that students perform at their very best and are well prepared. Year 12 have been issued with their trial HSC timetables.

Students are encouraged to use their time and study periods wisely. Now is the time to be working with our Learning Support Teachers; Mr Rippon and Mrs Gibbs in the new Learning Centre.

Any student who is absent for any examination MUST come and see me for an Illness and Misadventure appeal form. I wish every year 12 student all the very best for these exams. The examinations are very important and will give each student an insight into the demands of the actual High School Certificate examination period.

Year 9 have been issued with their Semester One reports. As I went through them I read about many outstanding achievements. Year 9 are reminded that this is the first year of their progress to the

achievement of the Record of School Achievement. It is critical that all assessment tasks are completed and that each student attempts the task to the best of their ability. All classroom learning tasks and course work must be attempted.

Students must complete coursework with diligence and sustained effort to be eligible for the Record of School Achievement. I have signed a number of “N” Determination Warning letters over the past weeks which have caused me concern. N Determination means that a student maybe deemed illegible for the award of Record of School Achievement. This could result in the student repeating Year 9 or Year 10.

At the beginning of term 3, we will commence Year 10 selecting subjects for 2018 Yr 11 Preliminary HSC. This is a lengthy process as it is very important that student select the appropriate course and level of study. Each student will be interviewed after they have received course information. We will be offering a diverse range of courses, however not all courses will have sufficient numbers to run. If students, select courses which will not run we will again interview them to re-select their courses. Updates will be posted via Kurri Kurri Facebook page and the school’s website.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me about any matter.

Heading into the halfway mark of 2017, I have settled into my role at Kurri Kurri High School. Thank you to so many of the parents that I have been working with so far this year. Your support and willingness to work with me as a partner to improve outcomes for your children is so rewarding.

Congratulations need to be extended to the White hub students after their “Toys from Trash” Sustainability project. These students researched interest of specific primary age children and then produced toys from a variety of materials. They were so creative in their use of the materials

and worked collaboratively to complete the task.Going into year 7 hubs is such an incredible experience. These students are already such independent learners, able to articulate what the learning intentions are and able to forward plan

collaboratively to complete their tasks. This is reflected in their report comments for this semester as well. As I read through the reports, I am impressed by the array of skills such as critical thinking, project planning, leadership and collaborative skills year 7 are developing. The “Tell them From Me” data has shown us that Year 7 are finding their learning relevant and rigorous, and that class time is used effectively.Year 10 are going to be soon making subject selections for their senior years. These students have the most important skill they need to make informed choices – they can talk!! The best advice I have for them is to talk to as many people as they can – teachers, older friends or relatives, career advisors and even their parents! Many students are already starting to think about their future and what choices they need to make. Some students have made the step in planning some work placement as part of the decision making process which we support.

Deputy Principal Report - Years 7 & 10 Mrs Pratt

Your support and willingness to work with me as a partner to improve outcomes for your children is so rewarding.

Deputy Principal Report - Years 9 & 12 Mrs Glasson

http://www.kurrikurri-h.schools.nsw.edu.au



Deputy Principal Report - Years 8 & 11 Mr Hope

As I look back over this term, I am reminded of all the positive things that are taking place within Kurri Kurri High School to support both staff and students. I would like to take this time to cover some of these positive initiatives and look forward to the coming term.

Term 2 started on a positive note for all staff across the Kurri Kurri Learning Community of Schools, with a combined staff development day that was led by Claudia Owad from the Positivity Institute. In this day Claudia discussed the current data around positive psychology, which links perfectly into the new positive reward system that has been launched this year by Mrs Da Silva to focus on our school expectations of Respect, Excellence and Safety. This term we have been collecting data on excellence and what this looks like in the classroom setting to ensure all students are achieving their own personal excellence. We hope to be working more with the Positivity Institute throughout 2017 and into 2018.

Students in all years have completed the Tell Them From Me survey in order to provide important data to teams within the school. This is an initiative that we have been supporting for some time, under the drive of Mrs Glasson. What then happens with this information? The Learning Bar, who facilitate the survey, will be completing focus groups with students in all years. I have randomly selected some excellent students in year 8 and 11 to participate in this event. It is a credit to our staff and students to be selected for this follow up from the Learning Bar. Such data and student feedback provide important information to the school and assists in our planning for the remainder of the year and into 2018.

Our ‘Improving Numeracy Project’, which was focusing on Stage 4 will now be expanding into Year 8. I, along with Ms Brady, were fortunate enough to present our current research into this area at a recent Numeracy Conference and have since been invited to present at the Department of Education State Numeracy Conference. This

opportunity will allow us to showcase the important work that will be taking place into the area of numeracy in our school, in particular to prepare our students for the NAPLAN testing in Year 9.

Year 11 students and their parents, were fortunate to have Mr Rippon present to them his tips and tricks for surviving the HSC at a parent information session. At this event, Mr Rippon shared some excellent advice about preparing for assessments, looking after student wellbeing and the importance of getting enough sleep. I would like to thank Mr Rippon and all parents/carers who attended this session and for making it such a positive event. There are many more of these workshops and information sessions planned throughout this year, and the school app is a good way of being notified of these.

Finally, as we now head into the colder weather, I would like to remind all students, parents and carers that our school winter

uniform is still expected from all students. This uniform includes navy blue or dark pants and jumpers. It is extremely important to me that students in year 8 and 11 (and all years) are proudly representing our school in the local community, by wearing the appropriate school uniform. As always, if families require support in purchasing winter uniforms then the Student Assistance scheme can be accessed through Mrs Weir in the

Wellbeing faculty.

As we move into the final two terms of 2017, I am well under way with the evaluation of our current school plan and moving forward with the planning of our new three year school plan. A major component of this is community and parent/carer consultation. In the near future, I will be looking to connect with some families of students in stage 4 to assist with this planning, please keep an eye on the school app for this opportunity as all details will be posted on this.

Once again, thank you to all staff, students, parents and carers for such a positive term and ensuring that Kurri Kurri High School is a school of excellence and positive learning for staff, students and our community.

A Word from the P&C...

The P&C would like to congratulate the recipients of this years Leaver’s Scholarhsip’s. These two scholarships are awarded to students from the Year 12 Class of 2016 and this year go to Madeleine Jones and Haley Sim. Maddie is embarking on a Nursing Degree at University of Newcastle and Haley is studying a Bachelor of Teaching also at Newcastle.

Students who are going on to further education and/or training are eligible to apply for the $1000 scholarship. This need not be study at University, it incudes, TAFE and private institutions who provide formal qualifications. For this year’s Year 12, applications will open in Term 4.

The P&C have held three meetings this year and our next meeting will be held on Tuesday 27th June, 2017 in the school Library off Northcote Street.

It is a credit to our staff and students to be selected for this follow up from the

Learning Bar.

Please note that meeting times have changed to 5.30pm




NEW PAYMENT SYSTEMAs of the end of Term 2 we will be transitioning to our new payment

system. Just a reminder that there will be changes to the way we accept parent or carer payments during this time.

1. Direct deposits: As of 30 June 2017, we will no longer accept direct deposits into our current school bank account as we prepare to close this account and transition to the new one. Any payments made using direct deposit after this date cannot be properly allocated to a student’s account in a timely manner. Please ensure you have made any outstanding direct deposits before 30 June 2017.

2. EFTPOS payments: We will not be able to accept EFTPOS payments between 19 July and 24 July 2017. Please ensure that you have made any outstanding EFTPOS payments before 19 July 2017. From 25 July 2017, EFTPOS payments will be accepted as before.

3. Cash and cheque payments: Between 19 July and 24 July 2017, we will also not be able to accept payments by cash or cheque as we prepare to close our current bank account and transition to the new one. Please ensure that you have made any outstanding cash or cheque payments before 19 July 2017. From 25 July 2017, cash and cheque payments will be accepted as before.

4. Online payments (POP): As of 30 June 2017, payments to our current online payment facility will cease. You will not be able to use the Department of Education’s Parent Online Payment (POP) system until Monday 24 July.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we transition to our new finance system. If you have any questions, please contact the school on 4937 1877.

Sistaspeak - Mrs L’Green

Year 7, 8 and 9 Aboriginal girls participated in a “Reconnect with Peers and Country and Language Day.

This involved out meet and greet and Acknowledgement of Country at our yarning circle where we listened to Wuriupranii: The Sun Women, paying particular attention to the clapping sticks. We then made our own clapping sticks using hard wood that has fallen over the past few years’ storms and decorated them.

We talked about dreamtime stories and looked at symbols and meanings. We talked about the importance of reviving our Indigenous languages and acknowledged the Muurrbay Aboriginal Language and Culture Cooperative who have published Hunter River Lake Macquarie Language for us to begin our journey. It was an enjoyable day.




NSW SCHOOL VACCINATION PROGRAM

Each year NSW Health works in partnership with schools to offer the vaccines recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for adolescents as part of the school vaccination program.

In 2017 the following vaccines will be offered:

YEARS VACCINE NUMBER OF DOSES

Year 7

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine

2-doses in 2017 at least 6 months apart*

Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine Single dose

Varicella vaccine (chickenpox) – catch-up Single dose

Years 11-12 Meningococcal ACWY vaccine Single dose

* The second dose of HPV vaccine is being delayed to later in the year (at least 6 months after the first dose) to allow the recently-announced Meningococcal ACWY Vaccination Program to be offered to students in Years 11 and 12 from Term 2 when the second dose of HPV vaccine is usually given. There is no harm for Year 7 students in delaying the second dose of HPV vaccine and further advice for parents will be provided later in the year regarding HPV course completion.

Parent Information Kits that include an information sheet, consent form and privacy statement will be sent home to parents/guardians.

To consent to the vaccination of their child, parents/guardians are advised to:

• read all the information provided

• complete the consent form, including signing their name next to the vaccine/s they would like their child to receive

• return the completed consent form to their child’s school

• ensure that their child eats breakfast on the day of the school vaccination clinic.

Please note that students who commence HPV vaccination in school clinics in Year 7 but do not complete the course during the school year may be offered catch-up doses at school in Year 8. Students who have any HPV doses at their GP will be advised to complete the course with their GP.

Parents/guardians who wish to withdraw their consent for any reason may do so by writing to the school Principal or phoning the school. The Procedure for Withdrawal of Consent is available on the NSW Health website at www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation.

To improve vaccination completion, students will be opportunistically offered any missed doses throughout the year where possible.

A Record of Vaccination will be provided to each student vaccinated at each clinic as a physical card. Parents/guardians should ensure that this record is kept for future reference and should not assume that their child has been vaccinated if they do not receive this Record of Vaccination.

Today our Junior Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Executive hosted 60 visitors from 12 schools for a JAECG and AET student leadership networking day.

They organised and run a whole day of activities aimed at building leadership capacity, teamwork and enhanced career aspirations for local Aborignal students.

They liaised with private and government organisations to set the agenda, locate and book guest speakers, secure donations and then demonstrated outstanding confidence, leadership and organisation skills to ensure the day run like clockwork.

If you see Darcie Cliff, Emily Lloyd, Dylan Andrews or Benji Lambert give them a big pat on the back, or ask them to tell you a bit about the day. They are all extremely proud of this achievement and they received glowing feedback from community, staff and student attendees.

Also, a massive thanks to Leanne Field, Pete Asvestas, Linda L’Green, Leanne Johnson and Heather Sutherland for helping make the day a success.Another big thanks to Naomi, the intern in Special Ed, for coming and helping out during her free periods.

JAECG Leadership Networking Day - Mrs James-Cliff




Year 7 student led 7-360 Conference.Thursday, June 29th 2017

3.30pm - 6pm

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Parents and Carers of Year 7 students,

It’s that time again, when your child and Kurri Kurri High School invite you to come and see the work that’s been happening in classes. Just like last time, you will book your appointment through the Parent Portal on Sentral at http://web1.kurrikurri-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/portal - or you can scan the code below and it will take you straight there. If you have any difficulties, please contact Peta Smith on 4937 1877. Looking forward to seeing you all again!

SCAN HERE TO BOOK YOUR CONFERENCE

STEMYear 7 STEM students have been looking at the question ‘How do we create a sustainable world?’. We had a visitor from the TAFE Aboriginal Learning Centre come and talk to us about an Indigenous perspective and we have also formed an Outdoor Learning Project where we do gardening.

HUBBENINGS

Students in the White Hub participate in weekly STEM challenges which consolidate the skills they have learnt during the week. So far this term students have made Toys from Trash, they have created a model of the water cycle and have built models of eco-houses.


http://web1.kurrikurri-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/portal



QUEST

Building upon the success of their meeting with Clayton Barr to assist in their real world learning, this term Year 7 QUEST students had the amazing opportunity to have a video conference with Candace Richards, one of the curators from the Nicholson Museum which is a part of Sydney University.

Through the video conference, students were able to see parts of the Ancient World Exhibition and the artefacts they have on display. Ms Richards was also able to explain to students how the exhibition is set up, what needs to accompany artefacts when on display and was able answer any of the questions student had about setting up their own museum exhibition which is their project focus for Term 2.

Students were able to see for themselves the ancient Egyptian sarcophagus, sculpture of Hermes from ancient Greece well as a lego overview of the city of Pompeii giving them ideas on how they can create their own artefacts from the ancient society they are exploring and explain how that artefact has continued the legacy into modern day.

It was really good because it gave me an idea of what the exhibit should look like and now our exhibit will be even better – Meila (blue hub)

It was pretty educational as we learned a lot of the history and it was really cool to see the actual artefacts. I liked the gold sarcophagus best – Jordan (blue hub)

HUBBENINGS

https://padlet.com/mrsjlewis/blinddatebook

Teaching staff are currently completing their own executive reading, to stay up to date with latest research ourselves.This book centres on building resilience in our students and helping them to see the benefits in getting back up again. You will see in the newsletter some of the great work of our wellbeing team to support our young people in navigating the world of mental health and remaining robust.


https://padlet.com/mrsjlewis/blinddatebook



Building designs get a real inspection - Ms Brady

Year 10 Maths have had a dose of the Real World in their classroom as they worked on their building design projects.

Dr Trevor Hilaire, a lecturer in Construction Management from the University of Newcastle visited students to talk about their designs. After a brief chat about what he does, Dr Hilaire got down to the real purpose of his vist, offering input and advice on projects and speaking

directly with the students about the approach they are taking to their tasks.

Visitors such as this to our school genuinely reinforce the purpose of learning and the relevance of topics which we cover. It is also always a pleasure to see the interaction of students with such guests and their increased engagement in the tasks at hand.

Year 10 have a date with their futures - Mr McKinley

Career aspirations and awareness is a high priority for Year 10 students. During the speed careering day recently held, students spent time with representatives from a range of employment, industry and higher education organisations.Run in a similar format to Speed Dating, students had the opportunity to hear the career stories of members of the defence force, child care, Real estate, outdoor education, social work, nursing, engineers and retail to name a few. While these careers may not be what individuals are specifically thinking of, the aim of the event is to open students minds to the opportunities and pathways people take in life. Most importantly weare encouraging students to think about their

own futures.Our year 10 students engaged extremely well with the presenters and felt that the event was very valuable in assisting them consider careers options.Later in the year, a High Impact Day (HiP) will be held to provide further support to prepare year 10 for their senior years and entering the workforce. We encourage students to participate in as many of these events as possible.A special thank you goes out to our wonderful Year 11 Student Ambassadors who hosted the day: Angus Lathan, Justess Jones, Rhys Field and Jessica Taggart.Their professionalism and friendliness was praised by our visitors.




On the 8th of March 2017, a group of Year 11 Biology and Senior Science students travelled to the Hunter Wetlands to complete a range of fieldwork activities that linked directly to their topics of studying Local Ecosystems.

Despite masses of mosquitoes greeting our arrival, we were quickly welcomed into the purpose-built education centre to be given an introduction into the background of the study site. It was interesting to learn its varied history, ranging from being market gardens, a rubbish tip, football club and to finally the rehabilitated wetlands that occupy the site today. Students were then given instructions on how to perform a variety of sampling techniques, including the measurement of a range of biotic and abiotic factors as well as looking at adaptations of mangroves, vegetation transects, quadrats and food webs in the area.

In 2002, this site was declared a significant wetlands under the RAMSAR Convention as it now provides habitat and important breeding areas for a diverse range of wetland flora and fauna.

It was important for students to see that despite a history of negative human impact, that rehabilitation of damaged environmental areas can be achieved with great success and need to be valued for their ecological importance.

Overall, it was a great day where students covered a large portion of content and skills and both Miss Lynch and Mrs Kos would like to congratulate the students on their involvement and behaviour on the day.

Year 11 gain valuable skills out in the field - Miss Lynch

It was important for students to see that despite a history of

negative human impact, that rehabilitation of

damaged environmental areas can be achieved with

great success

Year 11 Students take charge of their learning - Miss Golding

Students in Preliminary English Studies have been learning about planning and hosting a variety of events this term. As part of this topic they have been encouraged to plan a small event for the end of this term to showcase their understanding of event planning. This gives the students a meaningful opportunity to guide their own learning and take ownership of the event.

The students have chosen to support the Kurri Kurri Youth Centre through the event that will be a reward for students who have consistently shown school values in years seven and eight. The funds raised will then be given back to our local community to benefit many young people in the region.

Students are planning a movie day and are looking at providing fellow students with popcorn and other food options as a reward for their persistent hard work. There will be raffle prizes and the English Studies students are currently undergoing the process seeking funding for the event with local companies. Seeing their learning culminate in an exciting event that they are responsible for will be a great learning experience for the English Studies students.

Students are planning a movie day...a reward for their persistent hard work.




CAPA News - Mrs Dunlevie HT CAPA

Once again it has been a busy and exciting time in CAPA. We have continued to link learning to real world experiences with a number of opportunities for students to engage in.

Drama students enjoyed another trip to Belvoir Street Theatre to see a brilliant one man dramatic performance about Modern India, a world of cyberspace and ancient gods. There was even some audience participation that involve the Guru being very

flirtation and questioning me about my life and happiness! Apparently the kids claim I was blushing? It was very entertaining and inspiring, especially for our HSC drama students who are developing their own solo performances. We also got to meet Jacob Rajan who performed the 17 different characters and allowed us onto the stage to check out the set.

The Showcase Exhibition is happening again this year at Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG) which features recent artworks made by Year 7-12 students from high schools in the Maitland-Lower Hunter area. The exhibition is to present the ideas, concerns and creative explorations of young high school artists to a large local and regional audience.

Natasha Findlay (Year 12), Chelsea White (Year 10) and Jessica Gear (Year 8) have been given the exciting opportunity to exhibit their

artwork at Maitland Regional Art Gallery. The work each student has made, reflects the range of ideas and processes explored by them in their art-making at school, producing artworks in a range of mediums including 2D, 3D and photography.

The exhibition will be installed in the upstairs Art Factory exhibition space and members of the local community are invited to attend this free exhibition.

EXHIBITION DATES Saturday 3 June – Sunday 10 September 2017

Address: 230 High St, Maitland NSW 2320

Congratulations to our dance students who successfully audition for the Hunter Dance Festival. They are currently working hard on their up-coming performances. The Hunter Dance Festival is on from 24th – 26th July and students from years 8-10 will be showcasing their talents at Wests Newcastle. Information notes have been sent home.

Sydney Symphony Concert

Students enjoyed another fantastic instalment of the Sydney Sympho-ny Concerts this term. The concert this time was The Last Night of the Proms, which celebrated all things British. Students were able to sing along to “God Save the Queen”, “Rule Britannia”, “Land of Hope and Glory” and “All You Need Is Love” by the Beatles. Students thoroughly enjoyed the concert and were lucky enough to also take in the won-derful sights of the Vivid Festival. The next concert is in September and features Megan Washington.

We have continued to link learning to real world experiences with a number of opportunities for students to engage in.

ConnectEd

Early in the morning on Friday 29th May, Justess Jones and Jed Kinch performed brilliantly at the ConnectEd Principal’s Conference at the Crown Plaza. Both students performed half hour acoustic sets while the Principals arrived. They then made an impromptu featured performance of “I See Fire” by Ed Sheeran to kick start the day’s events. Both Jed and Justess performed with absolute professionalism and were outstanding representatives of our school.




www.wakakirri.com

For the first time Kurri students will be taking part in the Wakakirri Secondary School Challenge on 30th August. The competition is about telling a story and requires students to develop and choreograph their own works around a chosen topic. This year we are exploring the heart ache surrounding war. This provides students with the opportunity to dance and be part of the backstage crew.

Reward Excursions

Reward ExcursionsOn Friday 23rd June, our Bronze level students and their year advisors will be going on their rewards excursions as outlined below: Year 7, 8 and 9 Escape rooms Sydney Bring a bottle of Water and packed lunch, Buses leave at 8.30 amYear 10 Charlestown Ten Pin and Laser Tag Bus leaves at 9am. Bring money for lunch or packed lunchYear 11 and 12 The Amazing race around SydneyBus leaves at 8.30am. Bring a water bottle and snacks and money for lunch

It has been a busy and exciting term with EXCELLENCE being a school focus.

Students have been rewarded for exhibiting the expectations surrounding EXCELLENCE: Be prepared to Learn Right place, Right time, Aspire and Be Your Best.Congratulations to the top 10 earners this term and keep up the great work Kurri High:

BRITNEY FLACK JAYDEN JENNER ANGUS LATHAN SAM WHYBURN ETHAN HERBERT DAMIEN JONES JESSICA HEATH RHYS FIELD RAIDEN LONGHURST KIARA REDSHAW

SCHOOL VALUES UPDATE: TERM 2 - Ms Da Silva


http://www.wakakirri.com



We have been busy get our garden up and growing. Photo’s left to right from the top: 1. Damien and Luke working hard; 2. Denver and Brandon filling the freshly made garden beds; 3. Dustin and Damo building our new seats; 4. Lloyd plants seeds; 5.Damo and Blair preparing climbing frames for our peas and beans; 6. Healthy produce

We also planned and ran a fundraising BBQ to raise money for our garden project. Thanks goes to Scott’s Quality Meats, Kurri Hot Bread Bakery and the Chelmsford Hotel for their support. Also a BIG THANKYOU to students and staff for buying our stuff – we raised just over $300 after all our expenses were paid.

Special Ed News

Garden Project

Baby Shower Shenangins

Special Ed students and staff threw a baby shower for Miss K, who is leaving us to become a Mum at the end of this term. It was the most fabulous party with amazing food, games and company. A big shout out to the brilliant Britney Flack from the IM class who organised everything from the invitations to the games and food. She couldn’t have done it without the help from Belinda and all of the other students and staff. They all made it a day to remember for Miss K.

Miss Binkins will be replacing Miss K on the IO class for the rest of the year while Miss K is busy changing nappies.




Stay in touch - Parent PortalKurri Kurri High School has this year introduced a new online communication tool for parents and students. The Student & Parent Portal, powered by the school’s Sentral administration system, provides parents with a range of information about their children,

including timetables, attendance, wellbeing and academic reports in a secure online portal.

The Portal is currently available to all students and many students are accessing data on timetables, wellbeing and attendance on a daily basis, which is fantastic to see. Students login with their Department of Education credentials (firstname.lastname & password). Click on

the logo here and head straight to the portal and check it out!

For parent registration instructions and access to the Student & Parent Portal please see the letter that was recently sent home to all families of year 8-12 students. Please be aware that bookings for Parent-Teacher conferences in term 3 will be made available through the Parent Portal.

If you have any questions about the Parent or Student Portals, please contact Mr Jeremy Rennex HT Technology & BYOD via school switch or via email to [email protected]

Talking Technology - Mr Rennex

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Update

Our school has formally undertaken BYOD in Year 7 this year with over 60% of students choosing to bring a device to help them with their learning. From my perspective, it is fantastic to see so many students using technology effectively in the classroom. Many students have taken advantage of free Microsoft and Adobe software provided by the Department of Education and have they have utilised this software as a tool to produce quality work in our HUBs this year.

It is, however, important for students to remember the responsibilities that come with being part of the BYOD program. Students need to bring their device to school EVERY DAY, in a durable case with full charge. A failure to comply with these responsibilities may result in BYOD privileges being removed.

BYOD is not a mandatory program and during terms 1 and 2 we have provided access to class trollies of laptops for year 7 students to use who are not part of BYOD. Starting in term 3, year 7 students who need laptop access will be required to participate in our Day Loan program. This program allows students to borrow a laptop and case from the Library or Learning Centre to use in class on a daily basis.

Students and parents will be required to sign a Day Loan agreement

before participating in the program. Students must complete the laptop sign out process before 9am and then return and sign in after 3.20pm.

This program has been trialled verysuccessfully with a small group of students in term 2.

BYOD is certainly not limited to Year 7. Students from all years have successfully engaged with the program in 2017. I encourage any student who would like to bring a device to collect a Student Agreement from me in the Library before getting started with a laptop for learning.

Well done to everyone for a great start to our BYOD journey. Keep those bits and bytes flying.

Renno’s Nerd Fact for Term 2With 100’s of extra devices now in our school, we have recently secured an upgrade from Telstra of our Bandwidth from 20Mb/sec to 50Mb/sec. That means less of this for everyone.....

Winning!!!!!


mailto:jeremy.rennex%40det.nsw.edu.au?subject=

http://web1.kurrikurri-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/portal



STEM, it seems to be the latest educational trend at the moment but what actually is STEM and how is it having a positive impact on the students at Weston Public School?

Let’s start with the question, what does STEM stand for? Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. Those four subjects individually seem quite common place in a school environment, however it is not each subject individually which makes STEM unique, it is learning all four subjects at once coupled with 21st century pedagogy.

At Weston Public School students are engaged in a variety of STEM challenges where they can collaborate with other students across their stage. These rich experiences not only harness children’s natural desires to explore and experiment with the world around them but develop important skills needed to work in a team. Teachers at WPS have been very successful implementing STEM by providing students with explicit learning challenges. Importantly, teachers do not model to students how to complete the task, they instead let them know the materials that they have access to to complete the set challenges and allow them to experiment with design to test scientific theory.

This success from this type of constructivist learning environment was evident when Primary students at WPS were asked to create a catapult using only paddle pop sticks, straws, plastic spoons, rubber bands and masking tape. The team who could catapult a marshmallow the furthest was the winner. Students were able to test and improve their design as well as shop for materials resulting in the winning team reaching a distance of 12 metres. Students have also designed and constructed houses, boats, rainbows and coming soon roller coasters.

This 21st century style of learning not only promotes team work, it teaches students effective communication skills and to embrace failure as an opportunity for improvement. These are attributes we are proud to say WPS students are cultivating through STEM. In addition, STEM has quickly become the students’ favourite subject which they look forward to and the reason for this, according to students, is because it’s fun, hands-on and it’s great to work with their friends.

Transition Year 7 2018

The transition program is well under way with Miss Tucker working in Year 5/6 classrooms at KKPS, PMPS, WPS and MPS.

Information Kits for Year 7 2018 have been sent to students who have enrolled at KKHS. These kits contain the transition dates, open night, important dates for Year 7 2018, BYOD, school uniform, school stationary, blue hub application process and staying in touch.

The Kurri Kurri High School Transition facebook page is a good place to keep up to date with what is happening.

Click on the logo to like

What’s happening around our local schools.....

Weston Public School full STEM ahead!!!


http://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=kurri%20kurri%20high%20school%20year%207%20transition



BASA comes to Pelaw Main Public SchoolThere is an air of excitement every Monday after lunch at Pelaw Main Public School because the students know it is time for BASA prizes. During the PBL assembly, all students who have received a BASA in the past week, choose a prize from the selection of BASA Prizes.

When asked what he got his BASA for, Braydon Quinn said “It was for being kind and using my manners at the desk at the Library”. The students are very keen to express that their behaviour has changed since BASA has come to Kurri Kurri. “It teaches kids to behave everywhere” says Jayla Cameron who picked a highlighter for her prize.

Students are enjoying the prizes and have made suggestions for even more prizes. “I think a BASA toy or activity book would be a good prize” said Lilly-Mae Moore.

All students know that they are able to receive many BASA cards and so they are on the hunt in the community at all times. Jaxon Quinn is especially excited about visiting the Library again, “I hope I get another BASA this afternoon when I go to the Library”.

Keep up the good work kids and remember the community is watching!

Big Opportunities and Big Success - Kurri Kurri Public SchoolKurri Kurri Public School is a Big School with Big Opportunities and Big Success. We have a number of diverse programs currently running in our school that are giving our scholars some unique opportunities, Chinese, Mindfulness, Quicksmart, Infants, Junior and Senior Dance Groups, Infants and Primary Choirs, Stage 3 Student Vodcast filming and editing rotations as well as individual student successes in sport, Creative Writing and Public Speaking to name a few.

We are seeing fantastic results from scholars across Year 4 as they engage in the highly successful Chinese Language Program. Using video conferencing software, Beijing based teachers broadcast into the classroom to conduct weekly interactive language lessons. The classroom teacher learns along with the students and then delivers additional learning content during class. It is a unique opportunity for all involved and students are embracing the opportunity to learn a second language.

This year 32 scholars from 5/6MR entered Write 4 Fun’s 2017 Schools Short Story & Poetry Competition. With the competition now complete, over 10 000 entries received Australia-wide, 26 of our scholars received notification that their entry passed the first round of judging. These scholars have been invited to have their short stories published in a professionally printed and bound anthology titled ‘Spread the Word’. Last week final winners were announced and we were thrilled to hear that one of our scholars, Josie T was awarded 2nd Place Short Story Winner. For this remarkable achievement Josie

will receive $250 prize money as well as a Gift Pack and her work printed in the anthology ‘Spread the Word’.

Over the recent weeks a number of our Stage 3 boys have been trialling for the PSSA Zone Rugby League, Rugby Union and Touch Football Teams. A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Jye L who has been selected to be part of all three of these Hunter Teams to play in the State Championships with the Rugby League Championships to be held at Salamander Bay on 20th,21st &22nd June. Jye L will be very busy with the State Touch Football Championships to be held in Wagga Wagga in August and the State Championships for Rugby Union held at Salamander Bay also. This has been an incredible achievement by Jye, who was selected in the Hunter PSSA Rugby League Team last year, this will be Jye’s first time ever playing Rugby Union and is showing incredible sporting achievements and versatility.

Another of our Stage 3 Scholars, Abby H travelled to Muswellbrook this month to compete in four sections of the Muswellbrook Schools Eisteddfod entering the Poetry, Bible Reading and Impromptu Speaking Sections of the Eisteddfod. Abby entered four sections in total receiving three 1st Places and a 2nd Place, another outstanding achievement. Abby along with twenty three of our scholars from Kinder to Year 6 will also compete in the 100th Abermain Eisteddfod in August.




KKHS Sports Report

It has been a very busy term for our budding Kurri High athletes.In our first week back to the term, we saw our Annual School Athletics Carnival make its return to Birralee Oval. The day was a huge success with a great turn out and perfect weather with many personal bests achieved on the day. Photos from the day can be found on the school website in our gallery section. Photo credits going to year 10 student, Shamel Tasker for taking photos on the day.Big congratulations to the following Age Champions from the day:

AGE BOYS GIRLS

12YRS Zachery White Sharra Gibson and Kayla Hedges

13YRS Jack Miles Makayla Patterson

14YRS Isaiah Williams Lucy Bacon

15YRS Brodie Linnane Chloe Gearing

16YRS Rohan Pearson Kadesia Gear

17+YRS Brandon Gear Chloe Dures and Sunnie Boyd

Thanks to Kurri Kurri Little Athletics Club for allowing the school to use its equipment and facilities, local community support is invalua-ble to the success and engagement of our students.

19 students represented the school at the Zone athletics carnival held at Hunter sports centre on the 24th of May. From all reports our students represented themselves well and we are awaiting final results for those who qualified to progress to the regional carnival on the 26th of July.

To see a full album of photos from the day click on any one of the photos above.

Soccer Report

The Open Boys Soccer Squad were unfortunate to draw a tough Round 1 opposition in the form of Lambton High School. They travelled to Speers Point Sports Complex to play on the synthetic surface and despite having developed some positive team chemistry during training runs, were outclassed by Lambton going down 7-1. Standout players were Aaron Comberford and Angus Lathan.

The Open Girls team launched into a very promising season with a 12-0 crunching of Gloucester High School. Taylah Russel put her hand up to fill in as goalkeeper and spent most of her time yawning as the play was mostly in the opposition’s half. Standout goal scorers were Brooke Kennedy, Jess Foreman and Chelsea Gay, who almost sent the ball straight through the back of the net with a couple of her goals. The few chances Gloucester stumbled upon were quickly snuffed out by an ever-dominant backline held together by Brittany “bone-cruncher” Hall and Jess Heath, while the pacey wingers Lucy

and Sophia (or is it Lucy, no wait it’s Sophia, hold on, black headband, it’s Lucy) terrorised the flanks with limitless stamina.

The second game saw a depleted Kurri side take the school minibus to Nelson Bay to take on Tomaree High School. Without reserves and with key players missing, the girls had a hard time holding off Tomaree. However, super-keeper Emily Gordon had pulled on the gloves and could have taught Soceroos goalkeeper Matt Ryan a thing or two. Inevitably the girls went down, however, there were some goals pulled back against Tomaree and many more opportunities. A post-game carbo-loading session at Maccas on the return home softened the blow of the loss and the subsequent elimination from this year’s competition.

Coach: Stephen Krause


http://www.kurrikurri-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/gallery/athletics-carnival-2017





Rep Rugby League - Knights Knock Out

Under 14’s.

Due to a late withdrawal the boys only played two games. Overall our team was small in size, but the effort put in by some of the team was fantastic. They threw themselves in front of guys far bigger, faster and stronger than themselves. They were beaten in both games, but did manage to get some points on the board. There were a few players that were unable to play on the day that could have brought some experience to the side, nevertheless, I am looking forward to helping these guys develop as there are some good skills and massive hearts in this group.

Brody Power was a powerhouse, with some big shots on some even bigger guys, Jordan Price, Jack Miles and Jake Randall also played really well.

Coach: Geoff Allen

Under 16’s

There are some very talented footballers in this team. These guys played 4 games and were competitive in all of them. Tyson Ellison stood out all day with his flowing hair, strong carries and solid defence. The 16’s lost the first game to St Josephs 5-0 with a performance that surprised a few of the spectators who had expected St Josephs to dominate the competition. The second game, against Hunter River High was a 4-1 loss. In their third game, the boys came up against Tomaree High School who just managed to defeat us 4-2 in a very tough and physical game. The final game was straight after the third and fatigue was setting in. Missing a player, the boys despite frustration and weariness were able to manage a 3-2 win over Mt View. The 3 losses 1 win, not accurately reflecting the effort put in on the day.

Standout players were -Tyson Ellison, Brodie Linnane, Jaspher Berroya, Jarrah Dundas, Tyrell Ahoy, Noah Paige, and Tailor Appleby.

Coach: Warren Morgan

SuperStrike High School Challenge Champs!

On Monday 5th of June, our 10 pin bowling team participated in the annual ‘High School Challenge’ held at Rutherford Superstrike centre. The team consisted of Blayne Solomons (team captain), Tiana Pont, Ethan Herbert and Chantelle Herbert. The team played 2 games under tournament rules. The team won both games comfortably demonstrating great skill, teamwork and sportsmanship throughout the day allowing the team to claim victory over Rutherford High School.

Well done to the team.

EXCELLENCE RESPECT SAFETY




KKHS sent 6 teams to the recent Upper Hunter Futsal Championships with some excellent results to report. The boys Senior team had a very experienced line up with Angus Lathan, Aaron Comerford, and Tristan Aspinall leading the way. However a very accomplished Maitland Grossmann side thumped in several goals through Dylan Andrews without him blinking an eye. There were some improved performances during the day, notably Ethan Mychas-Lang who was recalled to the top team for the final series.

The 16 Boys led by Sam Whyburn, made the SF, which all could see would be a close affair. At half time both defences kept the scoring to a minimum at 0-0, thanks to Jack Lindsay and Noah McIntyre. Despite Paul Gardner trying his best to manufacture a goal, the team conceeded the only goal of the game to the eventual champions on the day, MGHS.

The 14 Boys had a great day, improving their speed and agility with every minute. After finishing the round robin behind a couple of other teams, we had a tough SF against an unbeaten team from the opposing side of the draw. With both keepers excelling (Dusty Callaghan), there were many corners and the scores were locked at 1-1 going into the final minutes. Enter our captain Lukas Straker, who injected himself from deep in the court to intercept and crack a shot that moved the light weight goals back about 100mm. The referee conceeded that the dropping ball was indeed just over the goal line and KKHS win through to the GF! Here the boys increased their

intensity to be leading another unbeaten team in Rutherford THS 4-1 with 5 mins until full time. With our oppositions strong finish in full swing, we made a couple of substitutions, got up off the wooden floorboards and finally won the game 5-3. What a day!

The girls had even more success, with both teams winning their way through to the Semi’s. Our Girls 14’s, down a couple of players, rotated their GK all day and stayed fresh to score enough goals to narrowly win most of the round robin games. Great shots went in from all girls namely Sophie, Lucy, Sophia, Hollie and Taylah. The GF against MGHS - with a couple of representative players -was extremely challenging and while we battled in defense we eventually went down 4-1.

The 16 Girls, with representative stars in Emily Gordon, Ainsley Childs, Brooke Kennedy, Maddie Bartlett and our new addition in Jessica Foremen were favourites from the first minute. The buzz around the grounds was who would be able to score against them, which proved to be impossible. This outstanding team is the only one from our school that has played this competition over 6 games and conceeded no goals. While looking safe at the back, top scorers Ainsley and Brooke kept passing, dummying, and shooting to assist us getting to scores as high as 13-0. We smashed the SF 10-0, then scored another 9 in the GF in a clinical performance.

While all players represented our school with pride, we wish our 14 boys, 14 girls, 16 girls the best of luck at the NNSW championships in a couple of weeks at Broadmeadow basketball stadium.

Coach - Mr C. Hall

Futsal Championships

Officially Amazing

Over the term we have seen a number of our students raise to the challenge of officiating team sports for our feeder primary schools.

Acknowledgement must go to year 11 students Dylan Andrews, Tristan Aspinall, Sam Whyburn, Daniel Bain and Izak Straker who have refereed in PSSA soccer over the term.

Shamel Tasker and Hannah Elsley did a fantastic Job with Netball umpiring.

Year 8 students Riley Jones and Ryan Ostermann refereed touch f

football and were linesmen for rugby league in the PSSA competition. From all reports these students were extremely professional and knowledgeable in their roles.

Officiating sport can be quite a challenge and certainly not for the feint hearted, so for these students to step into the role and do such a great job is credit to them all as they embody our school value of EXCELLENCE beyond the classroom.




Fun Run for a serious causeEach year, our Student Representative Council (SRC) chooses a charity or cause to support and raise awareness of throughout our school and local community. This year, we have chosen the Fight for Connar Foundation.

The Fight for Connar Foundation specifically raises money for children in the community battling cancer. We have chosen this charity due to a young member of our student body whose health has seriously declined as a result of tumours. The Fight for Connar Foundation can ensure the funds we raise will go directly to this student and her family.

On Monday June 5th the staff and students banded together and had a great day and raised $1642.

Below are just a few of the photos. Click on the first photo to go the school website and the full album.


http://www.kurrikurri-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/gallery/fun-run-2017

kurri kurri€¦ · july 28 pitstop year 9 boys july31- aug 4 education week aug 1 merit assembly...

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