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T4 Week 4(B) Week 4 Starting 4 November Monday 4/11/19

Year 10 – History Assessment Task P2 &P4 Year 8 – 8T VALID test P5 & 6 Halogen National Young Leaders Day Stage 4 Band Rehearsal 3:00 – 4:15pm HSC Examinations

Tuesday 5/11/19

Year 11 – Modern History excursion to Sydney Jewish Museum Year 9 – Science Assessment Task Year 9 – Marine Studies excursion HSC Examinations

Wednesday 6/11/19

Year 9 – Top Blokes – P1 & P2 Year 8 – 8I VALID test P2 & 3 Year 6 Transition Visit for Yr 7 2020 Koori Girls Group – Mt Keira Tops HSC Examinations

Thursday 7/11/19

Year 11 – Engineering Studies Excursion to UOW Year 10 – Geography and English Assessment tasks Year 9 – International Studies and English Assessment Tasks Catch up VALID test P1 &2 Youth Frontiers BBQ HSC Examinations

Friday 8/11/19

Year 10 – English Assessment Task P5 Year 9 – Maths Assessment Task P3 Year 8 – Mathematics Enrichment Lesson P5 Year 7 – Mathematics Enrichment Lesson P5 HSC Examinations

T4 Week 5(A) Week 5 Starting 11 November Monday

11/11/19 Year 11 – Hospitality Work Placement Year 9 – Music and PDM Assessment Tasks Stage 4 Band Rehearsal 3:00 – 4:15pm HSC Examination – final day

Tuesday 12/11/19

Year 12 – Clearance 9-11:22am - Auditorium Year 11 - Hospitality Work Placement Year 10 – GenZ-2Work Excursion Year 9 – Music Assessment Task Year 8 – Science Examination P3, P4 & P6 Year 6 Extra Transition – Non Feeder Schools

Wednesday 13/11/19

Year 11 - Hospitality Work Placement Year 10 – PASS – Ten Pin Bowling- P2 & P3 Year 9 – Top Blokes – P1 & P2, PASS – Ten Pin Bowling – P2 & P3 Year 6 Transition Visits for Yr 7 2020 Vision Impaired Excursion – Hang Dog

Thursday 14/11/19

Year 12 – Formal – Novotel Northbeach 6:30pm Year 11 - Hospitality Work Placement CoS Numeracy Day

Friday 15/11/19

Year 11 - Hospitality Work Placement Year 11 – Student recognition assembly Year 9 – Music Assessment Task Year 8 – Mathematics Assessment Task SRC (Yrs7-9) Grip Leadership Program @ UOW

T4.Week 6(B) Week 6 Starting 18 November Monday

18/11/19 Year 11 - Hospitality Work Placement Year 9 – Peer Support Training Stage 4 Band Rehearsal 3:00 – 4:15pm

Tuesday 19/11/19

Year 11 - Hospitality Work Placement Year 11 – HSC Modern History Assessment Task Zone Blues presentation – WHSPA Lindsay Park Primary School Musical

Wednesday 20/11/19

Year 11 - Hospitality Work Placement Year 9 – Top Blokes – P1 & P2 Year 9 - Links2Learning Graduation @ Panorama House 6:30pm

Thursday 21/11/19

Year 11 - Hospitality Work Placement

Friday 22/11/19

Year 11 - Hospitality Work Placement Year 8 – Mathematics Enrichment Lesson P5 Year 7 – Mathematics Enrichment Lesson P5

Year 12 Purple Year 11 Olive Year 10 Blue Year 9 Red Year 8 Green Year 7 Orange

Thoughts from the Principal

HSC We finished Term 3 farewelling our wonderful Year 12 Graduating Class of 2019. FHS staff very much enjoyed joining with over 600 family, friends and staff at their Graduation to celebrate the end of their schooling and the culmination of 13 years of education for these conscientious students. One of the most significant events in the school life of a student are the HSC exams. As I write this newsletter the HSC exams are midway through. Our Year 12 students have been working hard to prepare for these exams and we continue to wish them well with their remaining tests. I would be remiss if I did not also acknowledge the hard work of our HSC teachers and acknowledge the hours and hours they have spent preparing lessons, marking practice papers and assessment tasks, being readily available out of class and online after hours to provide one to one assistance for their Year 12 students. Saying goodbye to their Year 12 is one of the hardest things a teacher must do.

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Term 4 Week 4, 5 November 2019

Address: 2 Gibsons Road, Figtree NSW 2525 Phone: 02 4271 2787 Email: figtree-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au Fax: 02 4271 6626

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YEAR 11 2019 LIFE READY CAMP Last week, eighty-six Year 11 students and five teachers spent three days at Stanwell Tops Conference Centre. All students participated in a number of activities including pedal carting, survivor course, tree line adventure, abseiling and the goliath swing. The students and staff relaxed on the first evening with a trivia session and danced the night away on the second evening with a silent disco. It was a wonderful three days, with students walking away with new friendships and feeling proud of their achievements and the challenges they conquered. I would like to specially thank Ms Parr, Mrs McCarthy, Miss Gibson, Mr Olsen and Mrs Glasgow for attending the camp with the students. Events like these would not be possible without such supportive teachers.

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DEADLY AWARDS Late Term 3 the Year 12 Deadly Graduation was held by the Northern Illawarra AECG. At this ceremony, Year 12 Aboriginal students from the Northern Illawarra were recognised for their successful completion of Year 12. Congratulation to our three graduates, Abi Jones, Patrick Denham and Holly McDonald. These students demonstrated that with persistence and dedication success is not only achieved but celebrated. The 17 October marked the fourth annual Deadly Encouragement Awards, coordinated by the Northern Illawarra AECG. The award ceremony acknowledges Koori student success with their educational pursuits. Recognition is given for a variety of reasons including academic, sporting, attendance and completion achievements. Congratulations to William Adams (Year 9) and Anastasia Tsangaris (Year 9). Both students were nominated for their consistent demonstration of persistence and hard work, leading to educational success as well as their dedication to sharing their Koori heritage with the wider Figtree High School community. Their overall efforts in all facets of education at Figtree High School are highly commendable. I would like to give much thanks to the Northern Illawarra AECG for putting together such a fantastically organised event, delivered with a wonderful spirit. As Principal, I am looking forward to nominating more ‘deadly’ Figtree High School students for the 2020 Deadly Awards.

COMMUNITY OF SCHOOLS (CoS) MASTERCLASSES In 2019, Figtree High School began running Masterclasses in all Key Learning Areas (KLA). Stage 3 students from our CoS, with a talent or interest in a particular KLA, are selected by their primary school to attend a 3-4 week Masterclass at Figtree High School. This is held on a Wednesday afternoon in the particular area of expertise. These classes are run by specialised Figtree High School teachers and supported by Figtree students who are great ambassadors for our school. In previous newsletters this year we have showcased Visual Arts, Music, Physical Education and Woodwork. In this newsletter we will look at Cooking, History, and Language Masterclasses. COOKING MASTERCLASS With a focus on safety in the kitchen as well as sustainability and ethical growing the cooking masterclass discussed chocolate and dairy foods and the practices of purchasing ethically sourced chocolate and sustainability by supporting local dairy farmers. With that in mind we made - chocolate chip muffins, cheesy scrolls and ANZAC slice (because we like it) and had a ball. Thank you to Ms Parr and our year 9 mentors who eagerly helped each week.

HISTORY MASTERCLASS During the history masterclass students developed their understanding of history and how we have come to know about different events, people and places throughout history by completing a mini ‘archaeological dig’ with toothpicks, grid paper and cookies. Students then analysed key events in history and constructed a timeline from these events.

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Thanks to Miss Smith for sharing her expertise with the students each week.

LANGUAGE MASTERCLASS For 3 weeks an enthusiastic, hard-working group of Year 5 students from our Community of Schools participated in intensive French language and culture lessons. The students discovered a lot about French culture and history, and were taught some key phrases in French to help them introduce themselves and exchange some information with a friend. A highlight was the song that they have all learnt to sing in French. Thank you Ms Smith for sharing your love of the French culture with this lucky group of students.

I finish with a quote from American automobile executive Lee Iacocca in praise of teachers:

In a completely rational society, the best of us would aspire to be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something less, because passing civilisation from one generation to the next ought to be the highest responsibility anyone could have.

Daniel Ovens Principal

Expectation of the Week

WEEK 4: BE RESPECTFUL - Canteen Leave immediately after purchase

WEEK 5: BE A LEARNER – Toilet Use the toilets before school and at

breaks

WEEK 6: BE SAFE – All Settings Wear correct footwear

Deputy Principal Report Years 7, 9 and 11

It has been an excellent start to learning in Term 4. Year 7 and 9 are busy working on assessments that will be reflected in their Semester 2 reports. Good attendance is always vital but particularly during this time. Students need to be organised and on time to school each day. Any appointments, where possible, should be made outside of school hours. This allows students to optimise their learning opportunities whilst at school. Being prepared and completing revision are also important. Year 11 reports will be issued on 15 November, the same day as the Student Recognition Assembly. It is important that students and families read the reports together and identify the constructive feedback that could lead to improved learning outcomes.

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The Higher School Certificate Assessment Procedures and Schedules 2019/2020 booklet was given to students on Tuesday 22 November 2019. Students signed to indicate they have received a copy and an electronic copy has been uploaded onto the school’s website. Students need to ensure they are present for their assessments or notify the school that they are sick (with a Doctor’s Certificate). They will then complete the assessment task on the first day they are back at school. Going on a holiday is not usually considered a reason to miss a task. Families need to look at the schedules and ensure they plan around them. If a task is due in a particular period of the day students need to ensure they are at the school the entire day. If students are sick for either part or all of a day that an assessment is due they need to complete an Illness and Misadventure form and attach a Doctor’s Certificate. This needs to be handed to the Deputy Principal. N-warnings can be given for non-completion of assessment tasks, non-serious attempts at an assessment task as well as coursework. This means that students need to complete coursework as well as assessment tasks to the best of their ability to satisfy requirements for the HSC. Trish Morgan Deputy Principal

Deputy Principal Report Years 8, 10 and 12

YEAR 8 Our Year 8 students find themselves in a busy period of assessments for Semester 2, as well as the opportunity to complete the mandatory Year 8 VALID, an end of stage assessment in the Science key learning area. These online assessments have been occurring over the past week and continue this week, with an opportunity for any student who has missed their assessment day to complete the assessment on Thursday 7 November. IN the coming weeks, Year 8 students will be involved in discussions regarding their Stage 5 elective subjects. The electives being offered in Year 9 2020 are in the final planning stages so students will be informed very soon.

YEAR 10 The past three weeks have been filled with assessment tasks for Year 10, with most courses having their final Year 10 assessment task due. There are a few courses with tasks due this week. There are a small number of students who still have outstanding N warnings to finalise, to ensure they will be eligible for their Year 10 Record of School Achievement (ROSA). It is essential that students finalise any outstanding N warnings this week, so that they do not place themselves at risk of an N determination. On 22 October, Year 10 students were engaged in Year 11 2020 curriculum interviews based on the Year 11 curriculum offerings for 2020. This provided the opportunity for focused discussions about career plans, curriculum choices and relevance of courses to meet student needs and interest. Students will be receiving their proposed curriculum pattern sheets this week, which will require students to discuss their courses with their parent/carer and returned the signed form to their Year Advisor, Ms Cook or Ms Smith. YEAR 12 Congratulations to our Year 12 students who have successfully completed most of their HSC examinations. Several students still have examinations throughout this week and our Physics students will complete their examination period with the final HSC examination on 11 November. The Year 12 Clearance day is 12 November, from 9:00am – 11:22am in the Auditorium. Students need to return any school resources, including textbooks, and library books, as well as pay any outstanding school fees. Parents/carers are reminded that school fees can be paid online through the school website via the Make a Payment link. The Year 12 Formal tickets will be issued to students when they have finalised their clearance. Our staff look forward to joining Year 12 at their Formal event on 14 November at the Novotel Northbeach. Ellie Donovan Deputy Principal

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CAPA/Languages Faculty Report

PRINTING PRESS Our Stage 5 Year 10 Visual Art elective classes have been fortunate enough to gain the experience in using our printing press. The printing press has sat unused for a quite some time in Art 3 . A recent service and the purchase of new felt blankets has given this wonderful piece of equipment a new place in our Visual Arts teaching and learning programs! Whilst you can enjoy the art form of printmaking without a press, the press allows for a much more refined and clearer print. The task has seen students use the Urban Environment as a source of inspiration for their dry point etching. It has been a rewarding experience for all our Year 10 Visual Art students and teachers.

ACTIVE ART BOTANIC GARDENS OUTING Our Active Art Sport group went on their first outing for Term 4. They visited the Wollongong Botanic Gardens during the spring time. Students participated in a creative ‘Treasure Hunt’ of things to interpret through the art form of photography whilst on a walking tour through the Gardens. Some of the prompts were - a home, something spikey, a reflection, something geometrical. The students are to be commended on their behavior and enthusiasm. Additional outings for Active Art will occur during the term.

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HSC INTENSIVE STUDIO PROGRAM Congratulations to Sarah Neufeld in Year 11 who successfully applied to attend the HSC intensive studio program at the National Art School. Sarah participated in the life drawing workshop during the July and October school holiday breaks and developed her technical and conceptual skills under the direction of experienced practising artists. We are very impressed by her work!

FIGURES OF FIGTREE PORTRAIT COMPETITION Congratulations to Lily Jones (Year 10), Alice Coleman (Year 9), Maile Filson (Year 8) and Brody Crichton (Year 7) who won their respective categories for the Figures of Figtree portrait competition as part of the school’s 50th anniversary.

ARTSMART 2019 Congratulations to Lily Jones and Jessica Todoroska (Year 10) who were nominated by the CAPA faculty to attend the 2019 Art Smart workshop at Campbelltown Arts Centre. There were only 50 places available, and these students were selected based on their potential and enthusiasm for Art!

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CNI VISUAL ARTS EXHIBITION During September, the inaugural exhibition ‘Every artist was first an amateur’ was held at the Project Contemporary Artspace. This exhibition celebrated the remarkable creative artworks of Year 11 Visual Arts and Photography students from across the Illawarra. Over 120 students applied to participate in the exhibition and 8 of our students had their artworks selected. Congratulations to Ellie Skarvelis, Nikola Rodic, Brooke Burt, Jorja Roser, Meg Dunn, Shannon Asher and Danielle Bourgeois! We would also like to say a special congratulations to Sarah Neufeld who received 1 of only 3 special awards presented on the evening. Well done also to their teacher Miss Cook!

WELLBEING MURAL PROJECT The CAPA Committee and Active Art Sport group have been busy painting inspirational quotes on the junior girl’s toilet doors. Students were given the opportunity to vote and six doors have now been completed. We think they look great!

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CAPA COMMITTEE CAPA Co applications for 2020 are now open. If students are interested in applying to be a member of the CAPA Committee for 2020, they need to collect an application from the CAPA staffroom. The CAPA Committee have continued their support of whole school initiatives this year in various roles including photographers, designers, artists, performers and technical crew. We have recently updated the front office slideshow with a series of photographs that showcase highlights from day to day activities. SOUTH COAST MUSIC CAMP Congratulations to Tina Rahmannia (Year 8), Olivia Grant (Year 9) and Bethany Rowan (Year 10) on their representation of Figtree High school at South Coast Music Camp during the last week of Term 3. All three students successfully applied to attend this camp and we received fantastic feedback on all three students in regards to their musicality, behaviour and involvement throughout the camp. Our students were very strategic in avoiding all photo opportunities throughout the camp, however, you will find them hidden in this photo!

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STATE CHOIR Congratulations to Maxine McEwan in Year 11 for her representation of Figtree High School at the Festival of Choral Music in Term 3. Maxine sang at the Sydney Opera House as part of the State Choir after successfully applying for a place in this very competitive ensemble. What a venue to perform in!

YEAR 7 AND YEAR 8 BAND Our Year 7 and Year 8 Band are now into their second term of rehearsals. The ensemble rehearses Monday afternoons after school and are preparing for their debut performances later this term at the Year 7 and Year 8 student recognition assemblies. They are learning a variety of repertoire and are sounding

fantastic! A big thank you to Mr Malouf, Mr Walsh and Miss Gibson for their work with this ensemble. SCHOOLS SPECTACULAR FEATURED DANCER We are very excited to celebrate Nathan Garrick in Year 11 who will be representing Figtree High School at the Schools Spectacular in November. Nathan successfully auditioned and was selected as a featured dancer of the hip hop ensemble and has been busy attending rehearsals in preparation for the show. We look forward to seeing him perform on the 22 and 23 November at Qudos Bank Arena! For further information and tickets please visit the website below. This year’s show is not to be missed! http://www.schoolsspectacular.com.au/ VET ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY Our fantastic VET Entertainment Industry students spent a great deal of time setting up all the portable staging, sound and lighting for our recent 50th anniversary celebrations. We had a lot of positive feedback about our staging areas and were incredibly impressed with the work of our students.

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NATIONAL JUNIOR CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS Congratulations to Maxine McEwan (Year 11) and Anastasia Tsangaris (Year 9) on their recent representation of Figtree High School at the National Junior Cross Country Championships. Maxine sang the National Anthem and Anastasia delivered the Acknowledgement of Country. Miss Cook, Ms Pulham, Mr Jones, Mrs Murphy, Mr Malouf and Mr Walsh. Jill Murphy Rel. Head Teacher CAPA & Languages

ENGLISH MASTERCLASS

For three consecutive weeks, students from the Figtree CoS primary schools attended the English Masterclass Program. Students engaged in a variety of individual and group tasks and were immersed in a range of focus areas such as dystopian short film, creative writing, and drawing on song lyric and surrealist art for creative inspiration. Students delved into the world of fan fiction, poetry, film trailers, Shakespearian love and visual literacy.

Nina Murakami-Mozer from Lindsay Park drew on Hamlet in her creative snapshot of Ophelia:

“The pale yellow daises swayed against the long blades of reeds. With a twirl of her lace frock Ophelia strolled around humming with every step she took. Her wild hair frantically moved in the wind…The daisies close to the gushing stream disappeared rapidly into the hands of the frenzied woman.”

The Masterclass program provides a valuable opportunity for participants form connections with other students from local primary schools, experience the high school environment and explore their talents and passions with specialised staff from Figtree High School.

Jessica Williams English Faculty

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AUSTRALIAN HISTORY COMPETITION 2019 In 2019, seven Year 9 students and twenty-two Year 10 students participated in the Australian History Competition. The Australian History Competition is a challenging, nation-wide competition that students elect to participate in. Students around Australia complete the multiple-choice competition once a year to test their understanding of the topics studied in their stage level. This year, Figtree High School students were awarded 14 Participation certificates, 9 Merit certificates and a special mention to the students who received the 5 Credit certificates; Jessica Buffett, Mitchell Jury-Dawes, Daniel Petrevski, Bethany Rowan and Sariah Wilson. Grace Siminski is to be especially congratulated for receiving a Distinction in the competition. Well done to all! The competition will run again in May 2020 for students in Years 8-10. Ms Richards, HSIE faculty

YEAR 10 GENZ-2WORK – COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM WITH FIGTREE GROVE A large number of Year 10 students submitted a written application to be included in the Figtree Grove community partnership program, GenZ-2work and after reading their applications 25 students moved to the interview stage. We were very lucky to have 4 Figtree Grove representatives to conduct the interviews. A special thanks must go to Rhianna Quirk, Marketing Manager, Louise McClelland, Administration Manager, Sam Silveri, Assistant Marketing Manager and Jodie Trajanovski, Casual Leasing Executive who took time out of their busy schedules to interview all 25 students. They each spoke very highly of the calibre of our students and all reports suggested that each student did a fantastic job.

The next part of the program was a site visit, where the students learnt about the day to day operations of the centre.

We started the day in Centre Management where we were able to hear from a variety of different employees about their own personal career journey as well as learn tips on employer expectations. The students then completed a behind the scenes tour of Coles and Kmart as well as participating in a ‘Centre Walk’ to further their knowledge of the operations of the centre. Next week, the students will have the opportunity to participate in Work Experience, where they can choose to work in Management, Advertising, Facilities Operations or Retail.

Adam Sargent-Wilson Careers Advisor

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