1 | P a g e

Killarney Heights High School

Newsletter

Respect Connect Aspire Term 4 Week 10 2018

Principal’s Report Thank you to everyone who has made this year a success. Last week the HSC results were released,

with Killarney rising nearly one hundred ranks to 87th in the state. I believe that makes us one of the

highest placed comprehensive schools on the Northern Beaches. This is especially commendable

when we are flanked by single sex schools and a number of selective schools on both sides.

We had 5 students with an ATAR of above 99! Our dux was Caitlin Rigby with 99.6, Jason Qian with

99.4, Jane Xu with 99.35, Ryan Lantzke with 99.3 and Joyce Xu with 99.1. In total there were 25

students with ATARs over 90. Well done!

My first thank you must go to the dedicated teachers without whom our students would not receive

such fabulous results. Our staff continually work to improve on their teaching and are highly

professional in their approach. The English department in particular have achieved outstanding marks

and have bettered their results from 2017, with 96% of Advanced students gaining a band 5 and 6.

However, the excellent results were not only in English – they were spread all around the school:

testament that the changes that we are making are on the right track. Economics, Legal studies,

Ancient History, Mathematics, Industrial Technology – Multimedia, Design and Technology, Food

Technology, Music, Physics, Chinese, French and Japanese all gained more than 50% bands 5 & 6’s.

My second thank you goes to the parents, without your support and appreciation of education our

students could not have gained these results.

And finally to the students: there is no secret to great HSC results. It is just hard work. All these

students this year have dedicated themselves to doing their best. Well done all of you.

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a happy and safe holiday. I will see everyone in the New

Year, rested and recharged after the break.

Hayley Emmerton Principal

For new parents starting school - once your child has started at school, an email will be sent inviting parents to access the portal. Information about this is on our website, on the Technology page, under Parents.

2 | P a g e

Congratulations all round to KHHS Class of 2018

My sincere congratulations to the class of 2018 for a superb year filled with comradery, support, friendship, cooperation and some absolutely brilliant HSC results. Irrespective of the final results I would also like to congratulate the whole year group who have supported each other through both great times and hard times to reach the end of their educational pathway at this school. Thanks also to the families of this cohort who have continued to encourage behind the scenes over the years and particularly to the staff at Killarney, the Year 12 teachers, who have truly worked above and beyond to assist each student in every possible way.

I wish the class of 2018 all the very best for bright and happy futures.

Brenda Baker

Deputy Principal

School resumes for Years 7, 11 and 12 on 30 January 2019

School resumes for Years 8, 9, and 10 on 31 January 2019

There will be some changes for 2019. From next year we will not have home room. With the

introduction of period by period marking there is no need for a dedicated period to do this, as this is

doubling up what teachers are already doing.

The literacy activities that were being taught in home room will now be done in classes – it will be

linked to the class work that students are doing, which we believe will be more effective. The focus

for 2019 will be the Super 6 strategies where we will be starting on Reading.

The bell times will be altered slightly, however period lengths will stay the same with the start and

finishing times for the day remaining unchanged. There will be some movement time between classes

built into the structure of the day, this will allow students to go to the bathroom or have a quick drink

or snack between classes. The canteen will not be open at this time.

The bells will be replaced by a new musical bell system, designed to make calmer transitions with the

music playing during the transition between classes. When the music stops, the students are expected

to be in their new classes.

Deputy Principal’s Report

Information for 2019

3 | P a g e

Upcoming Events

19 December Last day of Term 4 for students

29 January Staff Development Day

30 January School resumes for Years 7, 11 & 12 Year 7 Parent Information/Resilience doughnut training – 10am-12pm

31 January School resumes for Years 8, 9 & 10

4-6 February Year 7 Camp

7 February School photo day

11 February School photo catch up day

18 February P&C Meeting

19 February High Achievers Assembly

20 February Years 8 and 10 Parent Information Night

21 February Year 7 Vaccinations Years 9 & 11 Parent Information Night

24 February School Working Bee

27 February School Swimming Carnival

8 March Zone Swimming Carnival

11 March Open Night

18 March P&C Meeting

20 March Year 7 Dance and Parent Soiree

26 March Athletics Carnival Extension Class Test Year 7, 2020

12 April Last day of Term 1

4 | P a g e

Uniform Shop

OPENING HOURS

Tuesdays from 7.30am to 1.30pm

Thursdays 11.30am to 3.30pm

Dee Cleworth Uniform Shop

9453 5000

5 | P a g e

Last week the Year 9 Music Elective class worked with Murray, Jono and Bella from Opera Express to

write and perform their own Opera. They did all this in only four days!

The class first decided on the characters in their story – Hermit, the socially awkward God, and

Bridgette the bitter Goddess of Communism. In small groups they cooperated to write the lines for

the six different scenes in their Opera, making sure every student had input into the creative process.

The next step was to create all the music. While Jono played piano in a style suggested by the class,

each student sang one line of text, which was then written out as music. Through this process, every

single student wrote at least one line of text and sang at least one line of music – that’s right parents,

your child can sing!

CAPA

6 | P a g e

Over the next two days the class built and painted sets (somebody trusted them with paint brushes

and power drills), choreographed several dance numbers, and learned all of the music for the show.

7 | P a g e

8 | P a g e

On the night some things went wrong, some lines were forgotten, and yet it did not matter in the

slightest. Those students had a lot of fun on stage, and were very proud of the show they created.

It was very special to watch the quiet students step up and become leaders, and for some of the more

confident students show humility, allowing others to take the lead. Some students who may not

consider themselves confident actors got up on stage and performed big roles in the show, and others

who would swear they "have no idea about art" mixed paint to create beautiful set pieces.

Opera Express has been an extraordinary experience for these students, and has given them

physical, intellectual and emotional skills that they will take with them into their adult lives.

9 | P a g e

Blade Fuller

10 | P a g e

Sports report

House sport champions

On Thursday our fantastic students that won their Year 8 and Year 9 House sport competition this year were given

the opportunity to participate in a sports session of archery attack and bubble soccer. This opportunity was given

to the winning teams of Ross 2 in Year 9 and Ross 4 from Year 8 due to their outstanding efforts in the house

competition. Selected MVP players were also given the opportunity to participate. We would like to thank all

students involved and hope they all had an amazing day.

Sport

11 | P a g e

Sports Assembly

The sports assembly provided an opportunity for the sportsmen and sportswomen of Killarney to celebrate their

achievements and sporting success. We had an amazing group of students receiving awards for multiple sports

during the assembly. Some of our major award winners include:

Female Service to sport: Bella Astill

Male service to sport: Njiteh Zilifian

Male Junior Athlete of the year: Cameron Laytham

Female Junior Athlete of the year: Tara Laytham

Male Senior Athlete of the year: Toby Dreyer

Female Senior Athlete of the year: Tea Lisle

Congratulations to all of our award winners!

12 | P a g e

Bella Astill: Female service to sport Njiteh Zilifian: Male service to sport

13 | P a g e

14 | P a g e

Sport Selections:

Students still need to select their sports and pay online for their sport choices. This is to be completed

through the school bytes website: https://online.schoolbytes.education/sport/

You must use your child’s DEC log in, the same log in for their email to access the site. Once in the site,

choose a preference for sport and make a payment. Any students in the musical rehearsal will have

the chance to choose the option in the sports preferences.

Payments are required for student choices the first day back of school (30th of January, 2019). Failure

to do so will result in your child being placed in a sport requiring no payment, as buses, sport

organisations and teacher allocations must be completed and paid for before the sport begins.

Julian Aguilera

15 | P a g e

Congratulations to all our Year 12 students who did so well in the HSC. If you did not get the ATAR to

get into the course you want, remember there are many other pathways available to achieve what

you want to do. The KHHS Careers website is a ‘one stop shop’ for you to find out about a range of

courses and everything else you need to assist you in planning for your future. Check

www.killarneyheightscareers.com

I have also sent a post destination survey to all Year 12 students 2018, that I would really appreciate

everyone completing and returning to me as soon as possible.

Please click on this link to complete the survey

https://www.killarneyheightshscareers.com/?page=destination-survey

Monday 21 – Friday 25 January | NSW TAFE

TAFE will throw open their doors to future students looking for course information or to finalise their

enrolments. Our friendly team will be on the ground to assist you with enrolment paperwork, career

advice and campus tours around our state-of-the-art locations.

Find out more - https://www.tafensw.edu.au/web/tafe-nsw/infofest

THE HOTEL SCHOOL – SYDNEY EXPERIENCE EVENING

Tuesday 29 January |The Hotel School Sydney

This will be a great chance for you to experience the newly renovated campus, meet staff and

engage in fun programs and workshops.

Find out more - https://www.facebook.com/events/266439397276551/

ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA – DISCOVER ENGINEERING DAY

Friday 15 March | Chatswood High School

Discover Engineering Day will include activities aimed at giving high school students a taste of skills

required for the engineering profession as well as guest speakers from university students and

engineers.

Find out more - https://portal.engineersaustralia.org.au/event/discover-engineering-day-

chatswood-high-school-0 See Ms McDermott to register

HSC ACCELERATED TUITION – HSC CHEMISTRY: MODULE 5

Saturday 12 January | UNSW, Sydney

The most effective way to drastically boost your HSC Chemistry marks. Strengthen your ATAR,

assessment and exam result these holidays with intensive preparation by HSC chemistry experts.

Careers

16 | P a g e

Find out more - https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/hsc-chemistry-module-5-12th-jan-tickets-

53322391709?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

INNER WEST COUNCIL LIBRARIES – DRAMA & FILM WORKSHOP

Monday 14 January | Marrickville, NSW

Combing the art of storytelling with the latest full-body VR technology will open the gate to your

inner genius. Invent your world, put on a different body, and step into the shoes of your imagination

to tell a story.

Find out more - https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/hello-holidays-youth-immersive-storytelling-

drama-and-film-workshop-with-advanced-virtual-reality-tickets-52454344356?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

SYDNEY DESIGN SCHOOL INTERIOR DECORATION WORKSHOP

Wednesday 16 & Thursday 17 January 2019 | 9.30am - 4pm | St Leonards

In this fun, hands on workshop you'll get to put together a full interior decoration scheme for a

space in your own home, explore colour schemes and create a sample board to showcase your

ideas. Find out more and secure your place now.

SYDNEY DANCE COMPANY HOLIDAY WORKSHOPS

2 to 25 January 2019 | Ages 5 to 18 years

Located at Sydney Dance Company’s Ultimo Studios, Bondi Pavilion, Thompson Hall in Baulkham

Hills and The Joan in Penrith.

Join in the fun at Sydney Dance Company this Summer and develop skills in a range of dance styles.

For boys and girls, from the beginner to experienced dancer, Sydney Dance Company workshops are

a great way for young people to improve their dance technique and learn new routines taught by

Sydney’s best teachers and choreographers. Book Now

BARISTA COFFEE COURSE

Congratulations to the Year 10 students who completed a Barista Coffee course. These students

learnt the art of coffee making. Hopefully you will see them making your coffee at the local Café!!

17 | P a g e

Well done to all students!

I hope everyone has a happy and safe Christmas and a very relaxing holiday.

Ms Julie McDermott

Julie.McDermott@det.nsw.edu.au

DISCLAIMER: All information is provided in good faith. It is the responsibility of the student/parent to confirm

all details with the appropriate institution or event organiser

18 | P a g e

Community Announcements

19 | P a g e