LAWSON’S LATEST

27 JULY 2018 TERM 3 ISSUE 1 THE HENRY LAWSON HIGH SCHOOL

CHALLENGE, ENCOURAGE, ACHIEVE49 SOUTH STREET, GRENFELL NSW 2810 02 6343 1390 www.henrylawso-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

WELCOLME BACK TO TERM 3

YEAR 8 SAMURAI HISTORY SCIENCE BOX WAROn the last Tuesday of term 2, Year 8 South completed our cross curricular learning in history and science. This took place in the form of a Samurai battle, with a focus on our study of vital organs for science and Ancient Japan for history. We went to battle in the armour that we had created across both classes. Our armour had to ensure that our vital organs were protected as well as replicate the Samurai armour that we had learned about in history. Through our battle we had to observe the Bushido code to fight with honour. We enjoyed the task because it was a hands-on learning experience allowing us to distil our learning through enacting and replicating an historical event.

Principal’s ReportWelcome back!Let’s geet reeaaady to leeeaaarrrnnnnn. After a refreshing break students and staff have all returned with smiles and active, growth-minded brains ready to absorb all the great learning that occurs everyday at THLHS. Teacher learning started a day earlier than the students and covered several areas including high expectations, How2Learn, literacy, numeracy, well-being, assessment and project learning on the school development day. These are topics staff strive to be experts in. It’s a lot to cover in one day, however, our staff are effective team players who share the teaching learning responsibilities easily amongst each other.First steps to parliamentOur local state member, Steph Cooke, the Office of the Advocate for Children and Young People and NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet all visited THLHS on Wednesday. The purpose of the visit was to hear from our students on what young people think are the priorities in the area and what support is needed. This was a wonderful opportunity for our Year 8 students who confidently and happily participated in small group discussion and many spoke very well with the state leaders. It was also a prestige opportunity as THLHS was one of only a few schools represented in the wider local area. With our students’ voices being heard it will be great to see if their ideas come to life in the future. Thank you to all the students who participated and for being willing to be part of a process to improve opportunities for all young people in Grenfell.NAIDOC flag raisingFriday last term saw our first local flag raising at the council chambers to recognise NAIDOC week. Our Indigenous students were involved in readings and raising the flag. The school will be holding NAIDOC activities on Friday 3 August. Students will be involved in boomerang throwing, ochre painting, making Johnny cakes, Indigenous games and a NAIDOC assembly. Our Indigenous dance group have been practising and are likely to perform at our assembly; a first for the group and a real achievement for the students involved. Thank you to Chad White for organising the flag raising ceremony and the to students who participated. Great to see the council now flying the Aboriginal flag every day as we all learn together about our country.State Band CampConnor Day attended the State Band Camp in the last week of term 2. This was a fantastic experience to learn alongside 250 other students and 30 plus tutors. The camp is for talented music students and allows them to join together for one week each year to receive expert tutelage and develop their performance skills. Participants rehearse and perform a high-quality repertoire culminating in a concert for families and friends on the final night of the camp. Cath and Craig (parents) attend the concert and reported that all went very well and the students certainly worked hard. The concert performances included peices such as Verdi’s Requiem and other amazing vocal and orchestral pieces. A fantastic opportunity provided by the Department of Education Arts Unit. Well done Connor for your persistent application in music which led you to this wonderful opportunity.Gold merit ski tripOur Year 10 and 11 gold merit awardees are off to Mount Sewlyn on Friday as a reward for all their positive efforts over the past 12 months. The snow report tells of a good covering of snow (45cm), all lifts are in action, giving students 100% access to the mountains terrain. The entire resort has been freshly groomed, with a dry cover on top. Sounds like fantastic ski conditions; I think I need to be on this excursion next year. I’m sure all will enjoy the experience and learn a great deal from the ski lessons provided on the day.

Semester 2 planThe school’s focus on HOW2Learn continues. This semester we are focussing on culture, mindsets, attention, accountability, critical thinking, absorption, clarity, strategic action and stickability. The plan is attached to explain more. I will describe more on each area over the coming newsletters this term. These are in addition to the many other habits and practices of successful learners the students have studied and used to understand how they learn best. It’s about the skills and knowledge to be successful life long learners and learning habits and practices that will help students when learning is challenging.

Around the groundsStudents have started back and are straight into learning about:• Year 11 Modern History – Hannah demonstrated her learning of the influences of nationalism, imperialism, militarism and alliances on World War I.•Year 8 English – Holly showed me her learning on the elements and features of text by reading the Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book.•Year 12 Modern History were previewing their learning (teaching practice of clarity) of the key concepts and events of the Vietnam War.•Year 10 English – Tyler, Taylor and Nathan showed me how they are comparing changes in techniques, language and messages between old and new versions of popular stories such as Beauty and the Beast. •Year 9 Maths – Jarrod shared his work on circumference of circles.•Year 12 Music – Paige explained how she is composing a 16 bar piece for the school band as part of her HSC composition work.•Year 7 Science – Benji was learning about forces and energy (e.g. magnetic and gravity) that create movement.•Year 7 Art – Reviewing art work and thinking critically (learning habit) using their knowledge of artistic concepts to make a decision about which piece of art is the best. Amelia helped me with this.•Year 8 Science where developing their understanding of differences between metals and non-metals and how they react to different substances. Thank you Kiara for sharing.•Year 12 Design and Tech are working on their major HSC projects. Ben explained to me his progress on his bed head which includes LED lighting and media station. Pretty cool idea!Thank you to the students for sharing your learning. Have a great week, Ian Pattingale.

THLHS Semester 2 2018: 100-day plan Educational Purpose

The goals we have for our students are: Students see value in and purpose for their learning. Students take responsibility for their learning and become accountable for their

progress. Vision Principles

Transforming our learning culture and language by focusing on: Transformational learning

culture Attention Growth mindset

Teachers are intrinsically

motivated to make a difference for their students

share values, vision and responsibility for learning

Value if you don’t value it the

brain won’t remember it

Students understand that learning should feel challenging enough to stretch them: learning pit/discomfort

zone speaking ‘learnish’ praise versus feedback

Student Learning and Wellbeing Outcomes Where everyone is focused on building the following learning habits:

ACCOUNTABILITY CRITICAL THINKING ABSORPTION Owning your decisions and being aware of their effect on yourself, others and the

environment

Looking for good reasons and sound evidence to make

fair decisions

Flow; pleasure of being rapt in learning. Focused attention on learning.

Effective Teaching Practices And teachers are focused on building these practices into their daily teaching:

CLARITY STRATEGIC ACTION STICKABILITY

Previewing the learning

Preparing students for new learning by showing them expectations and content

ahead of time.

Reflection and metacognition

Allowing time to reflect on the learning and emotions,

attitudes and beliefs of learning.

Memory development techniques

Explicit teaching of

techniques that support students to encode, store and

retrieve information.

Where are they now? Millie MatthewsName: Millie MatthewsYear graduated: 2009Extracurricular and/or sporting activities: Throughout my schooling years I represented THLHS in soccer and was also a peer mentor for Year 7 students entering the foreign and scary realm of high school. In 2005 I also won the NSW Fair Trading Award - Consumer Youth Award (Money Stuff Challenge) for a website I developed that was focused on an age appropri-ate education in regards to recycling. Reflecting back on my involvement in these actives, it reiterates my love of teamwork, providing support and encouragement to those feeling vulner-able or overwhelmed or needing guidance and incorporating creativity into education. What you are doing now and what is the path you took to get to where you are today? I am a Clinical Social Worker for Foster Care NSW. I provide trauma informed and therapeutic support for over 80 children in foster care, their foster carers and birth families in the Murrumbidgee and far west of NSW. I also help supervise and provide support of Case Managers and Family Workers in our Wagga agency. I am also first response to crisis situations especially those soon after the child’s removal from birth family and children and young people displaying challenging behaviours. I also deliver the training to people looking at becoming foster carers in order to educate them on the reality of becoming a carer and the neurobiological effects trauma can have on a child’s brain. I applied for early entry to university and was successful. I undertook a Bachelor of Social Work at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga. Upon graduation I won the Lila Kirilik Award for application of the princi-ples of social justice, equity, empowerment and self determination in their practice. After graduating university I had a break from school/study when I came to the realisation I had been stud-ying for the past 17years. So I packed up all my belongings and went on an adventure to Sydney, I worked three different jobs and just had fun. After my year adventuring I returned to Wagga and began my career in Out Of Home Care (foster care).Career highlights: As you can imagine, my job is incredibly challenging. I have witnessed some horrific scenes and respond to unimaginable crises on a daily basis. Because my job is so challenging and the burn out rate is so high my career highlights are actually focusing on the “small wins”. This might look like a child successfully attending a full day of school or making a child who has not spoken in months giggle. The ultimate career highlight for me would be a child in care growing up to live a long, happy and resilient life. My advice to the young: Growing up in a small rural town can be hard in the way that traditions, values and ideals can infiltrate environments resulting in a narrow and close-minded view system. Remember that: “You will always be too much of something for someone: too big, too loud, too soft, too edgy. If you round out your edges, you lose your edge.” The greatest accomplishment in life is to be yourself, especially when the world is constantly trying to make you something different. Hindsight is magic, if you had to start again, is there anything you would do differently? I don’t actu-ally agree with “hindsight”. Positive reflection, yes! Kindsight would be a more appropriate term. Any last thoughts? Viewing your life with “kindsight” means not beating yourself up for things in your past and what you could/should have done differently. Instead of slapping your head and asking “What was I thinking?!” Breathe and ask the kinder question “What was I learning?”.Any last thoughts? Be kind to yourself; and treat everyone with kindness and respect, even those that are rude to you, not because they are nice, but because you are.

Australian Mathematics Competition Thursday 9 August 2018Cost is $3.00. It is a great way to further develop not only your mathematical and problem-solving skills, but also your examination skills.Please pay at the office by next Friday 3 August to make sure you have a place.We cannot accept entries after this date. If you are interested, sample questions are available from Mr. Jones.

Year 8 Fundraising Wood Raffle

The Year 8 wood raffle has been won by Ross Brenner, Congratulations Ross. Thank you to the Warnke family for the donation of wood.

100 Club RaffleCongratulations to Isabel Pereira who has won the 100 club raffle with the prize of a $100 Go Grenfell Card.Thank you to everyone who supported Year 8 and their fundraising.

Jeans for Genes DayYear 10 science are learing about genetic diseases this term. They are raising money and awareness for the Children’s Medical Research Institute.We are asking students to wear their full school uniform with jeans on Wednesday 1 August.We will also have a sausage sizzle at a cost of $2.00.All monies raised will to toward research for cures for genetic diseases affecting children.

The wider community can also donate online to support this great cause. Simply visit the link below to make a donation.http://www.jeansforgenes.org.au/fundraiser/the-henry-lawson-high-school

EDUCATION WEEK ASSEMBLEYEducation Week is a statewide annual event to celebrate public education in NSW. The week highlights the achievements of public education and local schools, putting the spotlight on our students, our educators and the communities that support them.The theme for Education Week 2018 is Today’s schools – creating tomorrow’s world.It celebrates NSW Department of Education’s commitment to equipping young people with the skills and capabilities they need to thrive in a rapidly changing,

globalised world.Our special guest will be former student Bronte Enright, Manager Base Operations Support, QantasLink. Please join us at our assembly on Thursday 9 August at 10.00am in the school hall. We ask that all students to wear their best school uniform on the day.

Well-being Corner“Hold a true friend with both your hands.”

Nigerian proverbSometimes we take our friendships for granted, we break plans or forget to call; we go on and on about our own problems, overlooking the fact that our friends might have troubles too. True friends will forgive us these faults and be understanding … which is just one of the many reasons to cherish our true friends.

TODAY

I’ll tell or show a friend how much I care.

English Assessment Reminders Year 11 Advanced English – Narrative and Evaluation task due Friday 3 August week 2 term 3.Year 10 English – Telling and Re-telling Fairytales group presentation due Wednesday 15 August week 4 term 3.

Where are you now?The response we have had from the Grenfell community regarding our Where are they now? column has been extremely positive, but we need your help to keep the column going. If you would like to contribute, or know of a past student that would be interested in contributing, please contact Terese Sheehan on 6343 1390 or email terese.Sheehan@det.nsw.edu.au

GRENFELL BOWLING CLUBMONTHLY

Every month the proceeds from the TRIVIA will be donated to a different local organisation, charity or sporting group!

YOU’RE INVITED!

WHO: EVERYONE

WHAT: TRIVIA NIGHT

WHEN: LAST FRIDAY OF EVERY MONTH

WHERE: GRENFELL BOWLING CLUB

COST: $10.00 PER PLAYER

TEAMS ARE LIMITED TO 6 PLAYERS PER TEAMTEAM REGISTRATIONS FROM 6.00 PM - TRIVIA STARTS AT 6:30 PM

Keep an eye on our FACEBOOK page for more information

THIS MONTH’S PROCEEDS WILL GO TOWARDS SUPPORTING:

THLHS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING TEAM

YOUNG, RURAL & DRIVEN?

Win the opportunity of a lifetime!

Expand your future and become a youth ambassador by winning an all-expenses paid 'Power Trip' to Canberra! You'll win flights, leadership & public speaking training, mentorship, a behind-the-scenes tour of parliament and meet trailblazing CEOs and politicians!

Exclusively for regional, rural & remote students, at least 15 young women will win!

Just write 400 words or a 2-minute video addressing:

Life is a roadtrip with twists and turns. How can we support one another to navigate the road to gender equality?

Competition opens 24 July 2018, closes 1 September 2018.Open to Grade 10 - 12 female rural students.

*ACT excluded. See our website for Terms and Conditions, including 'rural' definition.

Learn more and submit your entry via our website: countrytocanberra.com.au

Follow us:

#C2CGirlsLead

Power Trip runs from 24 to 28 November 2018. Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander students and Culturally Linguistically Diverse students are encouraged to apply.