Home Hill State High School LEARNING – PERFORMANCE – CITIZENSHIP

First Street Home Hill Qld 4806

Phone: (07) 4790 5666 Fax: (07) 4790 5600

www.homehillshs.eq.edu.au

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Newsletter November 2016 Principal’s Report Almost half of term 4 is already behind us and we have been busy with assessment, subject selection, SET Planning and teaching during the school day and Town of Origin, Sports Awards, Awards Night and the Home Hill P&C Students’ Ball outside of school hours. There is not a moment to slow down or pause during this term.

Awards evenings allow us to celebrate what is so great about our school and our students. I would like to personally congratulate all students who received awards at our both our Annual Sports Awards and Annual Awards Night. Both of these events provide students with recognition for the commitment and hard work throughout the year. I know that to achieve this they consistently committed themselves and I wish them continued success in their future academic endeavours. Students who received awards across the areas of academic, cultural leadership and sporting achievement should be very proud of their success.

The Students’ Ball had been eagerly anticipated by students and a great deal of effort had been put into the preparation of the venue and personal appearance. It was a great evening for our students and those of the other Burdekin secondary schools. Most impressive was the extent of staff and community support that helped make the evening the success that it was. As I said at Awards Night, what makes Home Hill State High School special, is the ownership the community has in the school. In my opinion Home Hill High is very lucky to be one of those schools where the school/community association is actively present.

As we move into the second half of this term we are not far from saying farewell to our year 12 students. The Awards Night and Students’ Ball really began the countdown towards their graduation. On Monday, 14 November we will be saying farewell to our senior students as a school community at their last whole school assembly. This is followed up with Valedictory on Thursday, 17 November and the last day for year 12s on Friday, 18 November 2016. As this will be the last newsletter our year 12 students receive, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank them for the tremendous effort they have made throughout their time at Home Hill State High School and the affirmative impression they have made on me in my first year at the school. I wish each and every one of them all the very best in their future endeavours whether that be tertiary education, further training or direct entry into the workforce.

At the same time for the other year levels, the emphasis should still be on the completion of the school year and completing 2016 with the best possible results and on ensuring that subject selection preparations and planning for 2017 have been made. These events too will be upon us before we know it.

Next P&C Meeting - AGM

The November meeting of the P&C will be held on

Tuesday, 8 November at 7.45 pm in the Staff

Common Room. All are welcome to attend.

Dates to Remember

Thursday 17 November – Yr 12 Valedictory

Friday 18 November – Last day yr 12s

Friday 25 November – Last day yrs 10 & 11

Our school acknowledges the Juru Community as the first owners of this country. Today, they are still the custodians of the cultural heritage of this land. Further to this, our school acknowledges there are other Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and South Sea Island people have lived, worked and contributed to the cultural heritage of our

community.

CORONA Order forms for the 2016 year book are available from the office.

Cost $20. Orders must be placed by Friday 4 November.

November 2016

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For the 53rd Annual Presentation of Awards ceremony held in the Memorial Hall Home Hill on Tuesday 25 October, a large crowd of almost 450 parents, families, staff, students and invited guests from the Home Hill State High School community proudly celebrated the achievements of the student body. Over 170 awards were presented to acknowledge the numerous and extensive accomplishments of students in academic, vocational, cultural, leadership, community service and sporting fields.

The occasion was dignified with presence of invited guests including Mr Dale Last, State member for Burdekin, Mrs Lyn McLaughlin, Burdekin Shire Mayor, Rotary Club of Home Hill President-Elect, Mr Rod Alford, Mr John Donald, Lions Club of Home Hill representative, Mr Steve Postma from Wilmar Sugar Australia, Miss Vanessa Warrington, representing the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Mrs Christine Grimbaldeston, Home Hill Bendigo Bank Manager, Ms Jan Hollingsworth representing the Zonta Club of Burdekin Inc. and Ms Jomi O’Connor representing TAFE North. Also attending were Mrs Lydia Toohey from Toastmasters, Parents & Citizens Association President, Mr Richard Wall, Mr Craig Whittred, Principal Ayr State High School, Mr Bradley Keioskie and student leaders from Home Hill State School.

Year 8 student Flynn McKaig commenced proceedings, leading the assembled guests in the national anthem. School Captains, Andi Gelling and Sam Marano warmly welcomed the assembly and presented the comprehensive Valedictory on behalf on the 2016 seniors. Presidents of the school Student Council Executive, Dana Falco and Tamokai Kupenga reported on the many and varied activities of this year’s student council. Home Hill High Principal, Mr Frank Kingma, reminded the school community of numerous achievements which have highlighted 2016. P&C President, Mr Richard Wall then addressed the gathering, reporting on the achievements of the P&C and wishing the year 12 group the very best for their futures.

During the evening, talented students Sophie Sibson and Emily Cannavan entertained the audience with polished performances. After the ceremony, Mrs Anne Kerr and her Hospitality students once again delighting everyone with an extensive and tastefully presented selection for supper.

Congratulations to all students who received awards. Your efforts have been appreciated by your teachers. Special thanks to all guests, parents, guardians, family and friends who attended. A thank you is also extended to all the school staff who assisted in any way in the production of the evening. Many hours of work go into the preparation which then ensures the smooth running of the ceremony.

Special Awards & Bursaries

Wilmar Sugar Award (Year 12 Dux): Molly Swindley, Mikaylah Wall Rotary Club Home Hill Inc Shield (Year 9 Dux): Jenna Attard Caltex Best All Rounder: Mikaylah Wall Dale Cooper Memorial Bursary (Year 10 English): Rachel Kiehne Burdekin Art Society Inc Award (Year 10 Art): Sophie Sibson Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy Bursary (Year 11): Nikola Poli Bendigo Bank Accounting Award (Year 12): Andi Gelling Zonta Girl’s Science Encouragement Award (Year 10): Tayla McKaig McDonald’s Award: (Hospitality) Katherine Free (ITS) Christopher Kiehne Dawson Medal: Christopher Kiehne TAFE at Schools Award: Emily Bonanno JCU Encouragement Awards: (Year 10): Noah Jackson Keely Warcon

Wilmar Sugar Award (DUX) winners Molly Swindley & Mikaylah Wall with

Mr Steven Postma

Mayor Lyn McLaughlin with Dawson Medal

recipient Chris Kiehne

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Senior Cultural Award: Tamokai Kupenga Junior Cultural Award: Libby D’Alessandro Lions Youth of the Year: Sam Marano Sportsperson of the Year: Dana Falco Pierre de Coubertin Award: Dana Falco ADF Leadership & Teamwork Awards: (Year 10): Aaliyah Calder (Year 12): Mikaylah Wall Junior Secondary School Captains: Libby D’Alessandro & Joseph Forno Indigenous School Captain: Bryony Williams School Captains Awards: Andi Gelling & Sam Marano Student Council Executive: Dana Falco, Tamokai Kupenga Mikaylah Wall, Georgia Dahlenburg Rotary Club of Home Hill Inc Community Service Award: Georgia Dahlenburg, Dana Falco, Andi Gelling, Sam Marano, Nathan Tsaousis, Mikaylah Wall

Leadership Awards: Elly Caspanello, Georgia Dahlenburg, Dana Falco, Andi Gelling, Sam Marano, Alana Swindley, Mikaylah Wall

Mr Frank Kingma with Caltex All-Rounder Mikaylah Wall

McDonald Awardees with Ms Jan Hollingsworth, Katherine Free

(HOSP), Chris Kiehne (ITS)

Ms Jan Hollingsworth with Zonta winner

Tayla McKaig

P&C president, Mr Richard Wall with school captains Andi Gelling

& Sam Marano

Rotary Bursary winner Jenna Attard with Mr Rod Alford

AUSIMM’s Miss Vanessa Warrington with winner Nikola Poli & Rachel Kiehne, recipient of the Dale Cooper

Memorial Bursary

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Ms Jomi O’Connor with TAFE at Schools winner Emily Bonanno

Sportsperson & Pierre de Coubertin winner Dana Falco

with Ms Tramayne Horan

ADF Leadership winners Mikaylah Wall & Aaliyah Calder with Mr Dale Last

Burdekin Art awardee Sophie Sibson, Mrs Christine Grimbaldeston, Bendigo Bank

Accounting winner Andi Gelling

Junior Cultural – Jenna Attard, Lions’ Mr John Donald, Senior Cultural – Tamokai Kupenga & Lions

Youth of the Year Sam Marano

Junior school captains Libby D’Alessandro & Joseph Forno with Mr Dale Last

Mayor Lyn McLaughlin with JCU Encouragement Awardees Noah Jackson & Keely Warcon

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ACADEMIC AWARDS 2016

YEAR SEVEN YEAR EIGHT

Level One Caden Colls Kaitlin Daley

Lucas Forno Leah Poli

Chantel Ferrando Laura Loizou

Megan Pomeroy

Level Two Dayna Linton Chloe Profke Brhee Christensen Holly Law

Leia Vass

Level Three Mackenzie Linton Nathan Shand

Thomas Shepherd Liam Cannavan Chloe Minuzzo Amy Newton Sara Richardson

Aiyana Robinson Hamish Swindley Nathan Todeschino Kody Wall

YEAR NINE YEAR TEN

Level One Jenna Attard Libby D’Alessandro Kellie Lowis

Mikaela Price-Wilson Danielle Rehbein Selena Thorley

Rachel Kiehne

Tayla McKaig

Level Two Daniel Murrell Joel Minuzzo Sophie Sibson

Keely Warcon

Level Three Joseph Forno Brianne Gibson

Abby Oakes Darcy Walters

Aaliyah Calder Imijen Cazzulino Emily Grabbi

Natasha Langridge Chelsea Wall

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YEAR ELEVEN YEAR TWELVE

Level One Nikola Poli

Elena Postma Christopher Kiehne Molly Swindley

Mikaylah Wall

Level Two Karli Linton Lily Woodlock Andi Gelling

Level Three Stephanie Harris Naomi Loizou

Paul Marano Crystal Baillie Luke Carrett Georgia Dahlenburg Makenzie Fabian

Dana Falco Sam Marano Jarrod Vassalini

Leadership Awards

Leadership Award winners Elly Caspanello, Georgia Dahlenburg, Dana Falco, Mr Dale Last, Andi Gelling, Mikaylah Wall, Alana Swindley, Sam Marano

Rotary Community Service Award recipients Mikaylah Wall, Georgia Dahlenburg, Dana Falco, Mr Rod Alford, Nathan Tsaousis, Andi Gelling, Sam Marano

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TEACHERS’ AWARDS

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Year 7 Naharleya Byron Izac Cazzulino Zana Clifford-Harmsworth Lachlan Dobe

Madison Mainwaring-Samwell Austin Murison Shania Murrell Daniel Schneider

Liam Webb Kheisha Whitley

Year 8 William Jones Sophie Law Tamika Kelly Josephine Murray

Abby Rossato Hannah Rossato Sophie Rossato Cody Scalia

Kirra Simpson Brock Wright

Year 9 Rhegan Falco Clay Ford Myles Gelling

Bonnie Grimbaldeston Zander Musumeci James Shand

Aaron Styles Lucas Sunderland Dean Zamperoni

Year 10 Elisha Ball Louisa Daley Aimee Gibson Noah Jackson

Reece McCubben Hannah Paneccasio Callum Ricca Joe Vass

Eboni Webb Steven Zabala

Year 11 Emily Cannavan Eilish Farris Ashlea Gaia Thomas

Catania Musumeci Mitchell Price-Wilson Jared Thorley

Year 12 Madeline Fabbro Emilee Gibson Tamokai Kupenga

Jared Moss Toni-Lee Sawyer Alana Swindley

Jacklyn Walters Bryony Williams

2016 Student Council executive, Georgia Dahlenburg, Dana Falco, Mr Dale Last, Tamokai Kupenga, Mikaylah Wall

Old School Uniforms If your student no longer requires their school uniform, please drop them up to the school office. Please

ensure that they are in good condition and are laundered.

Thank you

November 2016

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On Tuesday 18 October, approximately 70 Sports Awards were presented to acknowledge and celebrate students at Home Hill State High School for their commitment, participation and success in sport over the past year.

6 students received Coaches Awards for effort and participation.

Calem Saxby, Dale Smith, Chloe Profke, Damien Burkitt, Makenzie Fabian, Sara Richardson.

The ‘Level’ Sports Awards acknowledge increasing levels of success and representation with Level 1 representing the highest level.

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Jamie Betteridge Dana Falco Alana Swindley Keely Warcon

Emily Cannavan Jonathan Caspanello Elly Caspanello Kyla Falco Naomi Loizou Nathan Todeschino Hamish Swindley Jacklyn Walters Deegan Woods

Liam Cannavan Luke Carrett Kaitlin Daley Lachlan Dobe Lucas Forno Jakson Garner Erin Grimbaldeston Rory Heatley Dayna Linton Laura Loizou Reece McCubben Joel Pegoraro Sophie Sibson Jared Thorley Darcy Walters

Lakisha Barba Graham Brierley Savannah Cannavan Libby D’Alessandro Karl Flores Joseph Forno Andi Gelling Bonnie Grimbaldeston Keelan Mann Madison Mainwaring-Samwell Tayla McKaig

Sam Marano Stephanie Milne Abby Oakes Megan Pomeroy Danielle Rehbein Callum Ricca Thomas Shepherd Nathan Tsaousis Serena Thorley Leia Vass Mikaylah Wall Steven Zabala

House and Vice-House and Junior House Captains were also presented with certificates and thanked for their commitment to the roles. It is understood by taking up these roles as house captains and vice captains that they organise and encourage younger peers to participate in all areas of sporting life. They are to also co-ordinate and assist PE Staff with the running of carnivals.

We were extremely fortunate to have former gymnast Neva Neal as our Guest Speaker this year. Neva has previously competed at various elite levels of competition as a gymnast. She has also coached and taught around the world as Physical Education teacher. We appreciate that Neva took the time to attend our awards ceremony.

A big thanks as always to the various people who helped on the night and in its preparation, especially the year 12 Physical Recreation and year 12 PED class who did a fantastic job with speeches and trophy organisation. Well done to all students who received awards on the night and thank you for your efforts in sport this year.

The major awards for the evening were as follows.

Lloyd Mann Memorial Athletes of the Year: Elly Caspanello & Rory Heatley

Carol Coutts Memorial House Spirit Trophy: Upstart

Pierre De Coubertin Award: Dana Falco

Vince Toohey Memorial Junior Sportsperson of the Year: Keely Warcon

John Cook Memorial Senior Sportsperson of the Year: Dana Falco

Don McDowall Memorial Sportsperson of the Year: Dana Falco

Thanks to all the staff and parents who have supported the students in one way or another with their participation in sport in 2016!

Sports Awards

Mrs Brenda McDowall with Sportsperson of the year Dana Falco

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Mrs Lydia Toohey with the Junior Sportsperson of the year Keely Warcon

Mr Frank Kingma & Senior Sportsperson of the year Dana Falco

Ms Tramayne Horan & Pierre de Coubertin winner Dana Falco

Level 1 winners Keely Warcon, Alana Swindley, Dana Falco & Jamie Betteridge

Lloyd Mann Athletes of the Year Elly Caspanello & Rory Heatley with Mrs Glennys Brotto

Coach’s awardees Sara, Chloe, Calem & Damien Mrs Anne Kerr with Upstart

House Captain Luke Carrett accepting the Carol Coutts

Memorial House Spirit Trophy

Guest speaker Mrs Neva Neal

November 2016

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November 2016

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We had a few activities lined up for the week. There was a display in the library with resources for the students to access.

Tuesday we started the morning off with a sausage sizzle. Two of the ladies from the CYMHS team joined us for the BBQ as well. We had Art therapy sessions in the breaks with pancakes and fruit during the breaks.

Wednesday was a day for staff wellbeing with morning tea and mini Bowen Therapy sessions. This was provided free to staff by Jane Farmer. For the students we had beading sessions.

Thursday Amanda provided a sports activity. The year 12 students had a presentation from the Mental Illness Fellowship from Townsville.

Friday Chappy did a music and dance session.

Leah George – School based Youth Nurse

On Friday at 11 am on the 11th day of the 11th month, all classes will pause in silence for one minute to in memory of those who died or suffered in all wars and armed conflicts. Classes not participating in assessment will then read an ode and work through Remembrance Day activities for the remainder of the lesson. Students may wish to work on an entry for the Remembrance Day competition.

RSL Poppies are for sale in the Library for $1 to help recognise Remembrance Day.

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I’m sure everyone has been proposed the question ‘what do you want to do when you leave school’? However, after attending the Vice Chancellor’s STEM

Camp of 2016, Elena Postma and I realised we should be thinking of ‘the world problems we want to solve’. After traveling to Brisbane and living at the prestigious boarding school, Somerville House, for 5 nights, and attending QUT daily, we were both able to confidently answer this question. Along with 158 other students from right across Queensland, the week enabled us to take part in many activities such as taking part in the STEM’s Got Talent, talent show, listening to various professors speak about their role in the STEM field and attending a mini Career’s Day. However, the main objective of the camp was to get us all involved in projects that had real-

world applications. Elena was involved in the Organic Electronic program which is an exciting field that uses organic materials for electrical applications. Students explored two main fields of organic electronics which are organic solar cells and organic light emitting diodes (oLEDs). While solar cells take in light and produce electrical energy, OLEDs work in reverse by emitting light when an electrical current is passed through it. After first making their own dye sensitized solar cell from fresh berries, students forged ahead to make their own OLEDs, exploring the process of fabricating flexible electronic devices. I was involved in the Mathematics for Imaging and Virtual Reality project. In our group of 16, we were introduced to the mathematical techniques of image processing and were taught how to use MATLAB and the simple manipulation and analysis of scientific images. We were then tasked with capturing real-world 360-degree images to create a Virtual Reality application in Unity3D. Along with this, the mathematics required to manipulate virtual objects in three-dimensional space was applied in our Virtual Reality application.

Nikola Poli

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How being bilingual rewires your brain It’s well known that being bilingual has cognitive benefits: switching between two languages has been compared to mental gymnastics. But now, research suggests that mastering two languages can fundamentally alter the structure of your brain, rewiring it to work differently than the brains of those who only speak one language.

“Bilinguals are a really a model of cognitive control,” Pennsylvania State University cognitive scientist Judith F. Kroll told Quartz, citing bilinguals’ ability to both hold two languages in their head and expertly switch between them at the right times. Kroll presented her work at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting held in Washington, DC last weekend (Feb. 13). If you speak two languages and have ever found this task to be difficult—choosing the “right” tongue based on the context you’re in—it’s because both languages are always “on” in the brains of bilinguals, as Kroll and other cognitive scientists have seen. In other words, the brain is continually processing information in both languages.

The mental struggle of selecting and switching between two languages actually helps reshape the brain’s networks, according to Kroll. One study looked at four-month old, eight-month old, and one-year old infants—60 of whom were bilingual and 60 monolingual—and found that, as they grew older, infants who were exposed to both Spanish and Catalan started looking at speakers’ mouths instead of their eyes when listening to someone talk. The monolingual infants, however, only looked at mouths more than eyes when they were listening to someone speak their native tongue.

Kroll told Quartz this study is a great example of how being bilingual can improve speakers’ cognitive abilities. “Babies who are listening to two languages [growing up] become attuned to those two languages right away,” said Kroll. “It’s not confusing them or messing them up developmentally—the opposite is true.”

This rewiring doesn’t happen the same way in every bilingual brain—it’s different for each person, just as each person has their own language experience. But Kroll’s research demonstrates that no matter how effortlessly other bilinguals may seem to switch between their two tongues, there’s a lot going on under the hood. That should come as a small relief for anyone attempting to pick up a new language.

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https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/02/how-being-bilingual-rewires-your-brain/?utm_content=bufferf1bc7&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

https://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/2015/10/22/head-toe-speaking-another-language-good/

On Saturday 8 October, the Burdekin held their annual Relay for Life event for 2016. This year a group of enthusiastic year 11 students from Home Hill High participated in the event. 164 participants around the Burdekin came together to recognise and celebrate those who have overcome cancer, those who are currently undergoing treatment, the people who care for them and to celebrate the memory of loved ones lost to cancer. The students that participated have currently raised $813.85 with the overall Burdekin event having raised $20,152.83 towards Cancer Council’s Research, prevention and support services.

The team, named All Night for the Fight, was made up of Catania Musumeci, Emily Cannavan, Naomi Loizou, Elena Postma, Lily Woodlock, Sam Gibson, Mitchell Price-Wilson, Zane Poli, Jared Thorley, Paul Marano and Nikola Poli. Thanks goes to parent supervisors Catherine Postma and Delia Loizou for their support as well.

We would just like to say a big thank you to everyone involved and to Elena Postma for organising the team. We hope to see this event have another huge success in the coming year.

Naomi Loizou

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Home Hill High was the place to be on Sunday 16 October as we hosted the fourth annual Harvest Festival Town of Origin netball and rugby league matches.

Over 1500 people attended the three games that reignited that age-old Home Hill – Ayr rivalry. Home Hill’s dominance on the netball court again shone through winning 38-24, with Home Hill High staff member Sonya Payard being named player of the match. The Under 17s played valiantly in the rugby league match, however Ayr proved too strong defeating Home Hill with a conclusive 30-12 score line. Continuing the inter-town sporting rivalry, a 20-20 cricket match was held at the cricket fields and was won this year by Home Hill. Callan Sunderland was named best player scoring 44 runs and taking several wickets.

The final rugby league match of the day was a real nail-biter with the score line locked up at 16-all until the final minutes. Ayr finished over the top winning 28-16.

Thanks to the P&C and HHSHS staff for preparing the grounds, manning the bar and helping with the clean-up. This is a major fundraiser for the P&C and the fantastic number of volunteers certainly made the job easier. Congratulations must also go to the Harvest Festival committee and their team of volunteers for organising this fantastic event.

All invited to join the Harvest Festival parade… This Saturday 5 November, Home Hill High will march with pride in the Harvest Festival parade. Students are asked to write their name down at the office so there is enough lollies provided for them to hand out/eat during the parade. All those present to support the school will also get their name in the iPad mini raffle. Students are to meet in School Uniform or Formal uniform at 4.45pm at Ashworth’s Rockshop, along with any adults who also wish to show their support and pride in our school.

HHSHS

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The 2016/2017 Interact Committee of Home Hill State High School was elected on 11 October 2016 by the outgoing committee. They were then sworn in to their new positions at the Interact Changeover Ceremony on Thursday 13 October, with special guests Mr Rod Alford (President Elect of Home Hill Rotary) and Mr Richard Creek Assistant Community Service Director to welcome the incoming committee and congratulate the outgoing one. The changing over of positions this year was a great success with a very large group of enthusiastic and ambitious year 11 students ready to take on the challenge. Interact gives young people an opportunity to participate in fun, meaningful service projects and to make a difference. It encourages students to become more involved with the wider community and develop their leadership and teamwork skills along the way.

Congratulations to the following students who have been elected to be a part of the Interact committee for 2016/2017: President - Elena Postma, Vice President - Paul Marano, Secretary - Naomi Loizou, Treasurer - Lily Woodlock, Community Service Officers - Emily Cannavan and Mitchell Price-Wilson, International Service Officer - Stephanie Harris, Club Service Officer - Jared Thorley, Publicity Officer - Karli Linton, Attendance Officer - Nikola Poli, Sargent in Arms - Catania Musumeci and members Sam Gibson, Zoe Oakes, Brena Galvin, Nicole Casalegno .

The outgoing committee have worked extremely hard on various fundraising projects. These included Shave for a Cure, where they raised a significant amount of money for those living with, or affected by cancer, and their sausage sizzle at the Town of Origin and many carwashes to raise money for children’s books for kids in East Timor. The 2016/2017 committee thank the outgoing one for their tireless work this previous year and hope to be just as successful in their fundraising efforts as the previous team. We look forward to working with Ms Horan to act for the greater good by helping organisations on a local, state, national and international level.

By Naomi Loizou Interact Secretary 2016/17

Interact Committee 2016/2017

Interact Executive Committee 2016/2017

Naomi Loizou, Mr Richard Creek , Paul Marano, Elena Postma, Mr

Rod Alford, Lily Woodlock

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National Australian Chemistry Quiz

Every year, students from years 9-12 participate in the Royal Australian Chemical Institute’s National Chemistry Quiz, competing against students from Australia and overseas. This year, along with a number of participation certificates, students from HHSHS also achieved at the level of Distinction - Emily Cannavan (11) and Jenna Attard, Dan Murrell and Dean Zamperoni (9) and Credit grades - Natasha Langridge and Tayla McKaig (10).

Five lucky students from Home Hill State High School finished off their Cert ll in Tourism by attending a 3 day camp at Coachable Creek, Tully Gorge National Park, hosted by Ingan Tours. This proved to be a success with so many activities enjoyed by all. The main highlights of the camp were catching the train from Home Hill to Tully and returning by rail, rain forest walk, 8km kayak tour and many hands-on activities to name a few. A great time was had by all and the students will receive a Certificate ll in Tourism.

I look forward to making sure opportunities come together successfully for students to benefit in any way possible.

Amanda Coldstream Youth Support Coordinator

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Tickets are available for only $1 each from the school Tuckshop, Office and Library for the fabulous prize of an iPad Mini, donated by Dale Last, Burdekin MP. The raffle will be drawn on Tuesday 6 December during the last P&C meeting for the year. Please support this fundraising endeavour for our school undercover shelter. #helphomehillhighbuildahall

HELPERS WANTED…Harvest Festival Bar and Cowboys Jersey Raffle Home Hill SHS P&C has been fortunate enough to be invited to run the bar for the Home Hill Festival Mardi Gras. This will be another brilliant fundraising event to build our undercover shelter. If any parents, guardians or friends of Home Hill High are available to help work the bar and/or sell raffle tickets for a Signed Cowboys Training Jersey, with all funds raised on the night from the bar and the raffle going to Home Hill High please contact Richard Wall on 0407663881 or Lisa Todeschino.

Thanks again to the Home Hill Harvest Festival Committee for this opportunity and to those parents and staff who have already offered their assistance.

Ned Kelly Competition Fifty-two students in the school entered the Ned Kelly Competition to identify and correctly label pictures and items in the Library’s Ned Kelly display. Eighteen entries were correct with the top 5 answers to the Bonus question receiving a free slushy from the Tuckshop and their choice from the Library Prize cupboard.

The top 5 entry winners were: Megan Pomeroy 8B, Laura Loizou 8A, Sarah Mann 8B, Nathan Shand 7B and Chloe Profke 7B.

Thanks to all those students who entered. The Ned Kelly display was in conjunction with the Year 7 English unit based on the novel Black Snake: the daring of Ned Kelly. Many books, artefacts and artworks related to the legendary Australian Bushranger and his gang were included in the display which also featured a life-size Ned Kelly complete with replica armour

and a green sash with gold fringing. This sash was awarded to Ned when he was 11 years of age by the parents of a young boy who Ned saved from drowning.

Year 7 students for the last two years have considered whether Ned Kelly was a victim, hero or villain. What would be your choice?

Boyz Zone Books for boys about rugby league, soccer, rugby union, fishing, tennis, cricket, fish guts, wars, pirates, boxing, minecraft, weirdos, stuff that stinks and other topics to interest and engage boys have been on display in a specially appointed Boyz Zone in the Library to help improve Reading and Literacy levels for boys.

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For the third year running Home Hill High Schools year 11, Biology Class travelled to Cape Upstart for their Annual Biology Camp; where we commenced two days of exploring the many ecosystems which call Cape Upstart home.

To get to Cape Upstart we had to travel by boat and the Crew from the Burdekin Volunteer Marine Rescue (VMR) volunteered to take us. This was going to be fun, we arrived ready to go to the Cape when we were advised that the water was rough and being on the deck of the VMR Vessel was deemed unsafe. As we could not be on deck, VMR had to make two trips to get us to the Cape. At this point, I would like to extend a HUGE thank you to the Crew from VMR for keeping us safe and ferrying us to Cape Upstart. You guys do a tremendous job – without your generosity we would not be able have this camp.

Upon arrival at Cape Upstart, we had to complete risk assessments; these are to ensure the health and safety of students and teachers, identifying risks that could harm us. Once this was completed we took the time to prepare lunch. Working in teams of 2 and 3 we all set about preparing our group meal of fantastic wraps.

After relaxing for a bit, and discussing our fields of study, we headed off on our first expedition of the camp; the Mangroves. Mangroves support lots of unusual plant species and animals, they also house important fish nurseries and provide feeding grounds for birds. They also help to stabilise sediment run off. Upon arriving at the Mangroves, Mrs Thomas explained the significance of the flora species - it's amazing how she

remembers the botanical names of plants. Upon collecting samples of sand and water (to be tested back at school), we set off back to the hut for some rest and relaxation, out of the heat. Some of us slept, and some of us just rested, before we headed to our next destination; the Rocky Shore.

At the Rocky Shore we took more samples to be tested in class, and completed quadrats and transects, which was difficult due the wet slippery rocks. After our first day with several samples from the two different ecosystems, we headed back to the Hut for some dinner and relaxation; so far it had been a learning adventure. On arriving back at camp, Mr Bojack, and the boys; Jackson Love, Rory Heatley and Jarred Thorley built a fire pit that it was so inviting and comfortable. They also seemed to enjoy burying themselves in the sand.

Day two of our Biology Adventure started with BBQ cooked pancakes. With a 6am start there was no time to sleep in. After

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breakfast, it was time to climb, we headed up to the gorge for some more samples. There is a pathway to the top but was still an arduous trek in the heat. The gorge had water but unfortunately it was black and stagnant. We took samples of the water, and sat and rested a while discussing with Mrs Thomas some of the names of the local flora, we could not sit for long on the ground, however, as green ants were everywhere; in the trees, on our legs and in our pants. The trek back down was another daunting feat, with a few casualties tripping over rocks and slipping in the mud.

After returning to the hut, we had a swim in the clear blue water. Once the heat of the day had passed we walked the length of Starlight bay and then headed to the sand dunes to complete our last field study. Upon returning to the hut Rory, Zoe and Mrs Thomas participated in the ‘Moonlight Bay Fun Run’; no records were broken, but they did an excellent job.

All in all we had heaps of fun rock climbing, undertaking field studies, swimming, shooting hoops, and playing in the sand. A huge enormous thank you to Mr Bojack and Mrs Thomas. Thank you Mr Bojack for the use of your hut, as well as sharing your incredible knowledge of the history of Cape Upstart and Molongle Creek. Thank you to Mrs Thomas for the learning experience and thank you so much to all who helped with getting us to Biology Camp 2016.

-Stephanie Harris

This term students have been very busy in Industrial Technology and Design. We have seen our year 9 ITD class make their own personalised cutting board while the year 9 and 10 Graphic classes have been building planes as part of a Graphic design unit to explore marketing and

graphical representation. Some of our year 8 students have also been showing of some of their construction and artistic skills with the construction of trinket boxes. We have also seen the introduction of robotics into the year 8 course this year which our students have really enjoyed.

ITD

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November 2016

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Almost 420 glamorous students from the three local high schools walked the red carpet as they entered the Memorial Hall last Friday evening for the annual Home Hill Harvest Festival Student Ball. There were many proud parents and family members who filled the bleachers and lined the walkway to get a glimpse of the fantastic display of vehicles, formal gowns and stunning attire worn by our very handsome and elegant young adults. Mrs Katherine Falco and Mrs Warcon snapped dozens of photos which were uploaded and watched on a continuous slide presentation inside the hall. “Bush to Beach” was the theme this year which was epitomized by a spectacular display fairy lights and glitter. The hall and lights were truly a spectacular sight. Students entered the Memorial Hall through a beautifully lit doorway created by students from our Student Ball Committee with assistance from P&C members. Once inside students danced the night away to the beats from local DJ Brendan Ford.

Deputy Principal, Stephen Buttsworth kindly guided the night’s proceedings. The 2016 judges: Mrs Amanda Green, Mrs Deborah Prescott, Ms Sarah Cornford and Mr Connor Sanders had the most difficult task of picking the Belle, Beau and Special Mentions as well as the SASS and SWAGGER awardees for the night from a short listed group of six boys and six girls. As well as the above awards, a category titled “Miss Elegance” was again sponsored this year by Spearitts Jewellers. The following students received this year’s awards:

Belle: Katurah Saunders Ayr SHS Beau: Lachlan Corino Ayr SHS Miss Elegance: Bianca Falco BCH Runner up Belle & Beau: Lyndsay Miller & Jarrod Dal Santo BCH Sass: Dana Falco HHSHS Swagger: Ty Everett BCH Best Dressed Theme: Brady Haller Ayr SHS Couple: Sarah Kos BCH & Tyler Northwood Ayr SHS

Special mentions Girls Jamie Betteridge HHSHS Paige Roncato BCH Gabi Boccalatte BCH Amaya Castrejana BCH Louisa Daley HHSHS

Boys Jarrod Vassalini HHSHS Chantze Warcon BCH Kai Northwood Ayr SHS Sam Green Ayr SHS Luke Carrett HHSHS

A big thank you goes to all our wonderful and very generous sponsors. Another thank you goes to the ladies from Empower Photography for taking some wonderful photos. We would also like to extend our thank you to the hard work and dedication of many parents, especially Sheree McKaig, Annmaree D’Alessandro, Fiona Cannavan, Delia Loizou, Lee-Anne Gelling, Robyn Dwyer and Allyson Falco and to all the others who contributed money and/or supplied and served the lovely food. A big thank you to all the fathers too who were able to help with the decorations, supervision and clean up. Many other parents and teachers gave up their time to supervise the students and for this the P&C is very grateful.

2016 Student Ball Committee

Tully Anderson Emily Cannavan Nicole Casalegno Rebecca Cerqui Kyla Falco Brena Galvin Samuel Gibson Erin Grimbaldeston Stephanie Harris Naomi Loizou Paul Marano Catania Musumeci Zoe Oakes Nikola Poli Zane Poli Elena Postma Mitchell Price-Wilson Jared Thorley Lily Woodlock Tahlia Bosch

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Ashworth’s Home Hill Discount

Drug Store

Nikkiz Hair Design

Burdekin Yamaha Home Hill

Engineering

NRGIZE

Butterfly Blue IGA Home Hill PCYC Ayr

Cafelicious Ispyit Penny Lane Homewares

Campbells Jewellery Ivy Accessories Queensland Country

Credit Union

Chill Parlour Jade Body Fashions Repco

Coffee Club JR’s Hair Salon Rodeda’s

Country Timbers &

Kitchens

Katie’s Beauty Sibby Saitta’s

Delta Cinemas Leading Edge

Appliances

Sibson Accounting

Dominique’ s Flowers

and Funk

Lilly May’s Flowers Spearritts Jewellers

Empower Studios L‘Shu Sportfirst

Falco Millinery Michael’s Menswear Sportspower

Friendly Grocer Michelle Musumeci Super Cheap Auto

George Fotinos

Pharmacy

Evan Parker Sushi Yum Yum

Glen Dell ML Partners Swerve Surf & Ski

Guardian Pharmacy Moda Interiors Tasha’s Top Shop

Home Hill Bakery

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