Newsletter volume 4 issue 08

Volume 4 Issue 8 | Week 6 Term 3, 2014

NEWSLETTER

2Suzanne Cory High School Newsletter Volume 4 Issue 8 | Week 6 Term 3, 2014

R e s p e ct A s p i r at io n C o nt r i b ut io n

From the Principal

It was a great pleasure to recognise and acknowledge students for their academic performance through Principal’s letters sent to students this term. These letters are in recognition of outstanding academic performance for Semester 1 based on teacher nominations

across all year levels. We believe that it is important to acknowledge student achievement throughout the year and reward students for their aspiration at Suzanne Cory High School. Congratulations to all recipients for 2014.

Professor Cory attends Science WeekLast week was National Science Week. Professor

Cory visited the school to take part in Science week activities and meet with students and staff. Professor Cory visited several classes and joined staff for a Science themed morning tea. Professor Cory will be attending the 2014 Valedictory dinner in October and Awards night to be held in December.

House Choral CompetitionStudents and House Leaders have been preparing for the House Chorals competition this term. This has been a wonderful opportunity for our student House Leaders to build house spirit and

lead their peers to prepare performances that will be showcased on September 4th. The Chorals competition has been developing every year and this year with a full student cohort we are hoping for outstanding performances and high levels of energy and enthusiasm from our students.

Pathways Programs for 2015The subject expo and VTAC information evening held this term were very well attended by parents. Thank you for your interest in the programs offered to support students in their decision making regarding pathways and tertiary courses. We were able to attract representatives from a range of Universities to the expo which indicates strong interest in our school from the tertiary education sector. Thanks also to our teaching staff and Careers Advisor, Chloe Baker who have supported students through the tutorial program, course counseling and subject expo with the provision of high quality advice and pathways information.

Parent Teacher InterviewsParents of students in Years 9 and 10 have the opportunity to meet with teachers on Wednesday 17th September. Sessions will run from 1.00 – 4.30pm and 5.15 – 8.00pm. Bookings will close for appointments on Monday 15th September. All parents can access the booking system, PTO through the school website where you will be provided with your Login and PIN via email. Please contact the school if you require assistance with making bookings. Interpreters can also be booked via the school website for parent-teacher interviews.

PFAI would like to extend my sincere thanks to Martin Oakes the outgoing President of the PFA for his commitment to the school. Martin has made a very valuable contribution to the school community through his leadership of the Parents and Friends Association. Martin will continue his involvement as a parent at Suzanne Cory High School as a member of School Council and the Finance Committee.The new President of the PFA is Sudhir Juneja. Congratulations Sudhir. The PFA welcomes

3Suzanne Cory High School NewsletterVolume 4 Issue 8 | Week 6 Term 3, 2014


parents to attend the next meeting to be held on Wednesday 27th August at 7.00pm at the school.

Our Student LeadersOn August 5th I attended a presentation evening for the Wyndham Leaders of the Future - 2014 Kokoda program at the Wyndham City Council Chambers. Luke Mannix and Caroline Alchin of Year 11 were members of the program along with students from other local secondary schools. The presentations from students were very moving and it was evident that the Kokoda experience was life changing for the young people that took part in the program. The program will be offered in 2015 to interested students by Victoria Police, Wyndham.

Visitors to our schoolSuzanne Cory High School was selected as the host school for a visit from a delegation of Principals from Jiangsu Province in China, as part of a tour to Melbourne to seek a greater understanding of the Victorian School system. We also hosted the Leadership team from Shenton College in Perth, the top public school in Western Australia who requested a visit this term. Student ambassadors from Year 10 acted as guides for both groups and gave an insightful account of their experiences at a select entry school. They were exemplary ambassadors for the school and impressive in their knowledge of school programs and facilities.Discussions were held regarding curriculum, co-curricular programs and school management with a focus on programs to enrich learning for highly

able students.

Shenton College have now invited us to join in a national strategic partnership of innovative schools with a focus on student engagement in rich learning tasks, student leadership and teacher development.

Kay PeddleActing Principal

Year 10 student ambassadors accepting a gift from Shenton College.

Luke Mannix and Caroline Alchin being presented with their certificate by Mr John Briscoe, a war veteran from the 39th Battalion.

The Principals delegation from Jiangsu Province



Assistant PrincipalAlumni, Donations & Pre-owned laptops for saleEstablishing the Suzanne Cory High School AlumniThis year our foundation Year 12 students will graduate and become our foundation Alumni—the first graduates of Suzanne Cory High School. Over the coming weeks students will be invited to be involved in the development of a formalised Alumni group with a name and a badge that will symbolise the Alumni now and into the future.

We anticipate that students will carry our school values—Respect, Aspiration, Contribution—into their lives beyond school and we will invite our graduates to continue to contribute to the life of Suzanne Cory High School. It is clear that our students hold high aspirations for themselves and it is certain that many of our students will go on to become leaders in their fields over the years so there will be much that they could continue to contribute to the school— for instance, by providing mentoring and support in areas such as course counselling, careers advice, work experience, insights into university life, and the like.

We will be seeking to establish an Alumni association that is vibrant and active in terms of enabling graduates from Suzanne Cory High School to maintain a strong connection to their fellow students and to the school through social events and outings, formal reunions, university-based events, involvement in teams and clubs associated with the school, invitations to school performances and celebrations, and through the Alumni newsletter.

We look forward to the ideas of students about their Alumni and to launching the Alumni association in term 4.

Donating to Suzanne Cory High SchoolAs a new school we are fortunate to have new facilities in a state-of-the-art school with our five-star green rating, iconic agora, 420 seat auditorium, iCentre and PD centre, specialist teaching wings and young adult learning environment and the unique use of form, materials and colour to represent the geological environment of the west of Melbourne. And the school oval is due to be completed by this coming February

2015. There are many ways in which our school can develop and continue to be enhanced and the financial donations of families can make a substantial difference to the learning experience of students.

From time to time we receive queries from parents about how they may be able to make a financial donation to the school. We can certainly accept donations from parents and members of the community and this support is incredibly valuable in terms of helping the school to achieve our vision of becoming a nationally and internationally recognised school for gifted and highly able students. Donations to the school will ensure that our facilities and equipment and resources best support the ongoing development of a learning environment that meets the needs and talents of our students—including enhancements to the school internal and external environment, equipment for the auditorium, instruments for the music department, items for the emerging performing arts department, and additional resources for our sports fields, iCentre, laboratories and other specialist spaces. If you wish to support our school with a donation, please contact Jessie Burney (Finance Officer) on 8734 2800 and let us know how much you would like to donate. From Term 4, all donations to the school will be tax deductible. Thank you for considering a gift to Suzanne Cory High School.

Pre-owned laptops for saleWe have recently decommissioned some of the last set of school-purchased laptops. These are Lenovo x201i laptops purchased in 2011 and they come with Windows 7. They are over three years old now and no longer have any warranty on them but they are still functional and have been able to operate on our school enterprise network. These laptops are now for sale at just $50 each. These have been offered to any Year 10 students who do not yet have a laptop and they are now offered to any students, parents, staff and others across the school community who wish to purchase one of these second-hand devices. To purchase one or more of the devices, please contact the general office and our administration team will take your details. The laptops will be available for purchase until sold out.

This issue’s cover art was created by Sanduni Jayasinghe 12A in Miss Nugara’s Unit 3/4

Food Tech class.



Orchestra Victoria WorkshopOrchestra Victoria’s On the mOVe education program en-ables secondary students to participate in master classes, and teachers to gain profes-sional development.In 2014 participants from

across Victoria complete an intensive two-day music education workshop with Orchestra Victo-ria’s musicians. Participants then join Orchestra Victoria players to perform a concert for their local communities, gaining invaluable orchestral play-ing experience.

Students from SCHS have participated in the mOVe workshops for the last four years now and continue to find it an inspiring experience.

Ms Pam Scott & Mr Jason Portelli

Loddon Prison ExcursionOn the 12th of August Legal Studies students visited Loddon Prison in Castlemaine. It was a very insightful excursion and we were able to hear from and ask questions of the prison guards as well as four inmates who were all in jail for four very dif-ferent charges. While many of us were half asleep when we arrived at school at 7 o’clock that morn-ing we were glad we went. The inmates each talked to us as a group before we split off into smaller groups to have more personal talks with them. The inmates, who volunteered their time, were more than happy to talk with us about their background and their offence as well as life inside jail and how this has affected their whole life as well as what they can do while in jail. I know in my group at least we were eager to learn how much prison was like as opposed to how what it was portrayed as on television and in movies. One prisoner had been in prison for a long time so it was also interesting to ask him about how the prison system has changed over time and the dif-ferences between maximum security and medium security prisons (Loddon is a medium security prison). It was a great experience as we were able

to see that even though from the outside prison can sometimes seem like a nice place where you get education and meals for free that is not what it was actually like. A big theme of all the inmates’ experiences was that they did not have freedom and one inmate actually said that he was looking forward to this freedom the most when he was released. Another inmate said he was looking for-ward to just being able to go out his front door and go for a walk whenever he wanted. Visiting Loddon was an invaluable learning expe-rience that allowed us to learn about the prison system first-hand instead of just from a textbook. It taught us a valuable lesson about the importance of following legal rules and the consequences of poor decision making and its impact on not only the community but their family and friends. I would like to thank Mrs de Garis for organising it and Ms Byrne for coming along to help supervise and help us through the awkward silences when we ran out of questions.Luke Mannix



WHAT A BIG WEEK IT’S BEEN IN SCIENCE!

National Science Week enables those with a gen-eral interest in science and teachers, organisations and students, to both host and attend a range of entertaining events and activities about science, technology and engineering.

National Science Week is an annual celebration of science in Australia, an opportunity to join togeth-er to enjoy and explore the wonders and benefits of science.

Suzanne Cory High School joined in the fun of National Science Week. Events happened all over school. Brains were boggled at the daily trivia com-petition, rocket balloons were launched high inside the Agora, fire literally was held in hands and egg landers were designed to cushion raw eggs from a two story drop. The school’s giant telescope was wheeled out on Thursday evening as the clouds gave way to a perfectly clear evening for a magnifi-cent viewing of Saturn and Mars.

Professor Suzanne Cory joined in the celebrations as she visited as many of our science classes as she could fit in. Our students were literally stunned when she unexpectedly entered their classes and engaged them in discussions about their favourite science topics.

Our science staff provided a morning tea with a science theme twist for Professor Cory and all the staff. Year 11 students Aleia Jarillas and Vevaan Nguyen delighted staff with some demonstrations. Staff created brain, Andromeda Spiral Galaxy, isotope, and atomic element symbol cakes and pastries. There were explosions, smoking drinks, biscuits in the shapes of scientific glassware, a line of cheeses demonstrating pathogens and vectors, a skeleton constructed of vegetables and many other magnificent culinary creations of sufficient quality to make it on to a Heston Blumenthal menu. Photos of the event went viral on the inter-net with 20,000 hits after 2 hours!Mr John Trajanovski

Science Week



Intermediate Girls Soccer

Food Drive

Congratulations to the intermedi-ate girls soccer team who made it to the Western Region finals. They had a great day which included a mag-nificent victory against Geelong High School. Showing great sports-manship and comradery, this photo was taken with the team from Willi High. Well done girls!Ms Alex Carroll

With the assistance of the staff and families of students, the SRC is hoping to collect boxes of non-perishable food items to be distributed to the local community, to those who are having difficulties making ends met. Werribee Support and Housing would appreciate your contribution. If you are able to, during your next shopping trip just put an extra item into your trolley while strolling down the aisles at Coles, Aldi or Woolworths. Help fill a stomach, to make a difference to another.

Good items to donate include: canned foods (including canned tuna), noodles, rice, pasta, jars of pasta sauce, long-life milk.

Liang Xue 9H, on behalf of SCHS SRC

On the 28th May all students in Year 10 took part in the Australian Schools History Competition. This year the competition had over 20,000 participants. This year we had three students who received a High Distinction and 22 students who received Distinctions. Congratulations to the following students who received a High Distinction:• Jennifer Lyons 10D• Abhi Manandhar 10H• Devika Nair 10E-Miss Jasmine Byrne

Australian Schools History Competition



School Wide Positive Behaviours UpdateWhere has the term gone! In tutorial program this term, the Year 9 students are learning about Cyber Safety and Cyberbullying. We believe the internet is a great resource for students, but also want stu-dents to understand the risks and how to protect themselves on the internet. Year 10 students are working beginning a unit titled ‘The Best Of Cop-ing”. As we head into our second lot of exams and busy period of assessment, we want our students to have all the tools they need to successfully navi-gate their way through high stress situations. They will look at coping strategies and techniques, as well as learn how to support each other in this.

Within the Year 11 and 12 program this term we trialed something new asking students to sign up for a one off session of their choice, run by one of our talented teaching staff. Students were able to select from a range of different options includ-ing Yoga, Origami, Lacrosse, Song Writing, Chess, Self Defense and Spanish Lessons to name a few. During these sessions, students really enjoyed the freedom of choice as well as working with students

they may not necessarily share normal classes with and for a lot of them, trying something new. They finish the term with an exam focused, motivational unit, revisiting how to effectively use their holiday time, study skills and organisation.

This term the SWPB team, mainly Wellbeing Lead-ers are working with students to ensure they are punctual with attendance and managing their workloads effectively. We will be focusing on at-tendance data and contacting parents if necessary in relation to attendance in Homegroup and class-es. We are looking forward to supporting students through the next important phase in the school year. If you have any concerns feel free to contact your child’s Homegroup Teacher or the year level Wellbeing Leader to discuss them so together we support and encourage him/her to achieve the best results possible.

Laura RuddickSWPB Leading Teacher



Two weeks ago, on Friday August 1st, a group of six SRC members from years 11 and 12 attended the Melbourne High Student Wellbeing Forum. Run by a group of MHS students known as SWAG (Student Wellbeing Access Group), our group along with around 40 students from other schools spent the day learning about student wellbeing. We heard a number of great speeches, including from moun-taineer Nick Farr, who has climbed Mt Everest, and Batyr, an organisation dedicated to teaching people about managing anxiety and other mental disorders. We came out of the day with a much higher respect for mountaineers like Mr Farr and the mental challenges and tough decisions people

like him have to make, and with a much greater knowledge of mental disorders in young peopleAlso, the SRC has been getting involved with the process of formulating feedback policies to go into the school’s curriculum and assessment guidelines. To do this, we had a meeting with the heads of the English/Humanities department and the Maths/Science department. We gave them plenty of stu-dent feedback about what we’d like to see in the feedback teachers give us after our assessments, and hope to see some developments soon!Kristian Lang, Co-Chair, SCHS SRC

SRC Report

Aerobic Gymnastics involves performing agile move-ment patterns to heart pounding music and is the perfect sport for active people with energy to burn. Aerobic Gymnastics: Develops agility, co-ordination and self-confidence. It builds strength and flexibility, preparing the body for life's challenges.On Thursday 14th August, 11 girls from years 9 and 11 took part in the Victorian State AEROSkools Championships at the State Netball and Hockey Centre.Both teams had only been together for just over 8 weeks and dedicated themselves to training at least 3 times per week.As a new sport to Suzanne Cory HS, most of the students were unsure what to expect having never seen an aerobics competition before let alone

competed in one.Both teams put on an amazing performance, the senior team achieving 5th position qualifying for Nationals in Brisbane this September school holidays!!A big thank you to all the girls who helped out with the fundraising to pay for our uniforms.A special thank you to Ebony Biden of 11H. With-out her experience and knowledge in the field, this would not have been possible.*Help us get to Brisbane! Further ideas or as-sistance with fundraising for Nationals would be very much appreciated.Ms Carina Owens.

The senior team (Ebony Biden, Tori Ko-vach, Anela Halilagic, Gaya Juneja)

The year 9 intermediate team (Nikki Spencer, Zoe Day, Kim Vu, Melissa Lam, Tarra Co, Shimran Kumaran, Annegret Cummings)

Aerobic Gymnastics team flies into the nationals



The girls intermediate badminton team – Lyn Tran, Sumedha Sethupathy, Malshi Gamalath and Sian-telle Johns got through to play the state round of

the badminton competition. They played hard to win two out of three of their first-round matches. We were beaten 4-2 by the girls from Viewbank, but then beat Seymour (6-0) and Yarram (5-1). Yar-ram were particularly tough to beat - each game was won by only a few points – but the girls won that to qualify for the semi-finals. In the semis they were drawn against MacRob, a strong team which included the highest-ranked state Under 15 player. Our girls fought hard but were beaten (6-0) by MacRob’s more experienced players who went on to become the overall winners.A great result for SCHS: well done to the girls for all their hard work and enthusiasm.Thanks to Sumedha’s father, Sethu, for his support on the day.Ms Helen Bradwell

Badminton Update

Senior Boys Hockey

To parents of Year 9 studentsWe have been studying Shakespeare's 'A Midsum-mer Night's Dream' this term in English. We were unable to arrange for students to see a production of this play, but there is a production coming up by the Bell Shakespeare at the Arts Centre, Melbourne, during the school holidays, if anyone is keen to see it. For booking and other details, please go to:

http://artscentremelbourne.com.au/Whats-On/Theatre-Drama/The-Dream

Miss Helen BradwellEnglish department

Shakespeare



On July 23rd, the Year Unit 4 VCE Biology class vis-ited Melbourne University’s Genetics Department.The students conducted practical work to enable them to complete School Assessed Coursework at the University’s Mendel Laboratory.

A valuable insight into academic university life was also a worthwhile experience for these students.The students studied the structure and function of DNA by performing an investigation into copper tolerance in bacteria. They learned how to geneti-cally engineer copper resistance into sensitive bacteria. This involved a knowledge of restriction endonucleases (for cutting DNA), polymerase chain reaction (for making many millions of copies of DNA) and also gel electrophoresis (for separat-ing DNA fragments according to size).

The class then went on to study Mendelian pat-terns of inheritance in the fruit fly, Drosophila

melanogaster. Students were involved in first hand examination of the flies, observing the genetic mutation of vestigial wings, and investigating the mode of inheritance of this particular mutation.

Our students will use the data and experience from the day to complete assessment tasks at school. The students conducted themselves perfectly on the day and are a credit to our school community.Mr John Trajanovski and Ms Fiona Krogh

Senior Biology Trip to The University of Melbourne

Student LeadershipOver the weekend commencing on Friday 15th August, more than forty students from Suzanne Cory High School participated in the World Vision 40 Hour Fam-ine. The students gave up something of value - food, technology, furniture, talking - for the forty hours from 8pm Friday to 12 noon Sunday. Their aim was to raise sponsorship to go towards funding food and health programmes run by World Vision, aiming to 'bring down hunger' in developing countries.

To celebrate the day, and raise further donations, stu-dents were allowed to wear their PJs to school. It was great to see the selection of animal onesies and fun PJs worn by students - and staff! Titus Lee in Year 11 organ-ised a busking event in the Agora, where talented SCHS students performed for their peers and encouraged students to donate to the cause. On Friday night, some famine participants stayed back at school to watch films and enjoy pizza together, in the lead up to the weekend of fasting.

In the weeks leading up to the event, SCHS hosted Youth Ambassadors from World Vision, who explained the nature of the work done by World Vision, and the kind of projects the students' hard earned money will

support.

One of SCHS's most successful fundraisers was Bailey Butler in Year 10. Bailey gave up food, technology and furniture for the Famine weekend. When asked how he would pass his time over the coming weekend, a cheer-ful Bailey advised he planned to 'catch up on home-work, and do some reading!'. Bailey's efforts raised over $400 - a very impressive amount!

It's not too late to contribute to the school's fundraising for World Vision. Anyone can visit the school's Everyday Hero page, choose someone to sponsor, and make a donation. https://40hf2014.everydayhero.com/au/suzanne-cory-high-school-Werribee/members

Watch this space in future Newsletters to find out just how much money SCHS students raised in their cam-paign to 'bring hunger down'.

Ms Timmee Grinham and Ms Marissa Chui, Student Leadership coordinators



The 2014 Interschool Debating Competition has come to end and once again Suzanne Cory High School has competed to the highest levels. In par-ticular the A grade team comprising of Ella Byrne, Bill Nguyen and Abiramy Selvanathan did espe-cially well by making it through and competing in the finals. I would like to congratulate all of the students who have contributed to debating this year and thank them for the contribution. The next events for debating in 2014 will be the long antici-pated student against staff debates to be held early in term four, followed by House debating. Last week saw the inaugural select entry public speaking competition take place at Melbourne High School. At what was very short notice I was contacted and asked if Suzanne Cory High School would be willing to participate. At even shorter notice I asked the ever dependable Matthew Lagamba if he would be prepared to represent the school. He did this and more, winning the compe-tition outright. Congratulations to Matthew, who

with this award caps of a stellar involvement in public speaking in his time at Suzanne Cory High School.Mr Nick Cummins

Debating & Public Speaking

The A grade team preparing for the final.



Justice Country

Justicecountry is a day-long simulation that uses parlia-mentary process combined with social justice content to provide a stimulating, engaging and challenging activity for students. Educational consultant Leo Keegan visited Suzanne Cory HS on Friday 25th July to conduct this activity with 30 students from years 10 and 11. Students who were interested in social justice or income distribu-tion or Australia's political system or economics or legal Studies ... or simply just interested in potentially changing Australia for the better, were invited to apply. Most of the participants were students who are currently studying Humanities subjects and students were drawn from across the humanities disciplines, including Economics, Legal Studies, Politics, History, Geography and Politics. Supported by staff from the Humanities Faculty, the students spent the day deciding how to run their simu-lated country – ‘Justicecountry’. Students were given the opportunity to run a simulated version of Australia, called

Justicecountry, making decisions about the distribution of income and wealth. The state of the country of Justice-country at the conclusion of the day was entirely the prod-uct of participants' efforts, working within the limitations of the parliamentary system. The day was an exhilarating and engaging opportunity for our students, and SCHS is now one of only three schools in Victoria to have offered the Justicecountry simulation to its students.Below are a collection of some student reflections on their experience of the day. It is clear from the feedback that they found the day highly beneficial, even though it was also hard work, and challenging.

If you wanna know more about the world you live in and how it operates, this day is for you. Through Justicecountry I was really able to learn how the parliament actually works. It’s fine to learn it through a textbook, however when you actu-ally become involved in it, it’s ten times more effective and enables you to properly visualise how it works.

I realised that I really want to make a difference for the disad-vantaged and give people the chance to fulfil their potential.

I have realised that, the more passionate I am about a topic, the more interested and involved I get.

I have learnt how politics works, and what types of debates happen behind the scenes.

I realised that political forces have the ability to completely change your point of view, especially if you’re someone on the fence.

I noticed that many of my fellow students are very clever in their thinking and really passionate about some issues. I saw a side of them I had never seen before. I also realised that I am very passionate about achieving equality.

The political ‘game’ is much harder and more complex than it is often depicted. We need to balance the rights and needs of everyone, while trying for equity. Australian politics is like an onion – many layers!

I learnt that I am willing to stand up for a cause that I believe in.

Ms Timmee GrinhamVCE Economics and Humanities teacherCoordinator of Student Leadership



Food Tech

Take a look at these mouth-watering dishes created by our talented Food Tech students!

Newsletter volume 4 issue 08

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Transcript of Newsletter volume 4 issue 08