Newsletter

Principal: Dr Ken Edge

60 Cabramatta Avenue (PO Box 361) Miller 2168 Phone (02) 9607 8669 Fax 9607 9460 Email: miller-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Website: http://www.millerhighschool.nsw.edu.au/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Miller-Technology-High-School

Miller Messenger July 2018 No. 1

In this Issue Principal’s Message MTHS– Swimming Carnival SRC Fundraise on Valentine’s Day

NEXT— HSC Student Exhibition International Women’s Day 2018 Harmony Day—Celebrating our Diversity at MTHS

ANZAC Day 2018

DeZiners—D.I.Y. Publishers Sorry Day 2018 Student Leaders visit Canberra MTHS Chess Club Sydney Opera House—Indigenous work experience My Amazing Russian Football Adventure MTHS Drag Racing Car Numeracy Moments Public Speaking and drama at MTHS Practise What You Teach—exhibition

Quota International Student of the Year Competition

Tree of Life 2018 Tree House Theatre

SRC 2017/2018 Report

Pathways To Dreaming

Refugee Week - Tree Planting Ceremony

Full Steam Ahead HACK-A-THON Refill2 with STEAM

Important Dates

MTHS-Miller Technology High School

Scan this QR code to instantly access

the school website

15 August ROSE Assembly

16 August Year 8 Gala Day

17 August Mini Science Fair

24 August Book Week Event

25 August Atura Championship

Sydney Dragway

28 August Year 11 Prefect Speeches

3 Sept CONVerge Concert

5 Sept Focus on Ability

Red Carpet Event

10 Sept Year 11 Exams

26 Sept Year 12 Graduation

27 Sept Year 12 Formal

* Please note dates are subject to change

Principal’s Message

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

Our school is one of the best public schools in the area. This is because we promote

choice, interest, student voice and social-emotional development. We expect all our

students to demonstrate positive-social behaviors and we are willing to invest in ourselves

to help. Importantly, it is because of the hard work of our staff, parents/caregivers and

community partners, and a collective belief that our students are capable of achievement

levels much higher than might be expected elsewhere.

At Miller we are proud of the work we do. In this edition of the ‘Miller Messenger’ we

highlight how our students are challenged across a broad spectrum of classes, how our

professional relationships and how our many well-planned educational programs are

making a difference in the lives of our students and through them, making the world

incrementally a better place for everyone.

Our Facebook and website is also a record of all of the wonderful things we have done. If

you haven‘t already ‘liked’ us yet, check-out the many other great things about our

school and the links in this edition of ‘Miller Messenger’. Additional information on the

school website includes the 2017 Annual Report and 2018-20 School Plan.

Finally, I want to express to all of you my deepest appreciation for your support as we

together agreed to roll up our sleeves and go about our work in professional manner, in a

semester that had its challenges and many successes.

Please enjoy exploring our school - we welcome any feedback!

Principal

Dr Ken Edge

The 2018 MTHS Swimming Carnival was held at the Whitlam Centre in Liverpool for the second year. The PDHPE Faculty did a fantastic job in the organizing and running the event. Thanks to all staff who played a role in the

day it was a great success. Parents for the support of their

children at sporting activities.

All Competitors for their

participation and sportsmanship

at our carnival.

House Captains/Vice Captains

from each of the four Houses

represented.

The staff who have given their

time to officiate.

Mr J. Lane and Mr R. Thompson

for the technical support in

recording of results for the

carnival.

The Carnival Conveners –

Mr A. McCoy and Ms M. Golightly,

PDHPE staff and all staff

members for their exceptional

help on the day.

Whitlam Leisure Centre

management and staff.

’This year the school swimming carnival was

on Valentine’s Day. Members of the SRC ran a

fundraising stall to raise money for our World

Vision sponsor child Yami Joram. SRC

members prepared for the event before the

day selling teddy bears and silk roses every

recess and lunch. MTHS was certainly full of

love on this special day. The poolside was a

sea of red and pink as staff and students

carried their gifts around. We would like to

thank the suppliers who helped us make this

day a great success. We would also like to

thank all the people who volunteered their

time and services. A special thanks goes to Ms

Atkins who helped run the stall and Mr

Podolsak, the SRC coordinator for ordering the

merchandise and organising the pizza

for the event.

HSC Student Exhibition

ARTIST STATEMENT

My body of work is a representation of being a fake

person or pretending to be someone you are not. The

sticky tape symbolizes the fake layer of someone’s

personality and the colours of the lights represent

different emotions. The warm orange–yellow coloured

lights represent a mellow, ecstatic emotion. Whereas

the blue light in the

smaller ball which the

child figure is holding

represents sadness.

Talyah Keepence

Dimensions of Light, 2017 mixed media

NEXT is an annual exhibition held at Casula Powerhouse Arts

Centre showcasing HSC artworks from local high schools.

The initiative is now in its sixth year and celebrates the

creative achievements of HSC Visual Arts students. This year

the exhibition featured over 20 students selected from 17 high

schools located in the City of Liverpool area.

MTHS Visual Arts student Talyah Keepence had her artwork

selected for the NEXT 2018 exhibition. This year the selection

process of student work was a little different, Staff from CPAC

came to the school and picked the artworks first hand for the

exhibition. Di McClaughlin from the CPAC Education

Programs team and former MTHS student selected Talyah’s

sculpture ‘Dimensions of Light’.

Students from MTHS participated in a number of events

to celebrate International Women’s Day on Thursday 8

March 2018.

Student leaders accompanied by Mr Podolsak and Ms

Atkins attended the Liverpool’s 11th International

Women’s Day Breakfast organised by the ladies from

Quota International of Liverpool. The charity breakfast

which was sponsored by Harry Hunt from Hunts Function

Centre donated funds to the charity Dress for Success.

Students met with a number of community members

including Anne Stanley MP Federal Member for

Werriwa, Chris Hayes MP Federal Member for Fowler

and Councillors Nathan Hagarty and Charishma

Kaliyanda from Liverpool City Council. The guest speaker

was the CEO of Liverpool City Council Kiersten Fishburn

who spoke about ‘Women in Leadership’. Kiersten’s

advice to women in leadership is to “own your ambition”

and “own your own leadership journey“. During

question time MTHS School Captains asked questions on

behalf of the student leaders. Yasser Hashem who was

the only male student present asked the question “How

can males best support and encourage women in

leadership roles” and Asfar Habeb asked “What advice

would you give to young refugee women leaders”. After

chatting with a number of community members the

students then were off to a second event at Casula

Powerhouse Arts Centre ‘GIRLS TALK WOMENS WORK’.

The event featured a number of empowering

discussions by leading industry figures from Western

Sydney in the areas of Music, Arts, Business and Politics.

Deputy Mayor Tina Ayyad was a member on the Women

in Business and Politics panel. The last forum was a

discussion on Women in the Arts. One of the panel

members Catherine Magurie-Donvito Cofounder,

producer and supervising Psychologist for Tree House

Theatre was on the panel. This was a great surprise for

Catherine and many of the MTHS student leaders

present as they had participated in the Tree of Life and

were testament to the success of the program in

assisting young people in becoming confident student

leaders.

2018

Other activities included; Students and staff

dressing in orange and cultural dress. Year 12

students ran a bubble blowing competition.

Mr Wood organised a number songs from

different cultures and the Year 12 led the

students in an inclusive dance .

Year 11 Visual Arts students ran a colouring in

competition and the winners were awarded

canteen vouchers. Year 7 students prepared for

the day by decorating Harmony hands which

had messages of friendship and hope. Dr Edge

and School Captain Asfar Habeb judged the

competition.

Celebrating our Diversity at MTHS This year MTHS celebrated our diversity on Harmony Day with a number of activities during recess and

lunchtime. Even though it was raining students leaders still managed to run a short assembly in the

canteen area. School Captains Yasser Hashem and Asfar Habeb with the Prefects and the assistance of

Year 12 students talked about the importance of Harmony Day and shared a number of facts.

ANZAC

Day 2018 This year 2018 marks the centenary of the

end of World War I and MTHS students and

staff participated in a number of events to

mark the occasion. Mr Podolsak and SRC

members Malak Alzwain, Trinity Hall,

Shakiyah’j Rankin, Avesta Ahmed and Ryan

Sheargold attended the annual RSL and

Schools Remember ANZAC Commemoration

Service at the ANZAC memorial in Hyde Park

held on Monday 9 April .

Our ANZAC Day Service was held on Friday 13 April. Mr Shea was the ANZAC Day Service Director and Mr

Thompson organised the event which was held in the quad. School Captain Asfar Habeb and Vice Captain

Leo Ioane were the Mc’s. The significance of Anzac Day was delivered by Vice Captain Basma Koro and

Prefect Wasan Al Zuhairi. The wreath laying ceremony was conducted by students from the support unit

Mariam Mahtam, Duaa Shanoot and Antonio Situlio.

Prefect Noran Barakat recited the poem “In Flanders Fields”, followed by Tina Nguyen who narrated ‘The

Ode’. The significance of the ‘Last Post’ was explained by Rema Zaghir and ‘The Reveille’ explained by

Tommy Nguyen.

Ms Luka then played the ‘Last Post’ and ‘The Reveille’ on the trumpet as she does each ANZAC Day

Assembly. Dunya Hanna and Rema Zaghir raised the flag while the Reveille played.

Our guest speaker was Kenneth Young OAM former

President of Fairfield RSL sub branch who addressed the

school on our ANZAC ceremony. Ken spoke about the

meaning of ANZAC Day, ‘By the Left’ a campaign to recognise

the contribution of women who serve in the defence force

and the wearing of service medals on commemorative days

such as ANZAC day. Lastly Ken spoke about the Lowrey

sisters who served in World War 1 as nursing matrons. They

were the only three sisters who served at the same time in

World War I. The sisters who have a close connection to Ken

as they are the Aunts of Ken’s wife June Young. OAM who is

currently writing a book about their contribution.

During the school holidays on Wednesday 25

April MTHS representatives Ms Atkins, Mr

Thompson and School Captain Asfar Habeb

attended the ANZAC Day dawn service at Cabra-

Vale Diggers. On behalf of the school Asfar laid a

wreath in Cabravale Memorial Park along with

other representatives from local schools and

community organisations who paid their respects.

In the April School holidays students in

Year 9 Visual Arts Shenae Fletcher,

Sumayya Mannan, Gerri Roberts and

Melissa Wynne attended the Arts Meets

West Festival at Casula Powerhouse Arts

Centre. The event hosted by the CPAC

Youth Committee was held during Youth

Week 2018. Students created their zines

as part of a unit on D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself)

publishing. Throughout the learning

process students worked together as a

team, voting on the name of their group,

signage design and the display stand.

They even worked with a graphic design

in class to get feedback from a creative

industries professional. The group known

as DeZiners spent the term researching

and producing their own individual zines

with the goal in mind of holding a stall at

the festival. The students gained a

number of fans on the day who were

very interested in their stall and the

process of how they created their zines.

Festival goers stopped to ask the

students about their Zines which all had

different themes. Artist Stephanie Woods

who had been working in an artist studio

through the Liverpool City Council artist

in residency program came to visit the

students on the day. Stephanie who

herself is a collector of Zines became

interested in the class project after

meeting their teacher Ms Atkins.

Stephanie spent time talking to the

students about their work. The students

presented Stephanie with a class set.

Impressed by the student’s efforts

Stephanie posted on images of the

students zines and commented on

Instagram. The students who attended

shared their experience with their class

members on their return to school.

DeZiners—D.I.Y. Publishers DeZiners—D.I.Y. Publishers

Sorry Day 2018 Sorry Day 2018 A special commemorative assembly

was held for Sorry Day in May

during Reconciliation Week.

Candles were lit by Principal Dr

Edge, Deputy Principal Mrs Kolar

and other staff to show our

compassion and respect for

Aboriginal and Indigenous people

by remembering the Stolen

Generations. MTHS Aboriginal

Education coordinator Mrs Nadan,

organised a number of

representative Aboriginal and non-

Aboriginal students who

acknowledged the importance of

paying our respect during

Reconciliation Week. Thankyou to

IEC Visual Arts teacher Mr Basso

and his classes for their creative

decorations that they made for the

special assembly.

Chess has become increasingly popular in recent years.

Research has proven that there are educational benefits

for young people who are given the opportunity to play

chess. Chess requires both strategic thinking and logic,

and therefore can enhance cognitive ability. This year,

MTHS started Chess Club. The Club is open to any

student who loves Chess and wants to compete against

students from other schools in the New South Wales

Junior Chess League. Each Friday afternoon, students in

the Junior, Intermediate and Senior teams participate in

the Metropolitan Secondary Schools Chess Teams

Competition. The teams consist of four players for each

match, but there is no limit to the number of players

who may play in the different matches. The students

play a round-robin competition, playing against each

school in the competition twice, and alternating

between playing at home and away. The first round

commenced in May. Mr Nugent who started the club

acts as both coach and mentor to the students. As the

MTHS Chess Comp Coordinator, he handles the

administration work relating to the competition and the

organising of transportation to the different venues each

week. Mr Podolsak and Mr Owen also support the

students in the away rounds when the juniors and

seniors play at different schools. When the students play

at home, Ms Atkins organises an afternoon tea for the

chess teams and guests visiting our school and Mr Lane,

who loves technology, sets up a camera above the main

chess board so spectators can view the match from the

digital white board.

The competition is for state and private schools in the

Sydney Metropolitan and surrounding areas and is

conducted by the NSW Junior Chess League, a not-for-

profit organisation. Last year’s competition attracted 276

teams from 79 schools and another 130 schools took

part in the Country Secondary Schools Competition.

Congratulations to Year 11 student Ngoc (Annie) Le, who

was undefeated in the first 5 matches in the Senior

Comp. The secret to Annie’s success is the chess

strategies she learnt from her Grandfather as a child in

Vietnam. Also congratulations to the Senior team

overall, who were undefeated for the whole

competition. NEW SOUTH WALES

JUNIOR CHESS LEAGUE

Recently I undertook work at the Sydney Opera

House for my work placement hours part of my

Entertainment VET course. I was one of 8

students from various schools around Sydney to

take part in this program. Our group spent 5

exciting days at the Opera House working with

multiple departments including; tours, the

loading dock, security and front of house. Front

of house duties included front desk, box office, the call centre and the welcome centre, which is where we

organised the public tours. Our group participated in both the public tour, and a special backstage tour,

which is only available for Opera House staff and those doing work placement.

The backstage tour included going behind the scenes of several sets. Our crew

were invited to attend a ‘Town Hall’, which is a big meeting with every single

staff member who works at the Opera House. In the meeting they discussed

the Vivid light show and the history of the Opera House’s involvement in the

show. The meeting was held in the Northern Foyer, which has a view of the

Harbour and the Harbour Bridge.

I was very lucky to be one of the few students selected from the many

applicants who applied to do work experience at the Sydney Opera House.

Something I found really interesting during the work placement I learnt about

the rich history of the Opera House and its architect Jørn Utzon and his son

Jan Utzon. The Opera House is situated on Bennelong Point, and is named

after a famous indigenous man who lived during the colonial period.

One of the things that I very much enjoyed was seeing the stage manager’s

desk with equipment which totalled to over $1million dollars. Unfortunately,

we were not allowed to touch the equipment, but it would be a goal of mine in

the future to be able to use it.

The staff were very friendly and welcoming to our crew. They were extremely

helpful and willing to answer any questions we had about their work.

I am very grateful and appreciative to have been given the opportunity to

experience working in the top entertainment venue in Australia and possibly

the world. My ambition is to one day work in the Opera House in the back of

house as a lighting/sound technician and will hopefully work my way up to

stage manager and be in control of the $1million dollar desk. Big thanks to Mr

Wood, my entertainment teacher and Mrs Nadan, the Aboriginal Education

Coordinator for assisting me with my application form.

Brayden Collis – Year 11 Entertainment student

Indigenous work experience program

In June, MTHS student leaders including

School Captains Asfar Habeb and Yasser

Hashem along with Vice Captain Basma Koro and Prefect

Wasan Al Zuhairi visited Anne Stanley the member for

Werriwa at Parliament House in Canberra.

Head Teacher of Community Partnerships and Student

Voice Ms Atkins, Prefect Coordinator Mr Thompson and

Principal Dr Edge accompanied the student leaders on the

visit.

The students and staff arrived at 11am. They met with Ms

Stanley who gave the students a tour of ‘The House’. This

year Parliament House turns 30 and the building is

undergoing maintenance including the rooftop which

meant we missed out on the traditional photos with an

elevated view of the nation’s capital.

Students had the unique experience of dining in the

members only parliamentary dining room as guests of Ms

Stanley. Over lunch students discussed current issues

relating to South West Sydney and their personal goals and

aspirations for the future.

After lunch it was question time in the House of

Representatives. Everyone hurried along through metal

detectors to be seated in the gallery area. Students gained

a first hand experience of what question time was like

when in session. All the student leaders and staff had an

incredible day and it was an educational experience of a

lifetime.

Ms Anne Stanley MP

Member for Werriwa, New South Wales

In June I travelled to Russia along with my team members Anita, Salman and Noor to represent Football United at the FIFA Foundation festival. The festival differed from my expectations a lot as I thought it would be less fun but it turned out to be amazingly fun. Going to Russia had made me learn more about program football3 and the country itself. On my way I felt as if I wouldn’t be able to fit in and communicate to others in Russia. When I got there I was warmly greeted and was able to meet and make many new friends. The FIFA Foundation Festival encouraged me and made me feel that I was on their team as they gave inspirational messages such as “never give up”, “always follow your dreams” and much more. Through the FIFA Foundation Festival, I got to meet people who came from other countries and was able to learn about their country as

well. The festival was very important to me as I was able to work with others and build on my sportsmanship skills. When I got selected I felt that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity which had made me feel excited. This experience meant a lot to me because it was my first time watching a FIFA World Cup game in real life. That was very special as it was a worldwide event. Being able to go to a

international event was amazing and it also meant I was able to meet new people from other countries easily. Meeting new people meant a great deal to me because It’s a time to see how different their culture is. It was a unique experience just being able to bond together at the FIFA Foundation Festival.

Going to Russia was such an enjoyable time. There was many amazing activities that are very memorable but two stood out for me. Going to watch the Russia vs Spain match at the stadium was one of my favourite memories in Russia. I got to see how many people came to support the teams and was glad I was able to experience such a distinctive moment. The soccer match was a great time because watching famous players compete right in front of me made me feel important as not

everyone is able to go watch the match. Another memorable moment in Russia was playing football3. Football3 is a program created by Streetfootballworld, which uses the sport as a tool for positive social change. Gender equality is a basic value of football3, along with fair play, teamwork, respect, and athletic conditioning. It was such an unforgettable experience as I got to play in teams and have fun with everyone altogether while learning new skills at the same time. It was a moment that not all people will experience and I was glad I had this opportunity. As we competed in our teams we included everyone as well as downside people. I got to see them smiling which made me feel very happy and special that I could bring smiles to other people’s faces. Russia had many memorable experiences for me that were incredible. For me to include others no matter what was so important as it allows you to share such fun experiences with so many more people. Thank you to Football United for selecting me to represent the young people from Australia. Thank you to our mentors from Football United Youth Leader Natasha Hill and Communications Manager Stuart Meney for looking after us on our trip of a lifetime. Also, thank you to the volunteers and everyone who was in the festival for helping us . Thank you to my school, Dr. Edge and Mr Patana. A special thank you to my whole family who were always supporting me in everything even when I was in Russia.

Dalin Koro

Football United Youth Ambassador

The MTHS race car crew have spent a number of weekends

at Sydney Dragway this year in support of the MTHS Drag

Racing Car program. Congratulations to Mr Goodwin the

Head Teacher of TAS at MTHS who so far has made it to

Round 4 of the 2018 Atura NSW State Championships. A

number of staff including school Principal Dr Edge and

Technical Support Officer Mr Shavneel Kumar also attended

the events at Eastern Creek in support of the driver and

crew. Mr Goodwin in the MTHS Drag Racing Car is currently

ranked 3rd. Good luck in Round 5 on Saturday 25 August. To

see more images of the project and video footage of the

MTHS drag racing car visit the facebook page https://

www.facebook.com/ MillerTechnologyHighSchoolRaceCar/

Numeracy Moments It doesn’t matter how you add it up, Numeracy has been massive

last term at Miller High School. I have had the absolute pleasure of

working with the students of Miller Primary School. We have been

sharing with them an innovative process developed internally at

Miller to help them to answer the word-based problems that

make up the Numeracy NAPLAN tests. During term 2 the focus

was on using two mathematical strategies; look for a pattern and

draw a picture.

This term, students in year 7 and 8 will have the opportunity to

use Mathletics to practice their mathematical skills online. During

the maths lesson, students use their laptops for one period a

fortnight to practice curriculum aligned activities. The level of maths

questions is selected by the classroom teacher according to the

students’ ability. Students collect points and are rewarded by receiving

a bronze, silver, gold award.

One of the most popular activities is Live Mathletics where students

can challenge other students from the same classroom, school or

around the world. Teachers will assign Mathletics activities homework

for students to complete. This program is designed to improve

students’ mathematical skills which is crucial in applying to solve

numeracy problems.

During our staff development day all faculties identified the most

important numeracy demands in their subjects and embedded them in

their assessment tasks.

Later this year all junior students will receive a numeracy report based

on their performance in numeracy activities across the whole school

community.

This will allow us to provide a comprehensive numeracy report for all

our junior students.

Numeracy Moments

At MTHS we want all parents/caregivers to be involved in their

children’s learning. During Term 2, our first Numeracy Workshop was

held for parents/caregivers to gain some home-based strategies to

assist in the development of their child’s Numeracy strategies.

Some students and teachers from the Numeracy team assisted on the

day. It was a great opportunity to chat with parents about what they

would like to get out of a Numeracy Workshop and what support they

would like to assist their child at home.

I would like to thank the parents/caregivers who attended the

Numeracy workshop. It was fantastic to see so many parents/caregivers

interested in exploring ways to support their child’s education. The

feedback from the workshop was overwhelmingly positive.

More Numeracy Workshops for parents will continue this term. Please

check the school Facebook page and ask your child if they have received

information about the workshop.

Mrs Abu Swireh—Numeracy Moments Coordinator

On Wednesday 13 June Taysir Elnor and Rema Zaghir represented the

school again at the Quota International Student of the Year Quest, held

at Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre. The quest is open to students in

years 10 or 11. Taysir and Rema were interviewed by a panel of three

judges, where they were evaluated on their academic and civic

achievements, and their knowledge and opinions of current events. The

interviews were followed by a public speaking event where each

student gave a prepared speech on the topic of their choice. All students

were then put on the spot with a one minute ad lib speech on the word

Future. Both Taysir and Rema

are to be commended for

their engaging performances,

and for having the courage to

challenge themselves in such

a demanding competition.

Emily Hughes

Debating Coordinator

On Tuesday 5th June, seven students represented Miller Technology High School

at the Speaking 4 the Planet competition, held at the Australian Botanic Gardens

Mount Annan. Students participated in the public speaking and drama

competition, which is held annually to celebrate World Environment Day.

The theme this year was Beat Plastic Pollution: ‘If you can’t

reuse it, refuse it’ . Caitlyn Long, Amerita Saafi, Leuta Stowers

and Liam Rashid of Year 7 participated in the impromptu drama performance. Taysir

Elnor of Year 11 entered the prepared speech category, and Rema Zaghir of Year 10

entered the impromptu speech category, where she was awarded Runner Up.

2 June—24 June 2018 | Marsden Gallery

Practise What You Teach (PWYT) is an initiative devoted to motivating and promoting

the artistic practises of art teachers . This is the second exhibition coordinated by

PWYT at Casula Powerhouse proving a platform for work from dual artist and art

educators.

Expectations of art educators are higher than ever. This is a result of the shifting

realities of the classroom, often distancing teachers from their art making practice,

most commonly the factor that attracted them to teaching in the first place. As art

teachers we should practise what we teach, granting ourselves the opportunity to stay

in touch with our own creative interests and demonstrate to our students that we too

are practicing artists.

PWYT addresses this need for re-engagement through exhibitions and public

programming. The initiative also exists as an opportunity for professional

development and networking, providing a strategic avenue for art teachers to

maintain and refine their artistic practice. PWYT ultimately provides educators with

attainable and motivating opportunities that engage and foster artistic practice whilst

simultaneously benefiting the classroom.

The exhibition features the work from Vivian Messimeris, Sophie Bray, David

Robinson, Rebecca Brady, Kate Mulheron, Tracy Smith, Paul McClaughlin, Andres

Basso and Kate Stehr.

Andres Basso—Miller Technology High School

Porcelain Cloud, 2004

Alkyd resin based paint on recycled timber.

Andres Basso

Andres’ body of work explores

how frames throughout art

history have held and

surrounded some of the most

valuable artworks in the world.

However, these frames are often

only seen as a presentation tool

and not given the appreciation of

also being a work of art in its

own right. Andres’ body of work

acknowledges not only the frame

as a physical support for art but

the frame as a culturally

symbolic and aesthetically

interesting form.

Practise What You Teach

Quota International Student of the Year Competition 2018

Quota International of Liverpool began on 18 July 1964 and has

celebrated over 50 years as a Quota Club. Every year Quota

International of Liverpool runs a public speaking competition at Casula

Powerhouse Arts Centre. This year Rema Zaghir and I had the chance

to participate in this event.

This year seven schools participated. The competition started off with a

one on one interview with the judges who asked us general knowledge

questions and questions based on our resumes that we needed to

provide in order to participate in the event. The interview was

approximately 10 to 15 minutes long. Then after the interview we had

dinner with the other contestants. During the next stage we presented

our speeches. In order to win the competition Rema and I had to

present a four-minute speech on a topic of our choice and a one-minute

speech on an unknown topic.

My topic was on refugees. I chose this topic based on my life as a

refugee living in Australia. My speech was focused on the main

question that people ask about refugees. What make them a refugee?

And can't they just go back to their country? I answered these

questions throughout my speech.

Rema's speech was about planet earth and the environment. Rema is

passionate about the environment and believes that humans are the

main reasons that our planet earth is dying. She chose this topic

because it's such an important subject that no one really talks about.

The other schools delivered very powerful and emotional speeches. All

the speeches were based on very important topics such as, racism,

social media and violence against women.

After the prepared speeches we had impromptu speeches. All the competing students were asked to exit the room. Then when your name was called out you had to come back in and were given a one-word topic that you have to talk about on the spot. The topic that we were given was Future. After the impromptu speeches we had a break so the judges could decide on the winners. Unfortunately, we did not win but we were still honored to be able to compete in the event. All the contestants did an amazing job. At the end of the event, each student was given a trophy, a bag, a pen and a participation certificate. Thank you to Ms Atkins and Ms Hughes for their support and thank you to the ladies from Quota International Liverpool for organizing and running the event for the students of Liverpool.

Taysir Elnor—Year 11 student

Participants from the 2018 ‘Tree of Life’

program performed at the Concourse

Theatre in Chatswood and locally at Casula

Powerhouse Arts Centre in June. The

directors of the ‘Tree of Life’ production

Ruth Hartcher-O’Brien and Catherine

Maguire-Donvito and production assistant

Emilija Mrkela worked with the resilient

young refugees during school time, on

weekends and school holidays to create an

authentic account of the Refugee

experience through the eyes of young

people. The program provides participants

the opportunity to share their life stories.

The directors both love theatre, and

believe in the power of stories to enliven

and transform. Catherine as a Psychologist

and School Counsellor, and Ruth as a

Drama teacher and teacher of English as a

Second Language provide students from

the Intensive English Centre support

students through the creative process of

the program from writing to performing.

On Friday 15 June students from MTHS

and other schools attended the

performance at Casula Powerhouse Arts

Centre for the matinee performance. That

evening over forty staff members along

with family and friends of the performers

attended the 7pm show. After the show

members of the audience were able to ask

the cast questions about their

performance experience.

The Tree of Life program

would not be possible

without the support of

schools Principal Dr Ken

Edge and the community

members who volunteer

their time to run Tree

House Theatre a not for

profit organisation that

produces the program.

Tree House Theatre

President: George Rosier

Vice-President: Tamara Sabri

Secretary: Tracey Okeby-Lucan

Treasurer: Red Reyes

Committee members:

- Catherine Maguire-Donvito

- Ruth Hartcher-O'Brien

- Akeel Abbass

- Muheed Jamaldeen

- Bouchra Hader

- Kate Maguire-Rosier

SRC 2017/2018 Report This is the SRC who represent the school comprising of Year 7– 11 also

coming from the IEC and Support unit as well as our coordinator Mr

Podolsak. This is an update of what the SRC have been doing for the past

year.

Fundraising - The SRC came up with ideas to

fund raise money which consists of selling

pizza at athletics and swimming carnivals,

valentines and donut day. We raised approximately

$1000 towards Yami our sponsor child and

improvements in our school such as installing cold

water fountains.

Team Building - As the new SRC of

2017/2018 was formed it was

decided upon within the

fortnightly meetings that a team

building excursion was essential with moving forward

to build friendships and allow great communication

between the years. For our team building session we

went to CT adventure which had multiple escape

rooms. We had split into two groups and battled it out

to see who could escape the quickest this tested our

ability to problem solve, use our knowledge and communicate with each other.

Community Engagement - In several SRC meetings it was discussed that community

involvement was important to our students so we decided to research some

activities to do to represent Miller and engage with locals from the community. A

few members of the SRC attended an ANZAC day ceremony at Hyde Park.

All students were extremely excited with the mention of going to a local

nursing home to volunteer our time and connect with elders. Summit

Care on Elizabeth Drive was kind enough to allow our students to engage

with their residents. Many residents at Summit Care are unable to have

family visit them often or ever so by visiting every two weeks, the elderly

people enjoy and value our time spent with them. This gives us a feeling

of happiness and pride by helping others out, visiting the community. All

students are grateful for the opportunities given to us.

Representing the school - The SRC has committed to several important events outside of school programs such as ANZAC Day,

NSW Public Speaking final at the ART Gallery of NSW, Peace Day at Cabramatta High School, International Women’s Day and

Ashcroft High School Leadership Training Day. On these special events the SRC has gained knowledge and improved our skills

in leadership and organisation within the SRC which helped us to evolve and develop new ideas to create a better learning

environment in our school.

Our Sponsor Child - Previous SRC members

decided upon sponsoring a child, which was

presented to the school in last year’s

assembly. Yami Joram is still updating us on

her life and family, and earlier in the year

we received an email that Yami was turning

8. As mentioned before we fundraised to

gift Yami a surprise present for her birthday

and to also continue funding for her

monthly expenses.

Moving forward in the future - In the future agenda it is

planned to do more fundraising, to find more community

engagement to enhance the connections with our school. The SRC has also discovered

student’s opinions towards the school uniform. Therefore we have come together to

revise the current uniform and share our ideas to further enhance the attitudes of the

students towards our school uniform.

The PB4L Positive Behaviour for Learning- The teachers handed the SRC a challenge to

bring PB4L (Positive Behaviour for Learning) into our school. The whole SRC had a

discussion with a few teachers about our opinions towards the matter, this is

something that would help the behaviour and expectations of the students in everyday

classes. This is our belief that this would make positive change on our school for both

teachers and students.

Over the year the SRC has achieved

many accomplishments from these

opportunities and experiences within

the Liverpool community. By being part of the SRC all students have gained

organisation, leadership, initiative, commitment and collaboration skills. It has

allowed us to create many delightful memories. We would like to thank

everyone that helped and supported the SRC ideas, we hope that the upcoming

SRC continue along this rising journey.

Mackenzie Loxton and Tommy Nguyen

SRC Chair people 2017/2018

What is Pathways To Dreaming?

Pathways To Dreaming Pathways To Dreaming is designed to engage Year 8 to 12 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students

in education. Students are mentored by Western Sydney University students and alumni who act as older

friends to support and encourage them to achieve their aspirations.

They take part in academic and Aboriginal cultural enrichment workshops at the University and the

cohort at each school devises and implements a group project, with mentors facilitating that process. At

the end of each year there is a celebratory event where the group projects are showcased.

Students join the program from Year 8 and continue until they finish school.

The program is currently running in 30 South-Western and Western Sydney high schools in the

Campbelltown, Liverpool, Penrith, Fairfield, Blacktown and Blue Mountains areas.

Since last year I have attended a number of excursions to

Western Sydney University as part of the Pathways to

Dreaming program. We have participated in a number of

workshops with staff and mentors from the uni. The

workshops we were involved in include Policing activities

where we had a forensic scenario and needed to decide on

what had happened in a crime based on photographic

evidence. We had an artist teach us the skill of creating an

ombre or gradient background for a landscape painting. In

another activity we had an escape room team challenge.

We also learnt different skills such as first aid like how to

strap injuries and learnt how to use a stethoscope to check

our heartbeat. During our visits we also watched a number

of videos on language and culture. Shakiyah’j Rankin

Year 9 Aboriginal Student Leader & SRC Member

Tree Planting Ceremony This year in Australia Refugee Week was held from

17 June— 24 2018. The Refugee Council of Australia

chose the theme #WithRefugees. Refugee Week is

an annual event which promotes positive images of

refugees and celebrates the valuable contribution

refugees make to Australian society. The event aims

to facilitate a better understanding between

different communities and encourage successful

integration, enabling refugees to live in safety and to

continue making a valuable contribution to Australia.

This year at MTHS to start the celebrations for

Refugee Week in Week 6. Deputy Principal for the

IEC (Intensive English Centre) at Miller Technology

High School Ms Stojanovic organised a tree planting

ceremony in the garden area near the IEC office.

Executive staff including Dr Edge joined staff and

students from the IEC for the ceremony. A number

of students leaders from the Student Representative

Council and the IEC participated in the event reading

messages of hope and friendship that had been

written on eucalyptus leaves. After the students had

read the messages the leaves were placed around

the edge holes of the trees that were to due to be

planted. Every year to celebrate Refugee Week

MTHS holds a tree planting ceremony. Students who

attend then have a connection with the trees as they

watch them grow and develop they know that their

own positive messages of hope have contributed to

the development of the trees. This ceremony

symbolises how we as a school community can grow

together.

This year MTHS made it into the final round of the Full STEAM Ahead program at the Powerhouse Museum or MAAS a program sponsored by the Commonwealth Bank through the Australian Business Community Network. The Year 8 STEAM Team took up the challenge to compete in the HACK-A-THON. We we weren’t as successful this year due to some complications for example, on the way we got involved in a little car accident causing us to be 30 minutes late to MAAS which meant we had an extra late start. We were also a person short because one of our STEAM Team members couldn’t make it on the day. The team members who did make it all had their own roles in making our game for the HACK-A-THON. Anastacia and Jason were the Project Managers, Dung and Rasool were working with Virtual Reality (VR), Telliah and Sally were the Thinker shields and they did the coding for the display that went with the game, Teresa and Jia were designing the display and Milaan researched the information for the VR and also printed out some stickers for the display box. We had an awesome experience. We would not have made it to the final round without the help of a few teachers, Head Teacher of Science Mr Lane, Computing teacher Mr Thompson, Maths and Coding teacher Mrs Nand and Technical Support Officer Mr Shavneel Kumar. A special thank you to Ms Atkins for choosing us to take part in this once in a life time event. We highly recommend this event for upcoming Year 8’s in years to come. =) Telliah Lehmann & Anastacia Poulakidas-Wilson

Full STEAM Ahead

HACK-A-THON

CuriousWorks is back

Artists and mentors from Curiousworks are running creative workshops with

students in Year 7 that cover writing, recording and producing music, performance

and drama, video-making, new media technologies and traditional visual arts.

The initiative is a partnership between us, the school and the Casula Powerhouse

Arts Centre who share the vision of delivering a dynamic, multi-arts program for

young people in the community of Miller, including an exchange with Sydney’s

Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA).

CuriousWorks and Miller Technology High first

ran ReFill in 2008 and 2009 and created long-

standing friendships between teachers, young

people and artists. ReFill2(2015-2018) is the

second chapter in our partnership and is a

creative industries mentoring and skills

development project for disadvantaged young

people in the Liverpool LGA.

“If there’s a shining example of how the public and private sectors can work together,

then ReFill is it,” according to Arts NSW. You can also learn more background

in Screen NSW’s interview with the ReFill coordinators.

The latest Refill program has been made possible with four years of generous

support from the Crown Resorts Foundation’s Western Sydney Arts Initiative.

Visit the blog here https://curiousworksrefill.wordpress.com/