Email: strathfieg-h.schools@det.nsw.edu.au Phone: 9746 6990 Fax: 9746 3517

SGHS NEWSLETTER

Week 5A Term 2 2020 A Message from the Principal

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

I am writing to inform you of the latest information regarding teaching and learn-

ing at Strathfield Girls High School.

Consistent with the Premier’s announcement on Monday, 18 May 2020, all stu-

dents are returning to full, face-to-face on-site teaching and learning on Monday,

25 May 2020.

The decision to allow all students back to school is based on the following princi-

ples:

• the best outcome for students is that they are back at school;

• schools continue to be safe, and school operations are in line with

AHPPC guidelines; and

• all students are expected back at school unless they are unwell, and have a parent note or medical certificate

to support their absence.

So, all students are expected to attend school unless they are unwell. If your daughter becomes ill during the school

day, you or your nominated emergency contact will need to collect her from school immediately.

Please note that, as from Monday, the primary mode of learning delivery will be face-to-face teaching, not online learn-

ing platforms. These platforms may still be used by teachers, but as an available tool, rather than as the main learning

focus.

Your daughter will receive a modified report this term reflecting her progress and achievement on the learning covered

during Semester 1, at school and at home. The report will provide parents with a comment from each teacher indicating

what needs to be a focus next semester to support your daughter’s learning growth. Student attendance and the Com-

mitment to Learning Profiles will also be incorporated in the reporting format for each course. All reports will be issued

to students on the days indicated on our school calendar. All Parent/Teacher evenings are cancelled at this stage and

parents will be provided with additional information at a later date.

Principal’s Message

According to the latest AHPPC guidelines, physical distancing of children in schools is not required. Research has shown

limited transmission risk associated with children in the school environment. At Strathfield Girls High School, the con-

straints of our classroom sizes will of course prevent us from having social distancing in the classrooms, however, with our

increased cleaning supplies and enhanced school cleaning, we are taking every precaution to keep our students and staff

safe as their health and wellbeing is of paramount importance.

Further measures in place to support our students and staff include:

• no excursions or inter-school activities;

• only safe sporting activities will be permitted;

• no non-essential workers or community members allowed onsite;

• no work experience, but work placement for VET courses in Years 11 and 12 will continue;

• no TAFE attendance (online learning will remain for those students completing TAFE courses);

• no in-school activities requiring volunteers; and

• no school camps.

I have attached the Department’s latest information for parents, A guide to NSW school students returning to face-to-face

learning, that clearly outlines what is expected from parents and schools to support an effective transition to full time

face-to-face teaching and learning.

As Principal, I have decided that due to the limitations of sporting facilities, both within the school and externally, at local

sporting venues, there will be no sport and physical activity programs for Years 7-10 for the next couple of weeks.

Years 11 and 12 will be given the opportunity to be dismissed on Tuesday at 12.30pm and go straight home to participate

in a personalised physical activity program.

The school will investigate and plan for appropriate programs that meet the AHPPC guidelines. We are currently surveying

parents and I request that you complete the short survey as we value your feedback and this will determine our future

directions. Further information will be provided as soon as possible.

Just a reminder that the school remains open for any students who need to be supervised onsite and those students will

be engaged in online literacy and numeracy learning programs to support them to further develop their skills.

Please note that school buses and public transport will operate as usual, as will school starting and finishing times. The

school canteen will be open, but bubblers and water-stations are non-operational. This means that every student is

advised to bring a bottle of water with her to school.

May I take this opportunity to congratulate our staff, parents and students for the resolve and resilience which they have

shown throughout these last few weeks, and for their support in ensuring the successful return to school during Phase 1.

It has, I know, been a worrying time for all members of our community. However, during these challenging times, teaching

and learning still remains a priority and the school is committed to continuing its high standard of instruction and

support.

Thank you for your ongoing support during these unpresented times.

Angela Lyris

Principal

EAL/D Report

From the EAL/D Faculty

Write Right Year 7 and 8 Writing Program The Write Right program is an initiative to improve all Year 7 and 8 students’ writing skills. The program commenced in Mid Term 1 and will be resumed in Week 6 now that we are back to normal school sessions. Writing is an essential tool for learning a discipline and helping students improve their writing skills is a central concern for all teachers, in all subject areas. In the program, EAL/D teachers and English teachers support students acquisition of targeted writing skills centred on grammar, spelling, punctuation and expres-sion. So far, students have been pretested, their results collated and from the feedback, common areas of need were identified to assist students. Teachers expect that with practice and feedback, students will im-prove their writing.

The COVID19 Crisis hasn’t stopped our hardworking EAL/D teachers. We’ve adapted to the challenges of teach-

ing students who aren’t physically at school in new and inventive ways – as you can see here, Ms Wenman had

some very successful Senior Drama conference lessons.

With lockdown and quarantine restrictions, our staff have been doing lots of reading at home. It’s a great time

to catch up on all that reading we’ve been meaning to do – tackling the teetering tower of texts that litter our

bedside tables. Here’s something to inspire: note the lack of capitalisation. There’s definitely something to be

said for functional grammar!

EAL/D Report

[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]

BY E. E. CUMMINGS i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling) i fear no fate(for you are my fate, my sweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world, my true) and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

Mr Cordi’s Book Recommendation:

MAY 2020 Paul Auster: Report from the Interior (2013)

Paul Auster is an American writer. In this book, he deviates from his usual fiction writing in composing a memoir of his childhood. It’s a thrilling read; Auster recounts his adventures and experiences growing up Jewish in New Jersey in the 1950’s and 60’s: an explosive period in America on so many levels. Auster writes in the second person, which gives his text a unique tone – at once removed and yet immediately personal and honest, as this affords him the freedom to explore and comment freely on his memories and shaping moments as an ‘outsider’. If you like biographies, American history, and philosophical musings on how our childhood impacts us, then you’ll probably enjoy this!

Social Science Report

Legal Studies Perspective

The study of the rule of law, justice and citizen’s rights and responsibilities.

As a Year 12 legal studies student I have been learning about crime, human rights, and we are currently stud-

ying issues in world order. This includes the role of the United Nations and the role in plays in the current cli-

mate to resolve tensions and prevent conflict between nations escalating.

The year started off great as we learned about law reform and the themes and challenges relevant to crimi-

nal law. Legal studies topics are enthralling students with legal jargon and educating us about how the legal

system operates. It is hours of note-taking, staying current with law reform issues, and navigating through

countless pieces of legislation.

Deep respect to Ms Cocco for getting this far, it has not been an easy journey, the typical year 12 legal stu-

dent has, at least, written pages and pages of hand-written essays and gone through countless readings just

for one case study.

Is legal studies worth it? Yes.

Wellbeing Reports

Students are congratulated on successfully completing work and engaging in their Online Platforms. Strathfield

Girls High School has embraced the challenge and embedded many positive learning tools to enable a smooth

transition during this Covid 19 phase and changes to our Teaching and Learning. Practises.

Staff have led many professional learning activities, sharing knowledge and skills with colleagues . Each faculty

has developed learning tools to assist in delivering engaging and quality lessons with clear outcomes. Teachers

have travelled on their digital learning continuum, building and refining their set of skills for their students.

Administration Office—Health and Safety

Our office has had Perspex Screens installed to support the health safety and wellbeing of all students, par-

ents, staff and our wider community.

Students, staff and school community can approach the administration office area and continue to main-

tain social distancing protocols. Thank you to Ms Sapountzis for processing and implementing this im-

portant piece of infrastructure.

Wellbeing Reports

Year 7 have continued to work productively this week enjoying engag-

ing in the face to face learning on Mondays. We are very proud of their

work ethic and keeping up with class work, assessment tasks and online

learning.

Staff and students are excited about returning to onsite classes.

Wellbeing Reports

Year 8 have been engaging in learning and working very

hard on Tuesdays at school.

Students are happy to be back with their teachers and

friends, enjoying the sunshine and sociability.

They are all preparing for and completing assessments

across all subjects.

We thank parents for supporting the school in this process

and are glad to see Year 8 and their smiling faces.

Wellbeing Reports

Year 9- Ms Lee

Year 9 students love face to face learning! They are back once a week for this week to see their teach-ers in a school context. It’s really rewarding to see how much they are enjoying the real life interactions with their peers and teachers. Also, able to play ball games while maintaining social distancing, and get some vitamin D from the sun.

In English, they are exploring and learning a variety of film techniques, studying novels and upskilling their essay writing skills.

Wellbeing Reports

In Science, they are starting a new topic called The Science Skills, where students learn to analyse their experimental designs. They are definitely looking forward to future science experiments.

Wellbeing Reports

Our online learning experiences - Stella Cox and Amelia Haddad Year 10 Students

Over the past weeks, Strathfield Girls along with schools nationwide have been continuing their school online,

due to the COVID-19 restrictions. As students, it has been a rollercoaster ride trying to adapt to the fast-paced

changes regarding our learning. Classes that hold online meeting are extremely beneficial to us as it gives

us a chance to communicate with teachers and classmates in real-time. These classes are ones we look for-

ward to. It had also given us an opportunity to become independent with our work, pushing us to stay on track

and get into our own routines.

Doing school in our pyjamas is also a major win for us! Working from home can be difficult, as family and other

factors can be easily distracting, and lack of motivation is a strong factor. Keeping up with homework and

classwork can sometimes be tricky, but with the support and dedication from teachers, we have been able to

persevere and continue our learning. This truly is a strange time for everyone but doing as much as we can and

to the best of our ability is how we will pull through it.

Wellbeing Reports

Year 11- Ms Sadler: This week’s “Faculty in Focus” - Science

In their face-to-face lesson, Year 11 Biology students received comprehensive feedback on the marking of the recent Biology Practical Assessment Task. This task required students to demonstrate a range of practical skills and their understanding of surface-to-volume ratio in the context of cells. In online learning, students have

been working through the Preliminary Biology syllabus Module 2 content on photosynthesis, digestion, the circulatory system, blood and blood vessels, and the transport of substances in plants.

Year 11 Chemistry students are currently working through Module 2 of the Preliminary Chemistry syllabus. The recently completed sections of this mod-ule have an emphasis on calculations of the mole, molarity and reaction stoi-chiometry. This is important foundation work and assumed knowledge for the HSC course. In their face-to-face lesson, students completed practical work on preparing a standard solution and performing a serial dilution. Online learning continues with the work on the Gas Laws section, which explores the laws on the behaviour of gases as proposed by Boyle, Charles, Gay-Lussac and Avoga-dro in relation to the Ideal Gas Law.

Physics

In their face-to-face lesson, Year 11 Physics students received

comprehensive feedback on the marking of the recent Physics

Practical Assessment Task. In online learning, students are cur-

rently working through Module 3 on Waves and Thermodynam-

ics. In this module, students are studying the properties of

waves and, in particular, relating the properties of sound to its

wave characteristics. Students are analysing sound waves to

investigate pitch, tone and loudness, and relating these proper-

ties to everyday examples such as musical string and wind in-

struments. Students will then relate this understanding to the

Doppler Effect and the formation of beats.

Wellbeing Reports

Year 12- Mr Koulouris

This week Year 12 received their Semester 1 Reports. Judging by the smiles on their face as they looked through their report they seemed very pleased with their results. Considering the educational challenges year 12 have faced during this unprecedented time, they have done an exceptional job with maninting a strong work ethic and study habits. Year 12 are encouraged to go off the advice given to them in the reports by their classroom teachers to further improve their results and prepare for the HSC Examinations.

Unfortunately the scheduled Parent/ Teacher evening was unable to go ahead with the current social distancing restrictions in place. However, some classroom teachers will be contacting parents in the coming weeks and parents are also encouraged to contact the school to discuss results and work to-gether with teachers, to best support our year 12 girls in achieving their goals.

Year 12 are also being reminded to regularly check school forums and emails where important notices regarding university application, TAFE courses, Leadership programs and HSC study workshops are advertised. A number of year 12 girls have already registered for such things with many more showing signs of interest.

Wellbeing Report

Year 12 have been working consistently throughout this time and adapting

to the HSC expectations and requirements. They make us so proud in their

positive attitude and adaptability.

Well done to you all for your commitment to learning.

Wellbeing Reports

You may have heard that mindfulness — the ability to be fully present in the moment — can have nu-merous benefits, everything from decreased stress and sadness to increased levels focus and happi-ness, according to general mindfulness research. But what exactly is mindfulness? And, how can you recognize it and reap its many benefits? Mindfulness meditation practice is one way to truly experience the current moment and integrate that awareness into your everyday life.

What is mindfulness?

What is mindfulness?

• mindfulness is the awareness that occurs when you focus on the present and on the purpose of what you are doing

• mindfulness has both physical and psychological benefits

• mindfulness in your classroom will assist in focusing your students’ attention.

How can you practice mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.

Mindfulness is about training your attention to be able to rest in the present moment. Thoughts about the past and future are acknowledged without necessarily being focused on. In this way, you can avoid being caught up in dwelling on the past or worrying about the future and can instead truly experience life as it happens. The word mindfulness can be used to refer to both the state of being mindful as described above and the daily prac-tices (e.g. meditation) that help to bring it about.

Awareness, attention and mindfulness

Mindfulness involves paying attention to certain stimuli and disregarding others. The following exercises can be used in class to show your students how our awareness with stimulus can be limited and how, by redirecting our attention, our perception can be changed. Each of these images and animations can be seen in multiple ways. By asking students to focus their attention on different aspects of the images, they are able to see things in a different light.

Wellbeing Report

School Counsellors- Ms Lambkin and Ms Czerniawska

Remember that the school counselling service is still available to all students, whether you’re back at school or still learning from home. If you’d like to speak to a counsellor pop into the counselling office, give the school a call or send an email. You can also ask your Year Adviser or any of your teachers to refer you to a counsellor.

Box Breathing

Box Breathing is a technique used when taking slow, deep breaths, to the count of 4. It can heighten perfor-mance and concentration while also being a powerful stress reliever.Try it out when feeling stressed, anxious or just wanting to get grounded. Practice regularly!