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

SGHS NEWSLETTER

Week 4 Term 2 2020 A Message from the Principal Congratulations are due to our students and community for a successful return to school last week, after

what was, for most, an extended absence from normal schooling. Across the school, recorded attendance

levels of more than 95% were an indication that school life is returning to near-normal, if only for one day

a week at present, and still with the need to practise social distancing and good hygiene.

Our Phase 1 transition was extremely successful as students were engaging in their lessons throughout the

day and their teachers were excited to see all those smiling faces that indicated they were very keen to

return to school. Most importantly they all missed their friends.

The organisation for Week 4 will be the same as for the last. Following an expected announcement from

the Premier today, parents and students will be advised of arrangements that will apply after that.

Moving to other matters!

The NSW Educational Standards Authority (NESA) have just released the timetable for this year’s Higher

School Certificate, and these are accessible to Year 12 students through their Students Online accounts.

The information is as follows: 120 written exams will start with English on 20 October 2020

51 oral language exams will start on 15 August 2020 Students will receive their HSC results on 18 December 2020

students can access their personalised exam timetables via their Students OnlineExternal link account For more information visit educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/covid-19-adviceExternal link This week from Monday 18 – Sunday 24 May is also National Volunteer Week, the annual acknowledge-

ment of the generous contribution made by our nation’s volunteers. This year’s theme is ‘Changing com-

munities, changing lives’. A number of students in this school, frequently donate their time to helping

with various charities and causes. Strahfield Girls would like to thank the thousands of volunteers around

Australia for their continuous commitment to supporting our community. Well done all of you, I strongly

believe that perhaps volunteering is more vital this year than ever!

Have a great week.

Angela Lyris

HSC timetable released for 2020 exams

Languages Report

A students perspective;

In the last few weeks, I, like many other students, have been studying online, using platforms such as Google

Classroom and Edmodo to communicate with my teachers about homework, assignments and class learning.

Adapting to the new changes was difficult, however, if you have a set routine, online schooling can be very

enjoyable!

Some advantages of my Japanese online schooling include convenience and flexibility. Online learning gives

me the opportunity to plan study time around my day and I can study and work at my own convenience, as

course material is always available online. I can also learn at my own pace, meaning that there is a greater

focus. In a classroom environment, there are times where I can get distracted by my peers and friends. Never-

theless, with self paced learning, I can learn at a time where there are no distractions, leading to effective

learning. Fortunately, the way that teachers post their classwork and assignments is in a clear and straightfor-

ward layout, which is simple to follow and there are plenty of opportunities to ask questions. Materials such

as textbooks and workbooks have also been supplied.

However, there are some difficulties with learning Japanese online. For example, I find that sometimes, it is

hard to manage my time. Online learning requires a lot of time and intensive work. I like to use my school dia-

ry/planner to help me manage my time well, by setting reminders for assignments. Sometimes, it is hard to

learn Japanese online because there is no teacher there to guide you for new concepts. This can create a low

self motivation towards learning the language. There are times I may fall behind and give up, but only a posi-

tive attitude will help me to overcome the difficulties in online learning.

Overall, I believe that there are many challenges with online schooling, but it is a great experience and can

teach us to manage our time well, be independent, hardworking and organised. The few weeks of online

learning shows a balanced life is important. You need to have time on the computer in classes, time to do

some exercise and time to relax!

- Olivia Liu 10JAP1

Creative Arts Report

The Creative Arts faculty have been busy and enjoying creating Instructional Videos for all classes across the years. Students have been able to engage with step by step practical instructions and sample work with their teachers. As a tool, these videos have been a faculty collaboration, shared amongst all classes and students. Teachers have been busy creating these videos, engaging with technology to support online learning. This has enabled students to work at their pace, watch, re-watch to clarify lessons intentions and expected outcomes. Some of the instructional videos created are: Year 8 Animal Canvas Painting; Year 11 Semi Abstract landscape Paintings; Year 7 Cubist Self Portrait; and Year 7 Ukulele

Creative Arts Report

Year 11 Visual Arts Workshops,

Student took part in workshops on

Friday 15 May to prepare for upcom-

ing Assessment Tasks.

Students were excited by their prac-

tical canvas work which they are cur-

rently creating and will be applying

the A.L.A.R.M Matrix in their forth-

coming Theory Assessment Task.

Wellbeing Reports

Year 8- Mr Altaie This week Year 8 returned on Tuesday to reconnect with their teacher and peers safely and enthusiastically! The girls have worked exceptionally hard while online learning and they made sure they kept on top of their work, which makes me immensely proud of them! The girls of the 2020 Year 8 cohort are, as always, shining bright like diamonds!

Wellbeing Reports

Year 9- Ms Lee This week Year 9 students have returned to school on Wednesday 13 May 2020 and they are definitely appreci-ating the face to face lessons. It was really good to see our Year 9 students back at school and having that class-room interaction with their teachers. I would like to share a lovely reflection that a student has shared with me about what it was like to be back at school and what she has learned with online learning.

“My bag on my back and walking around the corridors of school made me feel like I was back at my home base of learning. To be back at school felt like amazing, a real refresher that has made my week, reuniting with my friends and being able to learn with the teachers in front of me made my day easier and somehow I was able to take in more information as I worked with my peers than I would normally have at home. Although, home learning was relaxing and gave me more time to get things done, I learnt better ways to manage my time and I focused more on my class work which made me more efficient in doing things. All in all, I think that online learn-ing is great for a while as you can be more self-centred, controlled, focused and efficient, but face to face learn-ing is more desirable as working together like a team with my peers and teachers is always the most enjoyable and amusing way to gather and discover new things”. – Khushi Jain

Wellbeing Reports

Year 12- Mr Koulouris

This week Year 12 returned to their routine timetable and resumed with regular face to face learning. It has been fantastic to see all year 12 here, although I suspect the transition back to learning in school uniform and not pyjamas is a tough change, especially considering the change of weather. Neverthe-less, Year 12 have been present and attentive! As it was back to business as usual with year 12 this meant some minor housekeeping regarding up-coming events. Our Yearbook committee met to plan and discuss how the 2020 Year 12 Leavers Book will be designed. There were some interesting concepts and ideas put forward and we are eager to get this up and running. This week we thought we would interview some of our hardworking HSC students to hear their experi-ence with online learning and the learning journey they faced. Below is an article from one of these dedicated students.

Wellbeing Reports

Online learning, an SGHS students’ experience...

Online learning has been a great new way for me to evaluate which learning style I best suit. Personal-ly, I have found it to be very beneficial to work in an environment where I can focus solely on my own work and pick the pace in which I solve problems or analyse concepts. Without the distractions of having a chat to my peers, I found that I was more motivated to complete tasks. I really enjoyed when my teachers from each of my subjects assigned the work that we were to complete, either prior to the lesson or at the scheduled time of that subject. I found myself, wanting to get ahead of schedule. I felt that when it was online, I had control over what needed to be done as it was all written down with explicit instructions, as a result, I felt driven to get the work done. I could tick it off the list each day. One aspect that online learning didn’t have, however, was that physical interaction with friends and teachers which I did miss! I hope that through this unusual time we’ve experienced, it will allow, stu-dents and teachers, positives we can take away and hopefully use something of what we have had to adapt to, in future to our advantage. I see this situation that we’re currently in as an incredible gift that has allowed us to gain insight into the idea that something doesn’t always have to be done in a certain or traditional way. There’s always more than one way to do something and what works for me may work differently for the person next to me. Article by, Jacobina Jansson

Wellbeing Reports

School Counsellors- Ms Lambkin and Ms Czerniawska Please make an appointment if you would like to talk to us, just pop by our office, call the school, or ask your Year Adviser to refer you. Sometimes it helps to reframe the challenges and notice the other side…Take care girls