From the Principal

Australian College of Educators Award Our school was recently awarded a World Teacher’s Day Award from the Australian College of Educators for our innovative partnership with UNSW. The award recognised the whole school community and we were ably represented on the night by school, UNSW, and Aboriginal Community representatives. Congratulations to all school staff who deserve this recognition for the work they have been doing as part of this wonderful initiative and thank you to UNSW who continue to provide opportunities for all students at Matraville Sports High School.

Welcome to Year 7-2017 Over the past four weeks, a group of students from over eight different primary schools have been coming up to the high school to make new friends and get ready for the permanent move next year. Mrs Davey, our Transition Leader (and teacher-librarian), has led a team of eager teachers and Year 10 students to give Year 6 students a taste of high school. Football Program 2017 The group includes our first football elite squad of boys and girls who trialled earlier in the year for a place in our new program which is supported by ESFA and Sydney FC. Selective Class 2017 Included in the group too are students who were offered places in our Selective Class for 2017, many of whom are also elite athletes in their own right. And new students will be joining us in our support unit, replacing the Year 12 students who will move on to employment next year. I am so pleased to meet every student who is joining us next year!

Autism Class 2017 In more recent news, the school will have a dedicated class starting in 2017 to cater for students who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The class has its own teacher and teacher’s aide and will consist of seven students only, all of whom are already in mainstream classes, enjoying a high level of academic success. The class will support those students in pursuit of academic and sporting goals. All students in the school have access to the opportunities on offer from UNSW and related organisations, regardless of which class they are in.

School end of term The school will close on Friday 16th December this year as staff has completed the two extra days of professional development on weekends and after school. Presentation Day is on Tuesday 13th December, and the last day for students is also Friday 16th December.

Nerida Walker, Principal

MATRAVILLE SPORTS HIGH SCHOOL Anzac Parade, CHIFLEY NSW 2036 T 9661 8000 F 9661 4254 Email: matrasport-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Term 4, Week 5 November 2016

eSmart Digital Licence

All Year 8 students have successfully been completing 8 online modules this semester through the eSmart Digital Licence. This award winning licence is one of the most comprehensive online cyber safety resources available. It teaches school aged children critical digital skills and promotes discussion about online safety between young people and their parents, carers and teachers.

There has been positive feedback from the Year 8 students with some saying: "We use social networks and it’s important to know if you’re making the right decision on the internet." and 'It teaches things we may not know, and it also keeps us aware of the harmful things online."

All Year 8 will be eligible to gain their eSmart Digital Licence certificates at the end of the 8 online modules.

Mr Bussell, Year Advisor Year 8

8B mock Presidential Campaign

Election fever came to MSHS in Term 3 with the inaugural 8 English Presidential campaign. Students worked in groups to create advertising materials, pamphlets, radio spots and even TV-ads for their chosen 'leader'. The project allowed students to showcase their understanding of visual communication, persuasive language and film techniques. The following candidates and their groups all ran strong campaigns:

• Tallis Duncan: promised world peace and a cooperative foreign policy by working with world leaders."

• Thomas Bardossi: promised to 'take out the trash' by ending domestic violence.

• Adam Bailey: promised to single-handedly defuse terrorist bombs and protect the environment.

• Davvy Moale: ran a personal campaign, promoting his adoption of refugee children.

• Late entrants to the class Avalon Pallier and Jamie-Lee Rooke teamed up to promote Aboriginal education with radio ads.

8B learned a lot about working in groups and how to manipulate people. Let's hope they use these skills for good and not evil in the future.

Mr Brodie, Relieving English/History Teacher

Important Dates for your Calendar Week 5: 7th-11th November Years 7-8-9-10 exams Friday 25th November Year 9 ASPIRE Taster Day Week 8: 28th Nov-2nd Dec Year 10 Work Experience Week 10: 5th-9th December Hospitality Work Placement Tuesday 6th December Year 6 Orientation Day Tuesday 13th December Presentation Day Friday 16th December Last day of Term

From the PDHPE Faculty

Hunter Rugby 7’s

On Thursday of week 3, we took our U15 Rugby players to the Hunter Sports Rugby 7’s Gala day. The day started nice and early with the students boarding the bus at 6.45am. Given the early start, we only had six committed female athletes and eight male. With our limited numbers our students were still very upbeat and optimistic about the day.

With the heavy traffic through Sydney, we arrived at the ground with little preparation time. The girls’ team was up first against the host, Hunter Sports High School. The girls got off to a slow start and let Hunter Sports build up a good lead. During the halftime break, Miss Hamilton gave a little rev up speech to boost the girls’ confidence and they played a lot better. The standout match for the girls during the day was against Westfields Sports High School. Westfields is always very competitive and structured. Our girls fought really hard during the match and lead the game at halftime 7-5. With no reserves our girls were tired and the game got away in the second half.

Then it was the boys turn. They had more time to prepare and it showed in their first match. Although most of the boys play Rugby League, they quickly learnt the skills of Rugby 7's and played very well. With limited numbers the boys played really well and only lost one game all day. The game they lost was against Westfields Sports High School. Our boys played well, but struggled to control the ball in the ruck. This allowed Westfields the opportunity to score points. Although the Westfields’ team was very experienced, our boys played with a lot of pride. The game ended up with Westfields winning 15-5.

I would like to commend all the students on their effort and how they conducted themselves throughout the day. The standout performances for the girls were Kayla Bennett with her efforts against Westfields and Brandii Davis-Welsh. For the boys Lathan Hutchinson-Walters, Faima Betham and Mosese Pope all performed very well.

Ms Hamilton & Mr Mooney, PDHPE

TSP Netball

Each year we enter the Illawara Girls Netball Competition. This year we entered the competition in the Year 7 division in a pool of six schools, three of which were Sports High Schools. The girls have been training with their new coach Samantha Dawes and have made significant gains in court craft and team dynamics. The girls had a great day and we managed to play despite the inclement weather!

We played Hills Sports High School in the play off for 1st and 2nd. We had drawn with them in the first round and we played a hard game in the final, ending up as runners up in the competition. Congratulations to all the girls who represented both themselves and the school with pride demonstrating great skill and sportsman/womanship! The Team is as follows: April Allende, Zoe Cass, Carmen-Lee Ingrey, Baylee Liddell, Alison O’Rourke, Parker Stanton, Kasey Taaffe, Avalon Pallier, Jamie-Lee Rooke, Cianna Walker.

Ms Gerondis, PDHPE teacher

Global Dignity Day

Each year Global Dignity Day is celebrated and discussed as part of the Parliamentary Education initiative in partnership with the Andrew and Renata Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW.

This year, 120 Year 10 students from a range of high schools came together to listen to a keynote speech from the Race Discrimination Commissioner, Dr Tim Soutphommasane. The speech was very inspiring and addressed current issues through the eyes of the commissioner as a migrant himself. The students then moved into smaller facilitated groups to further explore the concept of dignity and to discuss their experiences of dignity in their communities.

Some students reported back to the whole group sharing personal and inspiring stories. The general consensus was that we all need to listen to others as this allows us to develop empathy for them as people.

Amo Hiroti and Mosese Pope, Year 10

Breast Cancer Morning Tea

If there is anyone in our community who can inspire us to believe in a cause, to support it and make a difference – it is Aunty Barbara Simms Keeley. At the Breast Cancer Morning Tea last week at the Yarra Bay Sailing Club, Aunty Barb with special guests Noel D’Souza (Mayor of Randwick) and Matt Thistlethwaite (local MP), spoke on Breast Cancer Awareness. The morning tea was attended by many local Aboriginal people and a large Aboriginal representation from Redfern. Ms Walker, Mrs Holloway, myself and our lovely Year 12 students Jasmine Trindall, Alyssa Silva and Jasmine O’Rourke represented our school. Aunty Barb and friends organised auctions and raffles to raise money for Cancer in Aboriginal Men and Women. Aunty Barb’s positive energy, humour and persistance contributed to a successful and fun day. Thank you, Aunty Barb! We look forward to being involved and supporting future events that help Aboriginal Men and Women with cancer.

Marie Catalan, Community Liason Officer

From the Science Faculty The Science Faculty has had a busy time since the last newsletter.

Year 12 Biology Extra tutorials leading up to their HSC have been ongoing. Year 11 Biology, Chemistry and Physics have begun their Year 12 HSC course. Year 7 Students have been studying the Solar System and students have been making models and charts of the Solar System. Rocks and Minerals Students have been looking at the composition of different rocks and minerals, looking at rapid temperature change and weathering and erosion. The Forces practical was completed which measured the friction on different surfaces. Year 8 Students sat their VALID test last week. This is an online Science test, designed to evaluate student’s science skills and knowledge, it is a state wide test similar to NAPLAN. Year 8 has also studied Reproduction of Humans and the structure and function of flowering plants. Year 8 has completed work on different types of Energy and Energy transformation. Year 9 Students have been revising, in class, online and home revision, for their Yearly Exams which begin this week. Year 10 Students have also been revising their topics for the Yearly Exams which also begin this week. Year 10 is completing their assignments on Geological time and Natural Selection and their final topic will be study of the Universe. Year 11 and Year 9 girls attended an excursion to the UNSW Girls in Science Forum 2016. The morning session had keynote speakers who talked about their current areas of funded research. In the afternoon our students attended workshops in various science faculties at UNSW.

A REMINDER FOR ALL PRACTICAL LESSONS: STUDENTS NEED LEATHER PROTECTIVE SHOES.

Ms Brown, Relieving Head Teacher Science

Year 7-2017 Transition Program, Science visit

During week 3, students from the local primary schools visited MSHS. Mr O’Connor, Mrs Ingray and Mr Morton-Ramwell were assisted by the Year 10 Peer Support group in performing a number of interesting Science activities. The two groups of students got their hands dirty, made observations and recorded their findings on a number of chemical and physical reactions. The famous “Elephants Toothpaste” was the final demonstration of the day which resulted in the production of huge amounts of coloured foam, pouring out of the top of a plastic bottle! A big thanks goes to the Year 10 Peer Support students for their help and all those who attended the fun and educational day.

From the Careers Adviser Year 10 Work Experience 28th November- 2nd December (Week 8) A reminder that Year 10 will be taking part in the School Work Experience program during the week of 28th November- 2nd December. The placements have been finalised as of 7th November 2016 with the placements discussed with the majority of students. There are still a small number to place and when details are finalised this week, the full information package will be sent home with the student.

Work placement is an important step in the process of student developing a range of career options that they will follow in the coming years. They will approach this week as an experience and as a member of the workforce with strong expectations that they will represent themselves and the school in a strong light. A clear number of expectations will be discussed with them including punctuality, dress, speech and enthusiasm for the opportunity.

School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships These are more than just part-time jobs - they’re a great way to set yourself up for the career you want whilst you are completing your HSC.

School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships These are available to all Year 10, 11 and 12 high school students in NSW. They allow students to commence an apprenticeship or complete a traineeship while at school. A School Based Apprenticeship or Traineeship combines paid work, training and school; and as well as an industry recognised national qualification you will gain credit towards the HSC. Some apprenticeships and traineeships can contribute towards the ATAR. Students interested in either a traineeship or apprenticeship to complete as part of their HSC program should investigate online at http://www.sbatinnsw.info/index.php or book an appointment with the new careers adviser Mr Peter Rowles.

ASPIRE Taster Day On the 25th November Year 9 will be attending the University of New South Wales Taster Day program that works with students to build awareness about higher education and encourage students to think more broadly about their future.

Information packages were sent with the students two weeks ago and all notes need to be returned as soon as possible. A UNSW bus transports the students to and from the University and they are accompanied by a member of staff as well as staff from ASPIRE. There is no cost for this excursion.

Careers Interviews Students in the senior years wishing to discuss any aspect of their career and advice around resume, interview skills and job/study search can book as I will only be available on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Mr Rowles, Careers Adviser

From Urban Koori/Norta Norta

AECG STEM Camp

During week 4, nine Aboriginal students from Years 7 to 10 attended the AECG Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Youth Development Camp.

Over three days the students participated in a variety of activities that challenged their thinking, gave them an opportunity to work with technologies they have never used before, network with other like-minded Aboriginal students and to inspire and motivate them to be thinking of a career in STEM fields.

Activities included:

• Dissecting DNA from strawberries

• Understanding and making fractals

• Drones and how they work

• A visit to the Powerhouse museum looking at Astronomy, designing stickers and Virtual Reality Games

• Cultural mapping

• Statistics and how there collected

• Engineering- building on a budget

Ms Foster, Urban Koori / Norta Norta

From the Support Faculty

S2 News

Anti-bullying short film As part of the PDHPE curriculum, Ms Cerin and S2 have been busy collaborating on a short film based around the theme of Anti-Bullying. The purpose of the film is to raise awareness of the types of bullying that exists such: as Cyber-Bullying, Verbal Bullying and Physical Bullying, as well as the roles people can play in the bullying cycle such as: Bystanders, Bullies, Up standers. A big thanks to Gabby, a University of NSW teacher-in-training, who has given us a helping hand with this project. Staff and parents of S2 will be invited to attend the film “premiere” in a few weeks. Stay Tuned!

BFG Bloom Balls In English this term, S2 have being reading “The BFG” by Roald Dahl. S2 are in the process of completing their “BFG” book report projects, in the form of a “Bloom Ball”. A Bloom Ball is 3-dimensional project that requires students to complete set activities moving them through the levels of The Revised Bloom's Taxonomy- from Remembering to Creating. A Bloom Ball is created by gluing together 12 circles that contain information important to the novel. S2’s amazing and colourful Bloom Ball projects will be displayed in the library shortly, for all to see.

Ms Cerin, Support Faculty teacher

THANK YOU The Support Faculty at Matraville Sports High School would like to thank the following organisations for their support of our students in work placement throughout 2016.

B & C Aquarium

Bear’s Den Child Care Centre

Best & Less - Randwick

Blue Gum Cottage Child Care Centre

Chifley Public School

Choice Solutions

Coles - Eastgardens

Coles - Maroubra Junction

Coles - Randwick

DSA (Disability Services Australia)

Eastern Suburbs Smash Repairs

Fighting Chance - French’s Forest

Malabar Public School

ME Lighting

Phoenix Hair Design

Rebel Sports - Eastgardens

Target - Eastgardens

Target - Merrylands

Trade Secret - Hillsdale

Windgap Foundation