MAY 2012 PARENT BULLETIN - Elderslie High School · be teaching Dance/PDHPE. Congratulations and...
Transcript of MAY 2012 PARENT BULLETIN - Elderslie High School · be teaching Dance/PDHPE. Congratulations and...
PARENT BULLETIN MAY 2012
Elderslie High School Educating all students to achieve their personal best Page 1
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
There have been a number of changes
occur at the school since our last
Parent Bulletin. Firstly we farewelled
our wonderful Head Teacher PDHPE,
Mr Peter Russell. Mr Russell was not
only one of Elderslie High School’s
most dedicated teachers, but he was
also a valuable leader and one of our
staunchest advocates. He honestly
cared about the students and would
always ensure that their needs were
addressed, first and foremost, in the
most positive way. We will miss him.
Mr Arthur and Ms Crossingham will
both be sharing the Relieving Head
Teacher PDHPE role, Mr Arthur for
the first 3 weeks of Term 2, followed
by Ms Crossingham.
We also welcomed Ms D Lysaught and
Ms E Donaldson to our school. Both
teachers were successful in gaining
permanent teaching positions at our
school through the merit selection
process. Ms Lysaught will be teaching
English/History and Ms Donaldson will
be teaching Dance/PDHPE.
Congratulations and welcome to our
school.
Ms Grimston-Eason started her
maternity leave on 30 April 2012. We
wish her and her husband well for the
upcoming birth of their baby. Ms
Donaldson will take over Ms
Grimston-Eason’s timetable whilst she
is on leave.
The school P&C operated canteen
also finished at the end of Term 1.
The ladies in the canteen, Margaret
Anderson, Sue Taylor and Gail Lees
worked in the Canteen tirelessly over
many years. We would like to wish
them well and sincerely thank them
for all their hard work. We would also
like to thank the many parents who
volunteered their time in our canteen
over the years. A big thank you should
also be conveyed to the executive of
the P&C, who 18 months ago finalised
the process to make the canteen
operation align with the P&C
Federation requirements.
At the beginning of this term we
welcomed new operators in our
canteen. This company has helped the
school significantly, during the holiday
period, to meet the needs of our
students. The current arrangement is
for this term whilst the canteen lease
is advertised for tender. Welcome to
Elderslie High School. More
information about the canteen is
included in this bulletin.
It was wonderful to hear from Mr
Quinn that over 30 students and 6
staff marched in the ANZAC Day
ceremony held in Camden. This was
preceded earlier when our two
captains Sarah Trethewy and Bradley
Roe laid the wreath during the dawn
service. Mr Quinn was extremely
proud of everyone. The Camden
service and march are held in high
regard in our community and it is
always positive to see younger
Australians recognise the
commitment and sacrifice of our
service men and women. On Friday 27
March the school held our ANZAC Day
ceremony. This emotive, but
significant event was organised by Ms
Malcolm and her Year 9 history
students – well done!
In this Bulletin you will also read
about the outstanding efforts and
achievements of our swimmers at the
CHS Swimming Carnival. Whilst we
were a creditable fourth in the overall
points score, the girls’ team from
Elderslie High School was first. We are
overwhelmed by the effort and
commitment of our swimmers and
they all deserve our praise and
congratulations. I wish however to
PARENT BULLETIN
MAY 2012
Upcoming Events
• 8/5 P & C Meeting
• 15-17/5 NAPLAN
• 14-16/5 SWS Dance Festival
• 18/5 Fast & Fresh Comp
• 20/2 Animal Nursery Family
Fun Day
• 21-22/5 Snr Ext English Camp
• 23/5 Zone Cross Country
• 24/5 Yr 7 Vaccination
• 29-30/5 School Athletics
• 6/6 Science Comp
• 12/6 P & C Meeting
See back page for more details
Inside This Issue
Principal’s Report 1-2
Technology, Learning
Support 2
D of E, Library 3
English 4
Maths, Welfare 5
TAS 6
CAPA 6-8
Agriculture 9-10
Sport 11-12
Year 7 Poetry 13
Proposed Calendar 14
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Elderslie High School Educating all students to achieve their personal best Page 2
single out one significant achievement. This is the
announcement at the carnival that Brittany Stoker was
awarded “Swimmer of the Meet”. Although Brittany was
the runner-up in the age championship, she entered in
not only her individual events, but also four relay teams.
An outstanding effort that was acknowledged by the
organisers. We also learnt last week that Brittany has
been invited into the NSW Emerging Talent Squad.
Congratulations Brittany, you are an exemplary
sportswoman and student. We know your family is
extremely proud of you and we just wanted to let you
know that we are too. Well done!
Brittany Stoker
During Week 2 we held PBL (Positive Behaviour Learning)
lessons for Years 7 to 10 students in relation to school
examinations. Students were made aware of such things
as examination expectations, how to read the
examination timetable and where they could get support
regarding study techniques. Timetables were issued
during Year meetings held on Wednesday. Examination
timetables are also available on our school website:
www.elderslie-h.schools.nsw.edu.au
I would finally like to invite parents to the next P&C
meeting to be held on Tuesday 8th May 2012.
Mrs Fawcett
Principal
TECHNOLOGY – DER LAPTOPS Year 11 – Warranty and Repairs The Year 11 DER laptops are no longer under warranty as
of 14 April 2012. This means that any damage to the
laptops will incur a cost to repair them. Damaged laptops
should still be brought to the TSO for an initial assessment
and then you can choose to have it repaired either
through the school (this will cost $249) or you may find an
alternate company to carry out the repairs.
NOTE: The exception to this is if the motherboard is
damaged, then it must be repaired via the school.
Year 9 – Updates The Year 9 laptops will be undergoing a hardware update
throughout this term. The update will take place during
Week 8. All Year 9 students need to back up any work
saved on their laptop and have them ready for collection.
A letter will be sent out shortly detailing the collection
and return process.
Timothy Arkell, TSO
LEARNING SUPPORT Peer Tutor Reading Elderslie High School would like to thank Camden Rotary
Club for their sponsorship of $1500 for the Peer Tutor
Reading Scheme. We appreciate the ongoing support.
Thank you to Stephanie Bates from Campbelltown TAFE
who did a great job training 11 Year 10 Peer Tutor
Readers. Staff, students and parents appreciate the
dedication of the tutors who support Year 7 students with
their literacy needs.
NAPLAN All parents and carers of students in Year 7 and Year 9
should have received a note issued on Thursday 26th April
with the school’s arrangements for NAPLAN. If you did not
receive a letter your child can see their Year Adviser or
Mrs M Moore for a letter.
NAPLAN Assessments for Years 7 and 9 will be on:
Tuesday, 15 May: Language and Writing
Wednesday, 16 May: Comprehension
Thursday, 17 May: Numeracy (calculator needed)
If any student is absent, he/she will be required to catch
up doing these assessments on Friday, 18 May in the
library at 9:05am; after he/she has had their roll call
marked they should then go straight to the library to
meet Mrs M Moore. (This includes students involved in
the SWS Dance Festival)
Equipment needed: glasses if worn, pencil, eraser,
sharpener, a calculator for Maths, a reading book and a
bottle of water in a clear plastic bottle. All mobile phones
are to be switched off and left in bags or not brought to
school.
P & C SCHOOL CANTEEN It is with regret that I have to inform you that the P&C
School Canteen has ceased to exist at the end of Term 1.
Unfortunately it became untenable for the P&C
committee and members to continue with this
commitment. On behalf of all present and past parents I
wish to express a sincere thank you to all the canteen
staff and parent volunteers who have provided a valuable
service.
In particular I wish to recognise the wonderful service
provided by Margaret Anderson (Canteen Supervisor).
For over two decades she has ‘filled’ the stomachs of the
pupils as well as put smiles on their faces!
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Elderslie High School Educating all students to achieve their personal best Page 3
Sue Taylor and Gayle Lees have ably assisted Margaret for
many years. Thank you very much ladies. I wish you good
health and much happiness in the future.
D Moore
ex President of EHS P&C
EHS P & C MEETING Tuesday, 8 May The next meeting of the P&C will be held in the staff
common room starting at 7.30pm.
At this meeting we shall attempt to elect a committee for
2012. All parents/guardians and members of the
community are entitled to attend these important and
informative meetings, so please make time to attend and
consider standing for one of the four offices. This is a
practical way we can all support our children and their
school.
DUKE OF EDINBURGH Another year of D of E is in full swing. All the Gold and
Silver expeditions have been successfully completed,
despite some trying weather conditions during Term 1.
Bronze expedition training will commence in Term 3 with
expeditions commencing in Term 4.
It is important that all D of E participants regularly log
onto the ORB and complete the other sections of the
award. I would anticipate that all sections for students in
Bronze and Silver level be completed by the end of Term 4
this year (2012) so that the next level of award can be
commenced early in 2013.
Just a reminder that a new “continuation” fee has been
introduced by the Award Office. Participants are now
required to pay $45 to progress from one level to the
next. This money needs to be paid to the Student Office.
Elderslie High School will again have the annual ski trip in
late August for D of E participants, this is a great
opportunity and I encourage all participants to attend.
More information will be forthcoming in the next few
weeks.
If there are any questions or enquiries please do not
hesitate to contact me.
Paul Marshall
D of E Coordinator
OUR PEER READING SCHEME For many years our school has run a reading scheme for
students in Year 7 which allows them to improve their
reading and literacy skills. 11 students in Year 10 are
undertaking this TAFE Peer Tutor Literacy course and for
25 minutes every day we work with our Year 7 tutee
through texts that they are currently doing in class. Both
tutees and tutors think this is a rewarding scheme where
we learn from each other and become friends.
All students in the scheme have improved drastically since
the beginning of the year and to celebrate we had a pizza
day at the end of last term. They are all continuing to
improve and when this course is over the Tutors will have
finished a TAFE course and the tutees will be much better
in reading and literacy.
Everyone involved in the scheme would like to thank both
Mrs Moore and Mr van der Zwaag who put in their time
to organise this scheme and allow it to happen. Also each
year we receive funding assistance from the local Camden
Rotary Club who covers the costs of the program and so
we thank them as well.
Elizabeth Knowles
Year 10 Peer Tutor
LIBRARY NEWS We’re excited about recent
enhancements to our IT facilities
in the library. With 6 new
desktops and 20 laptops, we’ve
achieved our goal of ensuring
every student visiting the library
with their class has access to a
computer.
It is very satisfying also to see so many enthusiastic
readers borrowing from our book collection. Many of our
borrowers seemed to have an insatiable appetite for
‘Hunger Games’ just before the holidays.
Thanks to everyone who made suggestions for our ‘Books
We Should Get’ display. You should spot some of those
books in the collection by now.
R van der Zwaag
Teacher/Librarian
Our Year 10 Tutors
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Elderslie High School Educating all students to achieve their personal best Page 4
ENGLISH Year 11 English Studies Preparing for Work Year 11 English Studies recently completed a unit of work
designed to give them an advantage in the workforce.
This unit assisted students in seeking appropriate
employment, compiling resumes, drafting letters of
application and preparation for formal interviews. As part
of their formal assessment task, Year 11 English Studies
students were required to undertake a panel interview
with two Human Resource Officers from My Gateway
Employment Services and Mrs Skaroupka, our Careers
Advisor. The students were required to attend in suitable
interview attire, submit a resume and documentation. All
students should be acknowledged for their participation
and application to the task. Jarrod Crick, Bryton Noble and
Kieran Baughan all performed particularly well and
Christopher McClymont was the star interviewee of the
day. A special thanks to My Gateway Employment
Services for allowing their staff to participate and Mrs
Skaroupka for her time and guidance.
Year 11 Students preparing for
work/interviews
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Elderslie High School Educating all students to achieve their personal best Page 5
MATHEMATICS Year 10 Class Changes Due to changes in student numbers, we have reduced the
number of Year 10 classes this term. The students who
were in 10 ME, taught by Ms Juske and Mrs Rouen have
been moved to other classes and several students have
been moved into the 5.3 course based on their overall
performance and work ethic. All of these changes were
made in the consultation with their classroom teacher.
Year 7/9 NAPLAN All of Year 7 and 9 students will be sitting their NAPLAN
examinations in Week 4. Students can prepare for the
numeracy component by using MATHLETICS and their
teachers will also use some lesson time to review their
skills and examination technique.
MATHLETICS With the half yearly examinations fast approaching, all
students in Years 7 to 10 should be regularly using
MATHLETICS to consolidate the skills they have learnt in
class.
We would expect students to complete 1 to 2 activities
each night if they have no other Mathematics homework
allocated. We still have several students who have not
paid for their MATHLETICS, and this could disadvantage
them in their upcoming examinations. As soon as students
make this payment they should see Mrs Amos or their
classroom teacher to be given their username and
password.
Mathematics Competition The Australian Mathematics Competition will be held on
Thursday 2 August and the Maths Faculty would like as
many students as possible to be involved. All students
wishing to enter need to pay $5.50 to the Student Office
by Tuesday 8 May as the official entry must be completed
then. Students on Academic Scholarships and all Year 8
and 9 Gifted and Talented students will be automatically
enrolled into the competition. If there are any queries
about the competition, students need to ask their maths
teachers for more details.
Half Yearly Examinations The Half Yearly Mathematics Examination dates are:
Year 7 - Friday, 11 May (calculator and non calculator)
Year 8 - Tuesday, 8 May (non calculator in class)
- Thursday, 17 May (calculator in the hall)
Year 9 - Thursday, 10 May (calculator in the hall)
- Monday, 14 May ( non calculator in class)
Year 10 - Friday, 18 May (calculator in the hall)
Aboriginal Numeracy Challenge A group of 11 students from Years 7 to 10 attended the
Aboriginal Numeracy Challenge during Term 1 at Sarah
Redfern HS. They were: Lori Craker, Georgia Eggert, Keely
Formosa, Courtney Jones, Kimberley Rouland, Catherine
Lambeth, Rhys Worger, Joshua Rouland, Erin Worger,
Brock Humphries and Matthew Lambeth.
During the day the students participated in a range of
numeracy activities including; Deadly Data, Jeopardy,
Problem Solving and Thinking on Our Feet. Overall our
school came second on the day.
NSW PREMIER’S STUDENT
VOLUNTEERING The Premier’s Student Volunteering program is on for
Years 9-10. If you are participating in any voluntary
activity you are eligible to log on the Volunteering website
where you log in your hours and after only 20 hours of
volunteering you have achieved your bronze award. You
can achieve 5 different awards within the program from
bronze to black opal, plus you have helped your local
community, which is a great achievement. This will also
help you in applying for a job, you can show these awards
to your employer, which will help your chances in
becoming a worker.
Volunteering can include work such as coaching a sport
team, we will be coming around to your roll classes to ask
who would like to log in their hours for volunteering. If
you have any enquiries, see Mrs Rouen, Mr Kafataris or
Miss Zammit for any help and enrolling in the program.
We hope to see you volunteering in the near future!
Tim and Lachlan
WELFARE Year 7 is thankful that the first visit by the vaccination
nurses is over and all have survived. There was, however
an administration error. All parents received a sealed pack
from SW Sydney Area Health. A small number of the girls’
packs contained information only in the Varicella
(measles/yellow) envelope. They did not contain the
vaccination form. If you did not receive this form and wish
your child to be vaccinated for measles – you may either
contact the school, leaving your daughter’s name and we
will arrange for them to receive a card or your child may
come to the Welfare office and collect a card.
Year 10 students will receive their vaccination cards
during Term 2.
P Skaroupka
Congratulations to ex-student, Peter McWhirter, who
has won the Country Music Channel’s Best New Artist Best New Artist Best New Artist Best New Artist
of the Year.of the Year.of the Year.of the Year.
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Elderslie High School Educating all students to achieve their personal best Page 6
A reminder to parents to notify the school
about your child’s health We welcome information from parents about your child's
health, even if you are not requesting specific support
from our school. Our school asks for medical information
when you enrol your child. It is also important that you
let us know if your child’s health care needs change or if a
new health condition develops.
Information about allergies, medical conditions such as
asthma and diabetes and other health care related issues
(including prior conditions such as medical procedures in
the last 12 months) should be provided to the school by
parents. Please provide this information in writing to the
principal. This will greatly assist our school in planning to
support your child’s health and wellbeing.
Please also remember to notify staff in the school office of
any changes to your contact details or to the contact
details of other people nominated as emergency contacts.
We appreciate your assistance in this regard and assure
you that any information you provide the school will be
stored securely and will only be used or disclosed in order
to support your son or daughter’s health needs or as
otherwise required by law.
ANZAC DAY MARCH On Wednesday 25
April, Elderslie High School participated
in the Camden Anzac Day March. Many members of the
SRC, School Captains and students were there to show
our School colours and our respect for the Anzacs. It was
an amazing day filled with amazing people. It was such an
honour to be a part of this celebration.
MUFTI DAY At the end of Term 1 Elderslie High School held a School
Mufti Day to raise money for Chris Gruar’s ride around
the world from Australia to England.
We raised $500 for this worthy cause. Chris was an ex-
student and we are happy to support him.
Todd Thurlow and Jasmine Bonnici
SRC
TAS News Camden show Students from Years 9 & 10 Textiles had the opportunity
to enter various items into the Camden Show.
Thanks to the following students who entered: Sophie
Lindsay, Raelene Carter, Chantelle Oliveri and Julie
French. Congratulations on your great results!
Year 8 Child Studies Year 8 child studies have been studying nutritious lunch
boxes. They have participated in a number of practical
lessons to prepare a variety of nutritious lunches.
They have also been studying their family trees and have
had a baby photo competition.
Year 11 Textiles Year 11 Textiles had the opportunity to attend the Craft
Show at Rosehill Racecourse. Here the students were
able to view the “Textyle” Exhibition and a variety of
stalls, all featuring interesting products to inspire their
creative works.
Thank you to the students who supported this activity.
Year 10 Child Studies Year 10 have been learning about toddlers and their
behaviour, sibling fights, temper tantrums and toilet
training, these are some of the topics being discussed.
During this term we will cover pregnancy and childbirth.
Students will get to take the electronic baby “ELLIE” home
for an evening. I am sure they will enjoy it.
Mrs Ulrich
CAPA NEWS CAPA Update Congratulations to all of the winners from the Talent
Quest and to the Vocal Ensemble and the cast of Singin’
In The Rain, who performed on behalf of Elderslie High
School in the NAB School Performance Tent at Camden
Show. Congratulations to Bradley Roe from Year 12, Leah
Morgan and Bronte De Sousa from Year 10 and Jamie-Lee
Turner from Year 10 on winning the Battle of the Schools
Talent Quest Best Performance Item at Camden Show.
Well done to all!
Congratulations to Bradley Roe from Year 12, Jessica Olah
from Year 11, Jamie-Lee Turner from Year 10, Kara
Valente from Year 10 and Brooke Murray from Year 9 on
your amazing performances at the Live Smart Festival on
Sunday, 1 April 2012. You represented Elderslie High
School admirably and we appreciate you giving up your
time on a Sunday to perform.
During Week 6 of Term 1 the Ballroom Dance Ensembles,
Dance Company and Dance Ensemble taped their dance
pieces for the South Western Sydney Dance Festival,
2012 and for Schools Spectacular, 2012. Congratulations
to the Dance Company, Dance Ensemble and Ballroom
Dance Ensemble on gaining selection for the Festival.
Permission notes have gone home and need to be
returned with payment for transport, to the student
office. Good luck to those groups. Costume hire and
fundraising chocolate money is now overdue. Please
PARENT BULLETIN MAY 2012
Elderslie High School Educating all students to achieve their personal best Page 7
organise payment immediately to the Student Office.
Costumes for all of the groups are filtering in and will all
be organised as soon as they arrive.
Nominations are open for the Junior and Senior State
Dance Camps held at the Sydney Dance Company
Studios. Dancers have the opportunity to be taught
various styles of dance by industry professionals. If
students are interested please see Ms Dennis in the
Drama Studio for more information and how to apply.
Applications for the Junior Camp are due on Monday, 14
May 2012. Applications for the Senior Camp are due on
Monday, 21 May 2012.
The Creative and Performing Arts polo shirts and singlets
are now available in all sizes from the Studio. Students
must pay at the student office and present their receipt to
Ms Dennis or Ms Grimston-Eason in the studio to collect
their polo shirt/singlet. Polo shirts are $25.00 and singlets
are $15.00.
On Thursday, 22 March 2012 Year 11 - 12 Drama students
viewed a performance of Cosi. The students’ behaviour
was impeccable and they found the performance
interesting.
On Monday, 2 April 2012 the Year 11 CAPA students
presented Bound by Time to an audience of parents and
friends. The students would like to take this opportunity
to thank all of the people who attended on the evening
for their support of their work. If you missed the Drama
performances on this evening, the Year 11 Drama
students will be competing in the State Theatresports
Challenge to be held at Inaburra School, Bangor on
Tuesday, 8 May 2012 from 7 pm. Please come along and
support TEAM ELDERSLIE in this competition. We need
lots of cheering!!
The Year 11 Drama students are looking forward to
competing in The Theatresports Challenge on Tuesday, 8
May 2012 at Inaburra School from 7.00 pm. Good luck
Year 11!
The Year 12 Drama students are looking forward to
competing in Fast and Fresh on Friday, 18 May 2012 at
Riverside Theatre. They will be presenting their playbuilt
work Time To Eat. Good luck Year 12!
The Dance Transition Program with Mawarra, Elderslie
and Cobbitty Public School is in full swing, with one of our
five rehearsals complete we are well and truly on our way
to creating a fabulous routine for the Sydney Eisteddfod
in July.
The Year 7, 8 and 9 Drama students will be attending a
performance of Romeo and Juliet on Thursday, 24 May
2012 at the Sydney Opera House. The students will gain a
much clearer understanding of this wonderful
Shakespearean play. Permission notes and money are
due to the student office asap.
CAPA Faculty
Mock Trials Update A group of dedicated Year 10 and 11 students are taking
on the world of Mock Trials this year. The team members
are Claire Meikle, Brad Pearson and Isabella Wisniewska
from Year 11 and Tianna Bell, Lachlan Burke and Erin
Middleton from Year 10. The students have been working
hard during lunchtimes and after school to perfect their
knowledge of the legal system, court processes and the
case they are studying.
The team competed admirably in their Round 2 encounter
against St Patrick’s College, Campbelltown.
Congratulations on your win! Our Third Round encounter
will be in early May. Good luck team!
Debating and Public Speaking Update On Friday, 4 May 2012 Elderslie High School will host the
District Final of the Plain English Speaking Award on
behalf of The Arts Unit. We will welcome senior public
speakers from local government and private schools.
Good luck to Caitlin Hooper and Suzanna Moschetti from
Year 12 who will represent Elderslie High School at the
Final!
Congratulations to the Year 12 Debating team, consisting
of Suzanna Moschetti, Alicia Sullivan, Kahli Bailey and
Mitchell Christie on their win in Round 1 against Hoxton
Park High School and their win in Round 2 against
Hurlstone Agricultural High School. Good luck in Round 3!
The Year 11 Debating Team will be starting their
competition in a few weeks. Years 7 – 10 Debating will be
starting in a few weeks time so listen to the notices for
meetings.
Ms Dennis
SCHOOL FUNDRAISING The Good Guys, Campbelltown Homebase
Unit 13-15, 24 Blaxland Road, Campbelltown
Our school is registered to take part in the “School Dollar Program”.
When a member from our school community makes a purchase of
$25 or more we are entitled to a $1 fundraising. A $500 purchase will
earn the school $40 in fundraising rewards.
What Can You Do? When you purchase any goods please ask for
“school dollars”. The school dollars are then filled in with date and
receipt number and handed into the school office. The more
purchases with the Good Guys, Campbelltown, the more reward
dollars our school will earn.
Please support this venture as it will enable the school to purchase
valuable resources to assist in the education of your child.
NOTE: Please make sure that the back of the school dollars are filled
in with all details.
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Elderslie High School Educating all students to achieve their personal best Page 8
Singin’ In The Rain is coming to Elderslie High
School Singin’ In The Rain is a fabulous musical not to be missed.
Come along and join in all of the fun as Elderslie High
School sings, dances and laughs in the rain in 2012. If you
enjoy Musicals then you will really love, Singin’ In The
Rain. Rehearsals are in full swing and the cast are really
looking forward to the challenge of staging such an
acclaimed musical.
Just a reminder to the cast and orchestra that they have
their second extended rehearsal on Tuesday, 1 May from
3.25 pm – 8.30 pm in the School Hall.
If there are any members of the School Community who
would like to advertise their business in the Program for
the Musical, please contact Ms Dennis in the CAPA
Faculty. We would love your support!
Ms Dennis is also in search of a few set items for the
Musical. If anyone from the School Community could
help me source some of the following items, please
contact MS Dennis in the CAPA Faculty ASAP. The items
are:
White iron table and two chairs (Like picture below)
Wooden park bench
So stay tuned for
regular updates on
our progress.
Tickets will go on
sale towards the
end of May from
the Student Office.
Singin’ in The Rain
will be presented to
the school
community on the
28 – 30 June 2012
at the School Hall.
Creative and Performing Arts Faculty
Talent Quest 2012 The Elderslie High School Talent Quest 2012 was held on
Friday, 9 March 2012 in the School Hall from 7.15 pm. It
was a wonderful evening full of fabulous entertainment.
Congratulations to all of the performers, organisers and
stage crew members. Thank you to the school
community for coming along and really supporting the
performers on the evening. Thank you very much to
Joseph Gatehau for coming along and performing on the
evening. Thank you to our judges; Ms Prigg, Pastor Paul
Stevens from Lifehouse Church, Mr Jacob Nicastri and
Miss April Pickering from CentreStage Dance Studio.
Thank you also to the past students who performed on
the evening; James Gadd, Daniel Almer and Jacob Nicastri.
Many thanks to all of our sponsors; Clintons Toyota,
Runnymede Technologies, Macarthur Credit Union,
Narellan Town Centre, United Cinemas, McDonalds and
Barenz – Camden. Without your support the evening
would not have been such a wonderful success. Start
preparing your acts for Talent Quest 2013!!!
Gifted and Talented Program At Elderslie High School there are many programs
happening to enhance student learning in faculty areas.
The Gifted and Talented program is designed to support
what is already happening in classrooms and to offer
students some extra opportunities. Fifteen students from
Years 8 and twenty students from Year 9 have been
identified by staff for the program and a further fifteen
students from Year 7 will join the program after the half
yearly reporting period.
The Year 8 students have just completed a two period
Science Workshop with Mr Kairouz. The Year 9 students
have just completed a two period Visual Arts and
Literature Workshop with Mr Baylis. Photos from both of
these workshops are on the Gifted and Talented notice
board outside the Studio. More workshops will be
organised for the students after the examination period is
complete.
The Year 9 Gifted and Talented students, in conjunction
with Mr Burke and the VET Entertainment students, will
be preparing an entry in the Great Schools Showoff
competition. Stay tuned for updates on their progress.
Twelve of our senior Gifted and Talented students will be
offered the opportunity to attend the Gifted and
Talented Conference for 2012 later this term.
We will be participating in Mind Marathon and
Tournament of the Minds later in the year. Details about
these events will be available very soon through the Daily
Notices.
The Gifted and Talented Team have been busy compiling
a list of all of the opportunities for our Gifted and
Talented students. This document will be featured in a
future bulletin & also on the school website.
Stay tuned for more exciting things happening for the
Gifted and Talented students at Elderslie High School.
Gifted and Talented Team
PARENT BULLETIN MAY 2012
Elderslie High School Educating all students to achieve their personal best Page 9
AGRICULTURE NEWS What an exciting end of term we had in Agriculture!
Camden Show is always a highlight of the year. Our
display this year featured “Trees on Farms” depicting the
many advantages of trees to the whole farm environment
as well as the commercial value. The display was
constructed by students from Years 9 and 10 and is an
excellent opportunity for us to showcase our school to the
wider community. An enthusiastic group of students, Nic
Palmer, Emily Walker, Nathan Sanjivi, Christine
Newsome, Jory Collins, Wade Whittaker, Lachlan Bain,
Sage Ockers, Sophie Lindsay, Lucy Powell and Todd
Thurlow, worked tirelessly to man the display over the
period of the show and did a fantastic job talking to
children and adults about our display and Agriculture at
Elderslie High School.
Year 8 students, with a little advice from some of the
older students, constructed a scarecrow, “Mr
Sustainability”, for the Scarecrow Competition. He
incorporated many of the sustainable gardening practices
that the students had learnt about earlier in the year and
was awarded 1st
Place in the High School Category – the
prize is a sustainable project donated by Bunnings.
Several students, Sage Ockers, Emily Wilson, Georgia
Mazurkiewicz, Sophie Lindsay, Alysha Coleman, Shayla
Baxter and Jesse Spinks were involved in parading beef
and dairy cattle and did a fantastic job.
In their “spare time” at the show, our enthusiastic Ag
Team also entered the “Young Farmers Challenge” (1st
in
their heat), the “Iron Man Competition” (Jory Collins
came 2nd
in the Junior competition) and the “Wheelie Bin
Relay” (3rd
Place). It was fantastic to see Elderslie High
School being represented in so many different areas of
this community event. The students always look fantastic
in their “Ag Shirts” and present a very positive image of
the school.
Sydney Royal Show began on the last day of term and
many of our Agriculture students attended our excursion
where they were able to see, first hand, a large selection
of the different breeds of livestock involved in Australian
Agriculture. The behavior of these students was
exemplary and a great day was had by all. The Sydney
Royal, for many of our students, however, began early in
Term 1 as they began preparing our entries for the show.
6 weeks before the show we received a batch day old of
meat birds to be reared for the “Meat Bird Pairs
Competition”. It was interesting for students to compare
the growth of these with the Year 7 layer chickens that
arrived at the same time (the meat birds grew at almost
10 times the rate of the layers). The birds had to be cared
for and monitored over this period. Many students
assisted with this project but particular credit needs to be
given to Christine Newsome who was at the school farm
Ms Dennis and Ms Grimston-Eason proudly present……
“Almost Famous” launches @ Elderslie High School
Classes at Elderslie High School Hilder St, Narellan
Ph: 46581110
Thursday Night
5.30 to 6.15pm ZUMBA
7.30 to 8.15pm
Ballroom/Latin/
New Vogue
$8.00 per class Bridal Couples available upon request
$15 each/45 Minutes
All profits made through “Almost Famous” support
Performing Arts at Elderslie High School
Dance classes catering to Dance classes catering to Dance classes catering to Dance classes catering to
Adults. Adults. Adults. Adults. “It’s time for the parents “It’s time for the parents “It’s time for the parents “It’s time for the parents
to have some fun!”to have some fun!”to have some fun!”to have some fun!”
PARENT BULLETIN MAY 2012
Elderslie High School Educating all students to achieve their personal best Page 10
every day feeding and monitoring the birds. A team of
layer hens also needed to be prepared. Results of feed
intake and egg production were recorded throughout the
term and a poster was prepared to be displayed at the
show. Once again, several students assisted with this
project coordinated by Emily Walker who did a fantastic
job. Sage Ockers, as well as being our chief Chook
Selector, also competed in the Poultry Showmanship
Competition and Junior Poultry Judging.
So, despite having 10 of our best purebred chickens stolen
prior to the show, our major awards were as follows:
Champion School Duck
Champion School Drake
Champion School Waterfowl
1st
Place for our Female Meat Bird Pair (out of 60 entries)
1st
Place for our Female Meat Bird Pair Carcass
2nd
Place for our team of Layers
1st
Place for our Egg Production Poster
As well as numerous placing for our pure breed chickens.
The combination of these awards made us the “Most
Successful School Poultry Exhibitor” – not a bad
achievement at Sydney Royal where 45 different schools
were competing! And, as an extra bonus, we won $1,170
in prize money.
Animal Nursery News Even though it was the beginning of the school holidays,
we had a large turnout of students to assist us with our
Animal Nursery at Cobbitty Markets on Easter Saturday. It
was a busy day and thanks to the students who
represented the school, helping the young children
handle the animals. Our next nursery is at Cobbitty
Markets on 5 May and then we are will be at the Camden
Council Family Day on Sunday, 20 May.
Bulb Fundraising Thanks to all of the families and friends who supported
our Bulb Fundraising Drive – all students have now
received their bulbs. We made a profit of $1,130, which
will be spent on shelters for our animals in the paddocks.
M Atkinson
Camden Show Display, Lachlan Bain, Nic Palmer, Nathan Sanjivi,
Christine Newsome
Christine Newsome, Jory Collins and the Meat Birds
Isabelle Prudhomme, Emily Walker and James Craven with the Egg
Production Poster
Sage Ockers and the Champion
School Waterfowl
PARENT BULLETIN MAY 2012
Elderslie High School Educating all students to achieve their personal best Page 11
FUTSAL SOCCER
Elderslie High School Girls’ U14 and U16 Futsal Team
entered in the regional championships on Tuesday 24 and
Thursday 26 April.
The U16 competition was on Tuesday and the whole team
is U14, except for one girl who is U15. The girls lost the
first game to Warilla High 5 – 2. They then played U13
well in the next 2 post games to defeat Leumeah High 8 –
10 and Illawarra Grammar 5 – 0.
The semi-final was against Campbelltown Performing Arts
High and was a tough game. The girls played
exceptionally well and won 3 – 1.
The final was against Warilla, again, and the girls were
very flat and unfortunately were beaten. They now
qualify for the State Finals in August. The team is: Melina
Manna, Erin Brennan, Naomi Raimondo, Rachel Warda,
Chelsea Strutt, Jordan Coe, Lillian Ralston and Yardley
Polsen.
The U14’s competition was on Thursday and our girls
were much more confident playing their own age group.
They won their pool games 8 -10 against Hoxton Park 5 –
1, Cecil Hills 4 – 1, Illawarra Grammar they won the final 9
– 0 and are Regional Champions!
They have a great chance to be State Champions in
August. The team is: Erin Brennan, Naomi Raimondo,
Rachel Warda, Chelsea Strutt, Jordan Coe, Lillian Ralston
and Yardley Polsen.
W Douglas
MACARTHUR ZONE SWIMMING
RESULTS 2012 Elderslie 2038
Camden 1661
Picton 1135
Mt Annan 839
Elizabeth Macarthur 835
Robert Townson 507
Thomas Reddall 154
Macarthur Zone Swimming Age Champions 2012 The 2012 Macarthur Zone swimming carnival was again
held at Camden Pool on Wednesday 7th
and Thursday 8th
March 2012. This year also enabled further change to our
carnival through the use of the electronic timing
equipment hired by the Zone from the Camden Swimming
club.
Many thanks must go to Sue Putvinas from Elizabeth
Macarthur High who operated the timing system for us
and enabled our swimmers to instantly see their times
after each event on the electronic scoreboard.
Congratulations must go to our Macarthur Zone Age
champions for 2012 who are listed below. We again
witnessed a number of fine individual achievements
during the carnival including a number of new records
being set by our swimmers.
The following students all broke Individual Zone records
at the carnival:
� Brittany Stoker (Elderslie) – 4 records
� Adam Taiba (Elderslie) – 1
Finally, many thanks again must go to our school Principal,
Mrs Fawcett, for her continued support of sport within
Elderslie High and Macarthur Zone.
Many thanks.
Dave Arthur (Elderslie High)
Macarthur Zone Swimming Convenor
Macarthur Zone Schools Sports President
OPEN BOYS TENNIS KNOCKOUT A great win against Camden High School. Madison Down,
Joshua Rouland, Luke Burgin and Connor Burgin displayed
excellent skill and a great fighting spirit to secure their
first win. The score was 6 sets to 2. Connor (Year 7
student) played against players twice his height and
successfully triumphed. We await for our next challenge
against either Liverpool Boys or Cecil Hills High.
Bruce Lim
BOYS
Name School
12 Deni HOXHA Elderslie HS
13
14 Daniel TAIBA Elderslie HS
15
16 Adam TAIBA Elderslie HS
GIRLS
Name School
12 Stacey KEARNS Elderslie HS
13
14 Brittany STOKER Elderslie HS
15 Karlee FRANEK Elderslie HS
16
PARENT BULLETIN MAY 2012
Elderslie High School Educating all students to achieve their personal best Page 12
SYDNEY SOUTH WEST REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2012
Zone Pointscore
1. Macarthur 1,865 5. Hume 394
2. Westfields 776 6. Lansdowne 392.5
3. Bankstown 729.5 7. Fisher 261
4. Bernera 566 8. Edmondson Girls 161
School Pointscore (Top 10 Schools)
1. Westfields SHS 776 6. Picton HS 235
2. Elderslie HS 695 7. Elizabeth Macarthur HS 214
3. Camden HS 477 8. Mt Annan HS 181
4. Picnic Point HS 474 9. Moorebank HS 181
5. Hurlstone Ag HS 240 =10. John Edmondson HS 172
=10. Campbelltown PAHS 172
SSW Secondary Age Champions – 2012
GIRLS BOYS
12 years Stacey Kearns Elderslie HS
13 years
14 years
15 years Karlee Franek Elderslie HS
16 years
17 years
New Records – 2012
Girls 14 years 50m Freestyle Brittany Stoker Elderslie HS 28.22
Girls 14 years 100m Freestyle Brittany Stoker Elderslie HS 1:01.15
Girls 14 years 100m Backstroke Brittany Stoker Elderslie HS 1:09.88
Girls 15 years 5 x 50m Freestyle Relay Elderslie HS 2:00.23
Girls 4 x 50m Medley Relay Elderslie HS 2:13.18
Another fine performance from all our Macarthur Zone swimmers easily enabled us to win the competition as being the
best Zone at the Regional swimming championships held on Monday 13 March, at Bradbury Pool, Campbelltown.
The most pleasing and obvious highlight of Macarthur Zone’s dominance in the pool was the placing of FIVE Macarthur
Zone schools in the Top 10 Regional schools pointscore (listed above). We also had a number of fine individual performances,
which resulted in Macarthur Zone having TWO (2) students being awarded the prestigious Age Champion title (see above).
This is a truly remarkable achievement from Macarthur Zone!!
I would also like to highlight to you some extremely impressive individual swimming results that included a number of new
regional records being set by our swimmers which are listed above.
Finally a big thank you must go to our strong contingent of parent supporters for getting all our swimmers organised in such
a short space of time from the zone carnival to the regional carnival (only a 2 day turn around), which helped enable our
swimmers to achieve these fine results.
Many thanks,
Dave Arthur (Elderslie High)
Macarthur Zone Swimming Team Manager
Macarthur Zone Schools Sports President
PARENT BULLETIN MAY 2012
Elderslie High School Educating all students to achieve their personal best Page 13
YEAR 7 POETRY COMPETITION Congratulations to all the Year 7 students who entered
the English Faculty’s poetry competition! Each class
teacher selected the top poems from their class to enter
in the grade competition. The poems we received were
fantastic and showcased the students’ new skills in using
figurative language. Well done to our first place winners
Deni Hoxha for his touching sonnet, ‘Mothers’ and
Annabelle Christie for her clever poem about a car,
‘Abandoned’. Second place went to Zeb Senior and third
place to Olivia Garcia.
We were moved by many of the heart-felt pieces, and in
the spirit of Mother’s Day thought we would publish two
beautiful poems about mothers. You can read all our
winners’ poems on the school website.
Mothers, by Deni Hoxha
‘When I need help or just fall off the tracks,
Whenever I fall down or just lose hope,
My mother will be there to get my back,
But lately she just slips away like soap.
Flooded with work and stress she fades away,
Veiled by all the work which pulls her apart,
No matter how much I beg her to stay,
I know beneath the stress still lays in her heart.
Telling myself it’s just a short-small stage,
She starts to realise what she has become,
I know it won’t forever stay this way,
After this she will come back to her son.
Nothing can defeat a mother-son bond
It is something that will always live on.’
The Day You Left, by Olivia Garcia
‘The day you left, it broke my heart
I couldn’t feel my soul, I didn’t have your love.
Cancer had stolen your life.
I felt no joy, no happy world
I was eight, a heart-broken girl.
The globe stopped spinning, the sun shone no light;
I lost my happy when you lost your life.
I still felt your love, but life lost some meaning -
All that happened when you stopped breathing.
That day was dark and the moon wouldn’t give light,
But I still think of you every night.
What had I done to deserve this?
For you to live was my only wish..
You were sweet, kind and smart
I loved you from the start.
Not one day passes when I don’t think about you
Not even one, nor a few.
How does my heart beat when I lost your love?
How can I breathe when your soul is up above?
How can I bear another day?
Because when you left I stayed away.
Now I’m twelve.
It’s been four years and I still wish you were here.
But I am fortunate- at least we met.
I still love you and wish I was there
The day you left.’
To students of all ages who love writing, don’t forget
to enter the upcoming competitions.
Dorothea MacKellar Poetry Awards – due 30 June.
What does Climate Change mean to you? Essay
Writing Competition – due 15 July.
Write-a-Book-in-a-Day for kids with cancer – to be
completed a day before August.
For more information on writing competitions, or to
join the Edmodo Writers Group, please see Miss
Zammit.
A MESSAGE FROM THE CANTEEN Fresh Bites Canteen would like to thank Elderslie High
School for allowing us to operate your canteen for the
interim. Our aim is to provide fresh, healthy,
affordable food together with high quality service.
Fresh Bites Canteen has developed a menu featuring a
range of nutritional foods that are appealing and
beneficial to students and teachers of Elderslie High
School. Our quality menu offers fresh nutritional food
whilst providing value for money to the students and
teachers. Nicole, the Canteen Manager, is available to
assist students with any queries and we would
encourage you to stop by and say hello.
The Canteen will be open from 8.15 am for breakfast
and to receive all pre-ordered lunch and recess items.
To avoid disappointment and queues please pre-order
at breakfast.
PARENT BULLETIN MAY 2012
Elderslie High School Educating all students to achieve their personal best Page 14
PROPOSED CALENDAR EVENTS:
Wk MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
3A
7 May
8 May
P & C Meeting 7.30pm
9 May 10 May
Yr 12 Legal Studies Assess
11 May
4B
14 May
SWS Dance Festival
15 May
SWS Dance Festival
NAPLAN
16 May
SWS Dance Festival
NAPLAN
Yr 11 Maths Ass Task
17 May
NAPLAN
18 May
Yr 10 Geog Coastal exc
Fast & Fresh Drama Comp
20/2 Animal Nursery Family
Fun Day
5A
21 May
Snr Ext English Camp
Sydney Writer’s Festival
22 May
Snr Ext English Camp
Extended Musical rehearsal
23 May
Zone Cross Country
24 May
Yr 7 Vaccination
Yr 8 ‘Tjupurru’ performance
Yrs 7,8,9 Drama to Opera
House
Yr 12 Careers UWS exc
Yr 12 Mod Hist Study Day
25 May
6B
28 May 29 May
School Athletics Carnival
commencing period 2
Dance Transition Program
30 May
School Athletics Carnival
31 May 1 June
7A
4 June
Yr9 laptop collection for
repair project
5 June
Ext Musical rehearsal
6 June
Science Comp
7 June
World Vision
Yr12 AH Pompeii Study Day
Yr11 U-turn the Wheel Day
8 June
World Vision
8B
11 June
QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY
12 June
Ext Musical rehearsal
Dance Transition Program
P & C Meeting
13 June 14 June
Regional Cross Country
15 June
Hilder Street
Narellan NSW 2567
Phone: (02) 4658 1110
Fax: (02) 4658 0219
[email protected] www.elderslie-h.schools.nsw.edu.au
Excellence Honour Service
EHS – Proud to be a public school
P & C MEETINGS ALL parents of students and interested members of
the Elderslie community are invited to these meetings.
Meetings are held in the Staff Common Room on the
second Tuesday of each month starting at 7.30pm
Dates for 2012 are as follows:
8 May
12 June
14 August
11 September
9 October
13 November
Positive Behaviour Learning – PBL During the beginning of this term, Elderslie High School has
been focussed on our school environment and keeping it
clean.
Students have been encouraged to “Bin It” and to keep their
classroom and playground areas free of rubbish.
We have recognised a group of students for their
outstanding efforts in response to the PBL “Bin It Blitz”.