A member of the Nirimba Collegiate group of schools · 2019-10-22 · Futsal Coordinator . Futsal . On Tuesday 27. th. February, both the Boys and Girls Futsal teams represented Seven

Johnson Avenue, SEVEN HILLS 2147. Phone 9624 3329

Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.sevenhills-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/

Seven Hills High School A member of the Nirimba Collegiate group of schools

Newsletter

March 2018

Upcoming Events March

13th Subject Information Night at Wyndham College

Year 7 Taronga Zoo excursion

Year 10 Fast Forward Day at UWS

14th P&C Meeting 7.30pm in the library

14th - 16th ‘Shave for a Cure’ and ‘Crazy Hair Day’ events

30th Good Friday

April

2nd Easter Monday

3rd Easter Show excursion

4th School Cross Country

8th Questacon excursion – Years 7&8

9th P&C Meeting 7.30pm in the library

Student Achievement and Success

To support parents in their role of providing educational guidance to their child we have included in this newsletter a number of articles on at-home strategies that can be employed to increase every student’s chance of academic success.

The Sentral parent portal and school website are other sources of valuable information for parents. I encourage you, if you have not done so already, to join the many parents who have logged onto the portal, to view how your child is progressing. Information on how to log onto the portal can be found on the school’s website

Year 10 Subject Selection Evening All Year 10 students and their parents have been invited to attend the Subject Selection Evening at Wyndham College, which begins at 6.30pm. As well as being provided with general information on the college, students will have an opportunity to discuss, with Wyndham College staff, intended courses of study for the Higher School Certificate.

Your P&C association The Seven Hills High School P&C Association aims to support the school through financial and practical assistance and through input to, and support of, school policies and the school's strategic plan.

General Meetings are held the second Wednesday of the month, during the school term, in the library. Meetings provide a forum for discussion of school events, policies and requirements and are normally attended by the myself and often also by guest speakers from the school staff.

I hope to see you this Wednesday night.

Greg Johnstone

Principal

P&C Annual General Meeting Wednesday, 14th March At the meeting: * Mrs Andrew will be discussing and providing information on how you can support your child in developing the numeracy skills they need for high school and beyond.

All parents, carers and community members are welcome!

Smooth Walking Program During Term 1, Seven Hills High School welcomed a number of primary schools from our local area to participate in the ‘Smooth Walking Program’ for 2018.

The program focused on providing students from Stage 3 with a ‘real life’ high school experience. They participated in and interacted with various subjects, gaining knowledge and understanding of the different subjects on offer: and how timetabling and individual lessons run at high school. The primary school students were accompanied by our Year 10 Peer Support Leaders, who answered their questions, and alleviate any fears about starting high school.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the teachers of Seven Hills High School who generously donated their time and teaching expertise to help conduct the program.

‘Smooth Walking’ has met with great success this semester, with close to 300 Year 6 students engaging in the activities and we are looking forward to welcoming more students in Semester 2.

Year 7 Meet the Teacher/Parent BBQ On Wednesday 28th February, we hosted our annual Year 7 ‘Meet the Teacher and Parent BBQ’ in the canteen area. This event gave both teachers and the families of our Year 7 cohort a time to meet in an informal manner, giving all the opportunity to get to know each other. A BBQ was provided and entertainment in the slideshow presentation from the activities at the Year 7 Camp.

Thank you to all those families who took up the opportunity to put names to faces and we look forward to our journey together over the next 4 years.

Open Night On Thursday 1st March, Seven Hills High School hosted our annual ‘Open Night’ in the school library. The event was well attended by families of potential 2019

Student Study Tip No.1: STUDY SPACE

Before you begin studying you need to make sure you create ideal conditions at home. This ‘study space’ may be your bedroom, study or kitchen table. Wherever it is you need to do the following things to make your study session worthwhile:

• Maintain a tidy desk – no clutter, clear the work area

• Turn off music. Do not get used to having music going – this is a bad habit as when you complete your exams you need to DO IT IN COMPLETE SILENCE.

• Get yourself organised before you begin i.e. get a drink, go to the bathroom and have all your books on hand

• NO DISTRACTIONS – phones off and out of sight, computer off, no checking on-line social sites during studying!

• Make sure you have good ventilation – fresh air flowing and good lighting.

Image from: https://expertbeacon.com/students-can-make-studying-fun-and-efficient-using-memory-tools#.Wp9sceQUm70

Nimen hao! (hello!) Just a quick update on our start to 2018. We have had a very busy and productive beginning to the year and students are progressing nicely with their Chinese skills. We have again purchased a subscription for Education Perfect for Chinese, which allows every Year 7 student to listen to native speakers and immerse themselves in the language.

Results so far show they are engaged and striving to complete tasks given, both in the classroom and at home. This is an invaluable resource that allows students to focus on their own independent learning and consequently, their overall progression has been rapid.

Students have just completed their first speaking task and demonstrated a range of abilities when communicating with their peers. They were allowed to choose their groups and were given time

Parental engagement is a key factor in student success

Here are questions to ask your child about their day at school.

Get a sense of your child's life at school by asking questions that elicit more than a one-word response.

Try one of these conversation-starters:

1. Tell me about the best part of your day.

2. What was the hardest thing you had to do today?

3. Tell me about what you read in one of your classes.

4. Do you think a subject (English, Maths, etc.) is too easy or too hard?

5. What's the biggest difference between this year and last year?

6. Can you show me something you learned (or did) today?

Adapted from: http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/motivate-school-success/10-questions-to-ask-your-child-about-his-day-school

Year 7 students and was a great opportunity for us to showcase, to the wider community, the excellent teaching and learning opportunities that are offered at our school.

The evening began with a BBQ dinner, providing the opportunity for parents to talk to staff, students and parents of currently enrolled students. A tour of the agricultural plot was followed by a formal presentation on various aspects of the school.

The final part of the night saw the groups move around the school and see the learning spaces and programs Seven Hills High School has to offer.

Congratulations to all our student leaders who proved themselves to be excellent guides during the tour.

Matthew Maclaren

Head Teacher Wellbeing

Well done to Ziah Burns, Rachael Banks and Yasmin Howarth on demonstrating their conversation skills in our outdoor lesson.)

to create their own conversations. This collaborative process allowed students to demonstrate their skills and enhance their own ability. Overall students were just keen to have a go.

Keep an eye on future newsletters for the EP World championships that will be coming up. If you have not seen EP ask your children to show you.

Zaijian (good bye)

Mark Harper

Both the boys and girls represented the school admirably. The boys were disappointed to find they were only to play two games but were competitive in both and showed some real attacking flair through both our forwards Jayden and Liam in game one. Peter Davies proved a stalwart in defence and Callum Poulson harassed the opposition each time they received the ball. The boys were unlucky in the first game but proved an equal match to The Ponds High School, losing a tight game 3-2. A brilliant free kick by Marko and an outstanding goal from Liam proved we have what it takes to put them away. William was a brick wall in goal, keeping us in games that could have been out of our reach.

The girls combined to pressure each team they came up against. Despite only the one training session before the tournament, the team took each game in their stride and left nothing on the court. Somnang was aggressive in both attack and defence, Holly and Caitlyn proved strong in defence with Tamara being a revelation with amazing vision. Megan, Stacey and Taylah were a handful with their offensive skills. The girls were unlucky to be denied a goal until the second last game when, within five minutes of coming off the bench, Stacey Brown put the ball in the back of the net, which provided a huge boost to the team.

Both teams handled themselves well in victory and defeat. They approached each game with a good nature and exemplified the school motto, ‘Progress Through Service’.

Aidan Burgess

Futsal Coordinator

Futsal On Tuesday 27th February, both the Boys and Girls Futsal teams represented Seven Hills High School at the School Futsal Tournament at Stanhope Gardens Leisure Centre. The competition was the first for the year and the very first for the new girls’ Futsal team.

Why participating in the SHHS Reading Challenge is so important.

For a student to improve their ability in reading comprehension, they must read outside of class time.

Every two weeks students are given a ‘SHHS Reading Challenge’ card. We are asking parents to spend time each day listening to their child read; as reading out aloud enhances fluency, strengthens comprehension and develops critical reading skills.

All completed cards, returned to the library, go into the draw for iTunes vouchers.

3D printers to create moulds and models

Laser cutter engraving school crest onto a drinking glass

Staff training in the use of the laser cutter

Fabrication Lab In 2017, the school converted a classroom into a fabrication lab (Fab Lab) for the use of students in the subjects of Design & Technology, Textiles Technology, Graphics Technology, Visual Arts and Visual Design, and with applications across a broad range of other subjects.

The aim of the Fab Lab is to provide students with learning experiences through access to the latest digital fabrication technologies, to research, design and create prototypes, solutions and products. In addition to the sewing machines and computers placed in the room, the Fab Lab now boasts two 3D printers and the recent addition of a laser cutter.

This week, Technology staff underwent professional development in the use of the laser cutter. The VLS 3.50 laser cutter is a powerful laser platform where students will utilise this technology to design and create a myriad of products and application using a wide range of materials. These include glass and tile engraving, acrylic and wooden ornaments, plastic and fabric designs and logos, paper artwork, wooden signage, jewellery and much more. Along with the laser cutter, the 3D printers will also be heavily utilised in the Year 7 STEM program for the design and creation of prototypes throughout the year.

David Erwin

Deputy Principal

Parents can support their child meet our school’s expectations on a daily basis by:

• Ensuring they have their uniform ready for the next day; • Of an evening, making sure they know what subject they have the next day and that they have

packed their equipment and correct books; • Ensuring that they arrive to school on time; and • Encouraging them to write all their homework and assignments in their school diary.

All students can utilise Mathletics to consolidate learning and most mathematics teachers assign Mathletics as homework each week. Some teachers assign other worksheets or booklets as homework but all students have mathematics homework. We encourage all students to strive for 1000 points between Monday and Sunday. Parents can easily see both daily points and the weekly total on the home page. Students should revise tasks that relate to current classwork, they then have an opportunity to revise any topic or concept that requires revision.

Joanne Andrew

Head Teacher Mathematics

Yes, there is maths homework!

Mathletics

Mathletics is a structured and interactive online learning space. It is aligned to the mathematics curriculum and it caters to individual student learning needs.

Our school generously supports all students with a Mathletics subscription and provides them with opportunities to access technology in lessons or at lunchtime in the library and at Homework Club on a Wednesday afternoon. Students receive instant responses to mathematical questions that assists with their confidence and the development of both the correct procedure and increased understanding of concepts as they progress.

There is an online tutorial option and students select either the ? or i depending on which Mathletics platform they are using. This tutorial takes students through step-by-step methods to solve each question. In addition to tasks for every mathematics topic, there are times tables, concept searches, videos, booklets and mental maths activities available. Mathletics can be accessed either on a PC or tablet.

From Wednesday March 14 to Friday March 16, our school will be participating in the World Greatest Shave to support the Leukaemia Foundation. Students and their families can participate and help to raise money in a number of ways:

1) Paying $5 to have their hair coloured in the morning on one of these days. 2) Volunteering to have their head shaved. 3) Bidding for the privilege of shaving one of several teachers’ heads on Thursday or Friday. 4) Donating $1 to watch the volunteers have their heads shaved in the hall at lunchtime. 5) Sponsoring a teacher who is getting their head shaved at the following link:

http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/sevenhillshigh

Thank you,

The Student Representative Council