NEWS OCT 2016 Pages 6–7 STEAMpunk Festival of Science Page 12 Robocup champions Page 32 House Athletics Carnival in this issue More photos on pages 16 and 17. The Perth Modern School rendition of Disney’s High School Musical played to sold-out audiences over three nights. High School Musical a smash hit students snuck in to watch best friends and classmates. Opening night finally arrived on Thursday, 11 August and trials and tribulations were forgotten as the house lights went down and Mrs Hamer started the opening number with C’mon Wildcats. Over the next two hours the story unfolded: Troy Bolton, captain of the basketball team and shy new girl Gabriella Montez, an intellectual powerhouse, together challenged established norms in a high school setting and inspired their classmates not to ‘stick to the status quo’. The magic of ‘the high school musical’ transcends the stage and is evident in the friendships that developed between the many students involved. In the lead up to the production students gathered in groups around the school rehearsing, songs were taught by music students to ‘non-music’ students, Year 8 students were teaching Year 11 students choreography and Year 12 students were earnestly conversing with the Year 7 students. New skills were developed in all aspects of the production but none more so than in the production team as they worked alongside specialists using industry specific equipment. Mrs Andrews, Mrs Hamer and I are so proud of our High School Musical family and wish to thank the Perth Modern School community for their support of the production. Term 3 had started with a buzz as actors, musicians and crew counted down to the performance of the biennial school musical. The Beasley Auditorium stage was pushed to its limits as the impressive set was positioned. Fifty students sung and danced their way through the final rehearsals as crew negotiated the movement of set pieces and properties. The placement of the musicians was an exercise in creative problem solving as space was at a premium. Dress and technical rehearsals quickly came and went as actors adjusted to radio microphones and music and lighting cues just in time for our first performance in front of incoming Year 6 students. Tickets became a scarce commodity as the three evening performances rapidly sold out. Teachers were coerced as enterprising SALLY FLOYD, DIRECTOR
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NE
WS
OC
T 2
01
6
Pages 6–7STEAMpunk Festival of Science
Page 12Robocup champions
Page 32House Athletics Carnival
in this issue
More photos on pages 16 and 17.
The Perth Modern School rendition of Disney’s High School Musical played to sold-out audiences over three nights.
High School Musical a smash hit
students snuck in to watch best friends and
classmates.
Opening night fi nally arrived on Thursday,
11 August and trials and tribulations were
forgotten as the house lights went down
and Mrs Hamer started the opening number
with C’mon Wildcats. Over the next two
hours the story unfolded: Troy Bolton,
captain of the basketball team and shy
new girl Gabriella Montez, an intellectual
powerhouse, together
challenged established norms
in a high school setting and
inspired their classmates not
to ‘stick to the status quo’.
The magic of ‘the high
school musical’ transcends
the stage and is evident in
the friendships that developed between the
many students involved. In the lead up to
the production students gathered in groups
around the school rehearsing, songs were
taught by music students to ‘non-music’
students, Year 8 students were teaching
Year 11 students choreography and Year 12
students were earnestly conversing with the
Year 7 students. New skills were developed
in all aspects of the production but none
more so than in the production team as
they worked alongside specialists using
industry specifi c equipment.
Mrs Andrews, Mrs Hamer and I are so proud
of our High School Musical family and wish
to thank the Perth Modern School
community for their support of the
production.
Term 3 had started with a buzz as actors,
musicians and crew counted down to the
performance of the biennial school musical.
The Beasley Auditorium stage was pushed
to its limits as the impressive set was
positioned. Fifty students sung and danced
their way through the fi nal rehearsals as
crew negotiated the movement of set
pieces and properties. The placement of
the musicians was an exercise in creative
problem solving as space was at a premium.
Dress and technical rehearsals quickly
came and went as actors adjusted to radio
microphones and music and lighting cues
just in time for our fi rst performance in front
of incoming Year 6 students.
Tickets became a scarce commodity as the
three evening performances rapidly sold
out. Teachers were coerced as enterprising
SALLY FLOYD, DIRECTOR
2 Perth Modern School | NEWS October 2016 Exceptional schooling.
From the PrincipalAn important goal of Perth Modern School is to provide an environment
of inclusiveness by supporting students to take the lead and participate
in a variety of leadership opportunities. Giving students a voice promotes
responsibility, educational engagement and preparedness to meaningfully
participate in society. Supporting students to be active participants in
their schooling plays a vital role in improving their social awareness and
establishing a skill set that will be highly valued in the 21st Century. The
formal student leadership structure involves nominating to serve as Student
Councillors, Form Captains, House Captains and Vice Captains and House
Representatives. Students in Year 9 undertake a tailored Leadership Program
which aims to nurture their leadership abilities. Informally, across the
curriculum students are encouraged to develop leadership skills including
critical thinking, persuasive arguments, decision making and problem solving.
In the classroom, students are empowered to explore and debate issues, think
critically, collaborate with others and communicate eff ectively. Partnerships
with local community groups, charities and businesses off er opportunities
for students to engage in issues they are passionate about. I am delighted
to see so many of our students becoming young leaders and the School is
committed to supporting them in fulfi lling their leadership potential.The Raise the Roof Quiz Night
held in the Tyler McCusker Sports
Centre on Friday, 26 August was
a fantastic night of trivia, raffl es,
games, spot questions and fun with
more than $12 000 going towards
a new 700 seat multi-purpose
auditorium. Thank you to Michael
Henderson, our School Board
Chair, for acting as quizmaster.
A silent auction with fabulous
prizes that had been donated by
generous businesses, parents and
staff was very successful. The quiz
was won by one of the teacher’s
tables.
The whole school production
of High School Musical was
a stunning success with three
sold out shows in the Beasley
Auditorium. Students performed
brilliantly and really gave their all to
the production with some standout
performances from the cast. From
the set to the costumes to the
music, the show was a delight from
start to fi nish and is a tribute to the
hard work and talent of Director
Sally Floyd, Choreographer Lisa
Andrews and Musical Director
Elizabeth Hamer. Congratulations
to all students and staff involved.
Science Week was a fabulous and stimulating week with students involved in a series of
activities and presentations based on the theme ‘Drones, Droids and Robots.’ The Day of
Notables was a special highlight with presentations from the Chief Scientist, Professor
Peter Klinken, WA Governor Kerry Sanderson and Dr Karl Kruszelnicki. Dr Karl was
introduced to the students by Zorabot, an interactive robot that can read books, conduct
exercises, tell jokes and play games. Dr Karl presented to the students for 90 minutes and had
three messages of hope for the students – that global warming could be fi xed, that most of
mankind lived in an era of unprecedented peace and that young people held the future in
their hands by going into fi elds like politics and science. Dr Karl also had lunch with around 30
students who had won the chance to sit with him and pick his brain.
For Science Week Year 10 students participated in a day of STEAMpunk Science, selecting
two workshops in either Coding, Food Science, CSI: Forensics, Laser Cutting, 3D Printing and
Drones, Dissections, Sci-Fi Writing, Sustainability – Recycled Art or The Genome Project. Year 8
students visited Scitech and participated in a forensic activity and Year 9 students participated
in the ‘Fireballs in the Sky’ activity with Curtin University, which was in collaboration with
the Library for Book Week. Students in all years participated in a ‘Smarter than a Scientist’
quiz and a marshmallow catapult competition run by House leaders. Thank you to Science
Week Coordinator Tania Elliott and all Science Department staff for a wonderful week of
enrichment activities.
The House Athletics Carnival was a very successful celebration of the House system with
students provided with an opportunity to challenge themselves physically and to interact
with their peers and teachers in a fun atmosphere. Student participation was excellent
with many students dressed in colourful and creative House outfi ts. Parsons came fi rst,
Downing second, Sampson third and Brown fourth. Downing was victorious in the Novelty
Cup, followed by Brown, Sampson and Parsons. Thanks to Head of Health and Physical
Education Mark Muir, Physical Education staff , Steve Jurilj, Grant Staff e and all staff
members for their support.
The Student Council organised a fun day of activities for RU OK Day which raised
approximately $2000 for the RU OK Foundation. The Foundation works to ensure there is
a sense of connectivity amongst us all and that we regularly think to ask our friends and
acquaintances R U OK? Thank you to Deb Leske and the Student Council for organising this
successful event.
Perth Modern School | NEWS October 2016 3Exceptional students.
Congratulations to our newly elected
Head Girl Naomi Cha and Head Boy
Sagar Badve. Both students have
proven leadership qualities fi nely honed
as Student Councillors over many years
and will undoubtedly do a fi ne job
representing the student body and
acting as Masters of Ceremonies at offi cial
events. Congratulations also to all Student
Councillors elected by their peers and thank
you to all students who participated in the
election.
Perth Modern School staff bid a sad farewell
to Jo-Anne Guthrie who has retired after
working in the Front Offi ce for 16 years. Jo,
as she was known, was a well-respected
member of the administration team,
providing her support and expertise to the
many managers, principals and teachers
with whom she worked. Jo has left to spend
more time with her family including two
small grandchildren and we wish her all the
best.
Congratulations to Mathematics teacher
Jarrad Strain who was nominated for a
Beginning Teacher of the Year award in
the 2016 WA Education Awards.
Congratulations also go to Front Offi ce staff
member Kaylene Nilsen who was a fi nalist
in the WA State Registrar’s Association
Awards in the Outstanding Administrative
Support Offi cer category.
The Modernian Society held their annual
reunion at the school on 11 September
with Perth Modern School orchestra
students performing a concert in the
Beasley Auditorium and Modernian and
ABC presenter Rebecca Dollery acting as
MC. Thank you to Roger Hey and Music
Department staff for their hard work
in preparing the music students for the
concert.
I congratulate the following current and
former students for their successes:
• Claire Chua in Year 12 is the
Australia-wide winner of the Dorothea
Mackellar Poetry Awards Senior Division
for her poem ‘the concrete jungle safari’. Claire’s prize includes national promotion
of her poem, $500, a trophy, a collection
of books and a trip to the National
Presentation ceremony in Gunnedah.
• Year 10 students Orlagh Latawski,
Jemima Loveland, Amy Whittle-
Herbert and Eloise Oakley were the
Grand Final runners-up in a close decision
in the Junior Division of the West
Australian Debating League.
• Patrick Pham and Darren Moh in Year 9
were the WA winners of the Australian
History Competition Year 9 category
and Ronan Pettit in Year 10 was the WA
winner for the Year 10 category.
• James Townshend and Ali Bahar in
Year 7, Katrina Hooper and Hasti Bahar
in Year 9, Reagan Trac, Dylan Toop,
Kevin Linarto, David Yoo and Ee Keat
Beh in Year 11 won fi rst place in their
divisions in the 2016 RoboCup WA State
Championships. Calvin Workman and
James Fernihough in Year 9 placed third
in their category.
• Laura Prince in Year 11 is the recipient
of the City of Armadale Young Writers
Award for Years 11 and 12.
• Radheya Jegatheva in Year 12 and
sibling Rahul Jegatheva in Year 10 were
selected as part of a team of four to
represent Australia at the World Youth
Scrabble Championships in Lille, France.
Rahul ranked 51st and Radheya 65th.
• Anna Babriecki in Year 9 won third place
in the lower secondary category of the
Tim Winton Young Writers Awards.
Grace Oakley in Year 7 was a fi nalist.
• Maia Harlap in Year 9 was the top female
student at the WA Schools State Chess
Championships.
• Emily Tang, Swarna Gajendran,
Kimberley Tay and Senuri Liyanage
in Year 10 placed fi rst in WA in the
Australian Brain Bee Challenge with
Emily placing second individually.
• Raeann Ng in Year 11 was awarded fi rst
place in the WA Japanese Language
Speech Competition and represented
WA at the National Finals in Sydney.
• Ali Park was fi rst for Second Language
and Jessica Yang fourth for Background
Language in the State Chinese Speech
and Writing Competition for Year 10.
• Robert Campbell in Year 8 achieved
fourth place in the State Chinese
Speech Competition. He also achieved
a Certifi cate of Excellence in the State
Chinese Writing Competition.
• Oliver Pulsford and Liane Chinnery
in Year 11 and Rebecca Green, Jesse
Hafner, Bedanta Dhal, Angela Antoff
and Matthew Collins in Year 12 were
invited to participate in the Alliance
Française Oral Examinations.
• Parmida Ghorbanian in Year 10, Oneli
Weerasinghe in Year 7 and Imasha
Weerasinghe in Year 8 achieved an
elite award in the Language Perfect
Competition for Japanese.
• Keith Wong in Year 7 was the joint
winner in the Australian Geography
Competition for his year group.
Tommaso Puccini in Year 7, Arabella
Brosnan and Ezekiel Gohin in Year 8 and
Ethan Dowley in Year 9 achieved in the
top one per cent.
• The combined team of Kylie Tan, Julia
Seitz, Jemima Loveland and Aayushi
Shah in Year 10, Sophie Kemp and Julia
Aguinot in Year 8 and Andrea Tan in
Year 7 won the Creativity Award in the
Tournament of Minds.
• Alden Bong in Year 12 and Andrew
Thanur in Year 11 are the state-wide
winners in the Senior and Junior Divisions
respectively in the UNSW Australian
Economics and Business Studies
Competition. Ankit Rangan and Arun
Jha in Year 11 and Arka Prava Chanda in
Year 12 achieved High Distinctions.
• Radheya Jegatheva in Year 12 won the
Best Youth award for his short fi lm Finding
Home in the ReelOzInd! Australia
Indonesia Short Film Competition
and Festival, the Gilbert Adler Award for
FilmCom Down Under and Best Student
Short Film in the Highway 61 Film
Festival in Minnesota, USA.
• Angel Yu (Class of 2011) has accepted a
great job with Google in Silicon Valley.
• Flynn Burgess Hamilton in Year 9 and
Rahul Jegatheva in Year 10 won multiple
medals, including gold, in the WA State
Swimming Championships.
• Robert Scriba in Year 9 was awarded A
Division Most Valued Player in the WA
Volleyball Junior League.
• Former student Tamsin Cook came sixth
in the 400 freestyle in the Rio Olympics
and won a silver medal in the 4 x 200m
Freestyle relay.
Lois Joll, Principal
4 Perth Modern School | NEWS October 2016 Exceptional schooling.
Students asked R U OK?
The Student Council put on a fabulous show for R U OK Day
in 2016. The highlights included a delicious sausage sizzle, a
popular Boost Juice van, booths from various local community
health groups including beyondblue and a visit by a volunteer
from the Shenton Park Dog’s Refuge who brought along a
super cute furry friend, Zeus.
The R U OK Foundation’s vision is a world where we’re all connected
and are protected from suicide. Their mission is to inspire and
empower everyone to meaningfully connect with people around
them and support anyone struggling with life.
From the day’s events, Perth Modern School raised approximately
$2000 for this very worthy cause.
Perth Modern School | NEWS October 2016 5Exceptional students.
Fun at the Raise the Roof Quiz Night
The Raise the Roof Quiz Night
held in the Tyler McCusker
Sports Centre on Friday,
26 August was a fantastic
night of trivia, raffl es, games,
spot questions and fun with
more than $12000 going
towards the Raise the Roof
campaign for a new 700 seat
multi-purpose auditorium.
The quizmaster was Chair of
the School Board, Michael
Henderson, who entertained
and thrilled the audience with a
variety of challenging questions.
A silent auction with fabulous
prizes that had been donated
by generous businesses, parents
and staff was very successful.
The end result was a close aff air,
with one of the teacher’s tables
being named the victors.
Thank you to staff members
who made the event
possible: Steve Jurilj, Val
Furphy, Samantha Bennett-
Bremner, Kerry Kitson, John
Harris, Deb Leske, Sally Floyd,
Nigel Bateman, Mark Muir,
Lisa Manners, Grant Staff e,
Stacey Burton and Karen
Wedemeyer. A very big thank
to Photography teacher Mark
Temov for his donation of two
stunning, framed images for the
auction.
Above: Principal Lois Joll,
Business Manager Stacey
Burton and Business
Support Offi cer Karen
Wedemeyer.
Above: A game of heads or tails
was based on geographical
locations of countries.
Above right: Winners are grinners.
A table of current and past Student Councillors topped the student tables. Student volunteers Sonia Lal and Ella Davies.
Right: Students enjoying the
challenging questions.
Head of the School Board Michael Henderson
was the quiz master and his assistant was
Associate Principal Steve Jurilj.
6 Perth Modern School | NEWS October 2016 Exceptional schooling.
STEAMpunk Festival of ScienceTANIA ELLIOTT, SCIENCE WEEK COORDINATOR
Science went STEAMpunk in 2016 with a ‘Festival of Science’ giving all years a taste of
the action for Science Week.
Year 8 students spent the day at Scitech and
had a wonderful time exploring Science in a
diff erent way. Year 9 students had fun with
the ‘Fireballs in the Sky’ project run by Curtin
University which won the Eureka innovation
award. The program is the outreach arm of
the Desert Fireball Network project, which
aims to understand the early workings of the
solar system by studying meteorites, fi reballs
and their pre-Earth orbits by capturing their
paths in the sky from multiple viewpoints.
Our students had a fi rst-hand look by
downloading the app and following a
projectile on their phone. The projectile was
shot from a cannon on the school oval.
Year 10 students were involved in choosing
from a variety of elaborate and creative
scientifi c workshops such as CSI MOD-Crime
Scene Investigations, The Science of Food,
Dissections, The Genome Project, Sci-Fi
Writing, and using 3D printers and laser
cutters to build Science models.
Years 11 and 12 students were fortunate to
have a variety of scientists work with them
in their classes as part of the Scientists and
Mathematicians in Schools program.
The Day of Notables featured visits from
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, Chief Scientist Peter
Klinken and WA Governor Kerry Sanderson
AC. Zora Zorabot from Smartbots was the
MC and entertainer, talking about her skills
and impressing all with her dancing. Prior
to his talk to Years 10 to 12 about STEM
and the importance of Science, Professor
Klinken was interviewed by several of our
top Science students which was fi lmed by
the Department of Cabinet for their website.
Students thoroughly enjoyed listening to
Professor Klinken as he was informative,
engaging and talented.
Zora also introduced and bantered with
Dr Karl whilst wearing a bright Dr Karl style
shirt. He donated $300 worth of his own
books to the school’s library and had lunch
with about 30 students who had won the
chance to sit with him and pick his brain.
Dr Karl had three messages of hope for
students – that global warming could be
fi xed, that most of mankind lived in an era
of unprecedented peace, and that young
people held the future in their hands by
going into fi elds like politics and science. He
urged our students to think about getting
into politics or science so they will be in a
position to make an ethical diff erence.
Head Boy Brandon Boccola meeting with Zora
Zorabot.
Alexandra Monson, WA Chief Scientist Peter Klinken, Rebecca Green and Mohammad Siddiqui.
Head Boy Brandon Boccola, WA Governor Kerry Sanderson AC, Associate Principal Steve Jurilj
and Head Girl Nhi Danh.
WA Governor
Kerry Sanderson AC.
Perth Modern School | NEWS October 2016 7Exceptional students.
Dr Karl with Zora.
Above: Bella Fitzpatrick
with Dr Karl.
Students participate in the Fireballs in the Sky project.
Students had fun driving Human-Powered Vehicles (HPVs).
Students ham it up with Dr Karl.
8 Perth Modern School | NEWS October 2016 Exceptional schooling.
Claire’s concrete jungle poem wows the judges
Year 12 student Claire Chua said she entered the national
Dorothea Poetry Awards for fun, never expecting to win.
But Claire has won the senior secondary division of the competition
for a poem she wrote, the concrete jungle safari.
Claire’s prize includes national promotion of her poem, $500, a
trophy, a collection of books and a trip to the national presentation
ceremony in Gunnedah, in north-west NSW.
Claire said she was completely shocked but delighted when she
found her poem, which had been her fi rst English assessment for
Year 12, had won the national competition.
The judges said her poem was a fabulous evocation of ancient
Australia within the context of a contemporary urban environment.
the concrete jungle safariWELCOME TO THE CONCRETE JUNGLE,
You’re sitting within a
Wooden tram
Made with purring,
Metal-bodied engines.
Your legs shiver with the desert cold.
In the corner of your eye, you think you spot a dingo.
But then you blink, and then it’s gone.
Your journey begins.
WELCOME TO THE CONCRETE JUNGLE,
If you look above, you can see the city edifi ces glistening—
Like beads and jewels in the neck of this brick-paved outback.
Does it sometimes feel like a dream?
Do you sometimes feel the hiss of the rainbow serpents,
Sliding across sandy linoleum corridors
As the offi ce vents whisper cold air over your collarbones
In the language of the spirits?
Totems and paperwork mingle under fl uorescent lights.
WELCOME TO THE CONCRETE JUNGLE,
If you look above you will be able to see—
A sacred bird,
Gliding, soaring,
Two engines,
A propulsion system.
A lingering scent of
The past, the present—
The then and the now.
WELCOME TO THE CONCRETE JUNGLE,
Oh.
The dingo is back.
You lean over the metal bars of the tram to get a closer look.
And in these streets you feel
The industry-patented air
Clawing at your cheeks.
Carbon, nitrogen…sulfur.
Toxic.
The creature howls,
Golden fur mirroring the sun’s rays.
But you cannot tell if it’s a cry of excitement
Or pain.
(Simply put—you may never know.)
WELCOME TO THE CONCRETE JUNGLE,
Where sacred Jacaranda trees burst
Spewing purple confetti
Over a House of Opera,
And thundering applause.
Down the street the tram goes.
And you notice that
Lean totems line the roads like streetlights…
Or was it that streetlights lined the road like lean totems?
And a voice: THIS HEREBY CONCLUDES THE CONCRETE DESERT SAFARI.
WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE RIDE.
* * *
Until your eyes snap open.
You gradually fl oat out of the reverie, and then back into reality.
You hear voices, trailing passing fi gures, shadows; they’re walking
so fast it’s a violent blur that presses into your ribs. People hustle by
you, their pallid white uniforms a second skin. But when you look
at their eyes, you see… black holes. You rub your eyes. That’s when
you realise you’re standing on a platform of marble and brick and
concrete.
Trains hurtle past. There’s the clink of metal chewing on metal in
a ravenous brawl from the construction site two blocks down.
Light refracts on every surface, a chaos of physics and sunbeams.
Someone pushes past you, the dusty scent of perfume lingering
even as its perpetrator scampers into the crowd, disappearing. You
look down. Clutched in your hand is a bag full of papers and projects
and words and worries.
But where did the dingo go? Is it gone?
(Answer: It’s not. No one leaves the home that is rightfully theirs.)
Perth Modern School | NEWS October 2016 9Exceptional students.
Brothers relate to ScrabbleSTIRLING TIMES
Two Scrabble stars from Perth Modern School fell just shy of a top
50 ranking in the World Youth Championships in France.
Brothers Radheya and Rahul Jegatheva were part of a four-member
Australian team that competed against 140 of the world’s best Scrabble
players.
In the fi nal game, the duo needed wins to place 50th and 30th but both
fell at the last hurdle. Radheya fi nished in 65th place while Rahul was
ranked 51st, his best showing at a world championship.
This year’s championships held in Lille were Radheya’s second
championships and Rahul’s third. Year 12 student Radheya said he and
his brother qualifi ed for the championships after gaining enough ratings
points through monthly tournaments. ‘We have been playing Scrabble
for most of our lives because our dad used to play with us,’ he said.
Year 10 student Rahul said he shared a rivalry with his older brother.
‘I think it is really fun, there is just a really enjoyable element about it,’
he said.
Radheya and Rahul Jegatheva. Courtesy of the Community Newspaper Group
Grace Oakley with Tim Winton.
Success in the Tim Winton Award for Young Writers
Anna Brabriecki in Year 9 has won third place in the lower secondary division
of the Tim Winton Award for Young Writers with her story, Euterpe.
Beneath the Surface, a short story by Grace Oakley in Year 7, was selected as a fi nalist.
Extract of Euterpe by Anna Brabriecki
The cellist and the pianist were fi ghting in their music. You could hear it in the way
that the notes fl owed—not steady and fl uid like a river, like music should be, but
rocky and fi ghting for dominance. You could see it in the intense way that the cellist
gripped her bow and the way in which the pianist frowned at the lack of sheet music
in front of her.
You could hear it in every note that they played; some in unison, some not.
The time and key signatures kept changing. The pianist seemed determined to keep
the song in a haunting minor waltz, with occasional sprinkles of major winding
through like sprouts of green fl ourishing in a dark, dark forest. The cellist, on the
other hand, kept her bow moving, as quick as a hummingbird’s wings, keeping it to a
snappy cut time rhythm that threatened to move into nine-eight at any cost possible.
The result, of course, was that the song never stayed the same.
The cellist looked like she was trying to win whatever contest they had chosen for
themselves, and the pianist appeared to be letting her, pausing in the sweeping
music at intervals to let the deep melody take over. But then she would dive in with
a wild improvisation at the top of the keys, spiralling down into chords again. The
cellist would then fl ick her dyed hair back (not quite red, a bit too deep to be pink),
adjust her boot-clad feet around the base of the cello and let out a silent bark of
laughter, eyes twinkling with mischief, and dive right back in.
The pianist, for her part, looked equally amused, although she didn’t take her eyes off
the keyboard—almost as if she were afraid that if she did, she’d lose the thread of her
song and be left with a few pathetic-sounding G chords. Her plain brown hair—
a sharp contrast to the cellist’s—was messy and falling out of its clumsy ponytail. Her
faded blue t-shirt was slightly sweaty, but she was smiling like the oddly-matched
duet was the most fun she’d ever had—despite its impromptu form.
Anna Brabriecki and Tim Winton.
10 Perth Modern School | NEWS October 2016 Exceptional schooling.
HASS students are the best in WALOUISE SECKER, HEAD OF HASS
Perth Modern School students have excelled in
competitions across a range of disciplines in Humanities
and Social Sciences (HASS).
Australian History CompetitionCongratulations to Patrick Pham and Darren Moh in Year 9
and Ronan Pettit in Year 10 who were the top performers in
the Australian History Competition for Western Australia.
Perth Modern School also had a signifi cant number of students
achieve in the top 50 students nationally. Perth Modern School
was third nationally in the Year 8 category and fi rst nationally for
the Year 9 category.
Australian Economics and Business Studies CompetitionOnce again our students have excelled in the
University of New South Wales’ Australian
Economics and Business Studies Competition.
Congratulations to Alden Bong and Andrew Thanur
who were the state-wide winners for the Senior
and Junior divisions respectively. In addition Arka
Prava Chanda, Ankit Rangan and Arun Jha received
prize money for achieving High Distinctions in the
competition.
Australian Geography Competition
Arka Prava Chanda, Andrew Thanur, Alden Bong and Ankit Rangan.
Ronan Pettit, Darren Moh and Ms Rosie Leece.
Ezekiel Gohin, Arabella Brosnan,
Ethan Dowley, Keith Wong and
Tommaso Puccini.
Keith Wong clearly knows
a thing or two about
geography, being named
the equal fi rst winner in
Western Australia for Year 7
in the Australian Geography
Competition.
A number of students also
achieved in the top one per
cent nationally and are to be
commended on their fantastic
achievement: Tommaso Puccini
in Year 7, Arabella Brosnan and
Ezekiel Gohin in Year 8 and
Ethan Dowley in Year 9.
Perth Modern School | NEWS October 2016 11Exceptional students.
The School of Spatial Sciences at Curtin
University opened Year 10 Geography
students’ eyes to the wide world of
surveying and Geographic Information
Systems.
Rather than using tallies and numbers,
surveying land uses tools such as
theodolites and automatic laser levels
which help measure horizontal distances
and vertical levelling. The talks and activities
were led by a group of Curtin students and
lecturers to attract us to a lesser known, but
by no means unenjoyable, career option.
You frequently hear that ‘there can be only
one winner’ when it comes to participating in
competitions.
This refl ects a point of view that being the ‘last man
standing’ is the sole criteria for success. At the recent
Grand Final for the Western Australian Debating League
(WADL) it was wonderful to hear the Master of Ceremonies
acknowledge Perth Modern School as being successful
due to the large number of students who participated in
the competition this year. We entered 34 teams comprised
of 170 students, with 15 teams winning their division and
17 teams invited to participate in the fi nals.
All our debaters are to be commended on the extra hours
they put into preparation, the level of analysis in their
arguments, the comprehensive evidence displayed as well
as how well they articulated their case in each debate. The
persistence and dedication demonstrated over three terms
by our debaters has been commendable.
Congratulations to Orlagh Latawski, Jemima Loveland,
Eloise Oakley and Amy Whittle–Herbert who competed
in the Grand Final and were named Runner-up Junior
Champions. The team presented an incredible case
Outstanding participation in debating championshipsLOUISE SECKER, DEBATING COORDINATOR