NEW PREFECTS FOR 2009 - 2010

This fortnight we have many students to congratulate. We have just completed our elections for the Prefects and Captains for 2009-2010. Many excellent candidates campaigned for these leadership positions and on behalf of the whole school I would like to congratulate our newly elected Prefects who will take up their positions next term.
Our new Prefects are
Tim Biviano (Captain)
Max Christensen
Max Elliff (Vice Captain)
Danny Jung
Cameron Ludowyke
Sean Sadimoen
Megan Batchelor (Vice Captain)
Miranda Che
Gabrielle Hardy (Captain)
Paige Kenny
Tasha Samuels
Jiyeon You

School Captains and Vice Captains
WORLD SKILLS - HOSPITALITY
Congratulations to Justin Chan who was placed second in the Regional Competition for World Skills Hospitality and to Dale Parker who performed very well in this elite competition. Thank you to
Mrs Urquhart for the intense preparation and support of our two candidates.
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY, PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
Congratulations to Emily Schacher who was placed in the top 20 in a field of predominantly university entrants.
AUSTRALIAN UNDER 16’S WOMENS’ HOCKEY TEAM
If you have been following e-news this year…. you should know who our successful representative is in this team…. Josie de Waal. This is a magnificent effort for any student to be selected in a national representative team. Well done Josie. I know that we will all be watching her career with interest both now and in the future.
LINKING WITH THE WORLD
In the past week we have held information nights for the Japan Study Tour – for April 2010 and for the France and Italy Study Tour – for October 2010. These study tours have received Department of Education and Training approval and are to support the language programs that are delivered in the school between years 8 – 11.
Having had the opportunity of representing the Department of Education and Training in China last month has made me acutely aware of the benefits to young people of being able to effectively communicate in more than one language and the opportunities that exist to work around the world. Whilst in Beijing I had the good fortune to meet one of my former students who is now a Counsellor in the political economy section of the Australian Embassy in Beijing. (It was heartening to see that some of my former economics lessons are being put to good use.)

Employment opportunities such as this are enriched for those students who are able to speak a second language. I would like many of our students to consider the potential benefits of studying a continuers language program in years 9 or 11….. or even venturing to start a beginners program in the senior school.
Last Saturday our school hosted the annual F.A.N.S. dinner – for the French Association that supports the bilingual French program at Killarney Heights Public School. The dinner was a great success and I have taken the opportunity to invite the new F.A.N.S. President, Veronique Tormey to our Annual Presentation Night to present our inaugural French Accelerants Prize. At the same time we are exploring business links that may help to provide future employment opportunities for students who have completed our French Acceleration program for the HSC, whilst in Year 10.
Later this month we are preparing to host a film crew from CCTV – China. They are producing a six part television documentary relating to Chinese students studying in Australia. They will be filming in most states and territories and predominantly in universities, I believe. However, we have been selected as the New South Wales school to be involved in this program. This will be an opportunity for the Department of Education and Training and the International Student Centre to showcase some of the quality education that is provided to students who study in NSW schools. It will also be an opportunity for some of our parents in China to see their children in our educational setting.
I would like to thank the parent organizers of the Year 7 parent dinner that took place on Wednesday 2nd September. It was a lovely evening and terrific to see so many parents in attendance. It was also interesting to find out how many students are using the YourTutor online tutoring service. I would remind all parents that this is an opportunity for children to develop more skills as self directed learners and is an opportunity for them to get guidance without having the work done for them. There should be no excuses for homework not being done and no need for students to badger their parents for help – or even worse…. to do the homework for them.
It is always wonderful for parents to take an interest in what the students are learning, but as I heard again on Wednesday evening, the issue of homework can sometimes cause strains with the parent-child relationship. Please encourage your children to seek out the answers to their problems, because it will equip them well for when they enter any post-school studies. As one former Year 12 student told me last week “when you get to Uni THEY don’t care about you” – in reference to the lecturers etc. “you are on your own”. It is for this reason that we are committed to developing life-long learning skills amongst all of our students. This is part of the reason that statistics show that public school students have a lower failure rate and drop-out rate at university than their private school counterparts. We aim to teach our students how to learn.
FORTHCOMING ACTIVITIES
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Saturday night 5th September 6.30pm for 7.00pm – The Back to The Future Dance – our major P&C Fundraiser for this year. $25.00 – bring your party food and your dance shoes. The music from the Brass Boyz will be fabulous and there are great prizes etc. to be won on the night. If you haven’t got your ticket – contact one of the organizers – Katie Kenny or Marianne Lanfranca. We are really looking forward to a fun night in Crossley Hall.
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Monday 7th September – International Day. This is a fun day to celebrate the cultural diversity that is Killarney Heights High. It is an opportunity to demonstrate our unity in diversity and will include fabulous food stalls, activities and concert. All students are encouraged to put a few extra dollars in their pockets to enable them to partake of the fabulous annual feast… that exists at the student food stalls.
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Friday night 11th September – Year 12 Showcase. At this evening we will have displays of the HSC Visual Arts, Photography and Design and Technology major works, as well as some HSC music and drama performances. This is a special evening for Year 12 students and their families. It is an opportunity to share and celebrate the enormous effort that has done into these works and performances for the HSC. Finger food and refreshments will be provided by the Hospitality classes.
NEW THINGS ON THE HORIZON
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Year 8 – in term 4 will be working on some special research projects that will be showcased to the local community.
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Year 9 – in term 4 will be receiving their Lenovo notebook computers . This will be discussed at the next P&C meeting. Year 9 will also be preparing for their Learning Journeys – to be presented in term 4.
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Year 10 – a team of students will be working on the new school magazine for 2009.
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Year 12 have been working through HSC oral examinations for languages and HSC drama performances this week. The marking of HSC Music and Design and Technology major works will occur in the next two weeks.
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Year 12 Graduation night is coming up on Thursday 1st October. HSC examinations start in the school hall on 20th October 2009. All HSC candidates are reminded that they need to ensure that they are aware of their personal HSC examination timetable and I expect that every candidate is spending at least 3 hours per night in revision and study preparation.
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E-Smart Trial. Our school is one of only three in the Northern Sydney Region that is involved in trialling new materials to address issues around cyber-bullying and developing policies and procedures to help students develop ethical behavior and strategies to deal with any issues of cyber-bullying that they may encounter. It is also an opportunity for us to revise all of our technology policies within our school.
An item of university news – from the University of New South Wales in relation to HSC Plus bonus points is available for this year’s HSC graduates on
http://www.unsw.edu.au/futureStudents/undergrad/ced/HSCPlus.html
There is also additional information for Elite Athletes and Performers, where it is noted that the university has “recently enhanced the leadership component of this Program by adding bonus points for Duke of Edinburgh (Silver and Gold), Queens Scouts, International Competitions and Assessments for Schools medals……”
This information is available from our Careers Adviser Mrs McDermott.
This may encourage a few more junior students to participate in Duke of Edinburgh Awards as well as pursuing their collection of merit awards within the school, in order to acquire the school’s platinum medal which is our highest school award to recognize consistent effort in a variety of areas over a prolonged period of time.
I hope to see many of you tomorrow night at the dance.
Kim Jackson
Principal |