Alexandria Park Community School Community Opportunity Success in a caring learning environment

NSW/ACT YOUNG ACHIEVERS AWARD Congratulations Ms Thomson who was awarded a NSW/ACT Young Achievers Award for Aboriginal Education at a gala presentation ceremony.

SOCCER CHAMPION We have a national New Zealand Champion in our midst. Eden Taylor-Wineera from Year 11 recently travelled to New Zealand to play for Forrest Hill Milford United A.F.C in the Open Women’s National Soccer Tournament. Not only did her side take out the national title, Eden also won the prestigious award ‘Golden Boot’, noting Eden as a stand out player.

SOROPTIMIS AWARD

Congratulations Tabussam Ghani for receiving the Soroptimist of Sydney Education Grant Award.

BETTY MAKIN YOUTH AWARD

Congratulations to Felix Judge, who won the Betty Makin Scholarship for category of Resilience. The scholarship is worth $500. Shondell Marquette, nominated in the category of Community-Minded. Her pride for her community and where she comes from is evidenced at school and at The Settlement. She is always happy to help out in after school care and youth programs at The Settlement. She enjoys engaging with the younger children and is a great leader and role model for them. Congratulations to you both.

Term 1 MARCH/APRIL 2017

Park Road, Alexandria NSW 2015 P: 02 9698 1967 F: 02 9319 5007 E: alexparkcs-c.school@det.nsw.edu.au

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT March was a huge month at Alex Park with full occupancy of the Buckland buildings achieved. It was massive logistical undertaking to pack up the school on Mitchell Road and move in to the temporary school located along Buckland Street. But it was worth all the planning, downsizing and effort with staff and students overwhelmingly providing positive feedback about the spaces, the modern facilities like air conditioning and technology, the new furniture and the wide decking which links the different teaching spaces.

To support the move the high school team held a staff development day on March 6. The program for the day included a detailed orientation session for staff with presentations such as emergency procedures, orientation to new learning and specialist spaces and professional learning in the use and care of the new classroom technology

One of the highlights of this term has been our Harmony Day Celebration. This year, for the first time, we planned and hosted 2 events, one of the primary school students and another for the high school students. The primary classrooms adopted a country and students were issued with a passport and travelled the world learning about other countries, their cultures and traditions. Such countries included Brazil, Mongolia, Mexico, India, Italy, France, Tonga, Indonesia, Egypt, China, Japan, and Papua New Guinea.

High school students participated in a variety of workshops such as FIFA World Cup, Korean Dance Class, Japanese Animation, Indigenous Games, Taekwondo, International Chess, Multicultural Kahoot Trivia and Origami. We celebrated together with 2 wonderful school assemblies which showcased many talents of our students and families from a variety of cultures and all enjoyed the sausage sizzle BBQ from Kindergarten to Year 12. Term 2 promises to be another high energy term with many students undertaking formal assessment periods. Already our year 12 students have completed their half-yearly exams and are receiving

feedback and strategies for improvement from their teacher. Years 7 – 10 parents and carers have had formal meetings with their child’s teachers and are up to date with progress to date. During term 2 we will be completing a formal process of written reports and more face to face meetings to discuss and share learning and achievement with parents.

NAPLAN 2017 The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. NAPLAN tests the sorts of skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life, such as reading, writing, spelling and numeracy.

NAPLAN 2017 paper test timetable

Tuesday 9 May 2017 Wednesday 10 May 2017 Thursday 11 May 2017

Year 3 Language conventions 40 minutes

Writing 40 minutes

Reading 45 minutes

Numeracy 45 minutes

Year 5 Language conventions 40 minutes

Writing 40 minutes

Reading 50 minutes

Numeracy 50 minutes

Year 7 Language conventions 45 minutes

Writing 40 minutes

Reading 65 minutes

Numeracy 60 minutes

Year 9 Language conventions 45 minutes

Writing 40 minutes

Reading 65 minutes

Numeracy 60 minutes

NAPLAN will move online from 2017, over a three-year period. Moving NAPLAN online brings new opportunities for students and teachers such as better assessment design and more precise results, a more engaging experience for students and a faster turnaround of results.

SCHOOL PHOTO DAY WEDNESDAY 3RD MARCH Dear Parents and Caregivers, School Photos will be held on Wednesday 3rd May 2017. Envelopes will be provided to students from the teacher. All Students must be in full School Uniform.

PRIMARY SCHOOL Kindergarten – Year 2

Year 3 – Year 6 HIGH SCHOOL Year 7 – Year 12

School shirt, navy blue shorts, navy blue skirt, navy blue socks & black shoes. If you are finding it hard to buy any navy blue items, you can go through this online company. madeforschool.com.au if you order before 12pm you can have same day delivery. Otherwise you can receive it in the next working day. Every child must have their own envelope. Do not put the Family envelope inside the white envelope. They must be kept separate! You may pay for all family members in one envelope provided you clearly mark each individual order and indicate which envelope contains full payment. Family photo – envelopes are available at the school office. This MUST NOT be enclosed in any other envelopes. Thank you. Date Important Dates April 7th Last day of term 24th Office opens for enquires– K-12 Staff Development Day 25th ANZAC DAY 26th All students return for Term 2 May 1st P&C meeting 6:30pm Primary School, Park Road 3rd School Photo Day Kindy – Year 12 (Must be in full School Uniform)

KINDERGARTEN This term for Sport, Kindergarten have enjoyed participating in “Footsteps” dance lessons. It has been so much fun to learn lots of different dance moves and routines. Sometimes we even get to play fun games like musical statues! Look at these photos of us showing off our new moves.

STAGE 1 (YEARS 1 and 2) Presented by 1D It has been a busy Term 1 and we would like to share some of our learning activities with you!! During Language, Learning and Literacy sessions 1D have participated in a variety of whole class, small group and independent reading, writing and speaking and listening activities.

Mathematics lessons involve lots of practical activities. This makes learning fun and stimulating.

In Visual Arts students have explored the art of Vincent Van Gogh, to re-create ‘Starry Starry Night.’ They have also explored the art of Pablo Picasso and created an abstract portrait. In sport students have participated in the GoGo Healthy Kids program. This program has improved students’ physical skills and boosted their confidence. Harmony day was a great success with many students wearing traditional costume or the colour orange.

THE WINNERS All of the Year 7 classes were given the Bruce MacIntyre Achievement challenge to see if they could draw the longest flag for Harmony Day. The teachers, Ms Sanders and Mr James, decided on throwing down the challenge as a competition for a celebration on Harmony Day. The students have been learning valuable drawing skills and this has made them into enthusiastic artists who are crazy about drawing. Junior Visual Art class 7A outdrew the rest with an awesome flag drawing that seemed to go on forever. Well done! Year 7A.

PBL ANNOUNCEMENT We are very proud to promote our school as a Positive Behaviour for Learning school. It is a K-12 program that encourages positive behaviour and enforces high expectations for all students so that all learning outcomes can be achieved. On Tuesday 21st March, the school celebrated Harmony Day. At our Harmony Day concert, we acknowledged the students who have received a deadly award this term. The students’ names were put in a draw and picked out. Ten lucky senior students were awarded with Westfield Gift Vouchers, Hoyts Cinema vouchers and exciting new stationary for their pencil cases. We look forward to the next Positive Behaviour Celebration at Alexandria Park.

BUSINESS STUDIES CONFERENCE My name is Miss Constantinides and I am one of the two Business Studies Teachers at APCS. Business Studies is a 2-unit subject undertaken in the Preliminary and HSC course. When I first started at APCS it was just one class, however 2018 will be the first year we have two Business Studies classes completing the HSC Business Studies course. This fantastic achievement has allowed us to develop the teaching and learning programs, network with small business owners and develop skills such as problem solving and creative thinking. I was given the opportunity to attend the 2017 Business Studies Conference in North Parramatta by Tim Riley on Thursday 16th March and Friday 17th March. This two-day course

allowed me to network with small business owners, the Chief Executive Officer for Dymocks, Steve Cox and other Business Studies teachers across NSW. The course gave me an insight into the HSC marking system for Business Studies, something that my students will definitely benefit from. The course focused on teaching and learning programs that meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities. I look forward to attending this course next year and keeping up to date with the ever changing subject of Business Studies. YEAR 11 BUSINESS STUDIES EXCURSION

On Monday 13th March the two Year 11 Business Studies classes attended an excursion at Bondi Road Seafood’s. The purpose of the excursion was to see how a small business runs and explore how various internal and external influences impact a business. The students arrived the same time as the fully loaded delivery truck from the Sydney Fish Market. The sole trader and owner of the business spoke to the students about buying fresh seafood from the auction floor as well as showing them the types of products the business sells. Students were exposed to the different types of species of fish and seafood that the business sells. They were given the opportunity to ask some relevant and engaging

questions about running a small business. Students enjoyed another aspect of the business; a seafood lunch. This service allowed students to explore how a small business can provide a product as well as a service. Students were also given the opportunity to attend an incursion by a small to medium business owner, Claudia Bowman who owns McIntosh and Bowman Cheesmongers. Claudia took time out of her busy day to speak to our students about running a small business. The students asked her many questions about risk taking, competition and the importance of cash flow. We look forward to Claudia visiting again with some cheese samples. Year 11 HIDDEN FIGURES EXCURSION

On the 20th of March, Year 11 female Extension Maths and Physics students were given the opportunity to watch the premier of the film Hidden Figures. This film was about the oppression of African-American women in the 1960’s, who struggled to find equality in the workplace. The theme of this film reinforced the importance of women in the workforce. The whole experience was organised by Australian Mathematical Sciences Association and sponsored by BHP Billiton. It was a great experience for the Year 11 girls as they all left with fun little goodie bags, feeling empowered and ready to tackle the world and make their own unique marks in the workforce as women with great talents to offer.

Thanks Ms Bourke, Ms Caswell and Mr Abdullah for organising the event.

SHAKESPEARE EVENT

On February 28, Year 12 English Advanced students attended an evening performance of Bell Shakespeare's Richard III at the Sydney Opera House. They had been studying Richard III in class and were fortunate enough to experience it live! The students were the perfect school ambassadors and represented the school and themselves well. Well done, Year 12! SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY/APPLIED STUDIES – (TAS) YEAR 10 Industrial Technology Timber 2017 In 2017 we are learning in our new workshop located on the Park Road campus. Year 10 are working hard and learning many new skills in the construction of their multi-functional foot stool/seat. Learning to use all the power tools safely has been fun. Picture of student Aj Flood.

UNSW SUN SPRINT SOLAR CAR CHALLENGE-update APCS will again enter the sun sprint solar car challenge in 2017. This event has been run for over 15 years and we will be up against some experienced racers. Students from the Solar Car Challenge will represent our school with solar cars they build and test during Enrichment Programs with Mr Alexopoulos. The students use 3D CAD software to design their cars and 3D

printers to make the motor mounts, wheels and other components. Last year our solar cars were very competitive and we have learnt a lot from our experience. We have taken this knowledge back to school and hope to build a better car for this year’s challenge. The

competition will be strong but most importantly the students will have lots of fun racing against all the other schools and meeting new friends.

KOREAN STUDIES Year 8 have been learning Hangeul the Korean Alphabet. Students love writing on our new whiteboard tables. The tables have been an effective and engaging way to get students to learn a new script.

SOROPTIMIST OF SYDNEY EDUCATION GRANT AWARDS CEREMONY 2017

Soroptimist International (SI) is a worldwide volunteer service organisation for business and professional women who work to improve the lives of women and girls, in local communities and throughout the world. Soroptimist of Sydney provides scholarships to support Year 11 students in their educational goals. Tabussam Ghani received her award at NSW Parliament. The APCS 2016 award recipient Rachel Lin was invited to speak at the presentation ceremony on how the award (benefited her in her application for a scholarship).

SPORTS REPORT PSSA ZONE SWIMMING CARNIVAL On Wednesday the 1st of March, students from Alexandria Park Community School travelled to Botany Pool to partake in the PSSA Zone Swimming Carnival. Victoria Wang, Gordon Young, Nathan Young, Wilson Sun, Chloe Nicholson, and Ren-Shyan Balnave came away with 1st, 2nd and 3rd ribbons. Congratulations who was Award to Ren-Shyan Balnave the Open Boys Champion for his outstanding swimming results. On the 13th of March, these students travelled to SOPAC, Homebush to represent us in the Sydney East Primary Swimming Championships. It was a tremendous effort by all, and a great achievement to participate in such an event. BOYS TOUCH FOOTBALL Our High School Open Boys Touch team created history when they scored a stunning upset over Canterbury Boys by winning 4-3 at Alexandria Oval. They advance to the next round for the first time ever in their quest to become State champions. Meanwhile 4, Year 8 cricketers debuted for the Alexandria 11 but the team were unsuccessful on their tour to Cronulla in trying conditions. OPEN BOYS BASKETBALL Our Open Boys basketballers are in Year 2 of a 4-year plan aimed at getting into the state Knockout tournament. The boys train every Wednesday afternoon until 4:30 and have shown great improvements in their skill level, attitude and understanding. This year the Open Boys team had a meeting with Tempe High School to decide if they would advance to the central venue for the Sydney East region. A 20 point victory against Tempe, led by our new recruit Buwali with 40 points, put APCS in a tough group of death with Sydney Boys, Endeavour Sports and Port Hacking. Our day started with more than just the adversity of a tough draw but also with injuries to key players. The boys played an outstanding game, eventually losing by 19 points. Our 2nd game against Port Hacking was an amazing game of back and forth with Buwali scoring 52 points and leading the team to a 73-69 victory. Following two hard fought games, tiredness started to set in and the boys had a slow start against Endeavour trailing 19-10 at half time. During the half time chat the boys decided that they weren’t ready to give up their spot in the semi-finals and came back to defeat Endevour 35-29. The two victories meant that the boys had made the regional semi-finals for the first time in over 10 years. The match up in the next game was against Menai High School, the team that topped the other pool. It was a very different game than the previous 3. The boys were tired but battled hard to stay even at 30 a piece at half time. A combination of tiredness and injuries saw the boys falter in the 2nd half and Menai pulled away for an 11-point victory.

The Team showed an amazing amount of school spirit on the day, playing with the right attitude and not responding to some of the niggling tactics made by other students during the game. I’d like to thank the team for their hard work and I look forward to seeing them improve even further next year. I’d also like to congratulate Buwali on his 40 point average throughout the tournament.

MUSIC NEWS Term 1 has been a busy time for the Alex Park music ensembles.

The Sapphires sang the Anthem and the Nina Simone song, ‘Young, Gifted and Black’, at the Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Annual General Meeting. As a result of that performance were invited to sing both items again at the Nanga Mai Awards.

Concert Band continued what has become an annual tradition by opening the Alexandria Fun Day. For the first day in what seems a very long time the rain stayed away and the sound of the Concert Band could be heard wafting all over Alexandria Park.

The Vocal Ensemble also continued a tradition when they performed a bracket of songs at a local Harmony Day celebration at the Alexandria Town Hall. They sang ‘Come the Day’ and the classic ‘Walk a Mile in My Shoes’ and then combined with the Sapphires to perform the Anthem at the APCS Harmony Day assembly.

LIBRARY NEWS

1. Thank you to the Term 1 Library Monitors who volunteer and help in our school library.

Class Monitor 1 Monitor 2 2B Ruari S. Ruby V.

2M Rush B. Derek H.

3H Tiana B. Cooper C.

3/4M Yesui B. Theodore S.

4/5O Chloe N. Noah P.

5M Rozana A. Zarif H.

5/6S Jude C. Kayla R.

6J Becky L. Peter O.

2. ICAS (Science, Mathematics & writing) notes will be uploaded on school website during final week of this term. Please ensure that you return the signed notes & money to the school office prior to Friday (28/4/2017) for students in Year 3 – Year 12. If you wish your child to participate in ICAS tests.

3. K-9 students should read lots of books listed on NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge

website https://products.schools.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html Please visit your local library during school holidays. You can also help your child make online log entries as they read each book.

4. We are the library book house keepers. We believe that the library is an essential

resource for the planning and implementing of the teaching program of the school. It is also a recreational and reference centre for the students and teachers. Ms Young (7-12) & Ms French (K-6) endeavour to collaboratively plan and teach information skills to APCS students in library lessons so that they will become competent and independent information users and researchers. Mrs Povey & Mrs Seddon have organised library resources in a user friendly way so that library space can be utilised to its potential.

Day Lunch 1 (11:10am - 11:30am)

Lunch 2 (11:30am – 11:50am)

MONDAY Alexander R. + James H. Acaysha P. + Mariia B.

TUESDAY Hams A. + Merry Y. ------

WEDNESDAY William M. + William W. Fiona T. + Ada L.

THURSDAY Jasmin M. + Sumaya S. ------

FRIDAY Senior students Senior students