Liverpool Boys High School Newsletter 

Term 3 Week 10 2018 

LBHS Multicultural Day 2018 By Mrs S. Kelly 

Multicultural Day was held on Friday, 24th August, to celebrate LBHS’ wonderful diverse student community. This year students participated in Home Room Workshops in the morning session. This was followed by an opening ceremony in the Hall (can you believe it rained in the morning during a drought?). But the show did go on and the boys did a great job being seated in the hall to welcome in our Flag Ceremony, followed by our students’ performances that included our Capoeira Group, Pacific Islander dance group, Arabic Drumming and Dance group, and, for the first time, our African Dance Group which was a crowd favourite. Our staff also did a flashmob-style rendition of Land Down Under.  

In the afternoon, students had the choice of watching or participating in Livo’s Got Talent, Students V. Teachers Basketball, Movies or sports activities. But, of course, the main focus of the Day was our International Food Fair and we would like to thank the families and staff who contributed. Even a parent of ex-students, Nazih and Nadim, delivered some food to us – Thank you Mrs El-Kheir - what a treat, we miss you! 

Our best dressed winners for the day were Ms Abu-Mahmoud and Warren Adjei and our Rising Star in Livo’s Got Talent was Cephas Anae who played his 

 

guitar. Did we mention that the Staff won the Phil Wood Shield in Basketball? 

LBHS Multicultural Day 2018 

Proud LBHS staff after their Basketball win  College 2 enjoying their last Multicultural Day 

Capoeira Performance  Staff singing Land Down Under 

Winner of 2018 student best-dressed: Warren  

2018 LBHS Arabic Drumming Students 

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Humanities Student Showcase Year 10 Humanities student, Yusef, composed the following poem as part of the unit ‘Pursuit of Happiness’. Inspired by the film Human Flow by Ai Weiwei, Yusef wrote a poem about the refugee experience. 

The desert sun curses the land and people. 

Like the bombs they drop that destroy. 

Destroyed are the people. 

Blinded are the children. 

War isn’t just the destruction. 

It fuels the politician’s lust for power. 

Money turns the world, yet it is the source of all evil. 

The fire burns deep within the hearts of the people. Thy mother, thy father, thy brother of the brother who are all now lost. 

Only to be found tears of those who are left to mourn. 

The toxic gas fills their homes. 

Everybody flees. 

The smuggler steals the money out of greed because nobody knows what happens at sea. 

Waves as high as the stars. 

Which instils fear for their lives. 

Even when they’re safe, they go through strife. 

Nobody views them as humans. 

BLOOD. 

DEATH. 

TERROR. 

All haunt their dreams. 

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Despite all odds they stay optimistic. 

Living life like there is no promise of a tomorrow. 

But there is a promise that someday they are going to die. 

“Events in your life make you who you are; as long as you believe that death is just as much part of life as life is part of death, you will truly live” 

 Big Picture Student Showcase Year 10 Big Picture student, Khilad, is currently working on building and programming a robot as part of his Passion Project. His aim is to create a functional robot using easily accessible materials. Khilad joined Big Picture a term ago and has since been enjoying the opportunity given to him to pursue his passions and interests. 

 

Year 8 student, Tibor, worked on a 1-week project in Big Picture. This is what he created. He spent the week learning how to draw animations with his newly purchased graphic tablet. He then edited his sketches on Adobe Photoshop. 

“My drawing has a red sky because of a blood moon. The character has a wolf and a portal behind her and she is surrounded with arrows. She is floating with her legs crossed, like she is meditating.” 

Tibor will become a full-time Big Picture student in Year 9 where he hopes to pursue his passions further.  

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This week in Big Picture, students were given a task to complete a 1-week passion project based on any topic of their choice. Year 10 student, Patrick, experimented with Adobe Photoshop to create these images. Well Done Patrick! 

 Year 7/8 Touch Football Competition 

By Ms Moreno 

On Wednesday, 28th August, a team of Year 7 and 8 students travelled to Kayess Park, Minto, to play in the NSW All Schools Touch Football competition. The boys played very well and showed great sportsmanship in every game. Unfortunately, however, they lost the semi final to Ambervale High School, who dominated the competition. A special thanks to Usamah Eliaali and Hayden Latu who helped on the day by refereeing matches and aided in coaching the team to the semi-finals. 

Well done to the following students who participated on the day: Junior Loto, Tarek Beyroutieh, Lata Fehoko, Mohamed Habbous, Mohamed Hijazi, Tony Tuivati, Herman Loto, Yihya Mezher, Ame Ratu and Sam Tuivati. 

 

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3D Kites: Year 10 Mathematics Project By Mr M.Gill 

This term, students from our Year 10 Mathematics classes applied their math knowledge to make 3D kites and fly them on the back oval. The classes applied mathematical concepts such as area and trigonometry to calculate the amount of resources required and eventually make the 3D kites. Some students opted to make a box 3D kite, while others chose to make a pyramid-shaped 3D kite. 

Before creating the kites, the students planned their designs on paper, making sure all dimensions were to scale. This was achieved by applying geometric concepts in 3D with calculations completed by applying trigonometric ratios and Pythagoras’ theorem. 

The total string length was measured using methods of finding the perimeter of triangles and rectangles, while the the size amount of craft paper required was calculated using the method of finding areas of these shapes. By maximising the total volume while keeping the surface area constant, the 3D kites were made more efficient and were easier to fly. 

The Year 10 students enjoyed their experience making the 3D kites. By working in teams, they remained engaged with the task and assisted each other in the project. The resources the teams used included straws for the structure of the skeletal frame and string to hold the body together. The teams also used craft paper to make the kite coverings and craft glue to finally fix the 3D kite in place. 

The students really enjoyed their experience, were engaged with mathematics, and were ecstatic when they flew their kites.

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Year 10 B Streetsmart Excursion

 

On Thursday, 30th August, all of Year 10 attended the BStreetsmart Excursion at Sydney Olympic Park. BStreetsmart is Australia’s largest educational road safety event where thousands of students gather to learn about the importance of safe behaviour on the roads, either as a driver, rider or passenger.  

 

 

 

PATHE – Positive Achievement to Higher Education for Pasifika students. 

By Ms S.Kelly 

Students from College 1 and College 2 attended the Bankstown Campus of Western Sydney University. The boys participated in workshops that opened up their thinking about careers and further study by reading, researching and role-playing scenarios. The program promotes engagement with tertiary study and gave syudents access to information about scholarships and more. 

 

 

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Rubbing out Bullying at LBHS Since our launch of Stymie earlier this year, we’ve made some great progress in dealing with reported bullying incidents. Stymie is an online anonymous bullying reporting tool that students can access through a web browser to report bullying or incidents of harm towards themselves or other students. The reports are anonymous and the school acts on them immediately once a notification has been posted. 

Students have learnt quickly that something reported does get dealt with promptly. It’s also refreshing that our of the eight reports of bullying, we have been able to deal with a variety of different situations by investigating them thoroughly and acting on them accordingly. 

Each week our LBHS Community Facebook Page posts some focus posters to remind us about looking after each other. 

If students want to report any bullying or harm they need to go to stymie.com.au and follow the prompts to report an incident. 

Just remember – Stymie it! 

  

 

 

 

 

Screen shot from stymie.com.au...it’s that easy! 

For more see these two links 

Stymie link from The Today Show 

https://www.9now.com.au/today/2018/clip-cjew8scak00170gpciexag7ln 

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From The project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw3iWDWE8CQ  

If a student needs help, they need to say something to: a class teacher, their Year Advisor, a Deputy, or any of the support staff, including Mr Ray. If you don’t tell us what’s troubling you, no one can help! 

 

Interview to Impress with ABCN at Bain & Co  Some Year 10 students attended a workshop in the offices of Bain and Co. in Sydney this term. Students received some great advice around how to walk into an interview, how to sit, shake hands, use eye contact and more. Working with the mentors from Bain & Co., they did some mock interviews and learnt about what to write in a job application. All the students had a great time and a wonderful lunch overlooking the city from the 45th floor. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Wear it Purple Day: Because we empower together!  http://wearitpurple.org/about-wear-it-purple/ 

This year’s “Wear It Purple Day – Because we empower together!” included some class-size workshops followed by a whole year group Q & A session chaired by Derek from Liverpool City Council. We really appreciate George from Junction Works who put the day on for us and organised all the special guest speakers - and for making and supplying to all of Year 10. A super lunch. 

Wear it Purple Day promotes the support, safety and acceptance for young people of the LGBTI & Q community. LBHS supports all students and the workshops allowed students to ask questions and gain a deeper insight into the battles some of our young people have, and both at school and in the community. The boys wrote some really great questions for the panel. The panel gave some really honest and informative answers. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Real Talk Poetry Slam  Throughout Term 3, 10 Humanities 2 participated in the Real Talk Poetry Slam program. Real Talk is a workshop program facilitated at school by a trained poet mentor. It ran for 5 weeks and engaged the boys in both writing and performance exercises. The concept behind the program was to write about "real" things, so every week the boys discussed topical issues such as identity, bullying, racism and gender. The boys wrote poetry from the first lesson and were guided into writing and performing their own spoken word piece.   At the end of the program, we held a school heat and Bobby Khounnouvong, Milan Stancevic and Adem Cosic went through to the finale. Milan and Adem performed at the finale and competed 

against students from fourteen different schools across Sydney. The boys did LBHS very proud! 

Drama- PYT By Ms C. Huynh 

On Thursday, the 2nd of August, 2018, College 1 and 2                     Drama travelled to PYT Theatre in Fairfield to               participate as audience members in the premiere of               ‘Playlist’, a dance theatre work directed by Karen               Therese. The play explored feminist issues in the 21st                 Century, and followed the adolescent lives of five               ethnically diverse female leads to illuminate concerns             unique to specific gender and cultural groups in               Australia. Despite the exclusively female cast and             female-centered story, the College boys were greatly engaged by the play; many related to the                             immigrant experience showcased in the play, while others responded to the expressionist                       physicality of the play which contained sections of prolonged live music and dance. After the                             play, the College boys got the opportunity to meet the cast and participated in a workshop that                                 involved dancing and acting with the actresses. The boys were also educated on the definitions                             of feminism and discussed the importance of gender equality within the workforce and society                           at large. 

 

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R U OK DAY LBHS Captains, SRC and Leadership teams participated in a project collaboration with Westfield Liverpool. Students discussed #RUOK and how as young men they can check in with themselves and each other. Their project was displayed in Westfield Liverpool on level 2 and will remain there for about 1 week. Go and check it out, as they shared some great insight! 

Don’t forget you don’t have to wait until #RUOKDAY to ask your mates if they are ok! 

 

 

 

 

Community News  Whole School Exhibition & Presentation of Awards 

Next Whole School Exhibition and Presentation Day is to be on Tuesday, November 13th. Exhibition will be open 12.30pm - 2pm followed by the Presentation of awards at 2pm. Families, alumni, community members and businesses are all welcome to attend! Please share this within your networks! 

 

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Parent Information Sessions/Workshops 

Did you know we have parent workshops that are available? 

LBHS has partnered up with Department of Human Services (Centrelink) to provide parents with some Community Presentations. 

Please see below for our workshops and dates: 

 

Topic  Date  Time 

Family Assistance and Income Estimates  Monday 24 September 2018 

9:45am – 11am 

Multicultural Services and Refugee Servicing  Monday 22 October 2018 

9:45am – 11am 

Payments and Obligations – Newstart, Parenting Payment and Youth Allowance 

Monday 5 November 2018 

9:45am – 11am 

Digital – myGov (bring your mobile phone)  Monday 3 December 2018 

9:45am – 11am 

Interpreters can be organised if you notify us of the language you need. To register or enquire please contact Rosa-Maria Hormis- Community Liaison Officer on 0437 701 898. 

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Facebook: 

Ensure you are following the correct Facebook page for our School @LBHScommunity. 

Our Facebook page is great place to find information, updates and events associated with Liverpool Boys High School. 

We would love parents to be just as involved as students on the Facebook page, as regular information about student activities, parent info sessions much more will be posted on the page. 

Website: 

Our website recently had a makeover and has been updated to include current news and information. 

You can find information on BYOD, Project Based Learning, upcoming events, recent news, parent workshops and much more. 

https://liverpoolb-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/ 

Emails: 

We are currently trying to update our records are collecting parent emails. As a parent, if you have an email address, please share that with the school so that you can receive communications regarding your son, school events and news.   

You can call the school on 02 9602 7979 or even email the school to share your email on liverpoolb-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au . 

BYOD- Bring Your Own Device 

From 2019, it is compulsory for each student in Years 8 to 12 to have their own digital device to bring to school every day. 

In modern day learning, students need to access technology to complement their learning. By students having their own device, they can access information and complete work anytime, anywhere. 

How much should I spend? 

Please only spend between $200 - $350. Expensive laptops ARE NOT recommended and are not needed. 

What will my son be doing on this device? 

Researching, using Google applications, Office 365 and other online applications. 

What if I can’t afford a device? 

Please contact Rosa-Maria Hormis- Community Liaison Officer on 0437 701 898 and she will be able to provide you with information on financial services, as well as stores which sell discounted devices. 

 

 

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Feature Article Big Picture: What is it? By J. Ahmed (Year 10 LBHS Big Picture Student)  Big Picture Education Australia is a non-profit organisation which aims to redesign learning to catch up with the constantly evolving world. As students start typing up their essays instead of writing them, and as technology becomes an integral part of education, the people at Big Picture decided it was time for a different structure of education to be available for students. Liverpool Boys High School is currently the only school in Sydney which offers Big Picture, giving students here at Liverpool a unique opportunity. Since this is a relatively new system of education, people may want to know more about it. I interviewed the CEO of Big Picture Education Australia, Viv White, to ask some of the questions parents might have about Big Picture.  “Over 40% of students across the world are disengaged from schooling, not learning. When we began Big Picture in 2006, we knew as a group of teachers that there were a large number of students disengaged from schooling, but not learning. We looked around the world to see if there are any schools that were re-engaging young people.” Viv White made the distinction between schooling and learning to say that it is the fault of the system in place in schools rather than learning itself.  

“There are over 200 picture schools in the world, 40 of which are in Australia. Now all Big Picture students, if they wish to, graduate University, TAFE or work in their field of interest.” 

 “We know that people learn best when they are learning something they are interested in. In Big Picture schools, we start with students’ passions and interests and map back to the curriculum.” Here at Liverpool Boys High School, we have around 45 hard-working students who are dedicated to doing what they love. Some Big Picture students say that they work better in the Big Picture classes than in a standard classroom. They are able to release their inner potential and pursue their interests and passions through research and projects.Year 9 student Khilad is a new arrival to Big Picture and is working far outside his comfort zone. Interested in doing mechatronic engineering, Khilad is currently creating a spider robot based on the Theo Jensen model. His robot will carry out tasks such as carrying objects on a tray. In his two weeks being in Big Picture, he says that it’s fun and welcoming for him: “It’s much more engaging than mainstream [standard classes]”. He’s hoping to get an internship so that he’ll be able to find a job in mechatronic engineering.  “Big Picture brings kids from the edge, to find their own centre. Edge doesn’t mean a mental illness, it’s more of a student who is disengaged to help bring them back to their centre and do what they love,” says CEO Viv White. Students are sometimes disengaged in classrooms and need a different environment to work in; this environment is what Big Picture provides.   Project Based Learning is at the heart of Liverpool Boys High School. Students from Year 7 to Year 10 create projects to display their learning. Big Picture takes this to the next level. Students use their passions and interests to create amazing projects, which help their entry into their pathway to success. “We [Big Picture] collect evidence of their work, their exams, their models; all of things they do, we put it in a portfolio. This is how they enter Uni or TAFE. The standards in the portfolio are often higher than the HSC.”  According to Viv White, the design of Big Picture is really good. “There will be setbacks in the delivery of the design. All of the students must go on internships to meet the requirements of the design.” There is also the downside of a limited amount of universities accepting portfolio entry. Currently, the University of Wollongong and Western Sydney University accept Big Picture as an alternative entry option. Other universities involved with 

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Big Picture include the University of Newcastle, the University of Tasmania and the Australian National University. In the near future, students will be able to enter universities such as La Trobe and UTS  As CEO, Viv is in charge of creating connections with universities to get students receiving a tertiary education. “We asked the senior manager and the vice-chancellors. We had to show the standards were high enough for them to be satisfied. However, some universities have said no for two reasons. Firstly, they say they only accept ATAR. Secondly, there would too many portfolio entries which would require more manual labour-  “If a students walks in with and ATAR of 92, it only shows how good they are at exams, it doesn’t really show what they are good at.”  As Big Picture becomes a bigger part of life at Liverpool Boys High School, it’s time for students to change the way they think about modern education and think outside of the box that the New South Wales curriculum can sometimes confine students in.  Principal Mr Saxon on Big Picture  What do you think about Big Picture? “I think Big Picture is a fantastic way for students to follow their own passions, to learn what they’re really passionate about, get out into the real world and experience learning in the real world, and be able to discover their passions and achieve their goals. [They can do this] over a two/three year horizon. I think it’s an awesome opportunity for students”  What type of student fits in Big Picture? “The kind of student who I think is very successful in Big Picture is- though it does vary- someone who has two things: you either need to have a passion or have a desire to find your passion and explore. The other thing you need to be successful in Big Picture is to be independent. You need to be able to learn things by yourself and be able to chase things by yourself. This means to make phone calls, do your own research, etc. There is a component of learning with others, but there’s a large component of being independent. Those are the two main things you need to be successful in Big Picture. This goes for any student. It doesn’t matter if they don’t have an impressive intellectual ability, they will be successful Big Picture. From that, they may go to university or whatever their passion dictates.” 

“I think Big Picture works really well for disadvantaged schools, communities and students. But, no, it’s not just for the disadvantaged. I think it works for any student and it shouldn’t be seen as an alternative for kids who don’t fit in mainstream. That’s not what Big Picture is about.”  What are your thoughts on Project Based Learning (PBL)? “I’m a very strong believer in Project Based Learning because it’s problem solving, it’s hands-on learning. The stuff you are learning has a point because you are doing something with it instead of throwing it away. The problem with traditional learning is that you learn all this stuff and there is no relevance in it so you forget about it. PBL works as it teaches you what’s important and what’s relevant so you can solve problems, find solutions right now. It works particularly in a Big Picture environment because that’s what you’re trying to do and you’re trying to find more about something, to solve problems somewhere, you’re trying to solve an issue and you’ve got to exhibit your work. That public exhibition is one of the hardest things to know how to do at the end of each term because you’ve got to present in front of your family and friends and tell them what you’ve learnt. That makes it tough and that makes it real. That’s similar to what you’d do in your workplace. Students are held accountable for what they do.”  What are some negatives of Big Picture? “Good question, I’ve never been asked that. I don’t think there are actually any holes in the design. I’ve been looking at this for years now and I can’t see any holes in the design. I think some people might go into Big Picture thinking 

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it’s a bludge class, an easy way of working. For these students, it will be the wrong thing. In terms of what’s negative in Big Picture: if you are not working hard enough, and not reaching your potential, you are not maximising your education and you should really reconsider being in a mainstream setting. I would say, however, that most of the people in that category of Big Picture would be just as disengaged as in mainstream. So, it’s probably no worse, but they are certainly not getting the benefits of Big Picture.”  Should more universities get on board? “Oh, without a doubt. I am sure that they will. I think that there are 30 or 40 [universities] in Australia that are on board, with many more to come. There are more alternative entry options besides getting an ATAR. As universities see the quality of work produced in Big Picture classrooms, and as students approach these universities, they will slowly come on board. I’m very sure about that. A professor at Newcastle Uni said that universities have already begun abandoning the ATAR and have already accepted this kind of entry. It’s not a question of ‘Will it happen?’, it is already happening. Slowly all universities will accept Big Picture as an alternative entry pathway. One of the challenges of Big Picture is streamlining the entry process so that it can be scaled to more students in more schools. That work is happening, but it is complex and slow work. It will happen, but it will take a couple of years.”  Just like universities, should more schools implement Big Picture? “Absolutely. Having two advisories would work brilliantly in every high school setting. However, this needs to be managed if it gets scaled up. So you can’t just suddenly create it everywhere. It’s quite a difficult model to implement, but it is an effective model. So yes, I’d like to see the day when Big Picture is more commonplace, but that will be 10 or 15 years down the track.” 

 

 

 

 

   

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