mac fields news · 2019-10-30 · april 2010 2 harold street, ... june 2016 calendar events week 8...

Mac Fields News Macquarie Fields High School

April 2010

2 Harold Street, Macquarie Fields NSW 2564 Phone 9605 3111 Web page: www.mfhs.nsw.edu.au

Issue 4 – Term 2 June 2016

Calendar Events

Week 8

Monday June 13 QUEEN’s BIRTHDAY Tuesday June 14 Parent Teacher Night – Yr 11-12 Thursday June 15 Regional Cross Country

Week 9

Monday June 20 Yr 10 into 11 Information Evening 6pm-7:30pm P & C Meeting – 7:30pm Tuesday June 21 Semester Awards – Periods 2 & 3 Thursday June 23 - Zone Athletics Carnival Friday June 24

Week 10

Monday June 27 - Elective Tasters Friday July 1 Monday June 27 Yr 10 STW Week Friday July 1 LAST DAY OF TERM

Week 1 – TERM 3

Monday July 18 School Development Day – Staff only Tuesday July 19 Yr 7-12 return to school

Week 2

Tuesday July 26 Parent Teacher Night – Yr 7-10 Yr 8 into 9 Information Evening

PARENTS PLEASE NOTE

Students absent from school Please note changes to School Attendance Policy. Where a student is absent from school, a note explaining the absence must be received by the school within 7 school days. Where a note is not received the absence will be recorded as unjustified. This cannot legally be changed should a note be received after 7 days. Absences both justified and unjustified are recorded on school reports.

Recipient’s of PBL Raffle Prize Draw

NAME Year Wk/Term PRIZE Firas Ammari 12 Wk 4/T2 $15 Canteen

voucher

Nahid Islam 9 Wk 5/T2 $30 Event Cinema voucher

FROM THE RELIEVING PRINCIPAL Greetings

Seems like the term has only just begun and

here we are in the final weeks of term 2. Things

are not slowing down either! Perhaps this is what

contributes to time passing so rapidly.

Art Teachers, (CAPA Faculty), Ms. Amanda

Langley and Mrs. Karen Metcalf met with Michael

Rhydderch from Campbelltown Council recently.

The Campbelltown Council has approached the

school, and in particular the CAPA faculty (Visual

Arts) with a proposal that will involve our

students in an authentic, real world, task. Our

Visual Design students in year 8 will be involved

in designing new signage for Simmo's beach and

the surrounding reserve. This is a fantastic

opportunity for our school and the council to work

together and the faculty is now in the formative

stages of this collaboration. I look forward to

hearing about the progress our students make in

this wonderful community minded task.

I would like to thank Mr Alan Scudder (P&C

representative) and Mr Justin Perrett (Deputy

Principal) for representing our school at the

recent Year 7 Selective entry panel held in the

June 2016

Issue 4 - Term 2 October 2014

city at the Selective Schools Unit on Tuesday,

May 31st. The Selective Schools Unit consults

with schools in determining the number of

selective offers made to prospective Year 7

students in the following year, (2017).

RSL COMMEMORATIVE SERVICE BATTLE

OF CORAL-BALMORAL

It was my pleasure to represent our school, along

with Mr Troy Neale (HT History) and our School

Captains, Samin Azfar and Charmaine Batulan

and our School Vice-Captains, Jackson Tallon

and Jessica Liang, at the Ingleburn RSL 48th

Anniversary Commemorative Service in memory

of the fallen and those who gave service at the

Battle of Coral-Balmoral, on Monday, May 16th,

2016.

The Battle of Fire Support Bases Coral-Balmoral

occurred between May 12th and June 6th, 1968 in

Vietnam. We were reminded, during the service,

of the bravery of Australian, New Zealand and

American troops who came under sustained

attacked from the Vietcong and the North

Vietnamese armies during the battle which raged

for nearly four weeks. Guest speaker, Major

General (Retd) BW (Horrie) Howard AO MC

ESM, who served as Company Commander A

Coy 3 RAR at Coral-Balmoral also reminded us

of the hidden enemy to troops in war zones, the

psychological damage which affects some 30%

of servicemen who live and return from the Front.

It was a stirring reminder of the powerful

sacrifices given by ordinary men in extraordinary

circumstances.

Macquarie Fields High School was the only

secondary school present at the service and we

were invited to lay our wreath towards the end of

the service along with representatives from

Ingleburn Public School, St. Andrews Public

School and The Grange Public School. The

schools present were acknowledged and

thanked by Ray James, President of the

Ingleburn RSL Sub-Branch for it is in the memory

of our children that such gallantry and sacrifice

will be remembered and commemorated in future

generations.

It was a stirring and emotional moment to hear

the National Anthems of the United States of

America, New Zealand and Australia, played one

after the other at the conclusion of the ceremony.

(See photograph at the end of my report.)

LMBR LAUNCH

On Wednesday, June 8th, our school was

pleased to host a large number of staff from

other schools for the launch of LMBR (Learning

Management and Business Reform) system and

training. We catered for 80+ Regional staff,

including the Directors of Public Schools, Maria

Serafim and Jan Green, Principals and School

Administrative Managers, in the School Hall, for

this event. I would like to thank Mrs. Vicki Shipley

and Mrs. Jay Fernando and the Year 11

Hospitality class (TAS Faculty) for their catering

of this event. I would also like to thank Mrs.

Karen Metcalfe, Mrs. Heather Davidson and Ms.

Minh Thi Tran for their co-ordination of the

entertainment. Our school choir, string ensemble

and pianists, Cheyanne Cavanagh (Year 12) and

Benny Zhang (Year 11) played beautifully.

Our wonderful school choir consists of the

following talented singers: Lizzie Watson;

Isabela Rabling; Awen Davidson; Radhika

Rabade; Jordyn Maddick; Lavanya Viswanathan;

Amisha Lamba; Rosemary Bastian; Abigail

Emmitt; Nafisa Yashfee; Sebastian Kelly; Simon

Bernardo and Nathanial Alcontara.

Our superb Violin String Ensemble consists

of the following talented instrumentalists:

Harinisindhu Ravi; Victoria Liang; Tony Yang;

Jamie Le; Karen D’souza; Jovitta Chen; Sharon

Li; Rose Zhang; Hui En Lim; Ivy Huang; Aditi

June 2016


Sengupta; Awen Davidson; Megan Lam;

Achintha Namaratne and Nafisa Yashfeen.

ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT

ISLANDER EAL/D LEARNERS’ CAPABILITY

FRAMEWORK

Project update: We have identified at least one

representative from each faculty to form a key

group which shall be responsible for the overall

planning for the delivery of professional learning

for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

EAL/D Learners Capability Framework. The team

will be led by Mrs Luisa Trieu (Head Teacher

Teaching and Learning) and Mrs Sangeeta

Hegde (Head Teacher Teaching and Learning –

one day per week) and Mrs Heather Costa (Head

Teacher CAPA/Relieving Deputy Principal).

An initial meeting of this group will be held on

Friday, July 1st where a program outline will be

given to the key group. A full day of training has

been scheduled for August 12th where the group

will familiarise themselves with the framework;

develop a deeper understanding of the

Framework in terms of our school context; map a

program for the collection of baseline data in

2016-2017 and develop a full plan of

implementation linked to our Strategic Plan 2018-

2020.

As you can see this is a long term plan where we

will make haste slowly to embed the framework

as part of our best practice in teaching. On

August 12th, we hope to have some guest

speakers with us, including some of our local

Aboriginal elders and we will celebrate Aboriginal

Culture with a special luncheon where we will

have some “bush tucker” and lunch with our

Indigenous students.

JUNIOR REPORTS

We are in the process of finalising all junior

reports (Years 7-10) which will be posted to

parents on Friday, June 24th. Keep an eye out for

the post.

CASE-BASED AND PROBLEM BASED

LEARNING IN THE CLASSROOM

Many of our students are currently being

challenged by a range of case-based and

problem-based learning activities in the

classroom. Congratulations to all staff involved in

the delivery of such engaging lessons and to all

students for taking up the various challenges.

Case Based Learning – Cases are factually

based, complex problems written to stimulate

classroom discussion and collaborative analysis.

Case teaching involves the interactive, student-

centred exploration of realistic and specific

situations. As students consider problems from a

perspective which requires analysis, they strive

to resolve questions that have no single answer.

Problem Based Learning – Simultaneously

develops both problem solving strategies and

disciplinary knowledge bases and skills by

placing students in the active role of problem

solvers confronted with an ill-structured problem

that mirrors real world problems.

Project team currently working with former

LEAPS students focussing on tracking

one year of growth; students targeted

have graduated into Year 10 from the

LEAPS program, the outcomes of which

form some of the baseline data that will be

used to measure growth. Mr Justin

Perrett; Mrs. Luisa Trieu; Mrs. Sangeeta

Hegde and Mrs.Vicki Shipley form this

team.

Global Citizenship/High Resolves

Program run by Mr Adam Baker.

June 2016


Social Justice Program run by Mrs Imelda

Judge.

Year 11 Business Studies – real world

problems such as declining sales and

market share in a company such as

Fitness First; possible solutions and

pitching of these solutions to a “Board of

Directors”.

Business Studies Video Project – filming

of group based problem solving.

Year 11 Economics: use of problem based

learning where economic theory is applied

to assess and address current real world

economic issues.

Year 9 Geography developing a

Population policy to address population

density and issues relating to

sustainability

Stage 4 History – Otzi the Ice Man; real

world case study assessing the evidence.

Stage 6 History – In a similar vein a case

study of John F. Kennedy and the

10,000,000 conspiracy theories

surrounding his assassination – what does

the evidence support/exclude.

Year 11 – First Aid scenarios solved by

students in groups and/or individually.

Year 11 Outdoor Recreation: Planning

expeditions (three days) with relevant risk

assessments; Wilderness survival;

solutions to working in hostile

environments.

Legal Studies – problem and Case-Based

Learning as applied to judicial cases and

decisions.

Information and Software Technology –

adopting product development

approaches according to different case

scenarios that represent real life

situations.

Coding of algorithms using a programming

language to solve problems including

automations and mathematical problems

applying different development and

troubleshooting tools.

P&C MEETING

Our second P&C Meeting for Term 2 will be on

Monday, June 20th commencing at 7:30pm. I look

forward to seeing parents at this meeting where I

will give a short presentation on the RAM monies

allocated to our school in 2016. Macquarie Fields

High School received $156, 274.12 in RAM

equity funding to support our students with

additional learning needs in 2016 and $220,

863.80 in the new base allocation.

UNIFORM SHOP

I wish to advise the school community that as of

the end of this term, the school uniform shop

located on site at Macquarie Fields High School

will close permanently. We have brought forward

the date of closure from Term 4 due to the

increasing popularity of sales online through the

LOWES website and the easy access to the

LOWES store at Minto at a variety of times six

days per week. There has been a greatly

reduced demand for a staffed shop on site.

The last day of operation for the School Uniform

Shop on our high school website, will be on

Friday, July 1st, from 8-11am. After this time all

sales will be through the Minto store or online.

LOWES was appointed to supply uniform on the

basis of the quality of product for the price

charged. The P&C representative on this

Committee represented parents and students

and the Committee was largely guided by

parental input. It should be noted that all

companies tendering to supply uniform to

Macquarie Fields High School, sent us

submissions which reflected little difference in

terms of overall price structures for uniform and

that regardless of who had been appointed to

June 2016


supply our uniforms, there would have been price

increases. The P&C felt that better quality of

product was paramount as this would mean a

longer life for each uniform purchased.

I apologise to parents who referred to the price

list on the SkoolBag App which was inadvertently

left there and not removed after LOWES were

appointed.

THE KINDNESS OF PEOPLE

By way of ending my report, I would like to

acknowledge the kindness of people.

The grateful grandparent who donated

$500.00 to our school a couple of weeks

ago on the condition of anonymity –

gratefully accepted and will be used to

purchase fiction books for the library to

encourage all students to read more.

The grateful parent(s) who donated

$15,000.00 a week ago, again on the

condition of anonymity. These funds will

be used to meet some of the costs

associated with refurbishing the school

hall for the comfort of all students.

And finally, the lovely member of the

public who sent me the following email

two weeks ago:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I wanted to send a brief email to compliment 4 of

your students who were travelling on the city

train this morning.

When it became evident that there were no

more available seats for the commuting adults

these 4 students stood up and gave their seats to

the standing commuters - without being

prompted.

I travel on this train every day and many

students occupy the train along with me.

I have never seen another set of students give

their seats up, so I wanted to ensure that the

school was aware of the lovely manners the

students displayed.

Kind regards,

Helen Curl

The spirit of giving generously is alive and

active in the Macquarie Fields community.

NEW SECRETARY DEPARTMENT OF

EDUACTION

The following was a media release approved

through the Office of the Premier of NSW

MARK SCOTT TO LEAD DEPARTMENT OF

EDUCATION

NSW Premier Mike Baird today announced the

appointment of Mark Scott AO as Secretary,

Department of Education.

Mr Scott recently completed a decade as

managing director of the ABC, where his reforms

included the creation of iview, News24, ABC3,

digital radio, expansion of ABC online and

introduction of ABC mobile services.

In the 1980s, Mr Scott was a teacher at St

Andrew’s Cathedral School before working in

senior roles for two education ministers in the

Greiner Government, Virginia Chadwick and

Terry Metherell.

He then completed a Master of Public

Administration at Harvard before joining Fairfax

as a journalist, rising to senior editorial and

executive roles, then moving to the ABC.

June 2016


“Mark’s appointment takes our reinvigoration of

the senior executive of the NSW public service a

step further,” Mr Baird said.

“Along with promoting outstanding young talent

from within the service, we have sought out the

best and brightest from the corporate world.

“Like Rob Whitfield, who took the reins at

Treasury last year, Mark is ready, willing and

able to bring the fruits of his immense experience

to the benefit of the entire NSW community.”

Mr Scott said, “On leaving the ABC, I was asked

what I planned to do next. I can think of no more

important opportunity than working alongside the

teachers of NSW and the staff of the Department

to improve teaching and learning in our schools.”

Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said, “I look

forward to working with Mark to continue

delivering the most comprehensive set of reforms

of school education in a century. Our focus

remains on improving student results and

delivering the skills base needed to grow the

NSW economy.”

Mr M Tishler

Student Safety – Drop off and Pick Up

At Macquarie Fields High School the safety and

wellbeing of all students is our priority. This is

particularly the case in the afternoons when

students are heading home. The majority of our

students leave school via bus and parents

picking students up.

In order to have all students collected safely

could I please remind parents of our safety

strategies;

The staff car park is not to be used as a

pick up or drop off point. Parents need to

use the visitor car park to pick their child

up. Many parents now park across the

road at Hazlett Oval. This has proved to

be very good with students safely making

their way under the tunnel to meet their

parent.

The tear drop is for buses only and should

not be used to pick children up. Buses

need the full turning circle of the tear drop

and with so many students leaving this

area it is dangerous to have extra cars in

this area. There are clear no standing

signs in the tear drop.

I would also ask parents to ensure that

they are especially vigilant when driving

and reversing in the visitor car park. We

would like to ensure the safety of all

students in our care. The speed limit is

also 10 km per hour when driving on the

school premises.

Thank you for your co-operation with our safety

strategies.

Mrs Heather Costa

Relieving Deputy Principal – Welfare and

School Management

June 2016


ENGLISH FACULTY Debating and Public Speaking at Macquarie

Fields High

It has been a busy few months for our debaters

at Macquarie Fields High. After an exciting

selection process, our teams of very talented and

enthusiastic debaters have been thrown into the

dynamic world of debating head first. Each team

has already competed in at least one debate,

with many students also participating in a variety

of public speaking competitions this term. Our

students are in the midst of the debating season

as I type this. As the season has progressed,

they have been feeling more confident in their

own abilities and are beginning to see a more

steady stream of victories build up. So far, our

teams have already met with some excellent

wins and some valuable losses. Whilst wins are

always wonderful occasions, it is important for us

to remember that defeat can also be a significant

learning experience.

Evatt NSW

On Saturday the 14 May 2016, the prestigious

and dedicated Year 11 debating team took part

in a national public speaking competition known

as Evatt. Evatt is a Model United Nations

Security Council diplomacy competition for

students in Years 9-12. More than 2,000

students compete in Evatt each year.

It aims to educate young people about Australia’s

place in the world and empower them as active

citizens by developing public speaking,

negotiation, teamwork, research, and diplomatic

skills.

The competition takes the form of a mock

session of the UN Security Council. Teams of

two students are assigned a country which they

then use as a basis to debate, amend, and vote

on a prepared resolution from the perspective of

their assigned nation.

The Year 11 students worked in pairs, with

Ashraf Olife and Megha Sevekari being assigned

the country of Ukraine whilst Sanjana Sriram and

Tanaya Berde were assigned the United

Kingdom. Both teams took the competition very

seriously, with extensive research undertaken in

the weeks prior to the event.

Year 11 students at Evatt

I was immensely impressed with their efforts on

the day, with both of our teams standing out as

informed, confident and poised in the face of

such an overwhelming event. The number of

compliments the students received from other

teachers, parents and the event organisers was

not only a reflection on the students themselves,

but also demonstrated to the community the

exceptional talent that Macquarie Fields High

School has to offer.

Although we don’t expect to hear the results of

the competition for a number of weeks,

regardless of the outcome, the students all

agreed that the value of the learning experience

was worth the early wake up on a Saturday.

Year 7

On the 27 May 2016, our incredibly enthusiastic

Year 7 team participated in their first debate

against Ingleburn High School. Dion Sayaloune,

Annie Chen, Luke Cox and Jessica Gleave were

stand out debaters during the team selection

June 2016


process, and demonstrated all of the qualities

that one searches for when designing their

dream team of debaters.

Year 7 Debaters: Dion Sayaloune, Jessica Gleave,

Annie Chen and Luke Cox

For many of the students, this first high school

debate was a nerve wracking experience, even

more so when they realised that the team they

were versing would be a Year 8 team.

Additionally, getting their second round of

vaccinations at school only one hour before the

debate meant that they weren’t in an optimum

state of mind by the time we arrived at Ingleburn.

So we went into this debate with a little less

confidence and a little more nerves than normal,

as well as four sore left arms. On the car trip over

however, I was very impressed with the

dedication that the students had shown to their

preparation. Each student had taken a previous

debate topic and had made detailed notes on

both sides of the debate for that topic. They

shared ideas in the back seat, came up with

rebuttals and argued the merits of learning a

second language in school. I know I shouldn’t

have been surprised; I already knew that they

were hard workers, but I still couldn’t help

marvelling at their efforts.

Upon seeing the topics, the students jumped at

the chance to debate whether ‘All school

subjects aside from art should be completed on

computers’. One hour of preparation, many palm

cards and six speeches later, the winner was

announced.

Ingleburn High was a strong team, and they were

able to form a variety of sophisticated arguments,

however Macquarie Fields High was, as quoted

by the adjudicator: ‘faultless’. Thus the Year 7

team are happy to announce that they were

victorious their first high school debate.

When asked what they thought they could learn

from the debate, the replies ranged from ‘We

need to improve on how we structure our

preparation time’ to ‘we have to include more

stakeholders in our arguments’. These

responses I believe are a reflection of the

maturity and growth mindset that many of our

students encompass. I left the debate that day

with a sense of satisfaction, knowing that

regardless of the result, our team is constantly

searching for ways to grow and improve

themselves both as students as and as people.

With many more events on the horizon, our

debaters will certainly have a busy term two, right

up until the last day of term where our Year eight

team will be debating against Ingleburn to keep

our winning streak alive. Each team deserves a

heartfelt congratulations on their efforts so far

this year and I’m sure they will continue to

impress both the school and the community with

their dedication.

Mrs J Peruzzo

English Teacher

June 2016


Annual Athletics Carnival

We held our annual Macquarie Fields High

School Athletics Carnival at Campbelltown

Athletics stadium on Tuesday 24 may 2016. Well

done to all our students who participated and

excelled in the various track and field events this

year. The weather was perfect and participation

rates where through the roof this year!

A big thank you to all students and staff that

assisted on the day!

Students with teachers preparing for the Carnival to

start in the grandstand

It was a close call this year for the winning house

group; Jetsons in 4th place, Flintstones in 3rd

place, Simpsons coming in 2nd and taking out 1st

place Addams!

Girls competing for the highest clearance in High

Jump

Boys start off the 100m sprint

Girls start off the 100m sprint

The Zone Athletics Carnival will held on

Thursday 23 and Friday 26 of June, with

approximately 100 students from Macquarie

Fields High School competing to go through to

the Regional level. The Zone Athletics Carnival

will be held at Campbelltown Athletics Stadium.

Good luck to all those who are competing

Miss Worthington

Carnival Coordinator

June 2016


Student Column

Hello fellow students, we all know that taking

notes in class is a skill which will be useful

throughout high school and further in university.

But sometimes we feel like the notes we take

aren’t effective, so here are some tips on

improving your note taking skills:

Use a loose leaf notebook for taking

notes. You can then remove pages as

needed. You cannot do this if you use a

spiral notebook.

Write your notes on the front side of pages

only. This will allow you to lay the pages

side by side when reviewing your notes for

a test.

Write the date at the top of each page of

your notes and number the pages. This

will help you to keep your notes in the

proper sequence.

Keep your notes for each class separate

from your notes for other classes. You can

use different colour tabs to help you do

this.

Be careful in what you write. On average,

the speaking speed of teachers is five to

six times faster than is the writing speed of

students. Quite simply, do not try to write

everything your teacher says.

Use abbreviations and symbols to

increase your note taking speed.

Don't be too concerned with spelling and

grammar. These notes are for your use

and will not be graded.

Ask your teacher to repeat something you

think you may have missed.

As you write points made by your teacher,

translate these points into your own

words. Doing this will increase your

understanding of your notes and your

ability to remember the information they

contain.

If your teacher provides a definition for a

word, write that definition in your notes

word for word.

Write legibly. You will have to read your

notes later on.

Include in your notes information your

teacher writes on the board.

Stay especially alert during the last few

minutes of the class. Teachers sometime

use the last few minutes of a class

session to summarise everything.

These tips should hopefully get you on your way

to improving your note taking and also improving

your marks.

P & C News

Macquarie Fields High School has recently

switched to a new uniform supplier. This change

brings improvements in quality and convenience,

as the uniforms can be purchased online or at

the Minto Lowes Store.

The P&C strongly supports the school uniform

policy and believes that all students should wear

uniforms. Uniforms represent the school brand,

and nothing looks better than seeing good

performances and behaviour from students all

wearing the correct school uniform. Nearly all

schools in NSW have a uniform, so at public

events, students look out of place when not

correctly dressed. They help you to take pride in

your school and community.

School uniforms provide safety for students. On

the road, drivers often take additional care when

they see students in uniform and have a higher

level of alert for their well being. In public events

it is easy to identify students under the

responsibility of teachers. Correct uniform also

provides safety in laboratories and workshops.

June 2016


In a society with increasing inequality, they

represent equality. You cannot be judged for not

having designer clothes, poor fashion sense or

inappropriate clothing. You do not need to

agonize every morning about what to wear. This

is one less stressful decision, making everyone

equal and ensuring equal treatment for all.

Uniforms are a part of life. Even after leaving

school, many workplaces have uniforms. Even if

you are not a nurse, police officer, or factory

worker, many workplaces have dress codes such

as a suit and tie or smart casual attire. In fact

many workers wear clothing very similar to your

school uniform.

This is a good time to check that you have the

correct uniform. You can visit the online store at:

http://www.lowes.com.au/CampusCategories.asp

x?depid=809

Mr D Amos

President - P & C Association

http://www.lowes.com.au/CampusCategories.aspx?depid=809

http://www.lowes.com.au/CampusCategories.aspx?depid=809

June 2016


mac fields news · 2019-10-30 · april 2010 2 harold street, ... june 2016 calendar events week 8...

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