From The Principal …

Year 12 Formal

On Wednesday 12 November it was my pleasure to attend the Year 12 Formal. The event commenced with refreshments in our beautiful Rose Garden served by our Student Leaders 2015. At 5:30pm our Year 12 students were transported to The Deckhouse waterfront venue at Woolwich which set a breathtaking scene for photos and the evening itself. The picturesque venue was almost as stunning as our Year 12 students in their formal attire. However it was not merely suits, gowns and make up that made our students shine. Their character and personality shone throughout the evening to the point where the manager of the venue went out of their way to comment on the group and the fact that they were so impressed with the maturity, manners and friendliness.

Congratulations to all students, parents and staff in reaching this milestone. Many thanks to Mrs Jones (Year 12 Student Advisor) who coordinated the evening, ensuring it was a memorable success.

School Uniform 2015

The end of the school holidays is a popular time to purchase new school shoes for the coming year. If you are purchasing school shoes please remember that students are required to wear fully enclosed, completely black, hard leather upper shoes. A copy of shoes permitted is shown below.

Year 10 students going into Year 11 in 2015 will need to organise the purchase of their white school shirts in preparation as a senior student at Crestwood High School.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our students on their presentation and consistency in maintaining high standard of uniform through 2014. It certainly reflects the posi-tive attitude and sense of school morale at Crestwood High School.

CRESTWOOD HIGH SCHOOL

Telephone: (02) 9639 7422

Facsimile: (02) 9686 3462

Website: www.crestwoodhs.nsw.edu.au

Newsletter Date

21st November, 2014

Week 7, Term 4

Special Points of

Interest:

Whooping Cough

announcement

Deputy News

Multicultural Day

information

Duke of Ed news

SRC news

Careers News

Weeks 8 and 9, Term 4

Week 8B Optional Year 10 Work

Experience 24.11

Volunteers Morning tea

Yr 10 English excursion 25.11 Theatresports training day

Yr 11 Chemistry excursion 27.11 Multicultural day Assembly

28.11 Schools spectacular excursion

Week 9A Optional Year 10 Work

Experience 1.12 Yr 7 Support transition

day 2.12 Yr 7 Support transition

day Theatre Sports Cup 3.12 Yr 7 Support transition

day Yr 6 into 7 Orientation day

4.12

Yr 10 Drama performance Yr 12 English Ext

excursion PASS Bronze medallion 5.12

Yr 10 Forensic incursion Yr 7, 8T and Yr 11 physics excursion to Luna Park

PASS Bronze medallion

Multicultural Day

next Thursday

27th November.

Cultural dress or

school uniform to

be worn.

See page 4

Crestwood In fo l ine . . .

Page 2 From the Deputy Principal ...

Reports …

As we head towards the end of the year, it is that time again when reports are being

written and issued. As you know a significant amount of work goes into writing these

reports to provide as much feedback to parents and students regarding their academic

strengths and areas to focus on. It is important and necessary, I believe, for students and

parents to read the report independently and then together. Together you can all discuss

aspects of learning, study habits and feedback regarding overall attitude and application to

studies.

Those students who have identified clear goals to achieve at the end of each year are often

more focused and productive throughout the year and have a greater sense of satisfaction

when they have achieved their goals. They often set more aspirational goals the following

year.

All positive work habits should be viewed as an investment in your education. The earlier

students adopt sound work practices such as applying themselves to all class tasks and

completing all class work the more successful they usually are. Reports give an indication

of those subjects in which students have a talent, natural aptitude and interest in.

Particularly as they move through high school, school reports can provide a direct link with

career choices and options for employment beyond school.

Crestwood prides itself on the quality of the relationships that exist between students and

teachers. Students should feel, at all times, that they are able to approach their teacher to

ask questions about their work and clarify assignments and so on. Teachers encourage

open lines of communication and this further assists students in achieving their academic

goals.

School reports are one of the main forms of communication between the school and

parents. As a school we take the writing of reports seriously and ask you to give these due

consideration to the information that you are reading.

Thank you.

ATTENTION YEAR 7 PARENTS:

The literacy committee has proposed an initiative that focuses on improving the overall skills of our students. Wordflyers is an

online programme that offers students skills in spelling, punctuation and comprehension. This builds and consolidates the new

Australian Curriculum literacy essential for students in Years 7-10. This interactive program encourages students to read all

kinds of interesting texts and the motivational theme is international travel.

Wordflyers is offering Crestwood High School students a free trial until the 24th December 2014. At this stage, all Year 7

students will be able to trial this both at home and in class. Mrs Cowan and myself have ensured that all students in Year 7

(and some in Year 8) are enrolled in this program. A note will be going out to parents shortly, requesting feedback after having

trialled this program. Your cooperation in this regard would be highly valuable.

Furthermore, if you are interested in trying this out for your child in another year group, please ask them to see Mrs Cowan

or myself or email us on the following address: tracey.lee.mcdonald@det.nsw.edu.au; bernadette.virwani@det.nsw.edu.au.

If you would like to explore the site yourself the website is: www.wordflyers.com.au/freetrial . See page 12 of this newsletter

for instructions. Ms Bernadette Virwani, English Faculty

Page 3

WHOOPING COUGH PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT

There has been a confirmed case of whooping cough at Crestwood High School. Under NSW Department of

Health Guidelines we are required to notify all parents.

Guidelines for Whooping Cough are as follows:

Coughing spreads the infection to others nearby. Whooping cough caught at school can spread to younger

brothers and sisters at home and can be especially dangerous for babies.

Whooping cough starts like a cold and progresses to bouts of coughing that can last for many weeks. Older

children may just have a cough that is persistent and is worse at night. The infection can occur even in

fully-vaccinated children.

Children with symptoms should see a GP.

If your doctor diagnoses whooping cough, please let the school know and keep your child at home until they

have taken seven days of antibiotics. Keep coughing children away from babies.

Whooping cough vaccines give good protection against infection but immunity fades. If your school-aged

child has younger siblings, it’s a good idea to check that they are up to date with their vaccines.

If your child (or any member of your family) has any of the symptoms of whooping cough, such as a dry or

persistent cough, which may be especially bad at night, please see you doctor. A nose and throat swab test can

be performed to confirm the diagnosis.

If your child has whooping cough, your doctor will arrange a course of antibiotic treatment. Antibiotics given early

in the illness are effective in stopping the cough and in preventing spread to other people. If your doctor diagnoses

whooping cough please advise the school and keep your child at home until s/he has taken 5 days of antibiotics.

More information at www.health.nsw.gov.au or on the factsheet at https://detwww.det.nsw.edu.au/detresources/

Whooping_Cough_xWFlbhclTM.pdf

DUKE OF EDINBURGH STUDENTS WIN ROYAL TRIVIA CHALLENGE …

Last week HRH Prince Edward toured Australia to celebrate 50 years of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. As part

of the celebrations a trivia night was held at the Powerhouse Museum, hosted by Prince Edward himself.

Three of Crestwood’s Silver Award recipients, Chloe Wilson, Libby Chilvers and Alissa Baker, were invited to

attend after being selected by ballot. Their table group won the trivia challenge and had the opportunity to meet

Prince Edward who was warm and showed great enthusiasm for the Duke of Ed program.

Congratulations to these students.

Christine Lancett (Duke of Ed Coordinator)

Page 4

Multicultural Day– Thursday 27th November (Wk8, T4)

One of the highlights of the school calendar is Multicultural Day. This is a day that students look forward

to and remember fondly after they leave school.

Students are required to make a gold coin donation on the day.

The expectation for Multicultural Day is that students come in cultural dress. This can be

imaginative and may represent the students’ own culture, or respectfully, a culture in which they are in-

terested.

Parents of any students whose clothing is deemed inappropriate will be contacted and

arrangements made for a school uniform to be brought to the school.

However, students must still adhere to WHS requirements, for this reason the following items are NOT to

be worn

No thongs

No singlets (boys or girls)

No short shorts or swimwear

No hoodies, beanies or full face coverings

No flags to be carried or worn as clothing

Students who have practical classes periods 1 and 2 will require fully enclosed leather school shoes.

Lessons and organisation for the day will be as follows .

Extended Homeroom: (8.30am – 8.44am)

Roll call

Students will pay their gold coin entry fee to home room teacher and and /or Multicultural

Committee.

Period 1 and 2

Normal lessons for Year 7-11

Multicultural Committee and performers ONLY to be out of class involved in preparations.

Recess as normal

Period 3

All students in Year 7 -11 will to go to their timetabled rooms where they will participate in a

MULTICULTURAL LESSON delivered by each faculty.

Extended Lunch Break - Period 4 through to the End of Lunch 1

Students will have the opportunity to purchase a range of multicultural foods from stalls in the COLA.

Lunch 2, Period 5 and Period 6

All students will go to the hall for multicultural performances by visiting group “5 Flavours” and our own

talented students.

2.15pm – 2.25pm

All students will return to homeroom for end of day roll marking and dismissal at the end of the school

day.

Page 5

YEAR 12 ENGLISH EXCURSION

On Monday 27th October our Year 12 Extension 2 English class ventured to the State Library where we

attended an inspiring and motivational seminar aimed at assisting us with our major works. The speakers,

including Felicity Plunkett and Tony Britten imparted to us useful advice and ideas that we can carry with

us throughout the course.

Part of the excursion included “speed dating” with expert writers

and ex-HSC students who achieved high results in their majors. I

found this experience to be extremely beneficial. The 3 minutes

spent with each person allowed for me to seek clarification, ask

questions and find inspiration for my own major work. On the

day we were also shown how to access State Library resources,

as well as being taught effective ways to research the most

relevant information using online search engines such as Google.

Overall, the day was extremely valuable. What I learnt will be

very useful to me throughout my year of Extension 2 English and I

am glad to have received the opportunity to go to the State

Library and learn from some of the most successful and

knowledgeable people on the subject. Vanii Pillay

Support students have been participating in the Jack Newton Junior Golf Program

and on Thursday 6th November, 18 were fortunate to play a round at The Colonial

Golf Course Werrington.

For most students, it was the first visit ever to a course with everyone having a fun

filled day. To add to the excitement FOXS Sports was there to film a segment about

Golf for the Disabled which aired last Tuesday, 18th November on the 7.30pm Golf

Show. Our students represented Crestwood superbly and were wonderful

ambassadors for the school.

The senior sessions were developed from the DEC’s My Golf program which has

been adapted and adjusted to suit student needs. The proposed idea for 2015 is to organise an interschool golf

day for students with disabilities.

FOXS SPORTS GOLF DAY

Page 6 P & C News …

The last few weeks have been very busy. Year 12 have now completed their High School Certificate

and had their School Farewell last Wednesday 12th November. All the students looked stunning. I

would like to thank the staff of the canteen for making a lovely pre formal garden party for the

students, family members and teachers. Also thank you to the Student Leadership Team of 2015 for

being excellent helpers from preparing food, serving food and drinks and taking numerous photos

for the Year 12 and their families and in cleaning up afterwards.

At our last P & C meeting the Student Leadership team prepared a presentation for a proposal to

have Graduation Gowns at the Year 12 formal assembly. These will be used by all students in the

coming years and the students also get to keep the sash of that year to remember the occasion.

We also approved the information that will be on the school’s website for the P & C page. This will

have all the meeting dates and times, items that the P & C has invested in to improve the school and

how we raise the funds for the P & C. It also contains information about the school canteen

including price lists and how the canteen works.

On behalf of the P & C, I would also like to thank and wish Brenda Broad our canteen manager all

the best as Brenda will be retiring at the end of the year. Brenda has been the person behind the

success of our canteen and Brenda has done a wonderful job over the years in the role of the

manager. Mandy Burns will be taking over the role next year and we wish Mandy all the best. The

canteen Christmas party will be held on the 9th December. Please contact the canteen for further

details.

Book packs for Year 7 2015 will be available at Year 7 Orientation day and the Year 8 book packs

will be available closer to the end of the year. Please contact the school if you need further

information.

Our last meeting of the year will be on Tuesday 2nd December 2014. It will be in the library

starting at 7pm. Please bring a plate to share as this is our Christmas Party meeting.

Hope to see you there

Cathy Morgan

P & C President

Page 7

SRC NEWS …

The SRC (Student Representative Council) have been busy planning for

2015 and will continue to support the Red Cross blood bank. Senior

students will again organise for the collection of blood at the mobile

blood van after trials next year. Four senior students will have the

opportunity to attend a leadership development program held by the

Red Cross in February to assist them with the planning of the event and

to further develop their leadership skills.

Madeline Anderson has been elected SRC President for 2014-2015.

After closely contested voting the numbers were tied between Madeline

(Year 10) and Eshna Chand (Year 9). Eshna stood aside to give

Madeline the opportunity and will be Vice President.

We plan to hold a fundraising event for cancer research on Thursday

4th December. Year 8 will coordinate the event to support students

from that year who have been directly effected by Cancer. If you like to

bake and want to support this cause, please send baked goods to school

on the day and bring some money to school to purchase goods.

Page 8

Careers News ...

Page 9

Canteen and Canteen Committee News ...

Special thanks this week to all our student leaders who assisted canteen staff serving refreshments

during the Year 12 Pre Formal Garden Party last Wednesday! Their enthusiasm and professionalism

was greatly appreciated. Once against hey looked stunning in their immaculate school uniforms. James

and Josh displayed their creative skills in preparing fruit kebabs. A sincere thank you also to our P&C

President Cathy Morgan for her wonderful assistance preparing food in the canteen prior to this event.

Next Thursday is Multicultural Day! The canteen will be selling Pizza Subs and Spanish Style Donut

Churros with Chocolate Dipping Sauce as well as assorted soft drinks. Prices will be advertised at the

canteen.

Year 7 Book Pack ($30), Accessories Kit ($35), Visual Art Pack ($35) & Scientific Calculators ($28) are

arriving next Tuesday 25 November and will be on sale once unpacked, checked and labelled. Year 8

Book Packs ($22) will arrive on Friday 5 December and will be on sale for the remainder of the year

while stocks last.

Our Christmas ‘Thank You’ night out for volunteers and staff is being held at Il Lago, Norwest Tuesday

9 December at 7pm. The cost is $50 and includes a 2 course function menu with choice of dishes and

corkage. Payments by cash can be made at the canteen or pay on the night. Wine, champagne, soft

drinks, tea and coffee will be provided. Lucky door prizes and the winners of 3 Hamper Pamper packs

will be drawn on the night. These packs full of Christmas themed edible and non edible goodies will be

on display in the canteen. For every day a volunteer has worked in the canteen this year they will

receive an entry into the draw. Even those unable to attend may still be lucky winners!

For the remainder of this term staff will be checking with our volunteers their availability for canteen

duty next year. If anyone needs to change their rostered day please let us know. If any parent,

grandparent or caregiver would also like to join our wonderful team of volunteers this year or next

please contact our staff on 9639 7422 Et 117 or email us at chscanteen@gmail.com

FROM THE DEPARTMENT …

Comprehension help for teens … Some kids will read perfectly in primary school and then suddenly

struggle with comprehension in high school. Here’s why. Comprehension help: http://

www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au/homework-and-study/english/english-tips/reading/comprehension-strategies-you-

can

Planning for the future … Throughout your child’s school life you’ll need to make choices about aspects of

their education and future. Here’s a selection of tips to help you plan for parent-teacher talks, subject selec-

tion, careers advice and back-to-school. Planning for the future: http://www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au/

homework-and-study/planning-for-the-future

Maths tips for tweens … Kids who find maths easy in the early years of school can be turned off quickly if

they get confused and can’t work it out. Here are 10 ways to get your tween through the more challenging

times. Maths tips: http://www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au/homework-and-study/mathematics/mathematics-tips/

tips-for-tweens-who-find-maths-hard

Time to party … While most parties go off without a hitch, celebrations can go wrong and get out of

hand—particularly if the party is unplanned. Here are tips to help ensure your teen and their friends have fun

but stay safe. Time to party: http://www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au//wellbeing/development/time-to-party

Word Clouds … Has your child made a word cloud yet? It’s a great idea for adding to book reports, assign-

ments and even for revision. Cut and paste a big slab of the text into a Wordle for a visual summary of the

major themes. Create a Wordle: http://www.wordle.net/

Ready for high school … Just to let you know that the Transition to high school, Ready for High School

Checklist is now available in 36 languages. Search by language: http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/

languagesupport/documents/start_ss/rfhsc.php

Page 10

NEXT WEEK: (Week 8, Term 4 2014 Week B of cycle): Monday 24th November—Friday 28th November, 2014

Monday Volunteers Morning Tea; Year 10 English excursion; Optional Year 10 work experience

Tuesday Theatresports training day; Year 11 Chemistry excursion; Optional Year 10 work experience

Wednesday Optional Year 10 work experience

Thursday Multicultural Day; Optional Year 10 work experience; Assembly Day

Friday Yrs 7-10 schools spectacular; Optional Year 10 work experience

NEXT WEEK: (Week 9, Term 4 2014 Week A of cycle): Monday 1st December—Friday 5th December, 2014

Monday Yr 7 Support Transition Day; Optional Year 10 work experience

Tuesday Yr 7 Support Transition Day; Optional Year 10 work experience; Theatre Sports Crestwood Cup

Wednesday Year 7 Support Transition Day; Yr 6 into Yr 7 Orientation Day; Optional Year 10 work experience

Thursday Yr 10 Drama performance; Yr 12 English Ext excursion; PASS bronze medallion assessment;

Friday Yr 10 Forensic incursion; Yr 7, 8T and 11 Physics to Luna Park; PASS bronze medallion assessment;

Page 11

Page 12

Page 13

AABEEDAR Driving School

1 hr free Safety lesson. For a limited time we offer

a SPECIAL PRICE $40 Per hour Driving Lesson in

the nominated suburbs mentioned in the

AABEEDAR Website. Must book for 2 hours each

session. Please visit our website:

www.aabeedardrivingschool.com.au

Call Afshin on: 0469 749 935

Instructor Lic No: 012627

Crestwood High School does not necessarily endorse the businesses that advertise in this newsletter.

Monday 5 January—Thursday 22 January 2015 and the University of Sydney (Camperdown).

Our ‘Summer School” program offers students the opportunity to get ahead in their studies, reducing stress levels

and workloads in 2015. Each lecture will thoroughly review and then extend on the materials covered in Term 4 of

2014 as well as provide students with a comprehensive coverage of Term 1 2015 materials in advance of school.

Having a solid understanding of course content in advance of covering materials at school will enable students to

absorb more information in the classroom, resulting in less time being spent on homework, improved confidence

and higher HSC marks. Students also receive comprehensive notes that include all of the relevant theory, fully

worked examples, take home questions, as well as advance exposure to exam-style questions so as to maximise

test and examination scores. For more information visit the website: www.tsfx.com.au

Page 14

Crestwood High School does not necessarily endorse the businesses that advertise in this newsletter.

Page 15

Crestwood High School does not necessarily endorse the businesses that advertise in this newsletter.