No 3, 2018

1

Kingsgrove North High School

The Way North

Principal’s Report

Thank you for such a warm welcome to Kingsgrove North High School.

It is an honour to be Relieving Principal for Angelo Stasos whilst he is on leave.

Kingsgrove North High School is such a vibrant school community to work in with such supportive

and dedicated staff.

Whilst on my daily visits around the school I have come to know the Kingsgrove North High

School community more closely and truly appreciate all the great programs that exist for our

students. Through a collaborative team effort we are currently working together to provide evi-

dence of whole school impact for External Validation and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineer-

ing and Mathematics) initiatives,

External Validation is a mandatory requirement of all government schools to justify whole school

progress across the areas of learning, teaching and leading. Staff have already acquired much

evidence on Differentiation to demonstrate how we are tailoring teaching and learning to meet

individual student needs. I am currently working with the senior executive and staff on the

school’s External Validation process to showcase samples of work to an independent panel and

highlight the impact this has made across the school. I will communicate much of our develop-

ment through school staff meetings and through the P&C. We have decided to focus our col-

lection of data for External Validation around Wellbeing, Community and International Partner-

ships, Technology and STEM. The new school plan 2018-2020 will be an important document to

map our future directions and demonstrate our impact. If you have not done so already please

see our School Plan and Annual Report on the school’s website.

The STEM room is nearing completion and will be in operation towards the end of the term.

Plans are already in place linking our local primary schools in STEM. Students from these schools

are invited to share our resources and use the room on Wednesday afternoons.

We thank you for your patience as we undergo demolition work to the front office entry to the

school. Much negotiation has taken place to complete this work before the end of term. How-

ever, contractors will not commit to a completion date.

Our Community Newsletter No. 3, 2018 2 St Albans Rd, Kingsgrove, 2208

T 9502 3933 F 9554 3907

No 3, 2018

2

Kingsgrove North High School

The Way North

The IFTAR dinner celebrated at our school on Thursday 24 May 2018 was a huge success. Thank

you to our School Captain, Daniel Jiang our Master of Ceremonies and to Mrs Zoabi, Mr

Sindyan, and our SASS and Iftar team preparing for this very special occasion. Additional thanks

to Mr Smith, Ms Todd and the Hospitality students and staff assisting with the catering and ser-

vice and to Mrs Noulas for her multi- media support and photography supported by Ms Cheg-

widden. Much goes into the organisation of this event making it such a huge success.

There are so many wonderful programs operating in the school. “Friday’s Café” has been a

great environment for me to meet all staff on a regular basis. It is such a wonderful initiative

bringing our whole school community together. Thank you Ms Vourdousi and the support team

for co-ordinating the magnificent fortnightly cafés. This is a collaborative effort providing oppor-

tunities for our Support Students to be an inclusive part of the school. The operations of the Café

ensure authentic skill development and self confidence for our students opening the pathway

for post school employment. What a great team effort! Thank you.

The following photos showcase some of the highlights of the term.

Thank you Mr Rozario and the PDHPE Faculty for a very successful and well organised Athletics

Carnival and to all of you for your support leading to such a brilliant day. The weather was per-

fect, the BBQ was widely popular and our athletic champions were leaping, jumping and run-

ning with excitement ready to break records. Many of whom have now succeeded to zone. For

me it was a great opportunity to see all of you, meet parents and talk to students.

I would also like to thank our Deputy Principals, Mr McKeown and Mr Spero for ensuring all

school business is well communicated to students, staff and families. They are a tremendous sup-

port to the school and a pleasure to work with. I would also like to thank Jenny Davies, SAM,

Louise Jegers, Business Manager and our SASS team who welcomed me to the school with such

a beautiful morning tea, it was such a great opportunity to see first hand the hard workings of

the SASS team. Their efficiency is commendable to the day to day running of the school.

I look forward to working with you all as we progress through the term.

Kind Regards,

Debbie Agapitos

(Relieving Principal)

Our Community Newsletter No. 3, 2018 2 St Albans Rd, Kingsgrove, 2208

T 9502 3933 F 9554 3907

Iftar dinner Friday’s Cafe Athletics Carnival

No 3, 2018

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SCHOOL UNIFORM

As we head into winter up it is a timely reminder to parents of the need for all students to wear

full school uniform. Lately student have begun wearing a range of different jumpers and hood-

ies to school. Students have been reminded on numerous occasions that this is not acceptable.

Students out of uniform will have the non-uniform item confiscated for the day and/or receive a

lunch time detention. The school has a range of new and second-hand jumpers and other

items available for purchase. Some students have been wearing runners to school which is in

breach of our uniform policy. School shoes need to be black leather lace up. This is a Depart-

mental requirement due to WHS requirements for our school site. Please do not let your child

wear incorrect footwear to school. Students who are out of uniform MUST bring a note from their parents. This is a one off situation only. Students who do not bring a note will be placed on a

lunch time detention. Failure to attend, or frequent detentions for non-compliance may result in

further consequences.

YEAR 10 ROSA, YEAR 11 PRELIMINARY HSC and YEAR 12 HSC

A reminder to students that there are explicit expectations and requirements for the successful

completion of these courses. NESA outlines that to complete these courses students must:

Follow the board developed course

Display diligence and sustained effort

Achieve course outcomes

To do this, students must ensure that they attend all lessons, make a sustained effort at complet-

ing all classwork and hand in all assessment tasks by the due date. Students not meeting these

expectations will be issued with an official warning and given a chance to complete the task,

but will not receive any marks for the task. If students are issued 2 or more official warnings, they

will be formally interviewed. If the issues are not resolved, parents will be asked to attend an in-

terview and students may be issued with a n-determination, putting their ROSA or HSC creden-

tial at risk, and resulting in students having to repeat one or more subjects. ——————————————————————————————————————————————

Please note our school is required to follow the Department of

Education’s Working With Children Check requirement. Those

requirements have been recently updated. When visiting our

school please allow extra time for when you sign in. You may

be required to provide 100 points of ID and complete some

paperwork.

Those requirements are for the safety of our students.

Thank you for your understanding.

No 3, 2018

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YEAR 11 CROSSROADS CAMP 2018 Last week Year 11 departed for camp Morisset, eager and

ready for 3 days of their compulsory “crossroads” program, as

well as adventure activities, team building and challenge ac-

tivities.

The compulsory ‘Crossroad’ program that must be complet-

ed by all year 11 students was delivered at the camp. Stu-

dents participated in theory sessions aimed at supporting

them to address issues related to identity, independence and

the changing responsibilities they face as young adults.

Students were challenged in multiple activities such as:

Giant swing

High ropes

Mud world

Canoeing

Survival challenge

Super drop

The camp supervisors were so impressed with the positive

attitude and maturity of year 11 and what a great group of

students we have at Kingsgrove North High School.

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Year 7 Report

Term 2 has already proven to be quite a hectic term. Teachers are

busy marking assessments and writing half-yearly reports, and later

on in the term we will be holding another Parent and Teacher Inter-

view Evening. Please make sure you attend the evening, armed

with your child's report card. This is a good time to discuss any issues

of concern with your child's teachers and to look at setting goals for

improvement.

Winter has definitely arrived so please make sure that your children

are dressed appropriately in school uniform. School jumpers and

jackets are available at the Uniform Shop and the Second-hand

Uniform shop. All students must be in full school uniform everyday

(no hoodies or different coloured jumpers etc)

To finish off on a positive note- In Week 5, Year 7 attended their first

KNHS Athletics Carnival. I was really impressed by their enthusiasm

to get involved and compete. The best part of it though, was hear-

ing their encouragement of each other. It shows that the students

are really starting to form strong bonds of friendship which is lovely!

I hope to see you all at this term's Parent and Teacher Interview

Evening.

Angela Faros

No 3, 2018

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2018 Secondary Schools Student Leadership Program

On the 24th May, 2018 our School Captains Daniel Jiang and Latisha

Yeboah accompanied by the Prefect Coordinator had the privilege

to attend the 2018 Secondary Schools Student Leadership Program

offered by Parliamentary Education. The students got to meets many

State Politicians from many different regions of NSW. These included

Andrew Fraser (Coffs Harbour), Austin Evans( Murray), Greg Aplin( Albury),

Philip Donato(Orange). Ray William( Minister of Multiculturism), Mark

Taylor (Seven Hills), Prue Carr (Lonondary) and Courtney Houssos

(Member of Upper House) and Rob Stokes.

The students engaged in with these leaders, visited both seating

rooms in the house, observed the everyday of a politician and

Parliament House and finally a tour of Governor House (Sydney).

Our Captains were greeted by the Chief Justice of NSW the

honourable Thomas Bathurst.

A very eventful day with so many different inspiring speeches.

Mrs Varvaressos

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STEAM Excursion

On Thursday 10th May, 2018, the GOALS program and their sponsor CBA provided fifteen of our

year 8 students with, six other western district schools the opportunity to engage in the latest

technology at the Powerhouse Museum. The STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Ap-

plied Arts and Maths) program allowed students to engage in writing coding programs to acti-

vate Arduino light cells, use graphic technology to make stickers and tags using 3D printer tech-

nology. The students could make virtual worlds using their finger-tips and see 7-dimensional ob-

jects wearing holographic technology (head pieces).

A very exciting day not only for the students but also the teachers, Mr Poulos (maths) and Mrs

Varvaressos (science) as computer technology and many different programming languages

are quickly changing our future.

Mrs Varvaressos.

No 3, 2018

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YEAR 11 BIOLOGY EXCURSION AT BICENTENNIAL PARK, HOMEBUSH In this engaging, hands-on Biology field trip, the year 11 students, ac-

companied by Ms Iordanidis and Ms Ioannou, got the chance to explore

and investigate the function of the intertidal wetlands, home to the larg-

est stand of mangroves on the Parramatta River.

On Tuesday the 22nd of May we travelled by bus and arrived at Home-

bush at 9:30am. After a short recess, we separated into two groups and

were introduced to our instructors, who provided their assistance, ena-

bling and encouraging us to work scientifically and collaboratively to de-

sign experiments, conduct a range of field work and gather first hand

data about the intertidal wetland ecosystem and the practices used to

restore it. We enjoyed conducting experiments including measuring abi-

otic and biotic factors to compare mangrove and salt marsh environ-

ments. We gained the skills to estimate population trends using field

study equipment including quadrants and a transect.

We had an incredible time and throughout out field trip we were

challenged to refine our procedures, questions and hypothesis,

modify our methodologies and conduct practical investigations.

This field trip helped us broaden our knowledge by gaining field ex-

perience, which expanded our understanding of biological con-

cepts.

Written by: Georgia Kalogianni

The Universal Laser Sysntem

The Universal Laser System, is the final piece of the puzzle and on

Wednesday the 30th May, five lucky staff members were able to engage

through practice whilst being trained to use the Laser machine in the

STEM room. David Moore, Steve Rumney, Athena Varvaressos, Stephen

Poulos and Thomas Li participated in the training session which allowed

them to realise the ideas and capabilities are endless. A big thanks to

Angelo Benn (trainer).

No 3, 2018

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The 2018 Fridays Café is Open for Business!

Introducing the 2018 Fridays Café team, made up of the following special education stu-

dents from years 10, 11 and 12: Danny Fan, Teejay Owen, Ibrahim Raad, Hayden Fyfe,

Malek Jazzar, Brenda Li, James Papastatikos, John Richardson, Teresa Camenzuli, Tenika

Farkas, Liam Fenech and Thanasi Psyhogios. This team is well supported by Ms A. Vourd-

ousi (HT Special Ed), Ms P.Spyridis, Ms W.Aldridge, Ms M.Bougesis and Ms K.Fanker.

Since 1999, the Special Education faculty’s Fridays Cafe has been a highly successful,

vital part of the Work Education Life Skills course offered at Kingsgrove North High School.

This in-school workplace learning initiative provides a safe and well-supervised environ-

ment for students with intellectual difficulties to interact in a formal manner with mem-

bers of the broader community. The Cafe is open every second Friday of the school term

(9.30am-2.00pm) to the school staff and members of the public.

This Life Skills program aims to provide students with the necessary skills to function effec-

tively in the work place. They learn teamwork, appropriate work attire, hygiene, social

interaction, as well as procedures for table setting. Taking customer orders, food prepa-

ration, presentation of food, food service, barista skills and money handling are all com-

ponents of the learning experience for our students.

We cordially invite all community members to come

to Fridays Cafe and observe this excellent implemen-

tation of the life skills curriculum for our students whilst

partaking of the sumptuous fare. (Coffee, Jaf-

fles, Cakes and the special of the day)

No 3, 2018

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Social Science News

$$$$ The Share Market Game $$$$

Congratulations to Daniel Jiang (Year 12) for winning the KNHS Share Mar-

ket Competition. He managed to beat nine other teams to win a movie

voucher. Daniel made about $2500 profit on his initial $50 000

(hypothetical investment, of course - if only it was real money!) A buddy

investor in the making!

Another commendable performance came from Hinok Yohannes and

Thomson Phuong, also of Year 12.

Unfortunately, I did not perform so well in the competition, ending up in

second last place L

But in last place, we have Year 11 students - Belinda Phuong, Abigail Jo-

han, Emma Su and Lisa Meier. They received the traditional wooden

spoons.

All students who participated will receive a certificate and those who did

better than me will get an achieve-

ment card.

Mrs Tsitsos

Acting Head Teacher – Social Sci-

ence

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Year 11 Legal Excursion

On the 28th of May, the Year 11 Legal studies class visited the Downing Centre and Parliament

House in the Sydney CBD. Various legal studies aspects were explored on the excursion, allow-

ing us to have an in depth understanding of the legal system in Australia and how our parlia-

mentary system works. At the Downing Centre, students were allowed to sit in on various cases,

being able to observe the case in action whilst completing a worksheet. At Parliament House,

students were educated through a role play and a very informative tour of NSW Parliament and

the rich history of the building itself. It was an amazing experience for us as students and was

very educational. A big thank you to our accompanying teacher, Ms Habashy for organising

the excursion.

-Anna Nguyen and Ayrton Oey - Year 11 Legal Studies

No 3, 2018

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SPORTS REPORT

KNHS 2018 ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

Congratulations to all those students who participated in our school athletics carnival on Tues-

day the 29th of May. The day was made a success by the participation and enjoyment of all the

KNHS staff and students and we saw some amazing athletic feats. The Age Champions on the

day were:

2018 ZONE CROSS COUNTRY

On Tuesday the 22nd May, Kingsgrove North High School was proud to submit a team of 38 boys

and girls to represent the school at the St George Cross Country Carnival.

The dedicated grass running track at Scarborough Park was the venue for the day, providing

our athletes with a circuit that combined fast, flat running with some challenging hilly sections

and sharp turns. Weather conditions were excellent and, as our runners prepared for their event,

there was a good team spirit and excitement in the St George area. Some of our children were

participating for the first time in this event and they were keen to run with grit and determination.

Congratulations to all our runners for their efforts on the day.

Regional Athletics Qualifiers:

Arif Hossain

Noah Douchet Catherine

Caitlyn Webster

Alma Robb

Katelyn Alfonso

Peri Vathrakoulis

GIRLS

12 years: Kakala Harvey

13 years: Tamelanee Tauei

14 years: D’arcy Harwin

15 years: Caitlyn Webster

16 years: Alma Robb

17 years: Alyssia Papageorgious

18 years: Ruth Tapeta

BOYS

12 years: Arif Hossain

13 years: Ethan Nicholas

14 years: Abdullah Shabbir Dar

15 years: Bayley Galtieri

16 years: Jayden Gray

17 years: Harry Tsiros

18 years: Jeff Butt

No 3, 2018

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No 3, 2018

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From the Welfare Desk

Our welfare team are available to help students and parents with any concerns. Please feel

free to contact us!

Ms Conidaris - Relieving HT welfare

Ms Angela Faros – Year 7 Adviser

Mr Stephen Poulos – Year 8 Adviser

Ms Maria Varikos – Year 9 Adviser

Ms Athena Varvaressos – Year 10 Adviser

Ms Anna Kallitsis – Year 11 Adviser

Ms Chai-Mee Macindoe – Year 12 Adviser

Ms Janice Killey – School Counsellor (Mondays and Wedesdays)

Mr Paul Mystakidis – School Counsellor (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays)

Ms Agnes Puleiku – School Chaplain (Mondays and Fridays)

Ms Margot Thomas – Family Referral Service (Thursdays)

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Attendance

Congratulations to the students who have had 100% attendance in Term 1. This is a great effort

and shows a true commitment to your studies. Congratulations also to the students and families

with improved attendance, as it shows a willingness to work through problems and make

changes. With the cold and flu season upon us, I would recommend students take special care

with their health, staying warm, sleeping adequately and enjoying a nutritious diet, with plenty

of fresh fruit and vegetables.

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Faith Connections Program

Year 9 were fortunate to participate in the Faith Connections pro-

gram on the 24th of May. The play was performed by 6 emerging

artists about the issues of self- identity, personal resilience and better

understanding and acceptance of others who come from diverse

faiths. The play was witty but respectful and positive. Year 9 were an

attentive and engaged audience, enjoying the performance.

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Smashed

Year 10 were the audience for a performance of the play Smashed by

the Gibber Media organisation. The play helped year 10 to understand

some of the issues around teenage drinking and peer pressure, support-

ing their learning in PDHPE next term. The performance was of the high-

est standards, and Year 10 were an exemplary audience. We would like

to thank Diageo Australia who funded the performance.

No 3, 2018

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ABCN Banking Careers Day

On Wednesday the 9th of May 15 Year 10 Girls visited Citi Bank

to participate in a Global Community Day. Students had the

opportunity to meet volunteers working for Citi who told the stu-

dents how they came to work for a large organisation and

what their working life was like. Sapphira and Mia were group

spokespeople who told us about the corporate life, and how to

join it! We enjoyed the view from the 24th level of 2 Park Street,

the comfortable and informal lunch room and a delicious

lunch. Congratulations to our students who represented us.

They showed exemplary conduct and a deep engagement

with the program

Smartphones

Smartphones are a controversial topic amongst parents and educators. There is growing evi-

dence that the uncontrolled use of smartphones has a negative effect on student learning, con-

centration and sleeping patterns. In addition, apps used by teenagers may expose them to un-

pleasant experiences. Encourage your child to talk to you about their smartphone use, and per-

suade them to put it away an hour or two before they go to sleep. If your teenager has trouble

sleeping at a reasonable time, a few pages of a book may do the trick! There is more infor-

mation at the Office of the eSafety Commissioner

Upcoming events…..

15th June - Year 9 Day

26th June – Vaccinations for years 10 and 11

Term 3 ...Dental Clinic– stay tuned for details!

No 3, 2018

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Students with 100% Attendance, Term 1 2018

Selafina Akauola 7

Elena Atanasovska 7

Ryan Fan 7

Bridie Giles 7

Christian Hatziravdelis 7

Rovineth Huon 7

James Kim 7

Estee Ngoma 7

Thulani Ngwenya 7

Victoria Skiris 7

Osama Subuh 7

Isabella Yan 7

Mohamad Awada 8

Huynh Hoang 8

Erol Ismail 8

Alex Long 8

Kevin Ngo 8

Anthony Nguyen 8

Henry Nguyen 9

Brandon Tran 9

Julnar Zahr 9

Andrew Zorgios 9

Danny Fan 10

Mohamed Ahmed 11

Adam Aiche 11

Matthew Bloomfield 11

Tommy Nguyen 11

Zhenghao Zhou 11

Brandon Foo 12

George Naxakis 12

Ali Zahr 12

No 3, 2018

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Careers News

UTS SCHOOL VISIT

On Friday 4th May a representative from UTS came to talk to Year 10, 11 and 12 students about

their Bachelor of Accounting Co-Op Scholarship. Students were given the opportunity to find out

more information about this program and how to apply.

ACU Visit

On Thursday 24th May, ACU did a presentation to our Years 10, 11

and 12 students about their University. The presentation took place

at lunch time with approx. 40 showing up to hear the presenta-

tion. They covered information about their courses, scholarships,

student accommodation, exchange programs, societies and ad-

justment factors (previously known as bonus points). The students

were able to ask questions and pick up brochures that interested

them and the career path that they were considering in the future.

No 3, 2018

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UNSW Visit

On Thursday 10th May, UNSW did a presentation to our Years 10, 11 and 12 students about their

University. The presentation took place at lunch time with over 70 students showing up to hear

the presentation. They covered information about their courses, scholarships, student accom-

modation, exchange programs, societies and adjustment factors (previously known as bonus

points). The students were able to ask questions and pick up brochures that interested them and

the career path that they were considering in the future.

Engineering Day

On Tuesday, 15 May 2018, Year 11 students participated in the UNSW Engineering’s High School

Information Day which was designed to give students the opportunity to sample several fields of

engineering through interesting and stimulating hands-on activities over a day at UNSW Kensing-

ton Campus. Students gained a better understanding of the extensive range of opportunities

that a career in engineering would open to them.

Throughout the day, they had the opportunity to speak to academic staff and students gained

a deeper understanding of the degrees on offer and life on campus at UNSW, as well as seeing

some of the university's student ked projects.

Coming up in Careers

1. More University visits….

Western Sydney University (WSU) Thursday 7th June

Notre Dame University Thursday 21st June

Sydney University (USYD) Thursday 5th July

2. Western Sydney Career Expo (Year 10) on Thursday 28th June

No 3, 2018

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Kingsgrove North High School is proudly sponsored by the following organisations. We

would like to thank and acknowledge our sponsors for their continue support of our

school.

We would also like to thank and acknowledge the following local businesses that have

sponsored and supported our classroom calendar for 2018.

1. Abel Trophies 2. City Ford Rockdale

3. David Jones Removals and Storage 4. Euro Funeral Services

5. Harvey Norman- Wiley Park 6.HBA Hair by Andy

7. Jackie’s Floral Gallery 8.Kings Value Chemist

11. LJ Hooker - Earlwood 12. Professional Tutoring Centre

13. Telstra Store Campsie 14. Vicinity Centres