A Modern Wonder - Perth Modern Schoolperthmodern.wa.edu.au/Portals/0/PerthModernSchool... · A...

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WS

JAN

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Pages 6–7Presentation Awards

Page 8ICAS medal winners

Page 32Health Expo

in this issue

A Modern WonderBETHANY HIATT, THE WEST AUSTRALIAN

Hui Min Tay wins the WACE Beazley medal—see page 4.

Perth Modern School has taken out the trifecta,

producing the fi rst three ranked students in the State.The School Curriculum and Standards Authority said it was the fi rst time that students from one school had taken the top three

consecutive places in the list of general exhibition winners. All up, the school produced nine of the 41 students who won general

exhibitions for all-round academic excellence.

A wonderful trio: Jet Kye Chong, Hongyi Gao and Hui Min Tay.

Photo courtesy of The West Australian.

Perth Modern’s head boy, Jet Kye Chong placed third, picking up a

general exhibition to add to the course exhibition he won in 2014—

while still in Year 11—for topping the State in music.

Jet Kye, who plays percussion and writes his own compositions,

wants to study music and maths this year. ‘If I can pursue a career

that involves both, that would be like my dream,’ he said.

The trio was amongst six students from Perth Modern and just 16

students from across WA to score an ATAR of 99.95, the highest

possible.

Other Perth Modern students to win general exhibitions included

Jessica Leonie Knight, Hyerin Park, Emily Ongko, Hayley McMillan,

Emily Jiang and Gweneth Ng.

Hongyi Gao, who was second to Beazley medal winner Hui Min

Tay, could not speak any English when he arrived from China about

six years ago. After mastering English within a couple of years he

moved on to French, winning a course exhibition for topping the

State in that language as well as a general exhibition for all-round

achievement. ‘My mum used to say ‘If you can shoot for the stars

then you can land on the moon’,’ he said. ‘So basically I’m always

aiming for the top—even if it doesn’t happen, I’ll be close to it.’

Though he took two maths subjects and two sciences, his favourites

were French and literature. He said he loved Perth Modern because

all the students were so motivated. ‘There’s lots of competition and

constant reminders that you’re not the best and you have to try

harder,’ he said.

Tony hopes to study medicine and learn another language at

university—preferably Spanish.

2 Perth Modern School | NEWS January 2016 Exceptional schooling.

The Class of 2015 deserves to be extremely proud after achieving outstanding

results in the WACE exams and winning more School Curriculum and

Standards Authority awards than any other secondary school with 79. Hui

Min Tay topped the State for the WACE, winning the Beazley Medal. Perth

Modern School took out the trifecta, producing the fi rst three ranked students

in the State with Hui Min closely followed by Hongyi Gao and Jet Kye Chong.

This is the fi rst time that students from one school had taken the top three

consecutive places in the list of general exhibition winners. Alongside Hui

Min, Hongyi and Jet Kye, Jessica Leonie Knight, Hyerin Park and Henry Yoo

achieved perfect ATAR scores of 99.95. In addition, nine students won a

general exhibition and seven course exhibitions were awarded. The Class of

2015 were superbly supported and inspired by their teachers throughout the

year and together our staff and students demonstrated they really are a ‘class

above.’ What bright futures these students have to look forward to.

Prior to the Presentation Ceremony, the Pin

Ceremony for incoming Year 7 students

was also held in the new sports centre and

was a delightful occasion to welcome our

new students and present them with their

Sphinx badges in front of their families. The

new gym looked magnifi cent, our orchestra

was impressive and student councillors

Avril Keenan in Year 7 and Mandar

Karkhanis in Year 9 spoke beautifully.

Thank you to Susan Kohlen, Thalia Cole,

Steve Jurilj, John Harris, Clive Palmer

and the Food for Thought Cafe team

and Student Council volunteers for

their hard work in producing an excellent

ceremony.

Perth Modern School was a fi nalist in the

Governor’s STEM (Science, Technology,

Engineering and Maths) Awards. A panel

spent several hours at school interviewing

myself and selected staff and students

about the School’s STEM off erings. Although

the School didn’t win, it is an accolade for

all staff involved and an acknowledgement

of the excellent course and extracurricular

off erings in STEM.

Aida Pilling in the Science Department

has been acknowledged with a Regional

Laboratory Technician Group Award

sponsored by the WA Department of

Education. Aida was nominated for her

outstanding organisational and leadership

qualities.

Year 7 English students participated in a

unique and innovative learning experience

in which they looked at the diff erence

I wish to express my appreciation

to the School Board for their

commitment and work throughout

the year and I thank outgoing

Board members Margaret

Nadebaum and Paula Munt

for their valued contributions

and welcome new parent

representative Dr Victor Cheng

and community representatives

Dr Erica Smyth and Dr Marcus

Tan. I would also like to

acknowledge the President of the

P&C Andrew Stevens and the P&C

Executive for their great work in

supporting the school and students

in 2015.

The 2015 Year 12 Presentation

Ceremony was held in our new

Tyler McCusker Sports Centre on

Saturday, 28 November. This very

special event was a wonderful

occasion for Year 12 students to

have their hard work and many

achievements acknowledged.

Hui Min Tay was named Dux of

the Class of 2015. Many thanks to

Lauryl Wallace, Alex Banyard,

John Harris, Val Furphy, Steve

Jurilj, Ian Hunt, Thalia Cole, Jo

Guthrie, Heads of Departments

and the many staff for making the

event such a success.

between empirical and rational thinking

as well as what they had learned about

themselves in the context of giftedness.

Thank you to Raymond Driehuis and Jane

Nicholson in Social Science who led the

project.

The Year 9 Wellness Camp held at Ern

Halliday Recreation Centre was a great

success with students participating in a

variety of fun team-bonding and physical

activities designed to bring them closer

together as a year group. Thank you to Head

of Year 9 Lisa Andrews, Luke Forte, Scott

Marshall, John Harris and all staff who

were involved.

The 2015 Health Expo organised by Year

9 students with help from Head of Health

and Physical Education teacher Lisa Ferrie

had a variety of fun and interactive activities

aimed at teaching healthy messages. It was

a very rewarding day for both the educators

and the learners and it was fabulous to see

the Tyler McCusker Sports Centre work so

well for such an event.

Over the last few weeks of Term 4, Year 8

Science classes were invited to meet with

Associate Principals Val Furphy, Steve Jurilj

and myself to hear about their positive

experiences so far at Mod and listen to any

suggestions for changes or improvements.

It was delightful to spend time with such

lovely and forthcoming young people.

Student Councillors attended a Student

Council Camp where they participated

in planning events and other activities for

next year and further honed their leadership

From the Principal

Perth Modern School | NEWS January 2016 3Exceptional students.

skills. Thank you to Deb Leske, John Harris,

Ian Hunt, Steve Jurilj and Sarah Hubbard

for their participation.

Students in Years 7 and 8 enjoyed a lovely

evening sailing the Swan River on their

River cruise. Thank you to Head of Year 7

Elizabeth Hamer, Head of Year 8 James

Giles for organising and all staff who

attended to supervise.

A Dinner Dance for Year 10 students held

at AQWA was a wonderful evening of

food, dancing and friendship. Thank you to

Sinead Corr for organising and all staff who

attended.

Year 11 Design students attended a three-

day Photography Camp at Rottnest. An

optional aerial photography shoot had been

organised which gave students an amazing

opportunity to photograph Rottnest from

a unique perspective. Thank you to Mark

Temov for facilitating this opportunity.

A fun Variety Concert organised by the

Student Council was a fabulous way to

commence the wind down of the school

year with students displaying some

incredible singing and dancing talent. Thank

you to Deb Leske and the Student Council

for organising this fabulous event.

The school community has fondly

farewelled retiring teachers Quita Berry

and Angela Jones. Quita had been a

mathematics teacher for 40 years and was

renowned for her great enthusiasm for

teaching, her organisational skills, strong

work ethic and support and guidance of

fellow teachers. Angela was a Literature

teacher and relief coordinator who was

well-known around Mod for her friendliness,

dedication to the School and willingness to

support students in a variety of out-of-class

activities. We will miss them both and hope

they enjoy their well-deserved retirements.

I congratulate the following students on

their successes in Term 4:

• Twelve students have won 13

International Competitions and

Assessments for School (ICAS)

medals. Congratulations to Year 7

students Virginia Plas (English) and

Akash Jayaram (Science), Year 8

students Nathan Townsend and

Sanjeevan Selvaganapathy (Science),

Year 10 students Sarah Sun (English),

Timothy Tian (Science) and Jaemin

Pae (Mathematics), Year 11 student

Alan Cheng (Mathematics) and Year

12 students Henry Yoo (Mathematics),

Hongyi Gao (English) and James Arcus

(Science).

• Five Year 11 students have produced

a medal winning performance in the

Science Olympiads. Congratulations to

Sean Li for achieving Gold in Chemistry,

Alan Cheng for Silver in Physics, Rebecca

Green for Silver in Chemistry, Virinchi

Rallabhandi for Silver in Physics and

Nicole Tan for Silver in Chemistry.

• 22 students from Years 7–9 attended the

Western Australian Junior Olympiad

(WAJO) held at UWA. Aron Thian in Year

9 and Huxley Berry in Year 7 received

individual awards. Two Year 9 teams

were also awarded a prize: Aron Thian,

Kartikeya Bisht, Revant Bisht and Luke

Uden and Daniel Yang, Jasper Tang,

Yi Ming Zhang and Aaron Xu. The Phil

Schultz award for the top student in

WA for Mathematics Competitions was

awarded to Henry Yoo in Year 12.

• Arun Jha in Year 10 achieved a

High Distinction in the Australian

Intermediate Mathematics Olympiad.

• Luke Uden in Year 9 achieved a perfect

score in the Australasian Problem

Solving Mathematical Olympiad.

• Arun Jha and Sagar Badve in Year

10 were the State winners of the 2015

Australian Statistics competition.

• Oscar Wilson in Year 9, Arun Jha in

Year 10 and Rebecca Green in Year 11

achieved perfect scores in the Australian

National Chemistry Quiz.

• Year 7 students Dylan Guo, Huan Jie

Choo, Christopher Leak and Blake

Mathieson; Year 8 students Gregory

Bell, Bertrand Nheu, Aiden Littlewood-

Johnson, Midaiah Harnett, Jessica

Ewin, Lachlan McDonald, Aaditya

Mone, Sean Sutton and Victor Sun;

Year 9 student Kai Chen and Year 11

students Daniel Ho, Patrick Olofsson

and Alan Cheng achieved in the top .5

per cent in the Australian Mathematics

Competition.

• Hannah Clapperton, Rachel Tantular,

Emily Tang and Angelo Ho in Year 9 won

the National Award for the category of

Asia and Australia in the 2015 National

History Challenge. Alex Pan in Year 11

won the State award in the Democracy

category.

• Senior School students Angela Antoff ,

Matthew Collins, Rebecca Green, Sonia

Lal, Lauryn Coombes, Hongyi Gao,

Jana Ilievski and Supisara Suk-Udom

were selected to participate in special

Alliance Francais oral examinations.

• Lauryn Coombes in Year 11 achieved a

perfect score for the written component

of the Year 12 Alliance Francais exam

with Hongyi Gao in Year 12 placing

second overall, Supisara Suk-Udom in

Year 11 was fi fth. Yasmine Hosseini in

Year 9 won third prize for the Year 9 exam

and Pooja Ramesh came third in the

Year 9 poetry competition.

• Rana Ibrahim and Aditi Murali achieved

fi rst and third place respectively in the

Italian Dante Speech Contest for Year 8

and Parmida Ghorbanian was third for

Year 9.

• In the Italian Dante examinations, Arun

Jha was fi rst for Year 10 with Robannie

Sumner and Celia Wong third, Felix Von

Perger was third for Year 11 and Priya

Fisher was third for Year 12.

• Arun Jha in Year 10 was fi rst in the WAATI

examinations with Karuna Nair in Year

11 second and Priya Fisher in Year 12

third.

• Amelia Gooding in Year 9 and Annie

Jarman in Year 10 have received the

Australia-China Friendship Society

Chinese Language Award.

• Elizabeth Knight in Year 11 has been

awarded with the Edith Cowan

University Year 11 Citizenship Award.

• Nicola Thomas in Year 10 and Ahra Oh

in Year 11 won fi rst place in the Chevron

Focus Environment Competition.

• Owen Botman, Amy Dutton and

Nathanael Crouch in Year 10 and Justin

Fong, Alden Bong and Jack Moore in

Year 11 have received High Distinctions

in the National Computer Science

School (NCSS) Challenge. Alex Rohl

in Year 11 achieved a perfect score in

the intermediate section and Shathish

Nagulan, Jae Min Pae, Laura Prince

and Timothy Tian in Year 10, Rebecca

Green in Year 11 and Adam Mathewson

in Year 12 achieved perfect scores in the

Beginner’s category.

• Heyang Guo in Year 8 and Natasha

Hartono in Year 9 won their division of

the Combined Schools Badminton

Finals.

• The Year 9 Boys’ team of Rahul

Jegatheva, Kiran Tibballs and Lachlan

Duncanson won bronze in in the All

Schools Triathlon.

• Jordan Power in Year 11 was selected for

the 2015 State Baseball team.

Lois Joll, Principal


A Class Above

Principal of Perth

Modern School Lois

Joll has paid tribute

to the hard work and

dedication of both the

Class of 2015 and their

teachers who have

worked together to

achieve outstanding

results in the WACE.

‘Our students are wonderful

and they work hard,’ Ms Joll

said. ‘They are hungry for

opportunity and to be able to

explore their special skills and

gifts.’

Perth Modern School students won more

WACE awards than any other secondary

school with 79. The Class of 2015 achieved

a median ATAR of 96.25 against a State

average of 80.2. Perth Mod was once again

the top performing WA public school for

Stage 3 WACE scores of 75+.

Ms Joll acknowledged in particular the six

students who achieved a perfect ATAR score

of 99.95: Hui Min Tay, Hongyi Gao, Jet Kye

Chong, Jessica Leonie Knight, Hyerin Park

and Henry Yoo.

Hui Min, Hongyi and Jet Kye came fi rst,

second and third in the State, respectively.

‘Our students are wonderful and they work

hard,’ Ms Joll said. ‘They are hungry for

opportunity and to be able to explore their

special skills and gifts.’

Medal ultimate reward for eff ort for

Hui MinBETHANY HIATT, THE WEST AUSTRALIAN

Topping the list for academic

achievement is the winner of the

WACE Beazley medal, Hui Min

Tay from Perth Modern School.

She was named the best all-round

student in WA based on her

average scaled scores across fi ve

subjects, including two each from

the humanities and the maths/

sciences.

Hui Min also won three course

exhibitions for achieving the

best marks in the State in ancient

history, chemistry and physics.

After sitting seven WA certifi cate

of education exams she achieved

scaled scores of 100.33 in

chemistry, 102.39 in mathematics

specialist, 101.58 in ancient

history, 101.55 in physics, 99.36 in

mathematics, 95.47 in literature and

89.68 in modern history.

Hui Min, who hopes to study

science or medicine, attributes

much of her success to her school,

which is WA’s only academically

selective school.

‘The teachers are really amazing

and supportive,’ she said.

‘It’s a really inspiring learning

environment because we push

each other on to do our best.’

Hui Min Tay with her Beazley medal.

99.95 ClubCongratulations to the following students who obtained a perfect ATAR of 99.95:

Hui Min Tay Hongyi Gao Jet Kye Chong Jessica Leonie Knight Hyerin Park Henry Yoo

99 Club Congratulations to the following students who obtained an ATAR of 99+

(this list does not include the students above who scored 99.95).

James Arcus

Madeleine Baxter

Cynthia Carvalho

Morgan Edgar

James Field

Cameron Hee

Michael Hou

Jana Ilievski

Emily Jiang

Roshni Kaila

Anuki Kotuwegedara

Subham Kulshrestha

Aaron Lee

Jiayuan Lin

Alexandra Loneragan

Emily Luu

Haobei Ma

Hayley McMillan

Rishabh Nair

Gweneth Ng

Emily Ongko

Ji Hi Park

Josaphine Sadler

Aryan Sharma

Amisha Sinha

Lucy Sullivan

Aston Taminsjah

Angel Thanur

Aurelne Thian

Braden Thorne

Philip Tsen

Minami Uemoto

Russell Watt

Faisal Zia

Perfect ATARs: Jessica Leonie Knight, Jet Kye Chong, Hyerin Park, Hongyi Gao, Henry Yoo and Hui Min Tay.


School Curriculum and Standards Authority award winners

Beazley Medal: WACEThe Beazley Medal: WACE is awarded to the student

attaining the highest score in the determination of the

general exhibitions.

Hui Min Tay

Hui Min Tay

Hongyi Gao

Jet Kye Chong

Gweneth Ng

Jessica Leonie Knight

Hyerin Park

Course ExhibitionsA Course Exhibition is awarded to the top eligible student

obtaining the highest combined mark in a WACE course.

Ancient History Hui Min Tay

Biological Sciences Gweneth Ng

Chemistry Hui Min Tay

Human Biological Science Jessica Leonie Knight

French Hongyi Gao

Japanese: Second Language Emily Jiang

Physics Hui Min Tay

Certificates of DistinctionA Certifi cate of Distinction is awarded to an eligible student

who is in the top 0.5 per cent of candidates based on the

WACE course score of the top candidates (whichever is

greater) in a WACE course.

Ancient History Gweneth Ng, Hui Min Tay

Biological Sciences Gweneth Ng, Emily Jiang

Chemistry Hongyi Gao, Jessica Leonie Knight,

Hayley McMillan, Emily Ongko, Hui

Min Tay

Design Frances Lamont

Economics Emily Ongko

English Marnie Douglas, Morgan Edgar,

Roshni Kaila, Alexandra Loneragan,

Gweneth Ng

French Hongyi Gao

Human Biological Science Madeleine Baxter, Anna Conradie,

Jessica Leonie Knight, Emily

McHale, Hayley McMillan, Lucy

Sullivan, Aurelne Thian

Japanese: Second Language Emily Jiang

Literature Hongyi Gao

Mathematics Alan Cheng, Aaron Lee, Nicole Pei-

Ting Tan, Aurelne Thian, Faisal Zia

Mathematics: Specialist Hui Min Tay, Henry Yoo

Music Jessica Leonie Knight

Physics Jet Kye Chong, Hongyi Gao,

Hayley McMillan, Hyerin Park, Hui

Min Tay

Psychology Morgan Edgar, YiFei Li, Aurelne

Thian, Amisha Sinha

Certificates of CommendationA Certifi cate of Commendation is awarded to each eligible student who obtains at least 20 grades of ‘A’ in course units or

equivalents and achieves the WACE.

Celebrating success: Emily Jiang, Associate Principal Val Furphy,

Jessica Leonie Knight, Hui Min Tay, Hayley McMillan, Hyerin Park,

Hongyi Gao, Associate Principal Steve Jurilj, Henry Yoo, Jet Kye Chong

and Principal Lois Joll.

James Arcus

Jessica Baker

Madeleine Baxter

Georgia Brand

Molly Brand

Paul Burnett

Taleisha Capes

Cynthia Carvalho

Rhiana Chan

Caitlyn Cheong

Jet Kye Chong

Anna Conradie

Emma Downing

William Dronfi eld

Pia Durk

Morgan Edgar

James Field

Declan Foley

Adrienne Gamble

Hongyi Gao

Monique Geddes

Tahlia Gong

Laney Gould

Kirsten Hoff man

Michael Hou

Jana IIievski

Kelly Jia

Emily Jiang

Roshni Kaila


Anuki Kotuwegedara

Subham Kulshrestha

Frances Lamont

Naqia Lawtie

Aaron Lee

Julian Lee

Jeff Li

YiFei Li

Jiayuan Lin

Alexandra Loneragan

Emily Luu

Emily McHale

Hayley McMillan

Samuel Minchin

William Ming

John Newcomb

Gweneth Ng

Sze-Wan Ng

Katie Nordsvan

Emily Ongko

Hyerin Park

Ji Hi Park

Josaphine Sadler

Sarita Samleerangkul

Amisha Sinha

Nadia Soh

Kirsty Stewart

Lucy Sullivan

Hui Min Tay

Angel Thanur

Aurelne Thian

Braden Thorne

Helena Trang

Philip Tsen

Minami Uemoto

Jeren Velletri

Theodore Vickery

Russell Watt

Georga Webb

Nripan Wilson

Chelsea Xu

Lily Xu

Henry Yoo

Kae Yu

Irene Zhang

General ExhibitionsGeneral Exhibitions are awarded to the 40 eligible students

with the highest School Curriculum and Standards

Authority WACE award scores based on the average of fi ve

scales scores with at least two from each of the humanities/

social science list and the mathematics/science list.

Emily Ongko

Hayley McMillan

Emily Jiang


Presentation Awards

Principal Lois Joll with awardees : Principal Lois Joll with awardees Russell Watt, Frances Lamont,

Jet Kye Chong, Anna Lee, Bianca Macliver and Patrick Morrison.

Hui Min Tay Dux: Hui Min Tay presented with her

Dux award by Education Minister Peter Collier MLC.

Dux of Perth Modern School

Hui Min Tay

Principal’s Award for Academic Excellence

Jet Kye Chong

Emily Jiang

Jessica L Knight

Hayley McMillan

Gweneth Ng

Sze-Wan Ng

Emily Ongko

Hyerin Park

Amisha Sinha

Henry Yoo

Commitment to Excellence Award

Hongyi Gao

House Awards

Gold BadgeTaleisha Capes

Caitlin Carr

Frances Lamont

Hyerin Park

Lachlan Bunney

Russell Watt

Gold Badge previously awardedJames Arcus

Georgina Brand

Jet Kye Chong

Emily Jiang


YiFei Li

Platinum AwardJey Kye Chong

Emily Jiang

YiFei Li

Diamond AwardHongyi Gao

Australian Defence Force Long Tan Leadership and Teamwork AwardShibi Doss

The Clare Casey Service AwardAnna Lee

The Caltex All Rounder AwardJessica Leonie Knight

Subiaco Service Above Self AwardJet Kye Chong

Adele Williams was awarded with the Sports

Citizen of the Year award by Head of Health and

Physical Education Toni Jones.

English award recipient Alexandra Loneragan

with Head of English Esther Hill.

Braden Thorne receives his Philosophy and Ethics

award from Head of Social Science Louise Secker.


Presentation Awards

Stage 3 Subject Awards

Arts And Technology AwardsDramaJessica Baker

Computer ScienceJoshua Goh

Design-PhotographyFrances Lamont

Visual ArtsRosalie Koko

English AwardsElla Mackay Award for EnglishAlexandra Loneragan

LiteratureHui Min Tay

Languages AwardsChinese (Second Language)James Field

Chinese HeritageEmily Jiang

FrenchHongyi Gao

ItalianPriya Fisher (Year 11)

Japanese (Second Language) Emily Jiang

Mathemetics AwardsMathematics 3A/BMarnie Douglas

Mathematics 3C/DAurelne Thian

Alan Cheng (Year 11)

Mathematics Specialist 3C/DHenry Yoo

Music AwardsMusicSophia Park (Year 11)

Outstanding Instrumental Music Student Jessica Leonie Knight

Dettman Music ScholarshipJet Kye Chong

Irene Jolley Memorial Choral AwardRussell Watt

Tom Kent ScholarshipMinami Uemoto

John Peter Coles Award for Top Vocal StudentLeticia Tan

Physical Education AwardsPhysical Education StudiesBen Hotchkin

Sports Person of the YearDylan Wood

Georgia Wheeler

Sports Citizen of the YearAdele Williams

Science AwardsBiological SciencesEmily Jiang

ChemistryHui Min Tay

Human Biological ScienceJessica Leonie Knight

PhysicsHui Min Tay

PsychologyEmily Luu

The Dr Albert Walkington Prize for Chemistry and PhysicsHui Min Tay

‘Engineers Australia’ Certifi cates for Excellence in Science and MathematicsJames Arcus

Jet Kye Chong

Hongyi Gao

Anuki Kotuwegedara

Aaron Lee

Gary Lin

Haobei Ma

Hayley McMillan

William Ming

Varun Mukhedkar

Rishabh Nair

Hyerin Park

Aryan Sharma

Hui Min Tay

Vigneshwar Thiruvengadam

Philip Tsen

Theodore Vickery

Russell Watt

Chelsea Xu

Henry Yoo

Faisal Zia

Social Science AwardsAncient HistoryHui Min Tay

Mike McGinley Award for Modern HistoryHui Min Tay

EconomicsEmily Ongko

Philosophy and EthicsBraden Thorne

Politics and LawGweneth Ng

Institute of Chartered Accountants Most Outstanding Economics Student AwardEmily Ongko

University of New South Wales Economics State Winner—Senior DivisionJames Arcus

Youth Ambassadors AwardsCaitlyn Cheong

Monique Geddes

Zac Goh

Jana llievski


Subham Kulshrestha

Anna Lee

Keisha Low

Ji Hi Park

Josaphine Sadler

Sarita Samleerangkul

Hinako Shiraishi

Kirsty Stewart

Minami Uemoto

Yearbook AwardRoshni Kaila

Emily Jiang receives her Japanese award from

Head of Languages Jenny Spearman.


Perth Mod a STEM Awards fi nalistANT MECZES, HEAD OF SCIENCE

Perth Modern School has an excellent reputation

for participation in a range of enrichment and

extension activities in Science, Maths and

Technology. 2015 was the inaugural Governor’s

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and

Mathematics) Awards and it was exciting that our

school was one of the fi nalists.

A panel of three judges visited Perth Mod to fi nd out

about some of the STEM activities taking place. They

interviewed some of our Science and Maths staff

and selected students, who showcased some of the

innovative programs being undertaken which involve

wider community involvement. Whilst the school just

missed out on winning, it is a credit to the hard work

of all involved to have reached the fi nalist stage and

be acknowledged for the continuing good work being

conducted in STEM. STEM Awards: Head of Science Ant Meczes, Principal Lois Joll, Jacinta Carroll, Michael Armanios

and WA Governor Kerry Sanderson.

Aida wins Regional Technician’s Award

ANT MECZES, HEAD OF SCIENCE

It was a privilege to nominate

Aida Pilling for the Regional

Laboratory Technician Group

Award sponsored by the WA

Department of Education for

the work she has contributed

to the Science Department. We

were all thrilled when she was

announced the winner.

Aida joined Perth Modern School

during 2015 as the acting L2

technician. With a background

of Chemistry teaching in the UK,

Aida quickly established a great

rapport with the Science staff.

She recognised the needs from

a teacher’s perspective as well

as bringing her organisational

skills to bear in leading the

technician’s team.

Top students awarded ICAS medalsEleven Perth Modern School students have won an International Competitions and

Assessments for Schools (ICAS) medal, shining in Science, Mathematics and English.

To achieve a medal, students must achieve the top score in a subject for their year level.

Perth Modern School ICAS medal winners:

Award winner: Aida Pilling.Principal Lois Joll, Sarah Sun, Henry Yoo, Alan Cheng, Virginia Plas, Jaemin Pae and Hongyi Gao.

Virginia Plas (Year 7) English

Akash Jayaram (Year 7) Science

Nathan Townsend (Year 8) Science

Sanjeevan Selvaganapathy (Year 8) Science

Sarah Sun (Year 10) English

Jaemin Pae (Year 10) Mathematics

Timothy Tian (Year 10) Science

Alan Cheng (Year 11) Mathematics

Henry Yoo (Year 12) Mathematics

Hongyi Gao (Year 12) English

James Arcus (Year 12) Science

Akash Jayaram Nathan Townsend, Sanjeevan Selvaganapathy, James Arcus and Timothy Tian.


2015 School Board Annual Report

I am pleased to have the opportunity to report and refl ect

on the continuing achievements of the Perth Modern School

Board in 2015.

The Board was formed with the fundamental purpose of enabling

parents and members of the School community to engage in

activities that are in the best interests of students and to enhance

the education provided by the School. One of the many terms

of reference is to make recommendations regarding the School’s

objectives, priorities and general policy directions.

I believe the Board has succeeded this year in meeting that purpose.

As Chair, I am confi dent that the School is progressing well and

moving towards meeting the best interests of the students, with

regard to the budget, current facilities and innovative external

engagement.

New parent representatives

In February the Board welcomed three new parent representatives,

Scott Henderson, Mary O’Hanlon Creed and myself. We also

welcomed Dr Irene Froyland as our Modernian Representative.

Following the resignation of Dr Simon Davies, Nigel Hunt was

appointed to be our sixth parent representative in April 2015.

Frances Lamont, Head Girl, and Jet Kye Chong, Head Boy, have

attended our meetings to report on the Student Council’s activities.

The Board has welcomed their input to keep us informed of student

activities.

Objectives achieved

During 2015, the Board and School successfully achieved a number

of objectives, consistent with the Board’s role to support the School

to ensure successful outcomes for all students:

• The Tyler McCusker Sports Centre was offi cially opened in March

2015. This was the result of several years’ hard work by the School

Executive, Health and Physical Education Department, parents,

P&C, School staff and past and present Board members. We

enormously appreciate the donations made by our community,

including Modernians and students’ families past and present.

We particularly thank our Patron and Modernian, Mr Malcolm

McCusker, and Mrs Tonya McCusker whose generous donation

initially launched the project. Special thanks also go to Modernian

Mr Don Tyler whose signifi cant donation ensured the new gym

had all the fi nishing touches. We also thank the State and Federal

Governments and the Department of Education for joining with

our school community to ensure the dream became a reality.

• The Board fi nalised and endorsed the Business Plan for 2015–2019.

The Business Plan provides the strategic direction for the School.

It focuses on two key areas, Quality Teaching and Learning and

Quality Learning Environment for students, each with quantitative

and qualitative measures to ensure that progress and success can

be identifi ed and measured. At each meeting during the year,

the Board considered progress made against key focus areas

presented by the Executive, ensuring the School was well placed

to meet its 2015 objectives. In addition, the Board also held a

special meeting in November to review the 2015–19 Business Plan.

• The Board reviewed and endorsed the 2015 school budget

prepared by the School Executive, within the constraints of the

then current State Government budget announcements for

government schools.

• The Board continues to recognise the signifi cant value of the

School’s Modernians and has made a concerted eff ort to work

more closely together. This has been led with the support of Dr

Irene Froyland and the Chair of the Modernians, Mr Peter Farr.

• The Board has developments in the pipeline to further enhance

the learning environment for students. The School community

will be consulted and updated at relevant times and, in any event,

when projects are fi nalised.

The Board is focused on serving and supporting the School and its

wider community, especially as it continues to adapt to changes to

the School’s funding and operating environment.

Board elections

In the closing months of the year, nominations were called and

elections held for a new Board Member from the School Parent

community. The Board was again delighted with the high level

of interest and it is my pleasure to inform you that the new Board

Member for 2016 is Dr Victor Cheng. The Board has also invited

Dr Erica Smyth and Dr Marcus Tan to join the Board in 2016 as

Community Members. We anticipate ratifying those appointments at

our fi rst meeting in February 2016.

I wish to express our appreciation to the other outgoing members

of the Board; Margaret Nadebaum and Paula Munt, who have

generously contributed their time and

experience over several years.

Acknowledgements

Finally, on behalf of the Board I acknowledge the

ongoing dedication and eff orts of our Principal,

Lois Joll; the School Executive; the teaching

staff ; and the administrative support team. I

congratulate the wonderful student body of

Perth Modern School, particularly the graduating

year of 2015 and wish them all the best for

2016. I also acknowledge the enthusiasm and

contributions of my fellow Board members and

thank the wider School community for assisting

and supporting the Board during the year.

Prof Michael HendersonChair, Perth Modern School Board

Back row: Andrew Stevens, Scott Henderson, Nigel Hunt and Mary O’Hanlon Creed (Secretary).

Middle row: Jet Kye Chong (Head Boy), Val Furphy (Associate Principal), Ken Michael AC, Paula Munt,

Ross Fuhrmann and Frances Lamont (Head Girl). Front: Michael Henderson (Chair), Lois Joll (Principal)

and Mark Ogden (Deputy Chair). Absent: Irene Froyland and Margaret Nadebaum.


2015 P&C President’s ReportANDREW STEVENS, PRESIDENT P&C

The Perth Modern School Parents and

Citizens is made up of volunteers who

aim to provide benefi t to students

in ways that are not supported by

Government. Unlike other secondary

schools in WA, our students are not

local intake so in addition to delivering

equipment, the P&C also provides a

social focus for families to make friends,

build networks and discuss school

related matters.

I was voted President of the P&C for a

second year in February 2015 and I am

delighted to report on the activities and

results of this enthusiastic and strong year

during which we have undertaken new

challenges and steps towards building

future funding streams. I am further pleased

to reveal some of the plans for 2016 and

beyond.

Who are the P&C?We are parents, ex-parents and staff

who care enough about our children’s

education that we give a little of our time

to enrich their school experience. We are

organised into a main committee plus active

subcommittees for the Friends of Music and

Second Hand Uniform Shop.

The Friends of Music (FoM) is an

invaluable and tremendously energetic

group who support the music program

and all of its events, not only through

various fund raising activities but also with

volunteers’ assistance during concerts and

events. Parents contribute enormously

as caterers, stage hands and chaperones

during the many orchestra and choir events,

but most notably during the fabulous

European Music Tour.

The Second Hand Uniform Shop (SHUS)

is an invaluable facility for parents, enabling

them to buy uniforms at reduced cost or sell

their used uniforms. The SHUS raises money

by selling donated clothes and by charging

a small levy for sales of ‘consignment

stock’ as well as making alterations such as

hemming. If you feel you can give a little

time to help out in the shop, please contact

the P&C.

2015 Events in briefCommittee MeetingsThe P&C committee meet twice each term

on the third and seventh Tuesdays to discuss

School activities and P&C events. Everybody

is most welcome to come along and those

who wish to join the executive should come

along to the Annual General Meeting on

February 16. During that fi rst meeting of

the year, all of the committee positions are

re-elected and this year we hope to appoint

the new and pivotal role of ‘Marketing

Coordinator’. Nominees must come in

person and proxy voting is not allowed.

P&C PicnicLast year’s P&C Picnic was held on a humid

evening under the threat of a heavy

battering from Tropical Cyclone Olwyn. No

doubt many families were deterred, but the

rain stayed away on the night and the bands

continued to play! There were dancers,

singers, games, bingo, three bouncy

castles and a lot of parents making new

connections. The 2016 Picnic is scheduled

for March 18 as a whole school joint venture

with the Music Department and will

feature even greater student participation,

with a jazz band, orchestras and dance

performances.

Pop concert parking for 3D printersDomain Stadium in Subiaco hosts AFL

throughout the year with a handful of

pop concerts in the summer. The School

has regularly provided parking for the

footy, but this year the P&C decided to try

parking for the pop concerts with the aim

of providing a lab of 3D printers for the Arts

and Technology Department. Although we

needed to attract a completely diff erent

clientele, we did that to achieve a fantastic

income boost in three events! We have ideas

on how we can add value to parking for

even bigger scoops in future, but of course

we will need volunteers on the day.

Social MeetingsSocial coordinators and Friends of Music

perform an important role to give a focus

for contact outside of school. Meetings were

arranged in cafes and parks throughout

the area, usually every two-three weeks on

Mondays and Fridays! Sunday picnics held

in various parks were popular family events

giving parents the chance to network while

the children play team games. They are worth

going to, especially during Years 7 and 8.

WACSSO conferencePerth Modern School sent two delegates to

the annual general meeting and conference

of WA Council for State School Organisations

across a weekend in August at Crown.

WACSSO is the body who guides and

advises P&C’s so it was interesting to learn

about their workings, but it was most useful

to meet and compare notes with other P&C

committee members. And of course, we

took our opportunity to raise awareness

about Perth Mod and the GATE program!

School BoardMy position as President of the P&C holds

the double responsibility as a School Board

representative. I report on P&C activities

and participate with setting and assessing

the School’s strategic plans. So when Perth

Modern School undertook its fi rst external

review as an Independent Public School in

April 2014, parents from the P&C were asked

to meet the panel to talk frankly about their

experiences at the School.

CeremoniesP&C representatives are invited to perform

various other duties during the year, such as

meeting with new parents at the incoming

Pin Ceremony, hopefully off ering a warm

‘congratulations’ to the students and a brief

but real insight into some of their future

school activities. We attended functions

such as the opening of the Tyler McCusker

Sports Centre, which a previous P&C had

Sujay Karkhanis, Andrew Stevens, Surendra Bisht and Megan Norsdvan.


supported in fundraising, but

it was my particular honour as

President to present a well-

deserved prize to a student at the

Year 12 Graduation Ceremony.

SummaryI would like to thank all parents

who participated with the P&C,

Friends of Music and Second

Hand Uniform Shop this year

as we have undertaken new

ventures and supported the

school with items to enrich the

students’ experience. I would

kindly ask that all parents pay the

voluntary contribution in 2016

but if you can aff ord to donate

more, or can off er your time or

skills, then we would be even

more grateful. Please come along

to the AGM on February 16 and

help make 2016 an even stronger

year!

Andrew StevensPresident P&C

Perth Modern School

One of the new ‘foosball’ tables provided by the P&C.

Financial Summary for P&C 2015

Income Expenses Profi t/Loss

P&C events for fundraising and social $99,673.35 $11,928.63

Non-fundraising events $834.41

P&C operating expenses $2,905.43

Total Profi t Before contributions to the school $100,507.76 $14,834.06 $85,673.70

School support contributions in 2015

Equipment Year 9 Students (2Jun15 minute 6.2.3) *See below $20,000.00

Ping Pong Table #2 (2Jun15 minute 6.2.3) $9,000.00

Meditation Garden (2Jun15 minute 6.2.3) $15,000.00

Extra Funds for Keyboard Lab (17Oct15 minute 5.3) $20,000.00

Musical Instruments and Equipment (2Jun15 minute 6.2.7) $15,000.00

Total Contributions during 2015 $79,000.00

Current Year Net Profi t/Loss $6,673.70

*Year 9 equipment:

- Relaxing funky style furniture for Gardham and Mills. approx $3,000

- Low outdoor platform that can double as a stage. approx $ 3,000

- Outdoor foosball (all weather table football) x 2 @ $7000 each approx $14,000

$20,000.00

Quita and Angela leave a legacy of learning

She had a genuine interest in exposing students to a range of

opportunities beyond the classroom, off ering and promoting a

number of excursions and competitions. Quita has worked in the

position of ATP Coordinator, as well as taking on the role of Acting

Head of Department.

Quita was well-known for her concern for the health and wellbeing

of staff , being a very caring member of the Department and

was always working towards creating a more harmonious work

environment for all.

The school community has fondly farewelled retiring teachers

Quita Berry and Angela Jones.

Angela Jones has worked for the Department of Education since

1986, working as an English teacher and Acting Head of Department.

She had a great passion for Literature and thoroughly enjoyed

passing on her enthusiasm for novels, poetry, fi lm, plays and all forms

of writing to her students.

For the past few years, Angela worked tirelessly at Perth Modern

School as the relief coordinator, organising relief teachers for

numerous classes each day. Angela would be available to take

calls around the clock to ensure every class had a suitably qualifi ed

teacher. She also enjoyed taking students on international tours, and

was a tour leader on a World Challenge trip to Nepal in 2013/14.

Angela will be remembered fondly by staff and students alike for her

friendly personality, her calmness and dedication to her work.

Quita Berry has had a 40-year career with the Department of

Education and was renowned for demonstrating great enthusiasm

for the teaching and learning of Mathematics, working with both

students and colleagues over numerous iterations of the syllabus.

She supported staff to build their understanding of concepts and

teaching methodology in Mathematics and shared her extensive and

eclectic knowledge of mathematics with generations of students.Angela Jones and Quita Berry.

The Perth Modern

school community

wishes both

Quita and Angela

well-earned

and gratifying

retirements.


Canberra Tour: soaking up the sights of our nation’s capitalGEORGIA HENDERSON, YEAR 9

The 40 students and four staff who were going on the Canberra

Civics Tour could hardly believe it when Tuesday, 27 October

fi nally arrived. We had been waiting for so long for this exciting

event.

After a long day of travelling, we fi nally arrived in Sydney, amazed

at the size of the city in comparison to Perth. Exhausted, we woke

up the next morning bright and early. Our time in Sydney was jam

packed, allowing us to see as much of the city as possible. We did

heaps of things including visiting Taronga Zoo, walking around

Sydney at night and visiting the Powerhouse Museum.

After the hectic day-and-a-half we had in Sydney, we began the

four-hour bus ride to Canberra. Along the way we had a surprise

stop-off at Bondi and we all branched off to do what we pleased,

whether it was getting photos with the Bondi Lifeguards or taking

the opportunity to do a bit of shopping.

The drive continued, with a stop off at the Big Merino in Goulburn

and ending at Greenhills Camp in Canberra. The next few days were

once again super busy. Australian War Memorial, Parliament House

and the National Film and Sound Archive taught us a lot about

Australia and its history. There was something for everyone, and each

night we did fun activities like watching movies, ten-pin bowling or

ice- skating. Sadly, after fi ve nights it was time to return back to Perth.

After a fl ight full of sleeping, we arrived home tired and reluctant

to wake up for school the next day, but fi lled with memories of the

amazing time we had on the tour that we will never forget.

‘The tour was

so amazing

and going to

Parliament

House was

really fun.’

Rachel Taylor

‘I had a lot of fun on tour. The Powerhouse

Museum was especially great.’

Eirian Beswick


Tour to ItalyROBANNI SUMNER, YEAR 10

We started our trip off in Venice after

a very long fl ight. Experiencing all of

Venice’s beautiful canals and real Italian

culture was so interesting for us all. And

seeing places like Garda, Pisa, Vinci,

Florence, Pompeii, Sorrento and Rome

with their rich history and beautiful

scenery was defi nitely a once in a

lifetime experience.

The highlight of the whole trip for us though

was the homestay in Parma. For fi ve days,

we stayed with diff erent families throughout

Parma and went to school with our host

brothers and sisters.

It was so interesting to see how Italian

families and schools are diff erent to

Australian ones. Each one of us created a

bond with our hosts so strong it’ll last a

lifetime and it made it very hard to leave

them when the fi ve days were up. There

wasn’t a single dry eye amongst us.

However we had many adventures to come

like the downpours in Florence, the Great

10 Hour Traffi c Jam on the way to Rome,

the walking tours of the Colosseum, Vatican

and Ancient Rome and fi nally the cooking

classes in Sorrento. We soon learnt that in

Italy a gelato a day is essential (gustoso)

and to never order the large fettuccine or a

maxi-pizza, unless you have a bottomless pit

for a stomach.

Everyone’s Italian improved tremendously

by the time we left Italy and pretty much

everyone was fl uent in gelato-ordering. But

one of the best parts of the tour was the

friendships we made amongst us as students.

We have so many fond memories of the trip

that I’m sure will remain with us forever.


Numbers add up for Perth Mod studentsJACQUI CARTER, MATHEMATICS TEACHER

Sphinx Scholarships awardedSphinx Scholarship certifi cates were presented to the successful Year 10 applicants by Allen Prince on behalf of scholarship donor

Don Tyler, Julia Heptinstall on behalf of her father, the late John Down, and Peter Farr, President Perth Modernian Society and

Treasurer, Sphinx Foundation Inc.

Science Olympiads

Five Year 11 students have produced a medal winning

performance in the Science Olympiads.

Congratulations to Sean Li for achieving Gold in Chemistry, Alan

Cheng for Silver in Physics, Rebecca Green for Silver in Chemistry,

Virinchi Rallabhandi for Silver in Physics and Nicole Tan for Silver in

Chemistry.

Virinchi Rallabhandi, Nicole Tan, Sean Li, Rebecca Green and Alan Cheng.

Participants in the Western Australian Junior Mathematics Olympiad.

Scholarship winners Celia Wong, Millie Muroi, Nathanael Crouch, Thomas Morrison and Lydia Hill Almeida.

Years 11 and 12 at Mod. 2015 was the fi rst year the Scholarships in the

Sciences and Maths have been awarded—this was made possible by

the generosity of Don Tyler and several other Modernians.

Scholarship/Bursary Awardee

The Jean and Jim Cundill Creative Writing

Scholarship

Millie Muroi

The Jean and Jim Cundill Creative Writing Bursary Lydia Hill Almeida

The Daniel Girling and John Down Music

Scholarship

Lachlan D Whang

The Daniel Girling and John Down Music Bursary Nathanael Crouch

The Don Tyler Physics Scholarship Celia Wong

The Don Tyler Chemistry Scholarship Arun Jha

The Don Tyler Biological Sciences Scholarship Phoebe Sun

The Perth Modernian Society Mathematics

Scholarship

Thomas Morrison

The Western Australian Junior Mathematics Olympiad saw

22 of our wonderful Years 7 to 9 students attend UWA.

Congratulations to Huxley Berry and Aron Thian who won

individual prizes on the day. Two Perth Modern teams also won

team awards on the day. Well done to Team 1 Daniel Yang, Yi

Ming Zhang, Aaron Xu and Jasper Tang and Team 2 Kartikeya

Bisht, Revant Bisht, Aron Thian and Luke Uden.

Our Year 9 team placed second in Australia in the Australasian

Problem Solving Mathematics Olympiad and the Years 7/8 team

placed seventh. Both teams were in the top ten per cent of

performers. Luke Uden achieved a perfect score across the fi ve

rounds, a goal which only fi ve participants achieved.

Once again we did exceptionally well in the Have Sum Fun

Online competition. Congratulations to the Year 8 team of

Phoebe Irawan, May Sung, Shanae Sung and Shivangi Sharma

who achieved third place. Our Year 9 teams competed against

each other for top spot. Congratulations to Aron Thian, Kartikeya

Bisht, Revant Bisht and Phil Yang who were the Term 4 winners.

Finally, congratulations to Arun Jha and Sagar Badve who were the State

winners of the 2015 Australian Statistics competition.

Since commencement in 2009, a total of 26 Sphinx Scholarship

Academic Awards have been presented to Year 10 students enabling

them to undertake various forms of academic extension in their


Winners of top university scholarships

National History ChallengeROSEANNE LEECE, HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCE TEACHER

The National History Challenge is an annual competition where students work individually or collaborate on a historical research

project centred on the competition theme.

National History Challenge award winners: Back row: Kate Robertson,

Hannah Clapperton, Emily Tang, Alex Pan and Sarah Tang. Front row: Racheline

Tantular, Aditi Murali, Camille French, Rojin Moradi Zaniani and Aryan Singh.

The 2015 theme was Leadership and Legacy and projects ranged from

research essays, interpretative dance routines, original compositions

and interactive museum displays. Over 100 students from Years 7–11

completed entries into the competition. Of these 18 progressed to State

judging with many entries placing in the top three for their category.

Special mention must go to two entries—Alex Pan in Year 11 who

won the ‘Democracy’ special category with his research essay on Sun

Yixian, and Emily Tang, Racheline Tantular, Hannah Clapperton and

Angela Ho in Year 9 who won the ‘Asia and Australia’ special category

with their magic cube museum display. Emily, Racheline, Hannah and

Angela also won the national ‘Asia and Australia’ special category.

For their achievement the girls travelled to Canberra for the national

awards ceremony at Parliament House and participated in a history

education program with all the national winners.

RoboCup Junior CompetitionThree Year 8 students, Nathan Townsend, Benjamin Woods and Bailey Knell have won the RoboCup Junior State competition in the

soccer category. The team then travelled to Adelaide to compete in the national competition.

Bailey Knell, Nathan Townsend and Benjamin Woods.

For the competition, students are required to design and program

two robots to compete against an opposing pair of robots by kicking

an infra-red transmitting ball into their designated goal.

The team used LEGO Mindstorms to build and program their robots

and added a range of sensors which they bought from Bunnings.

The robot took six months to make.

‘Making the robots come alive and seeing them working is really

enjoyable,’ Benjamin said.

The boys plan to enter the competition again in 2016 and hopefully

improve upon their national result of eleventh.

Class of 2015 students, Monique Geddes, Jessica Leonie Knight and

Hyerin Park, have been awarded with prestigious scholarships at WA

universities.

L–R: Monique Geddes, Jessica Leonie Knight and Hyerin Park.Jessica has been awarded with a Fogarty Scholarship to the University

of Western Australia based on an interview and application outlining her

achievements in academics, leadership, community service, arts and sports.

Jessica will be studying a Bachelor of Science and then medicine.

The Fogarty is one of the most prestigious university scholarships in

Australia as it provides for full tuition fees, fi nancial assistance for the entire

undergraduate course and a world class leadership program.

Hyerin is a Winthrop Scholarship winner for UWA, receiving Assured

Entry into Medicine via the Bachelor of Philosophy and will be studying a

Biomedicine double major.

Monique has been awarded with a John Curtin Scholarship for Curtin

University. It covers all unit fees, provides $2000 per year for costs plus $6000

for a semester to study overseas. Monique plans to study Molecular Genetics

and Biotechnology.

‘Finding out I had been awarded with a John Curtin

Scholarship was very exciting as it has so many benefi ts,

especially the opportunity to study overseas, meet

inspirational people and have the opportunity to make

an impact around the campus as a Curtin representative,’

Monique said.

Other scholarship recipients who have informed Perth

Mod of their off ers at the time of publication include Henry

Yoo (Winthrop Scholarship, UWA), Hongyi Gao (National

Scholarship, Melbourne), Russell Watt (Engineering Pursuit

Scholarship, UWA) and Aurelne Thian (Excellence Scholarship,

Monash).


Wellness embraced on the Year 9 CampLISA ANDREWS, HEAD OF YEAR 9

What better way to start the fi nal term

for 2015 than two nights away with your

friends? Year 9 students were ready

for a challenge and to socialise as they

headed off to the Year 9 Wellness Camp

held at the Ern Halliday Recreation

Centre.

Students embraced the ‘wellness’ theme

of the camp by participating in a range of

activities to promote healthy living. Yoga

under the trees, wheelchair basketball, boot

camp in the sun and art therapy were just

a few of the activities on off er on the fi rst

day. These were followed by challenging

sessions led by the Department of Sport and

Recreation that promoted teamwork and

leadership skills. Students hunted for the lost

pilot, tackled Jacob’s ladder and mastered

their surf lifesaving skills, all the while

looking out for each other and providing

encouragement at crucial moments. It was

delightful to see the way these amazing

students supported each other throughout

the camp.

The fi rst of the evening activities was a lip sync competition, ably run by

the Form Captains. Song choices ranged from the Wiggles’ Fruit Salad

to Bohemian Rhapsody, and everything in between. Needless to say we

were all very entertained! On the second night we were treated to a

circus extravaganza, complete with fi re juggling. Students were then

able to try their hand at a range of circus skills—with varying success!

I wish to thank Mr Paul Green for organising this session.

On the fi nal day, each student awarded a certifi cate to a member of their

group who had been their secret friend for the previous two days. Their

mission: to identify an amazing thing achieved by that person at camp. It

was a lovely way to fi nish a wonderful three days.

Thank you to enthusiastic staff who generously gave of their time to help

supervise the camp, and to the Year 9 students for making it such fun.


WA Police Commissioner Karl

O’Callaghan paid a visit to Perth Modern

School to talk to students in Years 7–10

about his charity, ‘Bright Blue Mongolia

Project.’

The charity helps provide medical treatment

for children in Mongolia who have suff ered

scolding burns due to their living conditions.

Mr O’Callaghan and Perth Modern School

have joined forces to off er the opportunity

to Year 11 students in 2016 to travel to

Mongolia to help the children in hospitals

and fundraise for the Mongolia Project.

House Leadership DayLUKE FORTE, HOUSE LEADER

If we’re not allowed to blow things up in chemistry, then making paper planes in

physics is the next best thing.

Early in Term 4, the ’Paper Pilots’, Dylan Parker and James Norton, paid a special visit to some

of the Year 8 Science classes to conduct their ‘fl ight school’ workshop.

Dylan and James are paper plane champions, founders of the world’s fi rst professional paper

plane sports team, the Paper Pilots and the inspiration behind the box offi ce hit Paper Planes.

During this incursion we learnt about the four forces involved in fl ight—gravity, lift, drag

and thrust—and how to change the shape of the wings to aff ect diff erent fl ight outcomes.

We also looked at the importance of dihedrals and the angle of attack. This closely linked to

our physics objectives for the term and was a valuable opportunity to see how these things

worked in real life.

Nina Adam, Karl O’Callaghan and Jasmine Schmidt.

Bright Blue Mongolia Project

The newly elected House Representatives spent a day at North Cottesloe Surf Club to

participate in a variety of activities to fully prepare them for an exciting 2016.

setting activities, a dip in the ocean and

a personal leadership presentation from

Fremantle Dockers player, Tendai Mzungu.

Tendai recounted his specifi c leadership

House Representatives with

Tendai Mzungu from the

Fremantle Dockers.

Dylan Parker, Jasmine Laginha, Hayley Andrews, Victoria Henderson, Emily Crock, Cara Eyers and James Norton.

Paper Pilots visit teaches the four forces of fl ightETHAN DOWLEY, YEAR 8

The highlights of the day included an introduction to the history of each House, a refresher

course on the current house points system, a chariot race, team building, leadership and goal

style and spoke of the

importance of having

a strong leader in

Matthew Pavlich and a

dedicated leadership

group for support and

accountability when

trying to achieve team

goals. It was a great,

interactive presentation

and allowed our new

leaders to relate their

goals to those of an

elite athlete.


Leisel Jones discusses life lessons

West Tech Fest and OzApps AwardsKIMBERLEY TAY, YEAR 9

Olympic swimming gold medallist Leisel Jones visited Perth

Mod to discuss her newly released autobiography in which she

explores her struggle with depression.

The 30-year-old told students that in her quest to be perfect in the

pool, she was privately falling apart.

Despite the still lingering stigma of mental illness, her story is one of

hope and redemption.

‘A gold medal is a wonderful thing but if you’re not enough without

one, then you’ll never be enough with one,’ she said. ‘It’s my fervent

hope that by telling my story—with all its highs and lows—people

will realise that despite the moments of terrible darkness, you are

never alone.’

Nature magazines donated

Perth Mod students at the West Tech Fest.

Hannah Reynolds, Liesel Jones and Zarifah Saniat.

The Science Department was delighted

to receive numerous copies of the

magazine Nature, which had been

kindly donated by Astrophysicist Brian

O’Brien.

The magazines will provide further in-depth

reading for students fascinated by all things

scientifi c.

‘The world-class mixture of original

research papers across a wide cross-section

of science is balanced with excellent

summaries and reviews written in less

technical terms by teams of science writers,’

Professor O’Brien said.

Celebrating Nature: Nicola Thomas, Hayden Krammer, Head of Science Ant Meczes, Menso Jagtenberg,

Tavonga Munyikwa, Brandon Boccola and Ellie Maslin.

Five teams from Perth Modern School were privileged

to attend the West Tech Fest and OzApps Awards, as

well as pitch our ideas on the following day to a panel

of judges who are well-known in innovation industries

at the Student Tech Fest.

It was wonderful listening to renowned speakers, who are

part of the Ambassador’s Innovation Roundtable, talk about

start-ups and venture capitalists in a series of innovation-

themed discussions.

The Quick Fix Jobs team from Perth Mod captured the eye

of Jeremy Chetty, the co-founder of Student Edge. The

team was given the opportunity to work with Student Edge

to further develop their idea as well as $10 000 worth of

media for advertising to help kick start the business.


Perth Mod Pin Ceremony: A welcome to new students

Perth Modern School staged

two successful ceremonies on

Saturday, 28 November in the

Tyler McCusker Sports Centre,

the fi rst ceremony to welcome

new students and the second to

farewell the Class of 2015.

The Pin Ceremony for incoming Year 7

students was a delightful occasion

to celebrate our new students and

present them with their Sphinx

badges in front of their families.

The new gym looked magnifi cent, the

school orchestra was impressive and

student councillors Avril Keenan in

Year 7 and Mandar Karkhanis in Year 9

spoke beautifully.


Presentation Ceremony: A farewell to graduating students

A number of graduating students

were also in attendance at the PIN

Ceremony to celebrate their younger

sibling being accepted into Mod.

Afterwards, the Year 12 Presentation

Ceremony celebrated the end of

secondary school for the Class of

2015. Their hard work and many

achievements were recognised

and speeches by Principal Lois Joll,

Head of Year 12 Alex Banyard, Head

Boy, Jet Kye Chong and Head Girl,

Frances Lamont acknowledged their

undoubtedly bright futures ahead.

Professional photographs

by Bliss Photography.


Painting Akabeko toys

REBEKAH D’CRUZE, YEAR 11

Akabeko, ‘red cow’ in Japanese, refers to

a legendary Japanese red cow.

In 1590, the lord of the Aizu region

requested that toys were made to resemble

the legendary cow. The toys were originally

made from papier-mâché. When you touch

the head of the Akabeko toy, it bobs up

and down and side to side. During our fi nal

Japanese class for the year, we got to paint

our own Akabeko toys. We received them

from a lady called Akiko from Fukushima as

a thank you gift for the Koala Project we did

in 2013.

Rebekah D’Cruze with her painted Akabeko toy.

Japanese New Year cards: Nhaveen Moorthy, Megan Cheng, Triyoga Warddhana and Ethan Dowley.

In the lesson where we sadly farewelled Etsuko Sensei and Yoko Sensei we learnt

about how the Japanese celebrate New Year’s Day.

It was very interesting how Japanese people give and receive lots of New Year’s cards but not

that many Christmas cards.

We also had a go at making our own New Year’s cards which was done by calligraphy. It was

quite diffi cult when it came to controlling the brush, but great fun as well.

Japanese New Year’s DayEJ BITANCOL, MILLY SMITH AND MEGAN CHENG, YEAR 8

Year 11 students visit China TownAXLE CHI AND JOSHUA LINDSAY, YEAR 11

The Year 11 Chinese Second Language students thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity

to travel to Chinatown in Northbridge and apply our Chinese languages kills with the

Chinese-speaking community there.

We began by engaging in Chinese conversation with some travel agents about the tours

they off ered, and then proceeded to ask people on the street, in Mandarin, directions to

our scheduled restaurant for a traditional Chinese lunch. This was a great opportunity for

students to actively learn and was a wonderful experience.

Year 7 Chinese taster courseAfter a 10-week taster course, Year 7 students had learned quite a lot about China.

Students worked in a group to create their poster-booklet to refl ect their knowledge on

Chinese tradition, culture, Chinese food and Chinese Kong Fu.

Yitong Li, Nicholas Mahoney, Jason Feng Li, Jasmyn Le and Sofi a Khokhlenok. Year 9 students enjoy Chinese cooking.

Chinese cooking classes

Chinese cooking classes were run

for Years 8, 9 and 10 classes.

During the lesson, students gained

fi rst-hand experience of cooking

Chinese Stir-fry noodles and had

the chance to use chopsticks. It

was great fun and a useful learning

practice.


Italian highlightsMS FRANCESCA CANDATEN, ITALIAN TEACHER

Laguna Veneto Bocce ClubBocce dates back to the Roman Empire

and it is still a popular social game in

Italy.

The Year 8 students of Italian had the

chance to try this entertaining sport when

they visited the Laguna Veneto Club. The

students got the hang of it immediately

and showed great aiming and strategy

skills. Afterwards students had a tasty plate

(or two) of ‘Rigatoni alla Bolognese’ made

by some real Italian nonnas and a yummy

gelato. It felt like being in Italy for a day: the

food, the atmosphere and, of course, the

language.

Facciamo gli gnocchiStudents of Year 9 enjoyed an immersion

lesson in Italian in which they cooked

potato gnocchi accompanied by a

homemade tomato sauce and fresh

basil.

The students practiced their listening skills

and were able to understand all the Italian

language being spoken during the lesson.

Above left: Emily Tang.

Above right: Bocce: Midaiah Harnett and Aditi Murali.

Right: Year 10 students in Fremantle.

Year 9 French students practised their spoken communication when they visited the

bakery Jean-Claude in West Leederville.

Touring Fremantle Year 10 students enjoyed a fantastic

day trip to Fremantle where they

experienced fi rsthand the Italian

infl uence on this famous port city.

Delicious French excursionsJENNY SPEARMAN, FRENCH TEACHER

Students ordered their favourite pâtisserie

in French and enjoyed a French lesson

in a diff erent setting. Students were very

enthusiastic about the excursion and

found the motivation to speak French quite

delicious.

Years 10 and 11 French students had the

wonderful opportunity to visit Bistro Des

Artistes, a small French restaurant located

in the heart of the city, to feast on classic

French cuisine. Primarily, the dinner was an

opportunity to allow students to practice

their French with native speakers in a

comfortable yet practical environment.

‘Thanks to the wonderfully

friendly restaurant staff and the hard work

of all the teachers, the night was truly

enjoyable and well worth the experience.’

Matthew Collins, Year 11

Jean-Claude visit: Pooja Pamesh and Roisin Callery.

Students visited the ‘Welcome Wall’ where

Italian migrants fi rst disembarked by ship as

well as other famous Italian landmarks and

ate some delicious Italian food.

Jesse Hafner and Connor Shaw at Bistro Des Artistes.


Sustainable living inspires Rosemary and Ross

Perth Modern School staff members Rosemary Burton and Ross Fuhrmann

share a belief in sustainable living. Together, they run the Sustainability

Advocacy Group and promote the importance of using sustainable principles

to students at Perth Modern School.

Ross Fuhrmann Science Teacher

Ross Fuhrmann’s fi rst teaching appointment was to Exmouth District High School, and

since then, he has taught in many schools in the metropolitan area.

He joined the Science Department at Perth

Modern School in 2010. All new teachers at

the school are selected for expertise and

specialist knowledge in their fi eld. Ross’s

expertise covers the physical sciences, and

chemistry in particular.

He was the Course Offi cer for chemistry at

what used to be the Curriculum Council,

now the School Curriculum and Standards

Authority, when the chemistry course of

study was written. He chaired the Chemistry

Course Advisory Committee, and was Chief

Examiner for the Physical Science course.

Prior to that, Ross worked in the Curriculum

Branch of the Education Department writing

science resources for the Unit Curriculum,

which was taught in secondary schools from

1987 to 1994.

‘I love science and I love teaching it. Science

is not what’s in the book, it’s everywhere.

I encourage students to be curious. As

a child I was greatly infl uenced by Julius

Sumner Miller and his television program in

the 1960s and 70s, Why Is It So? For me, the

important question is always ‘why’? …and I

like my students to ask it.

I grew up in Collie and did all my schooling

there. I collected spiders as a kid and of

course I had a chemistry set. I was lucky

that we had a family friend who was a

pharmacist so I was able to access apparatus

and substances that were not commonly

available. I had a still, I made gunpowder,

and once, I made chlorine, which drove

everyone out of the house and made me

very unpopular! What I really loved was the

bush and the freedom of being able to roam

through it and explore. The bush is our most

fi nite resource and we have squandered

it. Now we owe it to future generations

to manage this resource in a way that

preserves its survival by engaging with the

science behind it.

Ross Fuhrmann

and plant, the potential to sequester carbon

dioxide in saline aquifers, and the ecology

of re-vegetation. Perth Modern School has

an affi liation with Chevron and the company

provides speakers and resources to support

the semester long Year 10 oil and gas unit

that I teach.

I share the Sustainability Advocacy Group

with Rosemary Burton. One of the things I

would like to see this group do in the future

is to establish a student-driven action to

lower the School’s carbon footprint. It could

include an energy and water-use audit,

followed by exploration of practicable,

cost-eff ective means to reduce use. Carbon

off set is another fi eld of investigation. Unless

it is student-driven—perhaps part of the

well-established community service ethos

of Perth Mod—this action will not become

part of the fabric of the school.

The great debate of the future is whether we

will accept a lower standard of living for the

sake of a clean environment. Our students

need to know the science of the argument

to be able to engage in it.’

The great debate of the future is

whether we will accept a lower

standard of living for the sake of a

clean environment.

I also have strong links with the mining

industry. We are a mining state and it’s

important to understand the mining

industry and its relationship with the land.

I like to use mining-related examples in my

teaching, such as the chemical components

of natural gas, the physics of the machinery

Rosemary Burton Teacher Librarian

Rosemary Burton was born in England, attended Teachers’ College there and

graduated from the University of Leeds with an Honours Degree in Environmental

Education.

Rosemary Burton

‘Environmental Studies was a comparatively

new fi eld of study and we spent much of

the course taking students out into their

local environment to study and learn about

where they lived and what infl uences had

shaped their environment. It was during

this time that I also became an active

conservation volunteer working in National

Parks, nature reserves and historical sites in

Yorkshire and south-east England.

When I graduated I went to America to

work in a Summer Camp Nature Centre as

the nature specialist. It was a real challenge

to learn about the natural environment

of a foreign country quickly enough to

be able to lead excursions, but I loved it! I

then began my teaching career in primary

schools where I specialised in Environmental


Students hold vote on climate futureStudents from the Sustainability ‘I’ Form initiated the United Nations Youth Decide

Climate presentation and vote on Wednesday, 18 November.

Year 7 students participating in the United Nations Youth Decide Climate vote.

Never doubt that a small group of

thoughtful, committed citizens can

change the world. Indeed, it is the

only thing that ever has.

Margaret Mead

Studies and started and ran school gardens,

nature and wildlife clubs.

In 1983 I travelled to Western Australia as an

exchange teacher with the Commonwealth

Teacher Exchange Scheme and met my

future husband in Perth. We married in

England and I returned to settle in Perth and

raise a family of three girls.

When our daughters were old enough I

worked as a relieving teacher in primary

schools for a while, then retrained as a

teacher librarian in secondary schools. Since

then I have worked in private and public

primary and high school libraries.

One of my roles at Perth Modern School is

to run the Sustainability Advocacy Group. I

am a qualifi ed Earth Carer and arranged for

Earth Carers to run a series of workshops

with the students in the Sustainability

Group. We now have seven qualifi ed

Earth Carers who are able to volunteer at

community events like the Royal Show,

where they promote sustainable practices

to the general public. We are expanding

our activities and have had a number of

excursions to date to the Canning Vale

Resource Recovery centre, community

gardens, and the Darling Range Wildlife

Centre. Rio Tinto Earth Assist provided the

bus for the wildlife centre excursion, and

the Australian Conservation Volunteers

led the group excursion. The Sustainability

Group is powered by student initiatives and

this term the Year 11 students organised a

presentation for Years 7–9 about the need

for climate action, then facilitated a vote

through UN Youth Decide on the level of

climate action they wanted world leaders

to take at the United Nations Paris Climate

Negotiations.

We have established a productive garden

and students work in it during Advocacy. We

raise funds for the garden through events

parking and also apply for grants such as the

one from the City of Subiaco Council which

enabled us to hire a bus to visit the Canning

Vale Resource Recovery Centre.

Our Sustainability Advocacy Group works

to promote environmentally sustainable

practices and behaviours, like conserving

more and consuming less by reducing waste

and recycling, in the home and in school.

Even a small group of dedicated students

and their teachers can make a real diff erence

to our environment as the anthropologist

Margaret Mead so clearly said: ‘Never doubt

that a small group of thoughtful, committed

citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is

the only thing that ever has.’

‘We are organising this vote because, as

young people, it’s our future, and we don’t

want to see it ruined with global warming.

We want to see our leaders stand up, take

action and listen to the voices of those

who will be most aff ected.’

—Aoibhinn O’Shea, Year 11

Kirsty Lightfoot from the Australian

Youth Climate Coalition gave a short

presentation on the need for Climate

Action and then Years 7–9 students

voted on the level of climate action they

wanted world leaders to take at the United

Nations Paris Climate Negotiations.

This student led initiative was a great

opportunity for the Middle Years to

come together and have a say on Climate

Change, an issue that is going to have a

profound eff ect on the future world and

on everyone’s life.


Perth Mod wins City of Subiaco Sustainable Verge and Garden AwardROSEMARY BURTON, SUSTAINABILITY GROUP LEADER

Darling Range Wildlife Centre excursionROSEMARY BURTON, SUSTAINABILITY GROUP LEADER

First Place in the City of Subiaco 2015 Sustainable Verge and Garden Award—School category has been awarded to the Perth

Modern Living Classroom.

Sustainability students got close-up and personal with baby joeys when they bottle-fed

them as part of their working excursion to the Darling Range Wildlife Centre.

The Perth Modern Living Classroom receives their

Sustainable Verge and Garden Award from the City of

Subiaco.

The awards recognise verges and gardens

that demonstrate notable contributions

to the city’s wider landscape. The aim is to

help strengthen green corridors and have

features that contribute to sustainable

living and to think about innovative and

sustainable ways of integrating greenery

into urban spaces.

The Living Classroom is a testament to the

dreams of a group of Year 11 students in

2012 who were inspired to make a diff erence

to improve the school community.

To date the living classroom incorporates

vegetable, fl ower and native beds with

fruit trees and insect attracting bushes.

This year the composting system has been

rejuvenated and expanded to include a

worm farm.

Next year we hope to incorporate a native

food producing garden, introduce more

bird and insect attracting plants, build

insect/bird/bat boxes and use landscaping

and permaculture experts to help us move

closer to making the living classroom a

sustainable ecosystem.

Aoibhinn O’Shea feeds a joey.

Each student had a bottle and a hungry joey to

feed initially and then had to fend off some of the

quicker fi nishing joeys who tried to muscle their

way in and grab more milk. Then we moved on

to the more mundane work at the centre such as

clearing up the kangaroo pens, weeding the bobtail

enclosure—without the bobtails in residence—and

cleaning the food preparation area. The excursion

fi nished with a tour around the volunteer run centre

which takes in injured and rescued wildlife.

Apart from joeys, there were animals such as

bobtails that have lost their habitat with housing

developments and injured birds like ducks,

magpies, tawny frogmouth owls and parrots.

The centre is run totally by volunteers and relies on

fundraising and donations to feed, treat and house

wildlife. So our help was much appreciated by the

other volunteers.

Our excursion was made possible by the Rio Tinto

Earth Assist/Australian Conservation Volunteers

program which provided the transport, a fantastic

team leader in Natasha and working equipment

such as gloves and high-vis vests.

Music rooms brightened by new art acquisitionsKATIE CHIN, ART TEACHER

Three new inspiring artworks by Western Australian artist

Kati Thamo now grace the walls of our music rooms.

Kati’s limited edition collagraphs are reminiscent of Chagall’s dreamlike

paintings, fi gures fl oating through a landscape playing the violin,

trumpet, piano and French horn. Like the Pied Piper, animals appear

from the shadows to join in the procession.

Perth Modern School prides itself on its art collection which is enjoyed

by both students and staff alike, and these new artworks provide

thoughtful contemplation and inspiration for music lessons.

Carried Away by Kati Thamo. Solarplate intaglio limited edition print, 2012.


Acting for the voiceless at Carson StreetEMMA NANNINI AND MIDAIAH HARNETT, YEAR 8

During Semester 2, Year 8 English classes

worked on a course called ‘Voice for the

Voiceless’ where we discussed diff erent

forms of voicelessness. We looked at

being voiceless in fi gurative and literal

ways, such as in developing countries or

people with disabilities.

We had the opportunity to apply what

we had learnt about physical forms of

voicelessness by spending time at Carson

Street, a school for children with disabilities.

Our task was to design activities and games

for the students, catering for a varying range

of ages and skill sets as some of the children

were mobile and some weren’t.

Classes that were run ranged from art

to sport, and the Carson Street students

seemed to enjoy themselves. Many of us

were placed outside our comfort zones, not

having interacted with disabled children

before. Whilst there, some of us had to scrap

our carefully designed plans and improvise,

as some students had diff erent skills than

expected.

The activity helped us learn and apply

empathy, which was a large discussion topic

during our course. Our day at Carson Street

helped us to use this skill of empathy to

eff ectively work with kids who were living in

ways many of us could never understand. It

was an amazing day, not just for us but for

the Carson Street students as well.

Inaugural Charity Day a huge successKIMBERLEY TAY, YEAR 9

On December 3, the Years 7, 8, 9 and 11

students participated in Perth Modern

School’s fi rst Charity Day to raise money

and awareness for the organisation

Headspace. This organisation helps

young people with mental health issues

and a total of $4200 was raised.

It was a festive day full of fun, food and free

dress, with a variety of activity and food

stalls run by Year 9 students, such as the

infamous MiGoreng stall. The day gave us

quality time to hang out with friends and

a great atmosphere to celebrate the hard

work and eff ort we all put into 2015. The

event was hectic and busy and proved a

major success that the student body can

look forward to in future years.

Charity Day: Sumo wrestling.

Clockwise: Joseph Off er, Emma Nannini and

Harrison Pinto and Bailey Knell.

The activity helped us learn

and apply empathy…


Swan River and city skyline shimmers and sparkles

Emma John and Senuri Manikdiwela.

Aditya Bose-Mandal, Hugh Calligan, Hunter Booth, Dylan

Crowe, Jarvis Wileman, Cameron Paterson and Jared Geddes.

Cleo Robins, Rojin Moradi Zaniani, Maya Kierath-Stasiuk and

Molly Pritchard.

Above: Danielle Riha and Lewis Edwards.

Left: Dylan Crowe, Owen Winarto and

Akash Jayaram.

Aiden Duryea, Connor McGillivray and Ruaidhri Pedder.

Anna Poppy Griffi ths

Jasmine Laghina and Savanna Kileff .

Yi Xin Gao and Mirielle Augustin.

Ethan Dowley

and Alice

Rosario.

It was a lovely end to 2015 for the Years 7 and 8 students who attended

their River Cruise on the Swan.

The Perth City skyline shimmered in the distance and the city lights provided

the perfect backdrop for students as they danced the night away to some funky

tunes and had fun socialising with their friends.


Year 7 Thinking ProjectJANE NICHOLSON AND RAYMOND DRIEHUIS, HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCE TEACHERS

The Year 7 Thinking Project in Term 4

had students looking at the diff erence

between empirical and rational thinking,

utilising what they had learnt about

themselves and the idea of giftedness

in Term 1, and what they had learnt

in Terms 2 and 3 about the nature

of knowledge from observation or

ratiocination.

These aspects came together when

students were asked to explain their

thinking style with regard to observation

or pure reason. Examining a range of

eminent thinkers in the Humanities and

Social Sciences, students were instructed to

choose one person as being representative

of their style of thinking, and to express that

similarity by constructing an exhibit for the

Museum of Thought.

Many students discovered that the

Humanities and Social Sciences produced

knowledge using both observation and

pure reasoning, and that their own thinking

was a mix of the two. Standing next to their

exhibit, students had to explain what their

exhibit expressed to an audience of invited

parents.


Year 10 students experience the world of work

Year 10 students enjoyed a week experiencing the working world on work experience

placements.

Two hundred and twenty Year 10 students

attended their selected work placements,

which included various educational

institutes, retail outlets, legal fi rms,

accountancy fi rms, medical practices and

many other private enterprises.

Samuel Hicks went all the way to Singapore

to work for Red Dot Ventures which is a

seed-stage venture capital fi rm focused on

Singapore-based high-tech start-ups.

Oscar McLoughlin went to Parliament House

Towards the end of Term 4, Year 10 students enjoyed a wonderful Dinner Dance at AQWA to celebrate the end of the year. Students

looked super stylish in their fashionable dresses and suits and enjoyed socialising with each other, the delicious buff et dinner and

having a ‘boogie’ on the dance fl oor.

A beautiful sunset was the backdrop for the Dinner Dance.

Susie Quinn, Emma McElligott, Ellen-Rose Lenny and Caitlyn Viskovich.Millie Muroi and Cleo Wee.

in Perth and Siddarth Murali went to the

Reserve Bank of Australia in Sydney.

Ten girls attended the Women in Future

Leadership Program Work Experience Week

at Chevron with each student allocated a

mentor matched as closely as possible to

their future career preferences.

Positive feedback was received from both

students and employees and some students

were off ered permanent positions based on

their performance during their placement.Jenny Chang and Alannah Chan.

Dana Tan (left). Andrea Lim (centre) and David Guo. Caitlyn Foley (left).

Dancing up a storm at the Year 10 Dinner Dance


Sampson takes out House Drama 2015House Drama was another fabulous

success in 2015 with four great

performances.

It was a shame Miss Scarfe, who was

previously a student drama teacher at Mod,

could only choose one winner—Sampson.

The winning play was titled Out of Your Mind, which was directed by Greta Hays

and Stephanie Beckham in Year 11. The play

centred on diff erent characters waiting in a

train station. Each ‘character’ was performed

by two actors, one who played the character

and one who played the ‘mind’ of the

character. It was a very entertaining piece of

drama.

Year 11 Visual Art SymbioticA ExcursionBERNADETTE WOODS, ART TEACHER

SymbioticA’s laboratories at UWA’s School of Anatomy and Human Biology enable

artists and researchers to develop and explore biological techniques and issues

surrounding the manipulation of living systems.

Luyao Zhang and Radheya Jegatheva.

Aoibhinn O’Shea and Michal Czepiel.

The Year 11 Visual Art class visited these

laboratories at UWA to learn what it was like

to be a Biological Artist. The workshop was

a practical and theoretical introduction to

the basics of biological techniques and the

creation of biological art and design.

To begin, students were led by SymbioticA’s

Director Oron Catts, around the Laurence

Wilson Art Gallery’s ‘Demonstrable’

Exhibition. Here they saw local and

international artists respond to, and refl ect

on the multifaceted cultural and scientifi c

impact of the ‘Earmouse’ (the mouse that

had an ear grown on its back). Following

that, the class participated in three activities

including creating a microscope from an

everyday webcam, extracting their DNA and

culturing cells for sculptural forms.

The students were encouraged to develop

an understanding and articulation of

cultural ideas around scientifi c knowledge

and informed critique of the ethical and

cultural issues of life manipulation. It was an

insight into a possible future, allowing us to

consider the dystopian and utopian uses for

cell technology and off ered a new means of

artistic inquiry.

The cast of Out of Your Mind.

Upside-Down GardenThe classic horror movie The Night of the Triffi ds

was inspiration for the Art Club’s fi rst project in

Term 4.

Emoji fl owers hung upside down from their ‘bed’

smiling, screaming and shouting at passers-by, yet

prettily clinging together amongst fairy lights. The Art

Club worked for over four weeks building the fl owers

out of rice paper roll sheets, ink, felt and hot glue each

creating a series of ‘emoji fl owers’. It was a beautiful

installation, hanging in Mills for all to see.

Art Club students with their Upside-Down Garden.


Healthy Habits ExpoLISA FERRIE, HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER

There was an air of excitement in the Tyler McCusker Sports

Centre on 25 November for the 2015 Year 9 Healthy Habits

Health Expo.

This year the event took on a diff erent format with Year 8 students

travelling around four diff erent zones which were under the banners

Media, Show Time, Action and Education.

The new gym was fantastic for the expo which opened with a funky

dance by the Dance Club run by Mrs Wilcock. Year 8 students loved

learning about healthy habits with regards to physical activity, safety

in sports, drug awareness, sun safety, hydration, hygiene and much,

much more.

Stalls had a variety of

activities to teach their

healthy messages: yoga,

meditation, physical

challenges, computer

games, role plays, quizzes

and guessing games were

among some of the exciting

activities on off er. It was a

very rewarding day for both

the Year 9 educators and the

Year 8 learners.

Lisa and Kellie welcome healthy baby girls

Lisa Ferrie, Kellie Morgan and Michelle Edwards.

Health and Physical Education teachers Lisa Ferrie and Kellie Morgan are

delighted to have given birth to healthy baby girls over the summer break.

Lisa gave birth to Isla and Kellie gave birth to Georgie. They will be on leave during

2016. Their fellow Physed teacher, Michelle Edwards, is expecting baby number two

and will be on leave from Term 2.


Check out these photos of our students rocking Perth Mod’s brand new Interschool

sport uniforms.

Students at Perth Modern School now

have the option of studying Physical

Education Studies in Senior School.

The course is aimed at students who enjoy

participating in sport, having a healthy

lifestyle, studying science and undertaking

practical activities which apply the theory

taught in class. The course develops a

student’s initiative and their team work,

communication and leadership skills.

An introductory course called the High

Performance Sports Program is being off ered

to Year 10 students which is designed for

enthusiastic and talented students who would

like to learn about sport science principles

with a view to maximise their sporting

performance. It also provides a precious head

start for ATAR Physical Education Studies.

During Semester 2 the High Performance

students have been actively involved in

learning about various training principles,

exercise physiology, sport psychology and

functional anatomy as well as challenging

themselves physically with strength and

conditioning training along with playing AFL 9.

High Performing Sports Program now on off erTONI JONES, HEAD OF HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

The High Performance Sports Program has a mix

of physical training and theory.

High Performance sports program students model the new uniform design.

New Interschool sport uniformsSCOTT MARSHALL, HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER

The students in the High Performance

sports program were keen to ‘model’ these

for all to see. Every sport now has a defi ned

uniform using modern materials in a stylish

and classic design.

The Health and Physical Education

Department would like to thank the

principal, Mrs Lois Joll and our Finance

Department for supporting the purchase of

these outstanding new garments. They will

certainly get lots of use in the future!


Interschool Athletics CarnivalMIKE BRUTTY, HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER

Mod FootballSCOTT MARSHALL, HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER

Perth Modern School’s quest to compete

at the highest level in athletics was made

possible in 2015 after the team was

promoted to A Division from B Division

in the Interschool Athletics Carnival.

Generally, teams on the cusp of A and B

Division go up and down for a few years so

the ultimate goal was to avoid relegation.

The competition was very tough with some

incredibly strong schools and numerous

athletes who compete at both the state and

national level. With the Year 12 students

at Graduation and several injured athletes

it was a real team eff ort that resulted in

Perth Mod achieving a seventh placing and

avoiding relegation.

Of course, in true Perth Mod fashion,

our elite athletes stole the show and we

had more fi rst, second and third placed

individual champions than any other school,

equalling Churchlands SHS who won the

whole competition.

Year 10 Girls’ relay team: Mia Judkins, Lara IIievski,

Danielle Spencer and Alexandra Monson.

Brett Russell and Nicholas

Baxter in action. Record breakers Luca Fry and Kiran Tibbals.

The Senior Girls’ AFL team.

Our middle distance athletes were

particularly impressive with Luca Fry in Year

8 smashing the longstanding 8800m record

and Kiran Tibballs breaking two Year 9

records in the 800m and 1500m events.

I am incredibly proud of all the eff orts put in

by every single competitor, reserve athlete

and volunteer that contributed to such a

successful day.

The Junior Boys struggled for numbers at

times during their busy season but a core

group of them fronted up every week, gave

it their all and ended up with some very

good results, most notably their nail biting

win against Churchlands SHS.

We also fi elded a Senior Boys’ and a Senior

Girls’ team this year and both performed

well. The boys fi nished particularly well with

an impressive nine goal win over Helena

College, with Ben Hotchkin in Year 12 kicking

six goals in what was his fi rst game of proper

Australian Rules Football.

Mod had not had a Senior Girls’ Australian

Rules Football team for a number of years

and it was an impressive performance for

them in making it all the way to the fi nals

where they were unfortunately narrowly

defeated by Mater Dei College. Special

mention must go to Morgan Edgar in Year

12 who won a delightful pink football when

she was judged best player on the ground

in the girls’ fi xture against Churchlands

Senior High School.

Huge thanks to former student Louis Ray

who coached the girls and also to Alex

Banyard and Luke Forte who shared the

coaching duties with me. It was a very

encouraging season of football for Perth

Mod and it looks like we will be kicking

goals for years to come!

‘Australian Rules Football is not a big part of Mod culture.’ The students blew that misconception out of the water this

season in which we fielded three strong teams, put on a lot of bumps, shepherds and tackles and kicked goals both literally

and metaphorically.


2015 Australian Volleyball Schools CupMIKE BRUTTY, HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER

Shuttlecocks zinged around the courts at the Middle School Badminton Championships as Modernians took to the courts and

performed admirably against classy opposition.

With their WACE exams completed, graduation ceremony done and leavers celebrations

all over, there was only one thing left to do before the Year 12 volley ballers time at Perth

Modern School came to an end.

Preparation for the 2015 Australian Volleyball Schools Cup began three years ago when former

students Manu Nair and Stefan Raovic took on coaching roles and ran weekly training sessions and

competitions. Both the Boys’ and Girls’ teams wanted a challenge and with volleyball specialist schools

from all over Australia embarking on Melbourne the bar was set very high!

Both teams got off to a fl ying start, with the

girls winning their fi rst match and the boys

enduring a fi ve set marathon, beating the

team that eventually fi nished third overall in

the top division. From here on in the going got

tough but both teams fought for every point

and gained a lot of respect in the process.

Regardless of the outcome of each match

the standard of volleyball being played was

as enjoyable for the students as it was for the

onlookers.

Top right: Paul Burnett fl ies high.

Right: Year 12 Volleyball Boys’ team: Paul Burnett, Tom

Caddy, Isaac Bosch, Daniel Chen, John Newcomb, Jeff Li,

Josh Cohen, Marlon Skeldon and Dylan Wood.

Girls’ Badminton champions: Natasha Hartono and Hyang Guo.

Right: Perth Modern School Badminton team.

Feathers fl y as Mod wins Badminton titleMIKE BRUTTY, HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER

The tournament is the culmination for

students who played badminton every

Wednesday throughout the year. With

players displaying the touch of a surgeon,

the grace of a ballet prima donna and the

power of fast bowlers, games were fought

out with great spirit.

Playing against older opposition, Mandar

Khakhanis and Justin Liew made the Boys’

fi nal and Hyang Guo and Natasha Hartono

reached the Girls’ fi nal. Mandar and Justin

battled hard against quality players and will

be well served for next year’s championship.

Hyang and Natasha dominated their fi nals

fi xtures and came up against the only other

undefeated team in the fi nal game of the

day. In a close fought fi nal Natasha and

Hyang overcame their opposition 21–17 to

take the Girls’ Badminton title for Perth Mod.


Perth Modern School

Roberts Road, Subiaco, WA 6008

Tel: +618 9380 0555

Fax: +618 9380 0550

www.perthmodernschool.wa.edu.au

Sphinx Society MembershipSEMESTER 2, 2015

The following students obtained Sphinx Society membership in Semester 2, 2015

James Arcus

Jessica Baker

Madeleine Baxter

Paul Burnett

Caitlin Carr

Caitlyn Cheong

Jet Kye Chong

Anna Conradie

Marnie Douglas

Emma Downing

Pia Durk

James Field

Declan Foley

Hongyi Gao

Tahlia Gong

Laney Gould

Kirsten Hoff man

Michael Hou

Jana Ilievski

Kelly Jia

Emily Jiang

Roshni Kaila


Anuki Kotuwegedara

Subham Kulshrestha

Aaron Lee

Jeff Li

YiFei Li

Jiayuan Lin

Alexandra Loneragan

Keisha Low

Emily Luu

Emily McHale

Hayley McMillan

William Ming

John Newcomb

Gweneth Ng

Sze-Wan Ng

Michael O’Leary

Emily Ongko

Sahaj Parajuli

Hyerin Park

Ji-Hee Park

Josaphine Sadler

Amisha Sinha

Nadia Soh

Kirsty Stewart

Lucy Sullivan

Hui Min Tay

Angel Thanur

Aurelne Thian

Vigneshwar Thiruvengadam

Philip Tsen

Minami Uemoto

Alexandra Watt

Russell Watt

Lily Xu

Henry Yoo

Kae Yu

Year 12

Year 11

Year 10

Lois Affl eck

Angela Antoff

Bashkim Arifi

Sean Bong

Jack Broadbridge

Sarah Burston

Arka Prava Chanda

Emma Chen

Alan Cheng

Alex Chi

Matthew Collins

Lauryn Coombes

Bedanta Dhal

Ella Fox-Martens

Rebecca Green

Shivangi Gupta

Jesse Hafner

Aaron Hamilton

Daniel Ho

Radheya Jegatheva

Grace Jones

Robert King

Wei (Sean) Li

Aleta Luu

Vivian Luu

Emily Lyon

Jacob McDermott

Hiva Mousavi

Karuna Nair

Victor Ngo

Hoang Anh Nguyen

Joshua Ong

Alex Pan

Simone Pandit

Jane Pankhurst

Virinchi Rallabhandi

Alexander Rayfi eld

Ines Real-Rodziguez

Caitlin Revell

Zenn Saw

Edi Singh

Isha Singh

Niccole Tan

Amanda Tang

Sarah Mae Tang

Eric Tian

Willem Van Schie

Luna Faye Veld

Giulia Villa

Emily Wang

Milindi Weerasinghe

Nadia Wichmann

Kaizan Xia Wei Hong

Max Yap

Katrina Yu

Jina Ahn

Coco Banh

Nicholas Baxter

Isabel Boogaerdt

Jasmin Brown

Abigail Campbell-Young

Stephanie Castleden

Jenny Chang

Joelle Chen

Liane Chinnery

Jamie Clemmans

Alice Colvin

Lachlan D Whang

Jonathan Darmago

Ella Davies

Kashvi Dutta

Lydia Ellwood

Trinity Elsom

Eve Fitzpatrick

Sanchita Gera

Talica Gummery

Christopher Gunaratne

Cindy Guo

Vivian Ha

Anezka Hamdani

Samuel Hicks

Lydia Hill Almeida

Jasper Huynh

Finn Jackson

Arun Jha

Mia Judkins

Seonwoo Kim

Manul Koralage

Elias Kuan

Eunice Lai

Grace Law

Xing Yuet Lee

Sally Leong

Hui Min Lim

Belinda Luu

Elizabeth Marsh

Cameron McCracken

Emma McElligott

Siddarth Murali

Millie Muroi

Sri Sai Nallanchakravartula

Raeann Ng

Jenny Ngo

Kira O’Dell

Vinny Ong

Jae Min Pae

Alannah Paton

Joshua Poi

Oksana Polyakova

Oliver Pulsford

Wendy Qu

Ria Ronghe

Jasneet Singh

Lucy Skeldon

Roshni Sriranjan

Robannie Summer

Phoebe Sun

Sarah Sun

Pranav Sunil

Reagan Trac

Robert Tweedie

Caitlyn Viskovich

Cleo Wee

Elizabeth Whatmore

Maxine Williams

Luke Winter

Zacharia Winter

Loh Yiu Wong

Yi Si Wong

Yi Wen Wong

Zachary Xiao

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