Cumberland High School€¦ · Cumberland High School. I am from Hong Kong, and I came to Australia...

Cumberland High School Newsletter 2020 - Issue 9, 25th September

Cumberland High School Excellence in Education 183 Pennant Hills Road, Carlingford NSW 2118 Phone: 02 9871 7718 Fax: 02 9872 5381 www.cumberland-h.schools.nsw.edu.au Email: [email protected]

Upcoming Events for Term 3 & 4

Fri 25 Sep Last Day of Term 3

Fri 25 Sep

2020 Year 12 students last day of High School.

Mon 12 Oct Students return for Term 4

Tue 13 Oct Year 7 Vaccination

Tue 20 Oct HSC Exams commence

Mon 26 Oct Year 7 exam week

Mon 02 Nov Year 8 exam week

Mon 09 Nov Year 9 exam week Year 10 exam week

Mon 16 Nov Year 12 Formal

Tue 17 Nov Year 12 Graduation

Year Twelve – Class of 2020! Six years of outstanding leadership, exceptional camaraderie, determined commitment and incredible resilience. What a cohort - what amazing young people! Congratulations to our wonderful Year 12 students! Their final year of secondary schooling was without a doubt the most challenging with the anticipated stresses of the Higher School Certificate and the unprecedented COVID-19 thrown into the mix! We didn't expect 2020 to present the challenges that it did - but we have prevailed and we have the fabulous Class of 2020 - standing tall - proud and invincible! Congratulations Year 12!

This week we have celebrated the fabulous individuals that have given so much to our school community over the past six years. We wanted this week to be memorable - we wanted this week to be a celebration - we wanted this week and in particular TODAY to be a day that the CLASS of 2020 would never forget!


We launched this week with the "dress to impress campaign" to demonstrate that our Year 12 students were ready to embrace the world - empowered, resilient and ready! They looked absolutely amazing and we had COVID-safe individual pizzas and unlimited Mr Whippy ice cream to set the magical tone for the week that would unfold.

We then had a range of different events - the 2020-2021 Prefect Induction Ceremony hosted by our current Year 12 Prefects, a special survival package for Ms Isachsen's Advanced English

class, a memorable Earth and Environment excursion for Mr Walford's class, an international morning tea for our international students, the car wash fundraiser organised by our Year 12 Prefects and the list goes on...

Friday, however, was to be the main event that will hopefully have enduring impact on our Year 12 students and impress upon them how beloved they are to all of us here at Cumberland High School.

Today, we asked all Year 12 to congregate in the COLA where the festivities started to unfold. We had the viewing of a special film clip produced by staff to inspire Year 12.


Then there were the formal graduation gowns, activities on the oval and a very special morning tea.

The exceptionally talented Pat Ryan led the procession with his brilliant drumming beat followed by the Year 12 students through the corridors and onto the red carpet. They were applauded by all staff as they formed a COVID-safe guard of honour and were celebrated by the rest of the school.


The Year 12 students were then greeted by the fabulous Town Crier, Mr Pearson who offered the wonderful encapsulation of the brilliance of the Class of 2020! The final hoorah was captured with our whole school cheering our Year 12 students as they threw their caps into the air!

Special thanks to Kim Andreassend who orchestrated today's event from beginning to end with the support of the fabulous Michelle Burton and the entire SASS team, Mr Andrews, Mr Wilson, the fabulous Town Crier, Mr Pearson and our gifted drummer Pat Ryan.

Footage and photos from today's activities will be made available at the Year 12 Graduation next term!

Congratulations Year 12!

Ms M Pikoulas Principal


A tribute to Year 12 2020

A year like no other….a Year 12 group like no other!

Aristotle said, “Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom”.

To Year 12 2020, it may seem like the door to freedom is about to swing open as you leave the security and support of our Cumberland High School family but rest assured the door will open only as wide as you push it. The wise words of Aristotle ring true as we reflect on our perceptions of the year and the Class of 2020.

Year 12 was a lot of things but precedented was certainly not one of them. Under the guidance and leadership of our School Captains, Rowan Chate and Purvi Kapur and the prefect body, the cohort was challenged to remain focussed, transition to online learning and adapt to staring at a computer and listening to a teacher’s voice via a speaker without the usual

competitive banter and classroom relationships. As the end of Term 1 made its way to the start of Term 2, the new “normal” was a part of life and we remained in awe of all that Year 12 accomplished and their mature approach to study with a focus of reaching the milestone ending to their secondary schooling. Without the planned athletics and cross-country carnivals, community mentoring, annual Wauchope sporting competition, music and drama concert, band camps, parent and teacher nights and many other scheduled school events, the Class of 2020 will have their own special precious memories that stay with them forever, namely the many “firsts” and “lasts” in the year like no other. Some of these include:

• The first day as Year 12 2020 on Monday 21 October 2019.

• The first day of the last year at school on Wednesday 29 January 2020.

• The last school swimming carnival on Monday 3 February 2020.

• The last school photo day on Friday 7 February 2020.

• The last report conferencing on Friday 26 June 2020.

• The Trial HSC exam period 10 August 2020- 21 August 2020.

• The last day of formal classes at Cumberland High School 25 September.

A message from Mrs Shadwick:

As a new member of the senior executive and teaching staff at Cumberland High School, I was cordially welcomed by the Class of 2020 and will forever hold the following memories:

• Rowan Chate’s and Purvi Kapur’s heartfelt emotional tribute to the teaching staff on national TV under the Channel ABC spotlights and tacking the questions of Q & A host Hamish Macdonald,

• Karina Hoyle’s beaming smile as I walked past the COLA,

• Hanouf Basha’s homemade caramel slices that she generously bought in for me to celebrate her 18th birthday,

• Matthew Naser’s honest reality chats during CAFS class,

• Adwithyia Puri’s dedication to study and the pursuit of excellence and

• Simon Huang’s, Debbie Adeniyi-Kazeem’s, Jaian Dilim’s and Harold Kavapalu’s Semester 1 conferencing conversations and the “not so shocked” faces upon turning the pages of the reports just to name a few.

Mrs Matina Shadwick Mrs Johanna Ashton Deputy Principal Deputy Principal Years 7, 9, 11 Years 8, 10, 12


It is also important that I acknowledge the hard work and tireless efforts of Mrs Johanna Ashton (Year 12 Deputy), Mrs Helen Bastock (Year 12 Advisor), Mrs Karen Alexander (Year 12 Assistant Year Advisor), Ms Priya Matsen (School Counsellor) and Ms Ashika Nand (School Counsellor) who together with the Year 12 teachers and SASS staff have resourced, provided, supported and ensured that all Year 12 wishes were catered for. All of this would not be possible without the inspirational leadership and guidance of our School Principal Ms Mechel Pikoulas who constantly strives to exceed all expectations and provide the environment for students to succeed and thrive. And 2020 was no exception. Ms Pikoulas has paved the way for the Class of 2020 to open the “golden door” even wider.

To our Class of 2020 may I offer the following advice? - Be brave and open “your door

of freedom” and embrace what lies ahead.

- Be open to suggestions, advice and guidance as you navigate life, its challenge and demands.

- Be bold, be courageous, be graceful, be humble.

- Remember what Cumberland High School has done for you and give back to your school community in the years ahead.

- Do not underestimate the power of a smile, a friendly wave and a small gesture. You were young once and you appreciated a peer or a teacher taking you under their wing.

Aristotle also said, “Educating the mind without educating the soul is no education at all”.

I hope that as the Graduating Class of 2020 you open the school gate after their last HSC exam with a heart full of love and hope for your future ahead.

To the Year 12 students- good bye and good luck!

A message from Mrs Ashton:

Cumberland High School of 2020 is a very different school to what it was in 2015. You have been a fantastic group of students and have taken involvement and commitment in school life to another level:

Helmsman Project: Mr Smith and Ms Frew lead Ronald Leung, Dev Chopra, Naman Ganjekar, Adwithiya Puri, Manav Bansal, Brendon Yue, Shaun Younger, William Smedley and girls Chiara Thirimanna, Jacinta Chen, Karina Hoyle, Rachael Chamberlain, Emily McLean, Debbie Adeniyi-Kazeem, Patricia Hookey and Rita Asic through a thirteen-week coaching and seven-day Outward Bound experience.

Wauchope: The highlight of each and every student at Cumberland. Whether you excel on the basketball court or on the football field, there is a place for everyone! Dylan, Ljubica, Simon and Zenae...played almost every sport over the three days.

I will never forget the smile on two students’ faces when they got their first Wauchope t-shirt – they had made it! They were part of the team…..the Mock Trial Team, but they were on the team!

My first experience at Wauchope was a wet one. I had the gum boots ready, but did not expect this…the students loved every minute of it!

Community of School Science Inspire Project led by Mrs Stead. All of you fantastic students have worked tirelessly to promote Cumberland High through the world of Science with our local primary schools.


Contributions to the music program at the school. Whether it be the band camp, music tour or school assemblies, Year 12 students – you were always part of the music program!

Sydney Metro Finalists Team DDDAN - Danial Amin Rahmanlou, Dev Chopra, Dylan Lay, Alex Warnecke and Team ARI - Adwithya Puri, Ronald Leung, Isaac Wu.

Your greatest adventure of all, was left until year 12. Who would have thought you would spend your last year of high school with online learning.

Forever, you will be remembered as a special group of students who faced the greatest challenges at Cumberland High School. Whether it be on the sporting field or in the classroom, you all showed an enormous amount of resilience and never gave up.

When we pursue excellence, we gain a deeper understanding of our purpose, a fuller knowledge of the contributions we make, and the satisfaction that comes from doing work that makes us proud. I am extremely proud of what you all have achieved and I am so grateful to have been your Deputy Principal.

You have been wonderful role models for the students and excellent ambassadors for our school. You have upheld our Core Values of Respect, Responsibility and Excellence in all areas and you have set the bar high. Over the next few years, there will be many challenges. It will be hard and your self-belief will be tested. There will be times you will wonder if the struggle is worth the effort, but, like our school motto of Finis Coronat Opus, the end crowns the work.

Congratulations, I wish you well in whatever endeavour you take on and good luck.

Year 12 Sign Out Days

All Year 12 students need to sign out of Cumberland High School.

On this day, students are to return all textbooks and equipment provided by the school.

- Thursday 12th November Session 4 (1:30pm – 3pm)

- Friday 13th November Session 1 (9am – 10:30 am)

Year 12 - 2021

As mentioned in the last newsletter, the Year 11 students met on Thursday 10 September 2020 to receive vital information regarding Year 12 2021, in particular the Assessment Schedules for 2020-2021 as well as careers, study skills and academic support opportunities available at Cumberland High School. Ms Pikoulas, Mr Condell, Ms Sisala and Ms Saouma gave a detailed outline of Year 12 study options, assessment information as well as School and NESA requirements. All information has been emailed home to Year 11 parents. A link to the Year 12 2020-2021 Assessment Information and Schedules can be found below.

https://s3.schoolbytes.education/finance_data/reminder_notes/file_1f5b2158-57a0-45de-8810-320c41147784.pdf

Please do not hesitate to contact Ms Saouma (Year 12 2021 Year Advisor) or Mrs Shadwick (Year 12 2021 Deputy) if you have any questions regarding Year 12 2021.





Take a Virtual Tour of Cumberland High School

An interactive virtual tour of the school is now available on the Cumberland High School website under "About our school".

Take a look at Cumberland through this interactive portal and let us know what you think!

Thank you to Mrs Alexander for putting the virtual tour together.

Student leadership Team 2020-2021

Congratulations to the students below who were recently elected to the 2020-2021 leadership positions. I am certain that you will do our school proud and uphold, promote and continue to improve our high standards and student expectations. 2021 Student Leadership Team: (pictured below and bottom left)

CAPTAINS Rachel Harkin

Husain Alhashemi

VICE CAPTAINS Rachael Edmonds

Harry Choi

PREFECTS Charlotte Ballard

Fotini (Fay) Bekiaris Jocelyn Lay

Mai (Elisa) Nguyen Negar Sanati

Aditya Agnihotri Nihar Kadkol Arjun Madar

Jaineel Pathak Saisriman Tadepalli

Helping Hand Program

Another outstanding opportunity for our students at Cumberland High School. Thank you to co-ordinator Mr Pillay, and also Mr Fahey, Mrs McCubbin, Mr Pollard, Ms Burke and Ms East, who have volunteered on Wednesday afternoons to provide guidance with assessment tasks and time management skills to ensure that students are meeting deadlines.

Wishing staff, students families a wonderful and restful holiday as Term 4 approaches.

Mrs Matina Shadwick Deputy Principal, Years 7, 9 and 11 Mrs Johanna Ashton Deputy Principal, Years 8, 10 and 12


Student Support

The ‘Helping Hand Program’ is a new initiative here at Cumberland for students who need assistance with structuring, completing and handing in assessments tasks. Volunteer teachers Mr Fahey, Ms McCubbin, Mr Pollard, Ms East, Ms Burke and our very own Principal Ms Pikoulis have lent a helping hand after school to assist 16 of our Year 8 students.

It is intended that the program will be extended in 2021 to include Year 10 & 11 students acting as mentors in extra-curricular activities which they can include on university early entry applications.

Stay tuned!

Mr M Pillay Program Co-Ordinator


International Students Spotlight

International Student Celebration Morning Tea

On Thursday, 24th September our senior international students happily gathered for a wonderful morning tea in the school library to celebrate the journey of our Year 12 international students.

In Year 12 we have 11 international students from the countries of China and Korea who have studied at our school. A hallmark of these students is the manner in which each of them has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to the school core values of Respect, Responsibility and Excellence.

Our school community values its traditions and history, while clearly recognising and embracing the rich diversity brought by the contribution of all our international students. We are immensely grateful they have enriched the learning environment with cultural perspectives, and are incredibly delighted that lifelong friendships have been forged.

Our international students have shown resilience and maturity beyond their years in adapting to their new environment.

Year 12 is challenging and particularly this year, with the presence of Covid-19, it has been more difficult for our students to visit and spend precious time with their family and friends from their home countries. They have coped splendidly!

We wish our international students every success and joy in the future.

Thank you to everyone who worked tirelessly and creatively to ensure such a memorable morning tea.

Profound thanks to Natalie Wai, our exceptional and dedicated international student coordinator.

And to our highly committed and professional teachers and executive staff who, through their continual support and investment, enable our students, we thank you most sincerely. Ms. Erica Smith International Student Administrator


International Students Spotlight

JUNIOR STUDENT EXPERIENCES:

My name is Chloe Park and I am a student in the class 7 Amethyst. I came to Australia a few years ago from South Korea.

My favourite thing about living in Sydney is how spacious the parks and buildings are and how there’s lots of greenery. Also, another favourite are the friends I’ve made at school!

My first impression of Cumberland High School was that the school seemed a lot smaller than the high schools in Korea. It was a new environment and new language that I had to adapt to and it was a bit scary at first. But after the first few weeks I saw that most of the students and teachers were supportive and sensible.

I enjoy every subject because all of my teachers are caring and supportive and I like learning. My favourite teacher is Mrs McCubbin

because I feel like she understands her students and is always helping us improve in both school work and as people.

I don’t usually buy food from the canteen but I like the sandwiches and muffins. I prefer to bring my own packed sandwiches and mini pizzas for recess and lunch.

In the school holidays I am looking forward to watching lots of movies and television series on Netflix. I’m also excited to read lots of books and do some extra studying.

Overall, I have really enjoyed my experience as an international student at Cumberland High School and I’m looking forward to the rest of my school years.

Siyou (Chloe) Park

Hello, my name is Y.T. and I am a Year 9 international student at Cumberland High School. I am from Hong Kong, and I came to Australia in 2018.

The favourite thing about living in Sydney is the pleasant weather with mild winters, warm summers and plenty of sunshine. My first impression of Cumberland High School is its friendly peers and kind teachers, and I feel really welcomed by the staff in the office.

My favourite teacher at Cumberland High School Is Mr Thomas. I had him for Year 8 History last year and Year 9 Commerce this year. He always makes the class entertaining and enjoyable. In commerce, Mr Thomas is currently hosting "The Commerce Game" during lessons to give us a projection of the economy. He is also our volleyball coach! Mr Thomas is a great coach as he encourages our team and keeps the team together.

I enjoy reading books during the holidays. The genre that I especially like is fantasy and science-fiction. I am currently reading Magnus Chase by Rick Riordan, and the story is amazing!

Yuet (YT) Wong


Mock Trial

Cumberland Vs Katoomba High School

The Cumberland High School Mock Trial team finished the competition with two wins over Epping Boys and Katoomba High after a narrow first round defeat. Katoomba had been undefeated until taking on our team in the final round.

Our team for the Katoomba trial consisted of:

• Barristers: Rachel Harkin and Samuel Megeurditchian

• Court Officer: Ilham Saeedi

• Solicitor: Harry Choi

• Witnesses: Vedant Trivedi and Serena Carvajal

Once again, in 2020, the team worked extremely collaboratively, after hours and performed at a high level. They placed 38th out of 90 teams level with our neighbour, James Ruse. We finished ahead of such schools as: Shore, Sydney boys High, SCEGGS Darlinghurst, Riverside Girls, PLC, North Sydney Girls, Normanhurst Boys, Knox Grammar and Epping Boys.

The victory over Katoomba by 229-224 was especially sweet as it was the day that Rachel was named School Captain and Harry was named School Vice Captain for 2021!

The coach of Katoomba emailed: “Congrats to the Cumberland team, particularly the second barrister (Mock Trial team captain, Rachel Harkin) whose performance I think was decisive! Very focused, cool and astute”.

Credit goes to the whole team for their tenacity and desire to succeed in 2020. For Rachel, Harry, Ilham, Vedant and Taylor after 4 years of competition in the Law Society event, they will now focus on their studies and one last tilt at Wauchope next year… all going to plan.

That means Sam and Serena will need some counterparts from next year’s Year 9-Year 11 group to keep our team afloat in the knockout competition in 2021.

It has been a pleasure coordinating such a self-motivated and dedicated group. They have set an extremely high standard in terms of work ethic, collaboration and results! I wish them all well with their future endeavours.

Mr K Thomas Mock Trial Coach

LEFT: Barrister Rachel Harkin undertaking cross-examination of a witness from Katoomba High.

RIGHT: Witness Serena Carvajal being examined in chief by Barrister Rachel Harkin.


Library News

Library Fun Week has been a hive of activity with students enjoying the various activities on offer, including a Kahoot guess the book title challenge. Our annual X marks the book competition has seen students following the clues and scouring the shelves in the hope of finding one of the 30 large cardboard X’s that have been hidden in our library books. The cardboard X may be swapped for the students choice of chocolate bars that are taped to the inside window of Mrs Alexander’s office. The student who finds the most X’s will win the book of their choosing up to the value of $25.00. There have been Covid-safe morning teas to reward our top borrowers from Years 7, 8 and 9, which included discussions about starting a student- led book club during lunch every second Wednesday next term.

Book Display Theme

Our current display promotes RUOK day which we celebrated in Week 8. The theme for this year was that there is more to say after asking RUOK. We hope that through reading these books, students will be inspired to look after their mental health and to look out for the emotional wellbeing of their friends and classmates.

Encourage a love of reading

Please encourage your students to keep reading. The library has a brilliant collection of new fiction titles that should impress any teen reader. Also our eBook collection is available 24/7 for students to read over 1000 popular teen titles. Just download the App ePlatform.

Students simply choose our school from the list and then login using their normal DoE username and password. Two books may be borrowed at a time for a two week loan.

Mrs K Alexander Teacher Librarian

AMENDMENT TO LAST ISSUE…..

Correction to the Year 11 Visual Arts article in Issue 8. The teacher is:

Ms R Yee Visual Arts Teacher

Above: Students looking at the new cryptic clues which are posted at recess each day.

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjcgNe-qqHiAhWMinAKHc_PDakQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html&psig=AOvVaw3bJHzXu6dWlvjqytnzuyM8&ust=1558140134707733

Cumberland High School€¦ · Cumberland High School. I am from Hong Kong, and I came to Australia...

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