HIGHVALE SECONDARY COLLEGE Capital Avenue Glen Waverley 3150 Phone: 9803 5144 Fax: 9803 4310 Email: highvale.sc@edumail.vic.gov.au

School Website : www.highvalesc.vic.edu.au

Edition 4 31st March 2017

OUR SCHOOL VALUES

EXCELLENCE ~ INTEGRITY ~ RESILIENCE ~ RESPECT ~ RESPONSIBILITY

IMPORTANT DATES

Tuesday 18th April First Day of Term 2

Thursday 20th April State Swimming/Diving

Tuesday 25th April Anzac Day Public Holiday

Thursday 27th April Intro to Outdoor Education – Warburton Camp departs

Monday 1st May PTSFA Meeting 7.30pm VCE Centre

Thursday 4th May Senior Sport

Friday 5th May Year 7 Immunisations

Monday 8th May Division Cross Country

Tuesday 9th May Yr 7 & Yr 9 NAPLAN Testing and Yr 11 Outdoor Education – Otways Camp departs

Tuesday 16th May Deb Ball Information Evening 7pm VCE Centre

Thursday 18th May French Competition

Friday 19th May Intermediate Sport

Wednesday 24th May Intro to Outdoor Education – Bris Ranges Camp

Monday 29th May Year 7-10 Exams Commence

Tuesday 30th May ICAS Science Comp / NEVR Concert Hamer Hall / Boys Netball / Girls AFL

Friday 2nd June Year 11 Exams commence

Thursday 8th June Winter Music Concert 7.30pm College Theatre

C A R E E R N E W S

Click the link(s): Career News 24th March

Career News 31st March

Uniform Shop Hours 2017 Term Dates

Tuesdays 8.00am to 11.00am

Wednesdays 1.00pm to 4.00pm TERM1: 31st January – 31st March TERM2: 18th April – 30th June Click here for Uniform Order Form

TERM3: 17th July – 22nd September

TERM4: 9th October – 22nd December

Canteen Student Absence Reporting Hotline

Canteen Price List click here 9803 5144 press 1 - Please call before 9am

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Master planning The building program continues to be running to schedule. The slab for the new Humanities Maths rooms has been laid and our steel frame has now been attached. Roof sheeting will be installed over the holidays.

The Slab for the Admin building was poured last Friday.

Works have begun on the new multi-function courts. At the last site meeting it was decided to approve a small variation to extend the run off sections of these courts (from 2.5 meters to 3 meters) to bring them to competition standards for netball. This will enable more flexibility for the school to attract hirers. We anticipate that the school asphalt along the Troy street side of A block will be modified over the school holidays to enable a wider path for the buses. There will also be works to widen the bus entry.

School Council Elections School Council ballot was tallied on Tuesday 22 March. It is my great pleasure to announce that the successful candidates were Julie Chalmers, Terry Chung, Bruce Clayton and Ann-Marie Jeffrey. There were two nominations for DET representatives for the two vacancies. Consequently, Heather Carr and Leigh Hunter are now officially on our new council. I would like to acknowledge our wonderful council members and the great contribution that they have played for the school. In particular, I would like to thank Fred Butcher, our outgoing school council president for his 11 years of leadership for Highvale. Fred became president the year I began here as principal and I feel very privileged to have worked closely with someone so dedicated and supportive. VCE news The VCE formal was held on Wednesday at Leonda receptions. It was a wonderful evening and I would like to pass on my thanks to the organising students and Mrs Valentine who put such a great effort, ensuring the evening’s success. School Tours Due to the building works, our open night was cancelled. School tours continue to be very well attended, with 150 families visiting since last month. Easter wishes I would like to wish everyone a safe and enjoyable Easter break. School resumes on Tuesday 18 April. Ian Watkins Principal

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S REPORT Assessment and Reporting Teachers are uploading feedback relating to the Learning Tasks completed by students onto Compass. I encourage all parents to log into Compass and check their child’s progress. Student Representative Council Free Dress Day On Friday 31st March. Each student is encouraged to donate a gold coin and come in casual attire and safe footwear on the last day of school. The funds raised is divided between the Royal Children’s Good Friday Appeal and the Highvale Fijian community project. The Fijian community project funds pay for the freight required to transport donated text books, obsolete equipment (handheld pocket pc devices and accessories and microscopes) to Vinaka Fiji Foundation. It is this Foundation who work with the Naviti District School and Yasawa High School and develop the community project that our students will work on when they travel to FIJI in October 2017. Heather Carr Assistant Principal – Education

MUSIC NEWS HIGHVALE STUDENTS PERFORM AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE Earlier this term, the Department of Education and Training invited our Chamber Strings group to perform once again at the International School Student Welcome Ceremony at Government House. This is our Chamber Strings fourth performance at Government House since March last year. They have continued to be invited back due to the excellent standard of their performance, the mature behaviour of the students and the broad range of repertoire presented by the group.

The Chamber strings had several new members this year, so the group had to put in some intense rehearsal

time over the last few weeks to be ready for such an important performance.

A big thank you to the director of the Chamber Strings, Mrs. Janet Govan, who worked with our talented

string students to ensure the high standard of performance expected at such a venue. I would also like to

thank Mrs. Yin Lam and Mrs. Moad for their invaluable assistance on the day.

At the ceremony, the Governor of Victoria, Her Excellency the Honourable Linda Dessau AC, met the

musicians and congratulated them on their performance. The Governor then had photos taken with the

Chamber Strings students.

The students were treated to morning tea which was served on the beautiful lawns of the Fountain Court

overlooking the city.

Congratulations and well done to our student musicians.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC STUDENTS FOR TERM 2

Ensemble Rehearsals

Nouveau Strings and Concert Band ensembles will begin rehearsal in the first week of term 2. The Nouveau Strings ensemble will involve all students who began string tuition this year and will rehearse on Tuesday afternoons from 3pm to 4pm. The Concert Band will involve new brass, woodwind and some percussion students and will rehearse on Thursdays from 3-4pm.

The list of students involved in these ensembles appears on the Music Notice board near the lesson timetables and will appear on Compass timetables.

Instrumental Music Home Practice All instrumental music students will have their homework written in the Compass lesson plan EACH lesson. To help support the student’s musical development, parents are encouraged to keep track of the expectation of the student’s instrumental teacher by checking the student’s class and lesson plan on a weekly basis. Concert Dates for Term 2

NORTH EASTERN VICTORIA REGION (NEVR) CONCERT – 30th May

The North Eastern Victoria Region (NEVR )concert will take place at Hamer Hall on 30th May. This will involve students who have an AMEB level of Grade 2 or above on their chosen instrument and who have submitted an application.

A list of successful applicants should be available from the NEVR regional coordinators early next term and will be posted on the notice board. Students will also receive an online notification.

Parents and friends are encouraged to attend this performance at Hamer Hall, which is one of the premium concert halls in Australia.

Details regarding ticket purchase will be available once students receive confirmation of their acceptance in the performance.

WINTER CONCERT – 8th June

The Winter Concert will involve all instrumental music students and will be held on June 8th at 7:30pm in the College Theatre. Please keep this date free in your diaries.

AMEB Exams Students considering completing an AMEB exam this year should note that enrolments for Session 5 exams will be required next term. Students should discuss this possibility with their instrumental music teacher. Change of Enrolment Please note: Any changes to a student’s enrolments in the instrumental Music Program must to be directed in writing to Mrs. Linton via email.

Anne Linton

Music Director

STUDIO ARTS NEWS National Gallery of Victoria The Studio Based Arts 2 class had a great day at the NGV recently. They were given a tour and lecture on Traditional, Modern and Contemporary art. They also participated in a painting workshop with Ingrid Wood, one of the educators who has opened our annual art show on more than one occasion. The students were very engaged and produced some lovely paintings.

We were also given permission to see the David Hockney exhibition free of charge which was quite a privilege to say the least. Thank you to all the students who attended, and Mrs. Orrock who also came along for support. We had a great day and I'm looking forward to seeing the outcomes that this excursion inspired.

Congratulations to Jamie Chen (yr 9) Jamie’s wire sculpture has been selected to be part of an exhibition at The Highway Gallery in Mount Waverley. He created this sculpture in the Modern and Contemporary art class last year and he was awarded the sculpture prize at our annual art show. The exhibition will include artworks from students from schools in the Eastern suburbs and artists from the wider community. Congratulations Jamie!

Ms. Pappas Studio Arts Coordinator

ICAS COMPETITIONS It’s competition time again. Please pay at the General Office by the due date listed below:

Exam Competition Date Cost & Payment Deadline

Science Tuesday 30th May 2017 $10 (due Friday 28th April)

English Tuesday 1st Aug 2017 $10 (due Thursday 1st June)

Mathematics Tuesday 15th Aug 2017 $10 (due Thursday 1st June)

During this year, the Geography, French and German Competitions will be conducted and funded through their respective departments. More information and dates will be available soon. Dee Kearsley

CANTEEN NEWS An EFTPOS machine will be available in the canteen from the second week in Term 2. For purchases less than $5 there will be a 50c fee, otherwise it’s free to use.

DEB BALL INFORMATION EVENING There will be a Deb Ball Information Evening on Tuesday 16th May at 7pm in the VCE Centre

SPORT NEWS Congratulations to Jakeb Pearson (Year 10) who qualified for the Athletics Victorian team. He is currently competing at the 2017 Australian All Schools Championships in the 200m hurdles and the 400m sprint in Sydney. Jessica Squires (Year 12) is once again reaching the highest of levels in Squash. She will compete at the Oceania Junior Championships in Auckland, New Zealand over the Term 1 school holidays. These phenomenal individual achievements and do not happen without extremely hard work and the commitment to give 100%. We wish you all the very best for your competitions and are extremely proud of your efforts. Miss Dwyer Sport Co-ordinator

PHYSICS EXCURSION Physics in the Real World-Excursion to Ceres On Monday 20th March, the “Physics in the Real World” class visited the Ceres Environmental Park in Brunswick to see firsthand the concepts of energy efficiency and transfer that they have learnt about in class.

The emission of the instructor’s car was tested for carbon dioxide, bicycle power was used to dry hair as well as power a TV and a working mini-power station were observed in action. After walking around the centre and observing the energy-saving aspects of the buildings, we strolled through the organic gardens then visited a converted fully energy efficient house. The students were very engaged and extremely well behaved. A huge thank you to Mrs Anna Dimou who came in on her day off to accompany us on this wonderful excursion. Mrs Suzanne Bogos Senior Physics Teacher

Physics in the Real World-Excursion to Ceres It’s probably not that often that we take the time to think about how we are impacting our planet through everyday tasks. It takes a person, or experience, for us to recognise problems that we simply brush aside because they are not on our doorstep yet. Organisations like CERES (centre for education and research in environmental strategies) are what can make us think twice about our choices.

Two physics classes had the opportunity to visit CERES. A train and tram ride brought us to the centre in Brunswick. By this time, we all needed a towel and maybe a hair dryer. We could have called the rain a curse if it wasn’t being caught and recycled, to then be functioning in the toilets we were about to use. First, we were made to feel guilty about the time we spend using our cars. We ‘caught’ exhaust gases in a bag to then test the amount of carbon dioxide it contained. It was off the scale on the reader. This was only for 30 seconds of the engine running – we then calculated how much would be emitted from everyday car trips. That was when the numbers increased.

Another walk in the rain brought us to the classroom where we spoke about fossil fuels and how they are exhausting and affecting our atmosphere. To produce a super clean energy source, someone had to do some hard work. A small hair dryer was powered by a bike, which managed to squeeze a fair bit of energy from students to create its own energy. Zaynab could dry her hair with nothing but energy from the bike. It was interesting to see how electricity could be made so simply.

We then travelled through the market and into the vegetable gardens where there were chickens roaming around. We were shown how the food sold at the shop had no travelling distance because it was grown next door. The last stop was an energy efficient house that had all the answers for our upcoming test. We were shown how the insulators we had studied worked, which helped us understand and remember why they were used. It was a day that made me think twice about everything we do. Maybe if we all do our small part then we could make our planet a whole lot greener.

Kayla Johns Year 10 Student

YEAR 11 GEOGRAPHY EXCURSION On Tuesday 7th March, students studying Unit 1 Geography visited the Kinglake region to investigate the degree to which it has recovered since the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires. Students have been studying bushfires in class for several weeks, learning about the factors that influence the severity of fires, the impacts they have on people and environments and the various short and long term responses people have when it comes to bushfires. Visiting Kinglake enabled students to see first-hand how the Australian bush can recover from fire, although there were still many reminders of just how severe this fire was. The students were also able to see the rebuilding that has taken place in the Kinglake township in the years since the fire. Students collected a range of data including photos, tables noting the characteristics seen at each site visited and maps showing the location of features such as burnt tree trunks and new growth. Back in class, students have been hard at work processing their data and presenting their findings in the form of a fieldwork report. A big thank you to Mr Jarvis for driving the bus and well done to the students, who all demonstrated exemplary behaviour on the day. Chris Mitchell Year 11 Geography Teacher

CAREER NEWS – VCE CAREERS EXPO The VCE and careers expo provides a great range of information from 170 exhibitors from universities, institutions, training colleges. There are also many seminars and workshops parents and students can attend.

THE 2017 TUTORING PROGRAM

UNIFORM SALES / COMMUNITY NEWS

SECOND HAND UNIFORMS Families are now able to buy and sell second hand uniform and other school items though the Sustainable School Shop.

Simply register on the Sustainable School Shop website – www.sustainableschoolshop.com.au and follow the onscreen instructions for buying and selling.

Please contact Jenny, the Uniform Shop Manager, on 9803 5144 or the Sustainable School Shop helpline on 0438 743 444 if you require any assistance or further information. Please contact Jenny, the Uniform Shop Manager on 9803 5144 or the Sustainable School Shop helpline on 0438 743 444 if you require any assistance or further information.

Next Sunday 2 April we are celebrating the upcoming opening of the new Monash Children’s Hospital by hosting a Community Open Day. The Open Day will run from 10am to 2pm, and will include kids’ activities, an animal farm, food trucks and live entertainment. There is also an opportunity for people to take a sneak peek inside our new hospital. Online bookings are essential via monashchildrenshospital.org/OpenDay