MUIRFIELD MATTERS Muirfield High School

Educating today for managing tomorrow

Muirfield Matters Newsletter Issue 7 Week 4 Term 4 2007

Barclay Road, North Rocks NSW 2151 Ph: (02) 9872 2244 Fax: (02) 9871 4106 E: muirfield­h.school@det.nsw.edu.au www.muirfield­h.schools.nsw.edu.au

Hello Muirfieldians,

We would just like to say our first of many ‘hello’s and we look forward to working as your Student Executive for 2007/2008. On Thursday 18 October, several members of the Student Executive attended the Mitchell Youth Leadership Forum, organized by The Hon Alan Cadman MP of Mitchell, at Vi­ sion Valley. This forum was a 2 night, 3 day camp, where the 8 representatives of Muirfield were split into groups of 6 with many other schools. In which we knew no one. We gathered in an auditorium, where we had to sign in and collect our “team hats” which were colour coded. We met many ex­Muirfield Student Executive Reps, who were leaders of the many groups for the weekend. It took some­ time to adjust, but the groups soon became close. After dinner, the groups moved into the auditorium, where we had the pleasure to listen to a man who inspired every­ one in the audience, Glen Gerreyn. He has gone through so much to get to the point he is at today, you really have to see him to believe him. He was the first of many speak­ ers, all with such inspiring stories. When time was up, we went into our groups and had dis­ cussions about the speakers; it was interesting to learn about other people’s ideals and inspirations. After the group discussions, the competition began. Throughout the week, the groups were at each others throats; so to speak, to do whatever it took for the win in little competitions. We got dirty, we got wet, we got gooey, but it was all so much fun. Maybe not for our parents, who had to wash our clothes when we got back. On Saturday morning, Ms. White joined us for morning tea and a discussion of what we had learnt and we identified issues about the school and what we could do to improve them, such as inter­grade relationships and our image that is seen by the community, which we want to change for the better. We all had so many plans to change the school. That afternoon, we all went to Kellyville Girl Guides, where we refurbished the building and landscaped the gardens and surrounding areas. One group installed a flagpole, and when we had finished the Australian Flag was carried and raised, with a spontaneous outburst of Advance Australia Fair, followed by Waltzing Matilda. It really brought every­ one together.

I highly recommend this to ANYONE. It was a life changing experience for us all, and we all benefited as people, by going, let alone as leaders. Thank­you to Mr. Cadman, for organizing such an event, and for the school for sending us to the forum. We pretty much wish it went for a whole week, unfortunately it didn’t…

From left to right Female Captain: Caitlin Mahony, Male Vice Captain: Sam Chalmers, Male Captain: Mitchell Blue and Female Vice

Captain: Veronica Bronier

CAPTAINS REPORT

Elections for SRC members, Student Executive and School Captains were all held at the end of Term 3. We are pleased to announce the successful nominees:

Captains: Mitchell Blue and Caitlin Mahony Vice Captains: Sam Chalmers and Veronica Bronier

Executive Members: Simon Cunliffe­Jones, Amanda Luu, Abid Ali, Prisca Ng

SRC Leaders: Matthew Albiston, Hui Sun, James Vidler, Lau­ ren Border

Student Representative Council Members representing their year groups are as follows: Year 7 (8 in 08): Rachel Graham, Taren Emery, Bilal Rifai, Dylan Nelson Year 8 (9 in 08): Casey Lock, Laura Laulach, Tom Sinden, Jonathon Rebolledo Year 9 (10 in 08): Jenna Kessing, Clarissa Dubois, Adam Jes­ sop, Rabi Farhan Year 10 (11 in 08): Gabby Secomb­Flegg, Kathryn Brown, Todd Hudson, Isaac Yun

These students will attend our annual Muirfield HS Leader­ ship Camp at Baden Powell Scout Centre on Thurs 22­ Fri 23 November to plan and undergo training in preparation for the year ahead! We wish them well!

S.White Head Teacher

STUDENT LEADERSHIP TEAMS FOR 2007­2008

Please DO NOT drop your children off in­

side the school grounds. The car park is small and becomes

very congested before and after school. There have been some very near misses

recently. Please use Tiernan Avenue, oppo­ site the school, as a drop off and pick up point. It is important all our students get

to school safely.

Muirfield Matters Week 4 Term 4 2007, Page 2

School Website www.muirfield-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

Check it out, it now includes some very handy info as well as the newsletter online.

These few weeks have been extremely busy as we walk Year 12 through their HSC, we begin the new HSC year with the 2008 group of students and we also prepare Year 10 for their School Certificate that commences on Monday 12th November. Students from the school have also performed at the State Drama Festival and at the Sydney Public Speaking competition. The Sydney region Public Speaking competition was run buy Speakersbank and drew speakers from all the Selective High Schools as well as comprehen­ sive High Schools throughout the Sydney Region. The winner of the competition was our own Jake Nelson who also won a $250 voucher for the school. Congratulations Jake. Congratulations also go to our new School Captains, Vice Captains and senior SRC Executive. To Mitchell and Caitlin we look forward to wonderful leadership and many ideas about improving our school forward. To the vice– captains Sam and Veronica we know that you will provide leader­ ship and support and be excellent role models for the larger student body. To the senior Executive and Leaders , Simon, Amanda , Abi, Pricsa , Matthew, Hui James and Lauren we again look forward to your example and leadership qualities to ensure the positive future of our school. Could I address a few quick issue that do effect the school. With our late Wednesday start we do expect that when students arrive at school or are dropped at school that they stay at school and do not walk up to North Rocks shops. Roll Call on Wednesdays is at 8.45 am and if students are at school before that time they will be supervised in the play­ ground. It is not the case that students can come to school and then walk off to the shops,. Please stress to your sons and daughters that once at school they must remain within the school grounds. We all know of the issues at this time of people within the community who will take advantage of students should there be an opportunity. Please also ensure that students are wearing the correct school uniform at all times. This school has had a tradition of not supporting school uniform but in recent years in response to parents we have been very vigilant in trying to ensure that all students are proud of their uniform and that they all wear it in support of the school. Finally can I again draw your attention to the Presentation Evening on Thursday 13th December. Please put this in your diary and make every effort to be there to help celebrate the achievements of your sons and daughters. This is the showcase of Muirfield High School talents and we would like as many people as possible to see the wonderful array of abilities of the students in this school. Looking forward to catching up with you on the evening.

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

P&C Meeting Wednesday 14 November

8pm In the Staff Common Room

On behalf of the Executive I invite you to the next P&C meeting. Reports will be available for pre­ meeting reading at 7:45.

Chris Cunliffe­Jones, President Muirfield P&C

All welcome!

At the end of July a number of students from Muirfield par­ ticipated in the Australian National Chemistry Quiz. The competition was open to all high school students in Austra­ lia. There were also a number of international entrants. These included schools from New Zealand, the Pacific Is­ lands, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Brunei, India, Hong Kong, England and Canada. The Chemistry Quiz is sponsored by Charles Sturt University and runs each year. There were two Junior levels (Years 7, 8 and Years 9, 10) and two Senior levels for the Year 11 and 12 students. By participating in the quiz, students took the opportunity to improve their knowledge of Chemistry and its application in a modern society. The results achieved by our students were excellent and special mention must be given to the students from Years 7 and 8 who have only been exposed to Chemistry concepts for a short period of time. They were very enthusiastic par­ ticipants and achieved excellent results.

The results obtained included three High Distinctions which places students in the top 10% of the state. The High Distinc­ tions were awarded to James Frisch Fray (Yr 7), Louise Quilkey (Yr 8) and Jake Nelson (Yr 10).

Distinctions were awarded to Kate Proctor (Yr7), Linda Mitchell (Yr8), Emily McCracken (Yr9), Richard Neo and Chris Baldwin (Yr 12).

Credit certificates were awarded to Dean O’Shannassy, Rees Wilson, Vineet Sharma, Joshua Mathie (Yr 7); Nigel Baker, Hayley Mitchell, Ben Wild (Yr 8) and Amanda Quilkey (Yr 9).

Thank you to all the students who participated in the Chemistry Quiz and congratulations to the award recipi­ ents.

Professor Shortland

Muirfield Matters Week 4 Term 4 2007, Page 3

THE AMAZING CHEMISTRY QUIZ RESULTS!!

For the fourth successive year a Muirfield High School stu­ dent has been nominated by HSC markers to participate in the prestigious “In Tech” display of outstanding Industrial Technology major practical projects. This display will be part of the Sydney “Timber and Working with Wood Show” held at Fox Studios in June 2008. Adam Suisted was selected from a total candidature of over 3600 students to exhibit his beautifully constructed “craftsman” styled sideboard. Adam joins an elite group of 5 Muirfield students who have been offered this opportu­ nity. Teacher John Sommerlad was thrilled by Adam’s success and said that “Adam is a painstaking and talented student who has grown both in skill and confidence over the last 2 years. The practical projects of this years HSC class reflect the effort made not only in timetabled les­ sons but in free periods and over productive and enjoy­ able school holiday and weekend workshops.

EXCELLENCE REWARDED– ADAM SUISTED

As 2007 draws to a close we would like to thank all our fantas­ tic volunteers who have given their time willingly each month. We really do appreciate your help. Also to our student volun­ teers. Without your help each day our Manager would be very very busy. You really do a wonderful job. Several of our volunteer mum’s will not be returning next year for various reasons and to these mums we wish you all the very best for the future. One in particular, Mrs Linda Spinks, is retir­ ing after MANY years of canteen duty as her last child leaves Muirfield. Not only has Linda been a wonderful helper over the years, but for many years she also cleaned the canteen every term, a thankless job. We wish her all the very best for the future and will miss her company every month. This year our Friday lunch specials have continued to be popular. If anyone has any suggestions please feel free to contact Lynda with your ideas. To all the Muirfield families, we wish you a happy holiday season and look forward to working with you in 2008. Don‛t forget to bring your appetites with you next year.

CANTEEN NEWS

The first few weeks of Term 4 have been very busy with Year 11 attending the “MUVE ME” workshop and going out to Penrith for UWS DAY. MUVE ME is designed to encourage students to look at what they want to achieve in their lives, and then the workshop provides the tools to achieve those goals. The UWS day at Penrith was organized by the univer­ sity to enable Year 11 students to experience life as a stu­ dent at university. Students were able to choose workshops to attend, to give them a taste of some of the courses of­ fered by the university. Year 10 students will be involved in “Be Real Week” following their School Certificate exams. This week will include playing a career exploration game, training in presentation and etiquette, a visit to Ultimo TAFE and Sydney University, and mock interviews. In addition, a number of Year 10 students will be participating in a follow up MUV ME workshop.

Information received: • UTS will be holding a Preparing for University event for

Years 10 & 11 students on Saturday 24 November. To register your attendance visit www.uts.edu.au/study/ preparing_for_uni

• The Coffee School at Glebe will be holding Barista and Coffee Art courses every Saturday. For more information go to www.coffeeschool.com.au

• Edassist will be offering a lecture program for HSC stu­ dents From Monday 7 January to Friday 18 January at the University of Sydney. For a full program of workshops available you can visit www.edassist.com.au or see Mrs. Scott

• The NSW Commission for Young People has developed a new resource for young people working as babysitters. For a full version of the guide go to www.kids.nsw.gov.au

• Optus is providing two scholarships for students enrolling in the Bachelor of Engineering program at Macquarie University. AS part of this scholarship students will be working with Optus for a minimum of 12 weeks. Applica­ tions close 7 December. www.engineering.mq.edu.au

• Hostec provide training for High School students in RSA, RCG, Senior First Aid and Workplace Hygiene proce­ dures. For more information about courses jhooper@hostec.com.au

• Sydney University has sent information about their flexible entry scheme for students whose UAI may fall up to 5 points below the normal cutoff into CERTAIN (not ALL!) courses. Courses that do look at flexible entry include architecture and design computing. To find out more about the scheme visit www.usyd.edu.au/flexibleentry.

• The School for excellence will be running “Mastering the HSC” for Year 11 and 12 students on Saturday 17 th and Sunday 18 th November at the University of New South Wales. For more information www.tsfx.com.au or 1300364173

• The Australian Maritime College has sent their Course Guide for 2008/9

• Julius Events College will be holding a free Careers Info Show at 1pm on Saturday Novem­ ber 10 at Parramatta Riverside Theatre. Book on 96385955 or email reception@juliusmedia.com

Mrs. Scott

Muirfield Matters

CAREERS NEWS Week 4 Term 4 2007, Page 4

CAREER CHANGE? WANTING TO STUDY AT UNI

OR TAFE but thought it was too late or too hard?

Perhaps you feel you need to build up your skills and confidence and/or gain the neces­ sary Year 12 equivalent qualifications to help you succeed in further studies? The Tertiary Preparation Certificate (TPC) may be for you!

Interested? Contact Melissa Knudson (TPC Coordinator) at North Sydney College of TAFE for more information (ph: 9942 0743, Melissa.Knudson@tafensw.edu.au)

TPC is a Work Skills Voucher eligible course.

Come along to our Information Evening on Monday 19 th November at 6pm (P block, Room 323)

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE!

Muirfield Matters

SPEAKING & DEBATING NEWS

Friday, 26 October 2007, saw Year 12’s madly selling Ban­ dannas and “Meal Deals” for Canteen’s Annual Bandanna Day. On Friday, the school was asked to come dressed in mufti and donate a gold coin to raise money for kids with cancer. At lunch, Year 12 cooked up a storm of sausages for the school. The sausages were flying off the BBQ. Year 12 were non­stop all lunch, cooking and serving sausages on rolls and drinks. The sausages were a big hit! Muirfield, you deserve a pat on the back, as YOU, raised $1237.50 for Canteen. I’m sure it will be much appreci­ ated. After seeing 500 people in bandannas I wasn’t sure if they were bikies or students! After all it was Bandanna Day! I would just like to say a VERY BIG THANKYOU to everyone who helped out on Friday and to Mrs. Pasternatsky for co­ ordinating the event.

Mitchell Blue YR 12.

Week 4 Term 4 2007, Page 5

CANTEEN BANDANNA DAY YEAR 12

Debating news Congratulations to the Year 7 and 8 teams who have now completed the Premiers Cup Debating Competition. The Year 8 team were zone champions and completed a play­ off against North Sydney Girls in week one of this term. The team had to debate ‘That modern music is NOT a bad influence.’ This was a difficult side to argue but many con­ vincing points about the positive impact that music and musicians have in our world, helped to further their case. Most impressive, was how the team members all spoke for 5 minutes or more with only one hour to prepare their topic. They were narrowly beaten by North Sydney who pro­ gressed to the next round.

Year 7 team members for 2007: Kate Proctor Adriana Raciti, Luke Hammond Paije Moyle

Year 8 team members for, 2007 Georgia Bonham Ben Wild Hayley Mitchell Kiera Turner Linda Mitchell

Zone Team Tryouts Jake Nelson from Year 10 attended the tryouts for the Met­ ropolitan North Debating Team. First students were given a gruelling quiz and then they were put into teams to perform a series of debates. Jake performed well on the day and enjoyed the experience of competing.

Public speaking Muirfield Students have had recent success in speaking finals throughout the zone: Georgia Bonham from Year 8 competed in the OZ speak and the Youth Speaker of the Year on Climate change. She achieved 3 rd in both competitions. This was an excel­ lent achievement, especially in the Youth Speak Competi­ tion, where her competitors were from Years 10, 11 and 12. Jake Nelson won the Youth speaker of the year Climate Change Competition and represents Muirfield High and the whole of Metropolitan North in the final to be held At Homebush Bay on 8 November. We wish Jake luck for this competition. Final congratulations for Rosie Morrison from Year 9 who has won her heat of the OZ Speak competition. Rosie will now compete on Australia Day at the Baulkham Hills Shire Coun­ cil celebrations.

It is wonderful to see the speaking talent of Muirfield stu­ dents showcased for others in the region and district.

Looks easy but tricky to roll! Year 8 Japanese students challenged to make their own sushi rolls with coaching by a Japanese professional sushi chef, Mr. Hiroyuki Nagashima. Students were amazed by his beautiful skills of Japanese traditional cooking. Then, each of them was provided with materials, special sushi rice, sea weed, and ingredients to make their own rolls. Because Mr. Nagashima was so skillful that it looked so easy but the reality was…Anyway, everyone finally suc­ ceeded in making their sushi rolls and enjoyed Mr. Naga­ shima’s roll as well. They all tasted great. Students also challenged to cut their rolls into small pieces (Again Mr. Naga­ shima showed us his brilliant skills of using cooking knife). Some stu­

dents even decided to cook their special rolls at home for whole family! Thank you very much Mr. Nagashima for this great fun opportunity to know traditional Japanese food culture. I also appreciate all the students for their courteous manners and enthusiasm which Mr. Nagashima was really impressed and appreci­ ated.

Muirfield Matters

YEAR 8 SUSHI MAKING Week 4 Term 4 2007, Page 6

CAPA Parent Committee This group is for parents of students involved in any aspect of Muirfield’s

Creative and Performing Arts programs including the Concert Band,

Guitar tuition, Rock Band, Rock Eisteddfod, Dance, Drama and Vocal ensembles. The purpose is to give

parents the opportunity to play a role in advising on the future direction of the extra­curricular CAPA program. We welcome you to our next meeting in the Staff Common Room at 7.00pm on Tuesday 27 November. Any questions about this committee, please contact Ms Sui­Linn White, Head Teacher Creative and Performing Arts.

LOST PROPERTY It is important that students label items of clothing worn to school. There are currently many school jackets, shirts, shoes in the lost property room at school and all of these are unlabelled.

All items clearly labeled will be returned to students.

This is especially important for students going lifesaving this term.

PERSONAL PROPERTY A note on Ipods, MP3 players, mobiles, electronic games….

It is not recommended that students bring any electronic devices to school as they may be lost or inadvertently damaged. The school cannot accept responsibility for the personal property of students.

Murray Farm Fundraiser Murray Farm Public School invites you, your child, your family, business or organisation

to become a permanent part of our school’s history. If you decide to take advantage of our offer your paver will

become a part of a pathway, which will provide an enduring link between the past,

present and future that includes the essential partnership that makes our school

what it is ­ students, parents, school and community.

Call the school on 9871 5952

Term 4

Year 10 Reports to Head Teachers 12 th November Week 5B Year 10 Grades due to Careers Adv 14 th November Week 5B Year 10 N awards due 20 th November Week 6A Year 10 Reports to Year Advisor 19 th November Week 6A Presentation Night Lists returned to Principal 21 st November Week 6A

Year 7­9 Reports to Head Teacher 21 st November Week 6A Year 10 Reports to Principal 26 th November Week 7B Year 7­9 Reports to Year Advisors 27 th November Week 7B Year 7­9 Reports to Principal 3 rd December Week 8A Presentation Evening 13 th December Week 9B

Year 10 Graduation Ceremony 14 th December Week 9B Formal Merit Assembly 14 th December Week 9B Year 12 HSC marks available 19 th December Week 10A Year 12 Breakfast 21 st December Week 10A

Year 10 School Certificate 12 th ­16 th November Week 5B

Year 10 Grades due to B of St 21 st November Week 6A

Year 10 Reports issued 14 th December Week 9B Year 7­9 Reports issued 14 th December Week 9B