KANAHOOKA

HIGH SCHOOL Proud member of Dapto Learning Community and Curriculum Network Illawarra

ISSUE No. 7 Newsletter 25 May 2018

Robert Street, Dapto 2530 Telephone: 4261 4011

Term 2 is shaping as a critical time to maximise success for our students as they move through the 2018 school year. It is an interesting thought that every student in our school will sit formal examinations this term. Consider the following schedule:

Years 7 and 9 have just completed NAPLAN in Week 3 Years 7 to 11 will undergo Semester One examinations in Week 5 Year 12 are preparing for the Trial exams in Week 10

At this point I would like to draw your attention to the opening sentence in this article. I wonder, what do you think we mean when we use the phrase “maximise success for our students”?

I ask you this because it is highly important that as a school community, we develop a common understanding of what we are striving toward and we must communicate this to our students, your children. We must regularly remind them of what is truly important.

So parents and carers, please remind your children that we are striving for improvement. But not just improved “marks”. Marks finish at school. We are concerned with improving what will continue after school as well. That is, we are striving to help students to improve at knowing what to do when they are faced with a challenge they have never been in before.

An examination is a challenge. Questions they have not exactly seen before. Students will improve (along with those “marks”) when they get better at the SKILL of responding to the examination challenge.

So to maximise the success that every child at Kanahooka deserves to experience, it is vital that we guide students to focus on the process of learning. I look forward to seeing the improvements that are sure to come as we work together on this throughout the year. Mr S Bird Deputy Principal

So, as we are doing at school, you may like to help your children focus on these questions:

What is the content that I need to learn? Can I list the specific details of that content? No? Then practise that first! Can I elaborate on the content by using it in a sentence? No? Then have a go! When a question asks me to “describe”, “explain”, “assess” or “evaluate”, do I know what to do? No? Ask your teacher for verb definitions then practise applying the verbs to random content at home!

For example, “Describe your pet dog” (provide details of what he/she looks like, smells like, sounds like).

In 8K Science, Karla C, Madeleine S and Cerise M using an experiment to learn the details of weathering

BIGGEST MORNING TEA

Cancer Council

Kanahooka High School Biggest Morning Tea

Kanahooka High School once again held their annual Cancer Council Biggest Morning Tea on Tuesday 22 May. The non-teaching staff put on an array of delicious foods with other goodies from some of the teaching staff. The sun shone and the wind dropped and everyone had a lovely time filling their bellies, chatting and announcing prize winners for various competitions. We are very proud to announce that in total we raised the sum of $642.90, which has been forwarded to the Cancer Council. This is a very worthwhile cause that the staff at Kanahooka High School have always been very keen to support each year.

BIGGEST MORNING TEA

The Year 12 Hospitality students also held their weekly Kana Kafe and ran their Milkshake Tueday shop and very kindly donated the proceeds to our morning tea to the tune of $66. Thanks must also go to their teacher, Ms Coogan, for her support.

ENGLISH

On 26 June, young adult author, Sue Whiting will be visiting KHS to run some wonderful creative writing workshops for interested students in all year groups.

Three workshops will be available, but places will be limited to fifteen (15) students per workshop only! Book in with Ms Etheridge in the Library. There will be more information in the coming weeks for students to sign up for this wonderful opportunity brought to you by The Children's Book Council of Australia. http://suewhiting.com/

Sue Whiting lives and works in a small coastal village south of Sydney. She has written numerous books in a variety of genres: fiction and nonfiction, picture books through to YA, including the best-selling The Firefighters, and the award-winning A Swim in the Sea.

Her latest book Platypus was a CBCA 2016 Notable Book and her new middle grade novel, Missing, was released in March 2018. Sue was Publishing Manager and Senior Commissioning Editor at Walker Books Australia for ten years, before leaving in 2016 to concentrate on her writing and to work from her home as a freelance editor, writing coach and mentor. A former Primary School teacher with a special interest in literacy education and children’s literature, Sue is a highly experienced speaker who loves sharing her passion for story and storytelling, reading and writing with people of all ages.

We look forward to her visit.

Ms M Etheridge Head Teacher English

MATHEMATICS

Once a fortnight, Year 12 students doing the Mathematics course have begun to work on past HSC

papers using the CLOWD room. They are working collaboratively to analyse the terminology used in the

questions and to identify the required skills to form their solutions. Once a question is complete the whole

group looks at the marking guidelines provided by NESA to see where marks are awarded within the

question. This teaching strategy aims to highlight the links between the topics covered in class, and

attempts to develop a deeper understanding of HSC questions.

Students in 9W use the Studyladder site each fortnight to reinforce the previous skills covered in class. Some students like receiving the bronze, silver and gold certificates awarded for their scores in completing the set tasks. The site covers a range of courses and students can access this at home by either using their mathematics login or setting up their own free account at home. https://www.studyladder.com.au/

MATHEMATICS

Students in 10S have been developing skills to write a summary or a mind map for each topic. They are

allowed to use these in their class assessments at the end of each topic. The summaries will also be

useful with their studies for examinations and to refer back to in their senior years. Liam’s mind map

below shows an excellent understanding of this teaching strategy.

Cameron L, Mitchell J and Maverick W are completing a task involving area. They were engaged to the

point that Mitchell, who had an early leave pass, rang his mum and said he will be another 5 minutes so

he could complete the task.

Mrs A Hood

Mathematics

MATHEMATICS

This week in Mathematics, Year 8 are preparing for their Semester One Examinations. 8MATA are revising their unit on Financial Mathematics in the CLOWD room. A collaborative learning environment can develop higher-level thinking skills and increase student engagement. Working in teams can build self-esteem, develop communication skills and increase student satisfaction with learning.

All the very best to all our students for their Semester One Examinations during Week 5. Good luck! Mrs K Sammut Mathematics Year 12 General Mathematics 2 have been busy working through the course. As they move towards the final stretch of their HSC, they have been studying Trigonometry, and the wonderful applications that it can be used for. The students have also begun completing Individual Learning Plans to assist with ways they can improve in their subjects. Some of the suggestions given to this year’s cohort include setting time aside each week for regular revision and sticking to it, creating topic summaries and mind maps and practising past HSC papers in mock exam conditions to work on time management. All these strategies have proven effective in maximising results.

Mr A Walton

Mathematics

MATHEMATICS

Year 9 working collaboratively on their kick start to a unit on Surface Area and Volume. What are the

dimensions of a square, circle, triangle and a rectangle that share the same area? Where should I

start? What do I need to know? What do I know? And let’s get started. There are lots of possibilities

to enter a problem when you are writing some of the details.

Some chat, some draw, others ponder, all engaged. Then surface area and volume of our bags.

MATHEMATICS

A Year 10 regular at the whiteboard is Mitchell Y who is a legend when working through his Ratios and

Rates work. The use of a table to store their information, and finding the key to solve for what is being

asked, is fun to work out for the whole class, including the likes of Zachary M and Brock T who also enjoy

working it out at the board.

Keep up with the great work!

Mr D Ursino

Mathematics

MATHEMATICS

We are fast approaching the middle of Term 2 - the year is flying by! The students should be in the process of preparing for their Semester One Examinations. To assist them with their revision it would be useful if you could support them in identifying any areas they feel they have struggled with or need to revise.

In Mathematics, particularly, it is important that students practise all different types of questions making sure they show all their working out. A good place to start is the work they have completed in class. Attempting to do a variety of questions and making sure they understand the processes involved is a great way to begin. All our Mathematics teachers are more than willing to help any student who is struggling.

The After School Tutorial Centre on Tuesdays and Wednesdays is also a good place to get extra help. Please make sure you child comes to their examinations with the proper equipment. This includes a calculator, pen, pencil, eraser, ruler, and in some instances, a geometry set. We wish all students the best in their examinations and hope their results accurately reflect their ability and effort!

Mrs A Heffernan

Mathematics

MATHEMATICS

Immunisation Catch Up Illawarra Health is conducting a catch up visit to immunise Year 7 students who missed out last term. The immunisations will take place on 5 June 2018. Only Year 7 students who missed out will receive information notes and consent forms. These will be given out in Roll Call from 24 May and must be returned by 1 June to Mr Crighton in Roll Call. If your child has already received their vaccination can you please contact NSW Health on 1300 066 055. For information regarding this day please contact Mr Glasgow on 4261 4011.

EXAMS, EXAMS and oh no, more EXAMS!! Week 5 is a HUGE week for our Kanahooka High students in Years 7 through to Year 11. Yes, it’s examination week. Students and staff are in throws of preparation and I wish all students success! Last week, Years 7 and 9 did 3 days of NAPLAN testing. It was very pleasing to see students trying their very best and results will be out later in Term 3.

Meanwhile, Year 12 are on the countdown for their HSC Trial examinations at the end of this term and are

fully engaged in their learning.

Mrs K Lowis

Head Teacher Mathematics

SPORT

Rugby League Gala Day

On Tuesday 22 May, students in Under 14’s and

Under 16’s participated in a Rugby League Gala

Day at Sid Parrish Park. The Under 16’s team

got off to a good start, beating Figtree High

School 6-4 with Jycen I scoring our only try. They

then went down to the winning team, Warilla

High School, in their second game.

Seniors played two really good games, but were

unfortunate with the way the draw worked out

and didn’t make it to the semi-final.

The Under 14’s lost their first game to Corrimal

High School who made it through to the

semi-final. In their second game they won

against Keira High School, with Tylar J and

Zach D scoring some very good tries.

It was a really good day overall and awesome to

see all the boys competing at a high level.

TECHNOLOGY

School website The School website (http://www.kanahooka-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/) will be undergoing some changes in the near future which is run by the Department’s School Website Service (SWS). This dynamic new platform will offer more flexibility and customisation so schools can personalise the ‘look and feel’ of their websites to suit the local needs of their school communities. Staff are going to be sent for face to face training by the School Website Service so that once the new page is implemented it can be managed and modified to meet with what the School and local community need, with more information available online for parents/carers, students and community.

E-Waste Within the next 3 weeks we will have a list of what has been recovered from our E-Waste drive by Sims Metal Management. After a conversation with the local co-ordinator, it looks like E-Waste bins in schools may start to be seen in many other NSW State Schools. Mr B Harding Technology

The Noticeboard

Guess who competition Newsletter Issue 7 Each newsletter issue there will be an ongoing competition that has a picture of a staff member as a child. Let’s see how clever you are! There is a box at the office where students can place their answer. The first correct answer drawn each fortnight wins a $5.00 Canteen Voucher. Staff are also encouraged to try and guess just for the fun.

Issue 6 Answer: Mrs Ursino in HSIE Congratulations to Makalah W who was the first correct answer drawn. Please collect your voucher from the front office.

Who is this?

Library News

You may have noticed a new face in the Library

recently?

KHS welcomes Miss Lisa Grech for a few weeks.

Miss Grech is our Library Assistant while

Ms Lynch is on leave.

Miss Grech is also an animal foster carer and

does a lot of volunteer work for the community.

Please feel free to ask Miss Grech for any

assistance while in the Library.

We do hope she enjoys her time with us.

YEAR 7 ENROLMENTS FOR 2019

All enrolment forms for Year 7 2019 are required to be submitted ASAP.

Please bring in Birth Certificate, Immunisation Record and proof of residential address. We can copy these for you.

Any enquiries please contact Vera Rupa on 4261 4011.

The Noticeboard

School Photo Day is Wednesday 13 June 2018

Envelopes will be distributed on 1 June with payment due on the day of the photos being taken, 13 June.

The Noticeboard

The Noticeboard

February 13

The Noticeboard

The Noticeboard

Breakfast club is open every Tuesday

All students welcome! Open: 7:30-8:30am

Location: Room 301

SPORT AND BREAKFAST CLUB

Sport and Breakfast Club is available for all students and staff of Kanahooka High

School, every Tuesday morning.

It starts at 7am with sport then followed up with a healthy breakfast

right through to 8.30am.

All are welcome, come along and have some fun. Hope to see you there.

DO YOU HAVE ANY UNUSED KANAHOOKA HIGH SCHOOL

UNIFORMS AT HOME?

Please send them in to the office for our clothing pool.

All donations are greatly

appreciated.

c

Have you learnt a new word and want to share it, well here is the place:

This issues word is: Loquacious

Tending to talk a great deal. Talkative

The teacher did admit he had a tendency to be loquacious regarding the subjects he was passionate about.

UPCOMING EVENTS 30 May to 2 June (Thursday to Saturday) Dance Festival Performances 06 June (Wednesday) P&C Meeting at 6.30 pm 11 June (Monday) Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday 13 June (Wednesday) School Photo Day 19 June (Tuesday) School Photo (Catch up Day) Athletics Zone Carnival

CANTEEN UNIFORM PRICES

Blouse (White with emblem) $20.00

Cardigan (Black with emblem) $40.00

Tailored Long Pants (Black) $33.00

Tailored Shorts (Black) $31.00

Skirt $28.00

Tunic $55.00

Polo Shirts (with emblem) $20.00

Jumper $22.00

Sports Shirt $32.00

Jacket (Black) $45.00

Long Pants (Black) $30.00

Shorts (Black) $22.00

Sport Shorts $22.00

Stockings $5.00

Uniform sales are available from the Canteen between:

7.30am and 2.00pm excluding

Recess 10.40am - 11.05am and Lunch 1.05pm - 1.30pm on Tues, Wed and Fri only.