SEFTON NEWS

Term 3 2018

Sincerity , Scholarship, Service

Welcome to the first

electronic edition of

the Sefton News. The

featured picture (right) was created by

one of our Photography Club students,

Humayra Autoshi.

By Humayra Autoshi Year 10

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Since I began students, staff, and colleagues have all been asking me,

how are you finding Sefton High School and my new role? I find

myself waxing lyrically about this fantastic school but one word keeps

appearing in my answer. Busy. Sefton High School is an incredibly

busy place. As I prepare this report I have been reflecting on the huge

number of events that crowd our calendar and make this school such

a stimulating environment for students and staff alike.

A number of whole school events such as SEMPH, Jeans for Genes

Day, Pretty in Pink Day and House Games have been enjoyed and

celebrated across the school. Additionally, students and staff have

partnered to compete in a range of knockout sports, debates,

Tournament of the Minds, Aurecon Bridge Building Competition, a

superb merit assembly and at the end of Term 2 the most wonderful

talent quest.

TH I S I S S U E

I N CL U DE S

Principal's Message

Australian Mathematics

Competition 2018

Aurecon Bridge Competition

Photography Club

Premier’s Debating Challenge

Years 7 & 8

Premier’s Debating Challenge

State Finals Years 11 & 12

Year 12 Debating Semi Finals

NSW Legacy Junior Public

Speaking Award

NSW Volleyball School Cup

Open Girls Netball Knockout

Competition

Tournament of Minds

Phyllis Wong Show comes to

Sefton

Book Club: Children’s Book

Shop Excursion

From the Sports Desk

Carnivals

Visual Arts

Year 11 RSPCA Fundraiser

Years 7 & 10 Drama Excursion

Year 10 Macbeth Incursion

Studying for Exams

Visual Arts News

Thank you to the 2018 Prefects

Message from the Prefects

Any wonder that every day I have to pinch myself just to be certain that my reality of leading Sefton

High School is not just a dream. Any wonder so many people seek enrolment in this fine school.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Around the physical environment of the school, I am aware of the heat issue that affects teaching and

learning in the top of A and E blocks particularly. It was the first thing students wanted to talk with

me about. There are infrastructure design issues which to my untrained eye are clearly an issue. I am

trying to work with Department officers to see if a long term solution can be found. Please note that

at this stage air conditioning is not an option due to limitations of the grid supply. I will continue to

try to get a lasting solution but it will require, in my view, a large infrastructure upgrade and as such

there are layers and channels I have to work through to try to bring this about. Several trees have also

been identified as an issue and will need removing. It is never desirable to lose magnificent native

plants but three gum trees are clearly in bad health and two others are unfortunately interfering with

sporting facilities and are a potential hazard. I am working closely with Department officers to ensure

safe and minimal removal.

YEAR 12

The end of Term 3 marks the conclusion of almost thirteen years of formal schooling for Year 12.

Amidst the pressure and expectations that drives so many of our dedicated and purposeful students

to push themselves to levels they have previously not experienced, lies the opportunity to graduate

and achieve an outstanding HSC result. I have challenged Year 12 as to whether they are contenders

or pretenders. The point I seek to make with Year 12 is that it is their personal best that they should

be aiming for. Personal best is not an ATAR. Personal best is a process of self-awareness in which

students accept the challenge that they signed up for. They all voluntarily have chosen to undertake

the HSC. Yes the HSC comprises tests or examinations. However, it is much more than these written

events. It is also a test or an examination of character and as a school we will stimulate, challenge,

berate, champion, encourage, cajole and do all we can to ensure each student is accepting of this

challenge and working towards the achievement of their own personal best. Over the remaining weeks

it is essential that students slowly increase their daily study load with a clear line of sight between the

syllabus and past HSC papers. It is vital that students build to this finale. In the same way athletes

practice specific training under the direction of their coaches, so Year 12 need to now be focussed on

HSC exam style questions and literally drowning their coaches - their academic partners in this

journey - our superb staff in a sea of marking.

Beyond the focus on exams is the mixed emotions of spending these final few days with friends before

the common denominator that binds students together is removed from them. I very much look

forward to celebrating this time with Year 12 at their graduation concert and assembly and of course

later in the year at the formal. These are in my experience wonderful occasions and I strongly urge

all students and parents to not only be present but to embrace these as milestone events in your

children’s lives.

NEW MEDIA PLATFORMS

I am pleased to advise that due to the vision and energy of staff, the first official Sefton High School

Facebook page is now a reality. This platform will increasingly be used to communicate the events

of the school as well as the achievements of students and staff. There are so many students and staff

doing so many wonderful things we wanted to embrace a commonly used medium to showcase them.

This will mean that a lot more photos and articles are being reported and of course published. Also,

it is envisaged that by the end of the year we will have a new website up and running which will be

far more visual and user friendly. It is part of the next generation Department of Education platform

and it will allow for automatic translation into all language groups of families of our community.

These newer mediums will mean a lot more photos and even videos of students in action will be

published. If you do not want your student included in photos or to have their name published as part

of these events please contact our office.

If you are reading this edition of the Sefton News it must mean that you have either accessed this via

our website, or via email or via Facebook. We are asking for all families to contact us and supply an

email address as the Sefton News is no longer being printed and posted. It is also anticipated that we

will link other information for parents via email so as to ensure timeliness of messages as well as

safeguarding against mail that at times disappears from letterboxes.

There have been several issues that have come to my attention and with which I seek parent assistance.

TRAVEL As noted in the Term 2 Sefton News, if you are seeking extended leave for travel

purposes please note that there are now very strict conditions and expectations placed on parents

in terms of explanations and verification. If you seek such leave it can only be granted when all

conditions are met. I cannot prevent parents from taking students out of school for a period but

unless all requirements are attended to I cannot record such absences as leave. Forms are available

from the office and your child can seek clarification on these requirements by coming to see me.

ENROLMENT If you are seeking enrolment into Sefton High School as an in area resident there

are significant expectations in terms of documentation that must in every instance be met. This

school is unique in that it is an academically selective school that also takes from a small local

area. It is my responsibility to verify the bona fides of those claiming local resident status so as

to ensure I can staff and accommodate students and ensure that those that are genuine, bona fide

residents get their place. Sadly there have been instances in the past of people claiming to be in

area who in fact have not been and as such we have to have an exhaustive verification process in

place. This process does not exist to keep local area residents out. Rather it exists to ensure that

genuine, bona fide local area residents do in fact obtain a place should they seek it. If you are

seeking enrolment, it is essential that all elements of the enrolment requirements be met. Please

note, there are only of handful of places each year for out of area applicants who are seeking

placement in the community stream. Our superb office staff can guide you through these

requirements.

STUDENT LATENESS Student lateness to school is an issue at Sefton High School. In order to

maximise learning time, students commence Period 1 immediately the 8.45am bell rings.

However there are a small number of students who are habitually late and seem to think nothing

of it. Worse, the most frequent late arrivals are the students who live the closest, who in most

instances simply sleep in. I am yet to see a plane come back down the runway to pick up late

passengers. I am yet to see a movie rewound back to the beginning so as to accommodate late

arrivals. I do not know any employer who tolerates habitual lateness. In all areas of life lateness

comes with a consequence. I am advising that the executive will be evaluating our current

practices in this regard because presently it is, in my view, not teaching students that punctuality

matters. From 2019, there will be consequences in the form of detentions for lateness. If you are

late at work, you are expected to make up the time. If you are late to Sefton HS, you will be

expected to make up the time.

BEHAVIOUR CODE FOR STUDENTS In recent weeks there has been a number of

suspensions in respect of a very small number of students breaking the Department of Education’s

Behaviour Code for Students. If a student persists in defying staff, disrupting the learning

environment of others, being aggressive in their conduct towards others (and this can include the

use of social media out of school) then suspension is a most likely outcome. Sefton HS through

the executive staff has excellent processes in place that inform parents and invite parents into the

school to address any concerns before getting to this point. These letters and invitations to

interview are for the purposes of alerting parents to a problem and giving parents the opportunity

to work with the school to modify the behaviours. We will not shy away from suspending

students, repeatedly if necessary, if such behaviours continue. We are a learning institution with

an envious image and record of success. Neither I, nor my executive, will tolerate behaviours

which reduce this image and record.

NAPLAN

At the time of writing, NAPLAN results for Years 7 and 9 are soon to be released to schools. These

diagnostic assessments of students’ literacy and numeracy progress have been subject to a significant

amount of negative press in recent weeks. Be assured that as a school we will examine students’

performance in these assessments against their intention – as a tool to inform teaching and gaining

greater understanding of students’ strengths and areas for improvement. More information will be

supplied as it comes to us.

STAFF CHANGES

Finally, it is with great sadness that I announce that our outstanding Head Teacher of Mathematics,

Ms Kathryn Murray will be finishing up her time here at Sefton High School at the end of Term 3.

Kathy is a superb classroom practitioner and so many students have excelled under her expertise over

many years. As leader of a key faculty, Kathy provides clear educational leadership to staff and has

led her staff to assist students in producing exceptional HSC results in our elite academic students,

ensuring strategies are in place to support students through HSC minimum standard testing as well as

working tirelessly to make Mathematics relevant, engaging and exciting for all students. Kathy is a

highly valued and respected member of our school executive team. It is not an understatement to say

that she will be sorely missed. For Kathy though, it is time to seek a new challenge which she will

certainly find in a fully academic selective school that is much closer to home for her. On behalf of

staff and students we thank Kathy for her outstanding service at Sefton High School.

Mr K Humphreys

Principal

AUSTRALIAN MATHEMATICS COMPETITION 2018

Several hundred thousand primary and secondary students sat the annual Australian Mathematics

Competition this year. More than 90% of secondary schools in Australia take part and 128 students

from Sefton High School entered the competition this year and have been awarded with

3 High Distinction

31 Distinctions

68 Credits

24 Proficiency Awards and

2 Participation Certificates.

The Best in School Award is given to the student with the highest score. This year, the Best in School

is Jasmine Khuu of Year 9.

Students in the top 3% of Year 7-10 candidates and top 5% of Year 11-12 candidates from their year

group receive a Certificate of High Distinction. The students who achieved this award are

Jasmine Khuu Year 9

Jennifer Tran Year 10

Elle Lien Year 10

Students in the top 20% of Year 7-10 candidates and top 25% of Year 11-12 candidates from each

year group receive a Certificate of Distinction. The students who achieved this award are

Year 7

Joshua Huyen Ba Bui, Sharon Chea, Natalie Christin Lam

Year 8

Chanel Han-Sol Cho, Jason Long Dinh, Ethan Duong

Year 9

Caitlin Dang, Nathan Do, Luke Huyen, Henry Hung Lam, J M, Natalie Tran Kim Ngo-Ton, Alan

Nguyen, Brayden Nguyen, Kevin Hoang Nguyen, Alexander Nak Paou, Martin Son Nhan Tran, Niki

Vuong, Tommy Yeung

Year 10

Sarah Chea, Tahmidul Raiq Islam, Eric William Lam, Jason Leang, Joshua Tung Thien Luu, Michael

Trinh, Vincent Tseng, Richard Weiming Wang

Year 11

Brian Ang, Nancy Lam, Kerry Xi Tao Liu, Peter Quoc-Tuan Le Tran

The next 35% of candidates from each year group receive Credit Certificates. The students who

achieved this award are

Year 7

Justine Bui, Kendra Dang, Usman Taha Khan, Andrew Lay, Lucinda Chartchanok Ngo, Emily Casey

Nhan, Jayden Quach, Aaron Tran, Bao Nhu Monica Tran, Alexander Wei Zhi Wang

Year 8

Kylie Huynh, Katrina Qian Ying Meng, Brian Nguyen, Dilpreet Singh Phagura, Chelsea Pham,

William Phan, Linda Ta, Nhi Natalie Tuyet Vo, Darren Thomas Wong, Andy Wu

Year 9

Shebani Bhattarai, Bao Ngoc Joanne Bui, Wilson Viet-Hung Chu, Tina Phuong Uyen Dang, Angel

Dong, Raymond Guo, Tracey-Thanh Ha, Alina Giai Nhi Huynh, Norman Khou, Leanne Mai Han Le,

Ting Jun Liang, Jason Loi, Annabella Quynh Luu, Johnathan Meng, Anna Nguyen, Elizabeth

Thanhtruc Nguyen, K N, Katherine Nguyen, Tina Phan, Kevin Tran, Sunni Vuong

Year 10

Isha Rani Baldeo, Sheela Bhattarai, Bich Thuy Tien Do, Colin Kien Thanh Doai, Andy Tran Le, Anh

Nghia Le, Nathan Nam Nguyen, James Phan, Zaid Shadid, Emma Trinh, Debbie Vuong, Vanessa

Yip

Year 11

Johnson Giang, Michelle Guo, Shao Jin, Justin Lang, James Mai, Kaitlyn Jun-Yi Ngo, Carol Nguyen,

Kevin Dan Minh Nguyen, Vinh Xuan Pham, Timothy Tu Khiem Pham Ho, Aayush Rajouria, Joshua

Tran, Bud Phu Loc Truong, Lewis Truong, Takingson Zou

Congratulations to all students who entered and I look forward to your participation next year.

AURECON BRIDGE COMPETITION

The Aurecon Bridge Building Competition is organised by Aurecon Group and requires that Years 8

or 9 students from Australia and New

Zealand build bridges with materials

supplied by Aurecon. Students were

tasked with designing and

constructing a model bridge using

the construction guidelines provided.

Bridges are load tested and assessed

for visual appeal, workmanship,

creativity and functionality.

This year, more than 70 NSW

schools participated in this event and

Sefton High School achieved the All

Rounder Award which is awarded to

the team with the highest combined

store (strength to weight and judges

score).

Year 8 girls Queenie Doan, Jasmin Pham and Stephanie Banh won the All Round Award for Aurecon

Bridge Competition which more than 70 schools participated in. The girls received $100 cheque

individually and the school will receive $1000 cheque.

PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB

Sefton High School’s photography club was lucky enough to attend an excursion at Sydney Wildlife

Zoo in Darling Harbour at the end of Term 2. Students explored macro (close up) photography of

different animals during their visit.

They had a unique experience with a range of diverse animals living in the carefully created tropical

habitat, butterflies flitting through lush ferns and palms to vividly coloured pythons sunning

themselves among the vines and slithering through the thick undergrowth. Don’t forget it wouldn’t

have been a Zoo experience without the fresh water crocodile lazing about in the pool.

Overall, students enjoyed the experience and were able to explore the animals up close. Special thanks

to Mr Siu for helping out during the excursion and ensuring it all ran smoothly.

This term Photography Club continues on every Wednesday afternoon in room F2 with Miss Unwin.

Miss Unwin

Visual Arts Teacher

Sarah Quach, Year 10 Sarah Quach, Year 10

Julie Pham, Year 11 Julie Pham, Year 11

PREMIER’S DEBATING CHALLENGE YEARS 7 AND 8

Our first high school debate - granted that it was held at Sefton, we couldn’t help but feel pressured.

Our weekly workshops after school have led us to this point. We had previously watched our talented

Year 8 debate against Holroyd, coming through successfully. Then came our turn. Our team debated

well and came out with a win with the topic, “We should lower the compulsory voting age for state

and federal elections”, on the negative side.

Soon after, we travelled to Liverpool Girls. After some difficulty with parking and navigating the

huge school we finally settled and chose our topics. “We should ban social media for people under

18”. While us the affirmative team may not be deleting our social media accounts, we came through

again victorious, with the best morning tea and hospitality so far.

A week later, it was the decider. Sefton vs Sefton in an anticipating and intense debate. In the Zone

Finals both teams excelled in their own cases. “We should ban NAPLAN”, and with Mr Humphreys

in the audience, it was quite suspenseful. We both held our breaths as the adjudicator announced the

winner. We give our love and thanks to our Year 8 team, who were formidable opponents and great

supporters. We have learnt so much from watching you.

A great three rounds, and we look forward to doing what we are extremely passionate about in the

near future.

Year 7 Premier’s Debating Team.

STATE FINALS – THE YEAR 11 AND 12 PREMIER’S

DEBATING CHALLENGE

Recently I was provided with the opportunity to represent Sefton High School as the Chairperson of

the State Finals for the Year 11-12 Premier’s Debating Challenge at Sydney University’s great hall.

It was an eye-opening experience for both myself and the other participants from Sefton, who formed

part of the audience. It was very professional and well-organised and there was even a camera crew

recording the debate for the NSW Arts Department website.

Overall, it was an enjoyable and educational experience that inspired everyone who attended to

continue in their debating careers and aspire to the skill levels of the State Champions from Sydney

Boys High School.

Christopher Predic, Year 11

YEAR 12 DEBATING – STATE SEMI-FINALS

In week two of Term 3, Sefton’s Year 12 Premier’s

debating team competed in the State Semi-final debate

against Smiths Hill High School. This was the eighth

debate of the year for Junnade Ali, Vinoli Fonseka, Ellie

Bennetts and Cheryl Su, as we had progressed through the

zone and regional rounds to our biggest challenge yet.

Our debate was held at the Arts Unit in Lewisham and we

argued the affirmative, ‘That the government should pay

compensation to the victims of crimes committed by ex-

felons.’ Although we were eventually beaten by Smiths

Hill in our tightly fought debate, we were extremely

excited by the high level we reached within the competition and the fun we had along the way

Ellie Bennetts – Year 12 Debater

NSW LEGACY JUNIOR PUBLIC SPEAKING AWARD

At the beginning of Term 3, junior students from Sefton High School were invited to speak about

issues within their community, society or world that were significant to them in order to qualify for

the NSW Legacy Junior Public Speaking Competition.

Starting with in school competitions, hopeful candidates were whittled down to the Public Speaking

team: Arwen Parkinson and Janet Diba. After many lunch time meetings and countless edits and

rewrites of their prepared speeches, alongside impassioned and intellectual conversations about

impromptu topics, our public speaking team boldly went forth to compete against other schools.

Venturing forth into Regional Semi-Finals held at Hurlstone High School, both Sefton students

emerged victorious, gaining two of only three coveted spots in the Regional Grand Finals.

Moving into the Regional Grand Finals, held at The Arts Unit, Janet and Arwen impressed

adjudicators, who praised their passion, rhetorical prowess and convincing delivery.

We wish Janet luck as she proceeds into her preparation for the State Semi Finals to be held at NSW

Parliament House. Ms. Tran

NSW VOLLEYBALL SCHOOL CUP

On 22 June, Sefton High School participated in the SVNSW Schools Cup at Netball Central. A total

of three teams participated on the day, competing against some strong contenders in the Under 17

Boys, Under 17 Girls and the Open Boys Division in Volleyball.

The Under 17 Girls team managed by Miss Madrajat began

their competition against Santa Sabina High School, resulting

in a draw of 1-1. Unfortunately, despite their tremendous

efforts, the girls were defeated by Sydney Girls High School

ranking 3rd in their overall competition.

The Under 17 Boys team directed by Miss Chon also ranked

3rd place in their overall competition. The team was victorious

against Wycliffe High School, regrettably Tempe and

Plumpton High School proved to be quite challenging,

resulting in a loss of 2-0 sets in both games. Better luck next

time.

The Open Boys Volleyball team, also managed

by Miss Chon, faced some fierce competition

on the day. The boys dominated against

Cherrybrook Tech, IGS, Mitchell High School,

winning 2-0 sets. Unfortunately, due to time

constraints the boys were unable to complete

their second set against Ryde Secondary

College merely missing first place by 4 points.

The boys were tough competitors and

should be pleased with their

performance, ranking them 2nd place in

their overall competition.

All three teams displayed excellent

sportsmanship on the day and have

made a fantastic achievement in their

respective competitions. Well done to

all three of our volleyball teams and

better luck next time!

Miss Chon, Social Sciences

OPEN GIRLS NETBALL KNOCKOUT COMPETITION

Sefton’s Open Girls Netball Knockout team competed in the South West Sydney Open Girls

Knockout Competition during Term 2 at Endeavour Park, Fairfield. Our girls played hard and

showed commitment, grit and determination throughout the day, finishing 4th in our pool. I am very

proud of the girls for their sportsmanship and great team spirit.

Ms J Harris

Coach

Tournament of Minds

Three teams from Sefton High School participated in Tournament of Minds, a competition where

students have to work in teams to complete a 6 week challenge as well as an unseen challenge on

the day. Our students showed great teamwork, creativity and perseverance, representing the school

with pride. One team wrote and performed a 10-minute musical on the topic of freedom (Arts

challenge). Another team tackled the Social Science challenge by reflecting on the internal fences

that technology and self-doubt create in teenagers. Finally our STEM team impressed the judges

with their model and video of their created animal – a cannibalistic turtle found in rivers of lava. A

phenomenal effort from all our teams and a special congratulations to the Social Science team who

were awarded Honours in their challenge area.

Ms Law and Mr Deo

THE PHYLLIS WONG SHOW COMES TO SEFTON

On 20 June, the members of book club attended a private viewing of a magic show put on by the

author of the Phyllis Wong series, Geoffrey McSkimming, also the author of the Cairo Jim

Chronicles, and magician Sue-Anne Webster. The second viewing that day was attended by all of

Year 7. The series follows a clever and resourceful young magician, Phyllis Wong, as she, alongside

her best friend Clement and dog Daisy, solve numerous crimes and mysteries.

The show encapsulates the exact atmosphere of the series: quirky, fun and magical, and every student

enjoyed and marvelled at the various magic

tricks presented from refilling an empty,

crushed soda can to levitating a table.

I have read some of the novels in the series

when I was younger and adored the quick-

witted protagonist Phyllis, and all the

intriguing mysteries waiting to be unfolded,

so seeing the magic come to life on stage and

meeting the brains behind this fantastic series

was an incredible experience.

Daphne Ly

Feedback from Geoffrey McSkimming and Sue-Anne Webster about the students from Sefton

High School and their response to the show.

On Wednesday 20 June, Sue-Anne Webster and I presented two shows at Sefton High School in

western Sydney. The kids were amazing: totally appreciative and (sometimes astonishingly)

enthusiastic. Afterwards we

both spent wonderful time with

students who were into magic

in a big way (one girl in Year 10

was “totally on the page” with

Sue-Anne the whole way, and

Sue-Anne advised and shared

with her some of the best tips

about performance and the art

of stage magic and illusions)

and into stories in a big way

(three wonderful Year 10 girls in particular, who love Dorothy Sayers’s Lord Peter Wimsey stories!).

One girl who is a great fan of the Phyllis Wong Mysteries was called up on stage where Sue-Anne

performed a special card trick just for her and this girl was almost beside herself when her card was

chosen from the pack. (This is one for the first tricks Phyllis Wong performs in the stories, so it had

a special meaning for this wonderful reader). We had a great time at Sefton High School and all the

students and staff made us feel very welcome. Thank you all.

Geoffrey McSkimming

BOOK CLUB: CHILDREN’S BOOK SHOP EXCURSION

Members of the Sefton Book Club Years 7-11 attended a “wonderful bookstore with a charismatic

owner for whom sharing his love of books comes naturally”. Here “an indescribable aura of a book-

loving community resides, other than our own Sefton library of course.” Zayyah HasnieYear 11

“The bus trip was no problem except I suppose Year 7 were a bit rowdy but hey! they were

enthusiastic.” (Christina TuYear 11). The

students were spell bound by the layout and

quality of the bookshop and to be greeted

by a ‘free book’ each (Victoria

KuznetsovYear 10). “The ambience of the

bookshop, the music and cosiness”

(Jasmain Wood Year 10). The variety of

books and the shop was bigger than most

places (Lucinda Ngo Year 7) ensured the

students not only stocked up their own

libraries but also selected books for purchase for Sefton High School library.

Paul Rogers, the bookshop owner, really whetted the students’ interests in books with his

presentation “What’s Hot”.

The children’s author, Christopher Richardson, spoke to the students about a popular genre “social

realism”. Introducing and tempting students to delve into this genre by speaking about his own

books. During the lunch break the author signed books and spoke at length go each student. “He

was really nice and friendly”

(Mary Lee Year 10). Mr

Richardson related well to

the students giving them

hints and ideas about their

own writing. He “shared

many interesting experiences

(Grace Huynh Year 7) and he

was “kind and the students

loved his humour” (Arkar

Tun Year 7).

The new books are currently being processed and will be ready for a good read by those students

searching for something new and interesting. The Book Club Members are working off their feast

of ‘fish and chips’ with fast paced reading and dreaming of a return to the bookshop.

Ms Repin / Mr Boyko

FROM THE SPORTS DESK

Grade and Recreational sport

The regular season has finished for Grade Sport in Season 2. Many of our teams performed extremely

well in their competitions, and will be competing in the finals series over the coming weeks.

Recreational sport has been continuing around the school, and towards the end of this term, students

will have the opportunity to choose and experience a different sport for Term 4.

Bankstown Zone Athletics Carnival

The Bankstown Zone Athletics Carnival was held at the end of June at the Crest Athletics Field.

Sefton sent a robust team, which was the largest from all the schools in the Bankstown Zone. 76

students attended day 1 and 77 students attended day 2. The following students were Bankstown

age champions.

13s Female Julianne Cinco

14s Male Jaffar Kbaili

15s Female Jennifer Mati

17s Male Abdulrahman Aljabery

Well done to the whole Athletics team.

Sydney South West Regional Athletics Championships

On Tuesday and Wednesday August 7 and 8, Sefton sent over 60 students to the Regional Athletics

Championships. All of Sefton’s students performed to the best of their ability, with Jye Daly of Year

8, Jennifer Mati of Year 10, and James Mai of Year 11, qualifying for the Combined High Schools

Athletics Championships.

Bankstown Zone Cross Country Carnival

Sefton sent 108 participants to the Bankstown Zone Cross

Country Carnival. The arduous running paths of Flinders Slopes

stood in front of our athletes, requiring them to run anywhere from

3-6 kilometres depending on their age. Despite this daunting task,

Sefton won both the male and female titles for yet another year. A

fantastic achievement from our endurance athletes.

We had two successful Bankstown age champions

12 Boys Navid Alizada

18 Girls Chloe Tang

Sydney South West Regional Cross Country Carnival

The Sydney South West Regional Carnival took place on Thursday June 16 at Hurlstone Agricultural

High School and 30 students from Sefton High School represented the Bankstown Zone. Chloe Tang

in Year 12, and Navid Alizada in Year 7, were both successful in progressing to the Combined High

Schools state cross country team. A fantastic achievement.

KNOCKOUT TEAMS

Open Girls Touch Football

Under the tutelage of Miss Wood, our girls touch knockout team did us proud, successfully winning

one game, and finishing third in their pool. Well done ladies.

Open Girls’ Netball

The Open Girls’ Netball team, coached by Ms Harris, competed at the Central Venue at Endeavour

Park Fairfield.

The girls came up against some quality opposition and came out of the tournament finishing third in

their pool. A strong foundation for a young and developing team.

Cricket

Our well drilled and coached cricket team ventured to the Terry Lamb Complex at Chester Hill to

take on the might of Picnic Point in the round 2 fixture of the Davidson Shield. After comprehensively

winning round 1, the boys were unfortunately defeated in a hard fought round 2 match. It is fantastic

to see a strong cricketing culture beginning to develop amongst many of our younger students.

Chess

The Chess team have been competing on Friday afternoons against a variety of public and private

schools from the region, and this competition continues deep into 2018 where we wish all team

members the best of success.

Mr Beggs

Sports Organiser

CARNIVALS

School Cross Country Carnival

The school Cross Country

was again held at The Crest

Athletics Field and the

surrounding fields. It was

held on Thursday 3 May and

all students participated in

the 3km or 4km track.

Congratulations to the

following students who

were Age Champions:

Age Male Female

12 Navid Alizada Emily Nhan

13 Gul Agha Rahimi Kexin Qiao

14 Luke Huyen Victoria Nguyen

15 Nelson Pan Jasmine Huang

16 Ali Agha Rahimi Alice Liang

17 Abdulrahman Aljabery Christy Huang

18 M N Chloe Tang

The final standings for house points were as follows:

Place House Points

1 Thorpe 786

2 Cuthbert 771

3 Bradman 745

4 Court 611

Congratulations to Thorpe House and all of the Age Champions. 2018 saw the first year in a long

time that we timed the winners, so a range of new cross country records have been set for future

years to come by each of the age champions. These students will receive their awards at the

presentation day at the end of the year.

Zone Cross Country Carnival

The Bankstown Zone Cross Country was held at Flinders Slopes, Bass Hill on Monday May 28.

Ninety eight of our students competed, easily the largest team in the Zone. We had some

outstanding runners with 30 participants progressing to Regional Cross Country.

School Athletics Carnival

There was a great level of participation over the one and a half days of the Athletics carnival which

was held at the beginning of Term 2. Congratulations to the following students who were Age

Champions:

Age Male Female

12 Navid Alizada Olive Kagi

13 Jye Daly Julianne Cinco

14 Brian Wu Bao Ngoc Joanne Bui

15 Favour Akuete Jennifer Mati

16 Nicholas Tran AND

Aung San Aung Jessi Ta

17+ Victor Huynh Daena De Luna

The final standings for house points were as follows:

Place House Points

1 Thorpe 1943

2 Bradman 1779

3 Court 1615

4 Cuthbert 1585

Congratulations to Thorpe for taking out both the Athletics and Cross Country Carnivals!

Zone Athletics Carnival

The Bankstown Zone Athletics Carnival was held at the Crest Athletics Fields over two days in early

July.

VISUAL ARTS

Year 9 Elective Visual Arts students have been studying the

topic surrealism this term. Surrealism is an art movement that

endeavoured to mix the reality of life with the subconscious

thoughts in dreams into an art form. Students are currently still

completing their surrealist sculptures based on the human body.

They have drawn inspiration from artists such as Salvador Dali,

Rene Magritte and James Gleeson. Students have created these

sculptures using the medium clay. They have made decisions

about what their sculptures will include such as the size, the

details and of course their conceptual ideas. Students have

planned and are working towards completing their sculptures by

Term 4. This process of planning and developing their sculptures

has further improved their skills in innovative thinking, design

By Emily Bomi Jang

process and critical thinking skills. Keep your eyes peeled for the finished results which will be posted

on Sefton High School’s Facebook page.

Miss Unwin

Visual Arts Teacher

By Jessie

Huynh

By Lara Alhellany

By Jiaen

Lin

By Erin Kim

By Christina Tran

YEAR 11 RSPCA FUNDRAISER

On Wednesday August 29, Year 11 held a bake sale to

help raise money for the RSPCA against animal abuse.

With the help of Mrs Harris and the approval of Mr

Blaker and Mr Humphreys, we gathered our amazing

fundraising crew with over 60 cheerful volunteers

signing up to organise and raise as much as possible for

our little animal friends. We had a variety of treats,

homemade and store bought by students and teachers

to help liven up our sales. It took a lot of planning,

setting up and determination to make it work, but we

did it!

On the day, we commenced with promoting the cause, going from class to class. Along the way, we

collected donations from students and teachers in exchange for some lollies, a doggy sticker or an

animal styled ribbon. This generosity helped to give us

some motivation for our day and helped students and

teachers with either a little sugar boost or by allowing

them to visually show their support with the “designer”

ribbons.

While we were going around we spoke to students

about the importance of this cause: animal abuse is an

extremely serious issue. The RSPCA set up this

fundraiser so that they can continue to rescue as many

animals as possible. When I was registering for the

fundraiser, I received an envelope containing some

posters which showed me how the money raised would be used: $25 helps to provide a homeless

kitten with a warm bed, litter tray, and a meal; $55 will buy antibiotics for a sick dog; $150 will help

desex an abandoned puppy ready for them to find their forever home; $350 will help keep an RSPCA

inspector on the road fighting animal cruelty for another day.

As a community, we raised over $1200! What an achievement.

Being able to see what positive impact you can

make is extremely heart-warming, especially

because animals are what I’m most passionate

about and seeing as we made over $1200, I’d say

we all played a part in all these processes. I want to

thank every single person who bought from the

sale. I especially want to thank Ms Manno, Ms

Itzstein, Mrs Harris, Mrs Iranzad and Ms Roberts

for taking out time to personally bake cakes,

cupcakes and sweets for this event. Also, thanks to

Mr O’Riordan, Ms Frasca, Mrs Rampal, Mrs Sam and the SAS staff for bringing in other goodies,

and anyone else I may have forgotten to acknowledge. We also sincerely thank Padstow Food

Services for donating 2 slab cakes to help boost our sales.

Finally, a massive thank you to the fundraising committee! Thank you all so much for helping to

make this possible. I can’t begin to describe how amazing it felt to see everybody donating, buying

food and most of all, wearing their ribbons. Hopefully this support of the RSPCA can continue -

when we all come together, we truly can make a difference.

Renee Frank, Year 11

YEAR 9 AND 10 DRAMA EXCURSION

By Sheela Bhattarai and Andy Le

The morning of Wednesday 22 August was freezing,

honestly. Despite our hands, ears and nose slowly

getting frostbitten, we were still excited to watch the

play The Long Forgotten Dream.

We left school for the train about 20 minutes prior to its

departure. Though we thought it would take no longer

than 10 minutes, Ms Castino and Ms Jajjo insisted that

we might be late. Of course, there were still 8 minutes

to spare when we got to the station in the cold winter

morning.

About 40 minutes later, the glistening Harbour Bridge burst into view. After taking a few photos at

the station like tourists, we walked to the Royal Botanical Gardens for lunch and took in the stunning

scenery of our city. After lunch we joined other schools at the Opera House to watch the theatrical

production.

The Long Forgotten Dream exemplified the fractured history of our nation, as it focused on an

Aboriginal Australian archaeologist, Simone, bringing the bones of her great-grandfather, King Tulla,

home to Australia from an overseas museum. At the play’s onset, Simone’s father Jerimiah resists

the idea of performing a public ceremony over the bones and he is worried about stirring up painful

memories of his past. The play was breathtakingly beautiful and dealt with notions of family,

authenticity, nationhood and reconciliation.

The production is now imprinted in our memories. It could never be a “long forgotten dream” as

implied by the play’s title.

On behalf of Year 9 and Year 10 Drama, we would like to thank Ms Castino and Ms Jajjo for taking

us to watch this memorable play. We really appreciate your hard work in making this excursion

possible.

YEAR 10 MACBETH INCURSION

By Angela Jihae Choi and Daphne Ly

Year 10 have been studying the unit of learning, “Macbeth: Perceptions of Power”. To further our

understanding of the tragedy, all students attended an incursion by Shakespeare InterACTive on the

28 August 2018. The three performers retold their modern adaptation of the play, which involved a

film festival with two directors competing over whose movie was better.

They performed each scene and had intervals in between, to explain the themes, character’s motives,

intentions and morals. Afterwards, they asked for volunteers who would like to participate in the

workshop. The volunteers learnt about Shakespeare’s famous iambic pentameter and practiced by

reciting a line from Macbeth. They then insulted each other in Shakespearean. It was truly an

incredible and humourous experience.

Finally, before their departure, the performers discussed the differences in status and power between

Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Another group of volunteers performed their interpretation of Lady

Macbeth and Macbeth’s dialogue. The whole production was absolutely phenomenal and all students

most certainly enjoyed this outstanding learning experience. On behalf of Year 10, thank you to our

teachers and Shakespeare InterACTive!

STUDYING FOR EXAMS

Students sometimes ask ‘what is the best way to study?’ The answer, there is no best way. An

important lesson for students to learn is that everyone learns in different ways, everyone has different

approaches and preferences, and what works well for one person may not work well for another.

This truth applies to all aspects of effective learning – time management, research skills, writing skills

and so on. There are certainly good techniques and strategies available in all of these areas, and also

approaches that work well for the majority of students. However, it is essential that all students try

different techniques to see what works best for them.

Preferences could also change over time, so it makes sense to at least once a year stop and reflect on

approaches to learning. What did you do, what worked, what didn’t, what should you change, what

should you keep, and what new things could you try?

This is what ‘metacognition’ is all about. It means taking the time to try and understand more about

the process of learning and your role as a learner. Students who take a metacognitive approach to

their learning are much more likely to improve their results. How can you find out different study

techniques to try?

Talk to the people around you – friends, siblings, parents – ask them what techniques they have used.

Also ask your teachers what they would recommend for their subject. You can also visit the unit on

the Study Skills Handbook that covers how to study for tests and exams. You will find lots of active

studying strategies and grids to help you plan for exams. Just remember – there is a worse way to

study – just reading your notes over and over and hoping the information stays in your head!

Our school’s subscription details to this online study skills website for secondary school students are

www.studyskillshandbook.com.au

User name: seftonhs

Password: 197results

Mr Elley

Head Teacher Teaching and Learning

VISUAL ARTS NEWS Congratulations to our 2018 HSC Visual Arts

students who have successfully completed their HSC

Bodies of Work. The works were well resolved and

demonstrated creativity, and technical

accomplishments across a variety of media. Various

themes and genres in the visual arts were explored and

all Bodies of Work represented a coherent point of

view.

Students demonstrated their application of knowledge

of the Visual Arts, understanding and critical

judgement. These Bodies of Work, produced over the

course of the HSC year provided students with the

opportunity to establish their intentions as artists and

to develop courses of action for their own practice.

The following images show some of the high quality

works that were produced this year.

The Four of Us by Vy Tran Mimi’s Sea Adventure by Maya Sherchan

Self Portrait with the Panorama of my Heart The Supermarket by Gyoun Im

and Mind by Tammy Dang

A Paracosm by J U A Shared Connection by Kim-Ngan Huynh

Kimmy Cow and Friends by Kimberly Ong

In addition, the following students are also to be commended for their achievement in the Visual Arts

this term.

Dennis Chen (Year 11), Serina Lin (Year 10) and Sana Bukhari’s (Year 9) artworks were selected to

be included in the Nagoya Sister City Art Exchange 2018. This Exhibition features outstanding art

works from NSW public schools and is an excellent showcase for Visual Arts Programs in our public

schools. The Nagoya Sister City Art Exchange is held annually and the artworks selected are

exhibited in Nagoya, Japan. The Exhibition is designed to provide an opportunity for students to

participate in international friendship and cultural exchange activities, which in turn promotes the

further development of sister city relationships.

Kobe by Serena Lin (Year 10)

Night Owl by Dennis Chen (Year 11) Sky Whale by Sana Bukhari (Year 9)

Ms Simic

THANK YOU TO THE 2018 PREFECTS

As the 2018 Prefects wrap up their service to the school, I’d like

to thank them on behalf of staff, students and the wider

community for their numerous efforts.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I have

composed thousands of words to commemorate the journey this

group has taken over the

last 12 months.

In their first official role, they went hard to work, designing the banner

for the Class of 2017 Graduation … After 3 intense hours and 15 boxes

of pizza later, the job was done. Ahead of schedule by 30 minutes, they

were ready to conquer the school.

A team, committed to being

taken seriously, they felt like

super heroes after the 2017

Graduation Morning Tea!

And to mark their territory,

they posed in a meme like photo, believing they are invincible.

These Prefects are a serious group… until they are let loose in upper

A block corridor. Here, they were seen to be playing “What’s the

time Mr Wolf” an impromptu AGM activity for “team building”

(so they tell me).

Indeed, after this, they were back at it again, brainstorming big ideas,

as a remarkable team of young leaders who (on this day) chose to

donate all fundraising money to Head Space, Bankstown.

Whatever they did, was done with great enthusiasm, ambitious intentions and

(pseudo) organisation. For this reason, their publicity was always impeccable

and hence we forgave them all else.

Their determination

and drive ensured the

inaugural Student

Leaders’ Camp

actually (which had

been discussed for two years) took place, a legacy

I’m sure future leaders will appreciate. Just look at

the smiles gracing these faces, despite the biting

Canberra cold!

This same

determination

also saw them

launch the

Return and

Earn Initiative.

In under two terms we have raised $150 towards our goal of

building a water well in a country where clean water is a luxury.

In addition, we have stopped 1500 bottles from entering landfill!

And as we head towards the final two events they’ll (help) host for the class of 2018 (the Student-Teacher

Games which commence in Week 8 and Fair Day, which is in Week 10) I am certain this group of enthusiasts

will have big plans and a whole lot of fun!

For this reason I’m sure the Fair Day will be bigger

and better than ever before. Who knows, that large

parachute, which was the highlight of SEMPH,

might make a cameo.

P.S. The highlight of every event was knowing that Mrs

Bennetts’ cupcakes would somehow find the way to our

bellies.

MESSAGE FROM THE PREFECTS

And, to be a little sentimental (okay, maybe really sentimental), here are some of their favourite moments:

Junnade: Posting memes on our Facebook page and knowing that our cohort would always be there to like

them.

Lillian: Coming up with wild ideas for food and activities during fundraisers - for example that phat parachute.

Tammy: The scandalous things Ms Diab told us in our Prefect meetings. (JK). Honestly, our amazing

teamwork and how much closer we’ve gotten over

the year.

Vinoli: Taking all those AESTHETIC group pictures

and noticing that my face was covered in EVERY.

SINGLE. ONE.

Dean: Enjoying that extra 40 minutes of aircon

during meetings in the summer.

Chanwoo: Taking time with the team to adapt to

different situations and making it work-out in the end

every single time.

Christine: Seeing the chaos that ensued for our sausage sizzles, pizza stalls and taco days.

Ellie: Our VERY last minute preparation before events - and of course the crazy busy and super fun events

themselves.

Jason: Skipping a day of classes to do Prefect events - even though I knew I’d have to catch up on work

afterwards. But worth it in the end with how much fun everyone had : )

Jennifer: It is so impossible to narrow all our meetings, event preparations, fundraisers, speeches and photo

shoots down to one favourite memory!! But I will never forget being told that our work has helped challenge

the stigma associated with mental health, or spurred some laughter in the school.

Kaylee: Holding an uncomfortable pose for way too long just to get the perfect photo for our Facebook page.

Kennan: “Trialling” all the foods before we sell them and messing with that giant parachute during SEMPH.

Linda: My favourite memory is certainly working together with the prefect body as a team to bring the school

community together and put smiles on peoples' faces.

Marie-jo: Every single memory from being a Prefect has been awesome. The best thing has been getting closer

to the Prefect Team and the school community. As well as making every teacher sigh when reading my notices.

I'll miss them all.

Reece: Having a picnic- I mean meetings and coming up with revolutionary ideas every Wednesday at lunch.

Prefects of Sefton High School 2018.

On behalf of the school community, I’d like to thank these young future leaders for their crazy ideas,

‘aesthetic’ vision, desire to be “the best Prefect group ever”, new plans and ideas at every single

meeting – with 99% of these never being raised again - and commitment to “service before self” on

every occasion. It has been a pleasure spending every Wednesday lunchtime in A11 with them.

We look forward to hearing about your individual and collective successes in the near and distant

future.

Ms Diab.

SEMPH

On June 28, the Prefect Body held our annual SEMPH Day at

Sefton. SEMPH stands for Social, Emotional, Mental and

Physical Health and the event has been a longstanding tradition

within the school community. By running a wide range of

activities and selling a ton of never-before-sold, limited edition

food, we aimed to inspire awareness about improving these four

central facets of our lives.

This year, our theme was #tbt as we wanted everyone to

look back to when times were simpler in their lives (and

also because SEMPH day was on a Thursday so it just

worked out). We had throwback music pumping,

hopscotch, pizza, that phat parachute from our childhood

days and.... a kindness wall!

Our day also consisted of us going around to

classrooms and spreading word about mental health

whilst also promoting our annual charity,

Headspace. One of the many activities we conducted

to do this was a fitness challenge for physical health.

For every dollar a class donated, their teacher would

have to do that many reps of an exercise of their

choice (i.e. $50 = 50 squats). We’d like to thank all

the teachers who sweated it out for a good cause, and

all the students who supported us with their

enthusiasm, pride and passion. The event would not have been as successful without you!

Marie Jo Orbase, Senior Prefect

B STREET SMART YEAR 11 EXCURSION

“Driving is not a right, it’s a privilege.” - Dr. Ken Harrison, Trauma specialist and anaesthetist at Westmead

Hospital and Care flight Director of Education.

Each time you get behind the wheel, turn the keys in the ignition or even open the door to get into someone

else’s car, you are landed with a responsibility to stay safe on the road. It has to be understood that when this

responsibility is not upheld, and you deliberately act with carelessness while on the street, you are deliberately

putting several people at risk.

On 30 August this year, Sefton High School’s Year 11 travelled to the Qudos Bank Arena to participate in the

annual event “BStreetSmart”. The purpose of the one-day forum (which has served well informing more than

162,000 NSW students over 14 years) is to “reduce the fatality and injury rates of young people by promoting

safe behaviour as drivers, riders, and passengers”.

On the day, we were audience to several car crash demonstrations. The day started off with an acted-out crash

scenario which exposed us to the extreme implications of driving under the influence, distracting the driver

and not wearing a seatbelt. After seeing the graphic aftermath of the crash scene with two bodies sprawled

across the arena floor (only one showing signs of life), a car crushed up against a pole (so badly that it’s bonnet

was indistinguishable from the rest of the car) and the disoriented teenage boy behind the wheel, there was no

question of how much damage a car can create when not used properly. In such cases, a mode of transport is

quickly transformed into a potential weapon. For Christopher P the most confronting thing was the “reaction

of (the driver) to the accident, how guilty he felt and his realisation that he had ruined his life as well as three

other peoples’ in one stupid mistake.” It was heartbreaking to see, especially knowing how easily everything

could have been prevented.

We witnessed the response of all emergency services and saw the harsh realities of their jobs. A crash like this

takes a massive toll not just on the victims but also on those who rescue. Taking pictures of mangled bodies,

scraping brain matter off of poles, calling parents up to say that their child was killed or having to imprison

young people responsible for crashes is something that nobody wants to do and if everyone were to just follow

the rules set in place, it would be something that wouldn’t have to happen. Asked about what he thought was

the general reaction to the excursion, Victor H called it a “confronting image for everyone”, saying that it’s

“not every day [that you are] exposed to the realities of real life tragedies like this”.

Another notable hard blow for many of us was

hearing the testimonies of some road accident

victims. Looking around in the almost completely

silenced arena, you could see students getting

emotional as they listened about the lives that were

turned upside down and the suffering people had

experienced as a result of reckless road behaviour

(that wasn’t always their fault). When asked about

what the most hard-hitting moment for her was,

Mai-Linh D promptly answered that it was Vicki

Richardson’s account that shook her to her core, “I

was very emotional [because] I can’t imagine the

pain and suffering that people go through...it’s so

crazy how much damage it is”. She says that as

Richardson shared the story about the car crash that took away her 17-year-old son’s life, she could see “How

much it affected her and her family...you can really see how much hurt she [feels]. It’s so sad”.

As the new generation, the up and coming drivers on our streets, it is important that we realise the legal and

social responsibility we have on the roads, not just as motorists, but as pedestrians and passengers too. The

excursion left us all with a loud and clear reminder of exactly this. While on the road, remember that your

split-second misstep can lead to a lifetime of hurt for another, if not leave them without a life at all.

We’d like to thank Ms. Diab, Head Teacher of Student Welfare, on behalf of the cohort, for providing us the

chance to experience such an eye-opening and relevant program and also extend this thank you to the staff

(Mrs Harris, Ms Hillier, Mr Lu, Mr Atton, Miss Kacopieros, Ms Castino and Miss Woods) who came on the

excursion and were willing to answer our questions after the emotionally-charged experience. Extending this,

our gratitude goes out to the BStreetSmart Forum for spreading awareness on this important message - one

that undoubtedly benefits us all.

- Kirsty Nguyen and Tivonee Kapugama