T H E F O R T N I G H T LY N E W S L E T T E R F R O M G A L S T O N H I G H S C H O O L 2 0 1 9 T E R M 2 W E E K 2

ANZAC Ceremony

ANZAC Day Commemoration

As a part of our schools’ commemoration of Anzac Day, Theo Marlow and Bowen Copeland presented a speech based on the project they completed with members of Rowland Village. This will be followed by a tribute poem written by Reverend Udy and read by Madelyn Morris.

Student PresentationToday we meet in honour of the sacrifice and suffering of thousands of brave men and women who have protected Australia and her people. We commemorate the spirit, the courage and the undeniable bravery that these men embodied during the war. These courageous men and women sacrificed everything for their friends, their family and most of all for this country. In doing so, they shaped the identity of the great nation that we stand for today.

With ANZAC’S being such a part of Australia’s identity and history, we have naturally been interested in learning how it had become such an internationally recognised symbol of strength. When we heard Mrs Lamont speak about an ANZAC project, involving speaking to residents from Rowland Village and creating a lasting memory of the servicemen and women’s experiences. Signing up seemed like the perfect way to learn more about the personal experiences of war veterans. This project was based around a group of like-minded students, who interviewed and created a video biography of Reverend Udy and Reverend Rosier. The five students involved in this project were Mei Lin Meyers, Madelyn Morris, India Dalton, Theo Marlow and myself. We are already planning to make this Project a lasting connection between Galston High School and Rowland Village.

We interviewed two local war veterans

from Rowland Village. Reverend Richard Udy who served in World War II and Reverend Bill Rosier who served in the Vietnam War. We are lucky to have these two brave men with us today. These selfless heroes and the other Rowland Village residents sitting in the audience today fought valiantly for our country and risked their lives to defend this land.

Through this eye-opening experience, we developed a much greater understanding and respect of the experiences of war; the trauma that each man went through and how it affected them and how truly inspiring these men and their families are. We gained a better idea of the internal conflicts they felt when they were away from their families and their home and what it was really like to be in a war and how very different it is to the lives we lead today. We would like to thank you Reverend Rosier and Reverend Udy for giving us these opportunities and experiences.

We would like to pay tribute to them now by sharing with you a small part of their stories.

Reverend Rosier, enlisted in the Navy as a Chaplin and through this was able to serve on a range of Navy ships during the Vietnam War. During his service his role was too provide support and spiritual guidance to the servicemen on-board. This involved him providing support through listening and undertaking many roles to ensure he had the trust of his men. Two things that stood out for me, was his courage each Sunday when he would be transferred from ship to ship by many precarious means up to 5 - 10 times in one day and the lengths he went to gain the trust of the men. This included regularly visiting the boiler rooms on the ships, which could be up to 300 degrees. He also spoke about

the sacrifices his wife and family had to make during his tenure aboard the ships, where he would be at sea for many months at a time. Thank you Reverend Rosier for your service.

Reverend Udy, also spoke to us about his experiences at war. He enlisted in the air force during World War 2 and became a Wireless Operator on the Catalina’s the ‘flying boats’ on which he flew in the Pacific Region. He was part of the air force who were tasked with dropping mines into the waters up and around Papua New Guinea to contain the Japanese Navy. He speaks of many nights of flying his beloved Catalina’s into harbours which has been regarded as being pivotal in ‘rendering the Japanese Navy useless’. He speaks of heroic acts as though they just part of his everyday business, such as in 1944 where his plane dropped out of the sky and undertook a highly risky manoeuvre which could lead to death to rescue men from a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

He told of us one experience which led him to writing a poem, ‘Balikpapan’. This poem, was written in April 1944, after a mission went horribly wrong. His best friend, led a team of new recruits on a mission and never returned. They were shot down by the Japanese Navy. His poem reflects the experience and his most inner thoughts. We are honoured that he has allowed us to read this poem today as part of our assembly.

101 years later, the spirit of the ANZAC’s lives on and we challenge you to research your past and connections to servicemen and women and their families. Take the opportunity to listen and pay your respects for the sacrifices they have made. We say Thank you.

We will now ask Madelyn Morris to read ‘Balikpapan’, written by Reverend Udy in April 1944 to honour his best friend and fallen servicemen.

ANZAC Day Commemoration

Poem read by Maddie Morris, written By Reverend Udy

BALIKPAPAN—21.4.44

“Flames in the water, skipper!”

Those words still ring in our ears

As we fly back South in the darkness

Through wild fronts where the lightning rears.

Who were they to-night? They were with us….

They must be our friends who’ve gone down

But we’re ordered strict radio silence

For there could be night fighters around.

We had all shared our last meal together

In the mess of that ship in the bay

And we’d waited some hours for the take off

In the tropical heat of day.

They were only young boys who had joined us-

Just finished their training down South,

Now their first trip to enemy harbours

A thousand odd miles to the North.

Now their datum point surely was deadly

There were ships of the line anchored there

And at two hundred feet there’s no leeway

To escape the full blast from that lair….

Seven long hours later in daylight

When we’d made it back home to the Sound

All around us was eerily silent

As we lay at our mooring unwound……..

And we marked off those planes as they joined us

One no show, “53” had been downed!

‘T was our friends, those young boys who had bought it.

Simply “Failed to return” the report.

Since that time through those long years of silence

For their folks...not one word of their men

They can’t even envisage them lying

In that far away Borneo den!

But we keep them alive in our memory

And we will while we’ve memory to share

And we know they’ve gone on before us

To eternity waiting us there.

Lest We Forget

Upcoming Events

This Week

Monday 13 MayChinese Tour Group - Year 7 Class immersionYear 11 Life Ready CampSydney North Gymnastic TrialsYear 10 Girls Regional Touch Gala Day

Tuesday 14 MayChinese Tour Group - Year 7 Class ImmersionNAPLAN Testing Years 7-9Year 11 Life Ready Camp

Wednesday 15 MayExcursion Chinese Tour Group Sydney and Beach visitNAPLAN Testing Years 7-9Excursion Year 11 Life Ready Camp

Thursday 16 MayChinese Tour Group - Year 7 Class ImmersionNAPLAN Testing Years 7-9Excursion nYear 11 Life Ready CampExcursion Hub Class 3 Community Access - 12.00 - 3.00pm - Small

Friday 17 May Chinese Tour Group - Year 7 Class ImmersionExcursion Year 11 Life Ready CampExcursion Year 12 EES UTS Climate Change InstituteExcursion Year 9 Advanced Games and Coaching with Primary Schools

Saturday 18 MaySRC Fund Raising

Next Week

Monday 20 MayExcursion Hub Class 3 Community Access - Marsh Tuesday 21 MayP&C Meeting 7.30pm Waddell Learning CentreIncursion Year 9 Self Defence Lessons

Wednesday 22 MayExcursion Year 12 Society & Culture Nan Tien TempleExcursion Year 12 Chemistry Batch Brewery

Thursday 23 MayExursion Year 12 Society & Culture Nan Tien TempleExcursion Hub Class 1 & 2 Community Access - Gilmour/Lindley2020 Prefect Nominations due to Mrs AndrusExcursion Hub Class 3 Community Access - Small

Friday 24 May Excursion Year 10 History Jewish MuseumExcursion Year 11 Agriculture Dairy visitExcursion Year 11 & 12 Advanced English Riverside Theatre 7.00pm

Sunday 26 MayExcursion Bronze Duke of Ed - Whiteman

Still to come

Monday 27 MayExcursion Bronze Duke of Ed - WhitemanHub IEP Interviews Years 7-10

Tuesday 28 MaySydney North Bowls TrialsHub IEP Interviews Years 7-10

Wednesday 29 MayZone Cross Country2020 Prefect Culling Process finalisedExcursion Year 12 Society & Culture Study DayHub IEP Interviews

Thursday 30 MayExcursion Hub Class 3 Community Access - SmallHub IEP Interviews

Friday 31 May2020 Prefect speech candidates notifiedExcursion Year 9 Advanced Games & Coaching with primary schoolsHub IEP interviews

Saturday 1 JuneMMB Rehearsal - Andrus

Sunday 2 JuneMMB Rehearsal - Andrus

Homework Club Homework Club operates every Wednesday afternoon from 3.30 - 4.30pm.

Students can receive help from teaching staff with homework and assessment tasks, or simply utilise the Library computers and wifi to complete their work.

All Schools Triathlon...As I walked out to my bike, I felt so nervous. There were so many people racing. I could see people, everywhere. Then there was the long wait for Zavier, the swimmer, with butterflies in my stomach. Then he was there, running towards me, to tap my hand. I lifted my bike off and sprinted down the no riding zone, my heart thumping. Then I was on my bike, over a bridge and onto the track.

The race was one of the hardest things I have done. It was 10km and I was using a mountain bike while others were using super expensive road bikes, so it was hard to keep up. Despite the long distance I finished in the middle of the pack and tapped Cooper to start the run. It was a great experience and if I get the opportunity to do it again, I will take it.

James Butler - Year 7

PDHPE Faculty Focus...

Students have started the new year off engaging in a busy schedule in all areas of PDHPE and Sport. The junior years are well into participating in activities that will further develop their fundamental skill base and fitness levels, as well as learning about team work, communication and decision making in a practical context. Preparation for the athletics carnival has revealed talent in a variety of areas that will no doubt be recognised on the day of competition. Classroom theory topics in years 7 – 10 have included A Sense of Self, Adolescent Health Issues, Mental Health and Lifelong Physical Activity.

The Fitness Laboratory runs every Tuesday and Thursday morning from 7.30am. This valuable asset is also utilised to consolidate learning in the theory component of a variety of courses, as well as on those rainy days. Anyone interested in joining, or just coming along for a look, is more than welcome to turn up on either of these mornings.

Year 9 Physical Activity and Sports Studies (PASS) student activities throughout term 1 have been researching the history of some sports and peer teaching. This unit of work helps develop confidence and leadership qualities. They will soon be engaging in self-defence lessons delivered by a qualified and highly revered instructor from the local area. Term 4 will see the students undertaking Bronze Medallion Activities at Galston Aquatic Centre. This is a lead up to their excursion at the end of the term to Port Stephens. Here the students will experience four-wheel driving and sand surfing on Stockton Beach, snorkelling, sea kayaking, learning to surf as well as feeding the sharks and stingrays at the Shark and Stingray Centre.

The three Z elective courses in year 9 are Advanced Games and Coaching, Recreational Sports and the Duke of Edinburgh scheme. These interest courses have been popular amongst our students, with the Duke of Edinburgh scheme already having been on an ‘adventurous journey’ with more to come. The Duke of Edinburgh program is a wonderful challenge for students and fosters leadership, self discovery and develops important lifelong skills.

Galston High School has entered many

Knockout competitions this year, providing opportunities for students to participate in competitive exchanges against schools across the state. Sports include; Futsal, Soccer, Touch, Softball and Baseball. Gala Days in a variety of sports are yet to come and are a great way for our students to improve their skill level and team work, gain some social skills and have a great day outdoors.

Towards the end of term 4, 2018, a group of select sport students participated in a sports leadership training day. This involved developmental officers coming out to the school to teach our students how to coach younger children, including advice on leadership. In term 2 of this year, those same sport leaders will be administering coaching sessions on their own with the local primary students. This not only develops their own leadership skills, but also aims to equip these younger students with skills to take back and utilise in their own primary schools. We look forward to an enjoyable and prosperous day.

Year 11 PDHPE and SLR are settling in to their new senior studies, with the annual first aid course coming up soon where students are given the opportunity to learn valuable lifesaving skills and earn their first aid qualifications. Year 12 are concentrating on their upcoming HSC trials.

The swimming carnival was held early in the year with excellent weather providing students with the stimulus to get into the water. Year 12 were a major part of this event and participated with gusto for their final carnival! The cross country carnival was held towards the end of Term 1 with many students performing their best to secure a position in the school team to compete in the Kuring-gai zone carnival at the end of May. An exciting new development is the purchase of five new permanent outdoor table tennis tables. Not only will these be used in PE and sport lessons, but students will be able to play at recess or lunch and participate in the planned school competition to be organised by the house leaders.

The PDHPE faculty is looking forward to yet another busy year providing students with as many valuable sporting and learning opportunities as possible.

From the Library...

On Wednesday and Thursday of last week, seven student librarians had the opportunity to chat with authors behind the scenes at the Sydney Writer’s Festival in Parramatta.

On Wednesday, Ashley Tkacz spoke to the hilarious Rachel Spratt and Megan McDonald, Anastasia Bevege bonded over being nerdy, and Momo Bonney spoke with the captivating English author, Katherine Rundell.

On Thursday, Emily Woods and Caleb De Ramirez interviewed New York Times bestselling authors Dhonielle Clayton and Neal Shusterman, while Sarah Goodall and Bonni Lloyd interviewed home-grown talent Ambelin Kwaymullina and Will Kostakis.

These interviews were recorded to promote the Premier’s Reading Challenge, as all these authors have works that feature on the various challenge lists, and will be featured on the Arts Unit website later in the term.

This was a phenomenal opportunity for students to learn about meet the person behind their favourite novels, learn about the inspiration behind their best-selling books and what they loved reading as students themselves.

Keep an eye on our Instagram page for more information regarding these authors, their works and their interviews!

Student Testimonials:

Being giving the amazing opportunity to interview authors for the Sydney Writers Festival was a great honor and once in a lifetime opportunity. Despite that fact that meeting the authors of some of my childhood books was intimidating, it was really fascinating meeting the people behind the story and comprehend what is entailed to become a writer. Whilst I was filled with trepidation before the interview, my nerves quickly dissipated after ascertaining that the authors were as nervous as I was. Seeing that the authors were as nervous as I was helped me to realise that they are really people just like me.

Interviewing the authors gave me the insight into the dedication required to write a book and also that inspiration can transpire from any event or interaction with a person. Asking questions about the building of the novels helped me to understand the stories with more complexity and empathise and relate to characters more

thoroughly then when I previous read their books.

Learning about the author’s avid reading habits when they were younger reinforces to me that reading challenged such as the Premier’s Reading Challenge are monumental for students, as it encourages them to read and promote creativity in adolescents.

Meeting and talking to authors that have written numerous books have encouraged me to express myself through stories and other creative ways. The experience has taught and reinforced that sharing creative literacy with the world is fundamental for children and teenager education. Attending the Festival has encouraged me to reading preferences, write more for enjoyment and to share those stories with others.

Ashley Tkacz, Year 10

Interviewing Will Kostakis was both fun and scary, I was incredibly nervous at first but Will really helped, he was funny and calm and overall made it a great experience to interview him. I had previously read his books “The first third” and “The Sidekicks” and now feel like I have more of an emotional connection to these books because I understand where the inspiration for them came from. Bonni Lloyd, Year 10.

The sydney writers festival was definitely a great experience for all the student librarians who went. Thanks to the PRC Coordinator, Tamara Rodgers and Miss Arnold we were able to interview great writers who wrote amazing books. We were able to ask any question and ask for their opinions on anything we want. I personally got to meet Neal Shusterman who is my favourite author, which was really eye-opening for me because I got to learn about how Neal came up with his ideas for my favourite book, Scythe.

Caleb De Ramirez, Year 10

2019 Premier’s Reading Challenge...

The 2019 Premier’s Reading Challenge is well and truly underway. With the new PRC Website, finding and logging books has never been easier!

Students in Years 7-9 participate in the PRC and are given ample time to read and log their books during DEAR lessons held in the library, where books on the PRC list are clearly marked by stickers.

Students are expected to log at least 5 books by August 30th, although we encourage every student to strive for their personal best and read 20 books!

The 5-6 and 7-9 Booklists are extremely diverse and feature novels, comic books, picture books and non-fiction books that will suit readers of all abilities and interests. We encourage you to discuss your child’s reading and progress towards the Premier’s Reading Challenge at home

SRC Update...

Late last term, Galston High School celebrated Harmony Day. Unfortunately, this occasion also coincided with one of the biggest tragedies to befall New Zealand’s Muslim population.

Following the attacks on two of Christchurch’s mosques, our attention as a school community became focused on the ideals of unity in hardship and kindness to all. Our students wrote and sent supportive messages to the victims, their families, and their communities, in the hope that the words of a few hundred young adults would provide some form of comfort to those affected by the attacks.

As we returned to school for Term 2, we received a letter from Greg Robertson, the Chief of Surgery at Christchurch Hospital, thanking us for the kind words we presented.

Although the events have, no doubt, forever affected the community, the support we provided to those affected has provided hope for the future.

Bella Lawton, SRC President.

Castle Hill Library6.00pm - 7.30pm

www.thehills.nsw.gov.au

Presenters from Headspace and Youth Off The Streets will help you learn about mental health challenges and ways to maintain a healthy headspace. Get advice in recognising and

helping your teen through drug and alcohol issues.T

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FREE | BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL ONLINE

15MAY

For parents &

carers of

TEENAGERS

Mental Health & Drug & Alcohol Use

Understanding your TEEN

Castle Hill Library6.00pm - 7.30pm

www.thehills.nsw.gov.au

Presenters include a representative from NSW Police and a school counsellor who will talk about how to support your teen through high school and how to navigate the digital world

safely to protect your child from cyber bullying.

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MANAGING SCHOOL PRESSURES & SOCIAL NETWORKING

FREE | BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL ONLINE

For parents &

carers of

TEENAGERS

Understanding your TEEN

29MAY

Parenting Through the Ups and Downs of Adolescence

Monday 27 May 2018 5.30pm-7.30pm

A seminar for parents of high school students discussing:

• Understanding Adolescent Development • Challenges of Parenting Adolescents

with strong emotions, including self-harm and suicidal ideation.

• Parent strategies and tips to help parents remain calm and be a resource for their adolescent

• To register please call CYMHS on 9485 6155 • VENUE: Hornsby Hospital Meeting Room 1 near Gate 1,

Reception/Switchboard, entry via Palmerston Rd. • Please allow enough time for parking and arrive 10 minutes before the

registered start time. • Unfortunately, we cannot provide childcare facilities and are unable to have

infants/children attend with their parents. • The seminar is available to families who live in the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai local

government area. • The cost of the seminar is $10. There will be no charge for concession card

holders. • Registration is essential as groups fill quickly. • Participants will be asked to complete feedback forms. • The service reserves the right to postpone or cancel seminars in the case of

insufficient registrations.

Hornsby Child and Youth Mental Health Service

(CYMHS)

Proudly supported by

WADDELL CAFE

GALSTON HIGH SCHOOL

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EXCLUSIVELY FOR STAFF, SENIOR STUDENTS & PARENTS Operated by y ear 10 students & staff

NOW OPEN EVERY TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY

DURING SCHOOL TERM

9:00 AM - 1:30 PM

LOCATED IN THE ADMINISTRATION BLOCK

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