Ambarvale High School and the wider community are so diverse in culture and as a school we put that on display with our annual Multicultural Day on Friday, 15 November 2019. This is one of the most exciting days on our school calendar, with staff, students and community members joining in together to celebrate. Continued on page 2.

AMBARVALE HIGH SCHOOL

SUMMER 2019, ISSUE NO. 42

Our Year 8 students were able to engage with an activity run by Macarthur Diversity Services, which taught them about the path many refugees take in order to become Australian Citizens. Additionally, our ATSI students worked with Connie and Russell Dawson from Koomurri Entertainment, where they learnt and discussed the culture of the First Australians.

The concert is always the highlight of the day, and this year saw many performers from all year groups – plus some staff! Students represented cultures including a K-Pop dance troupe, the Haka and Bollywood dancing. As you can see from the photos, their traditional costumes were an exquisite way to share their culture with their school community.

Lunch time every Multicultural Day is a feast for the senses! Faculties from the school donate their time and money to prepare foods from around the world. This years food stalls included Indonesian, Greek, American, Italian, Mexican, Australian and even the Artic. All funds raised on the day were donated to the Bushfire Appeal, to support many Australian communities in need.

Thank you to Ms Simpson in HSIE who organised the day, and without her leadership, the event would not run. Until next year - adios, ciao, goodbye, auf weidersehen, aloha, yasou, Ma'a as-salaama, sayonara.

Year 9 had a fantastic trip to SEALIFE Sydney Aquarium on Wednesday, 13 November 2019. The excitement was contagious for teachers and students as they arrived at Darling Harbour. Students made their way through the Aquarium with their Year Advisers Ms Phillips, Miss Montgomery, Deputy Principal Mr Langford, Mr Gray and Bruce Pikula. Some of the days highlights included feeding time in Shark Valley and our Sub-Antarctic Penguin Expedition. It was wonderful to see Year 9 students have a chance to spend time with each other outside of the classroom and experience the wonders of the ocean. Thank you to all the students for showing TRREC values, and Ms Phillips for organising the memorable day.

Multicultural Day 2019 was a fantastic day of celebrating the different cultures at Ambarvale High School. Our Indigenous students participated in a workshop with Russell Dawson from Koomurri Aboriginal Incursions. They watched a didgeridoo show and learned about artefacts, weaponry and bush survival. The highlight was an interactive Aboriginal art session where the students created a painting with their hands.

As a fun way to end the year that was, 23 Support Unit students and six teachers went along to the Nepean Adventure Centre in Douglas Park for a three day camp. The purpose of the camp is to celebrate a year of success in the classroom, and to encourage students to engage with their peers in the absence of technology, whilst doing things out of their comfort zone. Throughout the three days, students were able to have a go at the flying fox, the high ropes course, giant swing, archery, and swim in the pool. All of these activities allowed the students to enhance their interpersonal skills, work well as a team and enhance relationships with their peers and teachers.

As Term 4 draws to a close, I would like to announce a new substantive teacher to Ambarvale High School: Miss Sawiris has been formally appointed to our Mathematics faculty. Miss Sawiris has been at Ambarvale High School throughout this term as an intern from the University of Sydney. We are delighted to have such a bright and talented young educator join our teaching staff in 2020. Congratulations on another great year of learning achievements at Ambarvale High School. Since our last Ambargram, we have had some wonderful news regarding some of our Year 12 students. Matthew Bryant, a 2019 school prefect, has been nominated to apply for 'In-Tech'. This is an exhibition of the display of the exemplar major works for Industrial Technology across the state. Matthew's Multimedia Major Work titled 'Indoctrination Station' featured an animated music video with live action. Matthew wrote the music, performed the music, acted in the music video and designed, created and executed the video. Well done Matthew and congratulations and thanks to Mr Simmons our Multimedia teacher. We have also received some other impressive HSC news for some our academic students who applied for early entry to University. The following students have already been accepted into their chosen courses (before the ATAR results are released) due to their on-going hard work and commitment to their studies: Jordan Lole, Krish Kumar, Chloe Hannon, Zharaa Al Salman and Bailey Keogh. We wish all our 2019 HSC students the best in their futures; whether they be continuing their learning in a tertiary institute or beginning their adult life in the world of work. We hope that Ambarvale High School has prepared you for a fulfilling life ahead and you are best prepared to meet the challenge of life, and pave a true path of success. Finally I would like to wish all staff, students and our community an enjoyable and relaxing holiday period and I look forward to another successful year in 2020. Ms Simone Arts Relieving Principal

Celebration of Learning In the second Semester of 2019, Year 9 students engaged in a cross-curricular subject called S.E.E.D, which combines English and Geographical content. All of Year 9 were invited to celebrate their success and learning within the S.E.E.D program on Wednesday, 20 November 2019. Students used the skills of collaboration, creativity, critical thinking and communication to complete a range of challenges to win points

for their District. As a way of saying “thank you” and “well done” teachers within the program organised a fun day for students, which invited them to engage with inflatable challenges which put their knowledge of survival to the test. Students tackled slippery slopes, and climbed their way to victory on the mega obstacle course, including Year 9 Year Adviser Ms Phillips! Congratulations to all students who participated with enthusiasm whilst displaying TRREC values to our visitors, making the day enjoyable and one to remember.

High Tea During Week 7, 42 outstanding Year 9 students were celebrated at the S.E.E.D High Tea for their high levels of academic success and engagement over the semester. Students were spoilt with an array of scones, cakes, sandwiches and hot food, as well as a number of games and a small gift. All students received a special award presented by the HSIE teachers and had a great afternoon. A big congratulations again to our students on a great semester of learning.

We would like to start, by thanking the 2019 Senior Leadership Team for their hard work and commitment to Ambarvale High School. As the 2020 Leadership Team, we would like to continue their hard work to make the school a better place for all students and staff. One of the teams focus areas is to continue to bring awareness to school property and remind all students to respect and appreciate the different items in the school such as table tennis equipment, new picnic tables, the chilled water fountain, and the decorative black pots in the schools entrance. We would like to encourage all students to follow the TRREC values of TRUST and RESPECT by leaving these beautiful items alone and ensure the safety of your peers. As the holidays approach, we encourage all students and their family members to stay safe on the roads by checking surroundings when crossing, or going on a trip with their family. We hope you have a great holiday, ready to come back in 2020 for a fresh and exciting new school year.

Written by Sylvia Phyakeo and Nikki Booshand

It has been an eventful year for sport at Ambarvale High School. PDHPE would like to acknowledge the hard work of our coaches, and community members for their commitment to our students to encourage them to stay active and train, resulting in a largely successful sporting year! Whilst all student achievements are noteworthy, we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the following athletes: Athletics Damita Betham and Cooper Mulholland both qualified for the CHS Athletics Carnival. Damita went on to represent CHS at the NSW All Schools Athletics Carnival and finished 2nd in the 100m, 1st in the 200m and 2nd in the 400m. She will now represent NSW and AHS at the Australian All Schools Athletic Championships in Perth later this year. Cross Country Aaron Houghton, Bailey McMichael and Cooper Mulholland ran at the NSW All Schools Cross Country Championships in Week 1, Term 3. All three boys showed great competitive spirit and stamina in their races. Swimming Ambarvale High School had 13 students qualify for the Sydney South West Swimming Carnival in 2019. Congratulations to all students who took part, in particular, Kaden Smith who qualified for the CHS Swimming Carnival. Years 7 and 8 Gala Day During Term 1 and Term 3, Years 7 and 8 students participated in a Gala Day. Students competed in their chosen sport (soccer, netball, kick ball or touch football) against other schools within our Zone. The students from Ambarvale High School who attended the Gala Day, are to be commended on their behaviour and how well they represented the school. Many parents and community members come along to these sporting events to support our students, and at times, have volunteered to help at various gala days. We appreciate your ongoing support in the development of Ambarvale High School students. Finally, our sporting teams cannot run without teachers from all faculties volunteering to coach, and organise the various days, thank you.

On Tuesday, 19 November 2019, the CAPA Faculty held the final Music Showcase for 2019. The night consisted of 19 wonderful performances from students in Years 8-12. All performers displayed an outstanding level of professionalism and comradery. Each performer worked diligently this term preparing each of their pieces. Their commitment and dedication to the Showcase was clearly evident on the night through their truly amazing performances. It was such a joy to see how much the students have improved throughout the year and each one thoroughly enjoyed sharing their achievements with family and friends. Stand out performances of the night were Kane Dupres and his highly entertaining version of ‘Billie Jean’ with costume and dance moves, as well as Daniel Thirakul singing ‘Whip It’. A huge well done and congratulations to all who performed at the Music Showcase. You rock!

Written by Vincent Garcia and Jit Nguyen. On Friday of Week 3, our Year 9 Fast Forward students were nominated to attend the Western Sydney University Fast Forward Day. Competing against other schools, we enthusiastically engaged in the informative presentations and challenge similar to the Amazing Race. Through the presentation, we learnt about the different types of intelligence: musical, bodily-kinaesthetic, interpersonal, verbal-linguistic, logical mathematical, naturalistic, visual-spatial and intrapersonal. We learned that we are all intelligent in our own unique ways. This activity involved a ‘catastrophic disaster’ and we needed to determine which essential necessities to sacrifice

for other resources. Throughout the day, everyone communicated and collaborated by using our creative minds presenting our ideas through acting and speech. All our efforts were worth the time as at the end of the day, the points given to schools were added together and resulted in a win for Ambarvale! We enjoyed our time at the university and will look forward to it in the future.

During Week 5, the Year 12 Geography class attended their first HSC mandatory fieldwork day to Towra Point Nature Reserve. The day began with an introduction to the area before students were on their way through the reserve.

Students made a few stops along the way to undertake fieldwork in the wetland, completing a transect of the different vegetation and a field sketch. A walk through the mangroves and littoral rainforest brought the students out at the secluded beach where a number of migratory birds nest.

The senior students enjoyed their day out, despite the lengthy walk and wet shoes! A big thank you to Ms Sinclair and Mrs Grasso for their organisation and accompanying the students on the day.

Building Skills For Success In Drama

Drama students from Years 8, 10 and 11 engaged in a skills based workshop delivered by Belvoir Theatre, which is located in Surry Hills, that runs workshops with students across the wider Sydney area. The focus of the day was to learn about offers and blocking - terms given to two vital skills required for improvisation. Additionally students were able to enhance play-building skills as well as working with monologues to build character. Chelsea was the facilitator from Belvoir Theatre, and she commented on how impressed she was by the commitment of our students and their creative ideas. All students worked well together to come up with some excellent ideas and showcased their talents to our guest. Students efforts were so appreciated Ms Nicoll organised a second Drama workshop which took place in Week 8.

During Term 4, Year 10 Maths classes participated in a Bake Off in a quest to create the best chocolate cake. Throughout the process students learnt about converting measurements, ratios, unit cost and volume.

Students worked in small groups to select a recipe, determine the cost of ingredients, as well as calculating the nutritional information. Each group was given two opportunities to bake their chosen cake, using the first as a trial. The importance of the first bake allowed students to

refine their recipes and procedures in order to improve the overall presentation and taste for the final bake!

During the final cook, students rotated throughout the morning, each having a designated responsibility in the final product. Once the cakes were baked, they were presented to the guest judges, Mr Macpherson, Mrs Sullivan, Bruce Pikula, and Rola, one of the friendly staff members from Holy Ground Café at Rosemeadow Marketplace.

Congratulations to Zach Thompson, Nathaniel Jones – Haangana, and Cameron Heard on being the winners of the competition - Many teachers enjoyed the fruits of your labour.