Urrbrae Agricultural High School 505 Fullarton Road, Netherby 5062

Ph: (08) 8372 6955 Fax: (08) 8372 6999

Email: dl.0798.admin@schools.sa.edu.au

http://www.urrbraehs.sa.edu.au

FROM THE PRINCIPAL December 2017 | 12

This is our final newsletter for the year, bringing 2017 to a close. As always, it has been an action-packed year with our school calendar jam-packed with events. Our Year 12 students have finished their exams, and the entire student body is preparing to move up to the next year level, one year older and one year wiser. I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every member of the Urrbrae School Community for your contribution to our school this year – staff, students and parents work well together in this school to create a unique learning platform that produces students who are well-equipped to take their place in the wider world. Staffing I would like to take the opportunity to farewell a number of staff who are leaving us at the end of this year.

Ms Fran Charlton who will take up the position as Assistant Principal at Aberfoyle High School. Ms Liz Burbrook, who is retiring, after 8 years at Urrbrae. Mr Mark Taylor who is retiring, after 18 years at Urrbrae Ms Jane Hoffmann who is taking up the position as Learning Area Leader: Science at Cornerstone College. Ms Harmony Fenoughty, who is taking up a 12 month position at Wirreanda High School as Leader of Wellbeing Ms Caroline Johnstone who has taken up a 6 month position as Assistant Principal at Hamilton High School Mr Ben Hornsey who will be taking up a position as Middle School Coordinator for 12 months at Heathfield High School Ms Suzanne Grist, who has come to the end of her contract at Urrbrae. Ms Emma Montesi who has come to the end of her contract at Urrbrae

These staff members have been valuable additions to Urrbrae and we wish them all the best in the future. There are still a few more staffing changes and contract confirmations to be made, but this will not be available until the New Year. Party on the Green (aka Parquetry on the Green) Last Thursday night we celebrated the end of the year with a final music concert showcasing the wonderful talents of our Urrbrae students. Organised by Mr Adrian Terrace the concert was initially scheduled to be held on the Urrbrae lawns, but an unfortunate change in the weather meant a late move to the gym. It was a wonderful evening, which was enjoyed by around 350 parents and students. Congratulations to everyone involved – it truly was a night to remember. 2018 Council AGM A reminder to all parents regarding our Council AGM for next year. Information regarding this event has been included in our student mail-

out, and will involve an “Urrbrae Meet and Eat” on Tuesday February 20th in the staffroom. It will feature samples of our local produce

including honey, wine, meat, olives, olive oil and seasonal fruit. We look forward to your attendance, and if you are interested in joining us

on School Council in 2018 please forward your nominations to Mary Cranwell (mary.cranwell809@schools.sa.edu.au).

SACE Results Next Tuesday, December 19th, SACE results will become available for our Year 12 students. Our reception area will be open and senior school staff, Ms Fran Charlton, Ms Liz Burbrook and Mr Vince Fleming, will be available to answer any queries from parents and/or students between 9am and 12pm. Diary Dates Please note that the school year for students will resume on Monday January 29th (Year 8 & 12) and Tuesday 30th January 2018 (Years 9,10 & 11). Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and I look forward to seeing you all again in 2018. Joslyn Fox Principal

Two ceremonies were held in the last part of Term 4 to celebrate the successes of students in the Middle School and Senior School at

Urrbrae.

The Middle School Presentation Ceremony was held in the school gym on Friday 8th December. Service and Subject Awards were given

to students in Years 8 and 9, and Year 9 students participated in a graduation ceremony signifying that they have completed their middle

schooling, and are proceeding to the Senior School. Congratulations to each of these students for their efforts in 2017, and the best of luck

to next year’s Year 10s in the Senior School. The Senior School Presentation Night and Year 12 Graduation was held at the Adelaide Convention Centre on the evening of Wednesday

November 29. 1200 people attended this event, which saw over 100 Service and Subject Awards to students in Years 10, 11 and 12 (see

below for photos of prizewinners). The following special prizes were also awarded: Caltex Best All Rounder: Callum Blacket; ADF Long

Tan Leadership and Teamwork Award: Ebony McCauley (Year 12) and Tilly Dent (Year 10); Peter Waite Old Scholar’s Prize: Andrew

Gray. Continuing our partnership with the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society, the school also awarded three Scholarships to

former students of Urrbrae who are pursuing tertiary study of Agriculture and Animal Studies: 3rd Year – Tate Hancox 2nd Year – Tara

McKenzie; 1st Year – Darcy Whittaker. AJ + PA McBride, once again were very generous in providing 17 McBride awards for students in

Years 10 -12. Congratulations to each of these prizewinners for their effort and achievement this year, and all the best to our graduating

Year 12s for a happy and successful future. Fran Charlton, Assistant Principal, Wellbeing/Curriculum

SENIOR SCHOOL NEWS

SCHOOL BASED TRAINEESHIPS

Max Miegel was awarded the runner up award in the ASBA sector. A fabulous

effort up against every other States Competitors. The $2500 prize money is

already allocated to his farming enterprises! A team of ten family and friends

travelled to support and celebrate with Max in Canberra. A picture of Max and

his wonderfully supportive grandmother Joyce Pink is included.

MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS

To all the Year 9 Parents and Students

Thank you to all the parents, caregivers, grandparents and siblings for attending the Year 9 Graduation. The event is always well attended which once again highlights our sense of community. As well as the graduation certificates, prizes were awarded in recognition of service and achievement across the Middle School. The Year 9 Music ensemble performed two songs with skill and enthusiasm. I felt proud watching the music students develop into a talented ensemble.

This ceremony recognises the achievement of the Graduate Qualities which prepare the Year 9’s to enter into the Senior School. Thank you also to Home Group teachers and helpers on the day to make this ceremony a special day on our calendar.

The photos below highlight the graduating Year 9’s. Paul Jessen, Senior Leader, Middle School

AGRICULTURE NEWS

On Thursday morning of Week 8 PIRSA staff visited the school to make use of our two Murray Cod which were filmed to illustrate the correct technique for recreational fishers to handle and release this protected species of fish. Compliance officers used the school’s two Murray Cods to demonstrate the correct techniques for the safe handling of the fish, how to remove the hook and release the fish back into the water.

Also on Thursday of last week Dr. Nic Whiterod from Aquasave came to our school to collect approximately 125 Southern Purple Spotted Gudgeons for release back into the Murray River in the coming days. These fish are the survivors from those hatched at school last year by Year 10 students in Aquaculture as well as the Club helpers. These are near mature fish and hence will have the greatest chance of surviving the change from the safety of their aquarium to the wild where they will have to seek shelter and protection from predators. The fish will have to find their own food instead of being regularly fed brine shrimp and adapt to changes in water quality and quantity that naturally occur in a wetland. Dr. Whiterod told students that over recent years about 2000 fish have been released at this site and surveying has recovered only a handful of mature fish. The more fish that can be released to this site the better the chances for the species to re-establish.

On Tuesday of Week 9 Year 8 students Danika Wetherell, Joel Bates, Ruben Davies, Scott Gillespie, Dakota Scrimshaw, Tuck Hesketh, Christian West, Annabel Hart and Tess Mifsud travelled to Victor Harbour Beyond Wetland site with Ms. Tracey Ireland and Graeme Doyle. This wetland is a surrogate site chosen by Aquasave as being of suitable habitat to breed endangered freshwater native fish including Southern Purple Spotted Gudgeons. Students spent the morning collecting, measuring and sorting the trapped fish under the guidance of consultant ecologists and Department of Environment and Heritage

staff. Film crew from Totally Wild captured the students work and we look forward to seeing the programme aired early in February 2018. Date to be advised. Everyone was really pleased to see how well this fish had populated the site with a good range of fish sizes indicating numerous generations of fish. The collected fish will join those fish collected at Urrbrae last Thursday and

will be released this week into the Murray Bridge site hoping that this once common fish can re-establish itself.

Graeme Doyle, Aquaculture Teacher

MONSTERS OF THE WETLANDS The year 10 Art students were asked to imagine a fantastic creature living in the Urrbrae Wetlands and create a mask to represent it. They looked to traditional masks from around the world and Aboriginal creatures for inspiration. Here is just some of their wonderful artwork. Suzanne Grist., Art Teacher.

FERGUS THE FROG by Sarah Butcher

My monster is a protector of the wetlands. He looks out for people who litter or vandalise the environment and will scare or pull them into the water. My monster lives in the water most of the time, but he can also hide in trees or under pedestrian bridges. He can be friendly if you respect the environment. Like most other frogs, my monster mainly eats insects, but can also eat small mice, small snakes and sometimes even ducks that swim into his territory. My monster’s name is Fergus, as it is a name that you wouldn’t expect to be unfriendly.

(Materials Used: Paper Mache, Paint, Recycled Items, Cardboard and Feathers.)

ART NEWS

YEAR 9 ART Term 4 in year 9 art was very busy with students learning about the Surrealist Art movement and transforming their learning into digital and painted artworks. We finished the year with lino printing which focussed on values. The artworks produced showed great flair and creativity and will be displayed in the school foyer near the library. Suzanne Grist, Art Teacher

Sharemarket Game This semester, 28 active student syndicates of up to 4 people per syndicate participated in the Australian

Stock Exchange (ASX) Sharemarket Game. In quick summary:

Students invest $50000 through buying & selling shares on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) over a 3-month period

There were 15,822 syndicates Australia wide Urrbrae had 28 active syndicates participating in Semester 2

The winning syndicate was ‘Brains Department’ who made a profit of $4451.31 (year 9s Laura Schulz and Georgia Powell)

The highest profit in Australian was $21,962.58 made by Quilpie State School in Queensland The highest profit in SA was $16,270.97 made by Willunga High School The average profit made by syndicates around Australia was $1870.57

Our school’s average syndicate profit was $1107.67 Here is Ms Baumann presenting our winners with a large sweet prize. Well done to Laura Schulz and Georgia Powell.

re(Solve) Workshop www.resolve.edu.au

Urrbrae hosted some maths teachers from Unley High and Mitcham Girls High late in term 4. We looked at the (re)Solve resources for use

in our year 8, 9 and 10 classes for 2018. Our aim is to pick a resolve resource to teach an aspect of mathematics, particularly highlighting

the reasoning and problem solving aspects of mathematics. Photos here https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZdHum8E5hD0R1sPv2

Maths Workshop

Urrbrae hosted some guests from the Academy of Science in Canberra (Dr Steve Thornton, Kristen Trippet, Ruqiyah Patel), the Australian

Association of Mathematics Teachers (Matt Skoss AAMT) and teachers from across the state as far away as Whyalla recently. There was

a 2-day workshop on writing some quality resources to teach Statistics & Probability in years 9 and 10. Lots of thinking and discussion

goes into making quality resources that are consistent with the (re)Solve philosophy. The written materials that come out of the workshop

will be used by teachers across Australia. https://photos.app.goo.gl/lEPSzd1cctLqQnry2

Mark Ward, Senior Leader, Numeracy /Mathematics

MATHEMATICS NEWS

As part of the partnership with Waite initiative, on Wednesday 22nd November Mrs Reeves Year 9 Home Economics class walked to the

Waite Campus to analyse recipes on a computer programme Food Works. After entering ingredients for a traditional and a modified

healthier recipe the Food Works programme produced a nutrient breakdown of both recipes. This allowed the students to compare the

results and determine if the changes improved the nutritional value of the new recipe. Back at school the students then used this data in

their recipe makeover magazine article and determined if their recipe, could any be awarded badges for low salt, sugar, fat or high fibre

etc. Many thanks go to Helen Morris for organising the access to the Waite computer lab and her presentation that enabled the students to

quickly understand and utilise the Food Works programme. Wendy Reeves, Home Economics Teacher

FOOD AND NUTRITION SCIENCE PARTNERSHIP WITH WAITE

In 2017 Our Urrbrae Indoor soccer teams participated in the Secondary Schools Zone Sports competitions. Our URRBRAE Indoor Soccer has won the 2017 Indoor Soccer Southern Zone Premiership defeating Unley and Seaview High schools. This is our third consecutive premiership win for URRBRAE. Congratulations to our team:

Year 8s: Danika Wetherell, Zephyr Frene, Patrick McGrath, Year 9s: Tom Smith, Jacob Marker, Riley Brissenden, William Newman, Jacob Potiki. Special mention to our star defender Tom Smith, to our striker William Newman and the winning goal scorer, Jacob Potiki. Great finals. Well done team Walter Reyes, Humanities Teacher

SOCCER NEWS

YEAR 12 FORMAL

PACIFIC SCHOOL GAMES

Thomas Will (Year 10) and Zack Will (Year 8) have been competing in the Pacific School games last week in diving.

They have each competed in events in synchro with each other, 3 metre, springboard, and 1 metre springboard. They have enjoyed the games and meeting students from all over the world.

Friday 15th December Last day of Term 4

Friday 26th January Australia Day (Public Holiday)

Monday 29th January School starts for Year 8s & Year 12s

Tuesday 30th January School Starts for all other Year levels( 9,10,11)

Saturday 3rd February Barn Market

DIARY DATES AND COMMUNITY NEWS

Suppliers of Textbook and Stationery Resource List 2018 for Urrbrae

Agricultural High School Can be access via the link below

https://admin.campion.com.au/ebooklists/default.asp?code=05A98B71

Harvest Magazine

2017 is ready for

collection from the

Front office on

Tuesday 19th

December and

Wednesday 20th

December and then

from the Monday

22nd January 2018.

They can purchased

for $35.00