20 November 2018

Editor: Jenny LeSouef
Technology: Nola Regan

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Our senior students are engaged with their final examinations for 2018 and we wish them well for the culmination of years of hard work. We anticipate great results in the external examinations from our twelves and their career aspirations being met and look forward sharing these results with our community.

I will be taking leave in first term 2019 and considering my options from there. I will be leaving the school in capable hands with Associate Principal, Colin Marshall moving into the role of Principal. He has been an integral part of formulating the direction and decisions for the school and the transition will be seamless.

It is with pride that I present our 2018 NAPLAN results further in this newsletter. The data is interesting as some schools sat the test electronically while others used pencil and paper, with possible differences in outcomes for some students. The result comparisons we have presented are against state and like schools. We are in socio-economic band 1 which compares our results to schools such as Rossmoyne, Shenton, Applecross and Churchlands. Our students performed admirably and are a credit to the dedication of both families and our teachers.

I have included the National Schools’ Opinion survey results for students, parents and teachers for the last three years. Results are similar to previous years except for our Year 12 students whose rankings and comments were more strongly positive than previous years.

Our timetable and thus staffing for 2019 is almost complete. This has been a massive project with the timetabling team lead by Christine Petersen. I thank them for their diligence and talent in meeting the challenge in this era of tight fiscal considerations.

Preparations for the transition activities for our 2019 Year 7s are well underway. At this stage we have 390 enrolments.

Congratulations to all involved in the Interschool Athletics Carnival. We achieved a very creditable fourth place in A Division. Many thanks to teachers, Erik Pretorius supported by Di Tuxford and Andrea Wheeler for their work with the students.

This is our final general newsletter for 2018. I thank all members of our school community for their support and especially your representatives on our Board lead by Paola Chivers for their valuable contribution to the education of our students.

I wish every member of our school community a safe, healthy and happy Christmas break

Chris Booth

BOARD CHAIR REPORT

The past few months have been a very busy time for the School Board members, with oversight on next year’s budget, driving forward of new and ongoing partnership activities, the Willo Parent group presentations and relocation of the second-hand bookshop. Thanks as always to Helen Wong, School Board Executive Officer, who continues to make sure everything runs smoothly, and to each member of the Board who voluntarily give up significant time to support our students through our Board functions.

Willetton Senior High School continues to strive to nurture all students in their pursuits. It was exciting to be a cheering parent at the recent interschool Athletics carnival where the school was able to compete and excel maintaining their A Division status with a 4th placing. The behaviour and spirit of Willo Athletes, their respectful interactions with others and comradery are commendable. The school also hosted the recent Annual Modern Language Teachers’ Association of WA awards night showcasing our unique Willo style with our musicians and catering to support the event. The night was capped off with our senior students winning both the Japanese and French senior divisions for the Side by Side Competition. The Year 12 Arts Festival was also recently held with another year of amazing artwork on show, with the hard work clearly on display. Not to be outdone, the Maths students continue to shine in both individual and team competitions with significant achievements in the Australian Intermediate Mathematics Olympiad and Western Australia Junior Olympiad. While we celebrate these and many more amazing achievements across learning areas, we also recognise many individual achievements and personal goals that students have worked hard to achieve throughout the year and the support of our school’s dedicated teachers, loving parents and the broader Willo community.

The School Board continues to work with the School Executive to foster a learning environment which inspires and empowers students to strive for personal achievement. At our last Board meeting we heard about the benefits which resulted from the Student Services Staff Fellowship award and how to promote positive education environments within our school and future planning. This approach considers the whole student and aims to provide a community that makes a positive difference and provides exceptional opportunities by enabling students to flourish in spirit and character in the educational endeavours.

During the term, I had the pleasure to observe the recent Student Parliament and was impressed by our budding leaders and representatives of the future. Their thoughtfulness and articulation of the issues of concern and ideas for improvement was refreshing. Year 11 councillors then attended our last Board meeting and presented a summary of their Parliament outcomes. What was most impressive was their confidence and ability to present their summary and answer queries from Board members in an articulate and well informed manner. It is the diversity of skills that prepare our students for life beyond school which is most apparent across a range of activities offered by the school.

The School Board wishes to thank Karen Allen for her dedicated service over her two terms as a Board Member. Her contributions to the financial oversight have been exceptional and we will very much miss her. The School Board also wishes Chris Booth all the best as he takes some well-earned long service leave.

Our thoughts are with all students who are doing their best in their final assessments, particular Year 10 and Year 11 students undertaking end of year exams. As the term nears an end it is also time to farewell our Year 12s (not really ready for this myself!) and wish them all the best for their future endeavours and trust that their time here in our Willo community has put them in good stead for the future challenges they will no doubt face and overcome.

Finally, as the year comes to a close and on behalf of the Board I wish all a safe and happy holiday break.

Dr Paola Chivers

All young people are loved and safe, have material basics, are healthy, are learning and participating and have a positive sense of identity and culture. ARACY The Nest vision.

GENERAL

YEAR 7 NAPLAN OVERVIEW

MEAN COMPARISON: SCHOOL AND LIKE SCHOOLS 2015-2018

MEAN COMPARISON: SCHOOL AND LIKE SCHOOLS 2015-2018

ACHIEVEMENT BELOW, AT AND ABOVE NATIONAL BENCHMARK

ACHIEVEMENT BELOW, AT AND ABOVE NATIONAL BENCHMARK

YEAR 9 NAPLAN OVERVIEW

MEAN COMPARISON: SCHOOL AND LIKE SCHOOLS 2012-2018

GRAMMAR

ACHIEVEMENT BELOW, AT AND ABOVE NATIONAL BENCHMARK

TRASH4SPLASH

In August 2018, a dolphin named Highnitch died because of a fishing line wrapping around her fin and cutting into the flesh. The fishing line got caught on her tail, which made it extremely hard for her to swim and therefore feed.

The injury then caused an infection, causing her death.

Highnitch had a calf named Splash, who was dependant upon her mother for food. So when Highnitch died, Splash eventually did too, because of her lack of nutrients that only her mother was able to provide effectively.

We had an idea to start a campaign to convince people to pick up their trash so that it doesn’t end up causing another death of another dolphin as well as spreading awareness of the problem relating to littering and how one piece of rubbish can affect the ecosystem, especially marine life.

We would appreciate it if you would try to spread awareness of this cause. You can do this by sharing our facebook page or by doing the following: going to your local lake, beach or river, picking up four pieces of trash, taking a photo of you doing this and adding it to our Facebook page or post an Instagram photo with the hashtag #Trash4Splash.

Instagram:

@Trash4Splash

Facebook:

@Trash4Splash

Thanks for your contributions to this worthy cause.

The Trash4Splash Team

L to R: Kelsie Dowley, Jade Woods, Charita Byndoor and Chloe Russell
Absent: Jenna Allison, Myra Boevé & Olivia Anderson

WELLBEING STRETCHING

On our Free Dress Day to raise money for One Girl with our Interact club we also had a fun photo dress up session with Year 8s to raise money for the RSPCA and some wellbeing stretching at recess time. Students commented that the break was much calmer and they felt ready to learn afterwards.

Thanks to Linda Bancroft for leading this new experience.

Donna Gardiner Manager Student Services

HOST FAMILY NEEDED

Our Rotary exchange student from Belgium, Anna Longlune, is being hosted by local non Rotarian families, for the first nine months of her stay, but a host family for her last quarter around April-June 2019 is still needed. If you can assist, or know a family that can, please contact Rotary Club of Willetton President Rob Webster for further details. Email: president@rotarywilletton.org.au or 0417 900 008. Anna is 18 years old.

NATIONAL SCHOOLS OPINION SURVEY RESULTS

STUDENTS

PARENTS

STAFF

SUPPORT FOR OUR TROOPS

As a school community, we have been approached by Willetton Post Office to participate in a special donation drive for our military personnel this Christmas to show our support to those who are away from their families at this time of year.

We are asked to help by sending care packages and letters of support to our troops.

Australia Post offers a free postal service to our troops at this time of year, and this is what they will be using to send the packages. All items and messages need to be dropped off by 3pm Thursday Nov 22 in the box at Student Services or the staff room.

Items that are able to be collected:

Toiletries such as deodorant (non-aerosol), disposable razors, soaps, lip balm, shaving cream, talcum powder etc Non-perishable food items e.g. Tim Tams, vegemite, instant noodles, lollies etc (please do not include anything past expiry date), books, magazines, DVDs, puzzle books etc

Items not to include:

Liquids
Alcohol or alcoholic items
Cigarettes
Food for service dogs
Clothes (except socks)
Pork products
Used items

UNIFORM CONCEPTS

Our uniform suppliers, Uniform Concepts have moved. Their new location is

30 Kembla Way, Willetton
Telephone: 08 9270 4669
Email: willetton@uc.nellgray.com.au
Web: https://www.nellgray.com.au/

They are encouraging new students to make an appointment with them for a fitting during Term 4 and avoid the long queues in January.

CONGRATULATIONS

6 A GRADES

5 A GRADES

THE ARTS

ENGLISH

HEALTH & PHYSICAL EDUCATION

HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCES

LANGUAGES EAL/D

MATHEMATICS

SCIENCE

TECHNOLOGIES

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION & TRAINING

EMMA JOHNSON YEAR 12

Emma Johnson Year 12 has been selected to represent Australia. She also was selected for the Australian Fencing Squad at open (senior) level. Emma is currently in the Cadet (under 17) age category, and open selection is three age categories above that.

This selection is a year-long appointment which means that as a minimum she will represent Australia in individual and team events at the 2019 Asian Championships in Japan, a Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifying event.

Emma has been invited into the Australian Fencing Team, which is the highest possible level of selection for an Australian fencer and would qualify her to represent Australia at the 2019 World Championships, another Olympic qualifying event. Unfortunately, Emma is unable to take up this invitation, but it was great to be invited.

Emma Johnson

PROFESSOR TELE TAN

Congratulations to Board member and Chair of the Board Partnership Committee, Professor Tele Tan who received an award for outstanding collaboration for national benefit.

The award is presented by BHERT (Business Higher Education Round Table) whose mission is to pursue policies and collaboration initiatives that will advance the goals and improve the performance of business and tertiary education.

BHERT was established in 1990 to strengthen the relationship between business and industry and the tertiary education sector, important one because knowledge exchange and cross-sector collaboration are the critical drivers for a knowledge-based economy.

Professor Tan established the Autism Academy for Software Quality Assurance (AASQA) from which our Resource Unit students are one of the beneficiaries by participating in the CoderDojo program. He has also provided opportunities for our students to sit the International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB) examination. Students Liam Picen and Song Yi Loo became two of the youngest students to obtain this certification examination.

Dr Tele Tan AASQA and Susan Bannigan, BHERT President

GIFTED AND TALENTED

MEET THE VIRUS

Our poor students were subject to an eggscruciating eggshibition of egg puns as they designed the ultimate egg safety capsule.

Make it stop, I just want it to be ova, one was heard to groan.

In the course of this STEM activity, some really clever capsules were designed and built. This one, named the virus, by Dimitrije Komnenovic , Ethan Lim, and Damien Raja is well suited for landing a spaceship on Mars, as it doesn't rely on air resistance to safely decelerate the egg. I hope that Australia's new space agency is looking out for talent! Maybe one day this will save an astronaut from an eggsistential crisis!

Leon Harris Science Teacher

Dimitrije Komnenovic, Ethan Lim, Damien Raja with their capsule design Virus

AUSTRALIAN INTERMEDIATE MATHEMATICS OLYMPIAD

The AIMO is an open event for mathematically talented students up to Year 10. It is conducted in schools under exam conditions and runs for four hours with students working on their own without the use of calculators, electronic devices or other aids.

Ten of our mathematically gifted students were invited to compete in the AIMO this year.

Jack Killoh (Y10), Rachel Cheong (Y7),
Caleb Kum (Y7), Jonathan Chivers (Y10),
Saran Bicknell (Y9), So-Yeon An (Y7),
Hang Yi Law (Y10), Allan Wu (Y8),
Ian Pinto (Y8) and Thyler Cung (Y8)
were all given the same ten questions.

The paper is sent away and marked out of a total of 35 marks. This year, one student in WA earned an amazing score of 35 and two students in second place, both scored an outstanding result of 32. One of these students was our very own Year 10 student, Hang Yi Law.

At the recent WA Junior Olympiad, Hang Yi was presented with a Special Award for Excellence for outstanding performance in Mathematics Challenge Activities.

Congratulations to Hang Yi Law.

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN JUNIOR OLYMPIAD

This year, 43 Willetton students from Years 7 to 9 entered the Western Australian Junior Olympiad competition. We travelled to the University of Western Australia to compete in lecture theatres in the Mathematics and Engineering buildings. Students solved mathematically challenging problems both as individuals and in teams.

Willetton’s WA Junior Olympiad representatives

This year’s WAJO competition comprised of 496 students from 31 Western Australian schools. There were 154 Year 7 teams, 155 Year 8 teams and 187 Year 9 teams. Prizes were awarded to the most outstanding individuals and the highest scoring teams. Willetton performed exceptionally well.

Felix Rego was our top Year 9 student with a score of 17 and receiving a merit award.

Thyler Cung was our top Year 8 student with a score of 23. This score was higher than the Most Outstanding Year 9 student who scored a total of 20. Three Year 8 students achieved the highest score in the competition and Thyler was one of them. Congratulations to Thyler for his Most Outstanding Student award.

The team scores are calculated by combining the individual scores of the four group members and adding to that, their team mark. Our Year 8 team, consisting of Allan Wu, Ian Pinto, Thyler Cung and Samuel Thoo, were awarded third place in the Year 8 teams.

WA Junior Olympiad 2018 Winners Felix Rego, Thyler Cung and Year 8 team

All students enjoyed the experience and we thank the support of parents who helped make this day a success. Congratulations to all our competitors for their excellent behavior and team spirit.

We have had an outstanding year in our Mathematics competitions program in 2018, with many awards, prizes and medals. We thank all the students who participated for their determination to improve themselves, as they strive for excellence in these competitions.

Kerri Kalotay and Peter Lee Mathematics Teachers

HAVE SUM FUN YEAR 10 MATHEMATICS COMPETITION

This year we have had two Year 10 teams competing in the Have Sum Fun Online Problem Solving Competition during Term 4 after school. Students compete in teams of four, solving a set of ten problems each week. They have one hour to submit their solutions, and compete against other teams across the state. At the time of going to print, one team was in equal first place with one week of the competition left, and the other team was only one point behind them.

Karen Gatland Mathematics Teacher

INVESTIGATIONS, VIDEOS AND INVENTIONS

Year 10 Gifted and Talented students were involved in a five week Science Talent Search quest. Here are a few glimpses:

Mita Munshi Science Teacher

TESTING FOR THE GIFTED AND TALENTED PROGRAM

Willetton Senior High School hosted an information evening on Wednesday, October 17 attended by Year 5 students and parents interested in applying for the Gifted and Talented Programs provided by the Department of Education in WA. These Programs should not be confused with our extension programs provided for students. The Secondary Selective Academic Program is run by the Department of Education and successful students are able to cross school boundaries to attend the programs. We have an Academic Gifted and Talented Program that is centrally funded and supported. Willetton SHS plays no role in the selection of students for the approximately 60 places offered each year. Each student’s preferences and their score from the test are used to select them for the various programs.

Year 5 students who wish to enter the Gifted and Talented Program in 2020 must apply on-line to participate in the testing which takes place in March 2019. Enrolments for testing are open now and close on February 10, 2019. No applications will be accepted after this date. Testing takes place in a number of different venues across the state, including Willetton SHS. Students sit tests in reading comprehension, imaginative writing, mathematics and non-verbal reasoning.

Students who have missed out on a place in the Program in Year 7 are able to sit a top-up test for the limited places available in Year 9, 10 and 11. Applications need to be made on-line and be submitted by the due date.

Please follow the link to find out more information about the programs and apply to sit the test:

Please contact the Gifted and Talented Coordinator, Darren Hamley for more specific information about the Program at Willetton SHS and tours of the school or enrol online for our next tour on November 28.

Julie Hind Gifted and Talented Coordinator

THE ARTS

MUSIC CONCERT

The hard work and talents of our music students will be on show at our end-of-year Music Showcase this Wednesday, November 21, 6-8pm in the WSHS Performing Arts Theatre.

Tickets are just $5 through Trybooking. All our big ensembles will be performing, including:

• Junior & Senior Concert Bands
• Junior & Senior String Orchestra
• Junior & Senior Classical Guitar
• Jazz Band
• Percussion Ensemble
• Contemporary Guitar Band
• Choir

We welcome you to come and enjoy the musical feast.

Willetton & Singapore students

SINGAPORE STUDENTS VISIT

The Willo Music Program recently hosted 40 students from Serangoon Garden Secondary School in Singapore. The students enjoyed participating in a Jazz Band or String Orchestra workshop, a pop/rock jam-session with our students, a student-led tour of the school, and a special workshop on strategies to combat bullying presented by Mrs Donna Gardiner from our Student Services team. The visitors presented a concert at lunchtime in the quad, to an appreciative audience of staff and students.

Natalie Ng

MUSIC CERTIFICATE STUDENT WINS AWARD

Natalie Ng’s beautiful song writing ability won her runner up in the Kelmscott Show Song Writing section. Natalie has just completed her Certificate II in Music Industry here. The certificate equips students with successful song writing, performance and performance staging skills. Well done, Natalie.

Serenading: Year 7 music student Harmoniche Deng provided entertaining piano music for the recent Italian awards night

Poised performance: Year 11 music student Bianca Stevenson also entertained the crowd at the recent Italian awards night

ENGLISH

CONGRATULATIONS

One of our students won Bronze in a recent Philosothon competition. Congratulations to Kavinraj Punitha Kaanthan Year 8. Thank you to Robert Stevenson and Isobel Stevenson who also came along to support the students. Well done to Don Munro who has worked with these students all year.

Amy Paterson Head of Learning Area English

HATCHET

In Term 3, our English class studied the novel Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. Hatchet is about a 13-year-old city boy named Brian, who finds himself alone in a two-seater Cessna airplane after the pilot dies due to a sudden heart attack. To understand Brian’s situation, our teacher, Mrs Alkins, brought in a real pilot! The pilot, Mr Hassall, helped us understand Brian’s situation by educating us about the plane’s controls and instrumentation. We also learnt about the aerodynamics relating to flight. Mr Hassall taught us a lot about aeroplanes and we were very glad to have him visit our class.

Ananya Umapathy, Julia Rangan, Rehaab Fatima and Tracey Yong Year 7

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

2018 WA SCHOOLS JUNIOR BASKETBALL COMPETITION

First of all, I thank Mr Forsyth, Miss Smith and Mr Kearsley for giving us the opportunity to be able to play in this tournament and get the chance to put our basketball skills to the test against other schools. I also thank Sophie Doran and Ben Johnson for giving up their time to coach us and help us get better. I wish them all the best for their futures and especially Ben when he goes to college in America.

Coming into the competition we had a fair bit of pressure on us as Willetton Senior High School has been very consistent in winning in the past and we were expected to step up and match these expectations. I think we handled this pressure extremely well, coming together as a team during the tournament, I think the thing that gave us a great advantage is that all of us spend so much time with each other, both the boys and girls, and we all had that chemistry with each other and we all get along well.

We went through the south of the river tournament undefeated with Kennedy boys and St Norbert’s girls putting up a good challenge in the final but we ended up on top, sending us to the grand final to play the champions of the north. Woodvale are Willetton's long term rival as they also have a good program as well. The boys were all confident coming into that game and ended out coming out on top 75-48. The girls were also much too strong winning 79-44. Overall I am very proud of what we were able to accomplish this year, it was a very good experience and we all enjoyed it.

Hayden Harwood Year 9

Boys Junior Championship team

INTERSCHOOL ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

Congratulations to all competitors, staff and officials who contributed to a successful and enjoyable 2018 School Sport WA Interschool Athletics Carnival. The team did the school and themselves proud at the State Athletics Stadium. After maintaining our spot in A Division in 2017 (with a 7th placing), we set a goal to repeat this and perhaps improve our ranking. We competed as one of the top nine athletics teams in the competition (66 teams overall). We were thrilled to receive 4th placing with 1266 points, perhaps our best result ever, and it rewarded the commitment and talent of the team.

As always, we had some outstanding individual performances, with 18 school and one interschool records as well as many personal bests. I also acknowledge those students who; ran up an age group, competed when unwell, filled in events, officiated or were reserves who did not get to compete on the day. These students are what team is all about and were a large part of our success.

A special mention also to the Year 12s who gave up their study time to attend. In particular, Captains Ally Holdcroft and Dwijen Nautiyal showed excellent leadership and I thank them for their assistance at trainings and carnivals. Thanks also to Vice-Captains Ash Cronin and Isaac Karafilis who have also been fantastic contributors to the team over their years at WSHS (as have the other two Year 12s who attended and helped out - Ben Johnson and Chloe Sauzier).

Finally, a huge thank you to the Physical Education staff for their time, effort and commitment over many weeks of lessons, year carnivals and training sessions. In particular, thanks to Mr Erik Pretorius, and Ms Andrea Wheeler for their assistance with the team and Miss Danika Pisconeri who coordinated the officials on the day.

Di Tuxford HPE Teacher

INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS

Year 7 Boys: 2nd Place Champion - Nicholus Lahiri
Year 9 Boys: 3rd Place Champion - Daanyaal Parker
Year 10 Girls: 3rd Place Champion - Teya Saville
Year 11/O Girls: 3rd Place Champion - Ashlee Cronin

A DIVISION INTERSCHOOL RECORD

Piper Hearn, Bethany Banister-Jones, Taylah Haboldt,Vanessa Jorquera, - 7G Relay Team (55.38)

SCHOOL RECORDS

EVENT PLACINGS

YEAR 7

Bethany Banister-Jones
3rd Year 7 Girls 800m, Div. B

Taylah Haboldt
3rd Year 7 Girls 200m, Div. A
2nd Year 7 Girls 100m, Div. C

Vanessa Jorquera
2nd Year 7 Girls 100m, Div. A

Nicholus Lahiri
1st Year 7 Boys Long Jump, Div. A
2nd Year 7 Boys 200m, Div. A
2nd Year 7 Boys 100m, Div. A

Yuxiang Li
3rd Year 7 Boys Long Jump, Div. B

Caleb Osbourne
3rd Year 7 Boys 800m, Div. B
3rd Year 7 Boys 100m, Div. C

YEAR 8

Holly Morgan
2nd Year 8 & Under Girls Shot Put, Div. B

Caitlin Hodgkinson
3rd Year 8 & Under Girls Discus, Div. A
3rd Year 8 & Under Girls Shot Put, Div. A

Lucius McPherson
2nd Year 8 Boys 90m Hurdles, Div. A

YEAR 9

Druvinka Fernando
1st Year 9 Girls High Jump, Div. A
2nd Year 9 Girls Triple Jump Div. A
2nd Year 9 Girls 400m, Div. A
2nd Year 9 Girls 100m, Div. C

Noah Boldy
3rd Year 9 Boys High Jump, Div. B

Mia Jacobs
1st Year 9 Girls Shot Put, Div. B
3rd Year 9 Girls High Jump, Div. B

Emily Kerr
3rd Year 9 Girls Triple Jump, Div. B

Saskia Saville
2nd Year 9 Girls Long Jump, Div. B

Hollie Tucek
3rd Year 9 Girls 100m, Div. B

Alyssa Wooding
3rd Year 9 Girls Shot Put, Div. A
1st Year 9 Girls Discus, Div. A

Orion Francis-Roberts
3rd Year 9 Boys 100m Hurdles, Div. A
1st Year 9 Boys 200m, Div. B
3rd Year 9 Boys 100m, Div. A

Jai Li Ong
2nd Year 9 & Under Boys 1500m, Div. A

Cormac McGinn
2nd Year 9 Boys 400m, Div. A

Cameron Scott
2nd Year 9 Boys Discus, Div. A
3rd Year 9 & Under Boys 1500, Div. B

Daanyaal Parker
1st Year 9 Boys High Jump, Div. A
3rd Year 9 Boys Long Jump, Div. A
1st Year 9 Boys 100m, Div. B

Tony Wang
3rd Year 9 Boys Discus, Div. B

YEAR 10

Lily Fitzgerald
3rd Year 10 Girls 200m, Div. B

Jorja Millington
2nd Year 10 & Over Girls Triple Jump, Div. B

Tia Morgan
3rd Year 10 Girls Shot Put, Div. B

Teya Saville
1st Year 10 & Over Girls 800m, Div. A
2nd Year 10 Girls 400m, Div. A
2nd Year 10 Girls 100m, Div. B

Wes Francis
3rd Year 10 Boys High Jump, Div. A

YEAR 11/O

Abbey Cilia
2nd Year 11 & Over Girls 400m, Div. A

Ashlee Cronin
1st Year 11 & Over Girls 100m Hurdles, Div. A
2nd Year 11 & Over Girls 200m, Div. A
1st Year 11 & Over Girls Long Jump, Div. A
1st Year 11 & Over Girls 100m, Div. B

Nicole Darwin
1st Year 11 & Over Girls 100m, Div. A

Courtney Johns
1st Year 11 & Over Girls Shot Put, Div. B
1st Year 11 & Over Girls Discus, Div. B

Zahli Jolly
1st Year 11 & Over Girls Discus, Div. A
2nd Year 11 & Over Girls 200m, Div. B
1st Year 11 & Over Girls 100m, Div. C

Daniel Harwood
2nd Year 11 & Over Boys Discus, Div. A

HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCE

2018 CANBERRA TRIP

Happy memories from the 2018 Canberra Tour side trip to Cooma

LANGUAGES

MLTAWA AWARDS NIGHT

The Modern Language Teachers’ Association of WA annual awards night was held at Willetton SHS on Wednesday, October 31. Awards to students from throughout the state, including Willetton students, were presented. Winners of the Side by Side and Let Me Tell You a Story competition were presented.

The Annual MLTAWA Principal’s Award was presented. Mr Booth won this award in 2017.The MLTAWA values the important role that principals play in advocating for Languages. This award acknowledges school leaders who have shown long-term commitment to their Languages program and promoted languages within the wider school community.

Mr Booth opened the event by talking briefly about the importance of languages in our school. Bianca Stevenson from Year 11 provided piano accompaniment and Marina Xiao, Jacqui Tan from Year 10 were the photographers for the night. Under the direction of Mr Curran and Mrs Gibson, Year 11 and 12 students provided delicious catering. The event was another successful Willetton SHS team event.

SIDE BY SIDE COMPETITION

Students were required to conduct a conversation in the target language with a classmate and record it on video. The competition was open to second language learners from P-12 in WA mainstream school programs.

Willetton made a number of entries and won two of the categories.

Congratulations to:

Jordan Hoffmann and Claudia Goh for winning the senior Japanese division.
Sonali Grover and Isha Naga for winning the senior French division.

To see winners for other categories, as well as to view the videos, visit:

Nathan Harvey Head of Learning Area

WAATI ITALIAN EXAMS

Each year, the Western Australian Association of Teachers of Italian creates and run the WAATI Exams for students in Years 10, 11 and 12. These exams are written and marked by experienced ATAR teachers and markers, and are aligned with the WACE curriculum in Italian. Hundreds of students from across WA sit the written paper, which includes listening, reading and writing tasks. The written papers are marked and the top ten students at each year level are offered an oral exam.

Willetton SHS was the only school in WA to have prize winners in all three categories.

Congratulazioni e complimenti to the following students:

Year 10

Jack Killoh - 1st prize for oral exam and 2nd prize overall

Year 11

Jae Brieffies - 3rd prize overall
Rachel Soo - Top ten in written exam
Sarah Singo - Top ten in written exam

Back L to R: Jae Brieffies, Jack Killoh
Front L to R: Josephine Santoso, Rachel Soo and Sarah Singo

Year 12

Josephine Santoso - 1st prize in written exam and 3rd prize overall

Our thanks also go to the Italian teaching team for motivating and preparing the students – Prof Carroll, Prof Palermo, Prof Petale and Prof Maio.

Front L to R: Prof Palermo, Josephine Santoso, Rachel Soo and Sarah Singo
Back L to R: Prof Carroll, Jae Brieffies, Jack Killoh and Prof Petale

Nathan Harvey Head of Learning Area

JAPAN TRIP

This year, twelve students, accompanied by Nomoto Sensei and Araki Sensei travelled to Japan in the annual exchange program. They enjoyed a two-week home stay with a Japanese family, experiencing everyday life in a Japanese high school environment and were totally immersed in the home and school life of their Japanese buddies. Throughout the homestay, Japanese skills were not the only thing growing beyond expectations. The relationships that were formed and memories made at Onsen, Universal Studios Japan or Karaoke, were definitely the highlights of this experience.

Visiting places with historical and cultural significance such as Kyoto, Hiroshima and Tokyo were enlightening experiences. Students were amazed by the breath taking architecture of the temples and their rich history. The Hiroshima Peace Park Memorial was an emotional yet insightful experience that will be remembered for a long time. The hustle and bustle of Tokyo, its bright city lights and Skytree were all wonderful memories.

This experience, rich with Japanese cultural knowledge and awareness, will play a key role in helping our Japanese studies.

Duli Jayalath Year 11

ARTICLE FROM JAPAN TIMES NEWSPAPER

Students from Year 11 at Willetton SHS in Australia are currently at the The High School of the University of Hyogo in Koto, Kamigori. They participated in their sports day.

They aimed for victory with a relay and tug-of-war. The international exchange started 23 years ago and both schools continued this mutual visit. The student who visited this time have selected to study Japanese at their own school. They have been taking lessons at the University high school for the last week.

On the sports day, they competed against each class. They challenged the three-legged race, scavenger hunt and long rope jumping. Zaina Sahid who is in Year 11 at Willetton commented Australian High Schools have many individual events on sports day. However, Japanese high schools have a lot of team events, which was really fun.

The above article appeared in the Kobe Shinbun when our Year 11 students were in Japan at The High School of the University of Hyogo, on October 4

ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE

Congratulations to Kate Graham from Year 10 who came second in the Alliance Française Poetry Competition. Kate recited the poem Marine by Paul Verlaine.

Kate Graham middle with French Teachers Mrs Seeburuth and Ms Haidri

Students in Year 9 Extension French, Year 10, 11 and 12 participated in the Alliance Française Examinations 2018.

Congratulations to the following students who achieved très bien (High Distinction).

Sharee Seeburuth French Teacher

MATHS

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION ASSESSMENT FOR SCHOOLS (ICAS)

The ICAS Maths Competition is an international competition which students are required to answer 35 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions within a one-hour time limit. 408 of our students from Year 7 to 12 entered in this challenging problem-solving competition and we achieved wonderful results.

A medal is awarded to students who achieve the highest score in the state for their year group. We had three students achieve this result this year. Yik Yuen (Ryan) Sun from Year 7 achieved an impressive score of 38 out of 40. Ian Pinto from Year 8 achieved an equally impressive score of 38 out of 40. Year 10 student Hang Yi Law achieved an outstanding score of 39 out of 40. Huge congratulations to these remarkable mathematicians.

Maths HOLA Ms Zoe Tay with ICAS Medal Winners Ian Pinto Year 8, Hang Yi (Chris) Law Year 10, Principal Mr Chris Booth and Yik Yuen (Ryan) Sun Year 7

Students who achieve a result in the top 1% of participants are awarded a High Distinction. Congratulations to these students who have either been awarded a High Distinction or the top three or four students in their year group:

Top Year 7 students Jeremy Lee, Yik Yuen (Ryan) Sun, Jayden Fong and Kyle Anthony with Principal Mr Chris Booth

Top Year 8 students Allan Wu, Ian Pinto, Thyler Cung and Samuel Thoo

Top Year 9 students Ryan Goon, Felix Rego and Saran Bicknell

Top Year 10 students Hang Yi (Chris) Law, Soong Tye Will Ho and Jonathan Chivers

Top Year 11 students William Hor, Nikhil Kannachel and David Ling with Principal Mr Chris Booth

Top Year 12 students Andrew Lee, Aditya Gupta and Christopher Chivers with Maths HOLA Ms Zoe Tay

To obtain a Distinction, Credit and Merit award, students need to be in the next 10%, next 25% and next 10% of the participants respectively.

In total we had 3 Medal Winners, 34 High Distinctions, 123 Distinctions, 162 Credits and 33 Merits.

All these amazing results would not have been possible without the dedication of our Mathematics staff and the tremendous support of parent helpers, Tristelle Thompson, Kim Tan, Kerry-Anne Andrew, and Nita Sodhi-Berry.

Peter Lee Mathematics Teacher

RESOURCE UNIT

FROM THE RESOURCE UNIT

Thank you to Essential Beauty at Southlands for generously donating, time, expertise, products and a schedule of skin enhancing facials to our Resource Unit students. The management at Essential Beauty were very happy to engage in helping organise skin care regimes that would enhance skin vitality and strengthen self-esteem. It is excellent to have such a positive liaison between the school and the wider community.

Debra Lievense and Jenni Hood Resource Unit Managers

SCIENCE

AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE INNOVATIONS (ASI) – BIG SCIENCE 2018

Willetton Senior High school students participated in the 2018 Australian Science Innovations (ASI) Big Science Competition earlier this year.

In the 2018 competition, many Willetton Senior High School students participated and achieved outstanding results including 12 High Distinction Awards (top 5% of all participants) and 12 Distinction Awards (top 15%).

Congratulations to the following students for their outstanding achievement.

Hao Ta Science Teacher

STAWA SCIENCE TALENT SEARCH WINNERS

Year 9 Engineering First Place: Cohen Miskiewicz, Sineth Kalutotage, Samuel Sundararajan, Arun Arjunan

Year 10 Communication Second Place: Sadisha Kalupahanage, Arghya Wibowo, Shu Yi Loke, Asma Masood

Third Place: Hang Yi Law, Soong Tye Ho, Mattheson Meerwald

YEAR 11 BIOLOGY – LIVING EGGS PROGRAM

Students were treated to seeing chicks hatch from incubated eggs. Students were assigned to a chicken and observed their independent behaviours and innate reflexes such as being able to perch and forage for food. Students realized the importance of this independence as there was no parental care. The chicks’ mass was measured and monitored to show how quickly they grow. Students also learnt the ethical practices of handling animals.

Mrs Gloria Wynhorst Biology Teacher

FIRST TECH CHALLENGE

It is every parent’s nightmare and every teacher’s delight - bits of robot everywhere and totally engaged students. Here you can see Willetton SHS FIRST (For Inspiration of Science and Technology) Tech team figuring out how to build their robot.

This is the inaugural FTC contest, and we look forward to competing.

Leon Harris, Bruce Dopson and Paul Hogg Science/Technology Teachers

TECHNOLOGIES

LOWER SCHOOL FOODS

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING

WORKING HOLIDAYS

Students have the opportunity in senior school to support the completion of studies with work experiences. This is a time to explore what a career actually looks like, identify the soft and job skills needed and then to confirm a career direction.

Isabelle Shearer completed work experience at the Kensington Police Station. Her time working with officers, both front line and plain clothes showed their commitment to the varied aspects of their work. A key focus was to help people and in doing so, included problem solving, thinking outside the box, being careful in listening and then communicating clearly. Pressure in terms of work load and also in terms of working effectively with people were part of Isabelle’s learning curve of experiences. She was able to sit in on a briefing to understand what that may involve and also the process and protocols of writing reports.

She has been inspired to become a police officer, to the extent she has extended her work experience to days in December after she completes the Year 11 academic year.

Grant Box completed work experience with Zambezi Electrical, working with different electricians over his week. His work involved working on residential problems including inspecting smoke alarms, fitting lights, installing wall plugs and cleaning evaporative air conditioners. Grant sees this as industry he may wish to pursue and has been impressed with the need for safety, especially to follow all the rules around electrics.

Chun Sern Shong completed work experience at Willetton SHS in the busy front office admin area under the supervision of Mrs Penny Lindley and Mrs Lynette Read.

It was certainly a case of learning on the job quickly and Chun identified the need to listen, to follow instructions carefully, to ask questions when unsure and then to be able to quietly and confidently take the initiative to problem solve. Supportive problem solving was no better evidenced in rectifying photocopying issues for busy teachers. In his time, Chun evolved into being a sociable and professional team member, always polite, friendly and respectful.

Ruth Barratt Work Placement Teacher

THEY GOT THE JOB

It is that time of the year for Year 11 and 12 students to take the final assessment for Career and Enterprise with a mock job interview for work they could realistically apply for in the next 6 – 12 months. It is also a time when students actually take the next step and apply for jobs for the summer break before returning to school or taking that next BIG step to further education and training.

An uplifting example was of Year 12 student, Keely Guilliamse, who participated in her mock job interview assessment in the morning at school and then participated in the REAL job interview in the afternoon. She was successful and now works with a local real estate company. A great outcome in both instances, and true valuing of our course, Career and Enterprise.

We are fortunate to have the help of interviewers who are rich in life experiences, work experiences and also in management. David Templeman, former manager for the Commonwealth Bank has been a stalwart of our interview team over many years, asking questions, recording the interviewers and providing immediate, valuable feedback.

Another great outcome for one of our students has been with Razin Lee. He emailed, as is required to confirm me as his referee, as he was applying for jobs. It was a joy to receive his reply with the news he had applied, been interviewed and was now another job owner. Thanks for the mock interviews and the resume we did for C&E, which really helped a lot.

Interviewers Natalie Brown and Madeleine Waller were impressed with the efforts and the accomplished way in which many of our Year 11 students presented and marketed themselves so well in interview.

Being able to organise applications, resume and evidence portfolios requires knowledge and understanding of the transferability of skills and knowledge: from coaching a basketball team to working IN a team in workplace. Our students understand it is about marketing themselves in the most positive way, relative to the criteria of the possible work. They also understand it is a competitive work market and it is a reality they may not be successful and will need to try again and again to achieve their goal. Each reset is an opportunity to learn about themselves and the process.

With the help of our interviewers, our students are beginning that journey of understanding about the real world of work.

Empowerment of our students can come in many shapes and forms and it is truly exciting to see our students using the some of the tools they now have to negotiate life and work.

Ruth Barratt Career and Enterprise Teacher

Madeleine Waller, CAE teacher Natalie Greenham and Natalie Brown

YEAR 12 CERTIFICATE II COMMUNITY SERVICES

BURRENDAH PRIMARY SCHOOL MORNING TEA

In the last week of Term 3, the students in the Certificate II Community Services course organised a special morning tea for staff at Burrendah Primary School as a thank you for providing work experience placements to Willetton Senior High School students throughout 2018.

The Year 12 students had been attending Burrendah for an hour every Wednesday assisting the classroom teacher with various duties, from preparing resources, reading to students, helping with lunches, and hanging class work around the room. The primary school students across different year groups were always so excited to see the bigger high school students visiting their classrooms, and were always eager to work with our students.

Thank you to the Principal, Janine Kinninment for allowing our Willetton Senior High School students to engage so successfully with both students and staff at Burrendah Primary School in 2018. It is hoped this relationship can continue into 2019 and beyond.

Natalie Greenham Community Services Trainer

SCHOOL BOARD NEWS

SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS AND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Information and nominations for parent and staff representatives to the School Board will open from early February 2018, and the Board’s AGM will be held on Monday March 25, 2019 at 5.30pm in the staff room. All members of the school community are welcome.

STAFF APPRECIATION MORNING TEA

With the support of parent volunteers and the Interact Club, the School Board will recognise and show appreciation of the work of teachers and staff by hosting a special morning tea on December 7. If you would like to assist by providing a plate of food for the staff, or send in a thank you note or card, please contact Helen Wong at helen.s.wong@education.wa.edu.au as soon as possible.

YEAR 12 VISUAL ARTS EXHIBITION

Board members were impressed by the standard of student artwork when they attended this exhibition recently.

After much deliberation and a vote, the Board was very pleased to purchase artwork from two very talented young artists – Nancy Shi for her piece titled His Journey, and Grace Yong for her piece titled The Making of Reuben Black. These pieces of artwork will remain at the school, for the school community to admire and enjoy. We congratulate this cohort on their creative work and wish them all the best for the future.

SECOND-HAND BOOKSHOP

Year 11 and 12 students wishing to sell their textbooks may bring in their books to the second-hand bookshop during trading hours or drop them off at the front office. Please ensure you fill in the required bookshop form before dropping your books off. Forms are available from the front office, School Board office and bookshop, or may be downloaded from the school website

Students are encouraged to bring in their books as early as possible in order to have them catalogued and on the shelves ready to be sold when the demand is highest. Please do not bring in books that are no longer on the booklist, as we are unable to sell them or have the facility to store them.

We also stock a range of lower school resource material, calculators, class pads, math-o-matts and language dictionaries.

Current Year 10 and Year 11 students are invited to visit the second hand bookshop to purchase your Year 11 and Year 12 booklist requirements for 2019. Many of the textbooks are half to two thirds the price of new textbooks. 2019 booklists will be available shortly.

The second hand bookshop and uniform shop are open for additional trade and times are listed below. Please note that credit card and eftpos facilities are not available. Payment by cash or cheque only. Cheques should be made payable to Willetton Senior High School Council, and include your driver’s licence details on the back.

For further information, please contact the bookshop on 9334 7282 during opening hours or Helen Wong on 9334 7217.

SECOND HAND UNIFORM SHOP

The uniform shop will gladly accept your Willetton SHS uniforms once you no longer require them. These are accepted on a donation basis, and not on consignment. It would be greatly appreciated if uniforms are washed and of reasonable quality. Proceeds from the sale of these uniforms go towards funding projects around the school.

SCHOOL BOARD THANK YOU

We would like to acknowledge and thank the wonderful parents, grandparents and community members who have volunteered their time to help the school with various projects this year. Much could not have been achieved without your wonderful support. Special thanks go to the bookshop and the second hand uniform shop volunteers who work tirelessly, and the members of the Willo Parent Group. Your faithful contribution to the school is recognised and very much valued by the Board and the school community.

FAREWELL CLASS OF 2018

We wish our Year 12 students a fond farewell and the very best for your bright future ahead. We encourage you to remain connected to the school through the alumni, by registering your details via the link below.

HOW TO CONTACT THE SCHOOL BOARD OFFICE

To find out more about the School Board or how you might get involved, please contact Helen Wong, School Board Executive Officer on 9334 7217 during term, or email helen.s.wong@education.wa.edu.au

As this is the last issue for the year, the School Board would like to take this opportunity to wish all members of our school community a very special Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year. We look forward to working together with you again in 2019.

WILLO PARENT GROUP

WILLO PARENT GROUP MEETINGS

The Willo Parent Group meets each term, coming together for parent information sessions or meeting socially over morning tea, lunch or dinner. This is a great way to meet with members of the school community and find out what is happening around the school. Suggestions for meetings are always welcome. For details of Willo Parent Group events please contact helen.s.wong@education.wa.edu.au

UNDERSTANDING YOUR TEENAGER – PART 2

What a fantastic afternoon we had on Friday October 26 as school psychologist Luke Spagnolo enlightened us with his wealth of knowledge to better understand our teenagers – not only with scientific evidence, but practical advice interwoven with humour and a non-judgemental approach. The practical workshop allowed for a healthy discussion amongst parents, and plenty of opportunity for Q & A. The workshop ended with parents undoubtedly feeling better equipped to work towards a more positive relationship with their teen. Thank you Luke!

For some helpful handouts used by Luke at his presentations, please contact Helen Wong at helen.s.wong@education.wa.edu.au with your email address.

Parent feedback:

Brilliant presentation
Great pace, fantastic context, well spoken
Great link between parents and kids
I learnt about the psychology behind behaviour
The best idea I heard was to keep communication short and simple
I learnt about managing my anxiety and stepping away during tension

Next year, Luke will take on an acting positon based in Fremantle and we wish him the very best with this wonderful opportunity. We look forward to Luke’s return to Willetton SHS in 2020.

SAVE THIS DATE – Christmas Lunch on Friday November 30, 2018

Our last meeting for the year will go out with a bang as we celebrate Christmas together!

Come along for a fun afternoon, dressed in your Christmas reds and/or greens.

Where: Willetton SHS Staff Room
Time: 12 noon to 1.00pm
Please a bring a plate of food to share.

If you wish to take part, please also bring along a wrapped Secret Santa present of $5-$10 value.

Please RSVP your attendance to willoparent@gmail.com by November 28 and let us know if you are bringing a sweet or savoury dish.

There will also be a Christmas stall on the day for you to buy some beautiful hand-decorated notepads and Christmas cards. Proceeds will go towards the Interact Club’s fundraising.

STAFF APPRECIATION MORNING TEA – HELP NEEDED

On Friday December 7, the School Board will host a morning tea to thank all staff for the hard work they have put in to teaching and nurturing our children. If you would like to assist by providing a plate of homemade goodies, please contact Helen Wong by November 16 for further details. It would be wonderful to thank the staff through a range of foods from different countries to show just how multicultural this school is. If you would also like to send in a letter or card of appreciation to staff, this can also be done through Helen Wong. Please email her at helen.s.wong@education.wa.edu.au or post to Attn: Helen Wong, Willetton Senior High School Board, 120 Pinetree Gully Road, Willetton 6155.