27 November 2019

Editor: Jenny LeSouef
Technology: Nola Regan

Newsletter Articles

VALE – FRAN SPENCER GREEVE

We are mourning the loss of teacher Fran Spencer Greeve, who passed away on November 3.

Fran was a staff member here for 13 years. She taught English to students from Years 7 to 12 and had a particular love of Literature which she taught at Year 11 level.

Fran’s approach to her students was nurturing and firm. She was a determined and courageous woman and faced life head on. Fran had a strong sense of justice and a commitment to fairness and inclusivity and keenly supported the well-being of students at all academic levels. She was the convenor of the school’s Literacy Committee, active in designing cross curricular literacy programs to support all students. Fran’s classroom was her realm which she made interesting for students and decorated according to the festival of the season.

Fran was an active member of the Teachers’ Union and held Union Branch positions.

We will miss her positive outlook, professionalism and sense of humour.

Sincere sympathy to Fran’s family, especially her son Chris Hanley, a teacher at our school.

Farewell, Fran.

Rest in peace.

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

In this last newsletter for the year, I am delighted to reiterate my impressions of the ethos at Willetton. The culture of success, respect and achievement is outstanding and is a tribute to staff, students and our whole Willetton community. It is a pleasure to lead such an exceptional school and I look forward to many years of continued development. I must specially acknowledge the staff for their work in classrooms as well as after school clubs, sporting teams, camps, foreign exchange adventures and many other activities – their commitment enables this curriculum enrichment to occur.

In this newsletter, we present our 2019 NAPLAN results. Our comparative results again set us above like schools in in all five NAPLAN areas in Years 7 and 9. Thanks to all involved in both preparation and delivery of the tests. The logistics for online testing are challenging and our operations team rose to the occasion.

We have also included the National School Opinion Survey results for the last three years. The consistency of positive feedback is rewarding; we work hard together with our community to meet the needs of our students.

Our current Year 12s have completed their time with us and we look forward to them receiving the results they have worked diligently to achieve. Their graduation ceremony was on Friday November 15. As my first ceremony as Principal, I was impressed with both with its scale and with the genuine acknowledgement of the positive relationships between staff, students and the school. Many thanks to our Student Services team lead by Phil Sherwood for the massive task of organising the occasion. Our Year 12 award winners are listed in this publication.

It is through community support that this school thrives. It was wonderful for our staff to receive community acknowledgement of their efforts on World Teachers’ Day with a magnificent morning tea organised by the School Board. It was much appreciated by all. Thanks to Helen Wong, the Board Executive Officer and her parent committee for their effort and for Board Chair, Paolo Chivers for her kind words.

The introduction of the new Education Department rules concerning student mobile phones is a work in progress. We will send the Willetton specific policy for 2020 to all parents by the end of the year.

We are pleased that after many meetings and discussions that we can announce that our application for a staffed crosswalk on Pinetree Gully Road will commence in 2020. We are aware that this has been an issue for many years and a positive outcome will be well received by you.

This is our last full newsletter for 2019. We will be issuing an administrative information document in the last week of term with details of first day arrangements, book and second hand uniform shop hours and other information. I take this early opportunity therefore to wish all of you a happy holiday and look forward to celebrating with you more student success in 2020.

Trevor Hunter

BOARD CHAIR REPORT

The end of 2019 has been a very busy time for the School Board members, as we undertake the last steps to adopt the Department of Education constitution for our Incorporated Board and oversight on next year’s budget. 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 gives up significant time to support our students through our Board activities.

REMINDER: Parents please attend the Special General Meeting December 5 at 3pm in the Staff Room to alter the rules in order to meet the requirements of the Associations Incorporation Act 2015. More information on the resolutions for adoption are in this newsletter. The standard constitution for incorporated school councils can be found at the link below.

It was a great pleasure to observe the magnificent work of the Year 12 ATAR students at the Art Exhibition. The pride we share with students, their teachers and parents again reminds me of what a fantastic school community we are fortunate to be a part. Each year, the School Board puts aside some funds to purchase artworks on behalf of the school, for display around the school. Each member votes on the pieces available for sale and I congratulate the two exhibit winners: Darling by Sarah Singho and Wanderer by Safiyya Aljunied.

Once again, the Board facilitated the staff morning tea for World Teachers' Day. An amazing display of sweet and savoury treats were provided to staff to say thank you. Importantly, this event would not have been possible without all the parents who donated food and our volunteers Steve Savage, Lyn Hilton, Kerry-Anne Andrew, Sabrina DeSilva, Vesi Crossley, Angela Ooi, Gauri Thanasingam and Meridee Abbott who prepared and presented the food.

I recently read a Dateline article By Hareem Khan on a visit to unearth the secrets of Singapore’s education success. Importantly their system had embedded a culture of change, adaptation and innovation in terms of how it runs schools. I believe these attributes are some of Willo’s strengths, which supports an environment that nurtures success across a diverse range of outcomes. However, the article noted that a school must also engage our students if it is going to succeed, making educational activities relevant and therefore important to them. We often talk about the ethos and culture of Willetton and these attributes we embrace were identified in this article as associated with success. The fact is when you walk into a school, it's the vibe of a school. When students are happy to come to school, when teachers are happy to work together, they collaborate, they develop great learning experiences and they can be many and varied.

Willetton Senior High School continues to strive to nurture all students in their pursuits. Importantly, it is the opportunities that are made available to our students which is to be commended, regardless of the outcome. It is through these diverse opportunities that our students are provided avenues to follow their dreams, strengths or even just find out ‘it’s not really for them’ or to deal with not being the best all the time, or working hard to overcome difficulties and challenges.

This Term, I also had the pleasure to observe the Student Parliament and was impressed by our budding leaders and representatives of the future. Their focus this year was on being environmentally conscious and looking at the everyday small things we can do at school. Once again, they demonstrated a thoughtfulness and articulation of the issues of concern and presented achievable ideas for improvement. Year 11 councillors then attended our last Board meeting and presented a summary of their Parliament outcomes. What was 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.

Our thoughts are with all students who are doing their best in their final assessments, particularly Year 10 and Year 11 students undertaking end of year exams. As the term nears to an end it was time to farewell our Year 12s at their November 15 graduation and thank Andrea Wheeler for guiding them, sharing both their ups and downs, and finally safely seeing them through to the end of their five years at Willetton. We 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

NAPLAN OVERVIEW

NATIONAL SCHOOL OPINION SURVEY

School Survey is a data collection tool designed specifically for Australian schools.

Through it, we have gathered valuable feedback from our school community to support future planning. Teachers, students and parents have contributed anonymously to the data shown below. Many thanks to those who participated.

ADIEU YEAR 12S

The Graduation Ceremony for our Year 12 students was held on November 15 at HBF Stadium. Despite the very hot weather, the ceremony was again a great success. Many thanks the Student Services team and other supporting staff for their organisation and to the many parents, friends and relatives who attended.

Year 12 Graduation

YEAR 12 ACADEMIC AWARDS - 2019

THE ARTS

ENGLISH

HEALTH & PHYSICAL EDUCATION

HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

LANGUAGES AND EALD

MATHEMATICS

SCIENCE

TECHNOLOGIES

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION TRAINING

CURTIN UNIREADY COURSES

WILLETTON SHS SPORTSWOMAN 2019

Emily Counsel

WILLETTON SHS SPORTSMAN 2019

Luke Jackson

WILLETTON SHS THE ARTS – CULTURAL 2019

Thomas Walker

WILLETTON SHS CITIZENSHIP 2019

Araan Kousari

WILLETTON SHS GIVE, GROW, GUIDE – ENDEAVOUR 2019

Cameron Kerr

WILLETTON SHS OUTSPAN 2019

Ambalangodage Mihan De Silva

ADF LONG TAN LEADERSHIP AND TEAMWORK AWARD 2019

David Barry

AUSTRALIANSUPER EXCELLENCE IN VET

Georgia Shearer

CALTEX BEST ALL-ROUNDER 2019

Kelvin Lim

WILLETTON SHS VET DUX 2019

Genevieve Elisarow

WILLETTON SHS ATAR DUX 2019

Jae Brieffies

WILLETTON ROTARY AWARDS 2019

The Rotary Club of Willetton again presented outstanding members of our school annual awards this year. Many thanks to them for their support and congratulations to the award winners.

YEAR 11 AWARD WINNERS

ACADEMIC - Jack Killoh
COMMUNITY SERVICE - Talisha Jayarangsri
SPORT – Mackayla Denny
THE ARTS AWARD - Ivan Liew

YEAR 10 AWARD WINNERS

ACADEMIC - Skyler Barnett
COMMUNITY SERVICE - Emily Ong
SPORT - Ai Leng Lee
THE ARTS - Isla Simeoni

TEACHER OF THE YEAR

Belinda Morrissy

Belinda Morrissy receives her award

OUR OWN PIECE OF HISTORY

On November 9, there were great celebrations in Germany. It was 30 years since the Berlin wall came down. The wall was built in 1961 to stop an exodus from the eastern communist part of a divided Germany to the more prosperous west.

The wall was a concrete barrier which separated towns, families and friends and around 138 people lost their lives trying to escape across it. Tearing the wall down was seen as a symbol of world hope, that all barriers between people can be demolished.

Our Principal at that time was Brendan Davies and he wanted a portion of the wall for our school. Through luck and complex negotiations, he obtained a sizeable piece and it now sits proudly in the main foyer. We even have a photo of exactly where our piece of the wall came from.

Please feel free to drop in to see our section of the wall and read the story of how this symbol of hope came to Willetton.

GIRLS IN AVIATION

A few weeks ago, an excursion was offered to girls situated around Perth who were interested in aviation. The basics of the day were that we could explore a hangar at Perth Airport and have a look at all the planes and other things. It was a rare occasion that we all took up straight away.

From experimenting with new technology, boarding an old Qantas Roo, we even met with four officers from various fields of the Airforce. We spoke with an ejection seat engineer and fighter pilots. We were also able to experience landing a plane in a simulation as well as talking to various people working within the aviation industry. We even saw helicopters having major reconstruction after a massive incident a few years ago. It was certainly an inspiring experience for people who dream of going into aviation.

When we are older, the three of us aspire to go into a different field of aviation ranging from mechanics, being a pilot or to be a part of the military security.

The aviation day gave us insight into different aspects of aviation that we could work in and what we would do. It opened up options for us to use the STEM skills we learn in school in the aviation industry.

Bethan Rosier, Wei En Seet and Taronish Mehta Year 10

ABORIGINAL CULTURE EXPERIENCE

The Department of Parks and Wildlife offers some wonderful Nearer to Nature programs, and our Aboriginal students along with some school friends attended a day in the Perth Hills, learning about Noongar Culture and enjoying a session with an officer from Wildcare. Some of the activities of the day, as pictured below, included, learning about bush tucker on a bush walk, making flour, cooking damper, starting fires the traditional way, face painting, spear throwing, learning about the Noongar seasons and learning about the work that is done with injured native animals. It was a lovely day in a beautiful setting at Mundaring and the students had some memorable learning and social experiences.

Ms Hale HaSS Teacher

Aboriginal Culture Experience

UNIREADY VISIT TO CURTIN

From touring Curtin’s many food spots to trying out the forest of hammocks, 18 Year 12 UniReady students got an insight into university life on a recent trip to Curtin University.

The day also involved a tour of the campus, a race around campus competition, a Q&A session and a chat with student volunteers, among other things.

The UniReady students all agreed that the day was a valuable opportunity to prepare themselves for further studies and have all their questions answered. The UniReady course is new to us this year and provides students with an alternative pathway to university entrance at Curtin.

Pip Peake and Kate Sorensen UniReady Teachers

18 WSHS students from the UniReady course visited Curtin University recently for a day of exploration and immersion into University life

INTERACT NEWS DONATION DRIVE- HOW YOU CAN HELP

This term, our club has been fundraising for Living Child, a locally run charity which works with mothers and women in Papua New Guinea to improve maternal health so that babies born there, and their mothers, have the best chances of survival. We raised a total of $867.65 by selling curry puffs and spiders at our Spring Cool down stall. This money will go towards items for baby bundles we will send to Living Child. However, to send as many as possible, we would like to ask for donations from everyone. For each of the bundles, we need:

• Baby singlets
• Baby onesies
• Baby Blanket
• Face washer/ flannel
• Bath soap
• Cloth Nappies

We would appreciate it if you could contribute by donating any of the above items to the collection boxes in Student Services and the Staff Room, keeping in mind the items need to be new and unused. We will collect until Friday Week 7 (November 29).

$500 GIFT CARD UP FOR GRABS

The Interact Club will also have a raffle for a $500 Coles Myer gift card, which we will run over weeks 8 and 9. Tickets will be sold outside Student Services at recess and lunchtimes. This is an amazing first prize, so make sure you get your tickets.

The Interact Club has achieved a lot this year, and we thank everyone for the contributions they have made to the club, especially the Year 12’s for the wonderful work they have done. We wish you all the best for your future and hope you will come back and visit us soon.

Mehvish Mehboob Interim Secretary

Thank you, teachers: Interact member Jade Regel making thank you cards for staff as part of World Teachers’ Day

Spring Cool down stores

Applications for Years 7, 9, 10 and 11 in 2021 are now live https://apps.det.wa.edu.au/gate/# .
Applications for top-up testing for older students close Sunday February 9, 2020

SCHOOL UNIFORM – UNIFORM CONCEPTS

Our uniforms are available from UNIFORM CONCEPTS, 30 Kembla Way, Willetton.

The store is closed from December 19 to January 2. To avoid long queues, an appointment for fitting can be made at www.appts-wttn.as.me or by phoning 9270 4669

WILLETTON SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI MERCHANDISE

Calling all past students – Your journey at Willo doesn’t end when you finish high school. Become a part of the Willo Alumni.

The Alumni’s mission is to support and promote the interests of both Alumni and the school community by strengthening the bonds with the school community, creating personal links, providing services and fostering connections among Alumni, students and the school.

You are invited to become a part of the Willetton SHS Alumni, by registering your details at the link below.

Special Alumni merchandise has been produced for all former Willo students, and may be purchased through the School Board office. Prices start from $25. Contact willetton.shs.schoolboard@education.wa.edu.au or 9334 7217.

GIFTED AND TALENTED

SCIENCE TALENT SEARCH WINNERS

FIRST PRIZE IN RESEARCH INVESTIGATION AND YOUNG SCIENTIST OF THE YEAR AWARD

Peyton Longbottom, Yoon Creelman and Emily Rahaley. Their topic was – Does metal and metalloid contaminant concentrations within sediment and water increase or decrease within a water column in the river after a storm? The conclusion was that all contaminant levels increased. Their project was also nominated by the Science Teachers’ Association of WA for the national BHP Billiton Science and Engineering Competition.

SECOND PRIZE IN RESEARCH INVESTIGATION

Nicholas Ring, Noah Boldy and Morgan Boldy. The research topic was What is the most effective type of warm-up to get the most out of physical performance? The conclusion was dynamic stretches are more effective compared with static stretches.

Mita Munshi Science Teacher

EGGSCELLENT EGG DROP

Year 10 students designed egg capsules using materials such as straws, cotton wool, cardboard, bubble wrap, balloons, sticky tape, cotton buds and foam. The mass of the capsule had to be less than the mass of the egg.

Students have learnt about safety in car design in their physics course and how Newton’s Second Law can be used to minimise the impact of a force by prolonging deceleration time. They had to use these concepts in their design.

Mita Munshi Science Teacher

Oliver Rapanaro drops his while Mr Hamley and others look on

Ethan Wan and Maxim Rumsey (second and third from the left) take their turn to drop their capsule

Brooke Meynert and Pfeiffer Myers (second and third from the left) are next

HUMAN BOXPLOTS

During Term 3, the Year 9 Gifted and Talented classes began studying statistics in maths which included the learning and making of boxplots. As an exercise, we created HUMAN boxplots of our heights.

First, we measured each person’s height and ordered the results in ascending order before calculating the quartile, median, maximum and minimum values. We then lined up in this order and gave the people whose heights were these calculated values, their respectful title sign (e.g. Minimum, Maximum, Median, Q1, Q3). From this, we’re able to compare and contrast the spread of heights in the two classes.

Gwen Chee Kim Ling Year 9

THE ARTS

YEAR 12 ART EXHIBITION

DANCE

Dance students from Years 7-11

Congratulations to all our Year 12 Arts students. They have been dedicated and exciting to work with in their final school journey this year. Best wishes for future pathways chosen after graduating. The best chapters are still to be written, so work hard, commit and passion will achieve miracles.

Specialist Hip-Hop teachers Isabella Bolendaras and Kentaro Ando took lower school students for a specialist workshop exploring the multifaceted hip-hop genre.

Year 9 Dance group

Thank you to all who danced in 2019 and we are looking forward to the future.

Dance Students from Year 7-11

Dancer: Faith Campbell Year 10

MUSIC NEWS… BREAKFASTS, CONCERTS, EXAMS, ACHIEVEMENTS…

Achievement…

Year 12 Music student Ethan Yip, has already been offered a place in UWA’s music program in percussion. Well done, Ethan. We are very proud of you.

Thank you…

To thank our students for their hard work and dedication throughout the year, Years 8-11 students were invited to a music breakfast, a tradition in the music program that sees our students feasting on a delicious breakfast provided by our catering students.

The end of the road: Current Year 11 Music students farewell our Year 12 Music ATAR and Certificate students at the recent Valedictory night

PETER PAN

Peter Pan is a childhood classic written by J. M. Barrie and has touched many people around the world. The Year 10s performed a production of Peter Pan in the evening of November 8 and we sold over 260 tickets (which is a new school record). As a class we were so proud of the production created. Peter Pan was one of the biggest productions Willetton has produced this year and we had a very detailed set, lighting and sound. This definitely set our show apart and made it a very technical show.

Isla Simeoni Year 10

LANGUAGES

ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE EXAMINATIONS

For over 10 years our students have participated in the Alliance Française High-school Examinations. These exams have provided our French language students with a serious, reliable and objective way to assess their level.

This year all Year 12, 11, 10 and 9 extension students sat the state-wide exam. We performed at a high level achieving three awards. Félicitations to all students who were involved.

Cady Chan Year 12 - 1st place Best Writing

FRENCH TOUR

During the Term 3 break, a group of seventeen students took part in an exchange program to France. The group was accompanied by two teachers who did a great job in keeping everyone safe and made sure we were had a great time. The trip was for three weeks, two weeks in Angoulême where each student stayed with a host family, and one week in Paris.

Each of us had a unique and enriching experience with our respective host families. For two weeks, we experienced the French culture and way of life, as we spent time with the families. We were exposed to many beautiful places in the south-west of France, and participated in everyday activities such as playing sports with our host families. We also had the chance to participate in fun activities with our correspondents, such as visiting a chocolate factory and making ourselves an array of chocolate treats, spending a day doing Accrobranche (a treetop obstacle course) and visiting futuristic theme park called Futuroscope.

The school we attended (Marguerite de Valois) was very different from ours; just walking around campus was a big culture shock. The school itself was one long building which was eight stories high, in contrast to Willetton with many open spaces and scattered buildings around campus. They also ate lunch in a cafeteria, where students and teachers have the same set meals the chefs have prepared. We sat at tables in a big room, and it felt like we’d just walked into an American high school movie. The school also had a bell that played music to signify the end of each period, while we were there they played songs by Australian artists. They even played sad instrumental music on our last day with them.

For the duration of our time in Paris, we all stay in groups of three in a hotel with a great view of the beautiful old Parisian streets. Every day was jam-packed with activities. The afternoon we arrived in Paris, we visited the Louvre and climbed the Eiffel Tower while it sparkled. We also got to visit incredible places like the Palace of Versailles, the Catacombs, and the Arc de Triomphe. We had a few fun meals as a group, getting to try freshly made French crepes at a restaurant near the Sacré-Cœur. We spent our last day in Paris at Disneyland, where we got to go on many cool rides and stayed for the breathtaking light show and fireworks display after dinner.

This once in a lifetime experience gave us a chance to experience French culture first hand, and improve our speaking and listening skills in a fun and unique way. We all learnt a lot on this trip, and formed friendships and made memories that will stay with us forever.

Charlotte Gray Year 10

2019 France Tour

ITALIAN EXCHANGE

From farewelling three of our Italian exchange students, Mehala Moretti, Serena Furina and Andrea Schiera, we soon farewell five of our students, Ella Angus, Owen Mckellar, Azonia Ralli, Suzanne Rodrigues and Shormita Samad, who are about to embarked on a life changing adventure in Italy – they will live with an Italian family, attend school and live la dolce vita for two months.

Italian Exchange Students

We wish them well and hope that this experience will be enriching, from improving Italian language skills, to gaining a more profound understanding and appreciation of the Italian culture.

Buon viaggio ragazzi e in bocca al lupo. (Bon voyage & good luck)

Shormita Samad, Suzanne Rodrigues, Ella Angus & Azonia Ralli

Owen McKellar

I am so excited to go to Italy on exchange this year because of all the incredible opportunities I’m going to experience and all the new people I’m going to meet. I really think that I’m going to enjoy my time there because on top of helping me improve my Italian skills, which will come in tremendously handy for my ATAR in upcoming years, I will also get to see new things (like snow for the first time in my life) and try new cuisines and activities and experience a completely different lifestyle to my own.

I also think this trip is going to help me become more independent as I will have to learn to adapt in a new and unfamiliar environment surrounded by new people and I think that will really help me in the future when I’m at university or enter the workforce. Italians also have a very rich culture which I am very keen to learn about and luckily, I am going to be going at Christmas time so I’ll be able to witness my first ever white Christmas and take part in all the Italian Christmas traditions. Ever since I first started learning Italian in Year 7 I have been very interested in the topics, traditions and language and so I think this trip is going to leave me with unforgettable memories and make me fall even more in love with Italy and all it has to offer.

Shormita Samad Year 10

REFLECTIONS - ITALIAN EXCHANGE STUDENTS

There are so many things to be able to say about Willetton. Firstly, Willetton taught me to never stop learning and that a school is not just a building, but it is people including students and teachers who, by doing their duty, can show you the right path to pursue. It is a really beautiful school, the professors were all available, especially at the beginning when I didn't understand almost anything about English. People always tried to make me feel at ease. I attended courses that are not available in Italian schools because I tried to learn more new things and integrate them into my own studies. In particular, I was struck by the Drama course, which helps students pull out their emotions and show them without fear. Willetton offers students a wide preparation, there are indeed so many courses and I was lucky to have been chosen for Willetton, because I experienced a different reality and appreciated it to the fullest. It was really nice to be able to be a part of Willetton, even for a little while. The school's emblem has three keywords: Give, Grow and Guide. I believe that this school fully embodies these three principles in full and allows students not only to learn but also to develop their personality and their person. This school really gave me so much, it guided me on a path that helped me grow. Thank you so much Willetton. Thanks to my host family for every single moment, because you made every single moment for me really precious and important.

Mehala Moretti Year 11

I’m not very good at sharing my feelings, but I want to let you know that I have loved everything that I’ve done here in WA. From buying Indian food, to waking up at 6am to go to school with my host brother Haydn, to not understanding your Aussie jokes and to playing with my host’s dogs - even though one of them broke my phone.

Jokes aside, I have loved this experience and although I’ve missed Italy, I won’t regret a single day. I’ll always be very proud of having a second family, because they have been so very special, so thank you again. Thank you also to Willetton SHS and all the wonderful experiences that it me offered me these past two months.

Andrea Schiera Year 10

I decided to have this experience without thinking too much - at 15 years old you have so many opportunities and you can do lots of things. An experience like this is part of those absolute things to do.

I arrived in Australia and I didn’t know what to do, what to say. My parents were not there to help me and I was away from home - but now, after about two months, I realize how superficial those thoughts were. The fear I had was short because there were really nice people waiting for me. It isn’t easy to feel at home away from your country, from your friends and from you real home, but everything was easy; waking up in another house, having dinner together, talking, joking and now I know for certain that I am happy because I met incredible people. I had beautiful days because of the people that I shared this experience with.

To the Sales family, thank you for being so kind, helpful, lovely and sweet from day one. You were extremely understanding with me. Thank you for all the things that you all did for me. I had the best time of my life: I saw lots of amazing places, I met lots of beautiful people, I’ve done so many things in a few weeks and this is all with you. Willetton, new friends, movies, sleepovers, songs, laughs and every single moment with you all, I’ll take with me and cherish these experiences forever. Thanks also to Prof Palermo for being always gentle, available and sweet with me.

Serena Furina Year 10

HOSTING AN EXCHANGE STUDENT

For me, hosting an exchange student was an amazing experience. I was lucky to get a kind and friendly student (Serena) who taught me how to make really yummy pasta and helped me with my Italian in a fun way by introducing me to famous Italian songs.

Millie Sales Year 10

JAPAN TOUR 2019

2019 marks the 25th anniversary of the official sister school relationship between Willetton SHS and the High School of the University of Hyogo. Annually, students from Japan visit Willetton in August and our students make a return visit in September.

This year, 26 Year 11 students and two staff visited Japan for three weeks. Two of these weeks were spent staying with host families and experiencing Japanese school and daily life. Students had the opportunity to use, in real life situations, the Japanese language they have been learning at school.

Following this school experience, students undertook a one-week excursion in which they learned more about important aspects of Japanese culture and history. Places visited included Kyoto, Hiroshima and Tokyo. These experiences help our students connect to the world of work, further study and travel.

Japanese has been taught in Australia for over 100 years and is the most widely taught second language in Australian schools. Japanese has been identified as one of the priority languages from the Asia-Pacific region to be taught in Australian schools. Australia has a significant number of Japanese national residents. Japanese culture influences many areas of contemporary Australian society, including the arts, design, fashion, popular culture and cuisine. Japan has been a close strategic and economic partner of Australia’s for over 50 years, and there is increasing exchange between the two countries in the areas of education, trade, diplomacy and tourism.

Willetton students are continually very successful in their learning of Japanese language, winning various competitions and scholarships and being consistently recognised by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority as a top performing school in ATAR Japanese.

JAPAN FILM FESTIVAL

The Japanese Film Festival runs every year, and we were lucky to attend one of the screenings at Event Cinemas Innaloo on the October 31 for the Japanese Year 8 excursion. The movie we watched was called Bento Harassment, a story about a single mother who makes weird bento boxes to annoy her rebellious teenage daughter. In this film, we see the mother’s creativity, perseverance and love when she makes these bento boxes every single day.

In Japanese culture, bento boxes are decorated packed lunches, that can have designs ranging from being simple to incredibly intricate. Kyaraben is when the ingredients in the bento is arranged to look like popular characters, animals, or people. This is just one of the types of bento boxes featured in the movie. Bento Harassment is a touching and heart-warming story that gave us an insight into domestic Japanese life and the relationship between mother and daughter. It reminds us to appreciate our family and not to take them for granted. It was a thoroughly enjoyable film.

Kaelyn Feng Year 8

YEAR 8 FRENCH, ITALIAN AND KOREAN PERTH ZOO EXCURSION

In Term 3, the Year 8 Korean, French and Italian students went to the zoo for an educational excursion as part of our Term 3 topic, Animals of the world. Throughout the day, we had a booklet to fill out in the language we study. This booklet motivated us to learn some new, interesting information about the animals at the zoo. We got to see many fascinating animals and observe them in their habitats. We got the opportunity to mix and mingle with students in other classes and work together to gather information about the animals, some of us in the target language. Not only did we enjoy seeing the animals, we also enjoyed our time during recess and lunch, where a group of students came together and created, what we call, a feast.

The zoo was a great day for us to have fun, learn new things about some of our favourite animals and get in some exercise. Rest assured, everyone went home that day tired, but content with our fun experience. This day had lots of memorable moments with our friends and classmates, teachers and parent helpers.

Hannah Cooke and Roselyn Ye Year 8 Italian students

MATHS

ICAS MATHEMATICS COMPETITION

The ICAS (International Competitions and Assessments for Schools) Mathematics competition was held in term 3. It is an online international competition which students are required to answer 35 multiple choice questions and five short answer questions under one hour. Our school has entered 276 students from Year 7 to 12.

Students are marked and judged according to their year level. To obtain a High Distinction award, they need to be in the top 1% of participants. For Distinction, Credit and Merit award, students need to be in the next 10%, next 25% and next 10% of the participants respectively.

This year we have 22 Merit, 84 Credit, 75 Distinction and 17 High Distinction awards.

Congratulations to the following students who received a High Distinction in their age categories:

• Year 7 – Matthew Langford, Naimish Aggarwal, Dinali Illangasinghe, Jianxiang Lai, Caitlin Montani, Isaac Ngui and Hudson Pereira
• Year 8 – Isabella Thompson and Ryan Bringans
• Year 9 – Allan Wu, Thyler Cung, Brian Chan, Ian Pinto and Ee Hong Yap
• Year 10 – Felix Rego
• Year 11 – Hang Yi Law and Jonathan Chivers

2019 ICAS High Distinction Winners

Two of these students attained the highest score in the state for their year group and have been awarded a medal for their outstanding achievement.

Congratulations to Matthew Langford and Hang Yi Law who are pictured below with Principal Trevor Hunter.

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN JUNIOR MATHEMATICS OLYMPIAD

In October, the Western Australia Mathematical Olympiad Committee held the annual Western Australian Junior Mathematics Olympiad with 554 students participating from across the state. There were 223 Year 9s, 167 Year 8s and 164 Year 7s making up 140 teams of the most mathematically able students from 32 public and private schools. Our school entered seven Year 9s, nine Year 8s and twenty-three Year 7s.

All students participated in an individual competition comprising of the same 12 questions, regardless of each student’s school year, and were awarded a mark out of 25.

The following students received an individual Merit Award and a prize:

Adam El-Fayoumi Year 7 with a score of 13

Samuel Thoo Year 9 also with a score of 13

Brian Chan Year 9 with a score of 16

Thyler Cung Year 9 with a score of 17

After the individual competition, students gathered in their teams to sit the team component of the competition. The result from this team section is combined with each of the four team members’ individual results to form their team score out of a possible 145.

Our top Year 9 team with a combined score of 92 earned an Award for Excellence with third place in the overall team awards.

Allan Wu, Ian Pinto, Thyler Cung and Brian Chan

This is an outstanding result and fantastic to see so many of our students achieve such high recognition.

HAVE SUM FUN ONLINE COMPETITION

The Have Sum Fun Online competition runs once a week for three weeks. It is a team competition where students answer ten questions and enter their results online.

This year we had ten teams from Years 7 to 10 participating in the term four competition.

Year 7 & 8 Have Sum Fun Teams

Year 9 Have Sum Fun Teams

Year 10 Have Sum Fun Teams

One of our Year 10 teams placed third amongst 38 other Year 10 teams from around the state.

Two of our Year 9 teams also performed exceptionally well. Year 9 Team 2 achieved a score of 29.6 out of a possible 30 points and ranked third in the competition. Team 1 achieved a perfect score with 10 out of 10 on each of the three rounds. It came down to timing which meant they finished in a commendable second place.

Congratulations to all the Have Sum Fun teams.

Kerri Kalotay Mathematics Teacher

SABI THE THERAPY DOG VISITS MS COPE’S YEAR 7 MATHS CLASS

Sarah Steer from Delta Therapy Dogs brought her spoodle dog, Sabi, to Ms Cope’s Year 7 classroom to do some number talks.

The class thoroughly enjoyed Sabi helping them with their mental arithmetic problems and Sabi definitely enjoyed all the affection.

Year 7s meeting therapy dog Sabi

SPECIAL ACTIVITIES WITH MS TSEN’S CLASSES

Ms Tsen’s Year 11s enjoyed the challenge of covering the plan of a lounge room floor with unusual tiles.

Different views of three dimensional objects was the challenge for Ms Tsen’s Year 7s.

SCIENCE

SCIENCE TALENT SEARCH WINNERS

Students from Mr Boughton’s Year 8 Science Extension class and won second prize in the Years 7 to 8 Research Investigation category.

L to R: Alan Joju, Aaron Ong and Jerone Mathews

Their research focussed on which organic material produced maximum methane gas. The students found that cow manure is the best organic waste for producing biogas compared with mandarin peel and potato leaves.

Brett Boughton Science Teacher

I LOVE MY PHONE! I LIKE TO USE MY PHONE! SCIENCE RESEARCH AWARD WINNER

Many teenagers have been observed totally engrossed with their gadgets throughout the day. Those yesteryear simple gagets are now complex gadgets that do many wonderful things that make your life easier. They are convenient and essential for many people and students.

But what apps do students actually use and how long do they spend on their phones?

An excellent question.

60 random Year 9 students were selected to answer these questions. By using the ScreenTime by EZ Life Inc application, they were directed to calculate their screen time and three of their most operated apps to record in a table.

It was found that the average Year 9 spends approximately seven hours a day. A total of 60% of their leisure time each week; assuming the healthy ratio of 1:1 of productivity to fun. Under the current rate of usage; an average of 30% of a 13-14-year old’s life would be spent on mobile devices assuming that they live to the mean Australian lifespan of 82.5 years. The next question is what type of students use what type of apps?

Angelica Han and Harshitha Bhupathirsaju Year 9 Science Extension Program

L to R: Angelica Han and Harshitha Bhupathiraju
Second prize in Research Investigation, Years 9-10 category

Science Talent Winners

VOCATIONAL AND EDUCATION TRAINING

WORK EXPERIENCE

School has finished? NO.... Off exploring career possibilities in Term 4

School may be out for Year 11 and 12 students with exams completed and the opportunity to sit back and relax a little.

However, students have the possibility to complete work experience to explore career alternatives. Kelvin Lim has completed work experience at the Health Centre at HMAS Stirling on Garden Island with the Australian Navy. From the security check in and check out to observing in sick parade, the work for Kelvin was quite different from the inside of the ATAR Physics exam.

Observing and assisting where appropriate, Kelvin has worked in the dental, medical imagining, radiology and pharmacy areas, alongside Navy personnel. He was introduced to the logistics and equipment of mobile fleet dental equipment. This set of experiences have provided different future career alternatives for Kelvin, which he will now be able to work through, with more confidence, given he has seen a little of the inside these different careers.

Kelvin reflects he has learned of some of the values of being in the Navy: responsibility, honesty and integrity and what they actually look like.

Another possibility is application for a Defence Force Navy University Scholarship.

We wish him well with the next venture.

Kelvin exploring his career alternatives

Other Year 11 and 12 students to commit to furthering their knowledge of careers in Term 4 include:

• Kutemba Njamba – HMAS Stirling Health Centre Garden Island
• Asma Masood – The Thrive Clinic in Mosman Park (exercise therapy)
• Ee Ting Yap – Shelley Veterinary Clinic Riverton

We wish them well.

Ruth Barratt Work Experience Teacher

SCHOOL BOARD

SCHOOL BOARD SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING

The Willetton Senior High School Board is convening a Special General Meeting to alter the rules in order to meet the requirements of the Associations Incorporation Act 2015.

As a special general meeting, it is essential that we meet a minimum requirement number of families represented at this meeting. We invite you to please attend our special general meeting.

In order to ensure we meet the minimum number of families required to adopt the new rules, could you please RSVP your attendance to Helen Wong at helen.s.wong@education.wa.edu.au or by phone 9334 7217 by Friday November 29, 2019. Further details can be found on the school website.

SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS AND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Information and nominations for parent and staff representatives to the School Board will open from early February 2020, and the Board’s AGM will be held on Monday March 23, 2020 at 5.30pm in the staff room. All members of the school community are welcome.

WORLD TEACHERS’ DAY - STAFF APPRECIATION MORNING TEA

With the support of parent volunteers and the Interact Club, the School Board recognised and showed their appreciation of the work of teachers and staff by hosting a special morning tea on October 25. Thank you to Infuse Café for catering the delicious savoury foods and to parents and students who brought in the scrumptious sweet treats.

YEAR 12 VISUAL ARTS EXHIBITION

Board members were impressed by the standard of student artwork on display at the exhibition recently.

After much deliberation and a whole Board vote, the Board was very pleased to purchase artwork from two very talented young artists – Sarah Singho for her piece titled Darling, and Sharifah Safiyya Aljunied for her piece titled Wanderer. 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.

Darling by Sarah Singho

Wanderer by Sharifah Safiyya Aljunied

SUPPORT OUR SCHOOLS (SOS) PROGRAM

We have registered with Gilbert’s Fresh Market, Southlands to be part of the Support Our Schools Program. Please sign up with them and for every purchase you make in store, 1% of your purchase spend will be donated to the school. It does not cost to sign up, and it’s an easy way for you to support the school. To date, nearly $850 has been raised just from supporters shopping at Gilbert’s.

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 below.

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 2020. Many of the textbooks are half to two thirds the price of new textbooks. 2020 booklists will be available early December.

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 before donating them. Proceeds from the sale of these uniforms go towards funding projects around the school, so your kind donation continues to benefit our students.

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 2019

We wish our Year 12 students a fond farewell and wish you all the very best for your bright future ahead. We encourage you to remain connected to the school through the alumni, by registering your details on 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 2020.

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.