14 September 2020

Editor: Jenny LeSouef
Technology: Nola Regan

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

As the end of Term 3 approaches, we look back on another busy term and forward to the end of year activities with the hope that the impact of Covid remains minimal. The Year 12 students are fast approaching the business end of their year with ATAR mock and final examinations scheduled to run as normal.

There will be two professional learning days for staff at the beginning of Term 4 as a result of the Minister authorising another day due to the impact of Covid- 19 at the beginning of this school year. Years 7 – 11 first day of school for Term 4 will be Wednesday 14 October.

This term has seen the Athletic Carnivals for our lower school students. The carnivals are a combination of high performance in preparation for the interschool carnival and full student participation in fun events. It was great to see the high level of student participation and their enjoyment of the day. Well done to the members of our Physical Education team for their organisation and thanks to staff who provided relief cover for classes to release these teachers.

The Arts learning area team has also had a very busy term with Year 12 valedictory performances, festivals and Willo All Stars. I had the pleasure of attending several of the performances and was yet again impressed by the quality of the presentations. Great work by all involved.

Some of our students also sat OLNA testing this term to ensure their literacy skills were of the standard to achieve graduation. This year, the Year 9s were able to access OLNA because of the cancellation of NAPLAN testing due to Covid. Thanks to Michelle Ainslie from our Operations Team for her accurate and detailed work in this area.

Thanks to those of you who have completed the community survey. It is through action on community feedback that we can improve outcomes for our students and their families. Thank you also to all members of the Willetton community for your support during this difficult period, it has enabled us to continue to offer the best learning experiences to our students.

Again a reminder to all parents, that at this time especially, students who are unwell should not be attending school.

I wish everyone an enjoyable and safe holiday break.

Trevor Hunter

CONGRATULATIONS

JACQUILYN AHERN

Congratulations to Mathematics Teacher, Jacquilyn Ahern who has been selected to the exclusive group of Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts from applicants all across the world. She is one of 200 in Australia.

The program recognises her as an inventive and original thinker who can enhance student learning opportunities through discussions with this global community.

Jacquilyn is a former Willetton student, it is great to see her recognised for her innovative approach to her teaching career through on-line learning.

GENERAL

YEAR 12 NAIDOC ASSEMBLEY

In August, the Year 12s were lucky enough to have a NAIDOC performance instead of their usual assembly. NAIDOC Week is a time in which celebrations are held across all Australia to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Due to COVID-19, the typical celebrations were postponed, however, we were fortunate enough to be able to receive a NAIDOC performance from Olman, Alton and Tynan Walley from Boorloo Aboriginal Cultural Experiences. Olman and Alton were both former students of our school. Together they all performed an official welcome to country followed by didgeridoo and dance performances, even engaging with us with a singing activity.

Exposure to Indigenous culture, especially in a school like Willetton with a low population of Indigenous students, helps raise awareness about Indigenous culture, and allows many people to see and experience something they normally would not. It was a pleasant experience, and I'm sure we'd all love to see Olman, Alton and Tynan perform again sometime in the future.

Will Ho Year 12
Marg Hale HaSS Teacher

NAIDOC Performance

ARE YOU A PROFESSIONAL NEW COMER CURRENTLY UNEMPLOYED OR UNDER EMPLOYED?

Kaleidoscope Mentoring Program is an award-winning program working to help skilled newcomer professionals improve their employment potential by matching them with mentors from their industry or occupation. Within 3-6 months of completing their mentoring relationship, 70% of KMP's past mentees have secured jobs in their profession.

The Kaleidoscope Mentoring Program is being implemented under a partnership between the City of Stirling, the City of Canning and Metropolitan Migrant Resource Centre and is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services and the Western Australian Government.

Here are some of the experiences shared by those who have been through the program -

Visit the link below to find out more or refer to the link below to register for the information session coming up as soon as September 2020.

GIFTED AND TALENTED

AFTERNOON DISCUSSION

In August, Senior Gifted and Talented students came to a special afternoon discussion session with six of our former Gifted and Talented students who are now at different stages and at different universities on their journey to be a doctor.

Char Min Ng, Duli Jayalath, Xin Yi Hong, Roshan Prashant, Aditya Gupta and Harshana Seneveratne talked to students about their experience at Willetton in Year 12, their ATAR, preparation for UCAT (formerly UMAT), the interview process and their university courses.

Harshana, who is now an intern at Fiona Stanley Hospital, explained the workload and expectations of junior doctors. Our students asked many questions and all agreed the session offered first-hand information about when to begin and how to prepare for UCAT and mini-interviews so that Year 12 studies weren’t affected.

Many of these students return to help at Senior Gifted and Talented study group and the questions keep coming. We were all inspired by such articulate and personable young doctors in-the-making.

Julie Hind Gifted and Talented Coordinator

PCWA AND WILLO

National Science Week saw the beginning of Willetton’s involvement with PCWA (Petroleum Club of WA). Mr John Yeo, who is an economist with Shell and the Chair of our School Board and Ms Shalaka Thomas, a maintenance engineer are our mentors.

The objective is to build awareness about various career opportunities in the oil and gas industry in WA through fun-filled activities and chocolate rewards. The project culminates in a competitive expo at Edith Cowan University in November, so watch this space.

M Munshi Science Teacher

Passing popcorn to emulate loss of energy down a production chain

THE ARTS

WILLO ALL STARS 2020

Congratulations to all the participants in this year’s Willo All Stars

All school events are only possible due to the commitment and support of students, staff and parents. This year even with Covid, Willo All Stars took place in the school theatre during recess and lunch breaks in week 5. Thank you to the many applicants who reaffirmed the depth of talent in our school. Congratulations to all the prize winners.

The School Board has again been supportive and generous in their donation of the 2020 Willo All Star prizes. This year it was wonderful to have a Board member, Simran Vijayakumar attend and judge the event. Appreciation and gratitude to the Certificate 11 Music students in year 11 and 12 for their organising of the daily program, setting up the equipment used by the performers, recruiting judges and assisting staff during the event.

Loud applause to the technical lighting and stage crew – Luke Smith and Mohammad Haddadpour who created that special ambience for the audience and performers.

Standing ovation to Mrs Templar who oversaw the initial applicants, then reviewed the performances along with myself and Ms Mckenzie to decide who made the final round.

Thank you to the many staff who volunteered their time to judge, assist in crowd control and to those students who attended and showed support and encouragement for their peers whilst performing.

We look forward to 2021 Willo All Stars – so start practising for Term 3 next year.

Cheryl Venter Head of The Arts

Willo All Stars

YEAR 12 ATAR VISUAL ARTS

Congratulations to our talented Year 12 ATAR Visual Arts students Aisha Runowanda, Sarah Zou and Sashini Liyanage for being accepted into this year's Young Originals. While the exhibition would normally take place at Edith Cowan University, this year there is an online viewing.

Postmodern Apocalypse by Sashini Liyanage

MUSIC NEWS: VALEDICTORY NIGHT

Our Year 12 Music students celebrated in a very special night of performances. We are proud of each of the twenty ATAR music and Certificate II and III Music students who performed; from 1960s funk number Cissy Strut (Dade O’Connell, Ben Kezic and Ben Cromie), to smooth vocal/ piano solos (Ivan Liew); South American classical guitar (Jonathan Chivers) and clarinet ensemble’s Pink Panther & In the Mood (Yi Jia Yap, Will Ho, Jessy Tan and supporting students including Nathan Prosser on upright bass). Year 12 Saxophone student Jamie Campbell (with a backing band featuring her dad, grandfather and family friends) and Nolan Chan (backed by Brae Christensen and Ivan Liew) wowed the audience with smooth jazz classics. Voice students Keaton Van der Linden and Zoe Karafilis (backed by Mr Ryan Huxley) sang the heart-wrenching Empty Chairs at Empty Tables, from Les Miserables, certificate music students Lina Ndeda, Fairuz Kazi, Samuel Win, Rui Jie Beh, Kate Donovan, Dade O’Connell, Jared Tam and Agastya Bakshi performed a range of contemporary numbers including Radiohead’s Creep. Our two ATAR composition students, also featured, with Keaton Van der Linden’s Serenata Sfortunata, scored for full orchestra, seen on screen; Jon Sam Choong’s beautiful 19th-century inspired Accalmie and one of a suite of seven pieces each in the style of a different musical era, was performed by Year 9 Harmoniche Deng.

Our enthusiastic audience featured many supportive parents and family members, as well as Staff. We thank the parents of our music students for their contribution in supporting the Year 12 students’ musical journeys; encouraging home practise in busy schedules, early morning rehearsal drop-offs, and encouraging the long-term work ethic and perseverance that is part of musical achievement.

Year 12 Valedictory Night

DATE FOR YOUR CALENDAR - END OF YEAR CONCERT

Please note a slight amendment to the concert date. It will now be held on Wednesday 25 November, not on 24 November. The evening will be divided into two concerts and audience sittings. Times for each will be communicated to parents shortly. We look forward to seeing you all then.

Pip Peake Music Teacher

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

SPORTS STARS AND AUSTRALIAN OR STATE REPRESENTATIVES

SPORTS STARS

ATTENTION: All Year 10 to 12 students

To recognise the efforts of Sportspeople, we are encouraging students or parents to self-nominate. To reach an informed and balanced judgment we ask students and parents to list sporting achievements within school and externally. Achievements can be in coaching, playing, officiating or sports management.

We are aware of the implications of COVID but encourage those that have been involved in any capacity for any team or individual selection to be recognised. Representative sides that did not travel but had students named can be nominated.

INSTRUCTIONS

Type or write up a brief sheet that outlines some of the areas listed below. Please list achievements in bullet form. Once completed please submit to;

• the pigeon hole in the main gym foyer or
• email to Erik.Pretorius@education.wa.edu.au

All entries due by Tuesday 13 October 2020.

REQUIRED

• Name and Year Group.
• Involvement in teams since enrolment at Willetton SHS both at and outside of school.

OPTIONAL

• Sport awards won at school/outside of school eg Champion boy swimmer Year 8.
• Teams captained at school/outside of school.
• Sports leadership.
• Sport activities such as coaching, umpiring, Sportsfun.

STATE OR AUSTRALIAN REPRESENTATIVES

ATTENTION: All Year 7 to 12 students

Each year we recognise the Sportspeople that have been selected at State or National level in any sport. We encourage all students or parents to form us of these achievement so recognition can be formally awarded in year books and on related sporting achievement boards.

We are aware of the implications of COVID but encourage those that have been involved in any capacity for any team or individual selection to be recognised. Representative sides that did not travel but had students named can be nominated.

Achievements can be in coaching, playing, officiating or sports management. AIS attendance or representation can also be listed.

To qualify as a State or National representative the team or individual selection must be endorsed by WA State School Sport or the State/National Sporting Association. Club teams/individuals representing WA or Australian in some event or competitions may not qualify.

INSTRUCTIONS

Type or write up a brief sheet that outlines some of the areas listed below. Please list achievements in bullet form. Once completed please submit to;

• the pigeon hole in the main gym foyer or
• email to Erik.Pretorius@education.wa.edu.au

All entries due by Tuesday 13 October 2020.

REQUIRED

• Name and Year Group
• Team and Sport with age group you represented (examples only)
  -WA State Schoolboys U/12 Soccer
  -Basketball WA State team U/16 girls

Wayne Baseden Head of Department Health and Physical Education

LANGUAGES

STUDENT-LED MINDFULNESS ACTIVITIES

Last term, the Year 11 and 12 English as an Additional Language/Dialect students were given the opportunity to conduct activities during mindfulness sessions. While the main aim was to conduct activities to de-stress and learn ways of coping with stress, the benefits were two-fold. Engaging in student-led activities, they had the opportunity to develop their speaking skills: explaining, clarifying and communicating in English.

The activities included stretching exercises, origami and Chinese Whispers which had everyone amused with the stories they made up.

I was delighted to see everyone being involved and benefitting from the exercises I conducted. – Jonathan Chia

The task was fun and we felt very relaxed. – Wong Ling Yu

Marie Anthony Samy  EALD Teacher

Mindfullness

YEAR 12 JAPANESE ATAR REVISION AND PREPARATION DAY 会話デー

To assist the Year 12 students with their preparation for Semester 2 and ATAR practical exams in Japanese, the Japanese Language Teachers’ Association of WA, together with Willetton Senior High School Languages department ran the annual Kaiwa Day on Saturday 5 September.

Nearly 200 students from schools around Perth participated in the great day.

The aim is to provide Year 12 ATAR students with the opportunity to practise their conversation skills; obtain ATAR practical exam hints and clarify procedures with experienced teachers. A number of teachers who are not teachers of Year 12 also joined us as part of their professional development.

Haruko Nomoto Japanese Teacher

Kaiwa Day

MATHS

THE ICAS MATHEMATICS COMPETITION

The ICAS (International Competitions and Assessments for Schools) Mathematics competition was held on Friday 4 September. It is an online international competition in which students are required to answer 35 multiple choice questions and five short answer questions under one hour. Fifty-five students from Year 7 to 10 were invited to participate in this prestigious competition. Due to challenges schools are facing, the team at UNSW Global has cancelled all ICAS competitions for Year 11 and 12.

Students are marked and judged according to their year level. Results will be published next term.

Peter Lee Mathematics Teacher

Students hard at work

CLASSPAD SEMINARS

The Mathematics department have provided Classpad seminars for Year 12 students in each of the three ATAR Mathematics subjects over the past three weeks. Mr Charlie Watson presented them and outlined the best use of the classpad calculator when preparing for the Year 12 final examinations. He gave students tips on how to use the classpad to save time and how to get the most out of the classpad during their exams. Many students commented on how much they learned by attending these seminars.

Kerri Kalotay Mathematics Teacher

In August, the Year 12 Maths Applications cohort were invited to attend a classpad seminar by Charlie Watson in preparation for our mock and WACE exams. During the seminar, we were given useful pointers on how to use the different programs on the classpad effectively. Many of the pointers were applicable to possible questions in our upcoming exam, such as finance and statistics. We were given many useful tips by Mr Watson, such as resetting our classpad if any of our programs were not functioning during exams. We were also able to revise past units, which will be beneficial for our upcoming exams.

Thank you to the Mathematics department for this seminar as we believe that without it, we would not have the opportunity to brush up on our classpad skills.

Jessy Tan Year 12

SCIENCE

SCIENCE CAFÉ

A group of eight Year 10 students spent a day at the University of Western Australia, attending the Science Café where they talked with science professionals to learn about science careers. Their fields ranged from molecular biology to biochemistry and radio astronomy.

The Keynote speaker was Dr Paola Magni who talked about her journey in becoming a forensic scientist. She said that a good scientist should be like a blow fly; annoying and persistent. Keep asking questions and always pursue the truth. For her, science is not a subject, it is a lifelong journey.

In the afternoon, students heard from university students about life at university. One of the presenters was our own Hannah Page, a previous Willetton Senior High School student and Head Girl.

Lance Taylor Head of Science

NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK ACTIVITIES

A CASE OF CONSPIRACY

As a part of National Science Week, four Year 8 and four Year 9 classes were treated to a presentation by Education Interactive, where they were engaged in using forensic science skills to solve a murder.

Students enjoying identifying and arresting the murderer with Lance Taylor

Paper planes competition designing paper planes that had the greatest flight time and greatest flight distance with Charissa Man and Hao Ta

Scitech Activities with Darren Hamley and Thomas Coe

Turning glassware to silver with Lance Taylor

Thermite reaction with Mr Gurdeep Singh and Mr Teng-Ngai Hia

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING

CAREER AND ENTERPRISE

The Year 12 General Career and Enterprise students outdid themselves this year with their enthusiasm and energy in putting together their small businesses as part of their final assessments. It all showed, with efforts to convince buyers to come this way ….. instead of to another table.

Students were set the task to plan, develop and run a small business on the school campus. The goal was to generate a turn-over, to cover the advance of $35 and then to maximise profit.

The challenges: all steps of the business needed to be approved and signed off by stakeholders in the school, from the Principal to the support of Graeme Mason, our wonderful groundsman distributing tables and Bev Clarke managing monies in the Business Office. Students needed to share roles and responsibilities, be sure to support each other and come up with the goods made at home individually or in a group. Special thanks to families who supported groups with use of their kitchens to prepare the food.

Matthew David excelled with his homemade cakes, with recipes taken from the 1994 edition of the 1987 Women’s Weekly Cookbook. His cakes were truly amazing.

Businesses were varied, including strawberry fruit sticks, cupcakes, honey joys and brownies. A first for businesses this year was a selling allergen free cupcakes and also selling salads. All were creative and innovative.

It was a great outcome for all with profits ranging from $13 through to $115 to a total of $938.45 Congratulations to all.

All profits will be donated to the following charitable organisations, selected by the Year 12 Career and Enterprise General students to receive the donations from the profits:

RSPCA
Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research
Red Frogs Australia
The Back Dog Institute
Living Child
Breast Cancer Care WA Inc
Coeliac Australia
Cat Haven

Many thanks to the Willetton SHS community for their support of the Year 12 Career and Enterprise Small Businesses.

Ruth Barratt Career and Enterprise Teacher

Career and Enterprise Small Businesses

SCHOOL BOARD

BOARD CHAIR REPORT

The Board welcomes Ms Sacha Bradley to our Willo community. She has recently been appointed as the second Level 5 Associate Principal. Ms Bradley joins Mr Colin Marshall, Associate Principal, to help shape the strategic direction of the school to enhance the performance of programs and identify areas for improvement, including resourcing review.

Last month, the WA Government announced a major school upgrade package and we have been allocated $12.5 million for stage three of the school rebuild. This will consist of a new classroom block and is expected to be the largest infrastructure on site. With our ever-increasing school population, we certainly welcome the additional classrooms.

On a separate note, the National Schools Opinion Survey 2020 is now open. I encourage all parents and caregivers to take the time to participate in the survey. This is an opportunity for us to have our say about what the school does well and how the school can improve. The feedback will help the school to identify strengths and areas for potential growth in 2021 and beyond.

Finally, on behalf of the Board, we wish all our Year 12s all the best as they come to the end of their high school journey. Our General and Certificate students are busy finalising their assessments, while our university bound aspirants must finalise their TISC choices. While most of the students will enjoy a well-earned break from studies, many of our Year 12s and their teachers will be involved in examinations and we wish them every success.

John Yeo

SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS

A list of Board meetings for this year can be found on the school website, under the School Board information. Due to current COVID-19 restrictions, please notify the Board office on 9334 7217 or willetton.shs.schoolboard@education.wa.edu.au if you wish to attend. All are welcome.

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN SECONDARY SCHOOL OF THE YEAR SCHOLARSHIP - YEAR 8 2021 postponed

Willetton Senior High School celebrates its position as the inaugural WA Secondary School of the Year by offering each year, a scholarship to a student entering Year 8. The scholarship recognises a student who shows strong leadership skills.

This year due to COVID-19 restrictions, opportunities for students to demonstrate their leadership strengths have been significantly limited. As a result, this scholarship has been postponed for 12 months.

ENTERTAINMENT MEMBERSHIP FUNDRAISER

Entertainment memberships are now 100% digital, which means you can have your savings on you, all year round. New businesses are also added to your membership through the year.

Willo parents and community members are encouraged to support this fundraiser by purchasing your membership at the link below as all profits raised will go towards a Student Leadership Development Program initiated by the Board.

From now until 11.59pm September 13 AEST, an additional $10 and $20 per membership purchased for the Single City Membership and Multi City/Multi Plus Membership respectively will be directed towards our fundraising, giving more towards the Student Leadership Development Program.

Now is a perfect time to purchase a membership, in time for the school holidays. You will receive hundreds of valuable offers to keep the family entertained and help our fundraising at the same time.

PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE SCHOOL BOARD

Do you have a business and would like to partner with the School Board? The Partnerships arm of the School Board is inviting expressions of interest from businesses or individuals that would like to partner with us, as we work to enhance educational opportunities for our students. Partnerships may take the form of financial donations, prize donations, internship and work experience or mentoring opportunities, within the scope of Department of Education policies and practices. To register your interest, please contact willetton.shs.schoolboard@education.wa.edu.au. .

We are currently looking for businesses to partner us with providing students with work placements, mentoring, tutoring and speaking to our students. If you think you may be able to help with any of these, please contact the School Board office willetton.shs.schoolboard@education.wa.edu.au

SUPPORT OUR SCHOOLS (SOS) PROGRAM

We have registered with Gilbert’s Fresh Market, Southlands to be part of the Support Our Schools (SOS) 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 a great way for you to support the school. Funds generated through this program goes towards a range of scholarships provided to students.

SECOND-HAND BOOKSHOP

Year 11 and 12 students wishing to sell their textbooks after exams 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 nor 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 11 students are invited to visit the second hand bookshop to purchase your Year 11 and Year 12 booklist requirements for 2021. Many of the textbooks are half to two thirds the price of new textbooks. 2021 booklists will be available later in Term 4.

SECOND HAND UNIFORM SHOP

The second hand uniform shop is serviced by a dedicated team of vibrant and friendly parent volunteers. We gratefully receive your donation of uniforms that your child has outgrown, with the sale from all garments being channelled back to funding projects around the school. If you have second hand uniforms to donate, please drop them off at the front office or at the second hand uniform shop on Wednesday mornings. We appreciate uniforms in reasonable condition. Thank you.

Trading hours during school Term:

Second Hand Bookshop: Wednesday 9am – 11.30am, B23 next to the canteen
Second Hand Uniform Shop: Wednesday 9.15am – 11.15am, in the PAC building

TO CONTACT THE SCHOOL BOARD OFFICE

To find out more about the School Board or how you might get involved, please contact the School Board office on email willetton.shs.schoolboard@education.wa.edu.au

ALUMNI

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

If you are graduating in 2020 or are a previous graduate, you are invited to become part of the Willetton SHS Alumni, by registering your details at

Are you in a position to give back to the school by either offering a work placement for our current students or assisting with tutoring, mentoring or speaking to students? Please contact the School Board Office at Willetton.SHS.Alumni@education.wa.edu.au

Special Alumni merchandise is available for all departing Year 12 and former students, and may be purchased from the School Board office. Supplies are limited, so get in soon. Prices start at $25.

Alumni newsletter

WILLETTON 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. It 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 willetton.shs.schoolboard@education.wa.edu.au or refer to the school website.

PARENT SEMINAR COMING UP - HEADSPACE

STAFF APPRECIATION MORNING TEA – HELP NEEDED

Later in Term 4, the School Board will host a morning tea to thank all staff for their hard work in teaching, supporting and nurturing our children. If you would like to assist by providing a plate of homemade goodies, please contact Sam Newman by 15 October for further details. It would be wonderful to thank the staff through a range of foods from different countries to illustrate just how multicultural our school is. If you would also like to send in a letter or card of appreciation to staff, this can also be done through Sam Newman. Please email Willetton.SHS.SchoolBoard@education.wa.edu.au or post to Attn: Sam Newman, Willetton Senior High School Board, 120 Pinetree Gully Road, Willetton 6155.