New Student Leaders Shine - Katoomba High School

KATOOMBA HIGH FLYERS“LEARNING WITH ALTITUDE”Term 3 Week 5RECEIVE “HIGH FLYERS” BY EMAIL14th August, 2012Email - katoomba-h.school@det.nsw.edu.auNew Student Leaders ShineNew Principal for term three, Mr Rob O‘Brien ,Mayor of the Blue Mountains, Mr Daniel Myles andDeputy Principal Frank Ranieri officially welcomedour new Prefects for 2013 at the inductionceremony held in the Katoomba High Schoollibrary. Enthusiasm and a desire to serve theschool community characterise our new group ofcaptains and their prefects. The large number ofprefects at Katoomba High School reflects thehigh quality of our students and will allow them towiden their role across the school. A key task forour prefects will be to effectively communicatewith students, teachers and the community. Bestwishes to all our new prefects.Captains: Luceida McLachlan, Steven GeddesVice Captains: Dean Giles, Isabella FrancisPrefects –Girls -L-R—Rebecca Halls, SarahAnderson, Madeline Kemister, Sarah Jameson,Lucy McLachlan, Emily Saville, Nathalie Rolando,Isabella Francis, Alex CarterBoys L to R Blake Stuart, Jazz Osvald, DeanGiles , Steven Geddes , Brendan Imrie

Page 3Katoomba Student Engineering His Own FutureThanks to Rotary, Harry Dudley Bestow hasbeen given the encouragement awardto take hisengineering ambitions further. Harry indicates that‗ Rotary are paying half of my fees to attend theweek long Honeywell Engineering Summer School ‗The Katoomba High school timetabling arrangementprovides time for Harry to study EngineeringStudies by correspondence while allowing him tostudy the other prerequisite subjects required foruniversity entry. Harry will attend the summerschool with 99 other students . He will be experiencinguniversity life through lectures, industrialvisits and a range of practical engineering activities.Mr Ranieri, Harry Dudley Bestow, Mr BarmanAnd The Winner is Katoomba High SchoolThe annual Katoomba High School WinterMagic Festival draws crowds from acrossthe nation and the world and has becomeTHE mountains winter event. The studentsand teachers at Katoomba High Schoolhave increasingly played an active role inthis community event. The parade thisyear strongly reflected the creative energiesand talents of the upper mountainscommunity. The Katoomba High Schoolstudents and teachers group involved theuse of performance, drama and music,adding to the positive atmosphere of theparade. While the parade was a great showcase of local talent and creativity, anequally important event was the exhibitionof art in the main street ofKatoomba. Businesses and localartists join together to display artand promote local enterprise.Katoomba High School studentsexhibited their work in the Aldicomplex next to Katoomba Primaryschool. Our students art work –Flowers that Devour won first prize. This reflects the strong input andguidance of Art teachers and our students high level of creativity.

GATS Class — Visit Dubbo ZooPage 4

Page 5GATS CLASS—Visit Dubbo ZooRoar!‖ said the lion, ―I‘m going to eat you.‖ This is the beginning of the exciting adventure at theTaronga Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo. Mr Ahern and Mrs Paulley led 8P (GAT class) on an amazing expedition!It was a 5 hour vigorous train ride to Dubbo followed by a 20 minute bus to get to the educationcentre.We were placed into two groups and set missions to find out about three particular animals and abouttheir habitat. Mr Ahern‘s team name was the frogs! They set out to find out about the GalapagosTortoise. These are an endangered species as the sailors in pre-industrial times used them as a source ofmeat for when they went out to sea. They could be kept alive on the boat with very little food for a longtime. This team also went in search of the Greater One Horn Rhino. As quoted by Anais ―these animalsappear to be reptiles, but on closer inspections they have little hairs, making them mammals‖. And finallythe cute meerkats all decided to gang up upon one poor innocent meerkat. Such social animals!Mrs Paulley‘s group ‗the snakes‘ went to find the Asian elephants and learnt that their skin variesin thickness and can weigh up to five tonnes.As we all headed up back to the Education Centre, we were surprised by a night time walk,where were able to observe the behaviour of the nocturnal animals and watch them eat. We then sat bythe campfire and were greeted by a wild possum. After a lot of fuss, we attempted to sleep only to beinterrupted by three people snoring (cough, cough, Sir, Sam and Declan Cough Cough)In the morning, everyone was forced to wake up at 6am… We had a brekkie of toast and cerealand then we had to go and pack up the tents. We met Crunch the Crocodile and Norman the Koala! Itwas a great surprise when we all got to pat them! Norman smelt of eucalyptus leaves, his favourite food.Afterwards we took a tour around the zoo to see other animals in the zoo, like the monkeyswho screamed their heads off, warning us away from their new baby. She was only a few days old clingingonto her mother‘s stomach for dear life. We were next led to the tiger and we discovered that tigershave dots on the back of their ears. When we finished that we had two hours of free time back in ourgroups to see all creatures great and small. We set off on bikes to see and learn as much as we could.Lunch was apples and sandwiches topped off with juice. Some wandered off to the fabulous gift shopwhere all profit was donated to help with breeding endangered animals.At the end of the day we ventured back for another five hour train trip where some slept whileothers still had energy to burn, fuelled by snacks of all shapes and varieties. All in all it was an extremelyfun excursion and we would love to go back again.Thank you so much Mr Ahern and Mrs Paulley for an awesome trip!!!A Snap Shot of Katoomba High SchoolKatoomba High, it is a place we all know very well. We come and go from here every day, arriving atthe same time and leaving at the same time. That is now but what about in the past? I‘mChloe Mc Namara Bates and I recently spent a week on work experience in the school library. Idiscovered a cornucopia of history and fact hidden in the unseen boxes of the school archives.Katoomba started as a school in a tent in 1882. We started with a population of 50 and a fleeting firstHead Master by the name of Mr George Young. Within ten years the enrolment had grown to 212 andwe had a different Head Master for nine years, a Mr John Douglass. The school moved to a new morepermanent location in 1919. It was a hunched building situated on Park street. 1960 brought morestudents and the need for more space. We now moved to the building we know and love today. I alsouncovered the original yellowing plans for this building, the field, and the school emblem. Thesedocuments span to a size of a metre and a half across each and have been signed with dates such as 1958for the school plans and 1939 for the school emblem. There was also a student prefect badge from 1944and a list of teachers names from 1988. At the top of this list under the sub heading History was thename Mr G Atwood!

Maths Newsletter Article Week 3, Term 3, 2012Maths Webpage LaunchedThe Mathematics Faculty has launched its new webpage on the Katoomba High website. The page is designedto provide information to students and parents about the courses offered in Mathematics at KatoombaHigh and also to give ideas for how to be a successful maths student.Page 6The page can be found under Faculties on the Curriculum and Activities tab.Upcoming EventsIt’s going to be a busy term in Maths with the following events planned:ICAS Maths Competition, week 4Maths Olympiad transition event, week 6Year 10 Taronga Zoo excursion, week 9Maths Tuition continues as usual in the Library each Tuesday and Thursday, 3.30pm to 4.30pm.AIM WorkshopOn June 22 nd , a group of ten talented vocal students travelled to Sydney to the Australian Institute ofMusic. The workshop focused on performance presentation skills and our own Leah Eastment (Yr12)presented a solo that was workshopped by some of the high profile staff at AIM. Topped off with lunch atMacdonalds, it was a very worthwhile day!The ―Unplugged‖ concert was a huge success. A fabulous drama presentation by Year 10 studentspresented their extraordinary take on Shakespeare‘s Macbeth. Musical performances by students fromYear 7 to 12 provided the audience with an evening of memorable moments. Well done to all performersand assistants on the night.

Page 7Unlimited ride -Wristbands $25 (Purchased Prior to the day)- Wristband $27 (Purchased on the day)OR$6Per ride

History Never RepeatsPage 8Term two was full of events this year. Senior Legal Studies students and Geographystudents were involved in excursions and were organised and taken byMr Cheeseman. Year 12 students were taken by Mr Atwood to HSC lectureson their Modern History personality Albert Speer . Attending lectures providesaccess to recent scholarship and helps to reinforce what they have learnt inclass. Year 12 Extension History students have made several visits to universitiesin term two. Such visits not only provide motivation but serve to increase studentsaccess to the depth of research material they need for their projects.Year 11 Ancient History students visited the Imax cinema in Darling Harbourto watch a documentary on Ancient Egypt in 3D. All students were enthusiasticand represented the school in a positive manner. Earlier in the Term,students in Mr Longs‘ Year 9 History class were taken on a trip back in time tothe Rocks and visited a what could be considered a ‗time capsule‘ of History , anarea in the historic Rocks called Susannah Place in Sydney. By touring through anumber of old convict houses, students saw how society changes over time. Students also had time towalk the Harbour Bridge and examine the Sydney Opera House before it was time to return to the tranquilityof the Blue Mountains! Plane flights back in time to the 1920s and historical letter writing havealso been a feature of terms two activities.That was then, this is now! In term three our students have benefitted from having some new faces inclasses. While Mr Atwood has been on leave, Mrs Cameron has been teaching his classes. While she hasbeen here, staff and students have made use of her knowledge of curriculum gained through her teachingexperience, the Board of Studies, HSC marking and the History Teachers Association. Ms Avril Frost is aHistory and Geography student with a passion for Ancient History. She has joined the faculty untilSeptember while she completes her final year practicum experience from Macquarie University. Inthe time she has been here she has attendedexcursions, created mock Vietnam War battles,taken History extension students on a guidedtour of Macquarie University and taught most ofMr Longs classes with great success.Aaron McDonald continues to bring Historyto life and in conjunction with Kate Cameronhas conducted mock archaeological excavationsin class to the amusement of students.This term Mr Hocknull will be conductingexcursions for his Society and Culture class,which will be of great benefit to students and will strongly support their HSC studies.After the trial examination results, Year 12 students should be in a position to assess their progressand to begin the final study drive before the October HSC. All students are encouraged to attend anyextra study sessions their teacher have organised as these are an excellent way to revise key concepts.Student School ReportsIf you have not collected your child‘s Semester 1 ReportThey are available for collection from the Front OfficeIf your child is going tocollect their report please provide a signed note giving permission.

“Unplugged” ConcertPage 9Known as ‗ The Basement ‗ Katoomba High Schools moreintimate performance space provided the perfect venue forour Music and Drama students to display their talents. The ―Unplugged ― performance gave students a chance to practicetheir skills in a less formal environment than would be possiblein a larger venue. Students played to a full house of parentsand community members. The evening began with a dramapresentation and was followed by Ben Terracini playingpiano. His performance reflected both talent and a passion formusic. Georgia Evans sang and played guitar while shortlyafter, Finn Berryman was on saxophone. Mrs Capper andthe flute ensemble provided a pleasant change of tempo whichwas followed by Natasha Bells very polished performance onpiano. Freya Carr, Dylan Oliver, Annabel Pettit, NicholasGrant and Alia Sharp all provided outstanding individualperformances which added to the enjoyable atmosphere of theevening. An uplifting flute performance by Arabella Waltho,singing performances by Anneka Diaz, Emma Lindemanand Leah Eastment were a further indication of the varietyand skills of the eveningsperformers. Perhaps thehighlight was Jack Cogginson Violin who played withenthusiasm and energyalongside his father. The diversityof talent presentedon this evening is testimonyto the efforts of teachers,the talent of our studentsand the strong support ofour local community.Naidoc Ceremony Acknowledges the Oldest Culture On EarthThe recent NAIDOC ceremony was a great opportunity to celebratethe diversity and strength of Aboriginal culture. Uncle GrahamCooper emphasised to our students the importance of respectand that Aboriginal people have always looked after the land. Thereare still many lessons to learnt from our local Aboriginal cultureand it is hoped that our local elders continue to play a key role insharing their knowledge. Aunty Wendy from Katoomba councilspoke with passion about her culture and the need for us all towork together. Congratulations to the students who took part inthe ceremony and thanks to all of our Katoomba High School studentswho listened in a very respectful manner.

Katoomba High SchoolMartin St, KatoombaPO Box 294Katoomba, 2780Phone: 4782 2622Fax:4782 5976Email: katoomba-h.school@det.nsw.edu.auWeb: www.katoomba-h.schools.nsw.edu.au20-21September23rd August22nd August23rd August30th AugustDiary 2012Wrap with Love.Year 11 Cross RoadsKincumberYear 7,9 Maths OlympiadSenior Showcase Evening6pmYear 10 Road SafetyExcursionBIG DAY INSubject Selection EveningOur annual Subject Selection was held on Tuesday,7 t h A u g u s t .Parents and studentslistened to a seminaron - How to choosesubjects and the rulesthat they need tofollow when selecting.Parents and studentswere then able tospeak to teachersabout elective subjectsthat they were interestedin studying.We remind parentsand students that whenselecting subjects studentsmust base theirchoices on their Ability,Interests and Motivation.Subject Selection formsare due to StudentAdvisers by Friday 10thAugust.Mrs TullyCareers Adviser.After a break of a couple of years Katoomba High School is participating in ―Wrap with Love‖ once more.For those who do not know about Wrap with Love, it‘s an Australian project whereby people knit or crochetsquares which are then sewn together to make blankets. These blankets are sent to people in need,both overseas and here in Australia. It takes 28 squares to create one blanket. The squares all have to beof the same size, you need to use size 8 (4mm) needles and 8 ply yarn. Cast on 50 to 55 stitches as thefinished squares need to measure 25cm x 25 cm.If you are interested in becoming involved then please contact either Mrs Holder orMrs Sheppard. For further information regarding Wrap with Love go to the website at:http://www.artsandcraftsnsw.com.au/Wrap.htmNote To Parents Taking Children On Holidays During School TermsJust a reminder to parents to please notify the school plus apply for an exemptionfrom attending school if a holiday is planned for more that 5 school daysKHS Front Office has “Exemption” forms to be filled out and then submitted to theprincipals for approval and signing offPlease contact the relevant Student Adviser to allow enough time for school workto be suppliedParents also need to be aware of tests, exams and assessment tasks dates whenplanning holidaysMrs J Edgar Head Teacher WelfareLiz Tink—Home School Liaison