29-08-08 - Westfields Sports High School

WestnewsA Journal of Westfields SportsFrom the PrincipalThe past week has been one of the most important in the history of Westfields Sports.The official announcement of the Sport and Youth trophy from Beijing brought anunprecedented amount of publicity for our school. The Sport and Youth Trophy is anextremely prestigious award. It is only awarded every Olympiad to an organisation orsporting body that promotes education, sport and youth and is the only time that thetrophy has been awarded in Australia. The International Olympic Committee hasformally recognised the contribution that Westfields has made to sport, not just inAustralia, but on an international level. In his announcement from Beijing, Mr JohnCoates, President AOC stated that Westfields Sports had “made a great contribution toAustralian sport in a short time”, that “the federal government has classed the schoolas a project of national significance and it was recognised as a best practice model inEurope and Asia” and also “I hope that more departments of education acrossAustralia will take notice of the model”. We are now looking forward to the officialpresentation of the award in the coming weeks when John Coates returns fromBeijing.Earlier this year, Westfields applied through the “Community Development SupportExpenditure” scheme for funding for travel subsidies for our elite athletes when theyare representing either NSW or Australia. The scheme is administered by FairfieldCouncil and funded by the local clubs. I am extremely pleased to announce thatSmithfield RSL has donated a generous amount to the school for this worthy cause.Students who are selected to represent their state or country can apply for a subsidy inwriting to our Director of Sport, Mrs Kenny with a copy of their levy.29 August, 2008IMPORTANTEVENTS2/9/08Year 12 Poetry IncursionIn the Library3/9/08Battle for Australia4/9/08Library – BookfeastAt Cabra Vale Diggers15/9/08 – 24/9/08Year 11 Yearly Exams17/9/08 – 19/9/08Year 10 Yearly Exams26/9/08Last day of Term 313/10/08 – 15/10/08Year 7, 8, & 9 YearlyExams16/10/08 – 11/11/08HSC Exams17/10/08Evening of DancePrincipal receiving a cheque from Smithfield RSLElis Noack, and Michael Bramman22/10/08P & C Meeting

Practical HSC examinations have already commencedfor many of our students. A reminder to all of our Year12 students and parents that the first HSC examinationis Thursday 16 October which is less than two monthsand only five school weeks away. This is a vital timefor revision and consolidation and therefore essentialthat all Year 12 students are at school all day, everyday up until the end of term.Our next P&C meeting will be on Wednesday 24September 2008. At this meeting School Liaison PoliceOfficer, David Browne will be holding a forum on drugrelated issues. We would love to see you there.As you would be aware, we mailed out invoices foroutstanding subject fees and school contributions twoweeks ago. Whilst a number of parents have madearrangements to pay fees, there are still a large numberoutstanding. It is especially important for students inthose years that will be signing out at the end of thisyear to pay their fees as any outstanding fees will delaythe sign out process. I would appreciate it if you couldmake a concerted effort finalise the payment of thesefees as soon as possible. Payments can be made ininstalments. If there any difficulties with the paymentof fees, I would ask that you make an appointment todiscuss them with me.A small number of students who have received warningletters indicating that courses have not been completedsatisfactorily, will be issued with N awards next week.Year 11 students will sit for their final exams during the lasttwo weeks of this term. Students are advised to preparecarefully as HSC courses commence Week 1 Term 4.At the moment, we have 40 Year 8 students takingadvantage of EVEN START tutorials, 25 teachers areassisting students with Numeracy, Reading and Writing.Year 8 students are working on a trial of Mathletics – whichis a terrific online program to improve Maths skills, this hasproven to be a great success and all students, Year 7 – 12will benefit from this program in 2009.Well done to our Construction class on their first majorproject – the laying of a concrete slab. This slab will providethe base for a future bus shelter.Helen WilsonDeputy PrincipalMr Roger DavisPrincipalFrom The Deputy PrincipalWhile Westfields Sports celebrates our athletes beingincluded in Olympic events, we now look forward to someexcellent performances in Trial HSC Exams. Year 12students will have a clear indication of how much work isnow needed to achieve their required results. Year 12classes continue through until last day of Term 3. Studentsseeking extra assistance can take advantage of our SaturdaySchool classes, after school tutorials or negotiated tutorialsessions.Construction students Major ProjectTrial HSC Assessment marks for each student will be sent tothe Board of Studies within the next three weeks. Thesemarks constitute 50% of trial results – the remainder comingfrom exam performances.A number of HSC students have completed major projectsand performances – including Dance, Drama, IndustrialTechnology, English Extension 2.Next week Visual Arts and Music projects are due forsubmission.With the completion of these practical works, students cannow focus on exam technique.

SRC NewsThe Student Representative Council is the body within theschool the provides leadership and a voice for the studentbody. The SRC co-ordinates the school fundraisingactivities, runs the weekly assemblies and providesrepresentation for Westfields Sports at local communityevents.The members of the 2008 SRC, ably led by our year 12students, have proven themselves to be a dedicated and hardworkinggroup of students. They are approachable andalways willing to work for the betterment of the students andschool community. They have raised thousands of dollarsthrough their organisation of fund raising events to supportsuch events as ‘Shave for a cure’ and ‘Genes for Jeans’ day.The SRC would like to thank the P & C for its generoussupport in the donation of blazers to our Captains and Vice-Captains.I would like to thank all members of the SRC for their hardwork and dedication and in particular wish our year 12leaders every success in their up-coming examinations andin their endeavours next year and into the future.We are currently in the process of electing the 2009 SRC. Iam sure that the 2009 SRC will continue on the excellenttraditions of leadership and hard work that have been set byprevious groups at Westfields Sports.Welfare NewsGateways Graduands form Westfields SportsAndrew RogersDeputy PrincipalSRC Co-OrdinatorWestfields Sports have had four students successfullycomplete Department of Education Gateways Coursesrecently in Term 2. Pat Schinella (Year 10), Jacob Lalor,Jason Cronan and Daniella Seoane (Year 9) workedthrough a variety of courses with each student receivinggreat praise for their efforts.Jason Cronan completed a picnic table that has beendisplayed in the Front Office in recent weeks. All studentsare to be congratulated on their efforts.Ms Baker – WelfareJason Cronan – Year 9. Picnic TableThe Final Countdown for Year 12As year 12 students approach their final weeks of classesbefore the HSC Exams start, it is important to manage timeeffectively. The NSW Department of Education providessupport Websites for HSC students. The following may beof benefit to some students preparing for exams.Stress and Examshttp://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/gotoschool/highschool/stressexams.phpBoard of Studieshttp://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.auCharles Sturt University – HSC Supporthttp://hsc.csu.edu.au/study/relaxhsc.htmKids Help Linehttp://www.kidshelpline.com.au (ph: 180055 1800)Reachouthttp://www.reachout.com.auNSW Health: 2008 School Students healthBehaviour Survey95 students from years 7 – 10 recently took part in the 2008School Students Health Behaviour Survey run by NSWHealth. The state wide survey of secondary school studentswas about the health behaviours of adolescents and aims tofind out how common these behaviours are. The surveycovered topics such as tobacco, drinking, use of legal andillegal drugs, sun protection behaviours, physical activityand diet.

Students were randomly selected to be part of the survey andall information provided will be used anonymously todevelop policies and programs designed to improve thehealth of young people. Also no school will be identified inany reports published from the survey.In view of the importance of the project as part of thecontinuing effort to improve the health of young people,NSW Health is very appreciative of the time andcommitment given by the students in this project. Well doneto everyone involved.Mathletics UpdateMr. JarvisCongratulations to Hameed Alkhafaji and Casey McKinleywho have answered over 10,000 questions correctly on lineMathletics. Congratulations also to Bradley Hodges whowas our top Mathlete for Tuesday 26 August. Bradley had atop score of 49 questions correctly answered in 60 seconds.Year 8 it is time for Westfields Sports to enter the top 50. Soget started on Mathletics and challenge your classmates to dolikewise.Which class will be first to enter the Mathletics Hall ofFame.Football Australian U/17 National Joeys TourThe Australian U/17 National Joeys team departed forEurope on the 27 July. Participating players from Westfieldsincluded Nikola Stanojevic, Jared Lum, Brendan Hamill,Robert Kolak, and Kerim Bulut.In Germany we played our first of three tournaments. TheJoeys came up against very good opposition such as WestBromich Albion and Shakhtar. Despite playing veryentertaining football we failed to finish games off due toadopting to 20 minutes half football.Our second tournament was played in Grosebeek, Holland.Once again we came up against quality opposition like theKenya National team and Schalke. It was a very successfultournament seeing the Joeys defeat Kenya 4-2 in the semiand Schalke 3-0 in the final. Robert Kolak deserved andwon the Goalkeeper of the tournament.The last tournament, which was played in Tiel, Holland, waswithout a doubt the strongest of them all. Worldwide knownclubs participated including Liverpool FC, Ajax andFeyenoord. Despite fatigue, the Joeys managed to reach thefinal, but unfortunately lost to Feyenoord 2-1.The tour was very successful and a great experience inpreparations for the World Cup qualifiers in October.By Brendan Hamill & Nikola StanojevicFrom The Sports DeskHamilton Road Fairfield West, NSW 2165Phone: 9604 3333 * Fax: 0725 4898E-mail: info@westfieldsports.nsw.edu.auWeb: www.westfieldsports.nsw.edu.auMedical Centre Phone: 9604 3122Gymnsatic Hall Phone: 9604 3773Sports Stadium Phone: 9604 9361Congratulations :• Jonathon Castano-Acero – SSA National FootballChampions• University Shield Rugby League – WS defeated HunterSHS 28-24• Buckley Shield Rugby League - WS defeated Hunter SHS46-0• WS Jazz Dance Group – City of Sydney Performing ArtsChallenge Champions• WS Contemporary Dance Groups – City of SydneyPerforming Arts Challenge Highly Commended• Bill Turner Cup – WS defeated Marist College Penshurst4-0• Bill Turner Trophy– WS defeated Endeavour SHS 3-0• Matthew Attard, Steven Evic, Mitchell Dabinett, AidanKajan – NSWCHS State Softball Champions• Steven Evic, Mitchell Dabinett, Aidan Kajan – NSWCHSState Softball RepresentativesYear 8 Maths StudentsJoanne Kenny Director of SportSome Year 8 students still need to finalise payment of $5:00for Mathletics to the front office.