Term 2 Week 10 25 June 2021 Deputy Principal Matters by Claire Cartwright . Covid update Unfortunately, this week has been a disruptive and disappointing end to the school term with a return to covid restrictions. I know many of you have been forced to cancel much anticipated holiday plans and this week has seen multiple cancellations of excursions and incursions. It is always such a shame when these events are cancelled. Not only are students disappointed but the many hours of planning that goes into these excursions also goes unrewarded. Year 7 Parent Teacher Conferences are currently scheduled for Tuesday 20th July. We have opened bookings today in the hope that the meetings can proceed. Please find booking details following this report. If the COVID situation improves, we are hoping to have the Year 8 Parent Teacher Conferences on Tuesday 27th July. This will be confirmed next term. There is a possibility that next term we will return to a lockdown situation. Our school staff has been planning for this eventuality since February. At the beginning of the year, every teacher created a Google Classroom for each class they teach. All assessment materials have been placed on this Classroom page and increasingly lesson materials are placed on there during term time as teachers become increasingly familiar with using this platform. In the event of a lockdown, our current plan will be for St Ives High School students to follow the same processes as they did in 2020. Students will: Follow their school timetable At the beginning of each period, open Google Classroom Mark themselves present on the roll for that class period Follow instructions for the lesson. Teachers may run a zoom lesson or they may provide another activity that students need to complete and upload to Google Classroom. It is important to note that attendance will be monitored and teachers will use the Google Classroom roll for this pur- pose. We will also apply an adjusted bell time schedule to allow for students to stand, stretch and move about between online lessons. We are all hoping that we will not have to fall back on these measures and that this latest outbreak is soon brought back under control. However, if we do find ourselves under lockdown, please be assured that we have measures ready in place and will communicate steps in more detail if and when a lockdown occurs. Multicultural Day – best room competition On a cheerier note, I am able to announce the winner of the best Multicultural Day room award – the Greek room! With 27% of total votes, the Greek Room was voted by students and teachers as the best room on Multicultural Day. Well done to Kiki M for her excellent leadership and organisational skills. Her team of helpers - Luca, Olivia, Cait- lin and Holly - also worked well together and did a fantastic job decorating their room with a Greek theme. They al- so organised some clever drama and karaoke activities that all students enjoyed. Thanks also goes to Mr Andrew Shannon for supporting the students to run the room. Respect ~ Perseverance ~ Growth National Art School HSC Intensive Studio Practice Congratulations to Alice R and Gemma L in Year 11 who have both been selected to attend the National Art School HSC Intensive Studio Practice next week and during the September school holidays. The high- ly competitive visual arts course is aimed at Year 11 students in both government and non-government high schools to enrich and extend their artmaking practice by working in a selected discipline. Drama Showcase Years 8, 9 and 10 have had a busy, fun and productive week developing their theatrical skills by performing for year 7 classes. A big thank you goes to Ms Catherine Whittle and Ms Maria Pender for their passion and guidance. The quality of our drama perfor- mances at St Ives High School continues to grow and impress. Hopefully we will soon return to a time when our stu- dents can perform for their families. Please see full report later in the newsletter. End of term TAS projects and Art works. As we end each term year 7 and 8 students are always busy finishing off their projects for TAS before they rotate to learn a new TAS skill. With the end of the semester, these students will also swap from Music or Art or vice versa. Later in the newsletter you will see some of the amazing work students have produced, as well as some work from older, more adept students. I am always so impressed with the work produced under the guidance of their talented teachers. Year 8 into 9 Subject Selection process This week, year 8 students have made some important decisions about their Stage 5 elective subjects for 2022 and 2023. The data has been collected, and next term, classes and lines will be formed with a view to maximise the number of students who receive their top preferences. Students will find out later in the year which subjects they have been allocated. In the meantime, year 8 students should focus on enjoying their final semester of Stage 4 learning. Construction update For those of you who have driven past the Yarrabung Road entrance, you will have seen the scaffolding around the hall and for those who have walked past, you will have seen the hive of activity with concrete being poured and bricks gradually getting higher. The community hub is currently on track to be finished by the end of term 3. Further- more, plans for our community sports hall, to be situated down the slope from the Sports Hall, continue. Please see flyer attached. High Achievers Assembly This week, we recognised our Year 11 High Achievers with a special morning tea with Mr Watson, Ms Bodley and Ms Gettens. These are students who have been ranked at the top of multiple subjects for their first term of their Pre- liminary Course. We also realise that there are many students who are working hard but not necessarily gaining the top ranked spots. Our annual Presentation Day provides opportunities for students to receive awards for excellence in perseverance and growth over the course of the academic year Finally, I would like to wish all our students a safe holiday. Year 12 students will be busily studying for their upcoming trial exams with many teachers volunteering their time to run holiday classes for their students. My advice to Year 12 is to create a balance of study and rest. Take the time to exercise, socialise and eat healthily. Try to get 8 hours sleep each night. The trick is then to maintain that balance during Term 3 to maximise your examination results. Best wishes Claire Cartwright Deputy Principal Term 2 Week 10 Page 2 THE YEAR 7 PARENT TEACHER NIGHT TUESDAY THE 20TH OF JULY Bookings are able to be made through the School Interviews booking website. •Please have access to your child’s timetable and know their teachers’ names. •To access the booking system, please go to https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/. •Click on 'Make a Booking'. •Enter the event code shm8g. •Find the correct class for each subject by looking at the class code and the teachers name. •Make booking. Please leave a time buffer between each appointment. Bookings will close on Sunday the 18th of July at 6pm. BOOTCAMP IN COVID TIMES! TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORT On Friday 18, I met with Council representatives, Councillor Martin Smith and Liz P (Traffic and Transport Commit- tee Convenor) to discuss what steps can be taken in regards to making the area around the school precinct safer. As some next steps, there will be a Council audit for a pedestrian crossing on Hunter Street. There was an audit car- ried out in 2019 and we didn’t meet the criteria. With our increase in student numbers and regular use of Barra Brui Oval we are hopeful for a safe pedestrian crossing to be installed in this area in the very near future. In our meeting, we also discussed a crossing being placed on Yarrabung Rd (near the Kelvin St intersection) and an extension and upgrade to the fence along Yarrabung Rd. With these two steps we are hoping students will be able to cross Yarra- bung Rd in a safer way. We also discussed areas surrounding the school needing footpaths. Also on Yarrabung Rd, we discussed the possible location of a 'Drop and Collect' zone for our students. It’s envisaged that this would be on the southern side of Yarrabung Rd (school side) away from bus activity. In addition to this, Council confirmed the design of the pending refuge on Eastern Arterial (it will have reflective grabs). It was a successful meeting and we look forward to working with Council in making the school precinct a safer place. Nathan Lawler, Deputy Principal TERM DATES 2021 Term 2 Friday, 25 June – last day Term 2 10 weeks Term 3 Monday, 12 July – Staff Development Day – Staff return to school 10 Tuesday, 13 July – Students return to school weeks Friday, 17 September – last day Term 3 Term 4 Tuesday, 5 October – All students and staff return to school 11 Thursday, 16 December - Last day of Term 4 for students weeks Friday, 17 December – Staff Development Day Term 2 Week 10 Page 3 KZSSSA ZONE ATHLETICS CARNIVAL WEDNESDAY 16TH JUNE, 2021 With no athletics carnival possible in 2020 and a 7th placing at zone in 2019, 140 students in St Ives High’s athletics team set about trying to elevate the schools overall result this year at the KZSSSA Zone athletics carnival at SOPAC, Homebush.