Students Making a Difference

Moss Vale High Newsletter Issue 2 Term 2 2017

2 June 2017

Luke Webb, Year 12, for his outstanding contribution to the school — see Principal’s report

Year 12 Work Studies students for their contribution to volunteering to make the school a better place

Angela Hughes, Year 11, who wrote a special letter to Turia Pitt

8P students who beautified the Hall in anticipation of Turia Pitt’s visit.

Sophie Tottenham, Year 11, for top of the class assignment work.

Moss Vale High School website : www.mossvale-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

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Turia Pitt Our school community had the honour of meeting Turia Pitt and listening to her inspirational speech about her life challenges and achievements. Turia spoke briefly about her tragic experience of being trapped in a bushfire during an ultramarathon in the Kimberley during 2011. The focus of her speech was substantially on the positives that Turia has learned since her accident, particularly her message of gratitude. Turia told our school assembly how everyday she reflects on all the wonderful things that she has in life to be grateful for, such as family, friends, physical abilities and new opportunities. Turia has made a conscious effort not to be defined by her accident and the resulting injuries. Without a doubt, Turia Pitt is one of Australia’s most admired people. Surviving against overwhelming odds is the least of her achievements. Turia has gone on to thrive in the ultimate story of triumph over adversity. In 2016 alone, Turia participated in two IRONMAN competitions; completed the Kokoda Track and mentored over 6,000 people in her online programs. Turia is a passionate humanitarian and has raised well over a million dollars for the non-profit organisation Interplast. She has been shortlisted for Australian of the Year, was a finalist for the Telstra Business Women’s award and was the winner of the NSW Premier’s Women of the Year. Turia is truly a remarkable woman. Turia’s “never give up” attitude inspires others to drop their excuses; conquer their fears and be their best. We hope Turia’s positive and inspirational messages will be remembered by our students and staff forever.

Model United Nations Assembly On Saturday, May 13, students from all of the Southern Highland schools came together at the council chambers to participate in the Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA). The purpose of the competition is to give students an insight into the important workings of the United Nations, and gives them the opportunity to discuss international issues such as global conflicts, renewable energy and violence against women. Our Year 11 students were victorious against Chevalier College, Oxley College, Bowral High School and Frensham. These outstanding and talented students are Ben Brittle, Kelsey Attwood, Emily Hermann and Rebecca Hawken. The MUNA team will now move on to the next stage of the competition and debate current international issues in Canberra. We wish Ben, Kelsey, Emily and Rebecca all the best for the MUNA debate in August.

Three of our successful MUNA students

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One Note Longer I would like to thank and congratulate our highly talented senior vocal ensemble, ‘One Note Longer’, for performing last Sunday at the Bowral Botanic Gardens community event. The girls were clearly the best performance on the day and many community members commented on the girls’ beautiful harmonies. I was extremely proud of our girls and very moved by their performance. Congratulations to Margaret Fitzgerald, Taylah Denford, Erin Grainger, Eve Thomas, Olivia Tumanow, Javiera Diaz, Cassidy Brown, Rebecca Coulter and Acacia Ashworth.

Australian National University (ANU) Maths Day The good news keeps coming! Jamie Lee, Sarah Head, Patrick Miller, Emily Hermann and Kristy Moore participated in the Australian National University Mathematics Day competition and won the Regional Shield. This is a highly impressive accomplishment for our students, particularly for Emily and Jamie who are only in Year 11. Most students in the competition were in Year 12. Congratulations to these students and to our hard working Maths faculty.

Students Making a Difference- Luke Webb I would like to acknowledge the outstanding efforts of Luke Webb of Year 12. He is not only one of our School Captains, but he has been a leader in his VET Entertainment class where he has assisted Mr Donaldson in teaching other students in all aspects of sound and lighting for numerous school and community events. Luke has always given countless hours of his time in setting up for assemblies, events and special performances. Last Monday, before Turia Pitt and her team arrived, Luke was at school by 7am to ensure the smooth running of this important event. In fact, Turia’s team made special mention of Luke and the VET Entertainment crew and how impressed they were with their level of knowledge and professionalism in running all aspects of the ‘behind the scenes’ technology. Well done and thank you, Luke.

P&C Please come along to the next P&C meeting, June 20. It is a chance to find out more about what is happening in your child’s school and offers and opportunity to meet and talk with other parents. The next meeting begins at 5:30pm in the staff Common Room and refreshments will be provided. All welcome.

Patricia Holmes Principal

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Notes, notes, notes! Can I please remind all students and parents to ensure that all absences from school are justified with a note on the first day back from being absent. When this has not occurred, reminder slips are sent home with the student from roll call. Some parents may have already had a phone call from our attendance co-ordinator in relation to justifying past absences and often they are met with negative comments from parents. If parents are receiving a phone call, it is usually because the above mentioned process has not been followed. It is the parent/caregiver’s responsibility to provide a justified reason for an absence. We understand that life is getting busier and every now and then a note can be forgotten to be written. When this occurs it is the students responsibility to give their parent/caregiver the reminder slip. Whilst on notes, it has been brought to my attention that students are not returning excursion notes in by the due date, putting various activities at risk of having to be cancelled. Can I please encourage notes to be handed in as soon as possibly reasonable. If there is a financial concern, please contact the organising teacher as a solution can always be negotiated, we just have to know!

Notices in Roll Call Every roll call lesson, a set of “daily notices” are read out by the teacher. These notices contain information relevant to the student body and it is extremely important that students pay attention when the notices are being read out. I have had multiple staff tell me students are not coming to meetings or getting messages, and when questioned why they haven’t attended, students more often than not will say “I didn’t hear that”. The daily notices are a vital way for teachers to get information to the student group. Again, if students are not attending meetings it is putting at risk the various activities that Moss Vale High School offers.

Turia Pitt Visit Absolutely awesome! That pretty much sums up Turia’s visit to Moss Vale High School. I’m certain that all students and staff were able to take something out of Turia’s presentation to help them become a more positive person, and be grateful for what they have in life. Some of the important points Turia spoke of included

 The importance of setting goals to improve a positive mindset;

 Its OK to feel down or to have a “bad” day! Accept it, and ride it out till the good days come!

 Every day, wake up and identify 3-5 things you are grateful for;

 This was certainly the highlight of the year to date. Again, a big thanks to Luke Vandenbergh for getting this project rolling.

People Making a Difference All the Year 11 students are getting ready to nominate to be a future School Captain or part of the school leadership team. Congratulations for putting yourself forward to be considered. This in itself demonstrates the commitment you all have to your school by putting yourself through the nomination process. Good luck to all the nominees!

Mr Carlyon Deputy Principal

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ANU Maths Challenge Day 2017

On Friday 26 May, five students travelled with me to Canberra to the ANU campus to participate in a mathematics day. They were Patrick Miller, Sarah Head and Kristie Moore from Year 12 and Jamie Lee and Emily Herman from Year 11. When we arrived, we discovered many schools in the Southern Highlands were represented. The day consisted of four main activities: a group problem solving round, a Swiss challenge, which required you to discover the pattern and determine the next solution, a mathematical crossword, and finally a relay problem -solving event. It was a long day and the participants were all exhausted, but their hard work was rewarded when they were awarded the Regional Shield prize for the day. Congratulations to all of the students involved.

Belinda Naujok Maths teacher

KOLLEGE OF KNOWLEDGE KOMMITTEE FOR KIDS generously supporting students of Moss Vale High School Support Unit

7 Moss Vale High Newsletter Issue 2 Term 2 2017 News from the CAPA Vault

Achievements and Performances Term 2 is shaping up to be an eventful time for our CAPA students!  Eight vocal students and three dance students have been selected for the highly acclaimed Schools Spectacular in November. Cassidy Brown, Javiera Diaz, Taylah Denford, Lachlan Finlayson, Margaret Fitzgerald, Joel Hinchcliffe, Eve Thomas and Olivia Tumanow will be part of the Secondary Concourse Choir and Natarsha Debrodt, Janaya Gage-Simpson and Rhiannon Glendenning-Fuller will be part of the Aboriginal Dance Ensemble. This is a huge achievement for our school as thousands of students across the state auditioned to be part of the show.  Joel Hinchcliffe, Matthew Johnston, Jamie Lee and Alice Rough were part of the entertaining Regional Performing Ensemble that visited our school as part of their Term 2 Southern Highlands tour in Week 5.  One Note Longer, our Senior Vocal Ensemble, gave an excellent performance at Music in the Gardens, a community event at the Botanical Gardens in Bowral on Sunday May 28.  We will hold our next event, A Night of M.A.D.D.ness on Thursday June 22. This will be an opportunity for elective Music, Dance and Drama students to showcase their talents. Our next full CAPA Concert will be held in Education Week in Term 3.

Purple Shirt Regional Performing Ensemble

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One Note Longer performance at Music in the Gardens, Bowral

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Nesting Year 8 Box

Mrs Finlayson’s 8F class were given a project to design and construct a nesting box that was made from recycled materials and cost nothing or minimal cost to make. Students also had to think about whether they would re-purpose it later on eg quail cage or guinea pig enclosure.

Felicite Hayden Nathan Tyler

Hayley Sarah Boyd

Jack Xara Ella

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Amelia Hayley Sofia James

Madisyn Jacob Jack

Amanda Jazmin Kelsey

Riley Jamaya Brielle Ciarne 11 Moss Vale High Newsletter Issue 2 Term 2 2017

TVET 2018 Moss Vale Campus BE AMBITIOUS YOUR STUDY OPTIONS

Industry Curriculum Framework courses (ATAR) Board Endorsed courses (non-atar)

Automotive Animal Studies Construction Early Childhood Ed. Electrotechnology Salon Assistant

See Careers Adviser for more information

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Invitation to parents/caregivers to attend our next meeting Tuesday 20 June 2017 at 5.30pm in staff common room via administration entrance This is an opportunity for parents and caregivers to meet other families, network with school staff and discover what is happening at Moss Vale High School. Come and join us for a meet and greet, refreshments and chat!

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TO : MOSS VALE HIGH NOTE OF ABSENCE

Date : ______Address : ______Roll Class : ______Year : ______

Please excuse the absence of my son/daughter : ______on (dates) ______Total number of days absent : ______The reason for the absence/s (this reason must be specific, not just "he/she was sick") : ______Parent Name : ______Parent Signature : ______Date sent : ______

TO : MOSS VALE HIGH NOTE OF ABSENCE

Date : ______Address : ______Roll Class : ______Year : ______

CHANGE OF ADDRESS / CONTACT DETAILS OFFICE USE ONLY CHANGED ON

NAME :...... Roll Class : ...... Year : …...... ERN

NEW ADDRESS : ...... PO BOX ...... EMERGENCY CARD ...... REPRINTED BUS Co New Phone No's : Home : ...... Work (M) : ...... NOTIFIED RECEIVED Mobile (M) : ...... Work (F) : ...... Mobile (F) : ...... NEW BUS FORM Email : …………………………………………………………………………………………………..

DATE YOU CHANGED ADDRESS : ......

PARENTS / GUARDIANS NAMES YOU ARE LIVING WITH :

......