| PH: (02) 9954 7100 ISSUE #72 26 JUNE 2021

Cammeraygal High School Empowered to Achieve

01 PRINCIPAL’S REPORT 20 P&C

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL As we head towards the end of Term 2, we have CALENDAR so much to celebrate and acknowledge for many of TERM 2 | WK 10 | 21 - 25 JUNE our students in drama, debating and music, most of which we have mentioned in previous Friday LAST DAY OF TERM 2 newsletters. TERM 3 | WK 1 | 12 – 16 JULY I would also like to thank and farewell staff NAIDOC WEEK members that are leaving us this term in this Monday Staff Development Day newsletter. Tuesday ALL STUDENTS RETURN Our students and teachers are all ready for the Thursday Y10 Parent & Teacher Interviews & well-deserved break and I would like to Subject Selection Evening acknowledge the entire school community for their TERM 3 | WK 2 | 19 – 23 JULY diligence and resilience over the course of a very Mon & Tues Regional Athletics Carnival busy and productive term Friday Y10 Vaccination Year 10 Work Experience TERM 3 | WK 3 | 26 - 30 JULY This year we had over 120 students attend work experience placements in a range of different work Mon - Wed Y11 Life Ready Camp spaces. Mon – Fri HSC Trials | Week 1 Despite the challenges of COVID the students took UPCOMING EVENTS: the initiative to find the placements and to embrace HSC Trials | 26 July to 6 August the opportunities the week provides. They will Y7 Gala Day | 3 August finish their work experience at the end of this week Winter Academy | 8 – 13 August and we hope they have enjoyed the experience in the big wide world of work. Parent Teacher Interviews Parent Teacher Nights for Years 7, 8 and, 9 were Wishing everyone held during the past week. This will complete most of the Parent Teacher a safe and Nights as we move into the Second Semester of study for Years 7-12. happy holidays!

1 PRINCIPAL’S REPORT CONTINUED… School Spectacular Auditions 2021 Congratulations to Tom D in Year 11 who has been successful in the first live round of the Featured Artist auditions and will now proceed to the Final Live Round of auditions in the Schools Spectacular for 2021. This is an amazing achievement and we congratulate Tom on this outstanding outcome. We wish him the very best with this endeavour, I am sure it will be one of many great achievements for Tom. We are also excited to congratulate Elise T in Year 9 who will go to the live audition for a Backing Vocalist for the 2021 Schools Spectacular. Elise is a wonderfully energetic and talented vocalist who you may remember performing on our recent music night. We wish Elise the very best for her upcoming audition Chloe T Year 11 has applied for Instrumental featured artist and Maddison H Yr 9 has auditioned for the Ballet Ensemble. Farewells I would like to farewell Ms Jaymie Parish who is a teacher in the Social Sciences Faculty and is also the Year 10 Year Advisor. Jaymie has made a huge contribution to the wellbeing team in the time she has been at the school supporting our students to feel supported and happy at school. We wish her the best in her future endeavours as she leaves for a new adventure. We also will be sadly saying farewell to Ms Katherine Wassink who is our School Psychologist on both West and Pacific Highway campuses. Katherine has made a huge difference to our students endlessly supporting them with huge commitment and professionalism. She has left an indelible impression on the students she worked with, who will miss her greatly. We wish her the very best in her future endeavours as she also leaves Sydney to embark on a new challenge. We also would like to farewell Melissa Shoesmith who has been a SAO in the many iterations of the front office at Cammeraygal. She has been the GA at one point and relieving SAM and we thank her for her ongoing commitment to our school. We wish Melissa the very best as she takes a position much closer to home. Thank you from the entire community to all of our staff that are leaving us. We are grateful for all the care you have provided to the school in your time at the school. COVID -19 Updates The recent updates on the COVID restrictions advise that schools should minimise visitors on site and to use technology where possible to minimise contact for school events. The assembly held on Friday was done on Zoom across the sites. The Year 12 workshops will mostly be done by zoom in the school holidays. The practical subjects including Industrial Timber, Society and Culture and Visual Arts will be held at school. Year 12 students have been informed of these changes. I would like to wish our entire school community a safe and restful holiday break, even if it is limited to being in Sydney. We hope that next term brings better news on the COVID -19 restrictions and I will inform our parent body of any changes to school operations as soon as we are informed. In the interim we can assume all students will return to school on Tuesday 13 July as Monday 12 is our Staff Development Day. We look forward to a safe, creative and happy Term 3 with many events including the HSC Trial Exams, Year 11 Exams, Year 11 Camp and many more activities coming up in the term ahead. Take care and stay safe. K Melky Principal

2 Deputy Principals’ Report The Senior Campus has had a productive end of Term 2 with some experiences and opportunities for all Year groups. Year 10 have been on Work Experience and we look forward to hearing all about their placements upon their return to school next term. Many of the cohort found a placement in an area of interest and a future career aspiration, all the more impressive considering COVID restrictions in workplaces. Teachers have communicated with students and their supervisors throughout their placement and have reported that our students are engaged, focused and cooperative. Well done Year 10. We will hold Year 10 Parent Teacher Interviews on Thursday 15th July in Week 1 from 4-7pm which will be followed by the vital Stage 6 Subject Information Evening. This is a perfect opportunity for students and families to learn about Stage 6 courses and requirements. Year 11 English Advanced students experienced a live performance of Shakespeare’s Othello at the Seymour Centre. Watching theatrical performances will enhance their understanding of this complex classic play. On their return, students were complimented on their exemplary conduct in the theatre. Year 12 worked diligently in the subject workshops this week which aimed to prepare students for their upcoming Trial HSC Examinations in Week 3 and 4 of Term 4. Some subjects are conducting holiday workshops via Zoom and on site to further support this cohort before their Trials. Teachers will communicate with their classes via Google Classroom the zoom codes and any changes to the schedule, pending adjustments to COVID restrictions.

Holiday Workshop Schedule

Date Zoom Workshops Monday 28 June Economics Wednesday 30 June Legal Studies Friday 2 July Biology Monday 5 July PDHPE Tuesday 6 July English Wednesday 7 July Chemistry

Date On Site Workshops Monday 28 June Workshop open in the Tuesday 29 June mornings for Design & Society & Culture Wednesday 30 June Technology students Thursday 1 July Friday 2 July Thursday 8 July History Extension Friday 9 July Visual Arts Have a safe and restorative break from school and we are looking forward to seeing everyone back in Term 3. Kate Richards Relieving Deputy Principal

3 SRC BBQ – NAIDOC Week This week Year 9 SRC students organised and ran a BBQ on the Pacific campus to raise funds for the Kincheala Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation. This was one of a number of NAIDOC Week activities initiated by the SRC and they were successful in raising close to $500. Well done to all involved!

Sentral Parent Portal Parents and carers are strongly encouraged to regularly visit the Cammeraygal High School Parent Portal. Here you will not only find links to helpful school documents and policies, but also access to school calendars where you can now toggle individual year groups to view relevant events for your child. Timetables, teacher messages, and all upcoming and completed assessment tasks are visible under ‘homework’. Students receive hard copies of all formal assessment tasks, but becoming familiar with the Parent Portal and spending time with your child looking at upcoming events is one of the most effective ways that you can support them through heavy assessment periods.

Growth Mindset After a jam packed first semester, the winter holidays is an important time to unwind and rejuvenate. It is also a good time for parents and students to reflect on the achievements and areas for development identified in the Semester 1 Reports. At Cammeraygal we promote having a growth mind set and I would encourage every student to take the time to sit down over the holidays at some point and set some personal and academic goals to work towards in Semester 2. These goals should focus on areas of learning that perhaps do not come easily to students, with an understanding that with hard work and effort their performance will improve. I wish students, parents and staff a safe and restful break. P Barraclough Deputy Principal

4 Faculty News HISTORY Year 8 Medieval Madness Year 8 students, who have been studying medieval history this semester, had the opportunity to participate in the Medieval Madness Incursion. During the incursion students learned about medieval warfare and weapons form Europe, Asia Minor and Japan. They discussed a range of subjects including, punishments, social hierarchy and food Students were able to interact with the armour, weapons and some even voluntarily put themselves in the pillory!

S Shorter HSIE Teacher

5 SOCIAL SCIENCES Year 11 Geography Excursion Year 11 Geography visited the Coastal Environment Centre at Narrabeen where they were excited to learn about coastal erosion at Collaroy and Narrabeen beaches for their unit on Biophysical Interactions. They then completed essential field work at Narrabeen Beach, including field sketches of sediment build up and sand dune variability along the coastline. Walking along the beach allowed them to view first- hand the damage that was done to the coast due to intense storm surges, pointing out particular areas of concerns that have not been adequately managed. There was even a palm tree that had all of its roots exposed due to the erosion that had occurred, and a swimming pool that was now acting as a seawall! Year 11 had a fantastic experience learning about the sustainable management processes, particularly sand dune regeneration and how this can help to keep sand on our beaches! They also visited a construction site that was in the progress of building a new seawall to keep residents’ homes safe at a cost of $1.7 million, with each resident having to pay $170,000! Overall, it was a great day out and students learnt a lot about Biophysical Interactions and coastal erosion. Ms Parish Social Sciences Teacher

6 Year 10 Geo Forces Year 10 Geo Forces also visited the Coastal Environment Centre at Narrabeen to conduct an analysis of water quality of Narrabeen Lagoon. The lagoon was found to be currently closed by a sand bank with no influx of fresh nutrients from the sea. As a collective, Year 10 took the initiative to test the water quality to see if it was healthy and capable of supporting life. Using specialised testing kits, they looked at indicators such as pH, turbidity, phosphates, nitrates, salinity, dissolved oxygen, biological lifeforms and pollutants. They rated the lagoon’s water quality a score of about 40 out of 50 on the day, meaning the quality was surprisingly good! Year 10 learned that council was monitoring the water level every 15 minutes and would open up the sand bank once the water level reached 1.3m. This was a precautionary measure to prevent flooding in the area. Afterwards, they took a hike up to Narrabeen Head Lookout to examine the forces of waves, coastal erosion and rips. Unfortunately, the rock platform was closed due to the powerful swell on the day. However, Year 10 continued their journey through to Narrabeen Beach learning about the jetsam that had washed up on the shore, the management of the sand dunes and the coastal erosion that had devastated the area in 2016. Big thanks to Narrabeen CEC for leading such an informative, engaging and passionate tour on what was a fantastic day for all! Mr Wu Head Teacher Social Sciences

7 ASX Competition 69 syndicates from Cammeraygal High School participated in the ASX Sharemarket Game in Semester 1. The game involved investing $50,000 in pretend money in a range of shares in the ASX200 to gain real experience in investing in the stockmarket and the opportunity to win real cash prizes! Our top performing student was Ross R of Year 11, who finished the competition in first place with a portfolio worth $55,431 - a 10% increase in only two months! He also came 12th out of all students in the state of NSW which was a highly impressive and commendable result! Ross had done extensive research on a variety of stocks, closely inspecting historical price charts and looking for any stocks which appeared to be on an upward trend. Initially, he actively day traded but realised this was a fairly time consuming and cost inefficient process due to brokerage fees that had to be paid. He then switched to a buy and hold strategy, ultimately picking a diverse collection of five winning stocks - Commonwealth Bank (finance), Bravura Solutions (software development), Unibail- Rodamco-Westfield (real estate), Northern Star Resources (mining) and Nextdc (software). Congratulations and well done to Ross for his excellent analysis of price trends and financial foresight. The syndicate ‘Andrej’ finished in second place and third place went to Lachlan F of Year 10. All Cammeraygal students from Years 7-12 are invited to participate in the competition in Semester 2. It's free, it’s fun and it's an opportunity to see if you are interested in learning more about Commerce, Business, or Economics. Look out for a notification of the next competition which will be on Sentral in Term 3.

Ms Jerrems Social Sciences Teacher MATHEMATICS As we approach the end of Term 2, it’s a good time to look at “the big picture” for the maths program at Cammeraygal High School. Last year, we conducted a full review of our mathematics program, interviewing students, parents and teachers and came to two major conclusions:  all of our students would benefit from more time, earlier in their development, on the most important parts of the mathematics syllabus; and  for about half of our students, the junior school program needed to be made significantly more challenging. Recent Changes to Maths in Year 7 and Year 8 In 2020, we developed a concept of what we call the “The Four Foundations”: Four critical mathematics topics that form the basis of all the harder mathematics going forward into Years 9 and 10, and the senior school. The Four Foundations are:  negative numbers;  fractions;  algebra; and  equations.

8 We increased the amount of time spent in Year 7 on the Four Foundations, ensuring students have many opportunities to learn, consolidate and practice these skills. To give an example of the changes made, in 2019, Year 7 students spent about 2 weeks on Algebra, and 1 week on Equations. In 2020, we raised this to 6 weeks on Algebra and 4 weeks on Equations. To make more time available, we compressed the time spent in Year 7 revising primary school content and reduced the time spent on less important Year 7 topics. At the end of 2020, we found that nearly 80% of Year 7 students mastered most of the Four Foundations content, and amazingly, reached levels that had been considered Year 8 levels in previous years. We are now on our second year of running the Year 7 “Four Foundations” program. For more information, please see the Year 7 Mathematics Program given to each student at the start of the year. Our formal assessment task sequence has also been modified so that students can show their progress in the Four Foundations in each task. If a student hasn’t mastered Algebra in Term 2, they have more opportunities to demonstrate progress in Algebra in Term 3, and again in Term 4. Teachers will keep reviewing the Four Foundations throughout Term 3 and Term 4 so students can continually practice and strengthen them. In 2021, we upgraded the Year 7 textbooks with a more challenging book, Cambridge Maths 7, and will soon be upgrading the Year 8 to Cambridge Maths 8. Both these books contain many more problems, more challenging problems and more extension content than the previous textbook. We are in the process now of updating the “Blue Sheets” which provide guidance for students to work at different levels of challenge for each exercise set, depending on “where they are now”. With the new textbooks comes a modern digital platform, providing many online options for skills practice at different levels and a rich set of extension and challenge problems. Importantly for parents wishing to help their children with maths, the new digital platform comes with videos showing working through for every single example question in the textbook. These also provide additional support for students wanting more help outside school time to master the foundation content. This year we have also a significant change the way we teach Year 8 Mathematics with the introduction of our “One Program, Two Speeds” program. Based on progress in the Four Foundations at the end of Year 7, students were placed in a Year 8 class working at either a “Balanced Pace” or a “Fast Pace”. All Year 8 students work on the same program, and are assessed on the same content, however the Fast Pace classes work faster and use the extra time gained to work on enrichment and extension content. In the Balanced Pace classes, students have additional time to consolidate the Four Foundations, helping provide a strong basis for moving into Year 9. Parents who would like more information are encouraged to discuss with teachers during the upcoming Parent Teacher evening. In the next newsletter, I will discuss changes to the Year 9 and Year 10 programs. For Year 10 students: choosing a mathematics subject for 2022 Year 11. Year 10 students will soon be making subject selections for next year. For mathematics, students have a choice of:  no maths: This remains a valid option for students who are finding mathematics very challenging and are not enjoying it at all;  Mathematics Standard: A course focused on practical applications of mathematics, with emphasis on measurement, money and modelling. This is a challenging course which will require focus and effort. Students should have mastered most of the Year 10 Mathematics 5.2 course outcomes to ensure success in this course. The majority of NSW students, and at Cammeraygal, choose this course.

9  Mathematics Advanced: a course for those interested in abstract mathematics, recommended for students considering a “STEM” career, or other careers needing more advanced mathematics. This course is only suitable for students who have mastered most of the Year 10 Mathematics 5.3 course content. Some revision of Year 10 5.3 content is done at the start of this course. At Cammeraygal, around 30% of students select this course; and  Mathematics Advanced + Extension 1: an extremely challenging (but rewarding!) course for strong mathematics students who really do enjoy maths. The workload is intense. It’s essential you are currently performing strongly in Year 10 5.3 because there is no time for revision of Year 10 content. It’s essential you discuss this choice with your maths teacher prior to applying for this course. More information on these choices will be presented during the Year 11 Subject Selection night. Parents and students are strongly urged to discuss choices with their Year 10 Mathematics teacher. Choosing the right mathematics course means you will have a rewarding, pleasing and appropriately challenging experience in Year 11. Maths Competitions for Term 3 Applications for the Australian Mathematics Competition and the ICAS competitions have now closed. Parents who applied for their children will be receiving an email soon to complete payment. Prompt payment is greatly appreciated as we need to put the orders in very soon. Maths Support Workshops for Term 3 In Term 3 we are providing targeted support for: Year 7 students yet to attain ‘C’ grades in the Four Foundation topics are invited to the Tuesday morning workshop with Mr Zuber on the Pacific campus, Room B.3.38 at 8:15 am – 8:45 am. Year 10 Maths 5.3 students aiming for Year 11 Mathematics Advanced but needing more support with the Year 10 content are invited to the Tuesday afternoon workshop with Mr Yang on the West St campus 3:20 pm – 4:00 pm. SPORT In Week 7, the U15 Boys AFL team competed in the Swan Shield gala day at Pennant Hills Park. The boys played two games against Marsden College and Narrabeen Sports High School. This was the first time the school had entered a team into the competition and for the majority of boys, this was their first time playing AFL.

Freddie P Y7 was a standout, being awarded the Coaches Award for his outstanding performance and sportsmanship. Each team member put in tremendous effort and everyone is looking forward to building their skills and gameplay for next year! N Foster Supervising Teacher

10 LOTE What a fun way to end the term! Year 9 Japanese classes put on their cooking hats and enjoyed a fun morning of making Hiragana pancakes! In 「せんせい の だいどころ」 (Sensei’s Kitchen), students practised their language and made their own pancakes using a word written in the Hiragana script! Taste was secondary as students showed off their creativity and flair in different colour combinations and designs.

11 MUSIC Term 2 Music Night Monday June 7, Week 8 Term 2 will officially be remembered by all present, as the day ‘the Music lived’. After all the restrictions, lockdowns and cancellations, Cammeraygal High School music staff and students were able to host their first concert in the school’s new hall on the West St campus.

For those present, who already know ... The night showcased the cornucopia of musical talent we have here at our school with performances from the schools Concert Band, Jazz Band, String Ensemble, Vocal Ensemble and Drum group, as well as a number of small group and individual performances from elective Yr 9-12 music classes.

Amongst the many highlights of the evening, a special mention must go out to the Year 9 Rock Band’s performance of Money by Lime Cordiale, the beautiful ballad version of Take on me by Aha performed by Tom and Ross in Yr11, the Concert Band’s Queen medley and the many soloists in the Jazz Band.

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13 The night was hosted and run by our incredible Music Leadership team who are to be congratulated on their efforts. Year 11: Tom D & Sebastian T Year 10: Harrison A, Lori A , Madeleine B & James E Year 9: Rachel C, Elise T & Chloe B Year 8: Amelia A & Jamie G Year 7: Eoin K & Kamilla P

The school’s next concert on Tuesday evening 24 August will feature our HSC music graduating class: Zali B, Tali K, Bill S and Tom S. HSC Visual Arts students will also be mounting an exhibition of their work this evening. More details to follow. City of Sydney Eisteddfod The week before the concert, Ms Power prepared the Concert Band for its filmed entry into this year’s City of Sydney Eisteddfod. With the help of Ms Darvey (camera person) the group recorded three pieces for the eisteddfod. We look forward to receiving feedback on their performances.

NAIDOC Week video - Vocal Ensemble Earlier this term the Vocal Ensemble were asked to video their performance of My Island Home made famous by The Warumpi Band and later Christine Anu. It is being edited together with performances by other schools as well as Christine Anu, and will be broadcast through the Department of Education in NAIDOC Week. We look forward to sending out the link in the next newsletter. Northern Beaches Instrumental Music Festival The Concert Band continued their busy week, performing on June 9 at Pittwater HS in the Instrumental Festival. Thank you to Ms Power for her preparation and conducting of the band. The group performed beautifully and were just a little excited!

Madeleine and Felix accepting the trophy and some of our Music Leaders from the Concert Band.

14 New Instruments The Music Faculty, with the support of the school, have been busy stocking up on new instruments. The school has recently purchased a Viola, Tenor Saxophone, French Horn and Bass Clarinet which will be available for hire by our music students. Nathanel, Rohan, Rory and Marie are seen here playing them! We have also been adding instruments for our growing Concert and Jazz Bands, and Drum Group percussion sections, with the purchase of a brand new Glockenspiel and set of Congas. These will go so well with the school’s new Grand Piano! NSW State Music Camps - Senior & Junior Currently two of our music students are working hard at the annual NSW State Senior Music Camp being held at Narrabeen Sport & Rec Academy. Jared (Yr 10) and Rachel (Yr 9) are rehearsing and performing with 300 other talented musicians from across the State for the whole of the last week of term. They will be working in various ensembles, such as orchestra, choir, jazz band, concert band and chamber groups. We look forward to hearing about their wonderful experiences next term. We also have a number of students attending the NSW State Junior Music Camp at the start of Term 3. Details to be advised. We wish them all the best!

Request for help in making a ukulele stand The Music Department would like one of these fabulous ukulele storage racks. To our knowledge you can’t purchase them, so we are asking for help in drawing up plans and making it. Please contact us if you are able to help.

Carpet or Rug donations We are looking for some carpet or rugs donations. We have a number of needs for this:  To place under drumkits for easy movement and protection of the floor  To help reduce live acoustic / echo in timber floored spaces (stage in Hall, stage on ground in West St Foyer and Dance Studios) Size: various sizes are needed: 2m x 3m / 3m x 5m / 7m X 4m Any donations or contacts would be appreciated.

Please give us a call to discuss options.

15 School Spectacular 2021 – Music and Dance Success! We have had a number of students audition for this year's Schools Spectacular to be held at the Qudos Arena in November. Tom (Yr 11) and Elise (Yr 9) recently participated in live second round vocal auditions at The Arts Unit.

STOP PRESS: Tom has been successful and is now through to the Final Live Round of Featured Artist auditions (singer)! Elise has been successful and is now through to the Live audition for a Backing Vocalist!

Chloe (Yr 11) has applied for Instrumental featured artist, Maddison (Yr 9) has auditioned for the Ballet Ensemble (see below) and the school Vocal Ensemble has also applied to be part of the Massed Choir.

We wish them all the best of luck! A Boyle Music Teacher HSIE Year 12 Society and Culture Study Day Society and Culture students attended the HSC Society and Culture Study Day on Tuesday 1st of June. It was held at the Wesley Conference Centre. The program encompassed depth studies and an outlook on what will be expected in our exam that will be held in October this year. They provided past responses and study advice. We were surrounded by different schools across Sydney. The all-day course was presented by dedicated speakers who were passionate about the topic areas. As a student, it was extremely useful to understand the course in a different environment. We also watched live ATSI ceremonial performances, which were amazing. As the first excursion since COVID, it was important for us to experience different cultures and perspectives in a face to face interaction. This will greatly benefit our study for both our PIP major work and exam. Thank you to Ms Coulson, Ms Papikin and Ms Hakimi for this experience! Written by Edwina I (11 SCX)

16 Kinchela Aboriginal Boys Home - Survivors of the Stolen Generation As part of the Year 10 History, Studies of Religion and Aboriginal Studies curriculum, students have been learning about Indigenous cultures and reconciliation. To supplement our knowledge of this topic, Year 10 and some senior students, attended an incursion by the Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation. We heard from two Elders, Uncle Michael and Uncle Willie, who shared their experiences of being part of ‘Kinchela Aboriginal Boys Home’. This home was one of the many facilities that housed Indigenous children when they were forcibly removed from their families. First, we watched an animation clip that outlined their experiences at Kinchela. Afterwards, the Elders shared their own stories and experiences of living at the house and what life has been like for them since. They described how their removal from their families, country and kinship meant that they have been disconnected from their culture and spirituality. Throughout the presentation, the Elders encouraged us to see our generation to be the knowledge- holders. We can play a part in the reconciliation process by continuing to learn and be curious, so that we can continue to tell the history of Australia.

The Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation is currently in the process of trying to buy the original Kinchela house to be able to transform it into a museum and healing centre. It will be a place to reckon with the past and equip people to be a part of the process. Read more about this initiative here: https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2021/05/26/campaign-convert-former-aboriginal-boys-home-stolen- generations-museum-1 For more information about the organisation and how you can support them, please see the link below https://kinchelaboyshome.org.au Jessy Coulson HSIE Teacher

ENGLISH Public Speaking and Debating Cammeraygal students continue to experience outstanding success in Public Speaking and Debating. Year 11 student Ellie D competed at the New South Wales State Semi-Final of the prestigious Plain English Speaking Award last Friday after winning the North Sydney Zone and the Sydney Zone. Despite being up against a highly challenging and competitive field of speakers from some of the best public and private schools in the State, Ellie still won the day with her intelligent and passionate speech encouraging us all to consider the importance of injustices that women face in our society today. Not only have our students experienced success in Public Speaking, our Year 9, 10 and 11 debating teams also stand undefeated this year after several rounds of the Premier's Debating Challenge. Our Year 11 and 12 NSW Premier's Debating Challenge team, the official North Sydney Area Zone

17 Champions, have defeated Orange High School in the first knockout round of the competition and are set to face in the second knockout round. Alexia R, Hannah C, Ellie D, and Hamish T successfully presented a case to call for all junior sporting teams should be selected on size rather than age in a close but clear win against the previous State Finalists Orange HS. Our Year 9 and Year 10 Premier's Debating Challenge teams have also experienced immense success with both teams defeating Marsden High School in the second round of the North Sydney Zone competition. Noah R, Jared A, James E, and Madeleine B proved that e-gaming should be an Olympic Sport whilst Ian B, Chloe B, Sydney A, and Nivriti V showed that a ban on all sports involving animals could result in a harmful black market where animals would suffer in an unregulated environment. It is very clear that our students can use logic, rhetoric and reasoning to raise their voices with great confidence to explore sophisticated and highly significant societal issues. Please congratulate our talented public speakers and debaters and wish them good luck as they more further up the competition ladder. S Sharpe Public Speaking & Debating Coordinator

FYI ….

STUDY SKILLS TIP FOR JUNE Multi-Tasking - Myth or Reality? Ask any student and they will tell you they can multi-task with ease. Do homework, watch TV, listen to music and check their phone all at the same time, no problem. Ask the academic researchers though and a different story emerges. Dr Larry Rosen, Professor of Psychology at California State University, explains that what is actually occurring in this ‘multi-tasking’ is ‘task switching’. Instead of doing two things at once, students are actually switching their focus from one task to another and back again, in a parallel fashion, at high speed, resulting in them staying on task for an average of only 65% of the time period and for a maximum of only 3-5 minutes at a time. Constant task-switching results in it taking much longer to complete the individual tasks not just due to the interruptions, but also because there are delays as the brain switches between tasks and refocuses. This brief bottleneck in the prefrontal cortex delays the start of the next task and the more intense the distraction, the longer it will take the brain to react. A study conducted by Dr Rosen’s team sent varying numbers of text messages to students in a lecture then tested the students on the content of the lecture. The results were surprising, it was not the number of interruptions that negatively impacted results, it was the time taken by the students to react to the interruptions. Students who responded immediately performed worst on the tests. Those who considered when to check the message and respond (ie in a part of a lecture they deemed less relevant) performed significantly better. What we can learn from this is that students need to become more aware of their ‘task-switching’ and make conscious decisions as to when they choose to shift their focus – instead of being enslaved by their technology and at its constant beck and call. We need to teach students that this constant mental task shifting (even thinking about the technology has the same effect as actually checking the technology) takes oxygen and brain activity away from what they are learning. We need to convince our students that it is ok and even necessary to wait, that they don’t have to respond immediately and do have the ability to delay their check-in with the cyber world. It is all about learning that we can control our selective attention and choose to ignore distractions.

18 We need to train the brain to stop thinking constantly about technology. However, resistance for too long can create anxiety and a fear of missing out, creating ‘continuous partial attention’ in students as oxygen is diverted to activate and maintain thoughts about social media at the expense of classroom material. Dr Rosen’s team has determined the best approach for students who find it difficult to pull back from their technology devices is to set an alarm on their phone for short regular ‘tech breaks’. They may start with 15 minutes and gradually increase this amount over time to around 30 minutes. The phone will be face down on their desk on silent mode or off, and when the alarm rings they let themselves check messages and status updates for a minute or two, then set the alarm again. Dr Rosen’s studies found that knowing they can check in 15 minutes creates less anxiety, whereas depriving them of the phone completely did not stop them thinking or obsessing about possible e-communications which took away from their ability to focus fully on their homework. It all comes back to teaching the concept of focus. Finally, Dr Rosen argues that we cannot simply remove technology and other distractions; they are too intricately woven into students' daily lives. Instead students should learn metacognitive skills to help them understand when and how to switch their attention between multiple tasks or technologies. Visit the Dealing with Distractions unit at www.studyskillshandbook.com.au to learn more about managing your distractions and tools and Apps that can help. Learn more this year about how to improve your results and be more efficient and effective with your schoolwork by working through the units on www.studyskillshandbook.com.au - our school’s access details are: Username: cammeraygalhs Password: 37achieve

Welbeing @ CHS MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVES The NSW Government are providing free, online workshops to help parents and carers, across NSW, to support the mental health and wellbeing of young people. The workshops provide:  practical tips, strategies and skills to better understand and communicate about mental health.  advice about support services within the local community, and  a forum to ask questions. Funded by the NSW Government, the workshops will be rolled out by headspace over the next two years.To register go to: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/o/headspace-national-youth-mental-health- foundation-30549822220 Jenny Perry Head Teacher Wellbeing / Learning & Support Years 10-12

Check out the June edition of the Northern Beaches Disability Newsletter for information about events, a personal development course for carers and much more. D Burton Wellbeing / Learning Support

19 from the CHS P&C Association

ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE An update from the Environment Committee on the CHS submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry on the Impacts of the Western Harbour Tunnel and the Beaches Link Submissions to the Parliamentary Inquiry closed on the 18th June and Cammeraygal High School P&C along with over 10 other schools along the tunnel route put in a submission. School submissions highlighted the impacts of the tunnel construction and operation on the health, safety and wellbeing of students while they are at school, travelling to school and participating in school sports.

20 The timeline for tunnel construction and disruption in our school catchment is estimated to be 8 years so putting in a submission with our concerns was important. These included:  Air quality impacts from the unfiltered stacks, increased construction traffic and congestion, construction dust and silica exposure from playing fields in close proximity to the tunnel dive sites particularly at Cammeray Golf Club and Flat Rock Drive;  Traffic and road safety; and  Long term environmental impacts and loss of green space Thanks to all of you who submitted individually and read the posts on our Facebook page. You may have noticed that preliminary works on the Warringah Freeway upgrade – part of the tunnel project has commenced. Construction began at the Ridge Street site, within St Leonard’s Park, without the DSI (a contamination report) being prepared and published. Standard contamination management measures required by the Conditions of Approval, such as dust screens and run-off controls also appear not to have been implemented, despite the proximity of the site to schools and recreational areas. We have some very active parents on the committee that are following this up to ensure that contractors do what they are supposed to. Traffic is set to increase with approvals being given to increase truck movements in local streets back in March. So please remind your children to take care when travelling to school, there is extra traffic on the roads. If you would like to assist in helping us ensure that any works done keep children’s health and safety in mind, then please contact me on [email protected] A short video has been produced by the Nature Conservation Council (NCC), the peak environment organisation for NSW explaining the tunnel route and some of the impacts. It only takes a minute https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Qkl5iZ5_g0Q&fbclid=IwAR03Qp_h3JP2UkRTUZvVzR4z- kpkltGGp6eSe3u-K79VTGANPBBlQu1aKZs Kristina

WELLBEING "Cammeraygal High School Parent Network" Facebook page Here are the topics covered since the last Newsletter. A few articles were shared to open the discussion with our teenagers and help them navigate particular situations:  Online safety;  Social media and mental health;  Screen time & teenagers;  Alcohol, drugs and vaping (following the Y10 Drugs & Alcohol Risks workshop run by DAYSS and NSW Police);  Body image (following the Y8 workshop run by the Butterfly Foundation);  "Screen Time" Poll; and  "Wellbeing Parents Catch-up Event" Poll. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or suggestions regarding wellbeing initiatives or topics to share on the Facebook page. [email protected] or [email protected]

21 CALL FOR LOCAL BUSINESS OFFERS FOR THE CAMMERAYGAL COMMUNITY Inspired by the NSW Dine & Discover vouchers, we will be establishing a page on the Cammeraygal P&C website to display current offers available to the Cammeraygal High School Community. For example, our Booktopia membership and our Entertainment Book offer which have been previously shared and proven successful. If you have a business that would be interested in providing a special offer to Cammeraygal High School families (e.g. discounts, bonus offers), please provide:  a description of your business & offer in less than 300 words;  image;  contact details for your business; and  your CHS offer clearly explained and any discount code required to be quoted. Our aim is to help locals support local, so please keep this spirit in mind when providing your business offer. All submissions to be sent to [email protected] They will be reviewed and those approved will be posted prior to the start of next term. Please send in your submissions by 1 July. All submissions will be reviewed at the end of each term and removed if not renewed. Looking forward to seeing what local businesses we can support!

SPORT Basketball Update Congratulations to the women’s U18 Kestrels and Storm, the men’s U16 Panthers and the men’s U14 Knights for making it into the Semi Finals being held on Friday 18th June!

The women’s U16 Lightning team with their coach Hamish after their game Jessica J, Jasmine H, Ella J, Lauren K, Clara N, Zoe W, Lauren P, Imogen F, Gabby P

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The Cammeraygal Rockets, U14 men’s, still smiling after a tough game! Ben M, Bjorn N, Finn H, Gilbert M, Hugo FCM, Jacob C, Oliver M, Shivraaj G, Tom B, Zachary O

Basketball Comp 2 – Available Places on Select Teams!!!! We have an exciting opportunity in some of our Basketball teams! There are limited places available to join in Cammeraygal Basketball for Comp 2 2021. If you are interested in playing basketball and joining some great teams, please contact [email protected] ASAP!  U18s men’s – 2 places available  U18s women's – 3 places available  U16s men’s – 2 places available  U16s women’s – 3 places available

Netball There will be no training for any teams in the week commencing 21 June as there are no matches on Saturday 26th June. Games will resume on Saturday 16th July after the school holiday break. We have been very lucky weather wise this season with no games rained off. The ladder for each team is as follows: CNC01 top of the ladder with 4 wins & 2 losses in a 3 way tie / CNC06 1st with 6 wins but are 3rd in the for and against goal tally CNC07 3rd with 3 wins and 3 losses CNC02 2nd with 5 wins and 1 loss CNC08 3rd with 5 wins and 2 losses CNC03 4th with 3 wins and 3 losses CNC09 4th with 3 wins and 2 losses CNC04 6th with 1 win and 5 losses CNC10 6th with 1 win and 5 losses CNC05 1st with 5 wins and 1 loss Hope you have a fantastic break over the school holidays and look forward to a great rest of the season in Term 3. CNC Committee

23 Tennis Well done to all young players and young at heart who supported or took part in the inaugural Cammeraygal High Universal Tennis Ranking Verified tournament which took place 4th -14th June. Cammeraygal High was the second school after the King's being authorised to carry out the UTR verified tennis events. This was done in recognition of our school tennis program which runs 7 days a week. We have competitors participating at all levels of tennis from local school and club to state and international.

Congratulations to our first ever winners and runners-up of the Cammeraygal UTR, Queen's Birthday:  Jack C (Y10) defeated Victor M (Y7) in the singles elimination knockout final.  Peter J (Y9) defeated Kasra H (Y8) in the singles compass final.

Special thanks to two of our parents Bryony, Violet B.'s Mum (Y7) and Irwin, Dylan T.'s Dad (Y9) who led the kids on court by example. That's the Cammeraygal spirit! We had 18 players taking part in the tournament. I was very impressed with the dedication and effort which every player had shown on the court during the tournament matches. Well done to all players who supported or took part in the first-ever Cammeraygal High tennis tournament! Our next UTR tournament will be in July. We already have a player from Brazil registered for our Open event. This literally brings our event to the international level. Sure enough the team takes this fact with a grain of salt as we have a long way to go. Please contact Elena on [email protected] if you would like to find more about the school tennis team and events.

24 Sports Fitness Training Program Sports Fitness Training Program - ENROLMENTS NOW OPEN FOR TERM 3 Due to the success of the Sports Fitness Program offered in Term 1 and 2, we are happy to continue to offer the program once a week on a Friday morning for Term 3 at Junior Campus. Participants in the program showed measurable improvement in their fitness, agility and strength. The sessions are ideal for students playing any sport or just wanting to stay fit. Enrolments are now open for Term 3 bookings. Please see the link below for details and to book a spot https://www.trybooking.com/BSDLP Commencement date: Friday 16 July 2021 – Friday 17 September Cost: $100 (10 week program) Time: Friday 7.30 – 8.30am Location: Pacific Highway Hall Aim: Improve cardiovascular fitness, strength, speed and agility for any sport These sessions are being run by qualified athletic coaches from Mosman Athletic Club

The squad going through drills. James M, Hayden W, Kyle L, Xavier F, Jasper L, Shivraaj G, Pippa B, Jensen R, JJ E, Tom B

Community Announcements

Date: Thursday 5 August 2021 12 – 7pm Venue: The Concourse Chatswood Contact: Lisa Duffy [email protected]

Stall holders will include service providers for:  SLES (School Leavers Employment Support)  Social and Community Participation  Support Coordination  Plan Management  Disability Employment Services (DES)  Australian Disability Enterprise (ADE)  Education / Apprenticeships and Traineeships  The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) More details to come soon! (including how to register as a stall holder & sponsor)

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