RHHS Missing Link 2016 Term 3

MISSING LINK

Term 3 2016

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT What a wonderful term we have had at Rooty Hill High School as we continue to work together towards achieving our school plan purposes. This term many of our students have been recognised for achievements and you will see them throughout this Missing Link… most of which was written by students.

Innovative School The school was thrilled to be announced as one of the 40 most innovative schools in Australia by Educator magazine in August. The school received the award in recognition of the value added results achieved by students on a range of academic measures and the programs the school is designing to prepare students for the “disruptive economy”.

The programs featured included the: • Young Entrepreneurs Project with Professor Yong Zhao, the Mitchell Institute and 10 other schools in western Sydney.

• Literacy and Learning Program – the current Year 10 started school with

80% below grade level. At the half yearly in Year 10, 70 % of the year group are now at or above grade level.

• The @Google Classroom program where all students have 24/7 access to the resources and lessons delivered in class.

• The Learning Hub – a digital portfolio and resume for each student to be able to articulate their own learning and readiness for life and work beyond school.

• Powerful strategic partnerships established with key business and not for profit organisations (see last Missing Link) that have given students access to opportunities to work with business, apply for an increasing range of scholarship programs and prepare for their future.

Student Leaders

As readers will see in the Year 11 report, a number of students participated in a rigorous leadership training program and selection process to stand for election for senior leadership positions for 2017. I am

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absolutely delighted to announce the new student leadership team for 2017 and recognise that they achieved these positions based on 5 years of leadership, participation and involvement in the school-5 years of modelling the PERSIST values in their approach to being successful at school.

2017 Senior Leadership Team: • School Captains: Logan Carling and Sabrina Zaman • Principal’s Representatives: Taylor Ayoub, Nathan Johnson and Rachel Varley • Sports Captains: Peapea Ah Foon and Jarred Wright • SRC Chairs: Emma-Louise Brown, Emily Johns (Junior) and Harsha Kumar (Senior) • Senior Leaders: Arvee Francisco, Jayden Hicks, Emily Jerome, Amilda Kasper, Laura Matekovic, Kaitlyn Morris and Blake Speed Year 12 Students & their Families As they prepare to graduate and then sit for their HSC examinations, I would like to congratulate the Class of 2016 for their academic progress, their contributions to the life of the school and their resilience as they have prepared and completed major projects, performances and final assessment tasks this term. I want to extend a particular thanks to the Year 12 Leadership team whose maturity and capacity to overcome personal and learning challenges has inspired me.

I would like to thank the parents and families of this year group and acknowledge that there is a very special quality to the parents of this community. Almost all of our

families hold a deep set of strong values about what they want their children to achieve and they do not “helicopter” their children – they allow them to grow into young adults who can face the very real challenges of their generation. The school would like to thank you for your support and for trusting us to prepare your sons and daughters for the HSC and beyond.

Student Writers

The school would like to thank the following students for writing the Year Reports for this Missing Link: • Year 7: Phoebe Birett and Aksel McCormack • Year 8: Keila Barbeau and Ronnie Lagazo • Year 9: Emma Ayre and Nikkash Raj • Year 10: Morwarid Faiz and Rhys Steward • Year 11: Harsha Kumar • Year 12: Jack Clifton, Jacob Keaton and Jaryd McCormack This is a significant contribution to increasing student leadership and publishing student writers and journalists..

Student Media Events Team

Our writers have been supported by our new Media Events Team, a group of 35 students who have been trained by Angie Reyes, Ryan Revilla, Grace Hamilton and Nadine Giorgianni to record all the events we run in the school and provide photographs, videos and images for all our social media and print media

publications.

Readers may have noticed that we are using Facebook, Twitter and the school’s website to provide daily and weekly updates on what our students are doing…and they are doing a great deal.

Student Participation As the rest of Missing Link demonstrates, students are participating in a very wide range of co-curricular and extra-curricular programs. The school believes that, to be ready for the future, our students need to be able to demonstrate their learning beyond the classroom.

That can include: • understanding team work as part of a sporting team; • understanding teamwork and leadership as part of the Bring it On dance group; • being able to speak to hundreds if people as a debater or school leader; • practising customer service as a School Ambassador or Library Monitor; • learning more about critical STEM skills such as coding and design as part of a university program; • learning entrepreneurial skills beyond traditional work experience; • studying languages through Saturday School or Distance Education; and • recording all those things on My Learning Hub. The result is a very busy and energetic school, providing opportunities for students well beyond the provision many schools can make.

Staff Much of the reason for the success of students can be attributed to our staff and their willingness as teachers to adopt cutting edge programming and lesson design

practices. It can also be attributed to their flexibility and their capacity to demonstrate to very 21st century skills that adults need to be successful. On your behalf I would like to thank them all.

In particular I would like to thank the year advisers for adapting their work practices to provide high quality universal, targeted and intensive programs for each year group. Combined with the full implementation of the personalised learning strategy and the launch school wide of My Learning Hub, there are measurable changes for students in their progress and achievement.

This was noted in the NAPLAN results where the growth data for Year 9 was very pleasing, reflecting the impact of the teaching and learning programs in the school.

Linda Graham – Highly Accomplished Teacher

I would also like to congratulate Linda Graham who is the first teacher at this school to become a highly accomplished teacher. There is a rigorous, demanding and challenging process that teachers must complete to be recognised by their peers and BOSTES. Linda spent 3 years preparing her documents and finding evidence.

This is a wonderful achievement.

Conny Mattimore – Winner of the NSW Secondary Deputy Principals’ Association Academy Fellowship worth $5000 Congratulations to our Deputy Principal Conny Mattimore who was awarded this prestigious scholarship

to enable her to undertake further study into assessing the progress of students on the ACARA capabilities.

A Vote of Thanks As I do each term, I would like to conclude by thanking students, parents and staff for their efforts on behalf of the school. When each of us does well, we all do well.

In particular, can I thank our administrative staff whose work to support parents, staff and students is exemplary. While unusual, we do have some parents who, out of frustration, speak very rudely to the administrative staff and their calm, personalised and caring manner is even more valued when a parent or student is finding school hard. Thank you to the parents who have thanked them, acknowledged them and treated them with kindness and respect. Your kind words mean a great deal.

On behalf of the deputy principals and myself, I would like to wish you all a very safe and happy holiday break.

I would also like to wish Year 12 every success in studying and preparing for the HSC and thank the teachers who will be working with them in the holidays and when we return to school next term.

Christine Cawsey AM Principal

YEAR 7 Year Adviser Comments In Term 3, Year 7 successfully continued to demonstrate the PERSIST values, identify their individual strengths and be active members within the classroom, school and the local community.

Year 7 students have demonstrated their diverse strengths whether it is the courage to experience new opportunities at the Winter Sleep Out, the enthusiasm to learn a new skill on National Tree Day or the problem solving skills needed to create a solar oven in Science. This is evident with 687 Above The Line Sentral Wellbeing entries throughout Term 3. Congratulations on an excellent Term 3 to the determined and successful Year 7 team. Where Together Everyone Achieves More!

Ms Coleman Year 7 Adviser Year 7 Ambassadors

On Friday 5 August, 35 students attended an Ambassador Training Day for students willing join the current Junior Ambassador team.

The training day helped students to learn about the skills needed to become an Ambassador and enabled students to put these skills into practice.

Throughout Term 3 Ambassadors have successfully assisted with the running of Art of the Hill and the Year 6 into 7 Enrolment Evening.

On Thursday 1 September, 57 students attended Front Office Ambassador Training seminar, where they learnt the responsibilities of being a Front Office Ambassador.

Ambassadors are encouraged to continue using Google Classroom, weekly to see important announcements and information on upcoming events, using the access code w404qh.

‘Strengths’ Year Assembly As a whole year group, in week 4 of Term 3, Year 7 attended an assembly that focused on how everyone has different strengths and how we can use our strengths to overcome challenges and be successful. Year 7 learnt that having different strengths makes people different from each o t h e r. T h e y c o m p l e t e d a n experiment where each student identified one of their strengths, wrote their strength on piece of paper and threw the piece of paper to another student across the room.

This allowed Year 7 to read what s o m e o n e e l s e ’s s t r e n g t h s anonymously and learn how everyone has different strengths.

NAPLAN Results Year 7 received their NAPLAN results on Friday 2 September packaged in an envelope addressed to parents and caregivers. Well done Ye a r 7 o n d e m o n s t r a t i n g a significant growth in reading and numeracy in comparison to the state average growth.

National Tree Day 7B and an additional 9 Year 7 students celebrated National Tree Day with interest and enthusiasm by developing a successful vegetable

garden, with the help of Bunnings Blacktown and local donations. Over the past term the vegetables have gradually grown. When ready the vegetables will be used in TAS cooking classes.

Year 7 Subjects • PDHPE - Within practical lessons Year 7 has been learning about the history of and participating in Traditional and Indigenous Games.

• TAS - 7A, 7B, 7C and 7D TAS classes have been working towards creating and producing a wind chime or garden tool. These items will be ready for hanging and digging by the end of the term.

• Science - Year 7 have been designing solar ovens within Science lessons and tested their effectiveness during week 8.

• ICT - Year 7 have had the opportunity to work on their own Passion Project. The project will focus on a student’s hobbies and interests, something they have always been curious about or related to learning a new skill. The project is research based and provides opportunities for students to demonstrate their capabilities, which can be found in student’s Learning Hub. In term 4 students will create a website based on their passion and present it to the class in Term 4.

• English - Students have been focusing on Myths and Legends and working towards achieving the goal of writing an essay.

• Music - Several Year 7 classes are learning to play ‘Lean on Me’ by Club Nouveau, on the keyboard in Music.

• LOTE - Chinese Games continued during Term 3. Year 7 students showed their skills and team spirits through a number of team sports such as soccer (zú qiú), basketball (lán qiú), badminton using wood bats (băn qiú), volleyball (paí qiú).

Students also learnt a few facts about the Olympics (ào líng pĭ kè) during their language classes.

Year 7 Participation Highlights Consistently within term 3, Year 7 has enthusiastically demonstrated their willingness to get involved, meet new people and learn new skills. This is evident with the Year 7 student participation numbers below: 11 male students attended the Year 7 Captains Cup, 22 students participated in the Wanderers Soccer Gala Day, Joachim Paul travelled to Japan for 10 days as Softball NSW representative, Ann Rose Joseph, Bianca Amson and Ranishka Sharma have participated in numerous Debating competitions, Taina Buadromo, Luke Curmi, Jadd El Samrani, Tianna Fowler, Tanisha Howes, Kotahi Henderson, Cassandra King and Elizabeth Small ran at the Sydney West Cross Country, 21 students attended the NSW Volleyball Schools Cup, Genoveva Stuparu performed at the MADD Concert, Thomas Anforth, Cassandra King and Aaliyah Williams-Kennedy were a part of the NAIDOC Cup Gala Day, 8 students competed at the Sydney West Athletics Carnival where Nwazuruki Ohiaeri achieved first place in high jump and discuss, Christopher Gillett placed 3rd in discus, and Rhys Walker and Christopher Gillett placed first in the under 13’s 4x100m relay and broke the Sydney

West Record. 14 students have been training weekly for the Year 7/8 Touch Football Gala Day, and Lorrye Genobili, Samira Taouk, Tanisha Howes and Isha Bondoc danced at Bring It On. Congratulations to Genoveva Stuparu Genoveva played violin in the orchestra that performed at a concert held at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre Penrith on Saturday 23 July.

Genoveva joined the Penrith Strings Group which is trained by members of the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Genoveva with Mr Brian Buggy of the Sydney Youth Philharmonic Orchestra

Year 7 articles written by Phoebe Birett and Aksel McCormack

Digital Insight Workshop

During Week 8, Year 8 participated in a series of Digital Insight Workshops. This workshop centered around the ideas positive and negative impacts, as well as, uses of technology, and how app and website users information is often used. Year 8 discovered that no snapchat is actually deleted and that popular social media apps make their money from sell their information, often to advertisers.

This workshop also provided useful website hacks for reading terms and conditions, that were time saving as well as informative. Year 8 were also shown, the importance of keeping passwords safe, to avoid identity theft. This is one of the ways that Year 8 addressed the capability of ICT as well as Personal and Social Understanding in Term 3.

YEAR 8 SEPEP (Sport Education in Physical Education Program ) Year 8 are continuing the annual tradition during PDHPE classes, of playing softball, in a SEPEP tournament. Students divide themselves into 18 teams of approximately six girls and six boys and compete against each other in a round robin rotation. In the lead up to the Gala day, which will be held during term four, teams have all played practise games of softball against each other. This competition not only helps Year 8 students continue to develop skills in softball, but also helps to enhance skills found in out PERSIST values of teamwork & leadership as well as participation and enthusiasm.

Forensic Science Incursion

During week 6, Year 8 became crime investigators. Using the forensic skills that they had been developing in Science lessons over the last two terms, Year 8 were given the task of

solving a murder. Students were expected to investigate all possible suspects for this fictional murder, and piece together how and why it took place. Students were given clues such as the victim's clothing, his phone, his car in particular, a very telling note that was left in his car. This was a fun and interesting hands on experience for students to explore their knowledge of Science and its usefulness in future career paths.

Year 8 Boys - Strengths and Resumes and Interviews Incursion Monday and Tuesday of Week 8, the Year 8 boys were apart of an incursion where they explored their own strengths and skills and how they could use these to gain employment. Year 8 boys then used their own understanding of their personal skills to create a resume, which they could use or edit it in the future when applying for a job. Once resumes were created, the boys then worked on their ability to communicate effectively in a job interview. They worked in groups assisted by Year 10 mentors, to role play mock interviews and practise what they would say in a real job interview. This workshop further developed Year 8 boys ability to address the capability of Work and Enterprise as well as Literacy.

Girls in STEM Incursion

While Year 8 Boys were working on their resumes, Year 8 Girls were participating in the Girls in STEM incursion. Year 8 Girls were given the challenge of coding and programming a robot to dance to a song of their choosing. This workshop went over two periods.

During the first period girls had to assemble their own robot, and during the second period they had to code it. This was a great way for Year 8 Girls to explore their interest in coding and programming and also work with each other to achieve a goal.

Happiness Cycle Announcement This term, Year 8 were told of an AMAZING opportunity available to them, to participate in the Happiness Cycle. The Happiness Cycle is a fantastic initiative which encourages young people to look after their health, and encourages them to do this by having students build a bike that they are then able to keep forever. The Happiness Cycle will take place October 26th at Fairfield Showgrounds. Year 8 are excited and looking forward to this event as they get to build their own bikes, then ride them and keep them. Year 8 are expecting this to be a fun day as we will be able to learning a few new things, build a bike building and spend time with our friends.

What we’ve been doing in class Not only have Year 8 been busy outside of the classroom in a range of extracurricular activities this term, but we have been working diligently in our classrooms across all our subjects. As this term marks the beginning of Semester Two, all students have transitions to new HSIE, CAPA and TAS subjects.

• In English Year 8 have been looking at appropriations, and how they can give a different meaning to artwork, music and stories in books, film and other forms. Year 8 were expected to produce a radio station transcript for their assessment task, which focused on the interviewing of a filmmaker for an appropriated film and connections that can be made between the original film and the appropriated version.

• In Music, Year 8 have been learning about ‘The Blues’, and playing music on the guitar. This has meant a lot of hours practising and perfecting technique.

• In Visual Art students have made clay vessels that can be used when they are taken home. Students are expected to plan through sketches, what their final product is meant to look like, before they made their pot. Once their clay pot was made, it had to be cooked in the kiln and painted in a design of the student's choice. Some of the best clay pots were on display at Art on The Hill.

• In History, students have been learning about life in Medieval times. Students learnt a lot about how people lived, including how religion impacted people's lives, how people were punished for crime and what different classes of people did in their everyday life.

• In Geography Year 8 have been learning about Globalisation and Global Inequalities. These topics allowed Year 8 Geographers to investigate how and why people in developed countries have more access to essential aspects of life

than people living in developing countries.

• In Mathematics, Year 8 have been learning about collecting, organizing and analysing data through the use of a median, mean, mode and range.

Year Advisers Message Year 8, you have been involved in a range of classroom and extracurricular activities this term.

You have shown that you are able to work well individually and as a team to investigate issues, solve problems and develop your skills and strengths as young positive members of any c o m m u n i t y. E n s u r e t h a t y o u continue to take every opportunity and make it your own.

As always, you have made me proud to be your Year Adviser, continue to make yourself proud.

Miss Douglas Year 8 Adviser Year 8 articles written by Keila Barbeau and Ronnie Lagazo

YEAR 9 What’s been happening this term This has been a busy term for Year 9 students at Rooty Hill High School.

They have participated in many different programs and extracurricular activities including The STEM Project Presentation, CHS volleyball, Western Sydney University Fast Forward program, attending the Steven Herrick poetry workshop, LEAPS and the GWS Giants mentoring program just to name a few! Year 9 students have also continued to work hard within

their classes, producing work of high quality! This term, students have submitted major tasks in subjects including Photography, Leadership, Commerce, Time travellers, Metal work, Pass, Food tech, engineering, Child studies, Visual arts and many more.

STEM project Year 9 students attended a STEM presentation by Mr Michael Mobbs, about the concept of sustainable living. Mr Mobbs showed Year 9 students that living off the grid and using natural resources can save money and help the environment. He used rain water for his toilet and also installed solar panels to absorb solar rays as a form of energy. Year 9 students are now required in both Mathematics and Science to learn about the concept sustainable living.

In Science, students are constructing and designing a sustainable house.

In Mathematics, students are looking at electricity bills and are calculating how much energy is used.

CHS Volleyball Stepping outside of the classroom, Year 9 students Amanda Fuiono, Emily Stirk and Maja Zlomislic represented not only Rooty Hill High School but also NSW during the Combined High Schools (CHS) volleyball tournament. These girls trained intensively over 4 weeks and continued to develop their teamwork, communication and leadership skills. The girls worked extremely hard and placed 4th in the state a fantastic achievement to everyone involved!

3, with a number of workshops and excursions for Year 9 students. Year 9 student, Sarah Abbot who is currently involved in the Fast Forward program explained how she has found the program to be important. “I strongly feel that this program is helping me prepare for after school and it is also helping me to set goals for myself to achieve a higher education and qualification.

We are studying many things within the program including different ways to get into university, alternatives to university, learning about different courses and degrees available and scholarships, overall the program allows myself and other year 9 students to gain knowledge about higher education and how to prepare themselves for the future.” Towards the end of the term, Year 9 students attended the Explore Campus Day at WSU Kingswood.

Lawyers Encouraging and Assisting Promising Students (LEAPS)

Fast Forward

The Western Sydney University Fast Forward program continued in Term

The LEAPS program continued in Term 3, with students attending a variety of excursions. Some of the venues students attended this term included Sydney Wildlife World, Sydney Sea Life Aquarium, Madame

Tussauds Wax Museum and The Ice Zoo Skate park in Mascot. Students continued to work closely with their mentors, discussing important topics such as goal setting and selfconfidence. LEAPS students have also written a letter to their future selves, which they will open this time next year to reflect on their progress as a result of their participation in the program.

Inside the classroom, Year 9 students have been working hard with teachers to produce quality work across a range of subjects. This term Year 9 students have been studying poetry in English. Year 9 students have been studying famous poet Steven Herrick and his work.

As part of their assessment, students were required to create their own poetry novella to give to the Westmead Children’s Hospital to inspire sick children between the ages of 1016 year olds. Venesse Angeles of Year 9 said “I really enjoy English and feel that studying Steven Herrick’s work is helping myself and other students to become a lot more creative. I love working in groups because I feel like it helps myself and others create more ideas for our novellas”. Year 9 students were able to attend a workshop with composer Steven Herrick and a huge thanks to Ms Pollard for organising this!

Year Adviser Message Congratulations on another fantastic term Year 9! As a year group, you have been recognised by your class teachers with more than 200 individual merit entries. Have a safe and happy holiday and I look forward to seeing you all back next term in your last term as junior students at Rooty Hill High School!

Mr Singh Year 9 Adviser Year 9 articles written by Emma Ayre and Nikkash Raj

YEAR 10 Be Street Smart Be Street Smart on August 16 by Trauma Service Westmead Hospital was an inspiring event filled with interactive displays and knowledge on the responsibilities of a driver.

Targeted at audiences 15-30 the road trauma service team provided an unforgettable road safety educational experience that effectively engaged and inspired students. Year 10 students had the privilege to participate and interact with vehicle safety features and safety equipment that will show them the results of a crash. The Be Street Program 2016 was an undoubtable success due to its effectiveness in inspiring young adolescents to understand the responsibilities of driving and the outcomes of driving irresponsibly.

Geography Excursion Barangaroo

Subject Selections Future. One word that we were bombarded with constantly as we faced the daunting task of completing our subject selections.

When choosing our 12 units for year 11, we were reminded to choose what subjects we would enjoy, what subjects we would have ability for and what subjects would fit into our career plans. With the variety of subjects available we had to make important decisions that would impact… yes - our future.

Fortunately, Ms. Munzenberger, Ms. Haigh and Mrs. Camillos were able to guide us and give us advice to make the subjects selection process less stressful. If you are unsure of which career to take, fear not.

Remember you have a greater chance of succeeding by following your passions. Failure will never overtake you if your determination to succeed is strong enough. This is your future, believe you can and you’re already half-way there!

YEP Program

ideas to life, and learn as well as demonstrate our entrepreneurial skills in this technology driven 21st century. And as this project continues to gain momentum, we must remember to never underestimate the impact we can have on society as sometimes our smallest ideas can make the biggest difference!

Year 10 articles written by Morwarid Faiz and Rhys Steward Local high school students invited to Microsoft headquarters

by Heath Parkes-Hupton 27 June 2016

This term we were given the opportunity to attend an excursion to analyse Urban renewal in Barangaroo. We were able to gain an understanding of the consequences of this Urban Renewal project in relation to the planned relocation of residents living in Millers Point.

When we walked around Millers Point one thing stood out, the number of front doors with posters saying “Save Our Community”.

Nearly 300 public housing properties are to go on the market, forcing the residents out. - We were encouraged to think about the pros vs cons of this project leading into our major assessment for Geography.

Everything begins with an idea.

Whether that idea it is small or big, we are all capable of making a difference. And as learnt more about the Young Entrepreneur Project we were reminded of the importance of our ideas and were encouraged to think like social entrepreneurs.

Every Year 10 student worked with Ms Mattimore and Ms Short in Week 9 to find a problem worth solving and then think about ways to solve it. In Weeks 7 and 8 of Term 4 we will work on our business plan within our established groups. We are privileged to be given this opportunity to bring our innovative

BRIGHT FUTURES: Rooty Hill High School students at Mircosoft's Sydney headquarters at North Ryde.

TECH savvy students from local high schools were this month invited to Microfosft’s Sydney headquarters for a careers seminar led by some of the brightest minds in the business.

About 60 Year 10 students from Rooty Hill High School, Doonside Technology High School and Evans High School, enrolled in information technology (IT) classes, attended the

seminar which outlined possible career paths for the next generation.

Year 10 adviser at Rooty Hill High School, Sarah Haigh said the day provided an opportunity for students to gain an insight into a professional IT environment.

“We have a big focus on IT at the school and are trying to prepare kids for jobs that don’t exist yet through entrepreneur programs,” she said.

“There was about 20 of our students there on the day and many of them can see themselves working in IT in the future.

“It’s an invaluable experience for today’s students as there is a big economic shift towards the industry.”

Ms Haigh said the students toured the headquarters, listened to expert analysis on the future of the IT industry and participated in coding workshops.

“I think what the students found most exciting was the amount of jobs on offer in the IT industry,” she said.

“Our students have also been offered the opportunity to apply for scholarships with Microsoft, which is a great opportunity.”

at the office of Member For Chifley Ed Husic, who was also in attendance.

"I found that the day delivered many great opportunities in relation to my possible future career,” she said.

“It also enabled me to speak to Ed Husic which later resulted in my gain of a position at his office for work experience.”

Republished with thanks to the Mount Druitt Standard

YEAR 11 Term 3 is the last term of Year 11 before we all embark upon our last year of high school next term. Term 3 has been both challenging and rewarding. While subject content has become more challenging and culminated in final exams in Weeks 8 and 9, the year group has become more cohesive than ever before.

Through supporting each other through the tough times and celebrating our successes, Year 11 is ready and very able to start their final year of High School next term.

Some of the highlights are here for your perusal.

Year 11 Physics

Rooty Hill student Joshua Mould said the day was an invaluable experience.

"I found it incredibly interesting and I was amazed at how easy it is to access programming skills through Microsoft," he said.

Classmate Morwarid Faiz agreed and said the day showed students the varied career avenues available in IT. "I really valued the conversations we had with the career panelists. It gave me a great insight about the future of technology in relation to Microsoft."

Jaeda Zlomislic said she enjoyed the experience and secured an internship

which brought all of us together.

From the hair raiser to the rotor, all of Ms Rola’s class can agree that it was an amazing excursion.

The Year 11 Physics excursion to Luna Park, was not only a brilliant way to learn the workings of centripetal force but a fun excursion

Senior Leadership Excellence Program and Election Process

The Senior Leader Elections was a process which elected what is sure to be a highly successful leadership team. The election process consisted of a full-day Senior Leader Excellence Program training, an interview with the Deputy and Year Adviser and a speech to Years 10 and 11. All speeches were of a high calibre and the whole Year Group is united with the process and well pleased with the results of the process. Our school captains Sabrina Zaman and Logan Carling, along with the rest of the Senior Leader Team will represent Rooty Hill fabulously with their grace and intelligence.

Starting To Plan Our Futures Personalised Learning Interviews have been ongoing with our Year Adviser or member of the Learning Support Team. In these interviews students have been given an opportunity to review possible careers and higher education opportunities. The valuable data gained from these interviews is used to identify particular opportunities for their chosen career paths.

Programs such as Compass have

YEAR 12

helped us make decisions about University opportunities and have given us a lot of scholarship advice.

HSC Examinations and Important Dates The HSC examinations start on Thursday 13 October and conclude on Friday 4 November.

Year 11 Business Studies Term three of Year 11 Business Studies has focussed on Business Planning and culminated in students developing a business plan for a business of their choice. From Gyms to Mobile Vet Units and Café’s there has been a diverse range of responses from the budding entrepreneurs. This was the assessment that we were all collectively looking forward to, the idea of creating our own business seemed so enticing but as we worked our way through the planning process we realised that planning a business isn’t just fun and games. It took a whole lot of hard work and a tonne of guidance from our amazing teachers, along with a realisation that we will have more success if we thoroughly plan.

HSC School assessment ranks will be released to students via Student’s Online https:// studentsonline.bos.nsw.edu.au on Friday 4 November.

HSC results will be released at 6:00am on Thursday 15 December via Student’s Online. Results can also be emailed and sent via SMS if the student registers for this.

Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) will be released 9am on Friday 16 December on http:// www.uac.edu.au Year 12 Graduation and Formal Year 12 Graduation will be held in the hall at Rooty Hill High School on Friday 23 September. This will be an exciting and memorable day for all students, teachers and families involved. To cap off their final year, the Year 12 formal will be held at Novotel Sydney Norwest, Baulkham Hills on Wednesday 23 November.

Students will arrive at the venue at 6:30pm and will be seated inside at 7pm.

Crossroads

Crossroads was held in the last week of Term 2 and was a lot more fun than what we anticipated. Crawling in mud and exploring dark bushland is not normally everyone’s cup of tea.

However experiencing this along with team building and various topical workshops as a year group was truly amazing and memorable. Seeing people go out of their way to help one another, even if they weren’t friends before the excursion made us all realise the importance of a united front especially for the coming year.

Year 11 articles written by Harsha Kumar

Exit interviews During Terms 2 and 3, Year 12 students have been taking part in Careers Exit Interviews with Mrs Camillos. The purpose of these interviews is to discuss options and to help students articulate and plan their post school pathways. Whether its employment, TAFE or university, it is crucial that students have a back-up plan in case things don’t go as expected and that they take the necessary precautions for their plans to be put into action. There is always more than one pathway to your desired goal, it is of great importance to be aware of every option open to you.

CAPA HSC Open Night The Creative and Performing Arts HSC Open Night was an entertaining night for guests as Year 12 students performed and displayed their drama, music and artistic skills.

In preparation for their HSC performances students performed their HSC pieces with confidence.

Some powerful songs, scenes and artworks showed the hard work that Year 12 have put into their studies this year. Â

Year 12 Major Works

Rob Shehadie Visit

Western Sydney comedian, and actor, Rob Shehadie visited Rooty Hill High School as part of a TAFE promotion campaign. He entered school grounds in a stretch hummer, lead by a band of Lebanese drummers with plenty of photos being taken by students. The purpose of this visit was to assist in changing the perceptions that western Sydney youth have about attending TAFE. This visit essentially highlighted the potential outcomes that students could obtain by furthering their education at TAFE and showing that by not going to University does not make your education less significant. #Robscampaign #TAFEWS #ChooseTAFEWS2017

Atilla Castro - IPT Major Project Atilla Castro, for his Information Processes and Technology major project, created a website aimed at providing accurate and unbiased information for the Australian public. By writing a mix of article on news, politics and culture, Atilla was able to create an effective website that met the aims of unbiased and reliable information.

Atilla received a significant achievement award for the effort he put into creating this website.

examinations. The final assessment involved the students creating a poster from syllabus dot points, receiving a question chosen at random, and presenting a vocal response with 5 minutes preparation to this question. This ensures students understand the content on their posters and are able to answer HSC style questions accurately and quickly, resembling the speed in which HSC questions must be answered.

Year 12 Barbecue Year 12 hosted and enjoyed the opportunity to get together and enjoy a good old sausage sandwich with their teachers for the final time in the Senior Quad. Students were ecstatic to be together with many photos, selfies and shirt signings taking place. This is essentially a great send off for students before their graduation on the last day of term.

Good Luck and Best Wishes Year 12 from all staff for the important weeks to follow in your last year of school.

Year 12 articles written by Jack Clifton, Jacob Keaton and Jaryd McCormack

Science Year 12 Chemistry and Physics students attended Sydney University’s ‘Kickstart Program’ to provide information to the students that could potentially be in their HSC papers. This program helped students to understand and learn processes and information relevant to the topics they are studying in class.

Moreover, Year 12 students studying chemistry, biology, and physics have completed their final assessment leading up to their HSC

AIME

staff and valuable stories from community members and elders.

Students have been continuing their enthusiastic work with AIME this term, participating in Tutoring S q u a d , Ya r n i n g C i r c l e s a n d Excursions. Congratulations to our Year 12 regulars Brittany Ryan and Kiarna Overs who graduated from the program this term.

We also took the opportunity to celebrate the success of Jacob Keaton, Year 12, who received the Gili Scholarship for Outstanding Academic Achievement and Kyle Pont, Year 10, who received the Gili Scholarship for Outstanding Achievement in Performing Arts.

Congratulations.

AIME’s Got Game Two Year 10 students, Oscar Jennings (Piano) and Kyle Pont (Dance) have progressed to the next round of the AIME’s Got Game Competition. Both students’ performing arts talents were filmed throughout the term for inclusion in the National competition. Well done boys!

NAIDOC

NSW PUBLIC SCHOOLS ABORIGINAL DANCE COMPANY Congratulations to Kyle Pont, Year 10, for his selection in the NSW Public Schools Aboriginal Dance Company. Kyle has maintained his outstanding effort in performing arts, having been selected for the Dance Company for the past 3 years.

ABORIGINAL & TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER VISUAL ARTS WORKSHOP

At the beginning of Term 3 we acknowledged and celebrated Indigenous culture through our NAIDOC Assemblies. The assemblies were the platform for launching ‘8 ways of learning’ within the school and involved a wonderfully constructed video with contributions from talented students,

The Visual Arts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Workshop

invited Aboriginal students from Years 7, 8 and 9 to work with Aboriginal Mentors for a full day.

The students listened to stories about their individual experience, Aboriginal culture and ways of life.

They looked at photographs that showed the history of Aboriginal people from the early 1900’s to today, listened to Aboriginal music and watched traditional Aboriginal dancing. The students completed a series of Aboriginal paintings and participated in a group painting called “Handprint Dreaming”. A huge thank you to Artist Nita Corderoy, Aunty Jenny and Uncle Robert for making the workshop such a meaningful experience and to all the students who participated on the Day.

L E A R N I N NEIGHBOURHOOD

G • Quality Award Stage 4 Winner Kaitlyn Gulliford of Year 7

A huge thank you goes to the

Art on the Hill The Art on the Hill Exhibition showcased artworks from Rooty Hill High School, Rooty Hill Public School, Eastern Creek Public School and Minchinbury Public School.

Congratulations to all the students who were selected to exhibit their artwork and, in particular, to the overall school winners and the quality stage award winners.

• Hanger’s Prize Winner: Sharon Rogers of Year 10

Congratulations to: • Overall School Winner - Emma Jurd of Year 12

• Stage 6 People’s Choice Award Winner - Emily Wright of Year 12

• Quality Award Stage 6 Winners Kopal Gupta (pictured below) and Emily Wright of Year 12

• Stage 5 People’s Choice Award Winner - Lemah Orya of Year 9

• Quality Award Stage 5 Winners Lemah Orya and Alec Remoticado (pictured below) of Year 9

• Stage 4 People’s Choice Award Winner - Zoe Millan of Year 7

musical performers of the evening Sparrow McCarthy and Jay Maaka, and to all the students, teachers, parents and friends who made the night a huge success.

Confucius Classroom Outreach Program The Outreach program continued in Term 3. One of our language teachers went to Rooty Hill Public School to teach a group of Years 5 and 6 students the art of Chinese calligraphy.

The LOTE faculty also welcomed 80 students from Eastern Creek Public School to participate in a language culture day. On the day students had the opportunity to make Chinese dumplings, practice traditional Chinese calligraphy and try Chinese paper cutting. A group of Year 8 language students from Rooty Hill High School also participated on the day to help and guide the primary school students. We congratulate them for their effort as well as their leadership.

DEBATING Term 3 is usually the busiest time for our debaters - and this year was no exception!

The Years 9 and 10 Teams argued expertly in their debates for the Premier’s Debating Challenge; the A Team in particular progressed all the way to the Quarter Finals.

Unfortunately they lost to James Ruse High School in a tough ethical debate. Congratulations to Jaeda Zlomislic, Morwarid Faiz, Mae Limbaco, Joanna Gevero (pictured below) and Ky Staal of Year 10 for progressing so far in the competition.

The Year 10 debaters also attended a Debating Workshop at WSU; where they honed their skills with debating coaches, listened to an instructive symposium and had the opportunity to meet with debaters from schools across the district.

The Years 7 and 8 Teams gained a lot of experiences, and the B Team was the overall Zone winnerprogressing to the Interzone level.

The results of that debate will be decided in the last week of Term 3.

Congratulations to the B Team; Delphine Koudakpo, Evan

Ademovic and Emily Rough of Year 8, and Bianca Amson, AnnRose Joseph and Ranishka Sharma of Year 7 for their efforts so far.

Rooty Hill also hosted the Junior Legacy Public Speaking Award; and representatives from schools around the district participated in the Zone finals. We were lucky to have two Legatees visit with us on the day; Legatee Eric Easterbrook, who opened the competition with a welcome and some great speaking tips, and Legatee Rebecca Myers who expressed enthusiasm and praise for the speakers on the day.

Zane Catlett and Delphine Koudakpo of Year 8 did an excellent job representing the school and spoke confidently about 'The Power of Cricket' and 'Why We Should All Read’ - respectively. The adjudicator was particularly impressed by the passion and originality with which our representatives spoke.

I’ve stood at the top of the mountains in Berghof, I’ve danced the Dreamtime stories, I have faced many battles in Hogwarts and cried for Juliet’s loss. So I ask you, where have you been, what stories have you heard, what adventures have you had? - Excerpt from Delphine’s speech ‘Why We Should All Read’

SRC RHHS Sleeps Out - Written by Harsha Kumar (2017 SRC Chair) T h e S R C o rg a n i s e d M i s s i o n Australia Winter Sleepout was an amazing night filled with, UNO, night time volleyball and a lot of table tennis. All students and staff played a huge role in ensuring the success of the night. SRC and Non SRC members helped out with the sausage sizzle and the bake sale.

SPORT Sydney West Athletics RHHS had some fantastic results at the Sydney West Athletics Carnival.

Seuga Pula placed 3rd in the Shotput.

Christopher Gillett placed 3rd in the Discus. Nwazuruka Ohiaeri won the High Jump and Discus Events.

Carlos Torzar won the 100m and Long Jump events. The Under 13s 4 x 100m relay team, consisting of Carlos Torzar, Ali Almoail, Rhys Walker and Christopher Gillett, also won their event.

C H S To p 1 6 Vo l l e y b a l l Championships

Congratulations to Emily Stirk, Maja Zlomislic, Amanda Fuiono (pictured bottom left) and Dane Terekia (pictured below with Mr Treharne) who represented NSW in the School S p o r t s A u s t r a l i a Vo l l e y b a l l Championships.

Volleyball We e n t e r e d t w o s u c c e s s f u l Volleyball competitions this term with over 80 students attending each competition. The Under 16's girls and Under 15's girls won a gold medal.

The Year 7 boys also competed in the 9 a side Captain’s Cup. Unfortunately they also fell just short of the finals. Well done to coach Mr Ross.

Year 7/8 Wanderers Cup Soccer Gala Day

Congratulations to Joshua Deo who was named in the All Star 6, whilst representing NSW CHS at the NSW All School Championships.

Under 17’s Girls Schools Cup silver medalists (pictured below).

The Boys and Girls Opens Volleyball teams competed for the 3rd consecutive year at the CHS Top 16 championships. Both teams progressed through to the semi finals after winning their first 2 games.

Unfortunately both teams were defeated by the eventual winners in the semi finals. The girls team went on to win the 3rd place final to medal for the third consecutive year. Well done to both teams for another very successful year.

they fell one game short of victory.

Strong performances by all the boys on the day.

Rugby League On Thursday 18 August, a group of selected Years 9 and 10 boys represented the school at the Year 10 Rugby League Captains Cup Gala Day. The day was run with teams being placed into pools with each winning school progressing through to the finals.

The boys were presented with a tough draw winning two games and losing two games throughout the day. It was a really gutsy effort with the team being down to only 9 players for the final two games. In true Rooty Hill fashion, the team were graceful in both victory and defeat. Standouts for the day were Johnny Garvey, Williams Afualo, Terii Taia and crowd favourite Chadd Chesnutt.

The Year 8 team also competed in the 9 a side Captain’s Cup Rugby League. After another strong day

41 students attended the Years 7/8 Wanderers Soccer Gala day on Tuesday 16th August representing the school in the Year 7/8 girls team, the Year 7 boys team and the Year 8 boys team with excellent team work skills and enthusiasm.

Students r e c e i v e d a We s t e r n S y d n e y Wanderers football boot bag for participating in the event.

Ski Trip - Written by Morwarid Faiz and Rhys Steward Throughout Term 3, students from Years 9-11 had the privilege to participate in this year's Ski Trip at Thredbo from August 1 through to August 4. Accompanied by Ms. Short, Mr Fowler and Mrs Andrews, students had the entire day to progress, learn and experience the thrills and wonders of what the snow can uphold. The Ski Trip 2016 was unanimously said by students to be “The best time of their lives”. A huge thank you to Ms. Short for all her hard work and dedication in organising and running the event making it a “gnarly experience”.

Bring It On Dance Over the last two terms, 43 students from Years 7-12 worked tirelessly preparing for the Bring It On Dance Competition showcased on Saturday 10 September 2016 at the State Netball Centre in Sydney Olympic Park. The group rehearsed during lunch times and after school and were led by Year 11 students Jovilenn Hartley (choreographer) and Amelia Ta u f a . A h u g e t h a n k y o u t o coordinator Kirstie Miller and to all staff who helped out.

Congratulations to the following students on achieving third place: • Annabella Annetts • Jerrish Baniaga • Alecsandra Blando • Isha Bondoc • Jaimelen Camacho • Elysson Coronel • Alessandra Delfin • Jonah Diaz • Amanda Fuiono • Lorrye Genobili • Thea Gonzales • Trinity Hanslow Lay • Jovilenn Hartley • Tanisha Howes • Nita Jennings • Zachariah Laufili • Mele'ane Lea'aetoa • Jasmine Lepua • Lorijocacha Ane Masame • Kanyapat Meekoh • Micaela Melgar • Raizza Miclat • Beverly Misionare • Tahliya Misionare • Tokoiva Niukore • Mystique Paul • Akela Pitcaithly • Seuga Pula • Andrew Rasmussen • Janice Salevao • Evander Stehlin • Akatau Amos Taia • Franjesca Taoipu • Samira Taouk • Amelia Taufa • Sione Taufa • Jafraseal Taulaga • Moana Tauveve • Brian Too • Vuong Kenny Tran • Shaniah Tukuitonga • Tatiana Vakauta • Akanisi Vuki

SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNERS TERM 3 2016 Year 7 Bianca Amson Kirsten Barbeau Isha Bondoc Asenaca Buadromo Taina Buadromo Luke Curmi Tianna Fowler Ysabel Garcia Lorrye Genobili Christopher Gillett Shara-Lee Green Kotahi Henderson Tanisha Howes Zakariyah Hussein Ann Rose Joseph Cassandra King Zoe Krabbe Reece Lewington Nwazuruka Ohiaeri Paris Paraan Joachim Paul Ciara Phillips Hamza Rajayee Zac Russell Elizabeth Small Britanya Stevanytantra Samira Taouk Sophia Taylor Rhys Walker Aaliyah Williams-Kennedy Year 8 Kimberly Aba Evan Ademovic Ali Almoail Divina Ambat Sara Anwar Keila Barbeau Erin Cahalane Jaimelen Camacho Emma Campbell Sylvah Carroll Zane Catlett Tarsha Daly Ruchelle Dawe Sione Fonua Alison Gamsby Thea Gonzales Leanne Gutierrez Courtney Hagan Trinity Hanslow Lay Blaiden-Jhy Hobson Morgan Iddles Tayisha Kamoe Katie Klumper Atsupui Delphine Koudakpo Ronnie Lagazo Kobe Lepua Alex Manarang Megha Martin Vanshita Marwaha Lorijocacha Ane Masame Kanyapat Meekoh Micaela Melgar Rumman Memon Raizza Miclat Beverly Misionare Marvin Muller Makayla Neville Hanna Ngo Eunice Nuahn

Marina Ott Claire Paler Piyatida Jade Ratanasirilak Aalia Rayoso Aaron Reyes Jade Ridley-King Emily Rough Zeel Shah Kymberlie Shore Korben Smith Sarah Stanley Faith Summers Francis Tinei Carlos Torzar Shayla Tran Hayden Traynor Vince Tumbaga Rachel Viemero Akanisi Vuki Sophie-Lee Wenning Sussana Zaman Year 9 Furat Almoail Venesse Angeles Annabella Annetts Emma Ayre Sohorhab Azizdel Skylar Bairstow Rosalie Bankler Jasmine Bayliss Amanda Birmingham Tanisha Bischof Emin-Mustafa Bitiktas Alecsandra Blando Jessica Boland Nansita Charan Chioma Chukwuani Jayden Cleary Samara Colwell Ebony Cooper Alessandra Delfin Jonathan Delos Santos Jonah Diaz Russell Dimayuga Shania Fenech Lyrical Filisi-Tone Kyla Fischer Amanda Fuiono Aditya Gaikwad Komal Gupta Vaughn Holyoak Charm Ilaya Aiden Kisbee Pranita Kumar Rhea Kumar Carlene Lever Simon Lie Drew Lloyd John Marcos Samantha Mendoza Chloe Norton Natalie O'Connor Lemah Orya Freshta Popal Narisha Prasad Hadrien Quesada Nikkash Raj Alec Remoticado Will San Paris Staal Emily Stirk Tiara Thaidy-Edwards

Priya Thiru Latrel Vista Jayden Warn Kearna White Maja Zlomislic Year 10 Jaiden Abela Arizo Aghdar Murtathah Al Khazaaly Darren Balbin Crystel Bandal Gladeomae Bandeleon Seth Bayliss Brittany Bishop Kai Brown Joy Cayabyab Tarynn Cooke Alexa Cruz Dylan Curmi Francesco Demasi Morwarid Faiz Lara Ferri Blake Ford Joanna Gevero Abby Giles Jack Hall Mirae Hemi Daniel Hicks Kenan Hukic Jayden Javier Jye Jones-Singleton Ayca Karsanbas Ankit Kaushal Ryan Kumar Jasmine Lepua Helen Liang Andrew Lim Karis Magno Ashaldine Mailei Ailima Mativa Rene Men Jeffry Ofoia Jackson Overton Imico Pablico Alyssa Parreno Elizabeth Paterson Brianna Pelayo Khiyalyn Pineda Akela Pitcaithly Kyle Pont Caitlin Puckeridge Sophie Read Daniel Roberto Alexandra Robson Sharon Rogers Jayden Rowe Janice Salevao Marco Santos Anneka Shankar Amol Sharma Amanjot Singh Sonia Soliz Ky Staal Rhys Steward Chaithra Sumesh Aemar Sunga Jafraseal Taulaga Moana Tauveve Dane Terekia Kiarna Terry Daniel Thick Judah Tirados

Tatiana Vakauta Raelyn Villegas Geordian Viloria Giandawn Viloria Lisa Vines Andrew Vu Ahmad Zahid Zafar Jaeda Zlomislic Year 11 Peapea Ah Foon Hend Almoail Tayne Andrew Jerrish Baniaga Khyle Blando Emma-Louise Brown Adrian Buckley Caitlyn Byrne Warren Jr Cabban Liam Camilleri Maddison Camilleri Damon Cornock Cameron Eccles Danny Edwards Shannen Fenech Tyneal Fischer Arvee Francisco Chelsea Fuentes Yugant Gahlot Justine Gardener Deborah Gaskin Jovilenn Hartley Brayden Hurley Billy Joe Iosefa Nita Jennings Emily Jerome Emily Johns Nathan Johnson Tia Kalic Amilda Kasper Harsha Kumar Jeremy Kumar Priyashna Kumar Sydney Lavaro Samantha Lazaro Mele'ane Lea'aetoa Tyson Lepua Jay Maaka Gino Maceda Sandeep Maharaj Jake Manuhuia Laura Matekovic Sparrow McCarthy Caitlin McInnes Tahliya Misionare Tokoiva Niukore Tania Palani Kaycie Parreno Mystique Paul Araluen Phillips Jefferson Ramos Chloe Ross Simranjit Saini Leena Salameh Sanjar Sarwar Bailey Seaton Amelia Stanford Toby Stannard Monique Story Akatau Amos Taia Franjesca Taoipu Amelia Taufa Thalia Trigo

Shaniah Tukuitonga Abdullah Umar Aisha Umar Tricia Valenzuela Matthew Varley Rachel Varley Joyce Vega Sanjani Vikash Jhamer Villalon Lisa Vu Jarred Wright Julia Youkhana Sabrina Zaman Year 12 Azad Aghdar Hayley Bairstow Keanna Baldwin-Hartmann Kaitlin Berry Dylan Bishop Will Carroll Atilla Castro Mari Cayabyab Jack Clifton Elysson Coronel Jodie Corrigan Joshua Deo Rose Euese Jaydan Formosa Christine Gamsby Angus Graham Kopal Gupta Lachlan Holroyd Emma Jurd Jacob Keaton Aaron Krishna Kahoa Kupu Joshua Lancaster Zachariah Laufili Dane Longston Jason Ma Kobe Matatahi Jaryd McCormack Jessica McNee Brittany Menolotto Nikita Naidu Ari Ngati Melis Ozakca Denilson Pereira Seuga Pula Andrew Rasmussen Joshua Rathnam Rachelle Rativo Madeline Romero Harshita Sabharwal Czarina Segui Alex Sewell Summer Shemon Viyati Shukla Geri Min Singalawa Eric Siutu Leilua Evander Stehlin Sione Taufa Brian Too Vuong Kenny Tran Danny Vaeono Eden Vaoutumala Nash Wiseman Emily Wright Harash Yaqubi Kelvin Zhang Jon Zulueta

Rooty Hill High School Learning, Leadership & Achievement North Parade, Rooty Hill NSW 2766 P.O. Box 70, Rooty Hill NSW 2766 Phone: 02 9625 8104 Fax: 02 9625 4208 Find us on: Web: www.rootyhill-h.schools.nsw.edu.au Facebook: www.facebook.com/rootyhillhs Twitter: www.twitter.com/rootyhillhs RHHS Alumni Network: www.linkedin.com (GROUP: Rooty Hill High School)