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School Penrith
YEAR 12 2008 PROFILE
Year 12 students (from left) William Bleads, school captains Dean Astley and Cassandra Jennison, and Stephanie Sheehan-Beamer; and (opposite, from top left clockwise) Dux Jacqueline Edwards, Duke of Edinburgh enthusiasts Hannah Tompkins and Stephanie Azzopardi, an assorted last-dayof-school group, and dancer Simone Chivas
Meeting the needs of 126 students: class of 1996-2008 St Paul’s is a non-selective school with one of the largest annual intakes of any school in New South Wales. By the time they reach Year 12, St Paul’s students could be doing the Higher School Certificate, International Baccalaureate (IB) and and/or TAFE accredited courses preparing for such diverse tertiary education futures as trade apprenticeships and university places in international studies. Here is a snapshot of some members of the Year 12 2008 over their whole school career and beyond:
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Jacqueline Edwards, Dux of the 2008 class with a Universities Admission Index (UAI) of 99.9, came to the school in 2004 to Year 8 because she wished to study foreign languages, particularly French, and the IB. Her real academic interests at school came through English and her love of reading which led to IB Higher Level (HL) English; her interest in behaviour and motivation, nurtured in HL Psychology; and her fascination with cycles and patterns of history, encouraged in HL History.
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She was ‘very surprised and happy that the years of hard work had paid off; it gave me many options’, she said. She has set her sights on an Arts/Law double degree at the University of New South Wales and possible careers in governmental research or the United Nations. She believes it important to ‘find the perfect balance between study, sport and relaxation’. To sustain study, she needed to spend some time relaxing with friends, exercising at the gym, and watching a movie or TV. Dean Astley was school captain in 2007-2008. He joined the school in Year 7 in 2003 because of the school’s reputation, its sense of community, its extra-curricular activities and that he heard that the teachers were ‘more like friends’. He developed a love of History, English and Chinese, fostered by what he saw as excellent teaching. He did better in his UAI than he expected, so he plans to do an Arts/Law double degree at UWS, his Arts degree to include Chinese, History and Politics. He has been admitted to UWS’
Western Sydney Aspiring Leaders Program. His school captaincy contributed to building up his independence and his organisational skills, important contributory skills to his possible career and to life in general. Stephanie Sheehan-Beaman had come to St Paul’s in Year 7 in 2003 instead of attending a selective high school because of St Paul’s friendliness, pastoral care of students and focus on art, music and drama. She participated in the wind orchestra from Year 7, various percussion and drum activities, carol services and the musical Barnum. ‘The school surpassed my expectations,’ she said. During a gap year in 2009 she will extend her theatre experience by being assistant director of Glenbrook Players’ two plays for the year, play in the Penrith Symphony Orchestra and keep writing songs. She hopes to work part-time in Subway, give piano lessons and tutor English. In 2010, she plans to do a Bachelor of International Studies at Sydney University. Simone Chivas’ particular strengths in the HSC were in Dance, her real passion, and English. She joined the school in Kindergarten in 1996 and by Year 7, had had experience in all types of dance. She became involved in the school dance ensemble in Years 7 and 8 and took Dance as an elective in Years 9 and 10. In one of her many competitions, she qualified to go to Germany. Then tragedy struck – she broke her ankle and tore her hamstring.