Newsletter Term 3 Week 9

Principal's Report

Celebrations

The final week of celebrations for year 12 is about to come to a close. Next week we say our farewells to Year 12, to reward those who have given so much to the school, prizes for academic effort, for sport, for citizenship and leadership. As there are so many talented well deserving students at Killarney Heights High School, it was a hard choice selecting students for each award.

The HSC is a highly valued qualification. To gain an HSC is an honour, it is a well-recognised qualification that will help them get a job, or be admitted to university or other institution.  They have earned this, they have worked hard, now is the time to celebrate!

Unfortunately this year is a year of disappointments, it has been hard on year 12 to be denied classes during the Covid shutdown.  It has been hard not to be able to have normal year 12 celebrations, to showcase their practical works, a normal graduation and formal. However, we have to recognise that students in year 12 have really shown their resilience and willingness to cope in these times of denial.

The academic and wellbeing programs that we are developing at Killarney are based on positive psychology and the growth mindset. These programs have helped to forge fine young men and women. To treat everyone to respect, to nurture and protect, to connect with others, but also to push students where they did not know they could go, to build resilience, perseverance and for them to aspire to excellence.

Every day in every school year, our teachers work to improve the learning outcomes of each and every one of our students.  We nurture and care and care for students to reach their potential.  We know that not every student will have high academic success, but what we can do it to ensure that every student works to do their very best, so that every student has a productive and successful future.

Hayley Emmerton 
Principal

Deputy Principals Report

Getting ready for term 4

Term 4 is always an exciting time; the weather is starting to warm up and the daylight begins to get longer. At school it is when students work on their final projects and get to show what they have learned in each course for the year. To make sure the term runs smoothly, here’s a few reminders:

Term 4 starts on Monday October 12 for all students, with all students wearing summer uniform. Please no sneakers, tracksuits or sports leggings.

Year 10 commence their Yearly exams on Monday October 12, the schedule has been loaded to the Year 10 Google Class if they have lost their copy.

Year 11, commence their HSC course work for 2021 from this beginning of this term. They will have some sessions to assist with organisation, study and healthy routines.

Year 12 start their HSC exams on Tuesday October 2. We wish them all the very best and look forward to seeing the results of their hard work.

As Year 12 do exams in the hall, Year 7 transition to the larger area of the school playground and oval during recess and lunch.

Year 9 commence exams November 2

Year 8 commence exams November 9

Year 7 commence exams November 16

To get ready for exams, we recommend that students to study together. A good strategy is to start summarising course notes early. Homework club is a great place to learn how to do this. It runs in the library every Monday and Thursday afternoon from 3.10-5pm and is supervised by Mr Morkos and Ms Grant.

Dennielle Woskanian

Deputy Principal Years 7, 9, 11

Year 12

Year 12 are into their final two weeks of formal schooling. This has been met with a range of emotions including excitement of what is to come and sadness of leaving the Killarney Heights High School community that they have been a part of for the last six years. I had the opportunity to gather with the cohort at an informal socially distant picnic in the Senior Area last week and it was great to have the opportunity to chat and hang out with everyone now they are nearing the end of term. Year 12 students have demonstrated incredible resilience and perseverance in the face of the obstacles thrown their way this year and I would like to take this opportunity to commend them for banding together to face these obstacles. The Class of 2020 are a group of incredible young people of diverse talents, both inside and outside the classroom. I am always in awe of their zeal and determination. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you, their parents and guardians for the support you have shown to your sons/daughters through the year and in dealing with COVID pressures. They have had a disruptive and disappointing year missing out on many events that are a part of their final year. However, I know that many of them are looking forward to their Graduation on Thursday 24th September. Whilst parents and guardians cannot join them for this celebration, we will be holding a similar event later on in Term 4 after their HSC Examinations with parents and guardians. In addition, the Year 12 Formal will be taking place at Taronga Zoo on Tuesday 15th December and I am looking forward to celebrating this milestone with all members of the cohort. Students are reminded to submit payment for the formal by the end of term as well as any dietary requirements for this event. Parents were emailed a letter of important dates and events still to come for Yr 12 late last week with students also issued this important information at the Year meeting.

Emma Higgs

Year 12 Adviser

Aspire Awards

Congratulations to our Aspire Award Recipients for 2020.

The Aspire awards celebrate the achievement of ten students for overall excellence and ten students for sustained effort in semester one from each year group. The students attended a brief ceremony followed by photos and morning tea on the lawn with their year advisor, deputy principal and principal. Unfortunately, due to the current physical distancing restrictions, we were unable to invite parents or guests to attend. It was nevertheless an enjoyable occasion and wonderful opportunity to celebrate the success and resilience of our students in a challenging year.

Year 7 Aspire Awards:

Year 8 Aspire Awards:

Year 9 Aspire Awards:

Year 10 Aspire Awards:

 Year 11 – Aspire Awards

Year 12 – Aspire Awards

 Group Photographs below by Oliver Gepp, Year 10

Debating

Debating Season has begun at Killarney Heights!

Debating Workshop

On Monday the 24th August, 37 students from years 7-9 attended an all-day Debating Workshop to give students the opportunity to build new skills and experience in debating. The workshop was co-ordinated by Mrs Ashton in the E block Drama Room. During the course, we learned the basics of debating, how to structure affirmative and negative arguments, how to rebut and effectively use the preparation time in a debate. 

The workshop began with the basics of debating. After recess, we delved deeper into how to debate, focusing on the First Affirmative Speaker’s speech structure. This was followed by learning how to effectively rebut the most important ideas. We then watched the 2019 Premiers Debating final and discussed rebuttals to the First Affirmative Speaker’s points. This helped us experience the way a real debate works.

Afterwards, we formed groups of four to prepare for a small debate with the topic being ‘That selective schools should be banned.’ Following lunch, we presented our arguments to the best of our ability. Even though the Affirmative Team won the debate, everyone in the room gained an important experience from viewing the day’s work displayed in an authentic example. The Debating Workshop was a great learning experience.

Written by Elise Haines, Year 8

Premier’s Debating Challenge Years 7&8

On Monday 31^st August, Killarney hosted the first round of the Premier’s Debating Challenge, our first time debating with an adjudicator on Zoom! The topic “That years 7&8 students should only study English, Maths, Science, History and Geography” was argued in the affirmative by Barney Smith, Connor Lambert, Gizelle Fourie and Will Johnston. The negative team made up of Noah Lewis, Ben Phelps, Elise Haines and Luka Oreb rebutted with an impressive manner, however the debate was awarded to the affirmative team…. Congratulations to our year 7 debaters!

Premier’s Debating Challenge Years 9&10

Our year 9 team, Diane Luong, Katherine Theseira, Nick Hubbard, Mathis Sussenbach have also been victorious in their first debate against Cammeraygal High School. They were the affirmative team in the debate “That we should teach a weekly politics lesson in High School” Due to COVID-19 related changes this year, this debate also took place over Zoom. The Year 9&10 competition has been also been changed to a knock-out style competition so we are very pleased that we are through to the next round! Many thanks to Ms Sanderson who has been coaching this team.

M. Cunningham

Debating Co-ordinator

Tournament of the Minds

A group of seven creative and curious year 7’s participated in Tournament of the Minds (TOM) this term where they had to create a 5 minute presentation to come up with the solution to their challenge of “Quo Vadis”. TOM is a problem-solving program, which aims to develop diverse skills, enterprise, time management, and the discipline to work collaboratively within a challenging collaborative environment. Usually, students would present their solution or skit to a panel of judges in person but unfortunately, due to COVID-19 they had to create a video instead.

Students have to choose one discipline out of either: The Arts, STEM, Language Literature or the Social Sciences. The year seven students decided to pick STEM for their solution this year where they looked at extra-terrestrial life that might exist beyond our current knowledge. The students had to come up with their own script, design their own props, film, edit and work collaboratively together as a team. Although there were some challenges encountered on the way, overall the students had lots of fun and were able to reflect on the whole process.

Year 7 Drama

SPOTLIGHT ON: Year 7 Drama
Year 7s have completed their first performance assessment for the 2020 as part of their Scriptwork Unit.
The cohort all performed selections from plays adapted from Roald Dahl's acclaimed selection of works including The Twits, The Witches, Fantastic Mr Fox, The BFG and Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. The students were tasked with managing their rehearsal process in their groups and developing their skills in collaboration, problem-solving, blocking, characterisation and performance. Each student reflected on their experience in the course by composing written comparisons on how their initial impressions on developing a character from role evolved through their learning process.
Year 7 Teachers, Mr Hawkins and Mrs Pascoe are incredibly proud of our talented cohort who not only memorised impressive selections of script, but truly demonstrated some delightfully entertaining characterisations.

 Katrine Pascoe
 Drama, English & Wellbeing Teacher

P&C

We had a small but hardworking group of volunteers for our August Working Bee with perfect spring-like weather! Volunteers weeded and mulched the front Starkey Street gardens, planted a row of Murrayas and replaced some natives where previous ones had died. The A Block courtyard garden was planted with petunias and daisies in anticipation of summer. Thank you to all of our volunteers!

Working bees are a great opportunity to connect with fellow families and contribute to the school. All family members are welcome. We hope to see you at our next Working Bee on Sunday, 8 November!

KHHS  P&C
Grounds Committee

Wellbeing

School Refusal

School refusal, sometimes called school avoidance or school phobia, is not uncommon. It is different to ‘wagging’ or truancy and is often related to worry or anxiety-related issues about going to school. School refusal may start gradually or happen suddenly. Although it is normal for a child to occasionally miss a day of school, parents should only be concerned if a child regularly complains about feeling sick or often asks to stay home due to minor physical complaints.

School refusal is a complex issue as there is rarely a single cause. It affects children of all ages across primary and secondary levels. It can often occur during times of transition at school. More recently, the Coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the educational experience of all students, affecting some more than others. Dealing with a school refusal child can affect the whole family, adding pressure to an already challenging time. School refusal is not considered a formal psychiatric diagnosis. It’s a name given to an emotional and/or behavioural problem.

In this edition of SchoolTV, adult carers will learn how best to approach this issue and work towards a solution. If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link:

Riding the Corona Coaster

Across Victoria, students and their families are experiencing challenging times with the state being in various stages of lockdown yet again. However, this second wave of the pandemic is now also beginning to impact other areas of Australia and New Zealand. Riding this corona coaster and navigating the ups and downs of the current reality is proving to be confronting for many people. The coronavirus has turned our lives upside down with some students returning to remote learning and parents continuing to juggle the home environment.

The uncertainty of not knowing what will happen next may have an impact on many students and their families. There is a concern that mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and substance abuse, will increase, especially amongst young people. In the coming weeks, it will be vital for adult carers to reduce the stress levels at home and make life seem more manageable.

As an adult carer, it will also be essential to look after your own wellbeing during this time. Ensure you make time to de-escalate your own nervous system and maintain your sleep routine, healthy eating habits, get some regular exercise and reach out virtually to friends and family.

In this Special Report, families are encouraged to embrace the guidance offered to help minimise the impact of this corona coaster. If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to your special report:

DAYSS - KHHS Parent Webinar

During term 3 a whole school wellbeing focus has been alcohol and other drugs. Year 7-10 students attended a seminar presented by the Drugs and Alcohol Youth Support Service. These seminars, and discussions in follow-up year meetings, support the PDHPE curriculum. Teachers have also updated our knowledge on current trends in drug and alcohol use, such as vaping (e-cigarettes), and how to support students in healthy decision making.

We are excited to offer a parent information seminar facilitated by the Drug and Alcohol Youth Support Service. All parents and carers are invited to attend. Due to current Covid-19 restrictions the seminar will take place as a webinar on zoom.

Date: Wednesday 23^rd September 2020

Time: 7pm – 8pm 

Topics covered:

• Current trends and history of Alcohol and other Drug use
• Alcohol and Other Drug use and mental health
• Stages of change and differing types of substance use observed amongst young people
• What parents can do to encourage communication with young people about substances
• How to access supports in the local area

How to register and attend: Go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/THQSZ9H (or link in attached flyer) and complete a brief survey – you will then receive a zoom link to join the webinar meeting.

We hope you will be able to join us for this event.

October - Mental Health Month

Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD) has partnered with North Sydney Council, Ku-ring-gai Council, North Shore Community Drug & Action Team and Hornsby/ Ku-ring-gai Community Drug Action Team (CDAT) to run a Photography Competition- Need a Lift?

The competition is open to all young people aged 12 – 24 years living in the Northern Sydney area. The theme Need a Lift? focuses on young people sharing a photo of what gives them ‘a lift’ or makes them feel good. This competition aims to uplift the Northern Sydney community during Mental Health Month (October) with selected entries displayed in public lifts at our local health and council facilities i.e. hospitals, youth centre, community centres.

As an incentive for young people to participate there will be multiple prizes on offer. The prize for the overall winner is a $250 JB Hi-Fi voucher. There will also be three age categories (12-15 years, 16-18 year & 19-24 years) where selected winners will receive a $100 JB Hi-Fi Voucher. There is also a People's Choice category and the photo with the most likes on Instagram will also get $250 JB Hi-Fi voucher.

All eligible submissions will be posted onto an Instagram page where friends, family & others will be able to view all the entries & vote for their favourite to win the People’s Choice award.

This competition closes on 27^th September.

The School Dog

Welcoming a furry friend

We have some exciting news about a new member of the KHHS community. Next term we will welcome a furry family member to our school, a female Labrador puppy who will be trained as a school therapy/facility dog. Therapy or facility dogs are becoming increasingly popular within schools. The introduction of a therapy dog addresses many needs within our school as evidenced by current research. These include calming effects, alleviation of effects of depression and loneliness, reduction in anxiety, increasing social skills and interactions, building pro-social behaviours, building bonding skills, raising confidence, promoting physical and mental wellbeing, improving overall health and stabilising mental health for someone suffering mental illness.

We envisage the dog will have a multi-faceted involvement in school life. It will be used by the school counsellors to help facilitate positive conversations with students seeking their support. She will also visit classrooms, where teachers approve and deem appropriate, to help facilitate engagement and interaction.

The integration of the dog into school life will be a gradual process so as not to overwhelm her. She will be 9 weeks old when she starts school next term. How long she spends at school and how often will depend on how she copes with her new environment. Students will begin to see the dog trainer around school next term, training our dog with her black Alsation who will act as a role model to our puppy. It is very important that during this transitional phase that students don’t interfere with training and are mindful not to overwhelm the dog (which will be hard due to her cuteness) by overcrowding her. Students should also never feed the dog.

This project has been in the pipeline for a while. The P and C has been consulted and families who have a child that is registered with the school as having a dog hair allergy have been contacted. The dog will also be my family pet and have a safe and happy home in the local area. The program for the dog will be one that is constantly evolving so if you have any questions, suggestions or concerns please email school with the subject heading “Attention Tom Wilson re school dog” and I will be happy to get back in contact. If your child has an allergy to dogs but the school isn’t notified then please let us know so appropriate risk management procedures can be put in place.

I hope you are all as excited about this new chapter of Killarney school life as we are.

Tom Wilson

Head Teacher PDHPE

Term 4 Sport Selections

Term 4 sport selections will take place Week 10 Wednesday at 6pm. Students from 7-10 are reminded to select online using school bytes: https://www.schoolbytes.education/​

Please use your student DEC email and password to log in and select online. Please do not complete paperwork until you have selected your sport choice online. Attached is the run down of how to select online. Sport selections are also up in the PDHPE noticeboard. 

Popular sports fill up fast so please make sure you are online on Wednesday 23rd of September. ​

click on links below

Schoolzine App - SZapp

Schoolzine is our new platform for distributing Newsletters.

SZapp is the App associated with Schoolzine, you can access newsletters, the school website and other information via this App.  The App is free to download, see instructions below.

click on the link below to access installation instructions for SZapp

Ultimate Frisbee

10 years of Ultimate Frisbee at KHHS!
Click here to check out just some of the highlights from the last 10 years of Ultimate Frisbee at Killarney. From the North to the South and the East to the West… then to Wollongong, Melbourne, New Zealand and even Europe! Ultimate Frisbee is an active, inclusive, non-contact and fun team sport where the sense of community is just as important as the medals and the glory! It’s been a blast so far – let’s go for another 10! 

Photographs From the Term

Community News

TERM 4 CatholicCare Naremburn, Northern Beaches & Waitara ONLINE Parenting Programs

To register for our programs please email: intakefs@catholiccaredbb.org.au

 Limited space!

 Priority is for families living in the Northern Sydney region.

see flyer below

Northern Beaches and Mosman College

The term 4 brochure is out - please click on the link below

NSSWE Connect Festival

Event Information  Partnering with Online Virtuoso and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, The University of Sydney, the online festival will feature a weekend of interactive workshops with some of Australia's finest master musicians. Free and open to everyone, join us for sessions that will inspire you including woodwind, brass and percussion instruments. Guest presenters include members of Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Opera Australia Orchestra and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.