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PRINCIPAL’S REPORT COVID Update In all schools, we have of course found ourselves in unprecedented times with the COVID-19 pandemic. In Term 1, Elderslie High School launched its Learning from Home platform based on Google Classroom. Many of our teachers have also been dabbling with Zoom meetings, video production and other more innovative methods of teaching their students. We have made adjustments to assessment tasks, implemented social distancing and hygiene practices and maximised the safety of all our staff by initiating a staff roster in which some staff worked from home each day. At the end of Term 1, following the announcement by our Premier, most parents had made the choice to keep their children at home, meaning that only a small number of parents, many of whom are essential workers needed to send their children to school. I would like to pass on my thanks to all parents and carers. Whether you have managed to keep your children at home or not, we know it has been an enormous strain for all of you as you’ve juggled your own work and caring responsibilities with trying to support your children in their learning. On behalf of the staff, we are so grateful for the messages of support we have received as well as the amazing degree of flexibility and patience you have employed.

Over the last week or so, a number of our office staff and learning support officers have made phone calls to families in an effort to support children who may not have engaged with adequate work from our Learning from Home Platform. The aim of these calls was to determine whether there are any technology barriers for families so that this information could be funnelled back to teachers. We have lent many laptops to our students where a need has arisen and have sought dongles for many students, especially for Year 12 students undertaking their HSC in 2020. It should be noted that students who have not engaged in adequate remote learning are few in number but that a failure to complete any work does result in attendance adjustments being made to the child’s attendance record.

A large number of our students have tried their absolute best with their remote learning and I can assure you, their efforts are very much noticed by the school. I would like to thank Mrs Robinson and Mrs Amos for devising a system in which Learning from Home effort could be acknowledged as part of our merit system. Teachers will now be able to send home letters and awards that can be accumulated and submitted to

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Upcoming Events

PHASE 1 PLAN: RETURN TO SCHOOL (WEEK 3): May 11 All Year 12 to attend Year 7 to 11 Surnames (A – B) Support Unit May 12 Year 7 to 11 Surnames (C – H) May 13 Year 12 Offline, Extension & Major Work

Subjects May 14 Year 7 to 11 Surnames (I – Q) May 15 Year 7 to 11 Surnames (R – Z)

Inside This Issue Principal’s Report 1-2

Deputy Principal’s Reports 2-3

Careers Report 3-4

SRC Report 4-5

Sport Report 5

Senior Student Mentor Report 6

CAPA Update 6-7

International Women’s Day 7

Faces of EHS 8

Catching up with our Alumni 8-9

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their Year Advisers. Many students will start receiving these letters and awards in coming weeks.

Finally, I would like to thank all those parents and students who contacted us to let us know of a need to modify the quantity of work being set by teachers for completion at home. Many of you felt that the volume was simply too great and as a result we have provided that feedback to our teachers and requested modifications. We have also introduced a Weekly Overview system in which teachers will provide students with a summary of what must be done at the start of each week in readiness for submission at the end of the week and we believe that this will make a difference for our students as they organise themselves.

Staffing Changes This term we have had a number of new staff appointed to the school permanently. Firstly, Mr Dale White was appointed to the school as Deputy Principal. Mr White is an experienced Deputy Principal and will be working closely with the students of Year 8 and 11. We are very fortunate to have him and we know he will have a tremendous impact on our school.

In terms of classroom teachers, we are delighted to announce the appointments of Ms Rebecca Whitfield as Careers Adviser as well as Mrs Maggie Buist and Ms Claire Mulligan to the HSIE faculty. Mrs Whitfield previously worked at Elderslie High School in a relieving capacity and did an outstanding job so it is wonderful to welcome her back. Both Mrs Buist and Ms Mulligan have been long serving temporary staff so again, it is fantastic news to now have them both as permanent staff to create a sense of stability for our students. Finally, Ms Hannah Mahoney has been appointed to the English faculty.

Communication Channels As you know, the school has had a lot of information to communicate to parents in recent times, especially with the landscape constantly changing around the COVID-19 pandemic. For this reason, I want to remind all our families of the best ways to keep in touch with what is happening. Our main communication channels are listed below. I encourage all families to download the App and to follow us on Facebook and/or Twitter. We do ensure that we push out notifications as often as possible and in as many of these formats as we can so that we can reach as many members of the school community as possible.

Website - https://elderslie-h.schools.nsw.gov.au

Facebook - @ElderslieHSchool

Twitter- @ElderslieHs

Skoolbag App

Parent Bulletin

Elderslie Videos Have you seen our video productions? At the end of Term 1, we released several short videos designed to connect with our students and remind them that we miss them and that we all belong to a united school community. At a time like this, the distance between us makes us all feel very isolated and as a staff, we really recognise this. The first video was an

Easter message and update from Mrs Amos and myself. The second was entitled “Elderslie Online Missing You” which was also accompanied by spoken messages in a third video from a range of our staff. If you haven’t yet seen these videos, I encourage you to follow us on Facebook where all three are posted. At the time of writing, we were aiming to produce a new video outlining the school’s plan for Week 3 and beyond. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Shortt and Ms Wilson, both of whom have had a significant involvement in producing several of our videos.

Student Successes In each issue of Parent Bulletin, I love to highlight a range of examples of student success. Of course, the COVID pandemic has meant that we are really missing our students but there are still a number of examples of success to mention. One of these in particular relates to the celebration of International Women’s Day on Thursday, March 5. This year, a special dinner was held for this event at Camden Valley Inn at which Kerri-Anne Kennerley was the guest speaker. We were fortunate to obtain sponsorship for our female school captains and vice-captains to attend from Macarthur Workplace Learning Program and also Camden Council. A photograph of our girls with Kerri-Anne is included in this edition of Parent Bulletin for your information. I know our students (Cassie McMurdo, Taylor Sheridan, Hannah Bachner and Breanna Craig) found the event to be highly inspiring. A report is also included from Breanna Craig.

Kind regards, Mrs Jenny Lawrence Principal

FROM THE DEPUTY PRINCIPALS

Natalie Martin (DP Years 9 & 12)

EHS Public Speaking Competition On 11th March I attended the EHS Public Speaking Competition held in our Drama Studio. I was incredibly impressed by the high calibre of both the planned and impromptu speeches. Students were represented from Year 8 through to Year 12 at this school event. What also amazed me was the intellectual quality, confidence and ‘get up and go’ spirit that I witnessed on the night. I would like to thank all of the students who were brave enough to participate in the competition. I would also like to thank our alumni Georgia Cunnion and Erika Sheather for judging and Miss Dennis who organised this fantastic opportunity for our students.

Year 9 Students have been learning from home now for several weeks and I would like to encourage all of Year 9 to continue working towards completing class work and assignments so that they are up to date when they return to school. I would like to remind parents that students can communicate with their Year Adviser and other students via a Google Classroom that was set up by Mrs Jeffries, the Year 9 Year Adviser. Mrs Jeffries posts a message to students every day and many

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students have been replying in order to stay connected with the school and each other. There is also Wellbeing classroom set up by our School Chaplain and Youth Worker, Sally Russell. Our School Counsellor has created a Web Page with lots of helpful information as well. The link to this Web Page has been posted to the Year Group Google Classroom. I am looking forward to seeing many Year 9 students in the Phase 1 return to school.

Year 12 The advent of COVID-19 has had the greatest impact on our Year 12 students and their parents. I understand that learning from home has created a significant amount of stress for Year 12 students who will be completing their HSC this year. NESA has made several announcements and Miss Wilson our Senior Learning Mentor has created a video that she posted to the Private Study Google Classroom. Please ask your child to log in to this Classroom and view the video for an explanation of the changes to the HSC. Mrs Lawrence has the discretion to make changes to school assessment and we are currently updating our Assessment Schedules which will be distributed to students when they have been finalised. I would encourage all of Year 12 to check out the regular videos that Miss Wilson has been posting to the Private Study Google Classroom. Please seek support from myself, the Year 12 Year Adviser Mr Atterton and Miss Wilson if you have any unanswered questions, for a general chat or for any kind of support. If we work together we should be able to resolve any on going concerns.

Joanne Amos (DP Years 7 & 10) Student Wellbeing During this period of learning from home, our Year Advisors have been doing an amazing job supporting their year groups through their google classrooms. They have been setting challenges like: Call someone who you know needs some love and company. It could be a grandparent, a grand friend, a neighbour, an old friend, or a relative aunt/uncle/cousin. Who did you call? Year Advisors have also been busy helping students locate google codes, providing tips for submitting work successful and Year 7 had a lunch catch up via Zoom and Year 12 participated in an assembly. Please ask your child about some of the challenges that their Year advisors are posting and if they have not yet joined this google classroom, then encourage them to do so. Year Advisors have also been busy supporting students and families via phone calls and when they have been on site, catching up with the students who have been at school.

Wellbeing Matters Website – Learning and Wellbeing at Home Our wellbeing team including our school counsellors have also created a website for students and parents which focuses on all aspects of wellbeing. As well as providing specific information on COVID-19, the website offers techniques for improving mindfulness, study tips and also contact details for external support services. Please take some time to explore the website.

https://sites.google.com/education.nsw.gov.au/ehs-sc/learning-and-wellbeing-at-home

Year 10 Over these past few weeks of remote learning, it has been impressive to see the majority of Year 10 engaging with their learning and being proactive in seeking support from their teachers. I would encourage all of our Year 10 students to complete the work to the best of their ability, keep up to date and submit all activities by their due date. Teachers are regularly monitoring the work provided and giving students feedback. If any student needs clarification about the learning activities, then they should make contact with their classroom teacher via google classroom. I am looking forward to seeing you all one day a week from Week 3, it has been very quiet at school without Year 10.

Year 7 Miss Sproule has been sharing many great examples of the work that Year 7 are doing while they learn from home. I know she especially is missing them and cannot wait for them to be back at school, just like me. The Year 7 Advisors Google Classroom has been a hive of activity with challenges, questions and general chit chat. Keep up your hard work Year 7, continue to do your best and don’t forget to ask for help when you need it.

Regards, Joanne Amos

Careers Website Our Elderslie High School Careers website is https://www.eldersliehighcareers.com/ and if your child hasn’t registered on it yet I would love them to do so.

All they need to do is go to For Students (top right hand side) then Students Secure Area then Register. Once they have done this they can complete a number of quizzes and career exploration tools that are saved within the website and they can access the results at any time. There is also a variety of templates they might like to use for writing resumes and cover letters.

There is a parent’s section as well that you might find useful. It includes various links and a guide on how to assist your child with their career planning.

Year 12 students are encouraged to have a look at the website. They can easily access a variety of post school options and click on links to universities, courses, virtual

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tours, UAC information, UCAT, scholarships and Early Entry schemes. There are also links to TAFE, the Defence Forces and lots more.

I have set up a booking system for Year 12 students on the website to speak with me regarding their post school planning. All they need to do is click on Book an Appointment (top left-hand side of website) and then choose a time and date that suits them. I will receive an email telling me of the booking and then I will call them at the pre-arranged time and we can discuss their options and put a plan in place.

I hope to speak with your child soon.

Take care,

Rebecca Whitfield Careers Adviser

World’s Greatest Shave – Friday 17th March, Week 7, Term 1 On Friday the 13th of March (Week 7, Term 1), EHS was hugely successful in their fundraising for World’s Greatest Shave. The students who participated this year, including 8 students who shaved, one mystery teacher (Ms Wilson) and those who coloured their hair raised a whopping $3,715 on our school donation page. On the day itself, students were invited to join the event in at lunchtime, and for a small donation, were able to get in the spirit – getting their hair braided, coloured or glitter bombed by our fabulous student hair stylists!

At Recess Two, SRC students assisted with the fundraising, selling a range of iced sugar cookies and cupcakes near the Studio. The baked goods were all SOLD OUT IN 15 minutes! As a result, the day itself raised over $1390, bringing the school total to just over $5100!! All monies will go directly to help support Australians suffering from Leukaemia and other blood related diseases.

What a massive effort by all those involved; including SRC students who were preparing for this event for 4 weeks and spent their lunch times collecting donations, student volunteer braiders, the 9Elective History class who assisted in set up, Entertainment students for their assistance with technology, Aaron Rutene (Yr12) who was our awesome MC for the event, Dennika English (hairdresser), Mrs Stootman (for the cookies!) and OF COURSE the following students who shaved or coloured their hair:

Lestat Hunt (Yr9), Digby Stiff (Yr9), Sean Fitzpatrick (Yr11), Noah Amos (Yr 9), Ben Garcia (Yr 11), Ashton Issa (Yr8), Sam Hannaford (Yr 10), Logan Darlington (Yr 9), Audrey Saunders (Yr 12), Tiarne Phillips (Yr 11), Eliza Maglis (Yr 9), Alyssa Sheather (Yr 10), Megan Peterson (Yr 9) and Winnie Hsu (Yr 9).

The stage, with the shavers ready to lose their hair!

The students who coloured their hair; from green, blue,

purple and red! Well done girls!

Ms Wilson, a mystery teacher who so graciously shaved her head.

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Ms Cav and Ms Mulligan in the spirit of the day – coloured braids completed by Mary Taumaletila and Peta Young, Yr 10

The amazing cupcakes freshly made by a local member of our community.

The Iced Sugar Cookies! – Thankyou to Mrs Stootman and another local community member. They were delicious!

Premier’s Sporting Challenge Elderslie High School has registered to participate in the

NSW Premier’s Sporting Challenge (PSC), which

encourages students to participate in sport and physical

activity to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Over a ten-week period from 27th April - 3rd July (Week 1 -

Week 10), all students in Years 7-10 will be monitoring

and recording their physical activity levels completed

during their timetabled physical education lesson whether

online or face to face in the future, recess and lunch

breaks, as well as during sport. Physical activity outside of

school hours such as walking, bike riding or fitness circuits

will also count towards the Challenge award. The aim is to

work towards an average at least 60 minutes of activity a

day for ten weeks.

To assist in recording and monitoring student’s physical

activity levels, students will be utilising a digital logbook

which is a Google Form provided on the PDHPE Google

Classrooms.

At the conclusion of the challenge students will receive a

personalised certificate (Diamond, Gold, Silver or Bronze),

signed by the Premier of New South Wales.

Physical activity is valued for its physical, social and

emotional benefits. It also assists young people to

develop communication skills, confidence and resilience.

Therefore, it is important that students continue to

participate in physical activities throughout the remote

school learning and transition back to normality.

We would like to invite families to support us in

encouraging students’ healthy use of leisure time and to

experience the joy of being active together, whilst

maintaining physical distancing guidelines implemented

by the NSW Government.

M. Rowston

PSC Coordinator

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Professional Development in Bourke As part of the Connected Communities Network, I (along

with teachers from Eagle Vale HS) was given the

opportunity to travel to Bourke High School in Term 1. We

were able to experience regional education and enabled a

number of Bourke HS teachers to undertake professional

learning. Even the 8-hour drive to Bourke and seeing parts

of NSW that had not seen rain for 2 years now green and

flooded in some parts, was enjoyable. Bourke is where

Fred Hollows, the famous eye surgeon from New Zealand

is buried and there was a great memorial in the shape of

an eye in the local cemetery.

All of the staff and students were very welcoming and open during our short visit. The commitment and passion shown by the staff in the face of many challenges was a pleasure to witness. Coming from a school of 1100 students to 120 was a big change but it gave me an opportunity to meet most of the students. On a personal level being asked by the Year 7 students if I could move to Bourke HS and become their teacher was rewarding. I hope that I will be able to return in 2021 with some of my colleagues from Elderslie HS.

Miss Wilson, Senior Student Mentor

CAPA UPDATE Public Speaking and Debating Update Unfortunately, all Public Speaking and Debating events are currently cancelled or postponed. I am keeping students up to date on other opportunities through our Debating and Public Speaking Google Classrooms.

Just prior to the restrictions we were able to host the annual Elderslie High School Public Speaking Competition on the evening of Wednesday 11th March 2020 in the Studio. Thank you to all of our finalists for competing and to Hannah Penfold and Charlotte Inglis for hosting the event. Thank you to our Alumni, Georgia Cunnion and Erica Sheather for adjudicating the event. Both Georgia and Erica were School Captains and exceptional Public Speakers and Debaters during their time at Elderslie High School. Congratulations to our Year winners: Noah Douglas Year 8, Claire Stanley Year 9, Estelle Hollinshead Year 11 and Cassandra McMurdo Year 12. Further congratulations to Cassandra McMurdo for becoming the

Overall School Winner for 2020. Many thanks to all the parents and community members who came along and supported the event.

Ms Dennis

School of Rock 2020 This year Elderslie High School was intending to present our Musical Performance to the school community on the 28th, 29th and 30th May 2020. Unfortunately, due to the restrictions associated with COVID 19 we have postponed this event until later in the year.

Prior to the COVID 19 restrictions we were progressing steadily towards opening night, so the CAPA Staff, Cast, Crew, VA Club and Orchestra are all hoping to still bring you an amazing Musical performance before the end of the year.

So, stay tuned for regular updates on Musical 2020.

Creative and Performing Arts Faculty

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CAPA Update Unfortunately, due to the challenges of 2020 our performance at Camden Show was cancelled. Year 11 CAPA Evening was cancelled and Talent Quest is postponed until further notice. The CAPA Faculty are a little bit lost, as we imagine most of our very talented (normally crazy busy) CAPA students are as well.

Our Dance, Music and Drama Ensembles are still receiving fortnightly activities through Google Classroom. We need to keep developing our skills, so we are ready to go in the future. Please encourage the students who participate in our many Ensembles to remain connected.

On Thursday 5th March 2020 Miss Reece, Ms Gulley and some of Elderslie High School’s talented artists hosted the Visual Arts Transition Program in our Visual Arts Classrooms. The students from Mawarra and Elderslie Public Schools had a wonderful day exploring their creative skills. Well done to all!

On Thursday 12th March 2020 Ms Prigg, Mr Webb and some of the members of the Vocal Ensemble and Orchestra hosted a Music Ensemble Program at Elderslie High School. The students from Mawarra and Elderslie Public School had an amazing time meeting our students and enhancing their instrumental and vocal skills.

Unfortunately, our Drama Transition Workshop has been cancelled for 2020. We are still hoping to progress with our Dance Transition Program later in the year.

Vocal Ensemble, Orchestra and CAPA uniform orders have arrived. When students return to school, they just need to bring their receipt to the Studio to pick up their uniform. We are looking forward to seeing the ensembles all dressed up and ready to perform later in the year.

Stay safe and be creative everyone!!

CAPA Faculty

International Women's Day Celebration On Thursday, 5th March, all four female captains attended

the Camden Region Economic Task Force's Celebration of

International Women’s Day at Camden Valley Inn in lieu of

International Women’s Day on the 8th March. The

opportunity allowed all of us to listen to the stories of

women who are leaders around our local area about their

journeys to success.

The special guest for the evening was none other than

Kerri-Anne Kennerley, a television personality who has

been at the forefront of the industry for over 50 years. We

got to listen to her as she shared her journey and

encouraged us to keep working hard as future leaders. She

addressed the professional side of her career, how she

faced discrimination, backlash and a hoard of negativity as

a female in a male-dominated field, but also mentioned

her personal life and mentality when working a high-

demand job. I found it really beneficial to hear her tips

about being critical of yourself and how to overcome that,

as well as how to rise above those who doubt and criticise

you to keep working towards your best and brightest self.

Overall, as a future leader, and a young woman, I walked

away feeling inspired, and excited to keep working toward

my future, because, as KAK promised, there are many

bright and exciting opportunities to come!

Breanna Craig, Vice-Captain

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Faces of EHS Why is education important? Education is important because it improves our way of life

and opens opportunities. It enables people to get a job

that could improve their way of life. It plays a big part in

our career growth as well as personal growth, giving us

knowledge of the world around us, so that we can change

it to something better.

Education is all around us and in our daily lives, in building,

planes and cars. Without Education we wouldn’t have the

knowledge and understanding to develop ideas to improve

our lives through things like the industrial revolution and

advances in technology. Education provides people with

wider knowledge and skills they require for life.

Education teaches us how to develop opinions and allows

us to respect the views of others. We can debate ideas in

an educated manner. It makes us open to suggestions so

that we can see the world through someone else’s eyes.

Samuel Smukulis - Year 9

What is your proudest moment?

When I became the youngest in history, 2-time Australian

Champion. It is extremely hard to do and requires a lot of

effort to do so. I had to participate in 5 different race

meets in Victoria, Queensland and NSW. I had the most

points to take out the championship.

I normally test or race every weekend and my Dad takes

me to my race meets. I love Go Karting because it is fast

and fun and I get to complete against other people.

Ryan Tomsett- Year 7

What is your favourite sport and what do you love about

it?

NRL!! NRL will forever be my favourite sport, the best

game of all time. I was brought up since birth with nothing

but NRL, playing tackle with my cousins on the weekends.

Learning and developing skills just by passing around the

footy with my Dad. I love that feeling of excitement and

getting overwhelmed when being at a game. I want to play

in the NRLW myself one day and become an amazing

athlete like the NRLW players today!!

Ruquaya Abdow- Year 9

Catching up with our Alumni -

Sarah Trethewy - Class of 2012

Achievements at School - 96.1 ATAR

- Accepted into the Bachelor of Media (PR and

Advertising at the University of NSW)

- School Captain, 2012

- Long Tan Leader of the Year Award 2012

- Member of EHS Debating Team selected for the

State Debating Championships

- Member of the Mock Trial Team

- Member of Ballroom Dance Ensemble

- Represented EHS in the South Western Sydney

and State Drama Festivals

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Achievements after School

- Rotary Youth Exchange Student to Denmark in

2013

- Dean’s Scholar at UNSW 2014, 2015, 2016

- Graduated with Honours Media (PR and

Advertising) 2017

- Nominated for Mumbrella Best Young PR Talent in

2017

- Interned at world renowned PR firm, Weber

Shandwick and landed a graduate job 2 months

before finishing my degree at UNSW

- Nominated for B&T Under 30 Awards in 2018

- Currently working for Nikon.

Elderslie High School 40-48 Hilder Street Narellan NSW 2567

Phone: (02) 4658 1110

Fax: (02) 4658 0219 elderslie-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

www.elderslie-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

Excellence. Honour. Service.

P & C MEETINGS 2020

ALL parents of students and interested members

of the Elderslie community are invited to attend

these meetings.

Our next meeting for 2020:

To be advised

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