Winmalee High School News

February, 2020

A message from the Relieving Principal

I would like to warmly welcome all new students, parents and staff to Winmalee High School. It has been a wonderful start to the year and student feedback about their classes, subjects and teachers has been overwhelmingly positive. 

We look forward to sharing news and updates with you through a monthly newsletter, to complement other communication via Skoolbag app, the school website, email and Facebook.

Thank you to all staff, students, parents and the community for your incredible support so far. It is an exciting opportunity to relieve as principal for the next 5 terms.

New Staff

There have been many new permanent and temporary teachers across a range of faculties join our team this year - I would like to welcome:

English:  Ms Emily Burns and Ms Alison Maddigan.

Mathematics:  Welcome back Mr Sudhir Gopal and Mr Hannes Schultz.

Science:  Mrs Patricia Clear and welcome back Mrs Jill Harrington and Ms Janine Fronczyk. Thank you also to Mr Martin Livingston who has relieved for Mrs Stathakis whilst she is on leave.

HSIE:  Mr Jim Borg. Thank you to Mrs Kylie Knott who has relieved for Mr Cole for the first 4 weeks of term.

PDHPE: Ms Hailey Niven and welcome back Ms Emma Crowe and Ms Elise Wilson.

Visual Arts: Welcome back Mr Steven Bond and welcome to Ms Emma Rooney who will be relieving for Mrs Erin Douglas whilst she is on maternity leave.

Industrial Arts: Mr Simon Wakeling who will commence at the beginning of Term 2.

Wellbeing: Ms Ariane Doyle will be working with the Learning Hub team and in PDHPE.

We are fortunate to have such highly skilled and passionate teachers who are with us for 2020.

Thank you to our community volunteers

I would like to acknowledge all members of the community who volunteered over the summer holidays to keep us and communities near and far safe. Thank you to staff, Geoff Booth, David MacCormick,  Jill Harrington, Hans Krause, Wayne Venables and Chris Pendergast for their service with the RFS and other community emergency services.

Blue Mountains Citizen of the Year

Congratulations to Mrs Madeleine Sheehy for being awarded Blue Mountains Citizen of the Year for her work in the recovery after the 2013 bushfires and the development of the play, 'Straw hats, thongs and toothbrushes’. The power of drama to process complex and traumatic themes, share stories, build empathy and give our community a voice was a healing process. We are very proud of Mrs Sheehy. 

Overseas Excursion to Europe

Sincere thanks and gratitude goes to staff, Glenn Anslow, Ray Stathakis, Katie King, Tara Cameron and parents, Greg Sawyer and Jenna Douglas for safely travelling abroad to the UK, France and Brussels with 33 students. Giving up their own holidays to participate in an overseas excursion is incrediblly generous and I would like to publicly acknowledge their good grace. A special thank you to Mr Anslow for his planning and preparation to make this excursion possible for our students.

The School Canteen

Congratulations to canteen manager, Lisa Hooley and entire school canteen team for the successful registration as a Healthy School Canteen with the Department of Education . The summer and winter menus have been registered and approved. The school canteen has fresh food  available daily, with a terrific menu range. Thank you to canteen staff Alison, Kylie and Catherine, and our amazing volunteers, Kathryn, Shanna, Julie, Louise, Val, Robyn, Sue, Gai and Alanna. Thank you to the entire canteen team who provide outstanding service to our students and staff every day.

Year 12 2019

Congratulations to Marli Thompson for her OnStage selection. OnStage is a program of performances, showcasing excellence from the 2019 HSC Drama course. I was fortunate to see Marli perform last week at the Seymour Centre in Sydney. Her powerful piece based on Mary Stuart - Mary Queen of Scots was incredibly moving.

Congratulations to Mrs Sheehy for her work as Production Consultant for the OnStage performances. 

Next month we look forward to celebrating Nick Craig's success in the HSC Music Showcase, Encore. Nick will be performing at the Angel Place Recital Hall in Sydney on 16 March. Thank you to Mr McGown who has been attending rehearsals and will be accompanying Nick on the evening.

Parents of Year 12, 2019 students, we have shared through Facebook a post school destination survey for graduates to complete. Each year we need to collect information on where students attend after they complete Year 12. For example, University, TAFE, training, apprenticeship, work etc. We have had many students complete the survey already and it would be greatly appreciated if you would please take the time to share this survey link with any year 12 graduates. 

The school will follow up with a phone call for any students who we don't hear from through the survey.  

Ms Voula Facas

Documents available for download in this newsletter include:

  •  LiteracyPlanet program for Year 8 students
  •  Attendance and Absence information and SMS notifications
  •  Uniform information

SMS text notification system for absences

This year the school has implemented an SMS text notification system to notify parents of student’s absences. A text message will be sent regarding student absences from school each day. These can be explained by replying directly to each individual text, by providing a note to the school or calling the school directly. If your phone number does change, please inform the school to ensure you are receiving attendance information for your child.

See the attached letter for more information about attendance and school absences.

Download

Stage Coordinators and Goal Setting

               

This year, Winmalee High School has used school funding to create the new role of stage coordinator. The role of the stage coordinator is to facilitate student goal setting and support conversations about learning, encouraging students to take responsibility for their own learning and assist them to achieve their personal best. In line with the Department's, 'Every student is known, valued and cared for' strategy, stage coordinators will build upon the existing strengths of our school in fostering meaningful teacher-student relationships with an emphasis on raising expectations for success.

This term, all students will have the opportunity to have a one to one goal setting session with a teacher. Students will bring a copy of their goals home with them to share with you. We look forward to bringing you more news soon about our progress on goal setting and supporting students to reflect on their progress and achievements.

Thank all of the staff who have facilitated the goal conversations with students so far.

LiteracyPlanet and MathsOnline - available to students

LiteracyPlanet - As part of a commitment to providing high quality literacy education, all students in Year 8 now have a school subscription to this fun and engaging online resource.

LiteracyPlanet is designed by educators to support the Australian Curriculum and the comprehensive development of key literacy skills.

Read more about this program and how it can support your child's learning in the document attached to this newsletter (below).

MathsOnline is a computer-based training program designed to complement what the teachers are teaching in the classroom. It helps guides students lesson by lesson, allowing them to pause, rewind and repeat all or part of any lesson until they fully understand it.

All students at Winmalee High School will be given their own personal access code to the program. This will allow access to Maths lessons from Kindergarten to Year 12, allowing for students to go back to previous years for revision.

Students will use this program in varying ways. Teachers can set homework tasks for completion, they may use the program as part of their daily lessons and students can access at home to studying prior to exams and to go over the concepts learnt in the classroom. All the tasks completed by students are marked instantly, providing students with immediate feedback. Mathematics course fees contribute to student subscriptions to MathOnline.

LiteracyPlanet Information

Please see the attached letter which outlines the LiteracyPlanet resource available to Year 8 students.
Download

Positive Education

There will be a continued focus this year on Positive Education, which is an approach that helps student to both succeed academically and experience positive relationships at school. 

We have changed the structure of roll call to be year based so that students are able to be in closer proximity to their year advisor and teachers can focus on the needs of their each year group. Year 12 students have the privilege of not attending roll call but the option to select a mentor to support them through their HSC.

The focus on helping all students is assisted by the work of the Learning Hub which will continue to assist those needing additional assistance.

Student led year group meetings was a new initiative started in term two last year, where SRC run year meetings were held in the place of larger assemblies. Run by SRC  representatives from each year group, the assemblies gave student leaders the opportunity to strengthen a range of leadership and communication skills and model an active and engaged student culture. These first year meetings focussed on student wellbeing,specifically gratitude that helps us experience Positive Emotions ('P' from PERMAH). 

Arima Sister School Visit and Japan Overseas Excursion

As shared on facebook and skoolbag earlier this week, this year our sister school from Japan, Arima High School, will be visiting Australia and spending one week at Winmalee High School. This visit will occur between 1 August to 8 August, 2020.  Our student guests will need billeting and we will be looking for expressions of interest for any families who would be willing to participate. It is always a delight to host our special guests as we continue a strong partnership between our schools. Please consider if you and your child might be interested in billeting an Arima High School student. We will seek formal expressions of interest soon.

Winmalee will also be coordinating an overseas excursion for students in Years 9, 10 and 11, visiting Japan in January 2021. The tour will be a two week trip, which will include a home-stay at Arima. The school will hold an information evening soon. The cost of this overseas excursion is yet to be confirmed, but we expect that it will be between $3500-$4000, dependent on the cost of air fares. More information will be shared soon.

SRC Update

Throughout 2019, the SRC led a range of whole school activities and different members participated in various programs, including:

  • National Day of Action Against Bullying & Violence
  • The World's Greatest Shave
  • Community ANZAC ceremony
  • NSW Parliament Student Leadership Conference 
  • IDAHOT Day
  • The Whitlam Institute leadership day
  • Food drive and mufti day
  • Springwood Vietnam Veteran’s March 
  • The Out of School Learning homework centre
  • Wear it Purple Day
  • SRC elections for 2020
  • Winmalee Spirit Week

Led by Mr Joseph and Ms Renwick, our SRC have led the student body with passion, courage and compassion. We are immensely proud and grateful for the work that the SRC do at Winmalee High. We can't wait to share more details about all of the events listed above, and also about upcoming projects and events.

School Uniform

Thank you to all students who work hard to work within the school's uniform dress code each day. We understand that there are times when students have a valid reason for not being able to wear uniform. Students should see their supervising deputy to request a uniform note before the bell.

To clarify our expectations and to explain what suitable uniform options students can choose from, a list of uniform items with accompanying photos are attached below.

 Whilst our focus is on learning and wellbeing, uniform is important at school and we wish to work with you to ensure that our requests support equality and consistency. Uniform is an important part of safety at school, and it also impacts on our reputation in the wider community. Our school’s P & C has also worked closely with the school around this and it supports the wearing of school uniform.

Download

P&C News

The Winmalee High School P&C is a small vibrant group of parents/caregivers that meet on the second Wednesday of each month at 6:30pm-8:30pm in the school common room.

✔ At P&C meetings, parents, the principal and sometimes teachers meet together to discuss various topics related to the school

✔ At P&C there is an opportunity to contribute to policies and procedures and have a say in guiding where the school is heading on a range of matters

✔ At P&C caregivers can support the school's resources through fundraising activities.

The Winmalee High P&C Executives for 2020 are: -

1. Gloria Tabi (nee Davidson) – President 

2. Fiona Wilkinson – Vice President

3. Gina Frampton – Vice President

4. Dean Goddard - Treasurer

5. Belinda Sell – Secretary Contact details: pandwinmalee@gmail.com

Our next meeting is Wednesday, 11th Mar 2020 at 6:30pm and you’re invited!! We look forward to seeing new faces this year.

Thank you, 

Gloria Tabi (nee Davidson)
P&C President, Winmalee High School

Seating and shading in the playground

Thank you to our fantastic General Assistant, Peter Smith, for his work in coordinating improvements in seating and shading across the school. We have installed 4 large shade umbrellas in the central quad, as well as some additional seating. The stadium seating between our ovals has also been installed and surrounding paths and stairs have been improved. Students are enjoying the new and improved areas around the school.


Key staff with student Support Roles across the school

Year 7 Adviser: Mr Kingston

Year 8 Adviser: Ms Scott

Year 9 Advisers: Mrs Macqueen and Mr Starink

Year 10 Adviser: Mrs Shead

Year 11 Adviser: Ms Seabrook

Year 12 Adviser: Mr Cole

Girls Adviser: Ms Tippet

ARCO (Anti-Racism Contact Officer): Ms Tippet

Rainbow Alliance Support Group Coordinator: Ms Burns

Stage 4 Coordinator: Mrs Daniels

Stage 5 Coordinator: Mrs Shead

Stage 6 Coordinator: Ms Taylor

Dates for your Diary - Year 7

Please see the calendar in Skoolbag for all upcoming events. Of particular note is the Year 7 Parents ‘Meet the Teacher’ evening, 5:30pm bbq, 6-7pm, Tuesday 10 March. 

Year 6 into 7 2021 Events

Winmalee High School - Strive to Achieve