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Volume 14 Edition 4 Term 4 December 2014

Darwin High School

Francine is facing her future with fervour“I’ve learnt that many things are possible. I need to

work hard and not just sit and think that it will come to me.”

The Secondary Intensive English Unit (SIEU) is proud to announce this year’s recipient of the annual Savan-nah Holloway Award. The award provides financial support to enable girls of refugee background to com-plete their NTCET. Francine Niyonkuru has demon-strated great resilience in the face of difficult circum-stances and is highly deserving of the award.

Francine, 16, remembers how communication was her biggest frustration when she first came to Australia. “I could not express myself. I could not ask a question about anything. I had no proper words to talk.” Now, Francine chatters away and her bubbly giggles and radiant smiles are infectious.

Francine, was born in a refugee camp in Tanzania, East Africa, and came to Darwin through the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in 2008. She remembers that, in the camp, she had only one day at school and that when her mother was asked to pay the year’s school fees in advance, that was the end of her education there. Instead, she spent her days in child care, walking long distances to collect fire wood and carrying buckets of water to help out with daily survival.

Francine began her education at Moil Primary School where she was in a class with oth-ers from non-English speaking backgrounds, learn-ing to speak and write English. This was followed by Sanderson Middle School and this year, she started at Darwin High School. “On my first day, I was late and had trouble finding where to go. I wanted to go home but I did not know how to catch the bus back home so I had to stay.”

Sadly, experiences in Australia have not all been posi-tive. “I was really scared when I first came to DHS be-cause previously, I had experienced bullying and had been attacked. I thought teachers at DHS would look down on me because I still could not read and write English really well and I was worried because I looked different to the rest of the class. But I soon discovered

the truth. The teachers are so kind. They are so pa-tient with me and the students are very friendly.”

Francine recently completed work experience at Nakara Primary School where she received a great deal of praise and positive feedback. “I love the chil-dren there. I am hoping to do a VET Certificate II in Community Services and eventually work in the area of child care. I get plenty of practice helping my mother at home with all my brothers and sisters.”

Through her Personal Learning Plan, Francine has been able to set out her goals. She is full of hope and dares to dream. But first and foremost she is aiming to get her driver’s licence. After that, she wants to

finish her Year 12 and do well in VET. She wants to become a child care worker, save money, help her family and maybe even buy them a house!

“I am so happy to be in Australia, away from the war zone. No more gun fire, no more shooting. In Australia, people are treated equally. I am so happy to be at DHS, learning for the future. Teachers are caring and friendly. They push you to do well because they wish you to have a happy future.” And what is one thing she has learnt? “I’ve learnt that many things are possible. But I need to work hard and not just sit and think that it will come to me.”

Robyn Northcote SIEU

From the PrincipalWe have come to the end of our school year

and have had the pleasure of celebrating the won-derful achievements of staff and students.

The Year 12 Graduation Ceremony, held at the Darwin Convention Centre on 24 November, was a fabulous occasion with graduates recognised in front of families and friends for completing their school education. The graduates and their teachers then enjoyed fine dining and dancing in the Con-vention Centre Function Hall. My thanks to Ros France for her excellent organisation of the even-ing.

Our final event for the year, Presentation Night, was held on 8 December at the Darwin Entertain-ment Centre. Darwin High School staff did a won-derful job of preparing a celebration of academic, cultural, sport and citizenship achievements of our students across all year levels.

This year has been an incredibly busy year and I want to acknowledge the outstanding dedicated teachers and staff at Darwin High School and thank them all for ensuring that every student achieved the best possible outcomes.

I also want to thank the 2014 School Council for their tireless efforts, this year focusing on school improvement and the future needs of the School. We are looking forward to Darwin High School being an Independent Public School in 2015.

Finally, I wish you all a safe and happy Christmas and I look forward to working with you in 2015.

Trevor ReadPrincipal

Staff FarewellsWe have a number of staff who will be leav-

ing Darwin High School at the end of this year.

We thank them all for their contribution to Dar-win High School and wish them all the best for the future.

Special mention must go to the following long-serving staff.

Mandy ValeMandy has been with us since 1996. She has taught in the Health PE and Science Faculties. Mandy was Science Faculty Senior at the start of this year. Mandy and family are moving to WA.

Anne DisneyAnne joined Darwin High School in 1998. She taught Chemistry and Physics. Anne left Darwin High School at the end of Term 3 this year to take a position at a school in Sydney.

John NaylorJohn has been with us since 2011. He has been working in SIEU and also taught PLP. John has been teaching in the Territory since 1995. John is retiring and is moving to Adelaide.

Shannon FoyShannon has been with us since 2008. Shannon manages the Student Admininstration Management Sys-tem. She is also responsible for the production of school reports and the upload of student results to the SACE Board. Shannon and family are moving to the Gold Coast.

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Science NewsCongratulations to the following students who were prize winners at the

Science Awards Night that was held on 29 October at Charles Darwin Uni-versity. The prize winners also included the Titration Competition winners.

Royal Australian Chemical Institute, NT BranchYear 11 Chemistry Prize Awards - 2014• Parthiv Gaykar (Stage 1 C4E Chemistry)• Josephine Ugwu (Stage 1 Chemistry)Australian National Titration CompetitionGold Medalists• Matthew Holohan• Chetan Ganesh• Parthiv Gaykar• Jumana MazidSilver Medalists• Tina Cheng• Nathan Tran• Nam Tang

Science Teachers Association of the NT - Young Scientists AwardsPractical Investigation - Self -directed individual project (Yr 10 – 12)1st - Joel Jettner (Year 10 C4E Science)2nd - Amy Conca (Year 10 C4E Science)3rd - Chris Milikins (Year 10 C4E Science)Practical Investigation - Teacher directed (Year 10 – 12)2nd - Hamish Wiltshire (Stage 1 C4E Science)3rd - Parthiv Gaykar (Stage 1 C4E Science)Scientific Communications Multimedia (Year 10 – 12)1st - Sarah Banks (Year 11)3rd - Marissa Higgins (Year 10 C4E Science)

Other Award WinnersKaavya Weerasundera has been nominated for the Menzies/CDU Senior Science Student Award (Year 12). Kaavya is an A student currently studying, Physics, Biology and Chemistry.

National Youth Science Forum 2015Congratulations to Connor Wright

and Lauren Northcote who were selected to attend the NYSF in Canberra next year from 19 - 31 January. There, they will learn more about courses and careers in the sciences and gain a professional skill set to help them make informed decisions and realise their potential.

For more information about the National Youth Science Forum and how to apply, please visit www.nysf.edu.au/. Applications for 2016 open 1 April.

Electromagnetism, Motors and Power

WorkshopC4E Physics went to CDU to the electro-magnetism, motors and power workshop. The students had a great time and got a lot out of it. Thanks to Rob Wolff Van Wulfing and Dami-en Hill for their efforts (and the pizza).

Titration CompetitionThis year we had seven teams that entered the Royal Australian Institute of Chemistry Titration

Competition which is generously hosted by CDU. The competi-tion sees teams of three students from Territory senior schools battle it out. Although we did not manage to capture the much sought after title of ‘Excellent Team’, our students put in a great showing. We had ten students who managed to make it to the finals.

Our best performer was Matthew ‘The Exactuator’ Holohan. Matthew achieved a 0.6% error and walked away with a gold medal. Other gold medalists included Chetan Ganesh, Pathiv Gaykar and Jumana Mazid.

PICSE Scholarship by Tilly Lyons Yr11Patrick Chin and I, with several other students from around

the Darwin Region, were selected to take part in the 2014 PICSE Scholarship Camp and Industry Placement. The program is all about introducing high school students to the science in primary industries in the Northern Territory.

The first part of the scholarship was a camp which included visiting and being exposed to local primary industries and the science they are involved with. The week was incredibly benefi-cial as it was an eye opener into possible career pathways. I was especially interested in visits to the Royal Darwin Hospital, a cattle farm and Interket - a major independent chemical tester for the oil and gas of the Northern Territory.

In September, we spent the mid-semester holiday week at an industry placement. I was placed at the Veterinary Laboratories at Berrimah Farm. The week was hard work but an interesting

experience as I got to work in Histology, Virology, Molecular and with the animals on site - which also involved bleeding cows for viral blood testing.

Overall the scholarship left me with industry contacts and a clearer and more focused direc-tion of where I want to go with science after I leave school. Also, I am now aware of the possibili-ties with science in the Northern Territory. This scholarship was an insight into the unique tropical research and industry opportuni-ties not available anywhere else in the world.

Science ExperienceStella Griffiths and Nick Kosmidis

participated in the Year 11 Science experi-ence during which a small group of high achieving Year 11 students from across the NT were invited to attend a series of inter-active science activities at Charles Darwin University. The purpose of this two day event was to enable students showing exceptional talent and imagination to ex-perience the cutting edge of science, and inspire them to pursue further challenges in the field of science.

Royal Australian Regiment LuncheonEach year Darwin High School students assist the mem-

bers of the Royal Australian Regiment with the conduct of their Kapyong Commemoration.

The Regiment won a Presidential Citation (which equates to a unit Victoria Cross) in 1953 when 1000 Australian troops held off a concerted attack by 20,000 enemy troops. The fierce fighting lasted for three days and nights, until the Austral-ians were re-enforced by elements from the Canadian and US armies. Their action was the turning point of the Korean War and is acknowledged with a diorama in the Australian War memorial.

In appreciation of the effort of students, the Regiment invited two student representatives to join them at a luncheon where the President of the RAR Association presented the students with a cheque. Taylah Peters accepted the cheque on behalf of the School and Saurav Kundu suitably responded.

As the day was also the official birthday of the Regiment, Sau-rav proposed a toast ‘to the Regiment’. His gesture was very much appreciated by members.

Later the students were photographed with perhaps the Regi-ment’s most illustrious member, Bob Parker, who was cap-tured during the Battle of Kapyong, and despite several escape attempts, survived three years of internment.

Bob is one of two former prisoners-of-war living in Darwin and was honoured at the School’s 2014 Anzac Assembly.

Judy BolandChaperone

Seussification of Romeo and Juliet“Dear ladies and menfolk, women and gents.

You are people of culture and......The Year 10 production of The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet dazzled and delighted, outraged and highlighted the talents of the Year 10 stu-dents. Culminating in a performance season at the Darwin Entertainment Centre we saw tears and laughter from both performers and audi-ence along with some spirited hair tossing. Death Crackers were lost, a can of Corona took a hike, a dead body became an obstacle and it all ended in a fight.

Barb Bauert commented, “Wow! What a perfor-mance. It was a fantastic production, as always by Darwin High students with their amazing teachers! The energy of the performance was very evident. We laughed though the entire produc-tion. How clever the scripting, dance, singing and narrating. Every performer appeared totally giving their all to this performance - and such a professional one!

Marita Smith CSC Performing Arts congratulated the students on a terrific show. “We really enjoyed it and can appreciate all the work that has gone into making it happen. Please pass on our heart-felt congrats to all concerned. What a great bunch of kids, - very talented!”

Amel Safi said, “It was extremely impressive and well written. Everyone was full of energy and in character, making the play highly entertaining. The audience involvement was also well done; it forced everyone to pay attention. Finally the jokes found a balance between silly and mature, which made it enjoyable for everyone.”

Jasmyn Horman, 2014 Year 10 Production stu-dent, advises future Production students, “Be dedicated. The production won’t happen over-night and it will take time. Be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. Bring your energy to class.”

“We hope you enjoyed this tragic lament, ‘cause we all enjoyed it 100 per cent!!!!”

Natalie Stephenson and Julia QuinnPerforming Arts Teachers

Courtney Buckley

Georgia Samuela

Suriya Khwaenthaisong

Praew SrisunonCourtney Buckley

Cyclone Tracy 40th AnniversaryDarwin High School hosted an exhibition of photographs Reflections on a shared past ..... as the School’s

contribution to mark the 40th Anniversary of Cyclone Tracy.

The Exhibition was opened by the Chief Minister and Lord Mayor of Darwin, assisted by Dr Ella Stack CBE, who unveiled a plaque which will be affixed to her former treatment rooms.

Darwin High School has always been part of the Darwin community, and never more so, than 40 years ago when educational services were suspended to allow the delivery of essential services to those remain-ing in Darwin after the Cyclone.

The basic necessities of life - food, clothing and shelter, were pro-vided to thousands of dazed, confused and disoriented people in the wake of Cyclone Tracy.

Classrooms were re-arranged to provide emergency accommodation for the homeless; a registration desk where survivors’ names were recorded and a food distribution service operated from the under croft of A Block; 15,000 meals a day were prepared and served from the under croft of B Block; and Dr Stack opened an emergency clinic within the School, where she administered medical attention to the injured and immunised both adults and children against typhoid and tetanus.

Of the pre-Tracy Darwin population of 45,000, 30,000 were evacuated by air in 11 days, and of these evacu-ees, many of whom needed medical attention as well as immunisation, 11,000 passed through Darwin High School.

Dr Stack stayed on in Darwin after the Cyclone and in May of 1975 was elected Mayor of the City. As Mayor, Dr Stack became a member of the Darwin Reconstruction Commission, which was responsible for a new building code that would prevent similar devastation in the future.

The images used were sourced from Canada, Brisbane, Mt Gambier, Darwin and the National Archives.Judy Boland

The Moran PrizeThe Moran Arts Foundation is a philanthropic,

not-for-profit organisation whose objective is to sup-port the Arts in Australia through the Doug Moran National Portrait prize and the Moran Contemporary Photographic prizes.

Established by Doug and Greta Moran and family in 1988 in celebration of Australia’s bicentennial, the Moran Arts Foundation fosters portraiture skills and excellence in photography.

Alisha Staines won the Secondary School Students, Year 11 to 12 Category with her image titled “If you don’t jump then you can’t fly”. She was awarded $5,000 and Darwin High School was awarded $5,000 for the development of Arts at DHS.

Darwin High School also had six semi-finalists in the Moran Prize. Alisha Staines, Suriya Khwaenthai-song, Courtney Buckley (two images selected), Achi-raya Thawin , Georgia Samuela and Praew Srisunon. Well done to all students involved.

Achiraya Thawin

Caelen is off to Summer School Caelen Bailey has won a scholarship for the

National Gallery of Australia Summer School. He was one of sixteen students selected from around the nation. The scholarship program offers an op-portunity to engage with the staff at the National Gallery of Australia, as well as other arts profes-sionals, artists and peers from around the nation. Caelen will be able to:• discover the national art collection and learn

how works of art are acquired and exhibitions developed

• go behind the scenes to experience the work-ings of the Gallery.

• participate in workshops and receive expert tui-tion from Gallery staff and professional artists.

The scholarship includes: • the opportunity to experience the National

Gallery of Australia’s dynamic environment and to meet the visual arts professionals who work there

• a return airfare to Canberra • accommodation at the 4-star hotel, The Brassey

of Canberra, all meals, including a celebratory dinner at the Belmore Restaurant at The Brassey

• free membership to the National Gallery of Australia in 2015

• free entry to the summer exhibition.

To win this scholarship, Caelen created a visual response to Cameron Robbins’ Wind Drawing: 20-03-24-04-2013 98 hrs-var jevn dogn NKD (equi-nox) 2013. He also had to do a written response about the visual submission and how it relates to Wind Drawing: 20-03-24-04- 2013 98 hrs-var jevn dogn NKD.

The Visual Arts Faculty wish Caelen all the best with this very special learning experience.

Students visiting the Singapore Disovery Centre in Singapore as part of the annual C4E Singapore /Malaysia Trip.

BEAT AwardsEight DHS students were recognised for their

outstanding contributions to Performing Arts through the annual BEAT awards.

Encouragement Awards ($200)Music - Aaron Berthon, Eddie Moore, Charlotte ThompsonAchievement Awards ($400)Music - Sarah Banks, Omja Das, Eugene Duffy Dance - Brittany WalkerHigh Achivement Award ($750)Music - David Quested

What’s Cooking in

Year 10

Stage 2 Indonesian Beginners and Spanish Beginners language students celebrating the end of of their courses

NT Indonesian Short Film CompetitionThe Consulate of the Republic of Indonesia in Darwin conducted

the Bahasa Indonesia Short Film Competition last month. Darwin High School won the video competition in these categories:

Stage 1 & 2 Beginners (Lauren Northcote, Kaleb Pene, Ericka Allen) Stage 1 Continuers (Christine Dyer, Clara Egglestone, Nathaniel Kelly) Stage 2 Continuers (Nia Purcell & Saurav Kundu)

Chinese Star Writing CompetitionCongratulations to Yada Katon-

chaleekul for being awarded 3rd place in the Secondary Students National Chinese Writ-ing Competition. Students had to write at least 200 characters about their favourite Chinese ‘thing’ and Yada chose to write about her favourite Chinese story.

Champions of Oceana. Congratulations to Joyce Yeum, who competed in the international secondary stu-

dents’ Chinese Bridge Speaking Competition. Joyce competed along with her Aussie team-mate from Brisbane against 66 other teams from around the world. They were crowned the champions of Oceania and also made it into the top five to compete in the finals. While the Aussies were narrowly beaten by Germany, Joyce was awarded a one-year all expenses paid scholarship to study at a university of her choice in China. Joyce represented Australia and Darwin High well and impressed many with her Chinese language skills.

Remembrance Day 2014Jessica Bloom, Amy Chit-

tick, Mariana Fernandes, Huy Ho, Shannon Hunt, Aurora Jan, Luke Jettner, Amel Safi, Jo Ugwu, Brittany Walker, Victoria Solo and Jasmyn Horman represented the School at the annual Remem-brance Day Observance at the Cenotaph on 11 November.

The students were able to meet and talk with parliamentarians, the Lord Mayor, Defence Force Chiefs and other notables. The Officials were impressed by the thoughtfull offers of help from our students. Again, great publicity for the school, as our students really stand out.

Paul McConnell and Judy BolandEvent Coordinators

Year 12 Graduation

Debating and Public SpeakingThe major event in Term 4 has been the UNYA NT Evatt

Trophy competition. Evatt is a Model United Nations Security Council diplomacy competition for students in Years 9-12. More than 2,000 students compete in Evatt each year. Pairs of students represent an allocated country which is a member of the Security Council and debate motions placed before the Council.

The Competition was keenly supported by Darwin High School students this term. It was spread over three weekends, involved teams from a number of Darwin Middle and Senior Schools and was organised by the members of UNYA NT, a vital organisation made up of present and ex-students of Darwin schools, many on their GAP year or attending CDU. They are all committed to the ideals of the UN, and the issues that concern it globally.

Year 12 student, Christopher Teng, was particularly determined that the Evatt Trophy would be a success, and he recruited the largest number of Darwin High School teams ever to register for this competition. Initially the teams, drawn from many of our best speakers, were:• Josephine Ugwu and Stephanie Von Kanel• Courtney Buckley and Saurav Kundu• Furdosa Ababor and Kaavya Weearsundera• Meika Liveris and Charlotte Nheu• Marcus Low and Andrew Harding• Lauren Northcote and Shantelle Mazai• Toby Williamsom and Robbie Lever• Chetan Ganesh and Sarah Banks• Aurora Jan and Matilda Dorman• Yada Katonchaleekul and Alex Perrett• Prathika Undi and Beth Hubble• Kokona Tomazos and Johannah Pastor• Christopher Teng and Max Stretton• Ka Wai Teng and Krshna CapaqueThe State Finals were originally scheduled to run over one week-end, but it extended to three. Because of competing commitments, the memberships of some successful pairs had to change after the first weekend of competition, so at the end of three weeks, the Darwin champions were Stephanie von Kanel and Lauren North-cote, with runners up Christopher Teng and Max Stretton team, an impressive result for Darwin High School. It was then discovered that the Nationals clashed with Schoolies Week, and given that fares had been paid and hotel bookings made, three of the Year 12 speakers in the top two teams had to withdraw from competition.

The good news from this is that Aurora Jan and Matilda Dorman went on to represent their school and the Northern Territory at Nationals in Adelaide in December. This is a great achievement!

Susan CameronCoordinator

Debating and Public Speaking

RoboticsStage 1 Electronics and Robotics

classes have been creating micropro-cessor controlled vehicles using Ar-duino, controlling stepper and servo motors.

Arduino is a multipurpose micro-processor which allows electronic experimenters and students to create quite complex circuits that can involve senses such as light, sound , timing, motors, valves, solenoids, alarm, and speakers to control motors and other outputs which in turn can revolve wheels to create motion.

Programming is achieved by writing code in an Arduino sketch. Many of the codes are generic and, without too much practice, can easily be modified and uploaded to the chip to achieve different functions.

Students will go on to use Arduino in Stage 2 Electronics to upsize robot arms made in their Stage 1 courses. Power management and accurate, programmable axis control, run through a laptop will be the focus for the course.

Peter Coulter

Indonesian Exchange We welcome our Exchange Teacher from

Ambon, Mrs Welna Lainsamputty, who will be helping the Indonesian classes at Darwin High School and Darwin Middle School until June 2015. At the same time, we would like to welcome and farewell two exchange students from Ambon, Tira and Zul who were only with us for a month. Thank you to the host families who have looked after them during their stay in Darwin.

Welna Lainsamputty, Desthira Mahulette, Ade Padmo Sarwono, Ken Davies, Zulhaimi Hendrajid

A star in the makingOn Friday the 14 November, I was lucky enough to attend

the premier of Law Stories at Casuarina Secondary College. This educational video was put together by three indigenous young men from CSC Clontarf Academy and our own Leeroy Tipiloura to edu-cate young people about the justice system. It was a joint project between Open ABC, Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA), the Department of Justice, CSC Clontarf Academy and DHS. Prior to the screening, the young men faced a gruelling question and answer session where they explained their past experiences with the media, what they found most challenging about working on the project and what they learned from the experience. Leeroy’s experience presenting VIBE, a music video program showcas-ing some of the best young music acts in the NT, definitely shone through. A cut down version of Law Stories was screened on BTN on ABC3 on Tuesday, 18 November 2014. Leeroy is hoping that these expe-riences might open some doors into a career in the media. From what I saw he has the potential to be the next Molly Meldrum or Ernie Dingo!

Aaron Dalgleish

Defence Transition Mentor NewsRemembrance Day: Darwin High School students

again assisted with the Remembrance Day ceremony held at the Darwin Cenotaph. Students helped with arrange-ments including the laying of wreaths and distributing poppies to participants. DHS also sold poppies and wrist bracelets at the school raising $250 for Legacy and the RSL. I would like to thank staff and students for their sup-port.

Darwin Middle School: Year 10 Darwin High Students, Jor-dan Crooks and Connor Drechsler visited Darwin Middle School recently and spoke to the Year 9 Defence students planning to move to Darwin High in 2015. Students discussed the special features of Darwin High including excursions, activities, student support, the timetable and subjects available as well as answering a number of ques-tions. Both Connor and Jordan were excellent ambassa-dors for our school.

Jordan Crooks, Carolyn Mu (DTM Dar-

win Middle School) & Connor Drechsler

Chief Minister’s Anzac Spirit Study Tour Award: Congratulations to Amy Chittick for winning one of four available positions in this award. Amy will now represent the NT at the centenary commemoration of the Dawn Service at Gallipoli in 2015. We wish Amy good luck on her trip.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish ADF families a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I would like to also congratulate those students, especially the Year 12 students who have successfully completed their secondary studies.

For families who will be relocating and leaving Darwin in the near future, I wish you all the best and thank you for your support.

Paul McConnellDefence

Transition Mentor.

Defence Work Experience

Year 10 - CDU Discovery Day

SIEU on Excursion to Parliament House

Cert 1 Food Processing - Bakery CDU

Indigenous NewsDarwin High School wishes to thank Michelle Pipino, Manager, of the Foundation for Young Austral-

ians (FYA), IMPACT Darwin program, for her dedication, support and work with all the students involved in the program for the past four years. Michelle has returned to Melbourne to continue working with the FYA and we wish her all the best with her adventures.

Congratulations to Aiden Hernandez-Edgar, Jayde Hopkins and Michelle Kerrin who have graduated from the Young Indigenous Leadership Program (IMPACT) after three years in the program. We wish them all the best with their future endeavours.

Congratulations to Marcus Valastro who was successful in securing a place in The Sydney University’s In-digenous Engineer Summer School program which will be held in Sydney from 11-17 January 2015.

Congratulations to Landillimurra Yanner for securing a place in The Sydney University’s Bunga Barrabugu Summer School Program which will be held in Sydney from 12 – 16 January 2015.

We also wish to congratulate those students who made the commitment in the second semester to attend the Homework Centre and work with the tutors to improve their skills and complete assignments. Well done!

Barbara TapsellAIEW

Northern Territory RepresentationThe following students were selected to represent the Northern Territory in their chosen sports:

AFL: Matthew Blake, Matthew Bricknell, Thomas Brown, Amy Chittick, Ryan Mu, Patrick Taban, Marcus Valestro

Basketball: Joseph Gregory-Bader, Henry Calender, Tobias Dockery, Harry Fuge, Kaleb Pene, Jacob Ross, Donald Sanger, James Smith

Calisthenics: Lucy Edwards, Bo' Leighton, Madeleine Reisinger

Cricket: Will Anstey, Charlie Dring, Sam Pisel

Golf: Erin Schipp

Hockey: Joseph Baronio, Aaron Chin, Amy Conca, Angela Heath, Mariah Hender, Marissa Higgins, Jaiden McGregor, Lauren Northcote, Joshua Southwood, Matthew Southwood, Catherine Standish, Emily Stephen-son, Natalie Strawhorn, Sheldon Wills

Lawn Bowls: Jackson Clayfield

Mixed Martial Arts: Tom MacMillan, Hao Nguyen, Liam Ward

Motor Sports (Karting): Bryce Fullwood

Netball: Franjesca Cercarelli, Isabella Macdonald, Bronte Pearson, Lisa Roscarel

Pool Lifesaving: Umima Shah-Munro

Rugby League: Villi Panuve, Angus Warhurst, Rein Moyle

Rugby Union: Tom Burchett, Hone Edwards, Tipene Shepherd, Zac Sparrow

Sailing: Hamish Wiltshire

Soccer: Alissa Cadbury, Mattie Crooks, Taylor McKinnon, Themi Roditis, Kaitlyn Sowry, Emily Stephenson, Moira Vincent

Squash: Chad Bleninship, Joseph White

Surf Life Saving: Mitchell Hardy, Luke Marcroft, Noah Marcroft

Swimming: Shannon McSkimming, Amy Messenger, Lucy Quinlan

Ten Pin Bowling: Jaime Maglieri

Touch: Alyssa Eres, Charlie Marrington

Steve McGuganSports Coordinator

Australian RepresentationThe following students were selected to represent Australia in their chosen sports:

Rugby Union: Tom Burchett

Motor Sports (Karting): Bryce Fullwood

Netball: Isabella Macdonald

AFL: Ryan Mu

Squash: Joseph White

Sailing: Hamish Wiltshire

Sporting Hall of FameLake Argyle 2014Two trips ran to Lake Argyle this year allowing over 40 students to experience the wonder of this oasis

of The North. The lake is surrounded by barren, rocky hills and cliffs which change from orange in the bright light of the midday sun to blood red and deep purple as the sun finally sinks below the horizon. It holds 11 times the water of Sydney Harbour and is one of the few waterways in The Top End where you can swim without fear of saltwater crocodiles. Throughout the four-day paddle trip, the only indication that we were not the last people on earth were the few planes flying overhead and the local tour boat sighted on the distant horizon. An incredible wilderness experience! Don’t take my word for it though, below are some of the comments from some of the students.

“The thing I most enjoyed about being in the wil-derness is all the amazing experiences you can have which aren’t possible in urban areas, such as croco-dile hunting (catching freshwater crocodile hatch-lings) and sliding down waterfalls.” Anneleis Kers-makers

“I enjoy being out in the wilderness because it re-ally is so peaceful, and you’re able to lie in your tent and look up at all the stars you can’t see in the city.” Gemma Gray

“My favourite part of the trip was sitting in a kayak in the cove, in the shade on the calm water, just talking about nothing and just taking in all the beauty that the lake had to offer. It doesn’t sound like much, but the way the huge hill at the first campsite, shaded the entire cove and the water was so still and there was a cool breeze rolling in made the time there so peaceful and perfect.”

Before the trip the students learnt about the processes threatening the wildlife of Lake Argyle and the Kim-berly. The focus of their research was cane toads and how communities and scientists are trying to reduce their impacts. On the trips, students assisted by par-ticipating in toad busts. The toad busts helped us all realise the enormity of the problem. During the day and at night around camp we might have seen one or two toads and could have been forgiven for think-ing that they were not such an issue around the Lake. However, when we went looking for toads, it was a different story. Walking along the edge of the lake at night it was difficult not to stand on a toad as the ground seemed to move under our feet. In less than an hour our heavy duty garbage bags were breaking with the weight. It was shocking to us all, and really drove home the conservation message. The toads were killed humanly, following the recommendations of the Kimberly Toad Busters ,and buried. We plan to continue the busts each year. Hopefully we will see a reduction in numbers in years to come.

Aaron Dalgleish

Sports NewsIndoor Beach Volley Ball

On Wednesday, 5 November, Rachel Bury and Samantha Deacon took a group of Darwin High School Year 10 and 11 students to the Darwin Indoor Beach Volleyball Centre in Winnellie to compete in the School City Cluster Indoor Beach Volleyball Championship.

The group of 35 enthusiastic volleyball players were pumped and ready to play when they arrived at the centre for their 8:30 am start. Over a period of four increasingly hot hours, Darwin High’s eight teams played at least five games against opposing teams from SEDA and St John’s, as well as each other, in an ef-fort to make it into the semifinals. Darwin High had three teams go straight through to the finals. In the end, Darwin High School took out not only first place, with two of our teams tying for first, but also sec-ond, third, fourth, seventh and ninth place out of the 14 competing teams.

The Darwin High School students who participated in this competition not only played fairly and with deter-mination, but also displayed incredible integrity and mateship. Congratulations to each and every one of you. Here’s hoping Darwin High School will be able to dominate the Beach Volleyball Court again next year!

NT Surf Lifesaving Mitch Hardy, Luke Marcroft and Noah Marcroft have been selected in the NT Inter-

state Surf team. Luke Marcroft won the U17 Athlete of the Year and Tom McMillan won the Lifeguard of the Year. Tom will now represent the NT at the national awards next year. (He is the youngest recipient of this award).

Jaiden McGregorRyan Mu Nick Vazanellis Luwana WaiangaWay Kraisang Ritua Rauraa James Cogo Peter MorrisLucas WilsonKeiran RothSamuel WrightBritney BunnetChris BryettMeekin WrightCharlie MarringtonJoshua MortersBen MortersClara Egglestone

Darwin High School Volleyball Players

Rafaet FarhanJenzen LazaroJack BrannellyMadeleine ResingerBo LeightonLewis Houghton Eamon SaundersAlyssa EresKrito YaykesDonald SangerJoseph WhiteClaudia KershawMaddy BeaumontMarucs LowBenjamin JongLiam WardNomiki Melas