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1 MONAGHAN STREET, MINTO NSW 2566 PH 02 9820 1566 FAX 02 9820 3050 EMAIL sarahredfe-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au WEB www.sarahredfe-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

NEWSLETTER MAGAZINE YEAR 2020 TERM 3

STRENGTH THROUGH LEARNING

Outstanding Public Speaking and Debating Achievements

School

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GOVERNMENT Education

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Principal’s Message

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Art in the Kitchen

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Science Rules

Pages 5 Wellbeing Update

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Landscaping Update

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Public Speaking and Debating

Page 9 Transition to Work

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Stage 5 Tourism Blog

Pages 12-13 RUOK Day at Sarah

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SRC Update

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Library News

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As we approach the end of term three I would like to acknowledge the outstanding efforts of this year’s Year 12 students during this unprecedented COVID year. I have been so impressed by their resilience and maturity, they are an outstanding group of students who are displaying genuine qualities of respect and responsibility. They have shown genuine pride in their school and are outstanding role models for the other students at Sarah Redfern High School. I was also extremely impressed with the Year 11 Student Leaders who recently presented their Captaincy Speeches to a panel for selection. This is a very difficult task, and boy, did these students rise to the challenge. They were articulate, confident and extremely insightful. The calibre of the candidates was outstanding and left the panel with an extremely difficult task. Having such strength in our student body leaves me very excited for the future of our school, both in regards to the results these students will produce, but also the role modelling and leadership they display for our younger students. There has been some good news in recent times, and you may have heard of the latest update in media reports advising that we are now able to celebrate Graduation and have a Year 12 Formal next term, we will still be adhering to COVID-safe protocols, as per the advice from the Department of Education. Our Year 12 students have received an updated notification about all the changes and are looking forward to celebrating after their exams. On a personal note, I would like to wish all our Year 12 students well during the HSC examination period. This can be a stressful time for our HSC students and their families. Sometimes this can be overcome by going for a walk or having a cup of tea and a biscuit to break the tension during study sessions. If however you are concerned about the level of stress your child is exhibiting please let us know so we can utilise the support services of our School Counsellors, Year Advisors and Career Advisor. I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday break, let’s come back rested and ready for an exciting term 4.

Lyndy Clowry Principal - Sarah Redfern High School

School

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GOVERNMENT Education

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A different kind of project in the kitchen.

Lately, there’s been something else cooking in the kitchens at Sarah Redfern High School’s café, only this time it’s not Hospitality bringing the goods! Mr Reuter’s Year 11 Visual Arts class have been hard at work designing an elaborate mural “feature wall” for the kitchen’s café. Designing, sketching and painting this wall has become a beloved project of Mr Reuter’s classes and something that the students look forward to each time they set foot in the room. With a special individual touch from all his students, the wall is being filled with personal touches that clearly represent not only the delicious images of desserts and breakfasts, but the passions and interests of each student. When asked when he plans to have the work done, Mr Reuter chuckled and said that the end date had not been determined. It is just a small project that his Year 11 classes work on together. What is important is the teamwork, the passion and the art. It will get done, precisely when it is done. Next time you are heading into the Year 12 Café, be sure to take a close look at the wall and treat your eyes to the feast that it is.

Mr M Peruzzo

English/HSIE/TAS Teacher

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GOVERNMENT Education

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Whilst 2020 has been a disruptive year, the staff at Sarah Redfern High School are committed to providing high quality and engaging learning experiences. The science faculty has been taking this on board over the past two terms, as we have aimed to provide hands-on activities, fizzing experiments and bubbling demonstrations. It is a common occurrence on a Friday afternoon to see Year 7 out and about, solving clues and using forensic chemistry to solve a murder! This is followed by a fun demonstration that either stink, explode or burn Mr. Rodgers eyebrows off. Year 8 has also been in on the fun as they have used their newly found knowledge of forces, to drop eggs from high places, create friction cars and pull each other over. This is only a small snippet of the workings that is happening in Science at Sarah Redfern High School. We are aiming to create an engaging, supportive environment that puts the fun back into science. Science rules!

Mr C Rodgers PDHPE Teacher

RULES!

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GOVERNMENT Education

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In order to be successful, future focused learners you need to be proactive about wellbeing. This year, the Year 9 students have been working with Mr Stubbs and Ms Hollinger in the ‘Boost’ program; taking a proactive approach to learning about mental health and wellbeing. The program is focused on promoting positive strategies for a range of areas including social and emotional regulation. This past few weeks, students have focusing on anger management and self-regulation. Students have been looking at various experiments that help students to visually see the effects of bottling emotion, then utilising these demonstrations as a springboard into discussion about how to manage them. It is clear that the boys have not only enjoyed their time in the program but learnt something as well. Stay tuned for the next instalment from the program.

Becoming proactive about Wellbeing

Ms A Hollinger

Head Teacher Wellbeing

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GOVERNMENT Education

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WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND THE SCHOOL THIS TERM

Over the last term the school grounds have been undergoing landscaping work to provide our students and staff with numerous areas in the school in which to enjoy. Landscaping is planned and costed into the school budget, it is therefore imperative that we all continue to enjoy these areas and that the whole school join together to look after our school environment .

This area has been transformed to ensure that students have seating areas provided under the shade of the trees in summer with beautiful gardens.

The area between Block 3 and 4 was a dirt though fare used by students to access the basketball area from the main classroom quad. A new concrete path together with a retaining wall, garden and security gates have been installed to the area.

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This area was badly in need of some love, it required the installation of a retaining wall and garden and will later be expanded to included additional seating area for our students. The area looks great now and is definitely much more visually appealing in the main area of our school grounds.

This is a new garden at the back of the Block 1 offices, and adds to ascetic welcome of our school grounds to all visitors to the school.

This term has also seen the installation of security window screens on all the level 1 classrooms, window tinting to numerous rooms, the yearly department painting maintenance of some areas of the school along with our yearly tree inspection. The school is looking beautiful with all the new landscaping as we head into the warmer weather of spring.

Mrs K Moroney Business Manager

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GOVERNMENT Education

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Although the current climate and the pandemic do not encourage normal student activities, we have held our own in the virtual rounds of public speaking and debating this year. Our school has indeed emerged triumphant in the Virtual Plain English Speaking competition, with two students winning the prelim round and one student making it to the finals. We congratulate Tahrima Z and Nickie T on their stellar performances in the prelim round. We are exceedingly proud of Nickie T who made it to the finals for the second time and was invited to compere the Education Week program of the Department of Education earlier this term. She was also interviewed by the ABC channel to gain her input for their ‘Student Voices” segment. Keep it up Nickie!

Our debating teams have been successful in their first rounds, with all five teams winning their debates! Congratulations to the Year 7 team who won their debate against Robert Townson High School! Team Coach: Ms Zinck and Team members: Emily C, Annabel P, Jasmine K and Shuvra R. Our Year 8 team beat Mount Annan High School. The team was coached by Mrs Fernandes and team members were Tijana K, Sanjida H, Alex W and Shaine N. Congratulations to the Year 9 team, comprising Shereta I, Tasneem H, Sheenala K and Renie R, coached by Ms Prior. They defeated East Hills Boys High School. Well done Year 10, with Francis B, Devkumar P, Nickie T and Shafeeya K who were coached by Mr Peruzzo. Both Year 10 and Year 11 teams won their debates against Elderslie High School. We also congratulate Year 11 and the team: Tahrima Z, Ljiljana K, Nickie T and Isaiah T , coached by Mrs Fernandes and Aidan O’Rourke. It has been tremendous team effort and commitment as well as diligence on the part of students that has brought success. We at Sarah Redfern High School are indeed very proud of our student achievements in the art of the rhetoric. Congratulations to the teams and staff involved!

Mrs C Fernandes

Public Speaking Co-ordinator

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GOVERNMENT Education

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Transitioning for success

With the busyness and the increasingly difficult times we have faced this year it is with great pleasure we share one of many exciting Sarah Redfern High School transition stories of 2020. On the 28th of August, Jack M came in to officially sign out of school; he is commencing a carpentry apprenticeship with a quality employer and started Tafe that same day. This amazing feat was achieved through the determination of a young man focused on his goal and the exceptional hustling of a great team over many, many months (as well as a special Minister’s Exemption from Enrolment in school!). Jack follows in the footsteps of his older brothers who were some of the first to graduate through our Transition Stream and, because of their recognised success, it is hoped that this story will continue to inspire his peers. Thank you to the staff who worked closely with Jack and a special mention to Mr Payne and Ms Simpson, whose tireless work made this transition story possible, even during the most challenging of circumstances. A huge congratulations is in order for Jack, and the staff at Sarah Redfern High School would like to wish him all the best in his bright (fluoro yellow) future.

Ms E Lindsay

Deputy Principal

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This term, the Stage 5 Tourism class has been working collaboratively completing some Project Based Learning, building a Tourism Blog using “Google Blogger.” The blog has been developed to explore some of the places that our students have visited or would like to one day visit or places that they believe to be important to one day visit. Below is a small selection of posts that have been made on our blog, but you can find the complete collection of posts here https://stage5tourism.blogspot.com/

Why is Tourism of Aboriginal Country and Sites important? When visiting a place that holds as much significance and importance as the Aboriginal places in this country do, you get a sense of the country’s true origins and the way that this land was founded by one peoples. By visiting these sacred places we are learning about the origins of said places. Learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures allows students to develop respect for diversity and understanding of cultural difference. The inclusion of Indigenous content in classroom teaching has been shown to improve educational outcomes of Indigenous students. It is important for all Australians to understand the essential features of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, including our special connection to the land and our commitment to family and community—so we can walk on this land together as friends and equals, so you can share our pride. -Lidija Learning about the history and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander helps students to gain appreciation for diversity and acknowledging the cultural difference. It has been shown that the use of Aboriginal content in classroom teaching enhances the educational performance of Indigenous students. It is vital for all Australians to understand the essential characteristics of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, including our unique relation to the land and our dedication to family and community - so that we can walk together on this land as friends and equals so that you can share our pride. -Krystheena It is important to respect the culture and history of all the sites. They all hold great importance for the Aboriginal people and it should not be disturbed at all by other people who have no relation to the historical places. If tourists had a huge interest towards these historical landmarks, they should learn about its im-portance in Aboriginal culture before going to see the area. If they go see the area, they are to make sure that they are at a safe distance so that there is no contact with the place. The people taking care of these areas should also take up an initiative to fence up the area or keep someone there as supervision, in case young kids come and accidentally damage the area. -Tahjeeb

T o u r i s m B l o g

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Last year in November 2019, my family and I visited Bangladesh, our home country. Going this time was very special to me and my mother as we hadn’t gone there for the last 5 years. It had been far too long since I had seen any of my close family members. I especially missed my grandfather as he was never able to come to Australia in the five years we couldn’t go to Bangladesh. When we were there we went up to Syhlet, the town my mother was born in and grew up living in. It was enjoyable as I got to be there with many of my cousins. One of the places we visited there was called ‘Bholaganj Sada Pathor’. It directly translates to ‘Bholaganj white stones/rock’. It is a beach side town, but there is a river that takes you to another area, which you would go to by boat. The area there consists of small bodies of water surrounded by ‘white’ rocks. My cousins and I liked the scenery and had fun playing around in the water. Some of our younger cousins even slipped and submerged fully into the water. Below are some pictures that I took while I was there. - Tahjeeb

During the start of term 3, my family and I drove up to Queensland stopping at Coffs Harbour on the drive up. We got to the border on the 1st of August which was the day the border closed and managed to get past the security checkpoint in Tweed Heads. We booked into our hotel room late and decided to go explore the next day. When we woke up the next day, we went for a walk down to a putt putt place to pass time before we went to IFLY. We went indoor skydiving at IFLY for an hour or so and the experience was exhilarating. By the time we finished with IFLY we went to go explore Cavill Avenue for a little bit before we called it a night and went to our hotel room. We had a couple quiet days where we just went down to the beach or drove to the shops. We eventually got to go to Q1 tower where me, my mum and my sister went on the skyclimb which is Australia's tallest exterior climb. It was an experience that I will never forget and the views from the top were spectacular! – Jayden

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You don’t want to intrude. Maybe you’re not even that well-acquainted. Maybe you’re crossing an invisible, intangible social boundary by asking “are you okay?” Perhaps you already know the answer. They’ll mumble “yeah I’m fine,” when they’re really not fine, or nod and move on. “It’ll be annoying to keep pushing it,” you think to yourself. So, you leave it as that, and hope they’ll open up someday.

I think the motivation behind “R U OK” Day normalises this dilemma, or rather, breaks down that invisible boundary, even if it’s for 24-hours, and tells us that it’s totally socially acceptable and appropriate on this day to check up on your friends and family.

The Interact Club knew this was an invaluable opportunity to raise awareness and funds for the organisation, for all those individuals out there who were suffering from mental illnesses and who needed an extra hand. We sold ribbons, hosted a workshop, and handed out pledges for everybody to sign. Together, we illuminated on the underlying stigma of asking “are you okay?” and raised over $200. We reignited the nostalgia of folding chatterboxes every lunchtime in primary school, reframing the creation to become a symbol of connection, communication, and compassion. For all those who participated on that day, whether that meant buying a ribbon to show your unity and support, or starting meaningful and thoughtful conversations with your close ones -- we’d like to thank you, for making someone else’s day a lot more than just “OK”.

Nickie Tran - Year 10

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R U OK Day 2020.

In this day and age, we live in a society where so many people suffer from depression, an illness that can cause harm to themselves and to others. As a community we have the responsibility to build strong and healthy connections with our fellow members to prevent an unhealthy culture where death could be a person's only option. The campaign R U OK Day encourages impactful discourses that ensures that communities throughout Australia are in a healthy state of mind, particularly adolescence . This Term on the 10th of September, the Interact team ran an 'R U OK Day' event. We saw a bunch of students participating in our workshops, where they got the chance to make chatter boxes relating to R U OK Day’! This brought joy and smiles to our students' faces and empowered our young students to create meaningful connections with their peers. Throughout the day, students had the opportunity to sign pledges and managed to collect over 600 of them, which we hung up around the Sarah Redfern Library. Students were also able to purchase ribbons for a gold coin donation. As a result, the staff and students raised a total of $225, that was later donated to help suicide prevention through R U OK Day. We hope to see more students participating in this event next year, and continuing to support those struggling with life’s challenges.

Francis B Year 10 Student

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GOVERNMENT Education

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Show Your Colours day and New SRC Members. On the 8th of September 2020, the SRC team organised Show Your Colours Day. Students and teachers were invited to wear their favourite sports team’s jersey or colours in exchange for a gold coin donation. A total of $337 was collected and donated to the Children Cancer Foundation. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who participated and contributed to this wonderful day!

The SRC would also like to welcome its four newest members from Year 7. Congratulations to Shuvra R,

Cooper D, Annabel P and Shivani V! The new SRC members have been regularly attending meetings and

have been helping the other members in writing proposals and organising events. If you see these students,

please congratulate them on their new role in the school.

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Library Lunchtime Activities

Library lunchtime activities commenced in term 3 at Sarah Redfern High School Library. It is a great initiative where students have been able to use their skills and knowledge and learn new skills through a variety of different activities. Students have enjoyed playing scattegories, bananagrams, uno cards, chess, scrabble, jigsaw puzzles and lots more. Chess club runs each Thursday and Friday during lunch 2 and board game club runs each Tuesday and Friday during lunch 2.

Ms A Betham Teacher Librarian