100 Main Street Ellenbrook

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Ellenbrook Secondary College

Newsletter Term 4

From The Principal’s Desk…

As the 2010 school year draws to a close it is a time to reflect on the achievements and to look forward to the new school year ahead. Much has been achieved this year and students can be proud of the progress they have made. As I reflect back many activities come to mind including: the Canberra Tour, Year 10 River Cruise, Athletics Carnivals, Christmas Pageant, samba band and photography showcased at the Perth Royal Show, the school production as well as many individual staff and student achievements. The 2010 year book will be filled with these memories for staff and students. Many students would have had a pleasant surprise when they received their semester 2 report to also have received academic or endeavour award certificates. I would like to acknowledge the particular high calibre achievement of those students. There will be a formal presentation for these students on Thursday 10th February. The College postponed this special occasion due to the unavailability of the school gymnasium and PAT in Term 4 but have issued the certificates now so that these students can celebrate their achievements. A further Colours Awards evening will be held on Tuesday 15th February to celebrate achievement and excellence of our first Year 12 cohort. To Head Girl (Shauni Williams) and Head Boy (Cory Gersch) and the Student Council, I thank you for the contribution you have made to the College during 2010. You are to be commended on your contribution and achievements made throughout the year. I also would like to congratulate our newly appointed Head Girl and Head Boy position holders, Kaydion Muller and Luke Milne. I look forward to your leadership and involvement in 2011. I commend the work of the College Council, P&C and associated committees. Your efforts and ongoing commitment continues to support the achievements and progress of the College and our students. In particular I would like to acknowledge the contribution of Garry and Dianne Taylor who have actively supported the College and were foundation P&C members. Garry and Dianne are moving interstate and I would like to formally acknowledge their contribution to the College. On behalf of the College Community, thank you for your time and support and the many outcomes you have achieved. The second stage building program continues to progress well with the spaces looking more and more like classrooms rather than a building site. The new buildings and areas are taking shape and will be a valuable addition to the excellent facilities of the College. The works are still scheduled for completion, ready to accommodate students for the beginning of the 2011 school year. During term 4 we have experienced some interruptions to our telephone and internet services, I apologise for any inconvenience that parents may have experienced due to these outages. May I take the opportunity to thank all the staff for their dedication and commitment to the students. The range of programs and activities continues to grow as we move into our first Year 12 program. On behalf of the College community I thank those staff who are leaving us at the end of 2010. Your contribution has been greatly appreciated.

Continued Message from our Principal…

The 2011 school year will see the establishment of the College house system and form classes are being replaced with pastoral care groups that are also linked to the house system. We appreciate the involvement of students, staff and parents in the selection of the new house names: Stirling, Avon, Swan and Henley. These names were selected from a short list of names picked because of their relevance to our locality. As part of this new system we have created roles of house leaders and captains. The selection process for our leadership positions in 2011 was highly competitive and I would like to congratulate the following students and staff on their appointments to these roles. We will commence the 2011 school year with an expected enrolment of 1100 students, including a new Year 7 cohort of 220. Our teaching staff will increase by approximately 15 new full and part time positions. May I welcome the new staff currently appointed who will join the College in 2011. Ryan Platten Computing Ainslie Bahr Media Nicola Jameson English Stephan Mitcham English Barbara Woulfe Home Economics Toshiro Akizuki Mathematics Melissa Wilden Mathematics Greg Williamson Mathematics Emma Attwood Physical Education Michael Cross Physical Education Darren Young Physical Education & Connect Steven Guhl Science Frederick Cullimore Society & Environment Donna McLaren Education Support Karen Leggett Design & Technology and Visual Art All parents and carers should have received the 2011 Contributions and Charges information. Additional payment methods have been added for parents to meet the various needs of our school community. These costs play an important role in supporting the provision of the programs delivered to students and cover the consumables used by students. It is very important that contributions and charges are received by the College and I encourage all parents and carers to make payment for these at your earliest convenience and thank you for doing so. Also some exciting news to end the year. Congratulations to Clinton Morris and the ESC Warriors basketball team who took out the Warwick Leisure Centre Under 16’s Basketball Competition. The team beat the previously undefeated team in a thrilling game that went into double overtime. Well done boys! A warm welcome is extended to all the new students and their families who are joining us in 2011. We look forward to your involvement in the College community and I wish our new students a successful and rewarding time with us. The staff look forward to seeing the students on Wednesday 2 February for the first day of the 2011 school year. The office reopens on Monday 31 January. Bev Day Principal

STRLING AVON SWAN HENLEY

Samantha Holt Jordan Proctor Tiana Rowe Lauren Lazarus

Lauren Hunt Shauni Williams Rhys Zajitz Summer Rewell

Chris Miller Adam Faulkner Chanel Bernado Riann Van der Merwe

Jaimie Van Emmerloot Shailah Anderson Bryan Chan Joshua May

Nurse’s Update As the year comes to a close we are already preparing for next year. Associate Principal, Karena Wilson & myself have been working together with Mrs Scott-Nicholls (Admin) to organise the Health Care Plans (HCP) for those students with any medical issues. These plans ae being sent home for parents/carers to fill out, a Medical Officer to sign if applicable & to be returned to the school as soon as possible. This enables the school to provide appropriate health care for these students while they are at school should the need arise. Thankyou to those parents/carers who have already returned their child’s HCP. For those who haven't please do so with any relevant medication so we are up to date with your child's health needs. (Medication of course can be brought in at the beginning of Term 1, 2011). There is a new Australian Government website now available providing resources/tips for raising children in the pre-teen & early teen years; "Raising Children Network - the australian parenting website" www.raisingchildren.net.au The recent spate of hot weather is a timely reminder to us all to remember to SLIP SLOP SLAP & SLURP (water!) A happy & safe Christmas & New Year to all. Maggie MacFie School Nurse

Long Tan Recipients The Long Tan Leadership and Teamwork were promoted by the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The award recognises a Year 10 and a Year 11 student who has shown exceptional leadership over the year within both the College environment as well as the community. The recipients of this prestigious award are presented with a certificate and money to the value of $100 for Year 10 and $250 for Year 11, as well as the honour of being acknowledged for the maturity and commitment they have shown in assisting others and developing that community feel. Teachers had the opportunity to nominate students for these awards and the lucky recipients are… Year 10—Summer Rewell Summer has demonstrated tremendous leadership over the year through her work on peer mediation as well as her work in the school production, Mirror Image. Summer has also now received the position of Year 11 House / Sport Captain in 2011. Congratulations Summer! Year 11—Shauni Williams Shauni has had a very busy year and in all her efforts and has shown an amazing level of maturity and a display of leadership skills to be truly proud of. As our 2010 Head Girl she has represented the school on a number of occasions and at a range of events. She has also been recognised for her efforts in a collection of Stage 2 courses that she is studying this year, as well as having a very demanding timetable out of school. She is a true asset to this community and we are not only pleased with her efforts as Head Girl this year but also very proud of her receiving this award. Congratulations Shauni!

EDUCATION SUPPORT UNIT ERN HALLIDAY CAMP 2010 In November this year, the Education Support Unit ran its first Camp. The Camp ran for three days and two nights at Ern Halliday Recreation Camp in Hillarys. After much organisation and commitment from staff and students, a fantastic time was had by all.

We participated in some great activities such as The Flying Fox, Abseiling and a fun team activity called Lost Pilot. The Lost Pilot involved students and staff being split into two teams and scouring the beautiful surroundings of Ern Halliday to find 12 clues, leading us to the lost pilot. Using great communication skills via walkie talkies and awesome team work, we did indeed find the lost pilot!

All of this, along with a barbeque night, games night, volleyball, beach walks, dancing and movies, made for an awesome inaugural camp for the Education Support Unit. Well done to all staff and students for making it such a huge success. Ying Jie Choo Education Support

Photography News YR 11 PHOTOGRAPHY - PERTH ROYAL SHOW EXHIBITION Ms Brown’s Yr 11 Design Photography classes entered the Perth Royal Show Photography Competition. Some students entered the adult section, where you could submit photos edited in PhotoShop and others entered the youth section. It was tough competition but four of the entries we submitted were selected for exhibition. Stephanie Horvat’s self portrait ‘The Eye’, Jade Day-Dressa’s photo of ‘The Weeping Woman’, Loughlyn Webb’s self portrait ‘City Woman with Attitude’ and Megan Sinclair’s ‘Bussleton Jetty’ were successful and these photos were exhibited at this year’s Perth Royal Show, congratulations!

Yr 11 Photography “Young Originals” exhibition competition winners At the beginning of November the Yr 11 Design Photography students submitted entries into the “Young Originals” exhibition competition. This is a competition that encompasses all public schools in the State and the best art works are chosen from the large number of entries to be exhibited at Edith Cowan University in Mount Lawley. Entries included artworks such as movies, sculptures, paintings, photographs and prints. I am proud to announce that two of our students were selected and had their work exhibited with the other State winners. The students from Ellenbrook Secondary College to be part of this notable exhibition were Troy Graham and Kamil Szczucki, congratulations!

Interschool Athletics Carnival—Friday 14th October 2010 The Interschool Athletics Carnival for this year was held on Friday the 14th of October at the newly built AK Reserve in Mt Claremont. It was the first year that the carnival had been held there, and all of the students were excited to compete at a multi-million dollar facility. After some training sessions in each of the events and a delicious athlete’s breakfast earlier in the week, Ellenbrook Secondary College’s squad was ready for some serious competition. All of the students who competed on the day represented the College with pride and there were some excellent performances! Special mention must go to Kelly-Maree Gibson, Sam Sebit and Josh May who all won multiple events and completed throughout the day. All of our relay teams performed especially well at the end of the day. Four out of our six relay teams placed first. The Year 10 boys also had a good win, but were unfortunately disqualified due to an illegal baton changeover. At the end of the day, Ellenbrook Secondary College finished second out of eight schools. An outstanding performance! Thanks to all of the Phys Ed staff for helping out at training sessions and on the day of the carnival. Special thanks must also go to the Home Economics department for allowing us to use their classrooms for our athlete’s breakfast. We’re looking forward to an even bigger squad and an even higher result next year! Miss Hunt and Mr Moon

Outdoor Education Events Recently, the Year 11 Outdoor Education students finished their course with a mountain biking camp along the Munda Biddi Trail south east of Perth. It was tough going up a few hills, but excitement of the going downhill for a few kilometres made up for the pain, heat and incessant flies. For a brief period of time northerly winds blew ash in from a fire in John Forest National Park which drifted in like snow falling. There were several minor “stacks” with Brandt Honda taking the prize for best collision with a tree. Chris Goulding managed to snap his chain on the way to base camp and had to be picked up by the emergency vehicle. Special mention goes to Todd Birchall who, after being told to stop at every T-junction managed to ride through every one and then took half the group 5 kilometres past the campsite. The camp was a great success and students are already looking forward to extending their skills further in next years Outdoor Education course.

Movember Antics A number of our staff got involved in the annual Movember event and developed some very impressive moustaches. Congratulations to all involved, you should be very pleased with your efforts and even though we are glad they have been removed the moustaches were quite impressive. Featured is Andrew Hill, Deputy Principal, who wasn't quite as quick as the others at getting the mo off! Well done gentlemen.

Music Showcase Music students had their annual end of year Showcase last week. With the Performing Arts Theatre being unavailable due to building works the event was hosted at the beautiful Midland Town Hall and the amazing venue simply complimented the tremendous show put on by the music students. The night was a proud display of the progress made by our specialist music students over the year as well as the on going development of the talent that these students possess. Audiences over the Monday and Tuesday nights were in awe of the hard work and dedication that the staff and students of the music department had on display. An event that truly culminated the commitment of a year of success and dedication from all the staff and students involved. Congratulations to everyone that was a part of this amazing event. Congratulations must also go to the Samba Band that was involved in the recent Channel 7 Christmas Pageant. The group of drum beating elves looked and sounded exceptional! A fabulous representation of the College’s music program in a great event. Well done.

Year 10 River Cruise November 23rd saw the Year 10’s hit the Swan River for a night of style, dancing and cruising. Organised by Peter Jones (Student Services Manager) the night was a great success and there seemed to be nothing but smiles on board! Not only did the students have a great time but so too did the staff that gave up a night to get the party frocks and heels on and hit the water. Margaret Wright (English Teacher) was quite the disco diva, showing the Year 10’s just how to burn up the dance floor. All Year 10’s that attended are to be con-gratulated and thanked for the efforts on the night and ensuring that a successful, well behaved and fun night was had by all. Thank you too, to Mr Jones for putting the great event together. It was a wonderful night.

Orientation Day Students who will be joining us in 2011 were invited to attend an Orientation Day at the College on Monday 29th and Tuesday 30th November. Students were lead on a tour of the College by our Year 10 peer leaders and then participated in a range of activities from Drama, Home Economics and Science. It was a great day and we look forward to welcoming all those involved into the College community next year. A big thank you also to Ms Wilson for organising the day, the Year 10 leaders and the teachers that ran the activities.

Celebrating Our Students…

Joshua May Year 10 With a long term interest in the sport Josh has recently found himself on the Under 19’s State Beach Volleyball Team. He has already played a number of games for the team and is off this week continuing to develop and share his skills. Well done Josh and we wish you all the best for all your upcoming games.

Demi Clark Year 7 On Thursday the 2nd of December Demi travelled to Los Angeles to take part in “Glee Club Australia”. While in LA she will be taking part in workshops with casting directors choreographers of shows such as “Glee” and “Hannah Montanna”. She will also perform a 26 minute performance at venues such as Disneyland and Universal Studios. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that Demi is honoured to take part in and we wish her all the best for the three week adventure.

Shauni Williams Year 11

Not only is Shauni our 2010 Head Girl and Long Tan Leadership Award winner, outside of school she is one fight away from being the State Champion in kickboxing. Once Shauni takes on this role she will be a couple of fights away from being the national champion. An amazing ambassador for the sport, as well as the College we wish Shauni all the best in her future endeavours and wish her well in her upcoming battles. Ever the talented student, Shauni was also recently awarded runner up in the Independent Express Young Writers Competition. Well done Shauni.

Lauren Lazarus Year 10 Lauren Lazarus has been doing gymnastics for 4 years at West Coast Gymnastics. During November, Lauren headed to Canberra to participate in the National Club Championships. All the girls performed really well, with West Coast scoring both the highest individual gymnasts in each level, and the highest team scores off all Western Australian teams who travelled to the competition. Congratulations Lauren. What an amazing effort!

Faisal Roslan and Sam Sebit Year 10 After a very successful day at our College Athletics Carnival and then an exciting meet at the Interschool Carnival, Faisal and Sam have joined the State Running Squad and have begun training and competing in State events at the new purpose built Athletics stadium near Challenge Stadium. As Sam recovers from injury Faisal was able to score a runner up position in his first meet. Congratulations boys and keep up the great efforts!

Second Hand Uniform Sales Currently the Uniform Shop is unable to offer second-hand sales due to space restrictions. We are able to offer a noticeboard where parents may advertise uniforms for sale with contact details. If you have items for sale please forward the following to the front office which will be placed in the board outside the Cafe.

SECONDHAND UNIFORMS FOR SALE

NAME: _____________________________________________

CONTACT: __________________________________________

DATE: ________________ REMOVAL DATE: _____________ Notices will be removed after 4 weeks. Please resubmit this form if items have not been sold

ITEM SIZE QTY CONDITION/NOTES PRICE

2011 Updates Starting Dates Students and classes commence on Wednesday February 2nd 2011. Students will be directed to their Pastoral Care Groups (PCG) at the beginning of the day and will then later commence the regular Wednesday timetable. An information newsletter will be mailed home in January for all students. Equipment Students are to bring basic stationery and working materials (folder and paper) on the first day until they receive their timetable and further instructions by their teachers. All students are encouraged to ensure that their name is clearly indicated on each of their items that are brought to school. Building Updates As the new year begins we will have access to a number of our newly built facilities. While this is not only exciting but also a privilege for 2011 students to be the first group of individuals to utilise the new facilities, there will also be a number of buildings and areas of the College that will not be ready for the beginning of the New Year. This includes the gym and possibly the Performing Arts Theatre. While we are hoping that they will in fact be ready, in reality we need to be prepared for the scenario just in case they are not. This may result in some timetable and class changes until all facilities are completed. Any changes will be directed by the classroom teachers. Early Term 1 Important Dates We are getting straight back into business with the start of the new term and we have a number of events coming up very quickly. Important Dates include: Monday 31st Jan—staff back at the College (office hours 8am-4pm) Wednesday 2nd Feb—students back and regular classes begin Wednesday 9th Feb—Second round Rock Eisteddfod auditions Thursday 10th Feb—Whole School Assembly Tuesday 15th Feb—Colours Award Evening Thursday 17th Feb—Year 11 Lifetech—RAC Tuesday 22nd Feb—RAC Parents Workshop 6:30pm

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