90 Beafield RoadPara Hills West SA 5096Subscribe:Subscribe: https://phhs.schoolzineplus.com/subscribe

Email:Email: dl.0574.info@schools.sa.edu.auPhone:Phone: 08 8258 5466

30 September 201930 September 2019

FROM THE PRINCIPALAnother busy term is almost finished and we have anumber of outstanding achievements to report to our

community.

It has been a wonderful term for our performing arts students,with Drama, Dance and Music showcasing their work. Ourschool band, Meet the Robinsons, came second in the Battleof the Bands with a fantastic performance that was streamedon our Facebook page on the night. Congratulations to NicolasFontanelli, Helena Madronio, Toby Harrsion, Bryce Hillard andBrandon Schubert, and well done Mr. Roberts!

Our Ice Factor team came 4th in the ice hockey competition thisterm. They have done amazingly well and it is impressive howquickly and how well the team have picked up hockey skills ina relatively short time. A huge thank you to Ms. Semmens, theirdedicated teacher, whose commitment and support have seenthis group of students go from strength to strength.

A group of outstanding student leaders: Oscar Feddern, AbbeyHastings, Marachiel Colliver, Koby Partington and Aurora Baileyare currently busily working with a wonderful group of staff onchanging the way we deliver learning experiences at Para Hills.Their project, aptly called ‘Ignite’, is aiming to engage Year 10sand 11s in a passion project that is predominantly student-ledover the course of a semester. The plans to enact this are wellunderway and we will be reporting on their progress over thenext term.

I was privileged to attend the Peace Rules Performing ArtsShowcase on 19th September. Our wonderful dancers fromyears 10-12 enacted two wonderful performances entitled ‘WeStand for Peace’ and ‘Red Dust Plain’ and brought home theExcellence Award (and yes, it is the top one!), ahead of someof the most prestigious private and public schools in the state.They deserve our praise and thanks for their hard work andfor being such great ambassadors for the school. So does Ms.Surman, whose relentless hard work has helped our studentsdeliver such great performances. A huge thank you also goes

to Mr. Palmer, Ms. Roberts and Mr Hussein who supported thestudents on the day.

The Debating team have also done us proud, reaching theGrand Final. Well done so far to Billy Wu, Stephanie Iannace,Ada Gowling, Catherine Reiman and Hayley Travis. I hope youwill join me in supporting them in the final on Thursday 24thOctober.

As you can see, amazing work by our staff and students thisterm. Have a wonderful holiday and, if you are in Year 11 or12, also good luck – not long to go until the end of your SACEcourses. We are all proud of what you have already achievedand look forward to great results in Term 4.

DIARY

14/10/19 Term 4 Begins

23/10/19 Governing Council Meeting

30/10/19 Yr 12 Farewell Assembly

WAXING LYRICAL SHAKESPEAREANPERFORMANCES

FOR YEAR 10 AND 11 ENGLISH STUDENTS

Our Year 10 English students have been studying WilliamShakespeare’s famous play “Romeo and Juliet”.

In week 3 of this term they were treated to a live performance ofthe play by the Waxing Lyrical Theatre Company, an Adelaidebased group which formed in 2006. This theatre groupperforms in schools all over South Australia. They mainlyperform Shakespearean plays.

Romeo and Juliet is arguably the most popular of allShakespeare’s plays – a universal tale of forbidden love andfamily rivalry.

1

In the same week Waxing Lyrical performed Macbeth for ourYear 11 English students. Macbeth is a tragedy and dramatisesthe damaging physical and psychological effects of politicalambition on those who seek power for its own sake.

Our Year 10 and 11 students were spellbound by theperformances, which were humorous, energetic and riveting.The actors interacted with the audience and answeredquestions after the performance.

Not only was this very entertaining but also educational andrelevant to their English work. The students themselves wereextremely well behaved and engaged.

Overall a fantastic and rewarding experience for our Year 10sand 11s.

Jenny FantinelEnglish/ Humanities Coordinator

YOUTH CULTURAL LEADERSHIP

GENERATION OF CHANGE

On Tuesday of week 2, 11 members of the Youth CulturalLeadership Committee attended the Generation of Changecultural awareness program run by the Act Now Theatre andReconciliation SA. During the program, we were educated onthe impact of racism and how to counteract it in differentsituations.

We also met Nathan, a young indigenous musician, who sharedhis personal experiences of racism. He channeled his anger intohis passion for music, creating songs that told his story and notonly empowered himself but empowered the public.

By the end of the day, we learnt how to recognise racism andhow to seek help from people in our community.

Everyone deserves to be treated with equal respect, no matteryour race, religion, or skin colour.

Report by Molina (Year 10)

THE ARTS

DANCE

Week 2 of term 3 has been an exciting week for many of ourdance students. On Thursday we had the pleasure of hostingtwo dancers from the Sydney Dance Company Educationteam, for a two hour workshop. During this time studentsworked on developing their technique, learning choreographyfrom the dancer’s repertoire and also using critical and creativethinking to create their own movements through a compositiontask. Thursday night I attended a teachers’ workshop thatexplored different ways of engaging students in dance. Thiswas a valuable evening as it also allowed for discussions withother dance teachers around the state. Finally on Friday, 26students attended Sydney Dance Company’s performance atthe Play House, Festival Centre. For all students this was theirfirst experience viewing live dance, and it was not adisappointment. Students were given an insight into how theworks were created, how the backstage crew operate and alsohad the chance to ask questions. The dancers were athletic,expressive and captivating to watch. Students came out of theshow in awe, but also inspired by the possibilities for them indance.

Trudy SurmanArts Coordinator

DRAMA

The year 12 Para Hills High School senior Drama classpresented ‘Hotel Paradiso’ on the 29th and 30th of August. Thehighly talented ensemble captivated the audience throughoutthe three Act performance with their sophisticatedcharacterisation and comic timing. On behalf of the Dramadepartment we would like to thank family, friends and staffthat attended to support our Performing Arts students.Congratulations to the wonderfully talented year 12 Dramaclass of 2019.

Cleonikki KefalasDrama Teacher

2

SHOWCASE DAY IN THE UNITOn Tuesday 3rd of September, we had the pleasure of hostingagencies that provided information to our families and students.Some agencies had games for everyone to play, like spinningthe wheel and earning a prize. It was great to see our studentsengaging with services. As part of Showcase Day, wemerchandised our students work that were bought by familiesand agencies, such as paintings, coasters, cheese boards,school-made cheese, and pot plants. We had a delicioussausage sizzle to fill our bellies and soft drinks to refreshourselves.

Jemma Tonkin-Michell and Hope Pine(Social Work Students) from the University of SouthAustralia

VET CERTIFICATE II (KITCHENOPERATIONS)

STUDENTS IMPRESS

Each year NASSSA VET Leaders look forward to our term3 meeting at Paralowie R-12 School because the KitchenOperations students prepare lunch for us. This year was a feastfor the eyes and our stomachs. We started with a grazingplatter, followed by crispy skinned chicken served withmushroom risotto and for dessert we had chocolate browniewith raspberry coulis and chocolate sauce. The luncheon wasan opportunity for Julia Triulcio, from Para Hills High Schoolto demonstrate skills she has developed throughout the year.Thank you Julia, lunch was amazing!

Sally StewartHead of Senior School

SENIOR SCHOOL NEWSIt’s hard to believe that 13 years of schooling is nearly completefor our Year 12 students. For many, it is a stressful time asthey balance the demands of completing final assessments andprepare for exams with selecting their post school pathways.

While students continue to work hard to achieve their personalgoals it is also a time to celebrate. Wednesday 30th October at9am in the gym, we will hold the Year 12 Farewell Assembly.

Parents/caregivers are most welcome to join us as we farewellthis year’s group of graduating students. After this date therewill be no formal lessons for our year 12s. However we expectmany to be on site finishing work and preparing for exams.

Year 12 Exams will start on Monday 4th November andconclude on Friday 15th November. Exam timetables will bedistributed to students early next term.

YEAR 12 SUPER STUDY SESSIONS

As they do every school holidays, our Teachers support ouryear 12s with school holidays study sessions. These holidays’program is below.

Week1:

Day: Subject: Teacher: Time:

Monday Scientific Studies Swanson 10am-2pm

Tuesday Art/Design/CreativeArts

English

Research Program

Schutt

Brindal

Brindal

9.30am-2pm

10am-2.30pm

10am-2.30pm

Wednesday Art/Design/CreativeArts

Schutt 9.30am-2.00pm

Thursday

Friday

Week2:

Day: Subject: Teacher: Time:

Monday

Tuesday Drama Kefalas 10am-2.00pm

Wednesday

Thursday Drama Kefalas 10am-2.00pm

Friday

We are also financially supporting a small group of year 12students to attend intensive revision sessions hosted byAdelaide Education Centre during the holidays.

Next term is a busy time for not only Year 12 students but ourYear 10 and 11 students as they prepare to transition throughSACE. Step into SACE days are designed to prepare our seniorstudents for subjects they will be studying in 2020. With anextended break over summer, it’s an ideal time for them to dosome advance preparation for a successful start to next year.

Year 11s will be preparing for SACE on Wednesday 27th andThursday 28th November.

The Year 10s will be preparing for their SACE on Thursday 15thDecember.

3

DRIVING LESSONS AND ‘GET YOURLEARNERS’ DAY

We are currently supporting a group of students to gain theirprobationary driver’s license by providing subsidised drivinglessons. Especially for those wishing to go into a trade, havinga license is critical but sometimes there are barriers to achievingthat. In November we will host TAFESA as they deliver ‘Get yourLearner’s’ training. Throughout the day students will learn aboutand understand the road rules. At the end of the day they will sitthe assessment. Successful students can then go to ServicesSA to get their license.

SA TRAINING AWARDS

On Friday 6th September I was fortunate to attend the SATraining Awards as part of the NASSSSA alliance who wasnominated for the VET Innovation for Schools award and alsoto support Isaiah Rigney who was nominated for Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islander Student of the Year award. Whilewe didn’t win, it was such an honour to be nominated and toattend such a prestigious event.

SPOTLIGHT ON VET STUDENT

Year 11student, Courtney Sampson has always had a passionfor cooking and cake decorating. This year she has beencompleting a Certificate II in Food Processing (Bakery focus)at Playford International College. As her skills and confidencehave grown she has launched her business ‘Sampson Cakes’creating delicious cupcakes and special occasion cakes.

Sally StewartHead of Senior School

HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR YEAR 9 CAMPEarlier this term a group of 60 year 9 students, along withsome generous staff members, (Ms. Surman, Ms. Cassar, Ms.Aardenburg, Mr. Rotolo, Mr. McGlade and Ms Fay) enjoyed a 3day Outdoor Adventure Camp at Mylor.

We had sunny days and cold nights, working in groups toconquer some challenging feats. The weather was perfect forthe Aquatics activates – Canoeing in the river, andBridge-Building across a different stretch of the river. A highlightwas watching Nao, Charlotte and Sami lead their group tosafety to the other side. Their team members had to trust thestrength of the bridge they built!

Many faced their fears in taking the 200m Flying Fox to theground – with all members of the green and orange groupsencouraging each other to be brave.

The Crate Stacking at the High Ropes course also proved achallenge for those uncomfortable with heights. Emily, Simonand Savannah lead their groups, with Matthew and Mohammadtopping theirs. The bravest however was Anita with a verysupportive team around her, climbing on top of 17 crates! (In aharness of course!)

Other activities included the Low Ropes, Raft Making in theIndoor Heated Pool and Archery.

The Night Hike and Campfire provided time for conversation,with our Chaplain Nick and EALD SSO Fida, joining the team ofleaders.

It was a pleasure to take our young people away on camp. Weappreciate that families make sacrifices to allow them to attend.

We hope that the fun memories and friendships made up atMylor will stay with them for a long time.

Thank you to all staff for your support!

Leonie RobertsStudent Wellbeing leader

JAPANESEIn Japanese class some students decided to do their researchtask on Japanese cherry blossoms. As a result, we have startedto make our own Cherry Blossom tree in the Japaneseclassroom. We have seen the Cherry Blossom trees bloomaround the school and welcome Spring.

Cherry Blossoms

Known as "sakura" in Japanese, these paleblooms are a symbol of more than just spring— they stand for renewal and hope. TheCherry Blossom has a spiky feature at theend of each petal and has an oval-shaped feature.

Flower viewing is a very popular activity in Japan, spring isa time of unique excitement throughout the country. Hanami(cherry blossom viewing) is a Japanese custom whereby themost popular thing to do is have a picnic in the park under theCherry Blossom trees.

4

Most varieties produce light pink to white blossoms, but thereare also cherry trees with dark pink, yellow or green blossoms.Furthermore, the colour of some varieties' cherry blossoms maychange while they are in bloom. In fact, Japan is home to over200 varieties of sakura, including wild and cultivated types.

Josie JonesYr 8 Student

Candice FergusonJapanese Techer

5