PARENT & COMMUNITY

NEWSLETTER

T | 4274 0621 F | 4276 2835 A | Military Road Port Kembla NSW

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE This term has really flown by, especially for myself as I have only recently re-turned from leave. It is nice being on holidays, but it is always nice to return home and to the FISC Community. I would like to thank Aaron Jones and Lara Walsh for their hard work in my absence. Last Thursday I had the pleasure of attending the Yr12 Formal held at City Beach. All of the students who attended looked stunning in their formal wear and the students “did FISC proud.” It was a delight to see the whole year group embracing the celebration of finishing school. To all Year 12, 2019 – congratulations and good luck for the future.

Finishing school is a major goal in your life, however, it is a beginning not an end. You are leaving FISC as outstanding young men and women. Many of you have overcome significant hurdles in your journey to this point. You are leaving with solid friendships and the support of the dedicated and caring staff of the College. To those sitting HSC exams, work hard, ensure you reach your full potential. If you have not worked as hard as you could have, it is still not too late to maximise your chances. Fulfil your potential and make a commitment to the future. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the school staff for all their hard work this term and for providing guidance and support to all students, especially those in Year 12. In particular, I would like to acknowledge Ryan Cox, the Year 12 Year Adviser, who has worked hard to support the students under his care. Our amazing permaculture garden, staff and students were featured in Gardening Australia this term. The students clearly articulated the knowledge that they have gained through their study of Permacul-ture. The passion everyone displayed for this outstanding initiative was clearly viewed by all who watched the program. I look forward to the future developments planned for this space. To all staff and students, enjoy the holidays. Stay safe-and I look forward to seeing you next term.

Jenny Flowers

Principal

ILLAWARRA SCHOOL BASED

TRAINEE OF THE YEAR Year 12 student Nina Bruce has been shortlisted for the Illawarra School Based Trainee of the Year Award. Nina, who has worked these past two years as a Retail Trainee at KFC Warrawong, has received great praise from her employers for her ability to work in the Retail

Industry. The results will be released in late October, 2019. We wish Nina good luck in her interviews. Other students who have benefitted from being school based trainees over the last two years are: Jacqueline Anderson - Reece Plumbing North Wollongong Kevin Hassan - Donut King, Warrawong Jake Hogan Reece Plumbing, Wollongong Zainab Hallak De Ja Vue Hairdressing, Warrawong Lily Husband Lake Heights Public School Connor Maher Outback Steak House, Wollongong .

JET PROGRAM Students have been able to access some great Career Education and Transition programs this term. The JET (Jobs,Education and Training)

program involves an external professional working with our students one on one to help them complete resumes and apply for casual , part time and even full time apprenticeships. Pictured is Year 12 student Rhonda Hickey working with Illawarra WorkPlace Learning JET Coordinator , Leanne Smith.

READY TO GO—R2GO Another successful Careers Program running at FISC in 2019 , has been the Ready to Go (R2G0) owned and operated by experienced Jobs special-ist, Fiona Crane (pictured) with Bailey Stott (Year 10). Our Year 12's, who have chosen to be a part of this program ,have benefitted by having the oppor-tunity to work one on one with Fiona to build a resume, apply for casual jobs and apprenticeships. Careers Adviser Mark Nicholl who applied for this grant funding has been instrumental in coordi-nating both these programs.

SBAT—SCHOOL BASED TRAINEE Jacqui Andersen of Year 12 has been completing a School Based Traineeship at Reece Plumbing , North Wollon-gong , every Friday for the past two years. After recently completing 100 days of paid work, Jacqui applied for a full time position at the Reece Plumbing Wollongong store and got the job. Congratula-

tions Jacqui and good luck with your career in Warehousing and Distribution. SRC RECYCLING PROJECT

The SRC and Big Picture

students have joined

forces to develop a

recycling project.

Congratulations on this

great initiative.

GARDENING AUSTRALIA Gardening Australia aired a fabulous segment on

the FISC Permaculture Garden recently. We are

very proud to have featured on this National

program. Big thanks to the FISC staff and

students who truly make FISC a wonderful place

to learn and grow.

RUOK AND COLOUR RUN FISC staff and students spread colour and support at the "RUOK Colour Run and BBQ". Thanks to everyone involved.

BREAKFAST CLUB Breakfast Club at FISC is a great way to start the day. Students are offered a free nutritious breakfast each day - Bronya and Michelle’s toasties walk out the door.

Did you know that we can also prepare Vegan and GF breakfasts on request.

Big thanks to the Breakfast Club crew - Michelle, Bronya, Meg and Jenny who make it happen each and every day!

FIRST AID FISC Students had the opportunity to gain an accreditation and develop crucial life kills during the 2019 First Aid course. Ryan would like to thank all students for their positive behaviour

throughout the day. Adrianna, the instructor, noted ‘such a great school with a fantastic bunch of students’ Well done!

NAN TIEN VISIT YEAR 11 SOCIETY AND CULTURE

On Tuesday 27th of

August, Year 11 Socie-

ty and Culture stu-

dents caught a lift

with the Mission to

Seafarers mini bus to

the Nan Tien Temple.

We met up with an expert guide who showed us

around the site. The main Buddhist temple and

new bridge were highlights and the vegetarian

food was a standout. We also had tuition in mak-

ing origami lotus flowers. Darcy Goldsmith’s was

better than the instructors! We experienced cul-

tural diversity first hand and had fun doing it – a

great way to learn.

CONGRATULATIONS Big congratulations to FISC Art and Photography

teachers Karen Hook and Julie McCurry who are

both finalists in the "Flow National Contemporary

Watercolour Prize, Wollongong Art Gallery".

Julie and Karen share their talents with our stu-

dents and will be teaching our General Interest

Photography and Visual Design courses in 2020

EALD Term 3 we welcomed EAL/D Integration students who have been further developing their English language knowledge and skills while exploring and experiencing the opportunities

available at FISC in preparation for integration into Big Picture next term. Some highlights of this term have included excursions to Wollongong TAFE, UOW, Botanical

Gardens and Luna Park, and participating in new sports like tennis, badminton, Ten Pin Bowling and indoor soccer.

Students have attended a workshop to learn how to make Bees Wax wraps to replace plas-tic use and have connected with Aaron in the permaculture garden to build no-dig gar-

dens, pocket plant vegies and flowers, and share culture and food. Students have thoroughly enjoyed their integration term at FISC and are really looking for-

ward to learning as Big Picture students next term.

CHRYSALIS TRANSFORMING BEAUTIFULLY

Five Islands Secondary College proudly presented Chrysalis, an exhibition of the work of RoSA , Preliminary and HSC students of Visual Arts,

Photography & Ceramics . The exhibition was a great success with a house full of students, parents and friends.

Thanks to the Hospitality team who did a fabulous job with the catering.

TEN PIN BOWLING As a part of Big Picture sport this term, the three classes went to Northern Bowl in Corrimal one day a

week for 5 weeks. It was nice to get out of the classroom for some relaxing, but also very competitive,

rounds of bowling. Through this program, the three groups were given the opportunity to further develop

their relationships with one another, which was highly beneficial as it isn’t often that they spend a lot of

time together. Seeing the competitive nature of some of the students, as well as the advisors, being

unleashed was hilarious and left us all with a multitude of memories. All in all, the students had a good

time spending a couple of hours out of the class each week and the connections and memories we made

have positively impacted our Big Picture and schooling journey!

CHOIR FISC Big Picture Student Neve Walker was one of 80 NSW students selected to perform in the NSW Public

Schools State Choir at the Sydney Opera House. . Neve spent three days in Sydney rehearsing and per-

forming four pieces of choral music to thousands of audience members. Congratulations Neve we are

super proud of your achievements.

LUNA PARK Big Picture took the class room on tour and enjoyed a fantastic excursion at Luna Park.

What a great way to learn about Physics!

2019 YEAR 12 GRADUATION Oh what a night!

Congratulations to everyone that attended the 2019Formal. What a fabulous celebration!

Counselling Service and Support

“Telling someone you’re going through a tough time isn’t easy and usually, the worse a proble becomes, the more difficult it is to talk about. Even though seeking help can be difficult, it’s important to talk about what you are going through as soon as possible”.

If you’re concerned about someone: Listen to what they’re saying. Sometimes , when a person wants to talk, they do not al-ways want ideas, but just need to talk. Tell them they have your attention and you are lis-tening. You may like to save any suggestions for later. Use positive body language. Keep eye contact and sit or stand in a relaxed position. This will help you both feel comfortable. Use open ended questions such as “So tell me about…. ?” which require more than a yes or no answer. This is ofen a good way to start a conversation. If your conversation becomes difficult or the person you’re talking to gets angry, remem-ber to stay calm. Admit if you are wrong and don’t lose control. Just spending time with the person lets them know you care. Take care of yourself. Supporting someone can be hard, so make sure you take some time out to look after yourself. Encourage getting help. Encourage the person to seek help from their family doctor or school counsellor.

ORGANISATION WEBSITE PHONE

eHeadspace www.eheadspace.org.au 42 207660

Biteback ww.biteback.org.au

Reach Out www.reachout.com.au

Aftercare www.aftercare.com.au

Kids Helpline www.kidshelpline.com.au 1800551800

NSW Mental Health Line 1800011511

Lifeline www.lifeline.org.au 131114

Suicide Call Back Service www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au 13006594700

Police Think U Know Online Safety Www.thinkyouknow.org.au

There are a number of supports available to students and families at Five Islands Secondary College. One of these supports is the school

counselling service. Our school counselling service team members are Heidi Page, School Counsellor and Registered Psychologist; Jennifer

McKinnon, School Counsellor and Registered Psychologist; and Jane Schmidt, Senior Psychologist, Education.