This week was incredibly busy, with a wide variety of activities taking place. These included activities where students reported great fun and excitement, such as Connection Clubs and Outdoor Education Camps, and other activities that were considered important, but not quite as fun, such as NAPLAN.
I am pleased to announce that Calwell High School is about to welcome our very own Therapy Dog. The dog will be a part of the school community and will soon be introduced to students. He is a highly trained two year old Labrador, having been trained by Guide Dogs Australia and will add great value in regards to general companionship and emotional support.
He will be spending time in classrooms and also in specific areas to provide additional support. I am aware that not all students and parents are comfortable around dogs, and we will be mindful to limit exposure to only those that are comfortable and confident. Please call or email us if your child has concerns regarding exposure to animals, including any allergies.
We look forward to meeting with our Year 7 Families next Wednesday evening when we host the Year 7 Camp Information session and a summary of the Wellbeing supports at Calwell High School. The session begins at 5.00pm and will also be supported by our friendly P&C who will be on hand to respond to any questions and ideas.
Steve
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Monday 20 March
Tuesday 21 March
Wednesday 22 March
- Year 7 Camp Info Session, 5.00pm
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HARMONY WEEK
Wear ORANGE on Wednesday 22 March and celebrate Harmony Week!
Harmony Week is a celebration that recognises our diversity and brings together Australians from all different backgrounds. It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.
We are encouraging staff and students to wear something orange on Wednesday 22 March to celebrate. We will be having another Tutor Group challenge in ASPIRE (with prizes!) and a whole school assembly.
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YEAR 7 CAMP INFO SESSION
Year 7 families are invited to our Year 7 Camp Information Session on Wednesday 22 March at 5.00pm. There will also be a short presentation on our wellbeing support services at Calwell High School and a welcome from our wonderful P&C.
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DRINK BOTTLES
A reminder for students to bring a drink bottle to school each day. As our bubblers have now re-opened, the Front Office will no longer be handing out disposable cups to help reduce the amount of waste created in the school.
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CONNECTION CLUBS
On Tuesday, we held our second Running Club! This fortnight, we focussed on interval training as a great way to increase distance and/or speed for runners at any level.
Cross Country is coming up in May, and the Winter sports season starts soon, so come along and get training!
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Hello Parents and Carers and Friends
The P&C is excited to be supporting the school in the formation of a Calwell High School Alumni Group. The Alumni Group is an opportunity for CHS to celebrate success through the sharing of stories and experiences from past students.
We hope to develop a list of former students that can share their stories of success. This may be as guest speakers on Careers Expo days, Awards Assemblies as well as profiles published around the school. So please let us know if you, or someone amongst your family and friends are a former student of CHS and would like to be included in our Alumni list. Please send an email to calwellhighpandc@gmail.com
We are also looking forward to seeing you at our P&C AGM on Wednesday 29 March. We would love to hear from you if you would like to nominate for a role in the P&C Team.
Geoff Puleston, Calwell High School P&C President calwellhighpandc@gmail.com
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DRAMA
Costumes are a great way for Drama students to 'get in character'... Who hasn't put cowboy hat on their head and yelled 'Yee ha!'
We have received a generous donation of hats and props from a Canberra group who love supporting kids' involvement in the theatre... and the Year 9/10 Drama class was the first to try them out
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Left to right: Sally, Tahlia, Quinn, Bridget and Charlie
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In other news from the Drama classroom our Year 8 Drama class is becoming more and more theatrical every day. Here is a photo of some of the students working on dramatic movie trailers...Coming soon to a cinema near you...
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Left to right: Chimmi, Rachel, Kobey, Jessica, Ruby
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JAPANESE
This week, Calwell High School’s senior Japanese class was visited by a Japanese presenter, Mr Hirata, whose family experienced the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in 1945. His mother was a teenager at the time and was badly burnt but survived.
Her younger brothers and sisters all died of burns and radiation sickness within days of the bombing. Our Calwell students listened with respect to his message of hope for peace, which we all can reflect on personally in these times of renewed conflict and danger around the world.
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Also this week, Year 7 students learned Japanese customs for being polite when eating. They made by hand, then grilled on the school BBQ, traditional Japanese soy sauce flavoured rice balls.
They practised saying the correct phrases for when receiving food and what to say after a meal. It’s true – hands on (in-stomach?) learning is often the best.
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SCIENCE
It was a hot day, so our young scientists declared that they would make and treat themselves to vanilla ice cream in the science lab. And by doing so they also demonstrated an exothermic reaction with the loss of heat.
Irony – 'some don’t trust science students; they say science students can make up anything and everything'
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Also this week our Year 9 students performed a very precise dissection of a mammalian brain (sheep), and identified the sites in it which are responsible for the correct perception of sight, smell, touch and hearing.
Students also separated the various parts of the brain such as the hypothalamus, brain stem, cerebellum, cerebrum and grey and white matter.
It seems like we have some potential future neurosurgeons here at Calwell High School!
Rumour - 'According to the Brain, the brain is most important organ'
Special thanks to Aki for getting the specimens for the dissection.
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STUDENT PATHWAYS AND CAREERS NEWS
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Careers Help! is available for students to:
- help complete a resume
- organise a work experience placement
- apply for a job
- complete a career action plan
Tuesday and Thursday Break 1, see you there!
Cheers, Andrew & Jennie
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CAREERS EVENT
EPICC: Engaging Parents/Carers in Career Conversations
Presented by Jennie Sheppard, Careers Practitioner & Andrew Rowe, ASBA/WEX Coordinator
Research Indicates that parents/carers are the single greatest influence on their young person’s education and career decisions. High Parental engagement can have a major impact on the young person’s learning. The purpose of the EPICC workshop is to:
- Support parents/carers to help young people prepare for the challenges ahead in the new economies and new jobs that none of us know very well or much about;
- Enhance parents’/carers’ ability to help young people develop skills and have the capability to manage their own career throughout their lives;
- Help shift perceptions by assisting parents and young people to understand the career journey young people are on from an early age;
- Equip parents/carers to help young people to develop and build their preferred career futures, feel less worried about the future and build a supportive network to assist them
- Aim to challenge outdated belief systems that can limit a young person’s potential
Tuesday 28 March 5.30-7.00pm
Location: Calwell High School Library
Please RSVP at the following link: https://forms.gle/B2fRbkvwhJETb9Nr8
Places are limited – if the workshop is full advice will be given on the next workshop date.
This workshop is for parents and carers of young people
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ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE
Assessment schedule for Semester 1 can be found here. Type in your students ID number to see the assessment due dates for each subject. Please note that some due dates may change, or not be present at the moment.
https://lookerstudio.google.com/reporting/c9887a64-b5a4-47b6-ab01-1e2838c01c58
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YEAR 7 HIGH SCHOOL HPV VACCINATION PROGRAM
From February 2023, the ACT program for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine will change to a single dose. This follows a recommendation from the World Health Organisation that reports only a single dose of the HPV vaccine is now required to protect against the virus.
Parents and carers of children who received one dose of the HPV through the High Schools Immunisation Program delivered by Canberra Health Services in 2022, are advised their child is now considered fully vaccinated under this program change and will not require a second dose.
The dosing schedule for people who are immunocompromised remains unchanged with the recommended three doses of the HPV vaccine fully covered under the National Immunisation Program. For more information, read Year 7 High School HPV Vaccination Program.
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REPORTING ABSENCES
Thank you for ensuring absences are reported to the school as early as possible by emailing calwellhighschool@ed.act.edu.au or calling 61421930.
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