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RESPECT      SELF-DISCIPLINE      ACHIEVEMENT      COURAGE
WHAT'S HAPPENING?
WEEK 4

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

It has been another eventful week at Calwell High School, with several exciting events and initiatives taking place.

One of the standout events of the week was Careers Week, which proved to be both informative and inspiring for our students. We kicked off the week with a highly successful parent session on Monday night, where parents had the opportunity to learn more about the importance of career guidance and support. Thank you to the parents who attended and contributed to the evening's success.

The highlight of Careers Week was undoubtedly the incredible Careers Expo that took place on Wednesday. Our students had the chance to explore a wide range of career pathways, speak with industry professionals and gain valuable insights into various professions. The feedback we received from the students was overwhelmingly positive, and I would like to extend a thanks and congratulations to Jennie Sheppard and Andrew Rowe for their exceptional efforts in organising and coordinating our outstanding Careers Week events. I am sure this will become a regular on the Calwell Calendar.

In other news, I am thrilled to announce our new volunteer partnership with ACT Parks and Conservation. This partnership marks the beginning of an exciting collaboration that will provide our students with unique opportunities to engage in environmental conservation projects. This week, a group of volunteer students had the privilege of participating in the Grassland Earless Dragon conservation project at Tidbinbilla. It was a fantastic experience for them to contribute to the preservation of our local ecosystem, and we look forward to the further development of this partnership.

I enjoyed visiting classes this week and seeing the high quality teaching and learning taking place. I was impressed with the dedication of our Year 10 Maths students working through algebra with great persistence and support from Ms Lum.

Our Year 7 Drama students were equally impressive in their acting skills, as they adopted the role of sinister and sneaky villains. Thanks to Ms Wallace for her passion and enthusiasm in supporting our students and the growing interest in drama.

Thank you for your continued support, and have a great weekend.

Steve

IMPORTANT DATES
Tuesday 23 May
  • Information Night 5.30–7.00pm
Wednesday 24 May
  • UC4Yourself Excursion
  • Sammy D Incursion, Years 8 & 9
Thursday 25 May
  • Outdoor Ed Wee Jasper Camp
Friday 26 May
  • Outdoor Ed Wee Jasper Camp

EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
YEAR 10 CAMP
From Wednesday 3-Friday 5 May, Year 10 students explored Sydney on their first high school camp as a year group. Throughout the three days, students visited the best Sydney has to offer, including Taronga Zoo, Darling Harbour and the Chinese Garden of Friendship.

Students also tasted kangaroo and incorporated native Australian ingredients into recipes as part of the Food in Australia program at the Botanic Gardens.

FACULTY OVERVIEWS
HaSS 
In Mr O’Brien’s Year 7 class this term, we have continued our learning on ancient history. In Week 3, we began a new unit focussing on Ancient Rome. We have enjoyed learning all about the structure of the Roman Empire, the landscape and geographical features of the area, all the while applying this back to our knowledge of the pillars of a civilisation. We are looking forward to continuing on with our unit, leading up to our major assessment task in the coming weeks!

Other HaSS classes, this term, have been exploring the fascinating Middle Ages. Some of the students have been investigating how warfare changed over the Middle Ages. This has involved investigating primary and secondary sources, getting across the complexities of BCs and BCEs and the different systems for putting different times in order in a variety of different types of timelines.

Another topic being covered by some HaSS classes is the European wars of invasion against the middle east kingdoms aka the 'Crusades'.

In Years 9/10, we are continuing with our history elective units which focus on different aspects of modern history. In Wars and Battles, students have been investigating the inter-war years between WW1 and WW2 with a focus on how Adolf Hitler came to power, and why he became so popular with the German public.

Students have been developing an understanding of how propaganda was used to persuade German audiences into believing that Jewish people were to blame for WW1 losses. 

In Mrs Clothier’s 9/10 Popular Culture and Society class we are currently finishing off our oral presentations on an artefact selected from a specific era and presenting to the class in various ways. Next week, we are working on how to write a Research Report on the influence of Australian Popular Culture.

We have really enjoyed listening to music of different decades whilst working through the classwork. We have Connor Bailey, a University of Canberra Prac student in the classroom and he will be teaching the Line 2 class next week. Towards the end of the term, in Week 8, we will be having a History Skills test with an element of Popular Culture throughout.

FACULTY UPDATE
ON COUNTRY LEARNING WEEK 4
Another spectacular day out at Birrigai on Wednesday this week with On Country Learning. This week we focused on group dynamics and accountability. Part of this was through discussion and student input and the other part was though practical problem solving tasks and culminating with students supporting each other and being there for one another on 'The Big Swing'.

Students supported each other (a lot of the time quite literally) through these challenging tasks. It was incredible to see the care, comradery and connection between our kids, especially when everyone was testing their limits and pushing themselves out of their comfort zone for the big swing. Looking forward to another great day out next week.

Tom Rodriguez
SCIENCE
The Rock Cycle
Year 8 students performed an experiment to demonstrate the Rock Cycle - the stages that rocks go through, from formation to the end of it's life. We thank Aki for organising all the material for this experiment.
 
The students who took part, and our potential future geologists, were: Cooper, Patrick, Dylan, Paulo, Georgia, Evelyn and Grace.
 
Fun Facts about rocks
  • The polished and reflective surface of Obsidian rocks were used as mirrors dating back 4000BCE in Egypt, Persia and Africa.
  • Obsidian rocks were mostly used by humans in the Stone Age to make tools and weapons.
What does a rock want to be when it grows up?
A rockstar
 
What do you do with a baby rock? Rock it
MUSIC
It’s composition time in the music rooms. The Year 8s have been experimenting with every day sounds to make their own drum kit samples. They will then go on to create a drum beat using these samples.

Music Auditions for Showcase took place last week and we have some great numbers shaping up. Our music rooms are busy places at breaktimes with kids working to refine their pieces ready for the performance. We look forward to seeing you there.

P&C NEWS

Hello Parents, Carers and Friends

Next time you’re at the school, have a walk around the front area between the school and Casey Crescent, where you’ll see some of the great work that the students from Mr Ventura’s Leadership and Service class have been doing, assisted by P&C members.

The highlight of last week's Friday session was the planting of a large number of bulbs in various places. These are Bearded Irises of various colours and have been generously donated by the wonderful folks at Antiquus Botanicus in Fyshwick.

Stay tuned on this – it’ll be fascinating to see what colours pop up, and where, in coming weeks.

Also a reminder on the Volunteering Expo on Saturday 20 May from 10.00am–4.00pm in the main hall of Campbell High School at 15 Treloar Cres, Campbell. We’ve been chatting with students during our Friday gardening sessions about the great contribution to the community that volunteering can bring about, and we encourage everyone to pop along to this event.
 
Cheers, Geoff Puleston, Calwell High School P&C President       
calwellhighpandc@gmail.com

STUDENT PATHWAYS AND CAREERS NEWS
2023 CALWELL HIGH SCHOOL CAREERS WEEK SCHOLARSHIP MAKER2MARKET PROGRAM
The Calwell HS P&C is generously sponsoring two Calwell High School Students to participate in an entrepreneurial small business course aimed at teenagers. Each scholarship is worth $250.
 
Two students will be chosen based on an application form available from Jennie or Andrew in Careers. Students will be selected on their keen interest in participating in the intensive three-day business taster program for creative teens that sees them create a small-business, logo, hand-made products and test their products at a real-world market.  The program will take place in either July or September holidays.
Applications close Monday 5 June  

SCHOOL NOTICES
YEAR 7 2024 INFORMATION NIGHT

COMMUNITY NOTICES
GIRLS PROGRAMMING NETWORK
The Australian Signals Directorate is happy to announce the Term 2 Girls’ Programming Network (GPN) event to be held on Sunday 18th June 2023 at ANU.
Registrations Open – Monday 22 May 2023 at 6pm and close – Tuesday 23 May at 6pm.
 
What is GPN?
  • The Girls Programming Network is a workshop series aimed at girls in Year 4-12.
  • The GPN is a community of women and girls who are interested in computer science, programming and information technology.
  • Workshops are run by GPN tutors – local women studying or working in IT in industry, academia and government. Are topic based and tutors teach the girls how to solve fun programming projects. There is also food to eat, friends to make and other fun activities to be had!
  • ASD has had a long-standing relationship with the Girls’ Programming Network and supports the Canberra node of this fantastic program.
  • The workshops are free and no prior coding experience is necessary!

How to Apply

  1. Submit the form at the link below.
  2. Your application will be reviewed by the Kids into Sport Committee.
  3. Kids into Sport will advise you of the outcome of your application within 14 days.

More details on the Kids into Sport Website:
https://www.kidsintosport.com.au/home
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Our email address is:
calwellhighschool@ed.act.edu.au

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