Airds Announcer
“A place to learn, lead and achieve your personal best”
Find us at: Airds High School, 2 Briar Road, Airds NSW 2560
airds-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Issue 4– Term 2
June 2013
DIARY DATES
Mon 15th July
Tues 16th July
Fri 19th July
Mon 22nd-26th July
Thurs 25th-26th July
Thurs 1st August
Tues 6th August
Wed 14th August
Thurs 15th August
Fri 16th August
Mon 19th August
Thurs 22nd August
Wed 28th August
Mon 2nd – 4th Sept
School Development Day Term 3
Students return Term 3
Formal Assemblies
Year 12 trial HSC exams
Zone Athletics Carnival
Regional SSW Athletics Carnival
School Values Showcase
Year 10 Subject Selection parent
meeting 6pm
Year 10 Subject Selection Day
Year 10 School Values Day
Year 11 Skills Day
Science Week excursion to
Wollongong Science Centre
Year 10 Youth & Road Trauma
Forum
Aspirations Completion
Ceremony
Year 7 & 8 Storm Boy excursion
Year 9 camp
Celebration of diversity
Briar Road, John Warby, Bradbury and Woodland Road public schools
came to Airds High School to celebrate the cultural diversity in the
community. There were several events on the day including a flag
ceremony and student performances in Aboriginal dance and from
Samoan, Maori and Cook Islandergroups. This year the population of
Airds High Schoolwas represented by 60 flags. Guests included
MacarthurMP Russell Matheson and Football United community coordinator Assaah Helal.It was the 23rd year the school had held the
ceremony and plans for next year’s celebration, which will also mark 40
years since the school’s establishment,have already begun
Picture: Jeff de Pasquale
NEXT P&C MEETING
WEDNESDAY 7th AUGUST
AT 10:15 am
IN THE STAFF COMMON ROOM
WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU
THERE!
Year 11 students from the Aspirations program visit to
Parliament House
AIRDS HIGH SCHOOL MENTORING PROGRAM
(Speech from MP Mr B Doyle)
Mr BRYAN DOYLE (Campbelltown) [5.32 p.m.]: "Strive to
achieve" is the motto of Airds High School, deep in the
opal of the Macarthur. Yesterday I was proud to host at
Parliament House a delegation of 30 students—
wonderfully presented in their school blazers—and their
principal Max Foord, together with Anita Bentley and Peta
Demery from Aussie Home Loans. Aussie Home Loans
has an amazing mentoring program with Airds High
School. The purpose of this mentoring program is to
provide inspiration, motivation and support so that all
students realise their potential. It enables students to
broaden their horizons and consider vocations that they
may not otherwise have considered.
The program was initiated by the previous Aussie Home
Loans chief executive officer, Stephen Porges, and has a
continuing strong advocate in the current chief executive
officer, Mr Ian Corfield. Aussie Home Loans' involvement
with Airds High School is about providing students at the
school with every opportunity to achieve their dreams.
Aussie Home Loans believes that every accomplishment
in life, no matter how large or small, starts with a dream
and the active decision to step up and follow that dream.
During their visit to Parliament House the students spent
some time talking to me, as their local member. But if that
was not enough, we also spent some time with the
Premier, Barry O'Farrell, the Minister for Family and
Community Services, Ms Pru Goward, the Minister for
Transport, Ms Gladys Berejiklian, and the Attorney
General, Mr Greg Smith, SC. They each raised various
issues with the students relating to the importance of
vision and education. In fact, our Premier told the students
Issue 4 – Term 2
that if he had known when he was young what he was
going to be doing in life, he would have studied harder at
school. The Minister for Transport spoke about the
importance of values and also discussed her migrant
history, which is something we all share because
everyone in this Chamber has a family history of a migrant
coming to Australia for a better life for themselves and
their children and grandchildren. Minister Goward spoke to
the students about the importance of self-belief and the
Attorney General spoke of the importance of service and
determination. A group photo was taken of the students
with the Premier and the Ministers. We then introduced
them to question time—the students were able to see
Parliament in action.
June 2013
Further to this will be subject selection day with the
possibility of an additional TVET course, run through the
TAFE. If you have any questions regarding any of the
points mentioned above please do not hesitate to contact
me at the school on: 46255811
Enjoy your break
Ms Taylor
Year 10 Year Adviser
The success of this mentoring program can be readily
demonstrated by the dramatic increase in the number of
students planning diverse and exciting futures way past
the end of their year 12 studies. What was but a distant
hope for some of those students has now become a
reality—all achieved by a wonderful program working with
the school that focuses on concern, advice, mentoring and
broadening horizons. Perhaps one of the best examples
was a presentation by Israel Folau, who visited Airds High
School and spoke with the assembled students. He told
them of his dream as a young fellow. At the age of 15 he
wrote down on paper his goal of wanting to play first grade
rugby league by the time he was 17. Israel told the
students that his brothers laughed at him. They did not
think he could do it. He told the students about the
importance of goals and self-belief, the importance of
sticking to it and working hard to achieve those goals.
There is probably no greater thing that we can do than
build hope, values and determination in our youth, so that
they can go on to achieve their goals. I told the students
that they were all unique—there is no-one like them in the
world, no-one that had their particular mix of skills and
talents, no-one called to their vocation in life—and how
important it is not only for them but also for their families
and the community that they follow their dreams. I
commend the program to the House.
YEAR 10 REPORT
Year 10 Careers Expo
On the 6th of June Mr Hennessy and myself had the
pleasure of taking a group of Year 10 students to the
Macarthur Career’s Expo. We began the day with a short
walk through the crisp morning air and arrived at Mega
Mini Golf for a few rounds of putt putt. The students
experienced the Lost Jungle, Pharaoh's Tomb and Wild
West themed obstacle courses. I was really impressed
with the level of teamwork and acceptance among the
students present. We then made our way to Minto to
attend the Macarthur Career’s Expo. Here, the students
had the opportunity to network with tertiary providers and
other career pathways that they may like to venture into
on completion of high school.
We encourage the Year 10 students to begin thinking
about possible Work Experience options that they would
like to participate in, as this will be taking place next term.
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Issue 4 – Term 2
June 2013
opportunities that can be provided and are able to take
part in all the extra sporting and social events that happen
throughout the year. The staff here at Airds High School
are extremely dedicated to each one of our students and
all their time and effort to help our children be successful
in life is greatly appreciated.
I would once again like to encourage all parents,
caregivers and community members to attend our P&C
meetings. They are held on the first Wednesday of each
month in the Staff Common Room starting at 10:15am.
Morning tea is often provided and it is a great opportunity
for you to meet other parents at the school as well as get
to know a little bit about how our school works and what
goes on ‘behind the scenes’. Our principal, Mr Foord, is
usually at our meetings and is always willing to answer
any questions you might have or provide explanations of
anything that affects us as parents and community
members. If you have young children who aren’t at school
yet and would like to attend our meetings, please feel free
to bring your children along. They are more than welcome
to stay in the common room with you during the meetings
and a few books, toys and some food will do wonders to
keep them happy! If we have more parents and
community members involved with our P&C it will mean
that we are able to do more to assist the school in
providing for our children’s needs. Due to the school
holidays our next P&C meeting will be held on Wednesday
7th August at 10:15am. It would be really great to see
some new faces and hear any ideas you might have for
our school.
P&C REPORT
It’s hard to believe that the year is nearly half over, but
here we are at the end of Term 2 already! I hope you have
all had an enjoyable and productive first semester being
involved in all the wonderful learning activities and events
that have been happening at Airds High School. There
have been camps, swimming, cross country and athletics
carnivals; team sport matches against other schools,
many of which Airds have won; the LEAPS programme for
some Year 9 students; Aspirations for some Year 11
students and many exciting learning activities that have
been going on in the school on a daily basis.
It has been great to see so many of our students
participating in these experiences and events and
experiencing such high levels of success. A huge thank
you must go to all staff members who work tirelessly to
make sure our children have the best learning
With Father’s Day fast approaching the P&C are
attempting to organise a fundraising event that would
allow our families to celebrate all the wonderful moments
we share with our dads, stepdads, grandads, uncles or
other male role models throughout our lives. We hope that
some of the money raised may be donated to a charity
that focuses specifically on men’s health and well-being,
such as prostate cancer or men’s mental health. We hope
that our students and families will support the event so
that the school in turn can support one of these worthy
causes. More information will be sent home when the
details are finalised next term, and hopefully we will be
able to hold a very successful fundraising event.
I hope everyone has a very enjoyable and relaxing holiday
and I am looking forward to seeing you all back here next
term. I’m sure the second half of the year will be as busy
and as productive as our first semester has been.
Congratulations to all our students who have experienced
success and achieved their very best this term, and thank
you to all our wonderful families who support and
encourage their children.
Melanie Cutts
P&C President
PICLO REPORT
Pacific greetings to all our staff students and their families,
hoping everyone is keeping rugged up and warm in these
colder months, don’t forget we have an endless supply of
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Issue 4 – Term 2
June 2013
winter uniforms to purchase to keep out the chills during
school hours.
skills, developed their leadership skills, and learnt how to
put together a project plan.
The Bring the Family to Uni day was a great success.
Many students and their families enjoyed the evening at
UWS Bankstown hosted by PATHE, we were given an
informed evening of life in university for the Pacific
student.
We heard of the personal struggles and
obstacles these students had faced in the past and the
importance of programs like PATHE who give support and
assistance to students during their time at uni. Parents
were informed of the various ways to access university
and the importance of further education and training for
the future of their children. The night ended with a great
meal and entertainment and we were excited to be a part
of the celebration of PATHE’s first birthday. Thank you Dr
Jioji and Moera Sakimi and your team for a great night
out. Pathe are holding a workshop this Wednesday 26
June for Years 10 -11 at Airds HS library so students are
better informed on how to apply and access Tafe and
University. These workshops are invaluable for students in
providing opportunities to access further education and
training
Based on the needs of the student body, the SRC decided
that for their project, they would renovate the student
toilets. Given the magnitude of this initiative, seven
members of the SRC went into the city on the 20 th June to
ask if Aussie could possibly contribute some funds to help
them out. The students had to give a presentation to a
number of representatives at Aussie, outlining what their
project is, what they have been working on, and how they
intend to enact this renovation.
Pacific Parents Forum went well with parents getting
educated about their children’s education it was very
interesting to learn about what is expected from our
students as far as assignments and attendance goes and
it also gave parents the opportunity to reflect on how they
can contribute and support in their children’s learning. We
were also fortunate to hear an inspiring story from Lyric
McFarland who spoke about the positive influences in her
life and encouraged students to find career paths that you
most enjoy and pursue it to the best of your ability. Thank
you to the teachers who presented on the day and
students who performed and also the parents who cooked
the beautiful lunch, it is awesome to see parents
participating in such a positive way for the benefit of their
children.
Every single student who spoke presented themselves
impeccably and set an outstanding example for the
school. They spoke with confidence and passion and
clearly showed to Aussie that at Airds High School we
“Strive to Achieve”. I would like to congratulate the
students on their presentation and express how very
proud I am of their efforts.
On Tuesday 25th June, the final SRC/Aussie workshop will
be held where our students will find out how successful
their presentation was. I am sure that based on their hard
work, Airds High School will see newly renovated toilets
very soon!
I wish everyone a safe and fun holiday and look forward to
seeing what the SRC will produce next term.
Mr Wallace
SRC Coordinator
There are a number of upcoming events for Pacific
students including an invitation for our Maori Nesian fest
performers to perform at the ‘Navigation’ launch at Casula
Power house in October and also a selected group of
students will perform at the Salvation Army Multicultural
Festival at Homebush in September.
Enjoy the holidays everyone and see you all next term.
Kia Manuia
Michelle, Katelyn, Angela, Adi, Justin, Christina, Paul, Anita
(Aussie), Claire (Be Learning)
Mrs M Varu
PICLO
SRC REPORT
The SRC has been working very hard during the second
half of Term 2. In conjunction with Aussie and Be
Learning, the SRC have been developing their leadership
skills by working on a project to help improve the school.
This has involved attending workshops where they have
learnt communication techniques, improved their speaking
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Issue 4 – Term 2
CLO REPORT
My name is Melanie Cutts and I have recently been
appointed as the new Community Liaison Officer here at
Airds High School. I’m sure many of you remember Robyn
Culbert who retired last year after having worked tirelessly
as the CLO for well over 20 years. On behalf of all the
staff, students, parents and community members who
were helped and supported in so many ways by Robyn, I
would once again like to say a very big thank you for all
her years of hard work and dedication to Airds High
School. I trust that she is enjoying her well earned
retirement and she will always hold a very special place in
the hearts and minds of many people here at our school.
I am very excited about my new role here at AHS and am
looking forward to working with all the wonderful staff,
students and families that are part of our school. One of
my roles here at school is to be a link between the school,
the staff, the parents/careviers and the wider community in
order to provide all students with the best possible
opportunities for successful learning. Over the coming
weeks I will be talking and working with staff, students and
parents in order to gain some insight into how I might best
assist everyone here at the school. From there I will be
able to develop some strategies and programs that will be
designed to address the areas with the greatest needs
here at school and hopefully in the wider community. I am
also hoping to be able to organise for a number of our
parents and community members to visit our school on a
regular basis and share their knowledge and skills with as
many students and staff as possible. If we all work
together to provide our children with interesting and varied
learning experiences, we will be giving them a wellrounded education and doing all we can to help lead them
to a successful future.
In order for me to start to get to know the students and
their families here at school, I will be sending out a
questionnaire early in Term 3. I would greatly appreciate it
if you and your family could fill it out and return it to school
as quickly as possible. As your Community Liaison Officer
I believe that it is important for me to be providing parents
and their families with the support and assistance that
they see as areas of need for themselves and the
education of their children. By filling out the questionnaire,
you will be providing me with that information which I can
then use to develop relevant programs that will best assist
your families. Your time and effort in filling out the
questionnaire will be greatly appreciated and very
valuable when it comes to your child’s opportunities here
at school.
We have many exciting events on our school calendar for
next term and I look forward to seeing many of our
students participating in the planned activities. I would like
to encourage all of our parents to become as involved as
possible in their children’s school life and any extracurricular activities that they may participate in. It would be
great to see more parents at events such as zone and
regional athletics or cross country carnivals, or cheering
on their child’s hockey, netball or football team from the
sideline. Sharing these sorts of days with your children
June 2013
can help to strengthen the relationship you have with them
and help to motivate them to do well and be successful in
their future endeavours.
Finally I would like to encourage all our students, parents
and community members to feel free to approach me with
any issues, concerns, ideas or suggestions that they may
have. I am always willing to listen and do whatever I can
to assist you with whatever it is you might need. I will be at
school on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday each week
and if you are unable to contact me please just leave a
message at the front office and I will get back to you.
Please also encourage your children to some and see me
if there is anything they would like me to help them with.
My room is located in the library and I am at school from
8:30am until 3:00pm.
I hope you and your families have a very relaxing and
enjoyable holiday and our students come back to school
refreshed, enthusiastic and with a positive attitude towards
their learning and school life.
I look forward to seeing you all next term
Ms M Cutts
CLO
FROM THE PASTORAL CARERS DESK
The end of Term 2 is fast approaching and we will be half
way through the year. This term we have seen many
encouraging achievements with positive outcomes
through the extra programs, events and activities at Airds
High School. The dedication and the energy of staff in
supporting our students is amazing. They continue to go
the extra mile in providing opportunities for their education
and personal development. Congratulations to everyone
for a wonderful school term, the holidays will be a
welcome break for all as we recharge the batteries to be
ready for a busy Term 3.
Reconciliation Week was acknowledged recently by the
whole nation. It’s a time for reflection and focus on our
Aboriginal brothers and sisters. The journey towards
reconciliation is ongoing, as we acknowledge the history
that has damaged relationships in the past. We look to our
elected leaders with hope that they will be guided to speak
the truth in love, to seek social justice with mercy and to
care for those who are disadvantaged. There is a long
way to go, but education and understanding is the key to
change and a need to strengthen Aboriginal leadership
within our communities. Our school community has much
to celebrate with pride as we recognise the achievements
of our Aboriginal students and staff.
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Melanie
Cutts in her new role as Community Liaison Officer at
AHS. Melanie will provide an important link for school,
community and families. We wish her every success in
this position.
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Issue 4 – Term 2
I would like to remind everyone that I am at Airds High
School on Wednesday and Thursday this term. If I can be
of any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Until next time, safe and happy holidays.
Rob Hodgson JP
TEACHING AND LEARNING REPORT
MULTILIT
This term we have been
implementing the Multi Lit
Reading Tutor Program to
selected Year 7 and 8
students. The Reading Tutor
Program caters for students
who have not acquired the basic skills needed to become
functional readers and covers Word Attack Skills, Sight
Words, and Reinforced Reading. The program delivers
high-level one-on-one instruction over two sessions per
cycle with regular monitoring conducted to maximize the
student’s progress.
A reminder that parents are always welcome to contact us
– Ms Zalewski or Ms Green - and discuss their children
and their progress and the extra support they are
receiving. We must also congratulate the MULTILIT
participants on their extended success this term; it’s great
to see the student’s confidence, ability and results
increasing!
June 2013
8 and 9 students are already enthusiastically planning
their activities
The challenge day will be held on Tuesday 25th June and
we welcome any parents and community members who
would like to see this day take place to join us in the
library from 9.30am. We once again wish all the
participating Primary Schools the best of luck going into
this terms challenge.
Fast Forward
This term selected Year 10 students have been continuing
with the Fast Forward Program. The program is a career
driven concept by the University of Western Sydney and
aims to prepare students for the future by running
workshops and one on one mentoring sessions
surrounding work choices, study methods and time
management. The mentors are available to help students
with school work and are also available to talk about
everyday issues.
This term the students went to the Fast Forward Year 10
University Day. The day was fun and interactive with all
workshops being based on Sean Coveys 7 habits of
Highly Effective Teens. The day provided students with
valuable tools and resources to help them make informed
decisions about their future study aspirations.
AM Program
The Awareness Motivation Program has seen a
successful term with some new students joining the goal
setting program. The program provides students with
mentoring and goal setting opportunities as well as time
for peer mentoring. Participating students have shown
increased attendance rates and decreases in negative
behaviours as well as improved engagement in classes.
The participating students are to be congratulated on their
goal driven success!
Gifted and Talented
The Gifted and Talented Program
has seen success this term with
differentiated
curriculum
and
withdrawal lessons continuing
with both the Year 9 and Year 10
G&T cluster group. This term we have also focused on our
selected Year 7 G&T students and hope to continue more
withdrawal programs and in class support next term.
Middle School Challenge
This term our Year 9 and selected Year 8 GAT Students
will once again, be running the GAT Middle School
Challenge. These days aim to give the primary school
participants an insight into high school life and aim to
further their creative thinking. This terms Challenge will be
focused around the central theme of “Space” and the Year
Wednesday Activity Centre
Every Wednesday in the library, we are offering a variety
of activities for all students. We have had a very positive
response for our activity centre this term and would like to
see the numbers continue to increase. We supply a lovely
afternoon tea for all students that attend and activities
include; Arts and Crafts, Film Club, Homework Centre,
Chess and Fitness. Teachers supervise all activities and
are available to support students with their assignments
and
classwork
generally.
Most
faculties
have
representatives at the library, but if your child would like a
particular teacher to support them, then please get your
child to contact us in the library. If your child would like to
attend the Wednesday Activity Centre please arrange for
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Issue 4 – Term 2
them to get a permission note from the library. We look
forward to helping your students!
From the Library
All of us are faced with making countless decisions each
day. How successful we are depends on a combination of
skills known as information literacy. Information literacy
means more than being able to read or use a computer. It
means knowing how to find, evaluate and use the best,
most current information available. An information literate
person recognises when information is needed and can
locate, access, evaluate and apply that information.
Information literacy encompasses the effective use of
multiple information technologies and formats, enables
individuals to develop skills for learning throughout life and
supports skills for workplace enterprise and for community
participation.
Although they have grown up with the internet, the large
majority of students mainly use it for gaming, following
celebrities and social media. Often their search skills lack
the ability to return good, relevant results, and they have
little idea of evaluating whether a website’s information is
relevant and credible. We constantly work with students
on their information literacy in the library.
Several students signed up for the Premier’s Reading
Challenge. This is the first year we have run this, so while
I’m new to this, many students are veterans having
completed the challenge through all levels of Primary
School. Some of our older students also wanted to
participate but are excluded because the Challenge is for
students in Years 7-9. So we decided to run our own
challenge for them – The Principal’s Reading Challenge. If
your child is in one of these Challenges, encourage them
to keep reading until the finish date (end of August).
Premier’s Reading Challenge students can fill out their
Personal
Reading
Log
online
at
https://products.schools.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html.
Principal’s Reading Challenge students don’t get it so
easy, they have to prove to me they have read a book
before I’ll sign off on it. For all students, the holidays
provide a perfect opportunity for extended reading.
Ms Burgess & Ms Jones
Teacher-Librarians
SLSO’s
It is hard to believe that this term is almost over.
Mainstream SLSO’s were impressed with the conduct of
the students during the NAPLAN exams. These exams
were closely followed with the half-yearly exams and Ms
Addamo and Ms Hopwood offered assistance. Although
exam time can be stressful, most students took the exams
in their stride. The focus for this term has been literacy.
Ms Cruz’s Year 8 English class published their works with
the assistance of Ms Addamo. The resulting publication
will be on display in the library.
June 2013
9 and 11) are working on a long term plan to assist
targeted students with an aim to improving numeracy
results. Year 12 students are still working towards their
HSC and Ms Addamo has been working closely with
targeted students to help them maximise their results. Ms
Hopwood is continuing to prepare Year 11 for their final
year.
Both Ms Addamo and Ms Hopwood are happy to offer
assistance to all mainstream students in any year, in any
subject. The planned changes in technology and new
teaching and learning techniques will be implemented to
enrich the learning experiences of our students and Ms
Addamo and Ms Hopwood are more than happy to assist
any student achieve their learning goals within the values
framework of safe, respectful learning.
We are:
Safe
Respectful
Learners
PDHPE REPORT
Well done to all students who have completed their
assignments and half yearly exams to the best of their
ability this term for PDHPE. It is very pleasing to see
students achieve such high results. The following students
have produced excellent results for assignments, exams
and performances in Health and PE this semester. The
students have come in the top 3 places in their year
groups:
Year 7
1st Tenielle Dredge, 2nd Alfred Pritchard & 3rd Noreislyn
Fuimoano
Year 8
1st Aurin Jones, 2nd Vanessa Siitia & 3rd Joel Etherington
Year 9
PDHPE – 1st Askari Zehour, 2nd Angela Franks, 3rd
Rhiannon Cuthbert
PASS – 1st Askari Zehour, 2nd Cougar Smith, 3rd Angela
Franks
Coaching – 1st Justin Peachey, 2nd Angela Franks, 3rd
Askari Zehour
Year 10
PDHPE – 1st Aidan Ferderer, 2nd Elizabeth Lilomaiava, 3rd
Kimberley Gimbert
PASS – 1st Aidan Ferderer, 2nd Al-Harraz Hudaja, 3rd Zac
Dunn
Next term’s focus will be on numeracy and both Ms Marie
Addamo (Yrs 8, 10 and 12) and Ms Julie Hopwood (Yrs 7,
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Issue 4 – Term 2
June 2013
Year 11
PDHPE – 1st Kira-Leigh Moore, 2nd Jason Zeballos, 3rd
Tanaya Phillips
SLR – 1st Kira-Leigh Moore, 2nd Elijah Sa, 3rd Riggot Varu
COACHING (Consistent Effort) – Alex Oloaga
Year 12
PDHPE – 1st Kane Walsh, 2nd Yasmine Daye, 3rd Amy-Lee
Fuentes
SLR – 1st Ali Khalil, 2nd Lucas Macdonald 3rd Joshua
Mokoroa
SLR (Consistent Effort) – Stephanie Wasson
Support – Consistent Effort
Cooper – Joseph Michael
Manolo – Jackson Baxter
Gucci – Shyan Tupufia
Blunstone – Blake Waechtler
Prada – Kayla Scafidi
Well done to all those students! Keep up the superb effort!
Year 11 Coaching students have been working hard all
term to plan a rugby league Gala Day for Year 7 with the
help of our local NRL Development Officer Drew Dalton.
On Monday 3rd June, this day was held and they taught
the students how to score a try, how to attack and defend
and how to work as a team. In the afternoon, there was a
round robin touch competition which the coaching
students refereed and organised. All students were lucky
enough to receive a free football for their participation.
Congratulations to the Year 11 Coaching students for their
assistance on the day and Year 7 for being fantastic
participants.
A reminder to students in Ms Tate’s Year 11 PDHPE class
and Ms Simms Year 11 and 12 Sport Coaching classes
that notes for the Senior First Aid course being held in
Week 7 of next term are due back ASAP. $70 needs to be
paid to the front office in instalments or as a lump sum.
This course is compulsory for all of the students in these
classes and failure to complete may jeopardise the
completion of the Preliminary or HSC course. Any
problems, feel free to contact these teachers in the
PDHPE faculty.
Hope you all have a safe and happy mid-year holiday.
Mr S Wagner
Head Teacher PDHPE
FOOTBALL UNITED REPORT
The Football United program continues to grow and is
enjoying increases in numbers and participants.
The Football United After School Training program runs
every Monday afternoon from 3:15pm – 4:30pm on the
back oval of the high school with Stuart and his team of
coaches. This is a fantastic opportunity for the students to
have some fun after school and learn some soccer skills
(also it is absolutely free!!!). Students from our local feeder
primary schools John Warby, Briar Road, Bradbury and
Woodland Road as well as Airds High School students in
Years 7-10 are welcome to attend. If you want more
information or a permission note contact the Sport
Organiser at your primary school or Ms Simms or Mr
Miezio at Airds High School on 4625 5811. The program
will run on the following Mondays in Term 3:
 Monday 22nd July
 Monday 5th August
 Monday 12th August
 Monday 19th August
 Monday 2nd September
 Monday 9th September
 Monday 16th September
8
Issue 4 – Term 2
On Wednesday 19th June, the South Division Football
United Gala Day was held at Miller Technology High
School. The junior boys played games against the
following schools with these results:
 Airds Vs Lurnea HS – Won 4-0 (Goals to Joshua
McDonald (2), Samuel Vyzigiro, Jake Taylor)
 Airds Vs Miller HS – Won 2-0 (Goals to Jonathan
Souleyo, Jayden Vidovic McCarthy)
 Airds Vs James Meehan HS – Drew 1-1 (Goal to
Jake Taylor)
We were the winners of our division and the boys played
extremely well and were excellent ambassadors for our
school. The students also got to talk with Paul Reid
(former Sydney FC player) and Labinot Haliti (Western
Sydney Wanderers player)
June 2013
If you have any questions about the Football United
program, please do not hesitate to contact Ms Simms or
Mr Miezio.
SUPERVISOR OF GIRLS
The GAP (Girls Achieving their Potential) program began
in Term 2 with a selected number of students from Year 7
participating. The group met every fortnight and completed
workshops on bullying, being resilient and making their
own decisions. During Week 8, the girls were treated to a
Drumbeats session run by Deb and Katrina from Youth
Connections. The girls thoroughly enjoyed learning how to
play the drums and work together as a team.
9
Issue 4 – Term 2
June 2013
Sydney South West Girls Tennis Knockout
SEMESTER 1 SPORTS REPORT
We are pleased to announce that Airds High School Girls
Tennis Team consisting of Marrenars Srey, Alicia Loli,
Teuila Fetui and Siteri Peter made it through to Round 4 of
the Sydney South West Girls Tennis Knockout. The girls
successfully made it through to round 4 beating East Hills
Girls High School, Mt Annan High School, Elderslie High
School and then came up against Cecil Hills in Round 4.
It has been an action packed first term with some
outstanding achievements from our talented students.
This has been my first term as sports organisers and I
have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I must thank
some people first. To all the teachers who have given up
their time to take a knockout team. Thank you, as without
your help and support our students would not have the
opportunity to compete and participate in these scheduled
events.
We travelled to Cecil Hills High School to participate in the
4th Round of the knockout not knowing what we would be
up against. Upon arrival we found out that two of the
members from Cecil Hills High are currently seeded
players and both represent Australia. This came as quite a
shock to our girls but they still put up a fight and
unfortunately were unsuccessful in both their doubles
games and their seeded singles
.
The girls were great ambassadors for Airds High School
and deserve to be congratulated for their sensational
effort and sportsmanship.
Miss Zalewski
Knockout teams for 2013
Open boys cricket
Open boys basketball
Open girls basketball
U15s boys basketball
Open girls volleyball
Open boys volleyball
Open girls hockey
Open boys hockey
Open boys rugby league
U15s rugby league
U13s rugby league
Open boys soccer
Open girls soccer
Open girls netball
Open girls Tennis
Open mixed table tennis
Futsal
Mr Moss
Mr Tyler/Mr Bromley
Mr Clements
Mr Hennessey
Mr John
Mr John
Miss Tate
Miss Tate
Mr Latulipe
Mr Tyler/Mr Bromley
Mr Tyler/Mr Bromley
Mr Moss
Mr Farmer
Miss Zalewski
Miss Zalewski
Mr Rosete
Mr Halliburton
Airds High School Swimming Carnival
Unfortunately the schools swimming carnival had to be
cancelled due to the bleak outlook from the weather
forecast. This decision was made with the student’s safety
in mind. We made it serious competitors only. The turn-out
was poor on the day but we still had a handful of students
pulling some good times and even records.
Congratulations to our Age Champions for 2013 are:
Girls
Name
Boys
Name
13 years
Madison
13 years
Nahi Hona
Tidmarsh
14 years
Hayley
14 years
Zac Gialanze
Greatley
15 years
Chloe
15 years
Aidan
Greatley
Ferderer
17 years
Katelyn
16 years
PJ Mati-Leifi
Ferderer
17 years
Adrian
Holahan
Aidan Ferderer must be congratulated for receiving the 15
years boys Age Champion at the Fisher Zone Carnival.
This is his 4th consecutive year for receiving this award.
10
Issue 4 – Term 2
June 2013
Records broken on the day
Name
Age
Event
group
Aidan
U16s
200IM
Ferderer
Aidan
U15s
50m Freestyle
Ferderer
Aidan
U15s
50m Backstroke
Ferderer
Aidan
U15s
100m Freestyle
Ferderer
Aidan
U15s
50 Breaststroke
Ferderer
Aidan
U15s
50 Butterfly
Ferderer
Katelyn
U17s
50m Backstroke
Ferderer
Katelyn
U17s
50m
Ferderer
Breaststroke
2.42.62s
29.38s
35.89s
1.05.10s
40.74s
43.57s
53.19s
We had 2 students make the regional carnival held at
Bradbury Pools. Katelyn Ferderer must be congratulated
for her consistent performance at every swimming carnival
that she has attended from Year 7. She is now in Year 12,
and has made it to the Regional Carnival every year. What
a fantastic achievement! Aidan Ferderer swam
fantastically well in all his events and made it to the State
Championships which will be held at Homebush in early
April. Aidan’s results consisted of 2 nd in 50m, 100m, 200m
and 400m freestyle, 2nd in 100m butterfly, and 1st in the
100m backstroke. These are some fantastic results Aidan!
Well done!
State Swimming Championships
Aidan had a big schedule of swimming in week 10 of Term
1. Most swimmers are lucky to make 1 or 2 events at a
State level and Aidan was competing in 6 events. Here is
a summary of Aidan’s performances.
Place
19th
14th
14th
13th
16th
17th
Aimee Burke
Katelyn Ferderer
Kimberley Gimbert
Samantha Gimbert
Emma Morris
Angela Franks
Rhiannon Cuthbert
Jake Taylor
David Baker
Christian Woodin
Robert Clarke Hirka
34s
Regional Swimming Carnival
Event
50m free
100 free
200 free
400m free
100 butterfly
100 back











Time
Time
27.68s and a PB
1.00.29
2.11.41 and a PB
4.46.37 and a PB
1.10.70 and a PB
1.14.13
Sydney South West Representation
Rugby Union
Congratulations to Paul Vaai and Seru Tamani for making
the Sydney South West training squad for Rugby Union.
Fingers crossed for both of you to train hard and hopefully
make the SSW Union team for 2013.
Congratulations to Kimberley Gimbert who was successful
in making the Sydney South West Hockey team for 2013.
This is an outstanding achievement considering she is
only in Year 10. I have heard from Miss Tate who was the
coach of the Fisher Zone team that Kimberley played
outstandingly all day. She showed great skill, fitness and
team work on the day which made her a successful player
and now representative for SSW.
Robert Clarke- Hirka in Year 11 was very close to making
the Sydney South team for 2013. He made the final squad
of boys to play in the last game of the afternoon.
Unfortunately he was 1 of 8 boys dropped in the final
round. We want to wish you all the best for next year
Robert!
Cross Country
Our school Cross Country carnival was held on the 3rd of
May. Students competing ran a new track which equalled
3.6km. Congratulations to Aidan Ferderer who took out
the boy’s race and Kimberley Gimbert who won the girls
race during period 2.
Congratulations to the following students who received
Age Champions for 2013
Age
12
13
14
15
Name
Abbey Olsen
Madison
Tidmarsh
Hayley
Lardner
Kimberley
Gimbert
Age
13
14
Name
Malik Reid
Alex Bustescu
15
Aidan Ferderer
16
Sitai
Burogolevu
Robert Clark
Hirka
17
Hockey
Congratulations to the following students who made the
Fisher Zone Hockey teams to compete at the regional
carnival in April.
11
Issue 4 – Term 2
June 2013
Fisher Zone Cross Country was held at Mount Annan
Botanical Gardens. It was a beautiful day with no rain in
sight which is always good news for the Cross Country
Carnival. We had a number of students who ran well on
the day and are now through to the regional carnival. Big
congratulations to our 15 boys who ran in 1st, 2nd and 3rd
on the day. Well done boys, what a great effort!
The following students made the Fisher Zone team to
compete at regional
Fisher Zone Cross Country
Name
Abby Olsen
Madison Tidmarsh
Kimberley Gimbert
Aidan Ferderer
Jake Taylor
Wiz Foster
Liam Stark
Sitai Burogolevu
Place
3rd
7th
3th
1st
2nd
3rd
6th
2nd
Age Group
12 years
13 years
15 years
15 years
15 years
15 years
16 years
16 years
12
Issue 4 – Term 2
June 2013
Regional Cross Country
Regional Cross Country was held on the 13th of June. We
had many of our talented runners perform well on the day.
Abby Olsen received 19th position in the 12 years girls.
Madison Tidmarsh from the 13 years girls ran in at 28th.
Kimberley Gimbert ran in 21st in the 15 years girls. Big
congratulations to Aidan Ferderer who made it to the State
Championships for the second year in a row. Aidan placed
5th in his age group and was just tipped on the line for 4th
place in a sprint finish. Well done to all the athletes who
competed on the day.
Airds High School Athletics Carnival
Airds was definitely blessed on Friday the 24th of May. The
day before the weather was terrible. The sky was dark and
gloomy and it rained pretty much all day. But Friday came
and the track was still a little wet from the day before but
Airds High School received sunshine all day. We were
unable to hold high jump due to safety concerns with the
track. Many students were disappointed with this as it is a
loved event at Airds with many students wanting to
participate or watch the spectacle unravel. It was a
fantastic day and many records were broken.
Age champions
Name
Age
Name
Group
Abby
12
Tod
Olsen
years
Leslie
Madison Tidmarsh
Hayley Lardner
Sharna Hillhouse
Milly Turaganivolo
Adi Turaganivolo
Evelyn Lardner
Age Group
12 years
13
years
14
years
15
years
16
years
17
years
Sean
Marceca
Sione
Teisi
Braydon
Watkins
Austin
Harris
John
Maillei
Stanley
Mila
Hayden
Harrison
13
years
14
years
15
years
16
years
17
years
13
Issue 4 – Term 2
Records
Name
Abby Olsen
Madison Tidmarsh
Hayley Lardner
Loata Peters
Nadine Hakes
Adi Turaganivolo
Naya El-Abd
Moses Vuki
Chris Manu
Seth King
Kyle Moore
Aidan Ferderer
Sitai Burogolevu
Dylan Mahon
June 2013
Age and event
12 years girls
1500m
13
years girls
1500m
14 years girls
1500m
15 years girls
200m
15 years girls
1500m
17 years girls
Javelin
14 years girls
Javelin
12 years boys
Javelin
12 years boys
200m
12 years boys
Discus
13 years boys
200m
13 years boys
1500m
15 years boys
1500m
16 years boys
1500m
17 years boys
1500m
New Record
8m
7m.07s
8m.35s
32.12s
9m. 01s
21.02m
18.03m
20.22m
31.51s
Knockout teams
5m.33s
Cricket Report
The open boys cricket team performed exceptionally well
against Mount Annan High. Bowling first, we managed to
restrict the opposition to 165 runs. Brock Baker was the
pick of the bowlers taking 3 wickets. He was well
supported by Damien Ellis and Zac Dunn who took a
wicket each. Elijah Sa and Aubrey French also bowled
extremely well. Unfortunately we fell short of their total
when batting. Brock Baker showed some resistance and
top scored for us with 18 not out. Congratulations to all the
players for their determination and their outstanding
attitude on the day.
5m.35s
Mr Moss
22.70m
30.71s
6.40m
5m.21s
14
Issue 4 – Term 2
Hockey Report
June 2013
Amy and our goal scorers Katelyn, Samantha and Emma
the girls went away with the victory 3 to 1. Well done girls!
Open Girls Hockey Team
Central venue (2nd and 3rd round matches)
On Monday the 3rd of June the Open girls Hockey team
headed off to battle their 2nd and 3rd round clashes out at
Moorebank Hockey field. Their first game was against
Bass High School. We were back to full strength this time
as we had Kimberley Gimbert back from Sydney South
West Hockey. The girls played outstanding and defeated
their opposition 9-nil. Special mention must go to Adde
Liban for her hunger in the circle to put away 3 goals.
As you can see from the above photos the girls played in
some tough weather conditions. It poured rain the whole
game and the turf was completely covered in water
making it hard to move the ball and string passes
together. Airds High School versed Ambarvale High
School in their first round match out at Narellan Hockey
fields. At full time the score was locked at nil all. This
meant the girls would have to go back out into the rain
and face extra time. No complaints though from our girls
who went out there once again to face the conditions and
Ambarvale. The score was still locked at nil all at the end
of extra time which meant the girls would now have to
have a stroke off. This is where the goalie goes up against
one field player. They must either push or flick the ball into
the goal in one motion. Our goalie was Amy McDonald
and she had to face 5 different Ambarvale players. Airds
High School stroke takers for the day were Katelyn
Ferderer, Aimee Burke, Samantha Gimbert, Emma Morris
and Angela Franks. Thanks to the great defence from
15
Issue 4 – Term 2
The win against Bass High School saw the girl’s progress
through to the 3rd round of the competition. The girls went
up against Bonnyrigg High School. At the end of the first
half the girls were 1-nil down. This didn’t deter their
determination or their ability to play as a team. They
worked tirelessly through the second half. 15 minutes into
the 2nd half Kimberley Gimbert put away a well needed
goal to see Airds equal the score. In the last 5 minutes of
play the girls won a short corner. We had Katelyn Ferderer
score a goal from a beautifull position and a powerful hit
into the corner to put the girls in the lead. The girls had the
skill and the determination to hold Bonnyrigg out for the
rest of the game. I must congratulate all the girls for a
wonderful day. You were all great ambassadors for your
school and I wish you all the best for the next round
matches. With their win the girls are now in the final 4
schools for the Sydney South West region. This is the best
hockey team that Airds has seen and all the girls should
be proud of their efforts and achievements. Well done!
June 2013
Open Boys Hockey team
The boy’s first game was held at Narellan Hockey fields.
They were up against John Edmonson High School. The
boys worked hard throughout the whole game and
dominated possession of the ball but just couldn’t find a
goal. By the end of the first half it was 1-nil to Airds. Early
in the second half John Edmondson scored a runaway
goal to even up the score at 1-1. The boys continued
attacking and kept their cool to score in the last 5 minutes
of play to move through to the second round of the
competition. Standout players were Jake Taylor and Seth
King in attack and Robert Clarke- Hirka in the middle as
centre half.
Central Venue for 2nd and 3rd round competition
16
Issue 4 – Term 2
On the 14th of June the boys headed off to Moorebank
Hockey Field for the next round of their competition. Their
first game was against Leumeah High School.
Unfortunately Leumeah forfeited, this meant that our boys
went straight through to the 3rd round of the competition.
The boys were up against older and physically bigger
opponents from Holsworthy High School. It was a physical
game but our boys did stand up to them to display skill
and team work beyond their years and experience. The
boys went down fighting all the way to the end. Well done
boys! Stand out players from the match were Justin
Peachey who scored our only goal, Robert Clarke- Hirka
for his work in the middle, Jayden McCormick and David
Baker for their defensive efforts.
Miss N Tate
June 2013
Futsal Boys Knockout
A group of U14 boys participated in the NSW Futsal
Competition at Minto Indoor Sports Centre. The boys put
in a big effort each week for months in training. The boys
played four games over the day, unfortunately they lost all
four games. The boys played with a lot of heart, a bit of
skill and their sportsmanship was exceptional. Best on the
day was Aurin Jones, most improved was Joel Etherington
and players player was Adrian Endicott. A big thanks to Mr
Matt Jones for all the help with training and on game day.
Heads up boys there is always next year.
Mr Halliburton
17
Issue 4 – Term 2
Sydney South West Girls Netball Knockout
On Tuesday 18th June, the Airds High School Girls Netball
Team travelled to Endeavour Park, Fairfield to take part in
the SSW Girls Netball Knockout for 2013. The team
consisted of mixed year groups and all girls were great
ambassadors for Airds High School. The girls that took
part on the day were; Vanessa Siitia, Madison Tidmarsh,
Siteri Peter, Sharna Hillhouse, Praise Varu, Gabrielle
Tuitea, Sonja Ta’ase, Ashley Bell, Margaret Leato and
Naya El Abd.
During the day Airds was pooled against Bossley Park
HS, Lurnea HS, St Johns Park HS, Moorebank HS and
Prairiewood HS. The girls won two games on the day and
were closely defeated in 3 of their 5 games.
The leadership, sportsmanship, behaviour and effort
shown by the girls the entire day is something they should
be really proud of. They were outstanding ambassadors
for Airds High School and are to be congratulated on their
great performance! Well done Girls.
Miss Zalewski
June 2013
SUPPORT REPORT
‘Together we can make a
difference’
Term 2 is ending, and we are halfway through the year
already. How quickly the time passes with such a busy
school term, so much has happened. With so much
activity and energy in the Support Unit at present, staff
continue to work tirelessly to support our students in their
learning and personal development.
Coming up is our Parent Teacher night. This is a
wonderful opportunity to be able to speak with all the
parents. This will give our faculty the chance to inform
parents about their child’s progress across all KLA’s. All
staff in the Support Unit continue to portray their
commitment to ensuring all our students experience
quality lessons and excursions that supplement their
learning.
Congratulations to a number of students who were
involved in sporting teams and who represented our
school at zone and regional carnivals. You are all a credit
to our Support Unit and should be very proud of
yourselves.
It is with much sadness but a huge amount of thanks that
Airds HS is farewelling Miss Kate Kennedy at the end of
this term. Kate has been successful in attaining a teaching
position at another school. The work she has done with
teachers, students, parents and the wider community over
the past 4 years has been invaluable and greatly
appreciated by all those around her. It has been wonderful
to experience Kate’s’ happy, positive attitude and the calm
and organised way in which she has approached
everything over the years . The entire school community
and Support Unit will miss Kate greatly. Thank you very
much Kate, and we wish you all the very best in your new
teaching position and everything you do in the future.
Finally, I would like to encourage everyone to bring in their
signed notes for Community Access . Once again in Term
3, all students will be required at attend this compulsory
Community Based Program. Also, it is important that all
students continue to use their diaries/planners so that
ongoing correspondence can continue between all
support staff and parents. Could all parents please inform
the school if contact details change so that we have up to
date records if collaboration between support staff and
parents is required.
On behalf of the Support Unit, I hope you have an
enjoyable and relaxing holiday and we’ll see everyone
back at school for the start of an exciting Term 3.
Mr N Halliburton
Sports Organiser
Mr G Farmer
Teacher Support
18
Issue 4 – Term 2
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL’S REPORT YR 7, 9 & 11
June 2013
I hope that you all have a safe and enjoyable holiday,
Mrs J Fuller
Deputy Principal
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL’S REPORT YR 8, 10 & 12
What a busy Term 2 it has been. When we reflect on
what we have achieved and what we have packed in to
the last 9 weeks, it is quite remarkable!
Last week I had the pleasure of going in to Aussie with 7
delegates from the SRC. It was a privilege to watch the
students present their proposal to the Aussie Executive
and they represented our school so proudly. I wish them
luck with their project and hope that they will receive full
support from the student body and wider community. I
would also like to extend my thanks to Mr Wallace who
has been working with Aussie and the SRC on this
project.
Term 2 has certainly been a busy term on the Wellbeing
front. Whilst each of the Year Advisers have read each
child’s report and made a final comment, they have also
been busy planning School Values Days. These days are
valuable in terms of building cohesion within the year
group and for reinforcing what it means to be a safe,
respectful learner at Airds High School. I thank each of
the Year Advisers for their hard work throughout this
hectic term.
At the beginning of Term 3, we will be having interviews
with parents of Year 11 students whose attendance is
below expectation and who are currently in jeopardy of not
meeting the course outcomes in one or more courses.
Some students are placing their Preliminary Certificate in
jeopardy.
Through our links with Housing NSW, we have been lucky
enough to have 5 mentors donate their time to run a
mentoring program with selected Year 7 students. The
students have responded very positively to this program
and we thank Housing NSW and the mentors for their time
and expertise.
On a sad note, this term we farewell Ms Kate Kennedy,
Year 7 Year Adviser. I would like to take this opportunity
to thank her for her service to public education, particularly
to Airds High School, and it is a small consolation to know
that she is staying in our great education system. I know
that one of her passions has always been to work with
children with challenging behaviours, so we all wish her
luck as she takes up her new position as classroom
teacher at Rowland Hassall SSP.
Greetings to all the parents and friends of Airds High
School. I hope you all have a restful, relaxing and
enjoyable holiday with family and friends. This term has
been
extremely
busy
with
half
yearly
examinations/assessment tasks for most of our year
groups, Athletics Carnival, Cross Country Carnival and of
course our famous Flag Ceremony all happening in the
first six weeks. No wonder I’m exhausted and looking
forward to the holidays!
Our Year Advisers have been extremely busy organising
and delivering welfare days for all of our students. These
days provide invaluable opportunities for our students to
work on their social skills within their year/stage group and
to take ownership of their learning, as well as celebrating
their success within a safe, secure and fun environment.
Next term will be crucial for the year groups that I have the
pleasure of supporting. Year 8 will be picking their elective
classes for 2014 & 2015. Year 10 will select their pattern
of study for their tilt at the HSC. Last but not least, Year 12
will be completing their last term as classroom students at
Airds High School. This could be a stressful time for all of
our students and their families, so for helpful hints and
strategies please do not hesitate to contact the school and
speak to either myself or your child’s Year Adviser.
Mr Foord and I have been busy supervising the
construction of our new Trade Training Centre (TTC).
This million dollar project will see our Old Hall (Gym)
converted into two learning areas, one for PDHPE and the
other for Construction. The completion date for the TTC is
fast approaching and we are all looking forward to using
this wonderful teaching and learning resource in the
second semester. The TTC will be available for use both
during and after school and will indeed become a major
asset for our community.
Of course without regular attendance your child will not
have access to any of these wonderful resources and
programs. When your child misses school or arrives late it
19
Issue 4 – Term 2
causes them to lose value learning time and therefore
opportunities. This also has a negative impact upon their
classmates and staff. It also teaches them bad habits in
regards to punctuality, which will be hard to break once
they enter the workforce. Please support us in
encouraging your child to attend school promptly
everyday!
That’s all I have at the moment, except to say that we can
only achieve the best possible outcomes for your child by
working together. I look forward to seeing or hearing from
you soon. Hopefully at Parent/Teacher night on
Wednesday 26th June if not before! If I do not see you
have a happy, safe and enjoyable two weeks with your
children.
Mr S McGuire
Deputy Principal
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
TEACHING & LEARNING
June 2013
DER Laptop Stocktake
We are currently in the process of stocktaking all of the
Year 10, 11 & 12 DER laptops. This involves all students
using their laptop at school for a minimum of 30min before
the end of Term 2. The stocktake will occur electronically
while the laptop is in use. Any student that does not
participate in this process before the end of the term will
be required to hand in their laptop to our TSO (Michael
Peppernell) next term where it will have to be recorded for
the stocktake manually.
Frasil Education
(Report by Bradley Clark)
Last Thursday Prada travelled to the city to take part in the
Frasil program. We were lucky enough to have two guest
speakers. The first speaker was Gus Beaker. He is a 75
year old man who came to Australia from Budapest with
his family. He was living in an alcoholic environment so he
left his abusive family to live on the streets for a year. He
then moved in with his step dad and got a job as a tool
maker. Gus’s boss sacked him, but he didn’t let that stop
him and 2 years later he had a plastic factory and he was
making big money. I learnt that no matter what happens
to you in life, you can do anything if you put your mind to
it. Hearing his life story made me think I want to do
something with my life!
The second speaker was Andrew Moore a 44 year old
sports journalist. He commentates the football and has
his own talk show called The Game Plan. He started his
career during school work experience at a radio station
and that’s how he got where he is now. He made me
realise that work experience is more important than I think
and if you want something never give up. He made me
think I want to do the same thing he does!
TAFE Course
A number of Year 10 students have been provided with
the opportunity to participate in a 100 hour TAFE Spray
Painting Course it has provided further education, training
options and possible employment. The following students
successfully completed the course: Aaron Anderson,
Blayke Bugatto, Toby Cox, Ziggy Munro, Cheyenne
Steward & Jessy Edwards.
20
Issue 4 – Term 2
June 2013
COMMUNITY LIAISON OFFICER
I would like to congratulate Mrs Melanie Cutts who was
successful in her application for the Community Liaison
Officer position. She has been employed to enhance the
partnerships between the school, parents/caregivers and
our community.
Emmanuel’s PIP (Personal Interest project)
I had the pleasure of Emmanuel from Mr Foster’s class
come and see me very excited and proud of the work he
had just completed on his PIP. I asked Emmanuel to
provide me with some information about his PIP and his
report is below.
“In class we have been working on our personal interest
projects, for mine I have been researching countries
around the Pacific Ocean. In particular I have researched
The U.S.A. Philippines, Indonesia and Australia. I
researched my information on the internet, and in an atlas
and from my memory. I drew maps and flags and typed
the information on the computer including facts like
languages, location, national food, wild life, etc. I then
presented it on some cardboard. I enjoyed researching my
pip”
Gifted & Talented Middle School Challenge
The 2nd Gifted & Talented challenge was held on Tuesday
25th June. This was once again a very successful day with
the students from Briar Rd, John Warby, Bradbury &
Woodland Rd public schools participating in set
challenges and rotating their way through KLA based quiz
questions, problem solving activities & team building
experiences. The Year 9 students ran the activities and
they were very mature and well prepared and did a
fantastic job under the supervision of Ms Zalewski and
Mrs Jones. The challenge will take place again on
Wednesday 11th September.
Year 7 Scholarships 2014
We had a number of applications for the Year 7 2014
Scholarships. The panel found it quite a difficult process
in deciding on the final recipients due to the quality of the
applications. We would like to congratulate the following
students for being successful in gaining a Year 7
Scholarship for 2014:
Jade Ashe – Academic, Maria Lilomaiava – Academic,
Dean Brown – Academic, Caitlyn Vidovic-McCarthy –
Academic, Brooke Pepper – Sporting, Fatima Saleh –
Academic (Personal Best) & Alison Bow – Academic
(Creative Arts).
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Issue 4 – Term 2
I wish everyone and safe and happy holidays and look
forward to all staff, students and community returning
fresh and ready to go for an exciting Term 3.
Mr J Miezio
Deputy Principal Teaching & Learning
School starts at 8:30am EVERY day. Please
ensure your child arrives to school at this time
EVERY day. If they are late, they MUST bring a
note from you explaining the lateness. Thank
you for your co-operation
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
Semester 1, 2013 has almost come to an end and it has
been an extremely busy one. Firstly I would like to thank
all staff for their commitment to ensure all students have
experienced quality lessons, extra-curricular activities and
many excursions that have supplemented the learning for
all students.
Parent Teacher Night
I encourage all parents to attend our Parent/ Teacher
night and to spend time with staff to find out valuable
information about their child’s progress. It is extremely
important to support your children in the process of
learning. I would also like to extend an invitation to all
parents to attend many of the school functions and Parent
and Citizen meetings (held the first Wednesday of each
month at 10:00am), as the greater your involvement in the
school the greater the learning outcomes of your children.
Pacific Forum
Congratulations to Mrs Maryanne Varu on a wonderful
Pacific Islander forum. It was great to see so many
parents and community organisations coming together to
support and enhance the learning outcomes of their
children. We look forward to your increased involvement in
our school.
Trade Training Centre
Airds High school resources continue to improve; our
TRADE TRAINING CENTRE should be up and
operational from early Term 3. Students will be able to
gain a Certificate II or III in Construction and thus increase
their chances of securing a job in the construction
June 2013
industry. We look forward to this fabulous resource, the
association with building companies within the Airds
Bradbury Renewal project and the future vocational
opportunities for our students.
Aspirations
Airds High Year 11 students continue their association
with Aussie with their involvement in the Aspirations
program. Last Wednesday in at Aussies head office in
George St, Sydney, the students enjoyed being involved
in a self-reflection activity on the personal skills that are
required to be successful in the work place. This was
followed by a tour of Parliament House and time in the
gallery during question time. Premier O’Farrell mentioned
Airds High many times during his responses to questions
from the opposition.
School Uniform
Thank you to all students and parents who have readily
supported our school value of “taking pride in yourself,
school and community”. Wearing correct school uniform is
one way of meeting and reflecting this value. If parents are
having difficulty purchasing our uniform there are a
number of options available to assist you. Firstly we sell
the majority of uniform items from our front office and
these are sold to you, below cost price. Secondly we are
happy to invoice parents, organise payment plans or
provide student assistance. Winter is a time when many
varied jumpers are worn by students and this undermines
our school uniform and causes conflict. It is important that
junior students wear bottle green jumpers and seniors
plain black as no other jumpers are acceptable. Wearing
layers is also a good way of beating the cold. The uniform
continues to improve at school and I thank students and
parents for their support in this matter.
Extra curricular activities
This Airds Announcer is a bumper issue jam packed with
all the extra curricular activities undertaken by the
students and staff this term. Can I thank all organising
staff, parent support and student participants for making
the most of these learning opportunities. Please read all
about the wonderful experiences throughout this issue.
Farewell Ms Kennedy
It is with sadness that we say farewell to Ms Kate
Kennedy, one of our outstanding teachers of support
students in the school. In the three years that Ms Kennedy
has been at Airds she has contributed greatly to the
learning of the students under her care, in addition
provided much needed guidance and support. She has
been an integral part of the School Values team and more
recently an outstanding Year 7 Adviser that the students
will surely miss. Ms Kennedy moves to Rowland Hassall
SSP School and we wish her every success.
Finally I would like to wish all students, parents and staff
an enjoyable and safe holiday break and look forward to a
great Semester 2.
Mr M Foord
Principal
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Issue 4 – Term 2
June 2013
ADMINISTRATION
During the holidays many of you will receive an invoice for
payment required for clothing given to your children during
the first semester. It would be appreciated if you could
settle these accounts as soon as possible in Term 3.
When writing absence notes for your children it is
requested that you please add your child’s surname as we
have a lot of students who share a first name and this
makes it very difficult at times to determine who the note is
actually for.
COMMUNITY NOTICES
Reading challenges
Older children with reading problems often have
misconceptions about how reading works and they need
additional strategies to help them. Knowing what they’re
good at and what they value can help you to encourage
their selections.
http://www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au/homework-andstudy/english/english-tips/when-older-kids-struggle-withreading
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Issue 4 – Term 2
June 2013
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