Careers Advisor Mrs Tyler

commemorate

O u r W e l f a r e t e a m s u p p o r t i n g l e a r n i n g f o r a l l s t u d e n t s

Assistant Mrs Rosewell

Deputy Ms Conray

Year Advisor Ms Hayes

HT Learning Management Mrs Bardouh

HT Welfare Mrs Coonan

Student Support officer Ms Fitzpatrick

Year Advisor Ms Wilkinson

Assistant Ms Lay

Assistant Nil

i t t

Year Advisor Mr Lieu

Assistant Nil

Year Advisor Mr Domenicos

Year 8

Year

Year

Year

Year

Assistant

Nil

Year Advisor Mr Jackson

Year

Assistant

Mr Hourani

Year Advisor Ms Lykourezos

Counsellor Ms Skepper

Counsellor Ms Wong

International Students Mr Downie

Deputy Mr Sargeant

Welcome to 2015. The year is well under way and we have already seen some great programs run by the Support Staff here at Fairfield High School. There have been a few changes to the Welfare Team this year. Firstly I would like to introduce myself. My name is Ann Coonan and I am the new Head Teacher Welfare. I am very excited to be working with such a dedicated team of Year Advisors and Assistants and with the many wonderful students I have met. For your information and in the event you need to contact your child’s year Advisor or Assistant Year Advisor, the team for 2015 is: Year 7 Advisor - Ms Wilkinson

Assistant - Ms Lay Year 8 Advisor - Ms Hayes

Assistant - Ms Rosewell Year 9 Advisor - Mr Domenicos Year 10 Advisor - Mr Lieu Year 11 Advisor - Mr Jackson Year 12 Advisor - Ms Lykourezos Assistant - Mr Hourani Student Support Officer – Ms Fitzpatrick Counsellor for Years 7, 9, 11 – Ms Wong Counsellor for Years 8, 10, 12 – Ms Skepper Deputy Principal in charge of Years 7, 9 and 11 – Ms Conray Deputy Principal in charge of Years 8, 10 and 12 – Mr Sargeant Ms Fitzpatrick, together with Ms Santangelo, our Senior Learning and Support teacher, designed and implemented an engaging program for Year 8 to address cyber bullying. It was a great success; please see the article by Ms Fitzpatrick outlining the program in greater detail. Year 7 have been settling in and learning their way around this very big school and getting to know their teachers. Thank you to all the parents who came along to the Meet the Teacher afternoon and took the opportunity to chat with some of their child’s teachers. Thank you to Ms Wilkinson and Ms Isakov for their co-ordination of the afternoon and for the staff for giving up their time. Ms Wilkinson also co-ordinated the Year 7 Vaccination program which will continue throughout the year. Year 9 and 11 are settling into their elective subjects and facing the challenges of these new stages of their school education. Establishing good study habits is essential to success at school. Please encourage and assist your child to develop a routine of completing school work, positively balanced with family, sport and leisure interests. In Week 6 we held our first formal year assemblies for 2015. It was great to see all year groups together and looking good in their full school uniform. Wearing the full school uniform helps the students develop a sense of pride in their school and in themselves and is important for student safety. We have a number of workshops and presentations to look forward to this year so watch this space! Wishing you and your families a safe and happy, school holiday break. Ann Coonan Head Teacher Welfare

O u r W e l f a r e t e a m s u p p o r t i n g l e a r n i n g f o r a l l s t u d e n t s

An initiative called ‘The Social Thread’ has been running this term, with the Student Support Officer Ms Fitzpatrick and LaST teacher Ms Santangelo working alongside select Year 11 Student Ambassadors for the initiative. Research has demonstrated that 1 in 5 Australian children aged 8 to 18 experiences some form of cyber-bullying. Much of this bullying occurs on the internet, over social media, and through the use of mobile phones and online applications. ‘The Social Thread’ initiative aimed to raise awareness of and tackle this issue of cyber-bullying.

At the beginning of the year, a select group of Year 11 students were invited to participate as Student Ambassadors of the initiative. These Student Ambassadors completed training over two lunchtimes at school to deliver a mini-lesson to the target group, Year 8 (as research has shown that this is the year group where the majority of cyber-bullying incidences generally occur). The Student Ambassadors went into the Year 8 Health and classes demonstrated to the junior students the dangers of the Internet, and the importance of cyber-safety as a way

of protecting themselves against cyber-bullies. The junior students learnt strategies to keep themselves safe while being on the internet. These strategies were also presented as posters which were put up around the school and made into a bunting banner. Students from across the school were also encouraged to participate in The Social Thread initiative through making bracelets, which were presented to the whole school on the morning of Wednesday 11 March. Students wore a bracelet as a sign that they stand against cyber-bullying.

The Social Thread initiative also included a photo-booth where students were able to write a positive message on a chalk board about cyber-bullying and have their photo taken by Ms. Santangelo. Many wrote encouraging messages which demonstrated the care Fairfield High School students have for each other. These photos will be put onto the school website. A big thank you to all the teachers, P.E. staff and executive staff for supporting the initiative!

O u r W e l f a r e t e a m s u p p o r t i n g l e a r n i n g f o r a l l s t u d e n t s

In 2014 FHS’s National Partnerships Faculty evolved into the Equity Faculty. The focus of the team is to ensure education is equal and accessible to all students. The Equity team develop programs targeted at specific year groups, train staff to deliver these programs and report back to the school community regarding the student outcomes. During the course of the year various literacy and numeracy initiatives will be delivered to specific cohorts. This year the Equity team is made up of four head teachers who are determined to make a difference to student outcomes. These pivotal staff also have year groups attached to their particular job description. Equity Faculty: Ms Cheryl Weber – Equity Head Teacher Ms Fadia Bardouh – HT Learning Management (Years 11-12) Ms Rebecca Goldsmith – HT Professional Learning (Years 9-10) Ms Natalie Isakov – HT Curriculum Delivery (Year 7-8) We have had a busy start to the year and have made a huge push on: • Uniform and ensuring students are correctly attired. • Punctuality to school and class Focus On Reading (FoR)

Through our common language of instruction under the comprehension strategies – predicting, visualising, questioning, making connections, monitoring and summarising - we have forged strong links with Fairfield Primary School. Ms Kathleen Hannigan, Ms Rebecca Goldsmith & Mrs Cheryl Weber are trained DEC facilitators of this program,

ensuring its ongoing growth at FHS. Over 50 staff in FHS, from all key learning areas, have been/are being trained in the strategies. Staff from the IEC and SEU have also joined this team to form a cohesive group working towards making learning more meaningful and focused for our students. We are constantly seeking to make learning more accessible for our students.

Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) All Year 7, 8 and 9 students have been enrolled in the Premier’s Reading Challenge to foster a love of reading and encourage them to read throughout the year. Students should go to the site RPC and log in using their DET portal login and password. They are able to enter the books as they read them and work towards achieving the final certificate. Our school library is well stocked with books for students to borrow that form part of the reading challenge. This year the PRC books have a RED HEART on the spine to indicate they are a PRC book.

T h e E q u i t y T e a m – s u p p o r t i n g s t u d e n t l e a r n i n g a n d s u c c e s s

FoR Program

FoR Program

In order to complete the challenge students must read fifteen books from the PRC list and five of their own choosing. Please encourage your child/ren to be part of the program by encouraging them to read and borrow books. If any student has any concerns or requires help logging in to the site they should see Ms Weber in Equity.

NAPLAN In Week 4 of Term 2 all Year 7 and 9 students will be sitting for the National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests. These tests will be delivered across three mornings, Wednesday May 13, Thursday May 15, with Friday a designated catch-up day. Year 9 will undertake this testing period in the school auditorium under the direction of Mrs Weber. Year 7 students will be seated in classrooms under the supervision of core teachers. How can students best prepare for the tests? And how can parents assist them? As the NAPLAN tests are skill based regular attendance at school and in class are necessary. Students should be completing set tasks and reading each night. Extending your own knowledge and being a positive and motivated learner are all key ingredients to success. Students should also utilise the time available in each test. Finishing early, with time to spare is not a recipe for success; rather students should be reading questions and texts carefully in order to answer clearly or select the best possible response. The writing task will either be a persuasive or narrative writing task. The format of the NAPLAN test remains unchanged each year; for example, the Language Conventions Test always has thirty spelling words. This is very challenging to students who struggle with spelling. Working on vocabulary building and correctly spelling these words can help. We wish our students well during this assessment period. Debating/Public Speaking Debating and Public Speaking Competitions have commenced this term. We have five teams entered in the Premier’s Debating Competition. Each team consists of four members: three speakers and a team advisor. Debating teachers/mentors for 2015: • Year 7 – Ms Isakov (Equity Faculty) • Year 8 – Ms Weber (Equity Faculty) • Year 9 – Mr Domenicos (ESL Faculty) • Year 10 – Ms Weber (Equity Faculty) • Year 12 – Ms Goldsmith (Equity Faculty) Year 12 were successful in their first debate against Chester Hill HS and are looking forward to forthcoming debates. Other years will follow in descending order. A debating workshop will be held for interested students in Year 7 and Year 8-10 debaters, where they learn the importance of powerful argument, speaking confidently and organisational skills. We also have two students entered in the Legacy Public Speaking Competition – Holly Rowley and Madison Keedle. We wish all the teams and individual competitors the best of luck.

Ms Cheryl Weber

T h e E q u i t y T e a m – s u p p o r t i n g s t u d e n t l e a r n i n g a n d s u c c e s s

Year 7 Diagnostic Testing

Holly Rowley

Madison Keedle

At Fairfield High School, the learning, growth and development of our students is central to all we do. We are committed to building on the strengths of our students and celebrating their successes. We are equally committed to identifying those areas where our students may need additional programs or support to better equip them in achieving their best. In 2015, this process started with our Year 7 students completing a range of diagnostic assessments in the areas of Literacy, Numeracy and Reading. The data derived from these assessments not only highlights where individual Year 7 students are at academically in the three areas assessed, it also informs our day to day teaching practice and development of whole school programs to cater for the specific needs of our students. One area of identified student need is in reading. In response to this, every student in Year 7 will participate in a tailor made Intensive Reading Program during Term 2. This program will run every Period 1 for seven weeks, from Week 3 to Week 9. While the primary aim of the program is to improve reading, the skills of comprehension and writing are advertently targeted as well. More on the Year 7 Intensive Reading Program will follow in the next newsletter.

Year 8 Self Select Class The Year 8 Self Select Class has also had a busy and productive start to 2015. Not only have students self-nominated to be in this class, they also have full parental support and have agreed to demonstrate ongoing diligence, commitment and application as outlined in the “Year 8 Self Select Charter”. To advance their learning, application and development in the classroom, students in the Self Select Class, as well as teachers of this class, will have Google Chromebooks distributed to them by the end of Term 1 or the beginning of Term 2. Watch this space for more on what our Year 8 Self Select students will do with them.

T h e E q u i t y T e a m – s u p p o r t i n g s t u d e n t l e a r n i n g a n d s u c c e s s

Tinkering in TAS Tinkering in TAS

Year 7 Diagnostic Testing Year 7 Diagnostic Testing Year 7 Diagnostic Testing

IEC Transition As Term 1 draws to a close, approximately twenty students from Fairfield High School’s Intensive English Centre will prepare to transition into the mainstream high school. Part of this preparation will entail these students completing diagnostic testing in literacy, numeracy and reading, as well as participating in a Transition Information / Subject Selection Day.

Ms Natalie Isakov

T h e E q u i t y T e a m – s u p p o r t i n g s t u d e n t l e a r n i n g a n d s u c c e s s

RIDDLE I am filled with energy But when I lose it, I die. All it takes is a little push And I am awaken from a deep sleep. I remove your humanity piece by piece. Answer: Iphone

RIDDLE I live with my friends in storage I do not last forever I fade away day by day Getting lighter everyday You can always count on me To keep your things together Answer: Glue

A pencil is like your imagination, only you can start the story.

Experimenting with English

SOLE session for Science Mastering Mathematics

T h e E q u i t y T e a m – s u p p o r t i n g s t u d e n t l e a r n i n g a n d s u c c e s s

My Exit Plan Fairfield High School had 95 ATAR students engage in a program targeted at three main areas including: Learning Management, HSC preparation Exit and Career Planning. The event was held at Fairfield RSL Club on the 19th February where the Year 12 students worked through 3 sessions delivered by highly qualified specialist staff. The sessions focused on Board of Studies HSC Presentation by Ms Bardouh, Career preparation/ Exit planning with Mr Len Eagles and Learning for Life-Advanced Strategies for Success focusing on summarising skills. Mr Conlan looked in depth at the importance of the HSC marks and the moderated assessment marks and how that is calculated. Students found this most interesting and thought provoking. Fairfield High School ex-students from 2014 and 2013 formed the student panel. In this session at the end of the day students had the opportunity to engage in healthy discussion about what worked and what didn’t as well as what to look out for in the HSC year. Students were all required to complete feedback and an overwhelming number of students found it both beneficial and a valued learning experience.

Attendance/Uniform News Fairfield High School recognises Attendance as highly important to educational success. The following need to be adhered to during the school terms. Lateness: school begins at 8.45am. Lateness to school will disrupt the learning process. Students have been notified of the importance of punctuality to school. • If a student arrives at school on 2 occasions in 1 week they will

be issued an after- school detention. • Detentions occur on a Wednesday in E Block from 3-4pm with Ms

Bardouh. Absences: need to be justified within 7 days of the absence. This can be done by providing a note to the front office explaining the absence.

Ms Fadia Bardouh

T h e E q u i t y T e a m – s u p p o r t i n g s t u d e n t l e a r n i n g a n d s u c c e s s

My Exit Plan

My Exit Plan

My Exit Plan

My Exit Plan

Year 7 SRC Voting Congratulations to the following Year 7 students who were voted into the SRC for 2015 by their classmates: Frizzalyze Sandaga Tijana Stefanovic

Lina Nguyen An Thai

Amar Habibovic

We look forward to their involvement and input this year. Valentine’s Day SRC helped students celebrate Valentine’s Day at school on Friday 13th February. It’s such a nice way to start the new school year for everyone. The week before Valentine’s Day, SRC were busy taking students orders for the special day. This year the merchandise included the regular red and yellow roses but we also had a choice of two very cute and lovable, teddy bears, which were very popular. It was the second year that we bought the roses directly from the grower and then the SRC prepared them. This involved removing some of the leaves, wrapping with decorated plastic and tying red ribbons around them. After preparing the roses the SRC put together the orders with cards and Teddy’s, ready to hand out to students and teachers the next morning on the special Valentine’s Day assembly.

H e a r i n g O u r s t u d e n t v o i c e t h r o u g h O u r S R C

Rotary Dinner for Youth Activities Month

Valentine’s Day 2015

Husain Al-Jaber, and I, Joshua Suli-Ruka represented the school by attending the annual Rotary Dinner to celebrate Rotary Youth Week at Lansvale United Sports Club. We had entered the club with no knowledge at all about what the Rotary Community do. We met numerous people from different schools that also attended. The guest speaker that Rotary invited was Nick Cvetojevic, from The University of Sydney. He spoke about space science and his pathways into University. He had a passion for space science at such a young age, but didn’t realise that he was going to be a

future space scientist. His talk was titled “Search for Planets in the universe with life supporting environments and the technology involved. We also met the President of the Rotary Committee from our local area. After the session had finished, we had a good grasp of what the Rotary Community do and what they are involved in. Overall, the night was amazing with ice breakers, communication with other schools, conversations with the Rotary committee, and most of all, finding out what the Rotary do to help others who are in need. I advise students to get involved in community associations like Rotary. Joshua Suli-Ruka- School Captain

PINK MUFTI to support the MCGRATH FOUNDATION PINK MUFTI DAY TUES 10TH MARCH Gold coin donation for the McGRATH FOUNDATION to support women with Breast Cancer AN SRC EVENT Thanks to the school community- we raised a massive $830

H e a r i n g O u r s t u d e n t v o i c e t h r o u g h O u r S R C

HARMONY DAY FRI 20th MARCH

Hussain Joshua

Harmony Day 20 March is a day of cultural respect for everyone who calls Australia home – from the traditional owners of this land to those who have come from many countries around the world. By participating in Harmony Day activities, we can learn and understand how all Australians from diverse backgrounds equally belong to this nation and enrich it. Orange, the blend of red and yellow, is a mixture of the energy connected with red and the happiness connected with yellow. Orange is associated with meanings of joy, heat, sunshine, creativity, success, encouragement, change, determination, health, stimulation, happiness, fun, enjoyment, freedom, expression, and fascination. Did you know that around 45 per cent of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was born overseas. Did you know that people from over 200 countries make up the Australian community? Did you know that More than 300 languages are spoken in Australian homes? Did

you know that apart from English the most common languages spoken in Australia are Mandarin, Italian, Arabic, Cantonese, Greek, Vietnamese, Tagalog/Filipino, Spanish and Hindi. Did you know that More than 60 Indigenous languages are spoken in Australia? Today as we stand under the blue sky of Australia, a land of hope and opportunity, let us all become one, lets us celebrate harmony day, as it symbolises a change in attitude from racism and discrimination to understanding, peace and harmony, as the colour orange represents multiculturalism.

H e a r i n g O u r s t u d e n t v o i c e t h r o u g h O u r S R C

SRC INVESTITURE

Good morning fellow students, teachers, parents and esteemed guests. My name is Amy Tran, Fairfield High School’s co-captain of 2015 and on behalf of the school I would like to thank you for your attendance this morning as we welcome you to the Official 2015 SRC Investiture. We are gathered here today to officially acknowledge the diligent, empowering and passionate students who have been selected to represent Fairfield High School’s student body. And as their school captain, I am proud to say that these students in front of you are your Student Representative Council of 2015. Donald McGannon once stated, “Leadership is an action, not a position.” I believe this quote is able to capture the essence of the SRC. While we may have a title to our

name our ultimate goal is to represent the students and to create a safe and enjoyable learning environment. Leadership is not about simply leading a group of people; it is about working together with them to accomplish a set task. Recently the SRC held an annual meeting to discuss what we wished to achieve over the school year. At this meeting we brainstormed and voted upon three words; an acronym of the letters S, R and C, which we thought would best represent our views and beliefs. Support, Results and Care. Support is providing assistance for our students, our teachers, our community, and our environment in order to enhance student engagement and learning. Results are what we as the SRC wish to achieve, results which are able to be reflected in the school environment that are realistic and achievable. And finally care, which is what the SRC practices. As a group we wish to provide a support network to the students to make the schooling environment a safe, caring and harmonious one. Another acronym which we hold very dear to our hearts is the CARE code. This for those who don’t know stands for Community, Achievement, Respect and Environment. It is the foundation of what our school is built upon, and sets the standard of what we as an entire school aim to achieve. Leaders come in all shapes and sizes. Whether we are big or small, each of us has a common goal. A leader is someone who leads by example and not by words. A leader knows when to lead and when to follow. They are honest, committed, communicative and have the ability to inspire. Not everyone is a natural born leader, however being part of the SRC allows individuals to enhance or develop interpersonal skills to assist them for now, as well as the future. It is a great opportunity to be a part of a team and to meet new people who share the same passion as you. I believe that a leader is someone who can provide influence, direction and support to their peers. That is what I as a school captain hope to achieve, and what I hope to share with others around the school. Leadership is however not based on individual effort from a single person. More so, it is dependent on the efforts of the entire team. Working together as a team in the SRC means that we can make a greater difference in the school. It is the little things we do that have the biggest impact on our world. Teamwork is an important aspect of the SRC, by being able to work together towards a common goal. We would not be able to function effectively and efficiently however without the authority of our SRC co-ordinators who I would like to acknowledge here today. It is with great pleasure that I thank Ms. Tyler and Ms. Dunn for their continued time and effort into shaping us to become greater leaders, and I would like to personally thank them for teaching me where the true qualities of a leader lie. So could I please ask for a huge round of applause to these inspirational teachers for their hard work and dedication. Not only are the SRC a group of people who represent the school, we are also a family who help each other out in times of need. To the SRC: let us work together to make the school a better place. Let us work together to create an impact on the student body. We have a dream, a dream to stand up and make a difference. We have a dream, a dream to rise above and beyond. We have a dream, a dream preserve the legacy of our school. In closing, I would like to leave you with the wise words, of one Demi Lovato. “Learn from the past and share your experiences with others. Cherish the present and look forward to the future.” “Find your inner light and let it light up the world.” TO LIVE IS TO TRULY LEARN

H e a r i n g O u r s t u d e n t v o i c e t h r o u g h O u r S R C

Amy

H e a r i n g O u r s t u d e n t v o i c e t h r o u g h O u r S R C

2015 SRC

Year 7 Year 8 Year 9

Year 10 Year 11 Year 12

Ms Tyler, Lina Nguyen, An Thai, Frizzalyze Sandaga, Mr Borg,

Tijana Stefanovic, Amar Habibovic

Ms Tyler, Julia Carol, Maddison Keedle, Gitika Singh, Jessica Dona, Jacqui Preistley,

Mr Borg, Sebastian Sebial

Ms Tyler, Lucy Vaka, Karin Ung, Kacey Donnelly, Jackson Taylor,

Mr Borg, Adrian Correa

Ms Tyler, Jennifer Tran, Lisa Chan, Marian Yaqow,

Paige Taylor, Mr Borg, Raniya Hadi

Ms Tyler, Dianne Sengmany, Jamie Lee Ladewig, Sanaz Nazari,

Venkata Kollimaria, Mr Borg, Damian Morgan

Akech Deng, Cassandra Gabrijan, Deveena Kumar,

Hassain Al-Jaber, Amy Tran, Mr Borg, Joshua Suli-Ruka

7 Kenyon along with their Science teacher Ms Dmitrieff have been working hard to ensure all students understand the necessity for following the correct procedures in a Science Laboratory. Below are some student comments about Science for them so far.

Science is very dangerous. So you need to be safe. We received licences when we passed a safety test. There are a lot of chemical reactions in Science. Science is fun because you get to find things out. Danny Al-Zuhairy Science is a fun subject, but can be confusing. With time I have got the hang of it. Some of the experiences have been amazing. Amazing friends and an amazing teacher. Zeiad Sherif In Science we learnt how to use a Bunsen burner, it takes responsibility to use it. We are currently studying about the Geology of the Earth. We have done many experiments, such as Bunsen burner testing, estimating the temperature and a taste bud test. Mohammed Idris What we have been doing in Science is experiments. They were all awesome, my favourite one was the experiment on salty water. We observed to see if salt affected the temperature at which water boils. Chloe Drinkwater In Science we need to be responsible, that is how we got our Bunsen burner licence. Our topics have been the Earth, Safety and Chemicals. Remember to wear safety glasses and stay safe! Amar Habibovic In Science class we are doing a lot of fun experiments. Again Al-Obeid Science is an adventure, when I walked in I thought it was going to be boring, but in these last few weeks I have learnt about the Earth, the Sun and much more. Cain Faiva Tulemay Science is so much fun. I thought it was going to be boring. We were shown how dangerous gas is. Preston Obleshchuk

S u p p o r t i n g O u r s t u d e n t s t h r o u g h a b r o a d c u r r i c u l u m

Ms Galagher and 7 Bossley have worked hard this term, with 7 Bossley completing their assessments for both their safety licence and Bunsen burner licence, they then began putting these new skills into practice with classroom experiments. Below are some student’s comments about one of these experiments, chemical reaction with metal and heat. We performed with toxic liquid and gas including a few matches. We were equipped with a lab coat and safety glasses. Stjepan Mamic We used really thin metal and acid, we then put them together and used a lighter. When we used acid, metal and fire it popped. Aya Allchafaji I created a gas called nitrogen. To test if I did it correctly I lit a match and hovered it over the test tube. If it worked the match would go out and make a large pop sound. An Thai In the lab today it was very fun, because we are already using chemicals. Lina Nguyen The experiment we did today is about how the acid reacts with metal inside a test tube. Frizzalyze Sandaga Today we did an experiment with acid, metal and matches. We had to use the science coat and a pair of glasses. We worked in groups of two and everyone got to have a turn. We started doing the experiment with acid, metal and matches in a test tube. Charbel Youkhana

S u p p o r t i n g O u r s t u d e n t s t h r o u g h a b r o a d c u r r i c u l u m

“I feel the need, the need for speed”. I know that’s what the incumbent Year 8 self-select class were thinking when Mr Conlan and I mentioned to them that they would be building and flying model aeroplanes… This special project started with some theory about flight and a really cool demonstration about the concept of thrust. Take a look at the photos. We then took a $15 foam plane and started to modify it. We added control surfaces like elevators and ailerons, we added a battery and a motor and an array of other electronic goodies. There was cutting and gluing and a lot of smiling. Talk about pimp my plane ride! After several periods of working on the construction it was time for students to have a go on the simulator and see if they could fly straight and level. Some were naturals at it – “you can be my wingman” 3 hours to build and about 3 seconds to smash. Nonetheless the time had come for us to test out our models and flying skills on the field… Palms sweated on the transmitter, hearts were racing and eyes gazed to the big blue yonder…there were gasps, wows and explosions of laughter as the planes soared and inevitably kamakazed their way back down to terra firma. We picked up the pieces and returned to the classroom to evaluate. The experience had taught us about aerodynamics, construction, electronics, project management, spatial orientation and situational awareness, and as well as that, we had fun working together as a group. Thank you Mr Conlan, Mr Petrakis and Ghostrider, the pattern is now full. Mr Petrakis – History teacher

S u p p o r t i n g O u r s t u d e n t s t h r o u g h a b r o a d c u r r i c u l u m

Over the last few decades, there has been a steady decline in the number of students studying areas of Science at a Tertiary level. This is a concern that is shared by Universities in Australia and indeed the world over. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics—STEM, and therefore, STEM education—are vital to our future—the future of our country and the future of our children. Besides, STEM is everywhere; it shapes our everyday experiences. It is therefore essential that schools play an active role in an effort to address this ongoing issue and provide opportunities to engage in elements of STEM in challenging and practical ways. Mathematics classrooms should be a place where students approach math with curiosity confidence, skill and intuition. Lessons should provide opportunities to work on tasks that are complex and involve more than one method of solution that often represent real work problems and applications. A mathematics classroom should be a place where everyone can do well in mathematics and where it is alright to make mistakes. Mistakes are valuable in that they encourage brain growth and learning. Over the course of the year 8 Yellow, have been working on a variety of challenging tasks that have taken them out of their comfort zone into the realm of problem solving, discussion and justified solutions.

W o r k i n g w i t h O u r T e r t i a r y p a r t n e r s

Every Tuesday and Thursday at lunchtime students and staff gather to challenge each other in a variety of board and card games. In conjunction with Games club a round robin Chess competition will begin Week 1 Term 2, if you haven’t already registered your name it’s not too late go and see Mr Tregidgo in the Science staffroom. Students come along with their lunch to learn new games, improve their strategical skills in games they are already familiar with, while at the same time interacting with students from different year groups. All students are encouraged to come along and have go, note that electronic devices are banned from use in the games club and students using these will be told to put them away or leave.

If the volume of noise and laughter which emanates from the room is any indication I would say a lot of fun is being had. We have games like Sequence, Rummikub, Scatargories, Chess, UNO, Timeline or you can bring your own and teach others. Mr Tregidgo – Chess Coordinator Ms Hudson – Games Club Coordinator

U s i n g g a m e s t o p r o m o t e s t u d e n t e n g a g e m e n t

FACT Sneezing with your

eyes open is impossible

JOKE What did the sea say to the shore? Nothing, it just waved.

FACT A

Hippopotamus may

seem huge but it can still run

faster than a

JOKE What’s the

fastest country in the world?

Russia

FACT The trickiest

tongue twister in the

English language is apparently. “Sixth sick

sheik’s sixth

Sand Casting The sea wears away coastal shorelines and rebuilds new sand formations. In this simple experiment, you will see how the earth is constantly being worn away, eroded, and how the process of erosion steadily changes the different shapes and formations on the earth’s surface. Equipment: Sand or very fine soil Metal baking pan Water Procedure: Pile the sand at one end of the baking pan and firmly pat it down. For the purposes of the experiment, this will represent the sandy beach or shore. Poor some water into the middle of the pan until part of the shore is slightly covered. At first gently, then increasingly faster, slide the pan back and forth until small waves are formed that roll up and onto the shore so the sand shifts, or moves. What happens: The action of the waves in the container gradually changes the shape of the shore, moving the sand down the beach and into the water. Why: All the seas and oceans of the earth are constanly changing the land they meet. Some wear away or carve out great rocky areas of land while others take away great sections of sand, depositing it elsewhere. This gradual but persistent action of water against land is called erosion. Scientist – Stephen William Hawking CH CBE FRS FRSA

Stephen Hawking was born on January 8, 1942, in Oxford, England. At an early age, Hawking showed a passion for science and the sky. At age 21, while studying cosmology at the University of Cambridge, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Despite his debilitating illness, he has done ground breaking work in physics and cosmology. He is famous for his work on black holes. He also wrote books such as ‘A Brief History of Time’, enabling a wide audience to appreciate his ideas.

U s i n g c l a s s r o o m i n f o r m a t i o n a t h o m e

2015 is sure to be an exciting an engaging year for our History Teachers and those students who are lucky enough to be studying History. Our long standing History Teachers, Mr Curtis, Ms Sansom and Mr Petrakis are working steadily to implement the last stages of the National Curriculum in the junior years and dusting off their tried and true notes once again for our senior classes. Also joining the team is Ms McPhereson from NSW high School, welcome aboard. Thank you to the Year 7 core teachers for introducing the marvels of History to our most junior cohort, and thank you to Ms Trinh, past student and protégé of the Petrakis and Curtis School of thought, for forwarding this short article about one of her creative and engaging lessons… Hello my name is Daniel Grbanusic and I am in 7 Keynon. This article is about a history presentation we did in class. We started the class off with Miss Trinh introducing the task. The task was that we had to pretend we were historians from the year 2050 and we had to take photos of what school life was like in 2015 at Fairfield High School. We were given ipads and sent off in our groups to take photos of some sources or evidence. We found some cool stuff like sculptures, artefacts and books in the library. We had ten minutes to them the photos into a presentation to show the class. When we presented, we told the class that we were detectives. Our story was that two kids were missing and we had to solve the crime. Max and Rose were the kids and they loved Art. Have you seen them? By Daniel Grbanusic

Currently Year 8 is investigating American Indian culture. They have studied facets such as warfare, foods, customs and belief systems and housing. Hence the smiling faces when they had the opportunity to build a simple tee pee. Building these models was easy compared to the American Indians who needed 12 buffalo skins and 4 long poles. Later this term Year 8 will consider the impact of the European settlers on the American Indians…or were they invaders. You decide.

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Year 7 work

Year 7 work

Year 7 work

Year 8 at work Year 8 Tee pee’s

Year 9 continue to do battle with the Industrial Revolution. Many have turned to the left after reading about the atrocious conditions that the workers had to endure during this early phase of Modern History. Similarly Year 10 couldn’t believe that the Chiefly Labor Government asked migrants to do all the “dirty” jobs upon their arrival to Australia, post WWII. Is this History repeating itself? Term one for the young Year 11 Modern Historians has been quite problematic. We all agreed that President Kennedy was assassinated on the 22nd November, 1963, but who did it? We’ve debated that it was the CIA, the FBI, Castro, Khrushchev and even Humphrey B. Bear got a mention. One student managed to find this picture of the infamous Grassy Knoll. Is this source reliable I ask? Similar intellectual pursuits take place in Year 11 Ancient History, where learning about scientific and archaeological methods to investigate the past are studied. Finally, all the very best for our Year 12 History classes in their half yearly examinations. We hope that all of the long hours studying and revision pays off, and that they will continue to effectively manage the stresses and demands of the HSC year.

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Year 9 at work

Grassy Knoll

Year 12 destressing Year 12 destressing Year 12 hard at work

WHO AM I? I lived in the 3rd Century A.D.

My life ended at the age of 34.

I was ruler over one of the largest and wealthiest empires at the time.

My lands are today torn by war and conflict.

My wealth came from taxes on trade.

I challenged the power of the Roman Empire.

I spoke the same language as Jesus Christ.

I was defeated by the `Golden Emperor’.

I gave birth to only one child.

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History Quiz Term 4, 2014

Test your History knowledge and research skills, compete in the race! The first person to deliver the correct answer to Mr Curtis in the English/History staffroom written on this piece of paper, completing the sentence below will receive a $20.00 voucher from JB Hi Fi. Your answer must be written clearly and spelt correctly. The History Quiz is a new initiative, it is a great opportunity for you to test the knowledge you have gained from your History teacher. --------------------------------------------------------------------Cut Here--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Answer The famous history figure from the clues provided in the Fairfield High School newsletter for Term 4, 2014 is ___________________________________________________________________________. My Name is _______________________________________________________________________. My Roll Call is _____________________________________________________________________.

Quizz Answers

Handed in ______________________ Time

______________________ Date

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Fairfield High School were fortunate enough to receive 13 near new microscopes. The students greatly appreciate the donation as now they can view specimens in greater detail. A certificate and photos have been sent to the University to acknowledge their kind donation. Year 11 Biology students

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On Friday 6th March, nineteen specially chosen science students attended a prestigious symposium at the National Australian Maritime Museum. The symposium was open to high achieving female students studying one or more science subjects in Year 11. The students had an exclusive tour of the conservative laboratory and saw how ancient artefacts are being preserved. They then toured the vast storage areas where valuable artefacts are stored when not on display. The students asked intelligent questions and impressed with their exemplary behaviour and attitude. The students listened to a number of informative presentations from female scientists working in a number of different industries and research facilities. After the presentations the students were able to talk to these professionals and get valuable advice on their studies and future aspirations. Fairfield High School students explored a battleship and some even toured an historical tall ship. It was a very valuable and informative experience.

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Q and A So far the English Faculty has taken part in some exciting field trips. On February 23rd, students from Mrs Kim-Rich’s Year 12 English Studies travelled from FHS to the ABC studios in Ultimo. ABC studios provided a shuttle bus directly from our school to ensure a diverse crowd was in attendance for the

weekly Monday Q and A program hosted by Tony Jones. The week we joined the audience, the show was about domestic violence. Prior to filming live, students toured the studio and watched documentaries on all things ABC. We were welcomed warmly by the director of programming and she even informed us we might be able to meet one of the panel guests. For most of our students it was the first time they appeared on television and beaming with excitement.

The show was a gripping hour of discussion about domestic violence and all attendees engaged in an essential discussion about what has been called a national crisis. After the show finished the director invited us to meet with the Australian of the year Rosie Batty. Our students were grateful to Rosie for taking time to meet with us and we thanked her for remaining courageous and a model of inspiration.

Q&A Q&A is a Question and Answer discussion based show which is hosted by one of the most well respected Journalists, Tony Jones. The show is broadcasted on ABC every Monday at 9:30 with a different topic each week. The topic we participated in was on DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. The panellists this week were Charlie King (Indigenous Sports Broadcaster), Rosie Batty (2015 Australian of the Year), Natasha Scott Despoja (Australia’s Ambassador for Women and Girls), Tim Cartwright (Victoria Police Acting Chief Commissioner) and Simon Santosha (Managing Director of Men and Family Counselling and Consultancy on the Gold Coast). The reason I am writing to you is because I believe Domestic Violence should not happen in Australia and there are too many deaths related to Domestic Violence. Thus, it needs to be stopped by the government and by us.

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Students posing with Australian of the year Rosie Batty

ABC studios in Ultimo

Domestic Violence can happen to anyone: women, men and children. Statistics by the ABC Personal Safety Survey and Australian Institute of Criminology shows that 1 in 6 women experience physical violence. Research from 2012 states that 89 women were killed by their current or former partner between 2008-2010. This means that at least 1 woman was killed every week. This should not be acceptable in Australia. For men, statistics show that 1 in 2 experience physical violence. Some men are either embarrassed or ashamed to report or talk about it. This is due to Australian stereotypes that expect men to be masculine, e.g. “the tough manly man.” When the public finds out that someone has been a victim of domestic violence they can often jump to conclusion and wonder, “Why didn’t they leave? How could they let this happen? What kind of person would stay in an abusive relationship?” No one thinks to ask why the perpetrator hit their partner or how they got away with it for so long? I think the way people react needs to be changed. One way could be to always listen to both sides of the story. The victim needs to feel they are able to talk about it without being blamed. Everyone has the right to feel safe in their own home. To feel safe/cared about when they call for help. However, what I learnt from Q&A was that men are often not believed or laughed when they ask for help from domestic violence. This practically shows that some Australians think that domestic violence is a joke for men. At Q&A we heard some personal experiences of victims of domestic violence. They explained that when a victim calls the police, not much is done when the case is taken to court because most of the time the perpetrator is able to walk out free with just a few fines in his/her pocket. This is not right. I believe the government is failing if a perpetrator is still free. Once a victim has taken this case to court the victim should feel safe and protected but this will not always happen. Domestic Violence against woman is the most common type of violence we have in our country. In Australia, we have a campaign to stop violence against woman it is called ‘WHITE RIBBON DAY’ which is on the 25th of November every year. People get involved by wearing a white ribbon. This is one way to prevent domestic violence as it opens a conversation about it. You can join the campaign and make the following oath: “I swear to never commit, excuse or remain silent about violence against woman, this is my oath” This is found boldly on the WHITE RIBBON DAY website. I have made this oath and you can too. Some perpetrators’ excuses for physically abusing their partner are, “They are rude” or “They made me angry”. “DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS A CHOICE NOT AN INSTINCT” according to the journalist Jerril Rechter. I too, believe it is a choice, and so we need to educate people that it is not acceptable and to really think about the choices they make. We also need to change our area’s way of thinking. For example, Fairfield is ranked in the top 10 for physical violence in NSW. This means that a lot of us here in Fairfield have had domestic violence happen to us or someone that we know. We shouldn’t keep quiet about it because domestic violence ruins our lives, and our friends and family’s lives. A lot of us in Fairfield know that there has been a large number of deaths caused by domestic violence. We need to stop this. We all together are able to stop this from happening. We need to help each other so that we can stop domestic violence passing on to the next generation. Pick up your act; help a mate out when he/she is in this situation. Sometimes they won’t be strong or tough enough to speak about it, but be there for one another and always make sure that you report any sort of violence to the right person. If you are a victim of Domestic Violence which means if you are being physically, sexually or emotionally abused by your partner, you should seek help as soon as possible. You could even ask a friend/family member to report it to the police if you are not comfortable enough to report it. But remember if you do not report it or let someone know, the perpetrator may get away with such a bad act.

To do this you can call the Mensline on 1300 78 99 78 Lifeline on 1311 15 Kids helpline on 1800 551 800 MARVENIA KHOSHABA

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The senior students at Fairfield High School have established a tradition over the last ten years of saving lives by giving their time to travel to the Liverpool Red Cross Blood Donation centre to donate their blood for the use of others. These “others” are people who would die without receiving an essential blood product. The recipients could be new born babies, mothers who have just given birth, cancer sufferers, car accident victims, burns victims and people who have undergone surgery: anyone who needs a lifesaving blood donation in order to stay alive. Last year 58 members of our school donated blood: these donations saved up to 174 lives. (Each donation can be used to treat up to 3 patients. Some patients need many donations). Donors so far in 2015 are Dianne Sengmany, Pritika Mandri, Sarah Narvalurua, Martain Marookey, Revan Shores, Lara Al Saify, Ambrosia Mahmood, Jasika Silvo, Veara Yousef, Ms J.Trinh and Mr E. Lieu. What do these super heroes have in common? *they are ALL aged over 16years of age. *they CARE about other human beings! *they are healthy *they don’t just give sympathy for the suffering of others- they TAKE ACTION and donate their blood to save lives! YOU could join this elite group of heroes by registering to donate your blood on the booking sheets on the Careers’ noticeboard (L Block). Talk to one of the donors listed above, or to Ms Dunn and /or Ms Tyler to find out more.

O u r s t u d e n t s s u p p o r t i n g t h e c o m m u n i t y t h r o u g h b l o o d d o n a t i o n s

Dianne Pritika Sarah Revan Martin

Ms Trinh Veara Jasika Lara

Mr Lieu

2015 was to be the YEAR of the Giant Pumpkin for WORK Skills Horticulture group. H..mmmmmmm! Fairfield High registered to enter the Giant Pumpkin competition with the RAS Easter Show. We were given 10 “special “pumpkin seeds to plant. These were planted in November, and TWO sprouted. On the 6th December our special pumpkins were bombarded by a heavy hail storm which shredded most of their leaves (a combined total of 14 leaves at that stage of their development). We showered sympathy, tears of anguish and complete fertilizer over our seedlings. They have slowly grown. After the summer vacation we had MANY flowers, but no pumpkins were forming. In Week 2 we tried hand pollinating the female flowers, by gently brushing the female stigma with the male stamen. We do now have some small pumpkins. We reluctantly admit that none of our pumpkins is going to WIN the giant pumpkin competition: we consider this a learning experience, and 2016 will probably be OUR year to shine. Below: the pumpkin of our dreams!

We have entered into the Best Decorated Pumpkin and the Celebrity Look-a like Pumpkin competitions. We did not have to grow these entries, and purchased our pumpkins for decoration from the Homebush Vegetable Markets. Judging takes place on Thursday 2nd April 2015.

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Students hand pollinating

Mrs Dunn with students showing off their decorated pumpkins

Welcome back to another year with the Parents Café. The Parents Café continues to work with our parents and the wider community with a number of special initiatives again this year. The Thursday afternoon meeting remains with the time for the Parents and Community members of our high school students. Friday meetings are for our newly arrived parents, most who have students in our Intensive English Centre. As usual there will be a continuing program that will occur over each Term. An exciting development during February had a French film crew visit the Parents Café and gather information that would be part of a new video that was being produced for the Sydney Community Foundation. Our Parents Café will feature as a case study and we will be given a copy for use in promotion activities in future. The Community Garden, Kitchen area in F Block and the various activities that are part of the Parents Café were featured and in particular a scene with the Khmer gardeners from our Community Garden plot providing fresh chillies for use in our kitchen – for the lunch that was made on the day. I would like to thank Mr Daniel Zu for his leadership of the Khmer group on that day. We look forward to further successes in our garden this year.

As well we were lucky enough to have a former student Diana Poliss feature on a story on Sydney that was also being shot by the film crew. Diana has started university at University of Western Sydney this year studying Social Work. We congratulate Diana as she completed her Work Skills course in 2012 and is now successfully beginning her tertiary study. Diana was interviewed to help present her story across Sydney and other countries where her program will be shown.

International Womens’ Day 2015 On 11 March, 2015 the Parents Café was lucky to attend an International Womens’ Day event at Waterloo which was organised by the Sydney Community Foundation. Our two parent representatives, Mrs Assma Yousif and Deena Yako were guest chefs and worked with the chefs of Luke Mangan’s MOJO Restaurant. This event again profiled the work of our Parents’ Café.

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Welcome back to 2015 and it has already been a busy start to sport at Fairfield High School, the Lansdowne Zone and Sydney South West region. It has already been a successful year for the students of Fairfield High School who have been crowned Fairfield High School Age Champion, made Lansdowne Zone representative teams and from this been selected in Sydney South West teams to compete at the NSW Combined High Schools Championships throughout the year. Key Dates for 2015 include; • School Athletics Carnival – 23rd and 24th April 2015 • Zone Cross Country Carnival – 21st May 2015 • Regional Cross Country Carnival – 11th June 2015 • Zone Athletics Carnival – 17th and 18th June 2015 • Regional Athletics Carnival – 28th and 29th June 2015 • Year 7 Gala Day- 26th August 2015 • Year 8 Gala Day – 27th August 2015 • Special Education Gala Day – 28th August 2015 • Zone Blues Awards – 13th November 2015 • Fairfield High School Sports Awards – 23rd November 2015 In addition to the following sporting events the PDHPE Faculty will be holding a number of fundraiser events to support fund students in school representative teams. The dates for the fundraisers will include; • 13th March – School Cross Country – “Snack Store” • 26th March – Sports BBQ • 23rd and 24th April – School Athletics – “Snack Store” • Term 2 and Term 3 – Chocolates • 4th June – Sports BBQ • 13th August – Sports BBQ • 26th and 27th August – Year 7 and 8 Gala Day - “Snack Store” • 22nd October – Sports BBQ Knockout Sport Each year Fairfield High School enters a large number of teams in the Sydney South West and NSW Combined High Schools Knockout Championships. Below is a list of sports Fairfield High School has entered as well as the teacher who will be coaching the team. • Opens Boys, Opens Girls, U15s Boys & U15s Girls Basketball - Ms Hudson • Opens Boys Cricket – Mr Sansom • U14s Boys Cricket – Mr Fassoulas • Opens Boys Rugby League – Mr Hourani • U14s Boys Rugby League – Mr Sellen • Opens Boys and Girls Tennis – Mr Brown & Mrs Sansom • Opens Boys Touch - Mr Brown

• Opens Girls Touch – Ms Rosewell • Opens Boys Volleyball – Mr Ozturk • Opens Girls Volleyball – Ms Hayes • Opens Boys Soccer – Mr Haythorthwaite • Opens Girls Soccer – Ms Maric & Ms Lykerouzos • U15s Boys Soccer – Mr Fassoulas • Mixed Table Tennis – Mr Bianc

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Integrated Sport (Year 7 to 10)

For students in Year 7 – 10 each week they are involved in a Round Robin competition during their integrated sport. This involved engagement in a variety of sports, with the score being kept to gain points towards the Round Robin end of year finals series and students gaining Best and Fairest points (3, 2 or 1 point system). Year 11 Sport - Recreational Sport During Term 1 to 3 Year 11 students are involved in Recreational Sports. They are given a choice of sports in Week 1 of each term and are to engage in that Recreational Sport for the remainder of the term. It is the expectation of Year 11 students that they are to be in sport on time, in uniform, engaged in their chosen sport and meeting the behavioural expectations. If this is fulfilled by all students on Wednesday Period 1 and 2 during Term 4, Year 11 students will be involved in a “study period” during this time. The sports for Term 1 are: • Basketball • Volleyball • Walking (within Fairfield LGA) • Bowling - $5.50 per week (at Seven Ten Spilt Fairfield) • Group Fitness - $6.00 per week (private instructor) • Weights - $10.00 per term • Soccer In Term 2, the selection date for new sports will be on Wednesday 22nd of April during Period 1 and 2. Students are still expected to bring PE uniform or a change of clothes for this sport lesson. Australian European Handball Youth Championships During the Term 4, 2014 holidays Joshua Suli Ruka (Year 12) was selected to represent Australia in the European Handball Youth Championships. This will involve a number of training camps and competitions finishing with a European tour and championships. Well done Joshua and good luck in this sporting domain. Lansdowne Zone Volleyball Trials The Lansdowne Zone Volleyball Trials were held during Week 2 and 3 at Prairiewood High School. From these trials Fairfield High School and Fairfield Intensive English Centre were fortunate enough to have 4 students selected to represent Lansdowne Zone at the Sydney South West Championships. The students include:

Boys - Semi Avita (IEC), Welyam Gelyana (Year 12),Salam Shamoon (Year 12) Girls - Sarah Naivalurua (Year 11)

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Lansdowne Zone Central Venue Trials

Joshua

Welyam Salam Sarah

Semi Avita no photo available

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The Lansdowne Zone Central Venue Trials were held at Fairfield High School on the 5th and 6th of February 2015. This year was one of the most successful years for Fairfield High School with over 20 students selected in Lansdowne Zone teams across a variety of sports to compete at the Sydney South West Championships. This year Joshua Suli Ruka (Year 12) and Arta Rufati (Year 10) topped the ranks being selected in multiple sports. Congratulations to the following students

who were selected in the Lansdowne Zone teams: Girls: U15s Touch Football - Arta Rufati Opens Touch Football - Sarah Naivalurua Netball - Kyra Donnelly & Nunia Petelo Soccer - Raniya Hadi, Arta Rufati, Chrysi Vlachou & Marvienia Khoshaba Basketball - Cheyenne Mikaere, Jamie Lee Ladewig & Jayda Matavesi Boys: Opens Touch Football - Joshua Suli Ruka, Cameron Hunt & Pulonga Kavaefiafi U15s Rugby League - Maloni Tahi, Braith Turton & Jackson Hunt Opens Rugby League - Cameron Hunt, La Kae Shee Do, Pulonga Kavaefiafi, Semi Avita, Ongelea Petelo, Manu Suli Ruka, Kemran Palin, Illija Nitiva, Hussain Al Jaber & Raymond Do Soccer - Husain Al Jaber, Marco Trujilo, Milad Baradarn, Rawaz Tahir, Mihn Dang Tran, Akech Deng Fadi Jerjess, Sallu Kamara, Daniel Cooper, Po Da Da & Salam Shamoon Basketball - Joshua Suli Ruka, Francis Amit & Damian Morgan Fairfield High School Swimming Carnival The Fairfield High School Swimming Carnival this year was held on the 20th February at Fairfield Leisure Centre. This carnival is compulsory for Year 7 and 8 students and competitors only for Year 9 – 12. The overall champion house for 2015 was HORSLEY. Congratulations HORSLEY, you have taken over from the champions for the last five years PROSPECT. Well done HORSLEY House Captains and competitors. Age Champions from the carnival are listed below: Male Female 12 Years Dany Al Zuhoiry Chloe Drinkwater 13 Years Jackson Hunt Jacqui Preistley 14 Years Jackson Taylor Vanessa Albornoz Bailey 15 Years Masin Zabanran Paige Taylor 16 Years Manu Suli Ruka Jamie Lee Ladewig 17+ Years Joshua Suli Ruka Marin Masaki Sydney South West Volleyball From the Lansdowne Zone selections Semi Avita (IEC) was selected to represent Sydney South West at the NSW Combined High Schools Championships early in Term 2. We would like to wish Semi the best of luck for the championships; unfortunately we lose Semi to Fairvale High School at the end of this term. Good luck and congratulations Semi. Lansdowne Zone Swimming Carnival The Lansdowne Zone Swimming Carnival this year was held on the 2nd March at Prairiewood Leisure Centre. We took a team of 13 swimmers to the carnival who demonstrated the true qualities of sportsmanship. Amongst a strong field of swimmers our students held their head high and competed to the best of their ability. Congratulations to Marin Masaki (Year 12) and Edward Ung (Year 7) who placed in some of their races at this meet.

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Joshua Arta

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Sydney South West Rugby Union On Tuesday 3rd March 2015 we sent 4 students to the Sydney South West Rugby Union Trials. This year we were successful in having 3 students selected to represent Fairfield High School at the NSW Combined High Schools Championships. The following students were selected: U/16’s - Manu Suli Ruka (Year 10) Opens - Shane Fuataga (Year 11) & Joshua Suli Ruka (Year 12)

Fairfield High School Cross Country The Fairfield High School Cross Country Carnival this year was held on the 20th February at Fairfield High School. This carnival is compulsory for all students and students run during their set period throughout the day. The course this year was slightly different to normal with the construction of the Soccer League Facility. The new course was approximately 2.6 km and gave students the opportunity to engage in physical activity and demonstrate their sporting capabilities. The overall champion house for 2015 was PROSPECT. Congratulations PROSPECT. Well done House Captains and competitors. Age Champions from the carnival are listed below: Male Female 12 Years Ibrahim Arkawazi Deborah Conteh 13 Years Ashel Singh Deniz Baranli 14 Years Adrian Correa Elishua Hedo 15 Year Emiliano Augusti Felipe Truc Tran Nguyen 16 Years Colin Dith Jamie Lee Ladewig 17 Years Jalal Sabih Sarah Naivalurua Kyra Donnelly 18+ Years Mohammad Sayeedi Bingyi Su

Knockout Sport Updates During Term 1, we have a large number of our knockout games and competitions underway. Term 1 results for Fairfield High School Knockout Sports were: Boys Opens Basketball - Winner vs. Bonnyrigg High School through to Round 2 (Central Venue) Girls Opens Basketball - Winner vs. Ingleburn High School through to Round 2 Opens Girls Soccer - Lost to Cecil Hills High School Open Boys Soccer - Lost to Picnic Point High School Opens Boys Touch - Through to Central Venue, versus Fairvale High in Round 1. Opens Girls Tennis - Lost on forfeit to Moorebank High School Mixed Table Tennis - Lost to St Johns Park High School

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Manu Shane Joshua

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Finals Chalkies vs “What’s 9 + 10”

Skills training

Lunch Competition:- Another successful competition has finished with some fantastic games

played. Two of which were the semi-finals both of which had to go to golden point, never had that before, this is a good indication of the high standard of competition we now have. Semi-final 1 was between “What’s 9 + 10” & 21, after extra time “What’s 9 + 10” were victorious. The second semi was between Chalkies & Di-Box, after extra time once again, Chalkies were triumphant. Then game the final (the rematch), ‘What’s 9 + 10” vs Chalkies, and as like the previous competition “What’s 9 + 10” came out the winners, after a very intense game. Well done!!

The new competition will begin Week 2, Term 2 and continue until the end of Term 3. The hope is to have two competitions, a junior and a senior. The Lunch competition is a self funded competition with each player involved paying $10 which pays for the trophies and BBQ at the end of each competition. Training:- Term 2 will see some changes to training as we have more teams playing in the Parramatta competition and our knockout teams doing so well the need is there for more training opportunities to continue to improve players skills. Remember the more you train the fitter you become and the quicker your game improves. Monday: Compulsory training for girls in school teams & optional training for any other girls. Tuesday: Compulsory training for boys in school teams & optional training for any other boys. Wednesday: Fitness training, recommended for all players. Thursday: Skills & drills training, recommended for all players.

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Open Boys

Friday Night – Parramatta Competition:- Fairfield High School have teams playing each week on a Friday evening in the Parramatta Competition, if you would like to join please see Ms Hudson. There are competitions for both boys and girls Year 7 through to adults. If you have younger siblings they are also catered for. You don’t have to be a champion, you just need to enjoy the game the more you play the better your skills will become and the more confidence you will have. Under 18 Boys – Joshua Suli-Ruka, Damian Morgan, Francis Amit, Hussain Al Jaber, Luke Lovero, Cameron Hunt and Marco Nikilic. The boy’s games can be as late as 10pm, this would deter some, but not our boys! These boys turn up regardless of the time and give 100% effort every time, representing their school with pride. The boy’s competition began in Term 4, 2014 and concluded at the end of Term 1, 2015. Our boys have improved as a team so much since entering the competition as under 16’s, they now know how to play a controlled team game. They demonstrate patients in their game winning their last four games of the competition. I would like to congratulate the boys on their behaviour, effort and sportsmanship, they do themselves, their family and their school proud. Well done boys!! I would also like to thank the boy’s family members who come along each week to support the boys, often assisting with the scoring the games. The next boy’s competition runs over in Term 2 & 3, it would be great to see some of you there to support the boys. Girls – Lillian Tavete, Jayda Matavesi, Cheyenne Mikaere, Musoka Wakilongo, Nunia Petelo, Marni Stanley, Chrysi Viachou, Sarah Naivalurua, Julie Mose and Jovana Alavanja. The girl’s games are either 5.30 or 6.15pm with the competition running over Terms 1 & 2, then another competition will run for Terms 3 & 4. The girls have at the time of writing this report only played one game which they thoroughly enjoyed. The girls were all nervous to begin with but soon got into the game, with the lead changing regularly, at the final whistle the girls were in front by 1 point, first game, first win, anyone watching would have thought they had won the world champs they were so excited. I look forward to watching the girl’s skills and teamwork improve. Open Boys:- Cameron Hunt, Joshua Suli-Ruka, Luke Lovero, Damian Morgan, Francis Amit, Hussain Al-Jaber, Adrian Arceo, Gerwyn San Luiz, James Sae, Marco Nikolic, Nelson Phan & Raymond Do. Round 1 vs Bonnyrigg Won 25 – 17 Wow, what a game. Bonnyrigg proved to be a very tough opposition with the score remaining close throughout the game. The Fairfield boys played a very strong controlled game, maintaining the game plan the entire game. Every player in the team contributed to this win and is just reward for the time spent in training. Scorers: Joshua 6, Damian 5, Francis 10, Hussain 3 & Marco 1. Round 2 vs East Hills Lost 35- 20 Our boys gave it everything they had in this game. The first half remained close, but unfortunately got away from them in the second half with the opposition just having too much height and speed. Credit must go to the boys who never gave up trying hard until the final whistle. Scorers: Damian 3, Francis 15, Hussain 2 & James 2.

D e v e l o p i n g O u r s t u d e n t s s p o r t i n g s k i l l s t h r o u g h c o m p e t i t i o n

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Open Girls

Game 3 vs St Johns Park Won 49 – 43 Another great effort by the boy’s controlling the game with their positional play. This game we had the height advantage using the fast break very effectively. Great effort boys!! Scorers: Cameron 5, Damian 9, Gerwyn 2, Marco 4, Joshua 11, Francis 12 & James 4. Open Girls:- Jamie Lee Ladewig, Sarah Naivalurua, Jayda Matavesi, Cheyenne Mikaere, Chyrsi Viacuai, Gitika Singh, Musoka Wakcilonga, Lillian Tavete, Jovana Alavanja, Nunia Petelo, Kyra Donnelly, Marni Stanley & Jacqui Preistley. Round 1 vs Ingleburn Won 23 – 13. What a great game by the girls, some of who haven’t played for some time and others who are just learning the game. We had so many shots for goal that missed. With a bit of training this along with more confidence the team will do really well. We made some great intercepts and maintained the pressure forcing numerous turnovers. Scorers: Jamie 3, Jayda 8, Cheyenne 4 & Lillian 8. Round 2 vs Sarah Redfern Lost 26 – 23 What a game!!! The score was close throughout the game with Fairfield in the lead, then in the last few minutes the opposition took the lead. But the girls fought back hard resulting in a 22 – 22 score at full time. We then went into extra time (5 minutes), by this time we had two players fouled out and the others exhausted. The girls certainly gave their best effort. Fantastic effort!! Scorers: Jamie 14, Sarah 2, Jayda 2, Cheyenne 4 & Gitika 1. Lansdowne Zone Boys:- The Boys Zone trials were held at Fairfield High School on Thursday 5th February. Three boys from Fairfield Joshua Suli-Ruka, Damian Morgan and Francis Amit were selected in the team to play in the Sydney South West Carnival at Minto Stadium on Friday 27th February. The team played well throughout the carnival finishing equal 3rd. Three players from the team were selected for the Sydney South West trial squad, Damian Morgan (Fairfield), Toan Truong (Canley Vale) and Jayden Evic (Prairiewood). Fantastic effort Damian!! Lansdowne Zone Girls:- The Girls Zone trials were held at Fairfield High School on Friday 6th February. Three girls from Fairfield Jamie Ladewig, Jayda Matavesi and Cheyenne Mikaere were selected in the team to play in the Sydney South West Carnival at Bankstown Stadium on Monday 2nd March. The team put in a great effort but the competition was to strong.

D e v e l o p i n g O u r s t u d e n t s s p o r t i n g s k i l l s t h r o u g h c o m p e t i t i o n

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