T H E F O R T N I G H T LY N E W S L E T T E R F R O M G A L S T O N H I G H S C H O O L 2 0 1 8 T E R M 4 W E E K 8

Year 7 Swim School Highlights

Swim School (cont’d)...

Upcoming Events

This Week

Monday 10 DecemberYear 10 Summer Dance

Tuesday 11 DecemberYear 9 Water Sports ExcursionIncursion - TAS/L2L Project - Draper/GraiceCommunity Access Day - Gilmour HUB

Wednesday 12 DecemberYear 9 Waters Sports ExcursionIncursion - TAS/L2L Project - Draper/Graice

Thursday 13 DecemberExcursion - Musical rehearsal at Galston Uniting Church - AndrusIncursion Boys Program BBQ Gage and van Baarle

Friday 14 December10.30 - 11.30am Year 12 Morning Tea

Next Week

Monday 17 DecemberCommunity Thank you Lunch

Wednesday 19 DecemberLast Day for StudentsExcursion Bandigo/Rowland Village Carols - 9.00 - 12.30pm

Week 1 Term 1 2019

Monday 28 JanuaryAustralia Day Public Holiday

Tuesday 29 JanuaryStaff Return to School

Wednesday 30 JanuaryYears 7, 11 & 12 return to school

Thursday 31 JanuaryYears 8, 9 & 10 return to school

Homework Club

Homework Club operates every Wednesday afternoon from 3.30 - 4.30pm.

Students can receive help from teaching staff with homework and assessment tasks, or simply utilise the Library computers and wifi to complete their work.

WADDELL CAFE

GALSTON HIGH SCHOOL

INTRODUCING

THE

ULTIMATE PLACE TO RELAX

EXCLUSIVELY FOR STAFF, SENIOR STUDENTS & PARENTS Operated by y ear 10 students & staff

NOW OPEN EVERY TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY

DURING SCHOOL TERM

9:00 AM - 1:30 PM

LOCATED IN THE ADMINISTRATION BLOCK

VISIT & HAVE A COFFEE WITH US

This year was my first year ever doing water polo and I was the only year seven in the team, so I’d like to influence you to be part of the 2019 water polo team. It’s a difficult but fun sport that will test your strength and stamina, one of my friends Xavier I know is a very good swimmer and is exactly what we would need for the team and for anyone else that thinks there up for be free to join the team.

Being part of this team will include training once a week at seven o’clock in the morning learning the new skills of water polo, since this is a winter sport you are going to be warm all day from all the hard work you’ve done in the early morning but might want to bring some extra food because you will quite hungry after the training session. You will need to bring $4 to book the pool across the street at the Galston Aquatic Centre.

You will be playing with Year 8 and 9s on the competition day with other schools in our area. Mss Smidt will be our coach. The whole way through you’ll enjoy the experience and through the time that I was playing water polo I had learnt everything you need to know for this year’s water polo team. I encourage anyone who has any skill or interest in water polo please join the team.

By Blake Mathie

KO Water Polo Highlights...

Well done to all the athletes at the boys KO water polo on 22nd October 2018 for their sterling efforts including – Yr7: Blake Mathie; Yr 8: Jason Ferlauto, Jordan Harkins; Yr 9: Henry Clissold, Robbie Cullen, Saiyan Graham, Ben Jeffrey, Saxon Pryke, George Stepanovich. A special mention to our debutants Blake,Saiyan,Saxon and George and to Mr Mathie and Mrs Harkins for transporting the boys to the event and supporting us so enthusiastically!

Congratulations to the representatives at the girls KO water polo on 23rd October for their excellent teamplay including Yr 7: Lily Farrow, Yr 8: Brianna Devaney, Yasemin Zambrano Yr 9: Eloise Barrett, Emma Johnson, Jade Oldham, Amelie Stuut, Ashley Tkacz. A huge thank you to Mrs Zambrano for transporting the girls once again and proving to be a great cheer squad in combination with Mr Stuut!

It was a early start to the day luckily my mum and I were rushing to get to Ryde on time my mum and I didn't know what we were doing because we were first there when we were waiting I was getting nervous and thinking about how I might mess up the game. The first few games were full of confusion but after a few games we were up and running. It was great fun even though we didn't win every game it was a great learning experience and amazing to play with the older girls.Throughout the day I got better at defence and even scored my first goal I also made a lovely new friend Yasmin that I wouldn't have made if it wasn't for water polo I have had a great year doing water polo and i'm sure that everyone else on my team did too I also know that next year there will be more students that will enjoy it as much as I have I am very excited for next year to get back to water polo.I also wasn't sure on water polo at first but after the first train session I had a ball if you would like come along to the morning training sessions at Galston pool and try it out.

I would also like to thank Miss Smidt for organising all the games and training sessions.

by Lily Farrow

Prefect Report...

On Tuesday evening we enjoyed our annual presentation night, where we commended students for their achievements throughout the year.

Each year had different academic awards with the DUX award being presented to the most academically distinct student of the year. Presentation night also had many sporting awards for students that have consistently achieved sporting excellence, including the prized Foxie Award, as well as all extracurricular areas celebrated and encouraged at GHS.

We also had many awards focused on student service to their school and community with the Galston Medals and Caltex Award being presented at the end to our high achieving Year 12 students.

Throughout the night we enjoyed musical performances from our Concert Band, Year 12 students Michael Ferlauto and Mia Rowe, and Year 10 students Holly Hayes and Maggie Clifton, as well as a delicious supper catered by the Year 12 Hospitality class.

Presentation night is a highly prized night in the Galston community, and we had the pleasure to have many special guests, local residents, and students and their families all there and we would like to thank them for taking the time to celebrate the achievement of our students.

On Wednesday we introduced many Year 6 students from different primary schools across the local area and beyond to our school as part of the 2018 Orientation Day. The 2019 Year

7 students had the chance to experience taster lessons from different faculties in our school. It was a fun day where our community was introduced into the supportive environment of Galston High School.Our current Prefect Team had the pleasure of visiting their partner primary schools for their GCoS presentation ceremonies this week and we look forward to attending more ceremonies next week.

GCoS stands for Galston Community of Schools, this support network is a great opportunity for our Prefects to maintain connections with our local community of primary schools. Many members of the Prefect Team enjoyed the opportunity to visit their old primary schools with their pairings for the GCoS events and proudly represented GHS at these events.

Welfare/HUB Faculty Focus...

Year 12 Mentoring ProgramThis year the Senior Mentoring program continues to grow.

The Purpose of the Program is: For the students to give it all they have got in Year 12, to ensure they “don’t leave any petrol in the tank”.

Establish a culture of success within the year group by pushing, encouraging and motivating them.

Opportunity to be a part of the 10% on top program.

To support and guide students as they prepare for the challenges of the HSC and post High School. To help set achievable goals Provide students with the essential skills needed to maximise individual results across all subjects.

We Do This By: Focusing on the process and not the result.

Working smarter. Some students may also need to work harder.

Doing the little things right to minimise stress and maximise performance.

Starting early in the HSC course and build your skills, knowledge and understanding in each subject.

Differentiating between assessment tasks, homework and study.

Ensuring everything students are asked to do will have a purpose – we will not be wasting their time.

This program involves students and teachers meeting regularly to talk about support, study techniques, preparation for assessments, school and post school options. It has been successful for a number of students who are in regular contact with their mentors. This year we will be reviewing the program and making any relevant changes to further support students who are interested in gaining the best possible ATAR.

The Hub have continued to successfully achieve in a variety of activities throughout the year. We are continuing to build school and community links for

work experience. We thank Mrs Annette Fraietta for working with some students from Years 9, 10 and 11 in the Waddell Café where students learnt and developed customer service skills, barista skills and money handling. In the community we have had the opportunity for students to participate in work experience in the Salvos Store, Dural and Flower Power, Glenhaven. The students involved in these opportunities have thoroughly enjoyed the time to develop work skills and represent Galston High School in our community. We are excited to announce our Future Focus classroom is completed. This room will be for teaching independent work and living skills to broaden the skill set of our students as they exit high school. There has also been plenty of acceptance and love for Bendigo, our service dog in training. He definitely shares the love back with the students and loves being a part of Galston High School and the Hub.

Throughout the year the Hub students have enjoyed their classes with mainstream teachers, particularly TAS, Agriculture, Science and CAPA. We thank all mainstream teachers for their expertise. Hub students have also thoroughly enjoyed participating in whole year excursions and programs such as swim school. The Hub looks forward to further developing our students growing work skills in 2019.

This year our Galston High School Rugby 7's Seniors are the reigning champions for the 6th year running, with our Junior team not far behind achieving a hat trick in 2018.

This year, the Casio calculator which I was accustomed with to crunch equations, was traded in for a coach's whistle in unfamiliar territory - the footy field. I had the incredible opportunity to be a part of the Galston High School grade sport Touch, League Tag and Rugby 7's team alongside Mr. Gage (who brings a wealth of experience).

What I learned over this time was much more than "who is the dummy-half" or "what's the mousetrap switch play", but rather it was a glimpse of something which can sometimes only be seen outside the four walls of a classroom; the comradery amongst our students and the pride and spirit which they have for their school. 2018 had its fair share of matches, ranging from a crushing defeat in the Touch finals, to comfortable wins against teams with much less experience in Rugby 7's - but throughout all of these our boys maintained the utmost respect for all players involved.

It has been a privilege to see our students strive to achieve excellence and accomplish their personal best in a different learning environment. But the big question which remains is can we continue our streak in 2019? (I certainly have high hopes!).

Mr Kim Sing

From Textbook to Try Line...

State Library Excursion

On Monday the 3rd of December, the Student Librarian team visited the State Library of NSW. We toured the library and learned about the purpose and contents of the State Library’s collection, providing students with insight into library services on a much larger scale. We then travelled to the biggest bookstore in Sydney – Books Kinokuniya. After being a little overwhelmed by the sheer size of the store, our Student Librarian team had the opportunity to participate in collection development and select books they thought would be ideal for our library.

We were also accompanied by 38 students from Year 11 studying Ancient History, Modern History, Extension History, Extension English, Extension Science, Legal Studies, Society and Culture and Community and Family Studies. These students participated in the HSC: Introduction to Resources program, where State Librarians demonstrated how to use the library catalogue and access eResources essential for their subjects of study, as well as how to formulate effective search strategies – essential skills that will assist our students reach their personal best as they undertake the HSC.

From the Library...

HILLS HAWKS FOOTBALL CLUB 2019 SEASON ***CELEBRATING 50 YEARS***

1969 – 2019

U/5’s - Over 45’s,Premier League, Men’s & Ladies Social Comps. REGISTER ONLINE FROM 3rd JAN 2019 Early bird discounts Close 3rd FEB 2019

INFORMATION SESSION AT HAYES PARK SAT 2nd FEB . 10:30am to 1PM Contact: Karen Robertson - hhfcregistrar@gmail.com 0419 632 105

Go to - www.hillshawksfc.com.au

APPLY FOR NSW GOVT ACTIVE KIDS VOUCHER $100 REBATE for SCHOOL STUDENTS

ALL NEW U5 & U6 PLAYERS RECEIVE FREE STARTERS KIT (BALL, SOCKS, SHORTS & BAG)

Proudly supported by