WYNDHAM COLLEGE A partner within the Nirimba Collegiate Group of Schools and the Nirimba Education Precinct

WHISPERS WYNDHAM
Nirimba Education Precinct, Eastern Road, Quakers Hill Phone: 9208 7100 Fax: 9208 7199 Volume 14 Issue 4 June 2012

Principal Karen Smith JUNE 2012 June 19

Deputy Principals David Macleod-Jones & Stan Pianko Yr11/12-St Andrews Cathedral & Great Synagogue Bingo / Trivia Night M.A.D.D. Performance Night Yr12CHEM- Lachlan Macquarie College Yr12 PHO Taronga Zoo MADD Evening Yr11- Parent/Teacher Night END OF TERM 2 JULY Cont July 23 July 25 July 26 July 26

Collegiate Deputy Principal Larry McGowan Staff Development Day Yr11 BIO Mt Annan Gardens Yr11 A/HIST Nicholson Museum Australian Nation Chemistry Quiz

June 22 June 27 June 27 June 27 June 27 June 28 June 29 JULY 2012 July 16 Term 2 begins July 23 Aug 3 Trial HSC

AUGUST 2012 August 1 Yr12 MS Long Reef August 8 Yr12 PHY Kickstart Sydney Uni August 15 Yr12 EES- Penrith Lakes August 22 Road Youth Trauma Forum

FROM THE COLLEGE PRINCIPAL Subject Selection Evening was held on Thursday evening June 7 and around 800 parents and students availed themselves of the opportunity to seek out advice relating to the selection of subjects for Year 11 2013. The evening was a great success with all of the Executive staff of the College present to assist parents and students to select their subjects for Year 11 2012. In addition our DEC Vocational Education staff were present to assist. In my address on the evening, I pointed out some of the difficulties we face due to the popularity of our College. Whilst we will always enrol students from our collegiate partner Year 7-10 schools Quakers Hill, Riverstone and Seven Hills, we are now in the position of it being extremely unlikely that we will enrol other students. The College is on the maximum number of students it can accommodate, we have twelve demountable classrooms (portables) and there is no land left to place any others. As has been the case in recent years, a waiting list will be established for students seeking entry from schools other than the collegiate partners, however, I believe it will be very unlikely that we will be able to access it for next year.

FRIENDS OF WYNDHAM COLLEGE (P & C) Forum All Parents Invited Tuesday 19 June 7PM Administration Block

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The special enrolment policy developed for Wyndham in 1998 still applies. Whilst the general policy across the state for DEC schools is that students have access to their local high school,that does not apply directly to Wyndham. Access to Wyndham is through our collegiate 7-10 schools (where the policy of local area access does apply). This means that if students from the local area chose not to attend the local DEC school, they will not then be able to expect to have access to Wyndham. This is especially the case now, as it could mean that there would not be room for students from the partner 7-10 schools, and of course that is not an option. Uniform now that the wet and cold weather has hit, we find that a small number of students are not attending in full uniform. Wyndham is, as our learning community determined, a uniform school. We expect all students to attend in the full college uniform. We are aware that there are sometimes extenuating circumstances which could temporarily prevent the wearing of full uniform. All we require under these circumstances, is a note of explanation from home. Most students, most of the time, do the right thing in this regard but I would ask that you support us if you are phoned by one of the college staff regarding this matter. I have explained to students that there is no excuse to be out of uniform without a note. School Development Day Term 3 this year there will be a combined school education group school development day. There will be 9 high schools attending the day. However, this day will occur on Monday 23 July 2012. Monday 16 July 2012 (Day 1 Term 3) will be a normal school day for all staff and students. On 23 July, it will be a pupil free day for Year 11 students only. We will still be running Trial exams for Year 12 students. Staff Changes for Term 3 at the end of this term Sally Govett and Skye Eddi will both be leaving us. Sally Govett, our Librarian, will be on maternity leave from Term 3 onwards. Tony Csordas will be relieving librarian for Term 3 only at this stage. We wish Sally all the best for the arrival of her new baby. Sally will be returning back to the college sometime in 2013. Skye will also be on maternity leave. Bronwyn Robinson who has been on leave studying to retrain as a school counsellor, will return to Wyndham College two days a week. Maree Crowne will share this position with Bronwyn. We wish Skye all the best and welcome back Bronwyn. Some Positives as I conclude, I would like to congratulate our students in several areas: first, their contribution to the Precinct Reconciliation event held at UWS College; second, the great performance at the Western Sydney Dance Festival held at the Hills Centre; third, the assistance provided at our Subject Selection evening; fourth, to great representation at Zone level for athletics, soccer, and rugby league. A reminder there will be the upcoming MADD Evening on 27 June 2012. Thank you to all our performing arts teachers. I know this will be a great evening. In each of the events, our students were a credit to the college. Well done and thanks.

Karen Smith College Principal FROM THE YEAR 11 DEPUTY PRINCIPAL _______________________________________________________________________________ 2

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Mid course Year 11 exams have just been completed. I have had the displeasure to sign a significant number of N-award course warning letters. All Year 11 students have been repeatedly warned that if the Board of Studies conditions for the satisfactory completion of a course are not met then they will be deemed as not as having completed the course resulting in the non award of a Preliminary certificate. Students must have 12 Preliminary units and a minimum of 10 Higher School Certificate units, of which 2 units must come from English, to be awarded the Higher School Certificate. In some cases students may be offered a Pathways option which will allow them to graduate with a Higher School Certificate in 2014. The offer of the Pathways option should not be taken for granted. It is critical for students to satisfactorily complete Year 11 English. Basically this means: if Year 11 English is not satisfactorily completed, then Year 12 English cannot be attempted which would result in the Higher School Certificate not being awarded, no matter how well you perform in your other subjects. Students who have been given N-award warning letters in any subject should ensure that all outstanding work is completed to the appropriate standard and handed in for marking. David Macleod-Jones Deputy Principal FROM THE YEAR 12 DEPUTY PRINCIPAL Its hard to believe that you are a little more than a term away from beginning your Higher School Certificate. Your Trials are in Term 3. You were issued with a revised Assessment Booklet at the start of this term please make sure that you have a copy, if not see either Vanessa or Chris for one. We are planning to have our annual HSC revision week first week of the holidays so please mark that in your personal calendar. Other Matters The car park Students may use the uppermost northern end of the front car park and the new student car park. Please ensure that you dont occupy staff spaces, this includes the ones reserved for Terra Sancta staff. Leaving the college grounds The rule is very simple, DONT! Once you are here you stay here. If you do leave then you are truanting and your absence will be recorded as such. Leaving the grounds also includes going to the TAFE canteen. Use ours. If you have issues with our joint canteen please raise your concerns through your SRC. It is empowered to speak on your behalf if you think you are not receiving the service you think you should be. Our canteen benefits each and every one of us because all the profits from sales go the Library. . Smoking Smoking is not permitted on the Precinct, certainly not on College grounds. The smokers hide-outs, e.g. behind the gymnasium, UWS College volleyball courts are well known to teachers and if you are caught the College policy regarding smokers will be applied. If you are caught in the company of a smoker you will be treated the same as if you were smoking, even if you were not. Uniform Wyndham is a uniform college. We treat you as young adults and expect you to model young adult behaviour which includes complying with all aspects of the uniform code as you would be obliged to do when in the workplace. The wearing of uniform during the HSC is compulsory. Dropping units - The College has a policy, based on a decade of experience, requiring students to attempt twelve units at the Higher School Certificate. Experience has shown that students who drop down to ten units with the intention of spending more time on the remainder very often dont. We find that one of the remaining five subjects drops down to being the last on the list and before long the student is presenting _______________________________________________________________________________ 3

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themselves at the Higher School Certificate with eight units instead of the mandatory ten resulting in no HSC in 2012. Help! If you are finding it tough going dont forget there are skilled and caring people who are prepared to help you. They are: Your Year Advisors, Vanessa and Chris The College Chaplain, Janine The College Counsellor, Meg The faculty Head Teachers Your administration (roll) teacher Last but not least, me. Stan Pianko Deputy Principal

FOCUS DAY - Tuesday 5th June.

Ever been tempted to do something but decided it was too risky? Ever done something then afterwards said that youd never do it again because you hadnt realised how risky it really was? Ever done something that ended in disaster because you hadnt even thought about the risk factor? The reality is that almost everything we do has some element of risk attached. Living life to the full requires an understanding of what risk is, how we calculate the level of its impact, and whether we decide to act despite the risks involved. All actions have outcomes. Actions that are not deliberate, or not thought through, can put us at risk of consequences that are out of our control. Having an understanding that life is full of risk: that there are risks that need to be taken, and risks that should be avoided, helps us to navigate through life, to live deliberately, joyously and to the full.

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is committed to ensuring that the Australian community is well informed about electoral matters. An important aspect of this work focuses on schools. The AEC understands that, to become engaged citizens, young people need to know their rights and responsibilities and to understand electoral processes. All AEC education initiatives complement the National Statements of Learning for Civics and Citizenship. Programs and resources are developed or delivered by educators or election experts and are free of charge.

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WYNDHAM COLLEGE
Nirimba Education Precinct Eastern Road QUAKERS HILL NSW 2763 PHONE: 02 9208 7100 FAX: 02 9208 7199

TERM 3 SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT DAY

Dear Parents and Caregivers

This letter is to advise you of a change in date of the 2012 Term 3 School Development Day for our school. School Development Day has moved from the first Monday of Term 3, 16th July, to the second Monday of Term 3, 23rd July. As a result, students will commence Term 3 on Monday, 16th July with a normal school day. Please note that on Monday 23 July, it will be a pupil free day for Year 11 students only. We will still be running Trial exams for Year 12 students. This change in date has been made to enable the staff from our school to combine with the staff from Blacktown Girls High School, Blacktown Boys High School, Mitchell High School, Riverstone High School, Quakers Hill High School, Wyndham College and The Hills Sports High School, in developing responses to the new school leaving age and the implementation of the Australian curriculum as well as creating opportunities to enhance teacher quality and leadership. A world renowned child psychologist, Michael McQueen has been engaged to work with our staff to improve their understanding of adolescents and issues which impact on their learning. Any inconvenience associated with this change of dates is regretted but I am sure you will understand that this opportunity is one which we could not miss as we work to enhance the teaching in our schools. Should you have any enquiries regarding Term 3 School Development Day please contact the school on 9208 7100. Yours sincerely Karen Smith Principal

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SRC Report On the 1st June, 8 SRC members and Margaret attended the annual World Vision Global Leadership Convention at Luna Park. As per previous years there was a Simulation Game which helped explain the economic situation of big and small countries. Little boxes had to be made out of paper and this represented food which could be used to barter for other goods. This taught a valuable lesson about greed and poverty. There were various audio visual presentations outlining the hunger/poverty problems around the world as well as a focus on Ethiopia as this years country for the 40 Hour Famine. It was very challenging, stirring and persuasive, leading to an arena of people fired up to do something about the problems in the world, Ethiopia in particular. This year the 40 Hour famine program will be accessed via the internet, where you can register and submit your money raised. More information closer to the August 17 date for the Famine to take place. Natalie Agius on behalf of SRC

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Year 12 French ventured to the city to enjoy some French culture. We visited Abbeys bookshop and found some useful French resources to assist our studies of French. It was exciting to see the students enjoying some childrens books and looking at novels in French. The highlight of our day was our lunch at The Little Snail where we enjoyed a three course meal and were waited on by genuine French waiters. It was a lovely day with a magnificent group of young adults. Miriam Birkmann-Little

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WOOLWORTHS EARN & LEARN PROMOTION Wyndham College is a part of the Earn & Learn Promotion being run by Woolwoths. Please support our school by collecting stickers and dropping them of at Wyndham College office.

FREE PLANTS FOR COLLEGE A big thank you to all families and staff who have kindly donated their Blacktown City Council free allocation of 2 plants to the school. At this stage we have a total of 50 plants. This is fantastic and will go a long way to further beautifying our school.
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UNIFORM NEWS New shirts with embroidered school logo are now available from the Uniform shop. COST: $27.00 (boys & girls). This price is effective as of 1st May 2012.

FREE MATHS TUITION All students are invited to join the free Maths tuition that is held in C4 every Tuesday afternoon from 3pm to 4pm. Be there!

WYNDHAM COLLEGE

TRIVIA & BINGO NIGHT

Friday 22nd June (7:00 for 7:30 start) $10 per person Payable at the door No U/18s or current students

Bookings: 9208-7100 (Office)

BYO Food and Drinks (Alcohol permitted)

Prizes, Raffles, Lucky Door Prize

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IMPORTANT ATTENDANCE INFORMATION

SMS - the College number is 0416 906 146. Excursions Excursions are an important part of the school curriculum. They provide students with a diversity of learning experiences that are very valuable. However, the excursions take considerable time and effort to organise so that they run efficiently. For this reason the school policy is that all excursion money must be paid by the date indicated on the permission note. Students who do not pay by this date will not be able to attend the excursion. If there is a special circumstance preventing payment by the due date, your child should see the Head Teacher.

CHANGE OF DETAILS
To keep student records as up to date as possible please complete the slip below, if you have changed address or changed phone numbers, and return to the front office. Student Name ... New Address Home Phone ... ..

Mobile Phone Mother Name.... Mobile Phone -Father Name Date...............

Signed .

Emails
If you wish to receive Wyndham Whispers by email or have recently changed your email address please complete this slip and return to the office:
Student Name ___________________________________________________ Email Address ___________________________________________________
Please print carefully

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