16 SEPTEMBER 2016 NEWSLETTER

WILLOUGHBY GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL
A Leader in Girls Education
NEWSLETTER
16 September 2016
Graduation 2016
We wish our Year 12 students best
wishes in their
Higher School Certificate examinations.
Reporting student achievement in the Higher School Certificate
The Board of Studies reports student achievement in Stage 6 (Years
11 and 12) through the Higher School Certificate (HSC) Record of
School Achievement (RoSA) and through the Australian Tertiary
Admission Rank (ATAR).
For most ATAR courses, the Board reports an examination mark, a
school assessment and an HSC mark.
September Calendar
Red typeface denotes the event is open to the public
Year 11 Yearly examinations 5-16 September
Year 11 Yearly Examinations 5 – 16 September
Week 9A
12-16 September
Friday 16
Year 7 Medieval Day
Sunday 18
Overseas Band Rehearsal
Year 12 HSC Music Examinations 5 – 16 September
Week 10B
Tuesday 20
Thursday 22
Friday 23
19-23 September
Prefect Induction Assembly
P&C Meeting 7.00pm in the Staff
Common Room
Year 12 Review and Luncheon –
Years 7-11 dismissed at 1.00pm
Year 12 Graduation
Spring Holidays 2016
Monday 26 September – Monday 10 October
Week 1A
Monday 10
Tuesday 11
10-14 October
Students return – Assembly
Year 11 Geography excursion
Year 10 & 11 Silver Hike departure
meeting
Wednesday 12 SRC Camp
Thursday 13 SRC Camp
Friday 14
SRC Camp
Saturday 15
Duke of Edinburgh Silver Journey
Sunday 16
Duke of Edinburgh Silver Journey
Year 12 HSC examinations
17 October – 11 November
Week 2B
Monday 17
17-21 October
Duke of Edinburgh Silver Journey
Music Committee AGM
Tuesday 18
P&C meeting 7.00pm in the
Staff Common room
Wednesday 19 Year 8 English excursion
Year 9 & 10 Religious seminars
The examination mark reported on a student’s Record of School
Achievement indicates the standard a student has attained in that
examination. If, for example, a student’s performance in the
Chemistry examination is at the standard described for Band 5, the
examination mark reported on their Record of School Achievement
for that course will lie between 80 and 89. This mark, termed the
aligned examination mark, will generally differ from the mark the
student actually gained in the examination (the raw examination
mark).
To enable school assessments from different schools to be compared,
marks submitted by schools (raw assessments) are first moderated
using the raw examination marks gained by their students and then
aligned to course standards. The school assessments reported on a
student’s Record of School Achievement are the aligned assessments.
Although school assessments are moderated and then aligned against
standards, a school’s rank order of students in a course is maintained.
The HSC mark is the average of the examination mark and the school
assessment. It is the HSC mark that determines a student’s
Performance Band (1-6) for the course.
The ATAR is a numerical measure of a student's overall academic
achievement in the HSC in relation to that of other students. This
measure allows the overall achievement of students who have
completed different combinations of HSC courses to be compared.
The ATAR is calculated solely for use by tertiary institutions to rank
and select school leavers for admission.
The ATAR is reported as a number between 0 and 99.95 with
increments of 0.05. The ATAR is not a mark. Specifically, a student’s
ATAR indicates the position of that student relative to their Year 7
cohort. Students who received an ATAR of 80.00 in 2015, for
example, performed well enough in the HSC to place them 20% from
the top of their Year 7 cohort, if all the 2009 Year 7 students
completed Year 12 and were eligible for an ATAR in 2015.
Mr S Leavers
Deputy Principal
Year 7 Reptile incursion - Snakes Alive!!
Gasp, slither, leap, crawl, “ooh”, “ahh”, smile.
On Friday 29 July, Sydney Reptile Park amazed
all Year 7 students with incredible animals and
experiences to last a lifetime, it was incredibly
difficult to think of the huge American alligator
crawling toward you or the tiny turtle in your
hands for example being made of microscopic
cells.
The event has given Year 7 a newfound
appreciation for biology (which we’ll be learning
about this term), respect for the planets that
roam the Earth alongside us and given us a bit of
excitement in the process.
Charlotte McLeod Year 7 Science E
High School Graduation
Each year, at the end of Term 3, Willoughby Girls High School holds two special events celebrating the end of
Year 12. This is an important part of every student’s life as it signifies the end of formal schooling and the
beginning of a new journey into adulthood.
On Thursday 22 September 2016 a special Year 12 Farewell Luncheon will be held at the school during the
afternoon. This is an in-house function for Year 12 and staff only.
As teachers will be attending the function, students in Years 7-11 will be dismissed from school at 1:00pm
(instead of 2:28pm). A note with details of the day will be sent to parents on Monday 12 September.
On Friday 23 September 2016, the Year 12 Graduation will be held at the school.
A special Assembly will take place on the day.
Queens for a Day
The WGHS Talent Quest
On Friday 12 August, the SRC held its third annual Talent Quest, Willoughby’s Got Talent, which ran from lunch till
the end of the school afternoon, and we are happy to announce that it was a great success!
The event began with a sausage sizzle for lunch and was completed with a range of different acts competing in the
Talent Quest in the school hall.
The theme of this year's SCR mufti day was “Queens”, and many students had fun dressing up. This was best
displayed in our costume competition, which was judged following the Talent Quest.
The acts themselves were amazing and showed the true talent that WGHS holds. They ranged from a talented
magician, Heba Ahmed (Year 9) to many amazing singing and performing acts which included Marissa Wilkinson and
Cerys Longmore (Year7 ) who sang and danced to “Phoenix”; Chloe Clarke (Year 7) singing “Sugar”; Sarah StewartLee (Year 9) who sang “White Horse”; Shirina Holmatova (Year 9) singing a song she composed herself; Katarina
Grobler (Year 12); and Einav Ofri (Year 10) who made a guest appearance as well as being a judge for this year’s
Talent Quest.
After all the acts had performed and the judges finalised their decision, Shirina Holmatova was announced this
year's first prize Talent Quest winner. She wowed the judges and the audience with both her outstanding guitar
and singing skills. Heba Ahmed won second prize and Katarina Grobler received the third prize for this year's Talent
Quest.
At the end of the day, the SCR Mufti Day raised over $3500, which was donated to this year’s chosen charity, the
International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA). The IWDA advance women’s human rights in the Asia Pacific
region by tackling issues of power, money and security.
All of this could not be done without the amazing help we received from the parents cooking the sausage sizzle and
donations, such as bread (Harris Farm) and drinks. Without everyone working together, the day would not have run
as smoothly and been as successful as it was. Thank you everyone for your contributions and your time in making
this year's SRC Mufti Day and Talent Quest so successful!
Vivien Janitz
SRC Year 10
Library news….favourite reads
Book Week 20-26 August was celebrated with displays of new books reflecting the theme of Australia – Story
country, a Year 8 class participating in the “Write a book in a day” competition and a survey of students’
favourite books. The table below highlights the five favourite reads for the different year groups. All of these
books are in our library collection.
Year 7
Harry Potter
series - J K
Rowling
Year 8
Fan girl –
Rainbow Rowell
Year 9
Harry Potter
series - J K
Rowling
Percy Jackson
Heroes of
Olympus series
– Rick Riordan
Watersong
series - Amanda
Hocking
The Selection
series – Keira
Cass
Artemis Fowl
series – Eoin
Colfer
Does my head
look big in this?
Alaa Davadi
The knife of
never letting go
– Patrick Ness
Girl Online -Zoe
Sugg
Divergent series
– Veronica Roth
Cinder –
Marissa Meyer
The night circus
– Erin
Morgensten
Gone series –
Machael Grant
The ivory rose –
Belinda Murrell
Year 10
Chinese
Cinderella –
Adeline YehMah
The Little Prince
– Antoine de
Saint-Exupery
Year 11
Uglies –Scott
Westerfield
Year 12
Gone Girl –
Gillian Flynn
Da Vinci Code
– Dan Brown
To kill a
mockingbird –
Harper Lee
Water for
elephants – Sara
Gruen
Throne of Glass
– Sarah J Maas
1984 – George
Orwell
Howl’s moving
castle –
Dianna Wynne
Jones
Harry Potter
series – J K
Rowling
Lord of the
rings –JRR
Tolkien
A short history
of nearly
everything –
Bill Bryson
Brave New
World Aldous
Huxley
Inkheart –
Cornelia Funke
Have you read these top five favourites? Are you curious to discover for yourself what all the fuss is about and
why these books were chosen? Visit the library, read a book, write a review and save it in the catalogue to
share your reading experiences.
If you need further inspiration to read, Neil Gaiman has written a fascinating article on the great value of
reading and what books actually do for us. His article can be accessed at:
https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/08/03/neil-gaiman-view-from-the-cheap-seats-reading/
New library catalogue - Oliver
The WGHS library has a new library management system called Oliver which allows the school community
online access to the library’s catalogue. The new catalogue can be accessed by students via the Library Enquiry
link in Student portal. All students are encouraged to explore the catalogue. If you have any questions
regarding access and use, please come and ask us at the library information desk.
Mrs A Parker
Teacher Librarian
Book Week 2016 at WGHS
Year 7 Gala Day
On Tuesday 16 August, Year 7 had Gala Day, which was a day where we had a lot of fun and played one out of three
sports. We had to make a team of eight to ten for one of the sports, which were touch football, soccer and netball.
Emma Brady and Elle Fletcher will share their experiences playing touch football at David Thomas Reserve, Emma
Crowther and Katya Ivkovic will give their take on soccer at Nolan Reserve and finally, Alexandra de Graaff and
Ingrid Dunne will describe their day playing netball at John Fisher Oval. Some of our teams got into the finals, which
was a great accomplishment. It was a very fun day, which we all enjoyed. All of the Willoughby sport teams should
be proud of themselves for their fantastic achievements.
Touch Football
Touch football was an extremely fun day. There were four teams of girls who represented Willoughby in touch
football at David Thomas Reserve. We were lucky to have fun coaches from Year 10 who helped out our teams on
the day. All up our team played 7 games as we also played in semi- finals and the grand final. We were proud and
excited that we tied first with a Mackellar team. It was a hot day and we had 20 minute breaks in between matches
so we had fun running around and playing for other teams in need of players.
Soccer
When we arrived at Nolan Reserve, we walked to our designated area while observing the colours of the other
schools. After we sat down we lathered on sunscreen and put on our gear. We were introduced to our Year 10
coaches. Then we started to train and created our positions. When the whistle blew all the teams came to sit down
and we were given instructions. Then we started the games. A lot of our teams made it to the finals, which was a
superb achievement. After that we packed our bags, got onto the bus and went back to school.
Netball
Gala Day was a great way to connect and socialise with the schools of the North Shore. Ingrid Dunne and Alexandra
de Graaff, along with many girls were privileged enough to participate in the netball competitions. The grounds that
the netball games were held at was at the John Fisher Oval in Curl Curl. Our team was undefeated until sadly in the
final game we lost to The Forest High. Unfortunately, also in the final game I dislocated my finger and had to stop
playing. At the Curl Curl Netball Courts, we met many new people from different schools and finally had a break
from our long school day routine. Meeting new people and interacting with other schools was a great experience
and it was also a great way to bond with people from Willoughby Girls. We learnt the values of team work and got
to know each other a lot better. Having the coaches from Year 10 was also a great experience because they were
constantly supporting us and encouraging us to do our best and improve. Long story short, Gala Day was a
wonderful day and it was an amazing opportunity for Year 7.
We would like to thank our supportive Year 10 coaches and all the teachers who helped out on the day. It was a
nice change to have a whole day playing sport with our friends.
Emma Brady, Emma Crowther, Alexandra de Graaff, Ingrid Dunne, Elle Fletcher and Katya Ivkovic
Year 10 Driving Day – B Smart
On Thursday 18 August 2016, Year 10 went to the ANZ arena to watch a demonstration on road safety and to listen
to people talk of their experiences on the road. When watching the role play which was based on a car crash, our
whole school could tell it was going to be very confronting and eye-opening! And it was! There were cars crashing,
ambulances and police cars. Then some people spoke to us about their experiences in dealing with car crashes and
motorcycle crashes.
Although the day was confronting for many, it taught us that it is very easy for people to get into a crash and they
could happen for any reason. As we are in Year 10, many of us are able to get our licences soon and this made us
kind of scared of driving, but 100% more aware of the road.
Nellie Zydenbos and Gabie Menge
Year 10 went on an excursion to the QUDOS Bank Arena at Olympic Park for the Bstreetsmart Road Safety show.
The show started off with a car crash scenario involving teenagers which was very confronting but gave us a
warning of the dangers of distractions. After the scenario, we had a break where there were stands and activities
and each of them had a cause to raise awareness to teens. After the break, there were guests who came in who
survived car/motorbike crashes and told us the consequences they received. They not only talked about their ‘hell’
but how they moved on with their life. This excursion was very challenging, but it gave all of Year 10 a lesson for
when we start our journey to drive.
Anna Navarro
On 18 August, Year 10 went on an excursion to Bstreetsmart at Homebush. When we got to Homebush there were
lots of other schools waiting to go into the arena, once we were in the arena they gave us a brief run down on what
the day was about.
The first part of the day there was a fake crash on the arena floor, where the fire brigade, ambulance and police
came in and played it out as they would with a normal crash. On our lunch break we were allowed to go around the
arena where there were many different stalls set up including the SES and police crash investigation.
For the final part of the day we had guest speakers who had been involved in a crash talk about how it had affected
their lives. The excursion was eye opening and it showed us the real life risks of dangerous driving.
Sofia Grego and Anna Navarro
Duke of Edinburgh adventures
On 5 September, 30 girls arrived at Clarinda St, 9:30 in the morning (or a bit later) to complete their Duke of
Edinburgh adventures. Little did they know that their feet, legs and sanity would not survive.
Our legs were exhausted, but we had only just put our packs on. We sang songs and were forced to chant ‘We love
life!’ in a desperate attempt to stay positive. All together we hiked for about 10 hours through bush, across rivers,
up ‘natural’ steps and down a few ladders. We made many wild friends; the leeches were pretty popular. At the end
of the first day, weary and tired, we trudged along the track until we saw a clearing. Camp! Our saviour. We ate our
pasta and various other carbs in the dark and celebrated with marshmallows over a small camp fire. However, the
greatest relief of all were the flushing toilets.
We missed civilisation so much that even the sound of cars made us excited.
Well, that was after Heartbreak hill. It literally broke our hearts when we saw it;
they still haven’t healed. It was so massive and steep but the sounds of cars,
trains and civilisation kept us going. Everyone was relieved but sad when we got
to the top, because we knew we had come to an end to our awesome adventure.
We all had so much fun and spoke to people whom we had never really spoken
to before. We all cannot wait for our next hike and to hope that we have the
same amount, if not more fun than we had on this hike.
Jacinta, Valerie and Emily (Year 9)
Year 8 Japanese – food and friends
During the past few months, the Year 8 Japanese class has been undertaking various activities relating to Japan’s
culture and communicating with students in Japan.
On 16 June, famous sushi chef Dekura Sensei taught us how to make two types of maki-sushi (sushi roll); futomaki
(thick sushi roll) and the hosomaki (thin sushi roll). We students enjoyed making the maki-sushi using vegetables
and fish. They were all delicious!
Our class also did a video conference on 2 August with school students from Suginami, Tokyo, Japan – the sister
council of Willoughby. Following the conference, 14 girls visited WGHS during 22-26 of August.
Elly Robertson
United Nations Youth Competitions
On 31 August I went to Killara High School to represent Willoughby Girls High School in the UN Voice of Youth
Competition. What is the UN Voice of Youth Competition? The Voice of Youth Competition is a public speaking
competition where students between Grades 7-10 talk, based on a topic they are given.
The topics for this year were
1
How can we reduce ‘sexploitation’ of women in sport?
2
How can we decrease the education gap between schools in Australia?
3
How can we ensure that the Australian political system better accounts for minorities?
4
How can we better secure the human rights of the elderly in Australia?
5
How can we promote positive interfaith dialogue amongst youth?
Students choose a topic and talk about it for 5 minutes. In the 5 minutes they talk about how it’s made, what are
the problems and how to solve it. I talked about the education gap between schools. It has helped me improve in
research and public speaking skills. This competition has really opened my eyes to where problems start and
challenged how I thought our education system works. It was a rewarding experience which extended my
knowledge on national issues and gave me an insight to how other people would tackle the problem.
Celina Diep
Year 9
On Friday 20 May, Celina and I travelled to St Ives High School to part take in the United Nations for Youth Evatt
competition.
What is Evatt? Evatt is when students represent one of the 15 member countries of the United Nations Security
Council to debate various world issues. The Security Council is responsible for the maintenance of international
peace and security.
Celina and I were selected to represent Japan when debating resolutions. We discussed and debated with
competing students, who represented different nations, about resolutions to problems such as the diamond trade;
displacement of people due to disease out breaks and epidemics; and the war in Burundi.
The most memorable thing about the competition was how well teams debated their points, thought up
amendments and persuaded the other students to vote for their cause.
Celina Diep (SRC) & Helena Greenwell
Year 9
Leadership Initiatives in Year 11
Throughout this year a number of new leadership
initiatives have been made available for Year 11
students. These were put into place to help raise
awareness of what leadership entails but also to provide
mentoring to support students to enhance their selfawareness, time management and communication skills.
In Term 1, seven students from Willoughby Girls were
selected to participate in the Max Potential Program.
This is an externally conducted Leadership Coaching
Program aimed at empowering young people. The
students participated in a 22 week program which
included network meetings with students from other
public and private schools in the area as well as personal
coaching from trained members of the community.
Students also completed a Community Service Project of
their choice, with our students involved in amazing
projects such as holding an art exhibition to raise
awareness about youth homelessness, creating recipe
cards for distribution through a women’s shelter, holding
youth events in partnership with local youth centres,
collecting first aid supplies for the homeless, raising selfesteem of students, developing art therapy classes at
local aged care facilities, and participating in and
encouraging student volunteering with community
charities. The Max Potential Program concluded on
Monday 5 September with a public showcase of the
students’ projects at the Norths Club at Cammeray.
This was the first year that Willoughby Girls has participated in the highly respected Max Potential Program. The
students made significant commitments to their involvement in the program but have also benefitted greatly from the
coaching process. It was great to hear such positive feedback from community members about the way in which these
students conducted themselves as individuals and representatives of the school.
Another initiative was the development of a nine week Leadership Awareness Program, conducted in Term 2 by the
Year 11 Adviser, Ms Blackman. This Course was offered to all Year 11 students and 22 took on the challenge to
complete the after school program. Students expanded their understanding of what it means to be a leader, how to set
achievable goals and to embrace the risks and failures that come with personal challenge. The students also hosted an
afternoon tea with Mayor of Willoughby, Gail Giles-Gidney, who was able to talk with the students about some of her
own experiences in working towards and being in leadership roles. The Course was well received by the students, giving
some the confidence to nominate for leadership positions and helping others to better identify and celebrate their
personal strengths before they progress to their Year 12 studies.
Willoughby Girls students who completed the Max Potential Leadership Coaching Program. From left to right: Gloria
Chan, Shino Takesako, Saffron Cliff, Emily Wu, Annie Martin, Zoe Borkowski, Ayesha Bhalla.
Ms L Blackman
Year 11 Advisor
COMMUNITY NOTICE BOARD
FREE FAMILY INFORMATION EVENING
FOR Willoughby Girls High School STUDENTS
AND SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE IN 2016
Student Exchange Australia New Zealand is a not-for-profit organisation,
registered with all state and territory Departments of Education around
Australia and with the Ministry of Education in NZ. We are the first and only
secondary exchange organisation in Australia and New Zealand to be certified
to ISO 9001 (Quality Management System) and we ensure the highest
standards of care and support to our participants.
We offer scholarships and discounts worth over $100,000 to students each
year. These include 3 x Language, 3 x International Affairs, 2 x Indigenous and
3 x Digital Video Scholarships and 2 x Volunteer and Community Involvement Scholarships. Students can find
out more about our exchange programs to over 25 countries and learn about our scholarships and discounts on
offer in 2016 by going to studentexchange.org.au for phoning 9997 0700.
"You come back a different person, with so much more confidence & you feel that you can conquer the
world" Jessica, Semester Program to Italy.
Student Exchange Australia New Zealand Ltd
PO Box 1420, Mona Vale NSW 1660 Australia
T: (02) 9997 0700 F: (02) 9997 0701
W: www.studentexchange.org.au
Suite 2590, PO Box 83000,
Wellington 6440 New Zealand
T: 0800 440079 F: 0800 440077
W: www.studentexchange.org.nz