the THE WEEKLY N EWSLETTER O F N ORMANHURST B OYS H IGH S CHOOL NORMANHURST NEWS 30 JANUARY 2015 | VOLUME 24 ISSUE 1 A T F W E Normanhurst Boys High School Pennant Hills Road Normanhurst NSW 2076 SCHOOL EXECUTIVE +61 2 9489 1077 +61 2 9489 5722 www.normanhurb-h.schools.nsw.edu.au normanhurb-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au Asli Harman Mark Anderson Principal Deputy Principal Frank Abas Deputy Principal IN THIS EDITION Whole school Swimming Carnival, Monday 2 February 2014 HSC results Year 7 Transition to High School Left: Grounds of NBHS FROM THE PRINCIPAL Mr Mark Anderson B. A. Dip. Ed. Happy New Year to all of our parents and of course the boys! Welcome back to what will be another great year at Normanhurst. 2014 Results: Once again we have achieved some outstanding results at Normanhurst. Last year we increased our State Rankings from 3 to 5 with yet another 1st in the State in Software Design and Development. Congratulations to Oliver Fisher who had a massive year. Well done also to Victor Tse who came 2nd in the State for Engineering Studies, Martin Ho who came 2nd in the State for Extension Japanese, Alex Joule who came 4th in the State for Japanese Extension and Ashkan Khoshab (Year 12 2015) for coming 6th in the State in Geography. Some superb results. 19 of our boys also made the All Rounders list. These are boys who have been placed on the Distinguished Achievers List for courses totalling 10 or more units. In other words, they have band 6’s in at least 5 2-Unit courses (or perhaps including 2 or more Band 6 equivalents in at least two extension courses in addition to their 2U courses). 17 of the boys achieved 99 or above in their ATARs. Well done graduates. Bhargava, Uddhav Cai, Justin Hoye Chan, Justin James Cook, Robert Mitchell Fairgrieve, Liam Frederick Fisher, Oliver James Gore, Matthew Bruce Gupta, Aneesh Curran Hannigan, Anthony John Joule, Alex Kim, Hyungseok John Kim, Sungho Liu, Benjamin Minasian, Bayan Shi, Rocky Shivaramanan, Gajan Wang, Lawrence Jing Yao Whitfield-Horesh, Jourdon Wong, Brian Ka Lok 290 made it to the Distinguished Achievers list, up from 2013. While we are yet to undertake a detailed analysis of all of our results, it is immediately obvious that our results in Chemistry, 2U Maths, Visual Arts and 2U English appear to be the best results we have ever achieved. There are some very positive trends in particular in Japanese, Software Design and Development and Economics. In addition to this, and probably even more telling is the outstanding success we had in ensuring our boys have access to scholarships as they move into further study. Boys, we are all very proud of your achievements. Assessing the overall performance of a school is a difficult thing. Like almost everyone, one of the first places we tend to look is the media. It never ceases to amaze me how the papers appear to be able to generate “League Tables” almost before the school has access to the results. While we fare very favourably I would caution parents about using these as their sole source of data in attempting to assess a “school’s performance”. "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics", according to Mark Twain (who attributed to the quote to Disraeli) - and I agree whole heartedly. These tables make the picture appear so clear. One school goes down 5 places while another rockets up 15 places. It is easy to make an assumption that something cataclysmic or magnificent has occurred in a year to generate this change. Anyone who has kids knows this must be a fiction. While improvement is almost always possible it is seldom easy and almost never as easy a flicking some form of magic switch. One year does not make a trend or a pattern and neither do two. Despite improvement demonstrated through these outstanding achievements last year, I want to assure parents that we will continue to work hard to gain even further improvements over the coming years. With our new strategic plan now beginning to coalesce into something that resembles clarity, there are several things that are very clear about parent, student and staff vision for Normanhurst Boys. Firstly, we are about achieving academic excellence. This is about how many students achieve a Band 6 and an ATAR of stratospheric proportions. It is however more about focusing on ensuring that each and every one of our boys achieves the best they can achieve. It is about ensuring that high expectations are balanced against realistic expectations, and developing the whole person not producing boys who lack the life-readiness skills to thrive in an adult learning environment and life in general. Some call this a holistic education- I call it common sense. We will continue to focus all our efforts on maximising performance through the delivery of opportunities for our boys that will result in the development of greatness. Great students, great academics, great employees, great husbands and partners, great fatherssimply, great men. For a small proportion of Year 10 parents in particular, this is the year that they begin to “selective school shop”. That is, they look at the League Tables and begin to believe that moving school to one further up the table may assist their son. Let me assure you that this sort of move seldom results in any form of significant academic improvement and, in every case I have seen, results in students who have less access to leadership roles and access to those activities and opportunities that provide those valuable “bonus points” for applications to particular university courses. As well as the emotional turmoil of yanking students away from a support network of other students at a time when they need support most, it creates a hurdle for the boys to overcome in terms of building a reputation that will give them the outstanding references that are required to access the most highly sought after courses in university. If you are one of the very small number of parents considering this I would ask you to speak to Ms Woodhams (our Careers Adviser) first. She is an absolute treasure trove of information about maximising post-school opportunities. Normanhurst has a wonderful balance in supporting the whole boy. This is not necessarily the same at other schools. Planning for future success and Cross Cultural Communication Training for all our staff: The last two days of last year saw an enormous amount of work undertaken with a focus on planning for the next three years. While the last days of term are not an ideal opportunity for training, with everyone being weary from a year of hard work, our wonderful staff worked hard to ensure we are well placed for yet another successful year at Normo. I would like to publically thank all of my staff for all their hard work on these days. Congratulations to the Ku-ring-gai Young Citizen of the Year, Oliver Moor: Oliver contributed 400 hours of his time volunteering with St John Ambulance. He has also competed at St John Ambulance’s Regional and State First Aid Championships and was ranked first in the region in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Oliver was also promoted to Cadet Sergeant, the highest rank a cadet can achieve in the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Cadet Division. Well done Oliver. “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” ― Mahatma Gandhi Well done to our dedicate Robotics Club Team: Dominik Daners, James Groom, Jacob Jordison, Barry Feng, Jack Wagner and Zac de Silva. There is a great little article in the “Bush Telegraph” (a link is embedded in the image) about the boys working on their passion for robotics over the break. These boys have developed a passion and skill-set that is phenomenal. SPONSORS WITH A PASSION FOR ROBOTICS ARE SOUGHT! At the moment the Robotics Team is looking for passionate sponsors to join them. If you are interested, please contact the team coach, Mr Davis on 0423 254 681. Year 7 Induction: Thank you to all of our Peer Support Leaders and staff who assisted in the program this year. There was a time when Year 7 took months to settle in- but no longer. I visited the camp on Thursday and the boys looked like they had been together for years. While this week is an “easy start” for them, next week the work will begin in earnest. Just a few basic but important tips for our new Year 7 parents: 1. Write your son’s name on every jumper, shoe, shirt and item they own. While they are still excited they will forget to do a great many things, and collecting items of property will be one. The pile of forgotten jumpers etc. left on the floor in the change room after almost every PE lesson is enough to make you despair. 2. Get the boys on public transport ASAP: Our school bus is dependent upon use. If you wait until week 5 to get them on the bus it may not be allocated and we will lose it. 3. Nag the boys to use their diary every night. If we work together on this we are more likely to get them into positive habits. It is good for the boys to develop a habit of writing “no homework for <subject>” in their diary if they have no homework. That way we all know if they are using their diary and they have no homework rather than they did have homework but can’t recall. 4. They may be in high school but still check the bottom of their bags for notes and communications. We will attempt to communicate via email to add another layer of communication. If you have a Hotmail account you will not get our emails each week (in which case you probably won’t be reading this anyway I guess). A Few Key Dates for the Calendar Week 2 Monday 2 Feb (this coming Monday) is our Swimming Carnival. All students must attend. Week 2 Thursday 5 Feb: Year 11 Information Evening Week 4 Monday 16 Feb: Year 12 Parent Teacher Evening Week 4 Thursday 19 Feb: Year 7 Transition to HS evening Week 5 Thursday 26 Feb: Year 12 Team Normo Parent Meeting Swimming Carnival: Please note that all students are expected to attend this day. Our non-swimmers can assist others in the organisation and/or be there to be part of the team that is Normanhurst. Please support the spirit of the school and team building by insisting your son attends. Please do not let him convince you it is not important. Being part of a supportive group of friends and making a contribution for the “greater good” of their community is an essential element of developing into a balanced and productive human being. We call it Team Normo. It is something that is very real and something that your son needs to be part of to support him through the stresses and demands of working in such an academically demanding environment. Each year, irrespective of which school you may be at, the excuses for non-attendance at carnivals appear to be consistent, so let me assist in negating a couple of the most common ones. 2. “I want him to stay home and study”: Balance is the key to success. It is the second week of school, and the second day for many students. They will not miss any work that will disadvantage them. Getting active and engaged socially with others is vital to overall performance. If they are really determined to study then they can bring a book along to the day. 3. “He hasn’t got many friends and is nervous about going”: To put it bluntly, unless they go the chance of them making any friends by staying at home is close to zero. The chance to interact with their peers is valuable. While girls often appear to enjoy a wide circle of friends, boys usually appear happy with one or two close “mates”. Carnivals provide a time for them to bond and for like-minded individuals to find each other. Last and probably least, attendance at school is legally compulsory for students under the age of 17. For Normanhurst Boys, Monday is a normal school day, teaching a different part of the curriculum and in a different environment- but still a school day. I look forward to seeing all of the boys in attendance. Thank you for your support in this matter. It is a great day and one nobody can afford to miss. 1. “My son can’t swim/swims poorly”: The day is very much about team building as said above, and he needs to be part of the group and happy in his circle of friends. If we equate this to a business environment, this activity is part of “induction”, “team building”, “networking” and “building respect”. Even if they do not participate in the pool there are other benefits of attending. ► P&C NEWS Mr Sade Kalasabail, P&C President Our next and first P&C meeting for this year will be held on Tuesday 10 Feb 2015 at 7.30 p.m. in the School Library. We plan to finish by 9.00 p.m. P&C Canteen Focus Group thanks all who responded for the support received for the survey done last term. We will be doing a presentation at the meeting. Our next Grounds Day (… working bee) for this term / year will be held on Saturday 14 March (9:00am - 12:00 noon). Further information about P&C is available on the school web site http://www.normanhurb-h.schools.nsw.edu.au , under the “P&C” tab along with details of the previous meetings. ► YEAR 7 AND 8 ‘A TEAM’ – TEAM BUILDING DAY Ms Paula Marsh, Teacher, Autism Unit On Thursday 29 January four Year 11 peer support leaders Sanjay Balakumar, Jason Chen, Udai Kamath and Seshan Premaratne assisted the Year 7 and 8 ‘A Team’ students - Year 7 - Nicholas Demlakian, Banjo Piggott-Wright, Lachlan Purvis, Luke Vadekar, Saiteja Setturu, Benjamin WebsterBurnham, Matthew Ye, Year 8 - Fawaz Bilgrami, George Fan, Samuel Mackay, Minh Nguyen and Eden Pearson in their Team Building exercises. All the students had loads of fun. Team building activities included "getting to know you games", "egg drop", "tug of war", "crossing the river" and "magic carpet". The day was a huge success thanks to the help of Mr Johnson, Mrs Somerville, Mr Slade, Mr Howell and Mr Abas. ► DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD SCHEME PARENT INFORMATION EVENING Mrs Deborah James, Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme Coordinator An information evening for parents and students will be held on Wednesday 4 February 2015 in the school hall to discuss beginning and undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh Award. The evening is intended to inform first-time participants. Please arrive by 6.50 p.m. for a 7.00 p.m. commencement. The evening will conclude at 9.00 p.m. ► AN SRC INTIATIVE - SLUSHIE MACHINE FOR THE CANTEEN Ms M. Gibson-Garside, SRC Coordinator Working in collaboration with the canteen, the SRC has organised a Slushie machine for Normanhurst Boys. Year 9 students had approached the SRC about the school selling slushies, and over the school holidays a Slushie machine was installed in the canteen. Slushies are available in a 300ml cup for $2 and will be available in a variety of flavours. This week's flavours are orange/mango and dragonfruit. Thanks to the canteen for their support with this SRC initiative. ► CALENDAR Wk 2 Monday Tuesday 2 Feb WEEK B 3 WEEK B School Swimming Carnival School ID Photos No ICT access 3 4 Friday 6 WEEK B Year Meetings Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme Information Evening Year 11 Preliminary HSC Parent Information Evening 10 WEEK A 11 WEEK A 12 WEEK A 13 WEEK A Year 7 Geography Fieldwork Prefect Peer Tutoring Year 12 Music 1 and 2 Assessment Task School Assembly HSC High Achievers Assembly 16 Feb WEEK B P&C Meeting No ICT access Year 12 Music 1 and 2 Assessment Task 17 WEEK B 18 WEEK B 19 WEEK B Year 8 Inquisitive Minds Mathematics Workshop Year 12 Meet the Music Series Concerts Year Meetings Prefect Peer Tutoring 20 WEEK B Year 7 Transition to High School Parent Information Evening 23 Feb WEEK A 24 WEEK A 25 WEEK A 26 WEEK A 27 WEEK A Guided School Tour Prefect Peer Tutoring Summer Summer Sports Assembly Year 7 Maths Fun Day Year 12 Team Normo Parent Meeting Clean Up Australia Day 5 WEEK B 6 WEEK B Year 7 & 8 Vaccinations Zone Swimming Sport Grand Finals 6 Thursday 5 WEEK B 9 Feb WEEK A Year 12 Parent/Teacher Evening 5 Wednesday 4 WEEK B 2 March WEEK B 3 WEEK B Years 7, 9 & 11 Study Skills Year 9 English Assessment Prefect Peer Tutoring 4 WEEK B Year 11 Biology Field Trip Year Meetings Guided School Tour ► CAREERS NEWS Mrs. K Woodhams, Careers Adviser Important Information – Calendar of Events Check this calendar for upcoming University Open Days, Parent/Student university nights plus more Go to: http://www.nbhscareers.com We also have additional information including a comprehensive calendar on the MhsCareers website www.mhscareers.net User name: nbhs - Password: careers SCHOOL CAREERS INFORMATION Welcome back to the new school year. Normanhurst Boys High School Careers Website www.nbhscareers.com I urge the school community to access our Careers website. It contains careers information for both parents and students to access. There is information on the HSC & RoSA, Post School options (including links to all the universities and university admission centres in Australia), Workplace Learning, parent specific information plus a comprehensive careers calendar. Students need to go online and check the ‘For Students’ section. The Job/Career Info Search’ contains information and videos on over 300 careers. There is also a secured area for years 10, 11 & 12 only. Year 10 can now access this area. They have been emailed their user name and password. I am currently entering the new students in year 11. This section includes different resume formats, an interest test, practice job applications and Careers lessons. Year 12 – 2014 I have some excellent news to report back to our school community about the 2014 Year 12 results and offers. This, I believe is a reflection of the boys themselves, their parents, their teachers, their year adviser Mrs. Barbeler, the School Executive and the school itself for the outstanding opportunities it offers the boys. This helped with the boy’s scholarship, cadetship and course applications resulting in an outstanding number of offers. More than 75% of the boys received an ATAR higher than 90 with over 15% of the boys receiving an ATAR over 99. I know Mr. Anderson will be sharing our outstanding results in his report in more detail. We are thrilled with the boys’ offers with all the boys receiving a main round offer. I will be able to share more detail in later months when all final university offers have been made and scholarship offers have been accepted or declined. Most of the boys either received their first or second university preference. When I told all the boys to have their dream course as their first preference many didn’t believe this would become a reality. As of today we have students accepting offers into the following universities; UNSW (55%), University of Sydney (17%), Macquarie University (13%), UTS ( 8%), ANU, UWS, ACU, University of Queensland & Swinburne. Fewer boys last year applied for an interstate offer. Business / Commerce / Actuarial Studies / Economics; Engineering; Health/Medical courses; Science and Law were very popular. The boys received main round offers into Medicine, Optometry, Diagnostic Radiography, Pharmacy, Psychology, Science, Medical Science, Physiotherapy, Nursing, Veterinary Science, Engineering, Architecture, Actuarial Studies, Economics, Finance, Business/Commerce, Law, Arts , Communications, Media, Architecture, Design, Computer Science, IT, Education plus others. Boys in years 10, 11 and 12 should be aware of the university bonus points. A number of students in Year 12 2014 gained a main round offer into a particular university course using either subject, regional, EAS or Elite Athlete & Performer’s bonus points. Many of the boys also received a scholarship and/or cadetship offer, many receiving multiple offers. This was a reflection not only of their academic ability but also their involvement in the school and their community. I could go on forever. It was certainly a pleasure working with these wonderful young men as their Careers Adviser and I know I join all in wishing them the best in their tertiary studies. I am now looking forward to an equally exciting year with the current Year 12. Year 12 – 2015 UMAT Registration is open now and closes 5pm AEST 5 June 2015. UMAT date 29 July 2015 Details later in the year. Careers & HSC EXPO Western Sydney Olympic Park – 19 June 2015 Year 12 has already had a year meeting with Mr. Anderson, Mr Abas, their Year Adviser Mr Rumbelow and myself reminding them of what to expect and what is required in Year 12. Our Welfare Head Teacher, Ms Thomas also outlined what support was available. Bayan Manasian and Tony Hannigan (Year 12 2014) spoke to Year 12 yesterday outlining what to expect this year and giving the boys some ‘hints and tips’ to maximize their potential this year. The lunchtime Guest Speaker Program will be happening again this year. The boys already have had the professional resume format, school reference information pages and the ‘undergraduate bonus points’ pdf emailed to them before the holidays. They have their online Careers Folder to accumulate information and the boys need to be scanning documents into their eportfolio and storing hard copies in a safe place. I am currently organising the year 12 Community Service Program with Bowden Brae Nursing Home. Unfortunately, due to the renovations of Greenwood Nursing Home the boys will not be able to access it this year. Once the timetable is finalised and the nursing home gives me the periods they have available I will email the current Year 12 with a meeting time. There will be a school Information Evening for Year 12 and their parents on Thursday 26 February 7pm. Details will be in a later newsletter. Year 11 Year 11 has already participated in an information session with Mr. Anderson, Mr. Harman, Mrs Cousins and I about planning for Year 12. Universities with their scholarship & course applications are looking for students who not only receive an excellent ATAR but are also involved in their school &/or community. Students need to have citizenship, teamwork, leadership, communication skills &/or technology reflected in their applications. The universities and/or companies often require the student’s Year 11 & 12 school reports. I am encouraging Year 11 to attend the University Experience Days in 2015 in preparation for 2016. UTS, Sydney and Macquarie hold their programs in the school holidays. All of Year 11 will be attending ‘A Day @ UNSW’ in December. I will give the boys plenty of notice about these days as they book out quickly. The universities also have information sessions for students &/or parents throughout the year on course specific topics i.e. law, engineering etc. as well as evenings outlining their scholarship and cadetships programs. These sessions also book out very quickly. Students also have the opportunity to network and meet relevant university academics. The boys will be unable to attend many of these sessions in Year 12 due to exams and assessment tasks. There will be a school Information Evening for Year 11 and their Parents next Thursday 5 February 7pm. Ms Harman has emailed the details to Year 11 parents/carers and the boys have been given a handout outlining the program. Year 10 Mr Anderson, Ms Abas, Mr Cusick, Ms Thomas & I spoke to Year 10 yesterday about this year’s expectations and requirements. Ms Elliott also gave the boys a quick presentation on organization. I outlined the Year 10 Careers Program and its importance for each student’s Year 12 reference and applications. This is a year of work but also many enjoyable extracurricular activities including UTS Business Enterprise Week with Hornsby Girls. All of Year 10 will be involved in Work Experience from 3 to the 7 August 2015. I will be having lessons and issuing the boys with their first pack including their paperwork over the next couple of weeks. Most of the universities will be having Year 10 parent/student information evenings from May to assist with HSC subject selection. Keep checking the calendar and I will keep you informed in the newsletter. OTHER NEWS Study in USA Info Evening Redlands, 272 Military Rd Cremorne 16 February 2015 6-8pm in the Redlands Hall. A mixture of presentations from US admissions officers followed by an expo, with approximately 20 universities attending. If interested please RSVP early. All students and parents welcome but event targeted to Years 10-12. http://www.trybooking.com/GUFB. Any questions contact Simone Salier: ssalier@redlands.nsw.edu.au To book http://www.trybooking.com/GUFB Flyers outside my office. University of Sydney: ATAR Advice – Follow Your Passions This article discusses how it’s better to study a degree at university in something that you’re passionate about, rather than basing your decision on an ATAR alone. http://sydney.edu.au/news/84.html?newsstoryid=12861 Hobsons Course Finder: Top 5 ATAR Questions Answered This article aims to answer the 5 most commonly asked questions in regards to ATAR’s. http://www.hobsonscoursefinder.com.au/Latest-news/Topfive-ATAR-questions-answered Lost on Campus iOS App This free application for your iPhone or iPad has detailed maps and information on a range of universities and campuses around Australia. The app includes detailed information on rooms, locations of ATMs, water bubblers, vending machines, car parks and much more. To download the app search for “Lost on Campus” in the Apple App Store. It is also available on Android. http://lostoncampus.com.au/ Free Public Lecture: Sydney Science Forum - A game of homes: How honeybees choose a nest. Presented by Associate Professor Mary Myerscough, School of Mathematics and Statistics. How mathematical thinking helps us understand collective behaviour in insects, and in turn computing, robotics and other animal groups, including humans. 5.45pm-6.45pm. Eastern Ave Auditorium, University of Sydney. Hands on activities follow the lecture. RSVP: http://Sydney.edu.au/science/outreach/events Free Public Lecture: Sydney Science Forum - House of Karls - Wed 29 April 2015 Presented by Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, Julius Sumner Miller Fellow, the University of Sydney. Topics will include: why bank robbery is a terrible economic decision, Big Data watching us, the healing power of swear words and the creation of the Ultimate Solar System. 5.45pm-6.45pm. Eastern Ave Auditorium, University of Sydney. Bookings essential: http://Sydney.edu.au/science/outreach/events All of the information is emailed in good faith and it is the responsibility of the reader to confirm all details with the appropriate institution. Make sure you look at any relevant websites. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. ► CANTEEN NEWS The following helpers are on the canteen roster for coming week: Monday 2 Feb SWIMMING CARNIVAL Tuesday 3 Feb Wednesday 4 Feb Thursday 5 Feb Friday 6 Feb Rosanna Ng Ratna Peadon Bindi Shah Shanika Joseph Gloria Yip Bernadette Daners Priya Cuganesan Flaviana Morris Cindy Tan Janet Velleley Wathsala Salva Kumar Linda Liu Thank you for your help. PLAY HOCKEY IN 2015 • • • • • Great non-contact mixed girls & boys team sport Small field “Minkey” games for U5 - U9 Mixed junior comps U11, U13, U15 Play on world class artificial turf facility at Pennant Hills Park Great for fitness as well as maintaining cricket & baseball skills NORTHERN DISTRICT HOCKEY ASSOCIATION Pennant Hills Park, Britannia Street, Pennant Hills Further information: Adrian Wilson 0419 299 808 Robert Nicoll 0438 119 729 Rego forms & information at www.ndhockey.com.au
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