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

WYNDHAM WHISPERS
Nirimba Education Precinct, Eastern Road, Quakers Hill Phone: 9208 7100 Fax: 9208 7199 Volume 14 Issue 8 November 2012

Principal Karen Smith

Deputy Principals David Macleod-Jones & Stan Pianko

Collegiate Deputy Principal Larry McGowan

NOVEMBER 2012 November 19 Young Leaders Conference November 20 Friends of Wyndham November 21 Yr 12 Formal November 24 Uniform Shop open 9am-1pm November 26-27 Yr 10 Orientation Day November 28 Focus Day

DECEMBER 2012 December 13 Yr11 Presentation Day December 19 Last day Term 4 -Students JANUARY 2013 January 12 Uniform Shop open 8am-1pm January 29 Staff Development Day January 30 Yr 11 Commence January 31 Yr 12 Return

FROM THE COLLEGE PRINCIPAL By the time this newsletter is printed Year 12, 2012 will have completed their HSC exams. Brian Driver, the Presiding Officer, congratulated our students on their behaviour at the exams. I know for many students it will be a time of great relief and will now nervously await their results. A reminder to the Class of 2012 regarding the barbecue after receiving HSC results at the College. We will love to hear what you received, what you are going to do in 2013 and just a general catch up. Year 12 Formal this year is at Curzon Hall. Many thanks to Vanessa and Chris for organising this event. I know it will be a great night. Collegiate Deputy Principal, Larry McGowan will be retiring at the end of this year. On behalf of the College I wish Larry the best of luck on his retirement. He has been an excellent Deputy Principal (having previously been DP at Seven Hills High School). He has focussed on ensuring there is excellent communication between all four campuses and there is a smooth transition for all students from the junior campuses to Wyndham. Larry will be greatly missed. He will be replaced by Mr Joe Camilleri (previously DP from Riverstone High School). Joe takes up this position in 2013. He will be based Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Wyndham College and Tuesday and Thursday at Quakers Hill High School. We wholeheartedly welcome Joe to this position. Congratulations I am able to report success by our students studying with UWSCollege. Wyndham had 8 students undertake university studies. They

FRIENDS OF WYNDHAM COLLEGE (P & C) All Parents Invited

Tuesday 20 November

7PM

Administration Block

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were Blake Hawkins, Andrew Barker, Serene El-Kamand, Brandon Gerial, Anisha Kumar, Karina Giggins, Natasha Morgan and Petra Samson. All our students achieved either credit, distinction or high distinction. Congratulations to Blake Hawkins, Anisha Kumar, Andrew Barker and Natasha Morgan. Blake achieved a high distinction in Principles of Economics. Andrew achieved a high distinction in Psychology and Health. Anisha achieved a high distinction in Marketing Principles. Natasha achieved a high distinction in Psychology and Health. All these students hope to take up a scholarship offered by UWS to each of the students who achieved distinction or high distinction grades. These results ensure our students receive a priority offer and a $20,000 scholarship if they choose to study at the University of Western Sydney. Congratulations and good luck to all these students. Many thanks to Joanne Cupac the school coordinator of the program for her coordination and guidance she offers these students. Again thanks to the support provided by the UWSCollege. We are extremely proud of all students and look forward to many more success and recognition stories. Congratulations to Chantelle Van Der Heuvel and Richard Shreeve who have been nominated by industry for excellence in the work place and have won the Hospitality and Automotive Category respectively in the 2012 Breed Awards for Excellence. These students will be honoured at a presentation ceremony on 13 November. Congratulations to Victoria Firth and Jacob Hansford who have both won Regional Blue Awards for outstanding sporting achievement. These students will be honoured at a ceremony on 4 December. On 27 November at Wyndham the following staff and students will receive Regional Awards. They are: Staff Margret Ayshford Daniel Repeti William Nolan Jeffrey Smith David Macleod-Jones Melissa Silva Students Charmaine Brown Paul Mills Ariana Villarosa Annabelle Vella Tamika Worrell

Library Agreement a reminder to all, that we have re-signed an agreement with the Nirimba Education Precinct TAFE/UWS library that enables our students to not only use the library for research but to have borrowing rights. This gives a significant advantage to our students as the library has a wonderful collection which complements our own Wyndham/Terra Sancta library resource. Students interested in accessing this facility should see Connie, our own librarian to complete the necessary documentation. Uniform I would ask that we pay some attention again to uniform. It appears to me that a small number of students have fallen into bad habits. I ask that all students ensure that they are in uniform each day and that in the rare event where there is a mishap and it is not possible to be in full uniform, that a note from home be provided. Finance should never be an excuse as we have a Student Assistance Scheme which can be accessed via the office and is confidential. If students need uniform there are _______________________________________________________________________________ 2

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additional opening hours for the shop on Saturday 24 November 9am 1pm and Saturday 12 January 2013 8am 1pm. Leaving School Grounds a reminder to all, students are not permitted to leave the school grounds if they do not have a timetabled lesson. Students are to utilise this time in the library, focusing on school work. If students need to leave they must have a signed note from parent/caregiver and this note needs to be signed by one of the Deputies. I seek your support and cooperation in this matter. Year 11, 2013 November 26 and November 27, we welcome the year 11 cohort for 2013. Thank you to Shelley Woodhams and her team for organising this important event. Many of these students come from a very small cohort to a substantially larger cohort and some can find this transition challenging. We are focusing in on improving this process for our students. For our current Year 11 students (now HSC) the upcoming Christmas holidays needs to be a time for consolidating major projects, IRPs, PIPs etc. When they return in 2013, they have only 3 terms of formal schooling remaining and I encourage all students to utilise this time wisely. I bring to the attention of all parents a website called School A to Z, a practical help guide for parents. It can be found at www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au. There is a particularly useful section on how to help the whole family survive the challenges of Year 12. This may be particularly useful for Year 12, 2013 and their families. I would like to wish each and everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Please have a safe holiday and I look forward to working with everyone in 2013. Karen Smith College Principal FROM THE YEAR 11 DEPUTY PRINCIPAL Return of textbooks and course changes 2011 Year 11 students have now completed their subject changes and no more changes will be allowed to occur. Textbooks should have been returned by now. If you still have any please return them to the faculty immediately. Please be aware that most texts cost around forty dollars each. If one hundred books are not returned then thats four thousand dollars of books that have to be replaced next year. Thats additional money the college could spend on improving student facilities. Carparking Many Year 11 will be receiving driving licences over the Christmas break so parking will again become an issue. All students who drive to school must register their cars, using a form available from me. You are allowed to use the north end of front carpark and the new student carpark. Please be aware that the first bay is reserved for Wyndham staff, the second for Terra Sancta staff and both Wyndham and Terra Sancta students can use the two most northerly bays on a first in, first served basis. Do not park in staff reserved areas nor the parking spaces reserved for the Tradewynds Cafe. Uniform Is Santa bringing you black shoes for Christmas? Thank you for keeping up the standard. Some of you are slipping, particularly in the area of footwear. Our uniform code states that black leather shoes are the uniform, so if you are buying new shoes or placing an order with Santa, remember black leather shoes! Foot safety is an WHS issue therefore you can expect restricted entry into science and other practical subject areas. Completing your financial responsibilities If you took subjects that had a cost attached to them you would have done so knowing what the costs were. The college has delivered you a service and now you have a responsibility to complete any financial obligations you agreed to fulfil. Materials have been purchased for you and paid for on your behalf, now its you turn. Please complete your obligations very soon. _______________________________________________________________________________ 3

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Year 12 has began As in most schools Wyndham College has commenced Higher School Certificate courses. This means that HSC assessment tasks will begin this term and you are expected to complete them. Attendance is another issue. Already there is a significant number of students whose attendance has fallen away. This is dangerous territory and unexplained absences will be considered as evidence of someone being a non serious student whose continuation at Wyndham may be questioned. A number of students have been N awarded in Preliminary courses, some of them you probably know. Dont place yourself in a position where you will need to complete your HSC over three years My best very wishes to all of our learning community for Christmas and the New Year and I look forward to a great 2013. David Macleod-Jones Deputy Principal

FROM THE YEAR 12 DEPUTY PRINCIPAL Year 12 Higher School Certificate The Higher School Certificate finished last week to the relief of all of us. I had the opportunity to speak to many students after they had completed their exams. Most responses were very encouraging except for Mathematics General. Many felt it was different and a little harder than expected. I reminded students that this would be felt around the state so that everyone would be in the same boat. Staying Safe With festive season approaching, HSC over, college is finished, its time to relax. Not too relaxed I hope. No matter how often the message Dont drink and drive is repeated, many drivers will do just that. If you intend to drink with friends dont forget about designating a responsible non-drinking driver. This is a very sensible way to enjoy yourself and still arrive home safe. 2013 Mentor Scheme We have recently revised our mentor program and will implement changes in 2013. With these revisions we hope that the incoming Year 11 will benefit both academically and socially in the young adult learning environment that Wyndham College nurtures. A session a week will be put aside for the program with one of its aims being the development of a meaningful supportive relationship between the student and the mentoring teacher. Teacher mentors will meet their assigned groups this year during the orientation week activities planned later in the term. Ideally I would like to see this program develop into a three way partnership between the students, the college and parents. Walk The Way To Wyndham This important event took place on the 25th October. It is an opportunity for all the collegiate Koori students to gather at Wyndham College, meet senior students, begin developing friendships and be introduced to Wyndham College. Koori students from all four schools participated and the feedback from these students was very positive. The Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony were performed by Dharug Elders Uncle Greg and Uncle Wes respectively. These two ceremonies gave greater meaning to the day and greatly enhanced pride in Aboriginal and Torres Strait culture.

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student Initiatives The Nirimba Precinct Partners made up of Wyndham College, Terra Sancta College, UWS and TAFE have put together a program designed to showcase educational and training opportunities beyond the senior years of high school. You will hear more about these later but please write these dates in your calendar: 13th March Koori Pathways Welcome Lunch th 10 April Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student Conference th 29 May Reconciliation Day 21st August Koori Pathways Careers Day. Merry Christmas, Stan Pianko Deputy Principal

STUDENTS GAIN SKILLS AT WORK EXPERIENCE Students enrolled in the Life Skills Work and Community course are currently undergoing 8 days of Work Experience at targeted sites within our community. During this programme students learn vital on-site practical work skills and are encouraged to demonstrate appropriate work behaviours. Some of our students are engaged in open employment while others are supported in business units and work crew sites. The Work and Community staff would like to acknowledge the support and generosity of our work experience providers. We encourage our community to patronise the businesses which support our students. A special thank you to: Kristian Bredin Laura Petersen and Kim Craig Jennings Justine Clark Craig and Jenny Alex Banis Gary Spokes Rebecca Turnbull Glenn Forbes Stuart Tonissioo Steven Goruccio Lisa Hughes Bob Higgins Matthew White Lenore Flanagan Amit Modi Blacktown Leisure Centre Stanhope AFFORD Minchinbury Samaratins Purse Kings Park Blacktown City Council Nursery Coles Stanhope Hairhouse Warehouse Rouse Hill Endeavour, Castle Hill Hawkesbury Library Services Franklins Blacktown Westpoint Pat and Micks Steves Auto K Mart Stanhope Wyndham College Genesis(Gym) Fitness Westpoint Bunnings Warehouse McGraths Hill Eagle Boys (Modi Foods Pty Ltd)

Finally the Support Faculty staff would be very pleased to hear from community members who may be able to provide a work experience site for one of our students. We are always trying to expand our data base of sites. A Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you all. Mohammed Hussain _______________________________________________________________________________ 5

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UNSW MATHS COMPETITION (ICAS) 2012 RESULTS The UNSW Mathematics Competition (ICAS) was held on Tuesday 14th August, 2012. A total of 6 students 2 from Year 11 and 4 from year 12 sat for the competition. The state and school average scores are as follows: YEAR 11 Participants Average score YEAR 12 Participants Average score School 4 22.5 NSW & ACT 520 19.8 School 2 22.0 NSW & ACT 1469 18.9

Our students obtained pleasing results in the competition, considering that our year 11 and year 12 average scores were above state average. 4 students were awarded credit certificates with the remaining 2 participation certificates. The following students received credit certificates: Yuan Chai Luke Jones Patrick Jones Ariana Villarosa Yr 11 Yr 12 Yr 12 Yr 12 Credit Credit Credit Credit

Congratulations to all students for taking part and doing well in this competition.

AUSTRALIAN MATHEMATICS COMPETITION FOR THE WESTPAC AWARDS 2012 The Australian Maths Competition 2012 was held on Thursday 2nd August 2012. Two students in year 11 and three students in year 12 sat for the test. The following students received award certificates: Daniel Tran Jarryd Sparks Ariana Villarosa Luke Jones Patrick Jones Yr 11 Yr 11 Yr 12 Yr12 Yr12 Credit Proficiency Credit Proficiency Proficiency

Congratulations to all students for taking part and doing well in this competition.
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On the 5th November the 11 members of the SRC attended the annual Grip Leadership Conference at Olympic Park. Here we were entertained by Loud Noises, met students from other schools, received some valuable input from a variety of ex-student leaders and a variety of information and skills from the different workshops on offer. Captains-Emily Hawkins and Daniel Quinlan

UNIFORM NEWS Wyndham College uniform shop will be open for purchases on,

Saturday 24 November 2012, from 9am 1pm Saturday 12 January 2013, from 8am -1pm
Uniform Price List The following items of clothing are available for purchase from the uniform shop. Prices are based on 2012/2013 prices and are subject to change. GIRLS

TROUSERS $35.00 Girls Hipster style Trousers Grey SKIRT $40.00 3 Pleats on left side, Grey tartan style (No 9023) SHORTS $30.00 Girls Hipster style Shorts Grey SHIRT $27.00 White side split Short Sleeve (School Name)

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TROUSERS $30.00 Trousers School Grey (Elastic waist style) SHIRT $27.00 White Business shirt Short Sleeve (School Name) POLO $20.00 White Polo with school name SHORTS $30.00 Belt loops or $25 for elastic waist (no belt loops) version

ACCESSORIES

TIE $20.00 PULLOVER Knitted Junior Navy V-Neck with College crest $65.00 Sizes 8 - 10 $68.00 Sizes 12 - 16 $78.00 Sizes 18 - 26 $82.00 Sizes 28 - 30 JACKET $40.00 Navy and White Microfibre Jacket with School emblem

TOYS AND TUCKER

*Bring in toys and tucker to your roll call teacher. Must be new. *Do not wrap your donation. Food must be non-perishable and in date. *Get an award point for Citizenship *Take to the Library and put in the box
The mentor group with the most donations will win a prize
Suggestions: Christmas Cake Christmas Pudding Longlife custard Tinned ham baby toys books toiletries board games lollies instant coffee toys craft sets

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INSECT PLAGUE GRIPS SYDNEY TREES Western Sydney's Cumberland Plain Woodland could disappear within five years because of a plague of tiny, mysterious, sap-sucking insects. In recent months residents have complained about grey box gums across Riverstone, Schofields and Quakers Hill suddenly turning brown and dying. Experts estimated up to 100,000 trees may be lost because of the problem. According to Birds Tree Consultancy arborist Glenn Bird the sudden die-back was due to a plague of lerp psyllids that started in Plumpton and has so far extended north into Rouse Hill, west to the foot of the Blue Mountains and south to Camden. Lerps are the protective covers of nymph wood lice or psyllids. Mr Bird said there had been tens of thousands of tree deaths and he was not confident that the grey box gum species, or the Cumberland Plain Woodland, could be saved. "It sounds a bit alarmist but it is possible that they all could go," he said. "This will have very serious ecological consequences. It is essential for the survival of the unique endemic flora and fauna of the region." He said a recent study, spearheaded by the University of Western Sydney, had been unable to determine how to effectively stop the deaths. "We know that it's lerp psyllids but what we don't know is why the leaves are dying," he said. "The university thinks this type of psyllid is endemic to the area, but they've never been named before." As the leaves died the trees were unable to produce enough energy and so the whole tree died. Mr Bird said the study had indicated the clearing of undergrowth in the Cumberland Plain Woodland had removed the psyllids' natural predators, such as wasps and small birds. The psyllid population boomed following wet and warm weather and the spread was being sped up by the mulching of infected trees, with the mulch being transported across Sydney. Michael Greenaway, a gardener at Wyndham and Terra Sancta colleges, said the outbreak was heartbreaking: "These (infected) trees just haven't got a future."

Gardener Michael Greenaway is heartbroken Pic: John Fotadis Source: The Daily Telegraph

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HSC UNIVERSITY PATHWAYS Talented students can begin their University studies while at school. They can study by distance with the option of a weekend residential, or attend University on Campus for an early experience of University environment. Find out about the courses on offer at: www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/pathways.htm

CAREER OPTIONS Is your child trying to decide on a career pathway? These videos show 25 young apprentices and trainees telling inspirational stories while on the job. Find out more at: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL78g8-WmjFKvFrtgPCB5CalbSAJCX7MAh&feature=plcp

BUDDING ARTISTS Young aspiring artists could get off to a great start by entering this competition to design the look for Youth Week 2013. Winners get to showcase their work and win $1000. Find out how to enter at: http://www.youthweek.nsw.gov.au/

YOUNG ENDEAVOUR Young Endeavour is a not for profit organisation that provides young Australians aged 16 to 23 with a unique, challenging and inspirational experience at sea aboard the national sail training ship, Young Endeavour. Applications are now being taken for voyages in the first half of 2013. For more information go to: http://www.youngendeavour.gov.au

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 FREE -CHEMISTRY TUTORIALS Every Tuesday at 3pm 4pm in B01 FREE -PHYSICS TUTORIALS Every Monday at 3pm 4pm in B01

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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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