Warrandyte High School: A world of opportunity
The school terms seem to go past more quickly each year – here we are already at the end of our first school term of 2023. When I sat down to compose this report, I looked over all of the amazing things that have happened in such a short space since my last report and felt really proud to be the Principal of Warrandyte High School. Being a student here means upholding our school values; Respect, Integrity and Excellence – and this is evident in all of our students. Whether inside or outside the classroom, all our students have the opportunity to shine in many varied ways.
It was pleasing to see our Year 7 and Year 9 students conduct themselves so well during our NAPLAN testing period in March. Though only one test on one day, the data that schools receive from the testing goes a long way to helping teachers develop strategies so that the outcomes of all students improve over the course of the year. Being earlier than in previous years means our teachers will have the data much earlier and this will inform their teaching and learning program for the remainder of 2023. Of course, this is only one measure, and teachers are regularly using other formative assessment methods to ensure they develop a holistic picture of each student and their educational needs.
Student connection and voice have been a core focus this term with many great initiatives commencing. Our Year 10 Peer Support students finalised their training and will have their first Peer Support session with our Year 7 students on the last day of this term. This program aims to build connectedness between our Year 7 students and students in older year levels. Our Student Voice Council have also been very active over the past few weeks, with our School Captains conducting Student Focus Groups to investigate a variety of areas related to our Attitudes to School Survey. The data from these focus groups was presented to the Student Voice Council and our School Improvement Team by our Captains which highlights areas for improvement in; school connectedness, student-teacher rapport and school safety. The next step in this process is to begin planning on how to address some of the areas highlighted. We are also looking forward to working with our Student Voice Council next term as they plan our first ever whole-school ‘Italian Day’ and commence important work to audit and review our School Uniform. Students, parents and staff will all have the opportunity to have their voice heard as we undertake this journey.
Real Schools Partnership: 2023 – 2025
At our recent ‘Discovery Night’ it was fantastic to have our Real Schools facilitator, Cassie Kitani, join our prospective parents to share a little about this program and what it means for our students, staff and parents. We are really excited to announce that we will be holding our first ‘Parent Information Session’ in the middle of Term 2 – we will provide more information at the beginning of term.
Trails of Discovery
Expanding on our Teaching & Learning Program in 2024, I can now announce we have finalised our planning for the ‘Trails of Discovery Program’ and decided upon the many trails that students will be able to select from including:
- Top of your Game (Basketball and AFL)
- The Art Box
- Lights, Camera, Action
- STEM: Invent & Create
- Pay it Forward
- Power of Words
- Tech Savvy
- Beyond the Classroom
More information for our current Year 7-9 students will be provided from Term 3 – we are really excited to be able to offer our students some wonderful new opportunities.
Farewells
At the end of this term we will be farewelling our wonderful Food Tech Assistant, Suzanne (Sue) Martin. Sue has been with the school for over 30 years and has taken on several roles. I have personally had many students ask me if it was really true that Sue was leaving as they are going to miss her immensely. The whole school community wishes her well in her retirement.
Our previous Business Manager, Shirley Geraghty has now also officially retired late March – on behalf of the whole school community we also wish her the best in her retirement.
We will also be farewelling Martika Milenkovic in the first few weeks of Term 2 as she commences her Family Leave. Martika has been our amazing VCE Coordinator who she will be greatly missed. We wish her well in her new journey in motherhood. I would also like to inform the school community that Andrew Blair will be commencing as our new VCE Coordinator from Term 2.
We will also be welcoming some new staff to the Warrandyte High community from Term 2 – Subi Kuruppu in Maths and Science and Caleb Sinn in PE and Health.
Finally, I would like to wish our entire school community a very Happy Easter – please find some time to relax, unwind and spend time with family and friends (and lots of chocolate!). A reminder that day one of Term 2 we will only be running classes Period 1 and 2 (please let the office know if your child requires supervision from recess until the end of the day) and we then have the ANZAC Day public holiday on the Tuesday. Have a wonderful term break and I look forward to seeing everyone back for another exciting term at the end of April.
Rachel Lynch
Principal
2023 Student Voice Council at Warrandyte High School
Introducing the 2023 Student Voice Council at Warrandyte High School:
Year 7: Arabella, Jayden, Grace
Year 8: Charlotte, Chloe
Year 9: Daniel, Toby
Year 10: Ash, Archie
Year 11: Nimo
Year 12: Rhianna, Matilda, Curtis
The Student Voice Team meets regularly with the Assistant Principal. The Year 12 captains chair the meetings. This is a formal forum where students’ ideas and concerns are invited and addressed. A wonderful student leadership opportunity!
Year 7 Students Talk About Warrandyte High School
Recently Warrandyte High School invited families from surrounding primary school to participate in our Discovery Night. On this night in March, four wonderful Year 7 students addressed the packed theatre at Warrandyte High of prospective students and parents and shared with them their real-life experiences thus far at Warrandyte High School. Here is a snap shot of what they said:
Damon:
Hello I’m Damon Synhur. Starting at Warrandyte High School this year was a little worrying as I was the only one coming from my primary school but after a couple days, I made some awesome new friends and knew my way around. All the teachers are great to work with and can offer advice for anything you need help with.
In Week Two, the Year 7 Camp happens which helps you make lots of new friends. We went to Halls Gap in the Grampians for 3 days. The camp was really fun. It included the following activities: canoeing, abseiling, heights challenges, giant swing, bushwalking and much more. The cabins are nice and warm at night and there’s a basketball hoop to play at in free time. I’d give the Year 7 camp an overall 10 out of 10.
Grace:
Hi my name is Grace Celentane. I am really enjoying the subjects I am learning this term at Warrandyte High School. I really like how my teachers push me to strive to do my best and my friends and peers will always give each other a hand.
At Warrandyte High we have four core subjects which are Maths, English, Humanities and Science. Then we have a range of practical subjects which include: Physical Education, Health, Food Studies (which involves cooking a range of dishes), Art (which includes painting and sculpture), Textiles, Visual Communication Design (which involves technical drawing), Woodwork, Music and Drama. I am also studying Italian I and have learnt a lot of new vocabulary and expressions in Italian already.
In Science you get to do lots of cool experiments. So far, I’ve had the opportunity to dissect a cow’s heart, complete elephant toothpaste and I was also able to use the Bunsen Burners for a pineapple enzyme experiment. In Maths, I am completing Year 8 Level work and I am really enjoying the challenge.
Arabella:
Hi I am Arabella. I am part of a few programs at Warrandyte High School. I am part of this year’s musical production, I take music lessons and I am part of the Student Voice Council. This year’s play is Matilda the Musical. I have been cast as Nigel and the Acrobat. We spend most Tuesdays and Thursdays rehearsing until 6pm after school. It is super fun and you get to meet lots of people and make so many friends from all the other year levels.
At WHS you also have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. I am taking guitar and singing lessons. I do guitar on Thursdays and singing on Fridays. However, there are so many other instruments you can learn to play like the piano, flute, drums and so much more. The music teacher always changes the time of your lesson, so you don’t miss out on the same class every week. You can also join the school choir, the school band and the school guitar ensemble. For these we meet up after school and rehearse songs to perform at shows like the Warrandyte Festival.
Lastly, Student Voice Council. I am one of 3 kids to be chosen to represent my year level. Every couple of weeks we meet up and share our ideas on what we could do to make this school even better than it is. The School Captains chair the meetings and the Assistant Principal is always present, providing us with a direct link with the school’s leadership. Being on the Student Voice Council is a great way to express your ideas, make new friends and is a great leadership opportunity.
Adam
Hi, my name is Adam. I take part in one of the two specialised sports programs at Warrandyte High School. I do Football. Basketball is also available. The Footy program runs on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.
One of the great things about the program is that we get to play full games. In the program you play a few games a year and the other sessions are designed to improve your skills and fitness. This includes skills work, positioning, healthy sleeping and eating information, team building skills and fitness work. In the training sessions you will do lots of fun drills to improve your skills and you will also sometimes play scratch or practice matches and occasionally go into the gym at the school to improve fitness.
The program is open to all students from Year 7 to Year 10 who want to participate. The program extends your footy skills to a higher level and improves you as a player. Our coach Mr Luke Paramanathan, is a great coach who also teaches Science at WHS. Our coach has organised for us to play our first match against Diamond Valley College. My older brother Daniel also participated in the Footy program. It not only helped him improve his football, but he learnt lots of important life skills like nutrition and it really helped him develop his self-confidence.
Introducing the awesome four Year 7 students who spoke at the recent Warrandyte High School Discovery Night: (from left to right): Adam, Damon, Arabella and Grace
Warrandyte High School’s AFL Academy
While the skies above Warrandyte were cloudy and dark, the atmosphere at Warrandyte High School was the complete opposite, as excitement & nerves filled the air. Today was an important day in the school’s history. Today, for the first time ever. Warrandyte High School would play host to its first official AFL Academy match on the 30th of March 2023.
We welcomed Diamond Valley College to our beautiful oval, as the two sides looked to do battle in front of a massive home crowd. The game was played to a high standard, with both teams looking to create space and use the grounds size to their advantage. It was set to be a high scoring affair.
While we were undersized compared to our opposition, there is no question the fight shown by everyone wearing the navy & red. Diamond Valley got the jump in the first half, but Warrandyte evened things up and dominated majority of the second half. No scores were kept, as the priority was not the result. What I wanted to see was a great football attitude, taking the game on, playing without fear, and implementing all the game tactics we have been practicing. Our theme was to “Show Your Weapon” all the players they do better than anyone else, and I wanted them to express that today. I wanted them to express themselves, enjoy the moments they would create, and play as a team.
Our fight was incredible, and we did not give up at any stage, no matter how big or fast our opponent was. Our school community got arounds us with lots of energy & cheering, as staff & students (some of whom don’t even enjoy AFL) couldn’t help but get swept up in the emotions of it all. It became the must-see event, that the entire school wanted to witness.
The players did the school proud, they did me as their coach proud, but most of all they did themselves proud. We have learnt a lot from this experience, as we will now go through the footage of the game as a group and as individuals, as use it as a tool to take those next steps.
I’m currently in discussions with others school to compete in more matches for not only this year, but for next year as well. As our academy goes from strength to strength.
Next term, we will have a number of special guests/coaches from the AFLW, AFL, VFL & Eastern Ranges. As I help prepare the players for their upcoming local & interleague competitions. In addition to potentially hosting another match at our school. Keep your eyes and ears open for what’s next at Warrandyte High School’s AFL Academy.
Cheers from an enormously proud coach
Luke Paramanathan
AFL Academy
Careers News
What a busy time it has been in the careers Dept. this term. I’d like to highlight a few events.
Year 12 2022
Firstly, I would like to congratulate our 2022 graduates for making it through VCE after the disruption of the Covid lockdowns. Our students secured a range of tertiary places, and although some students will have opted for a Gap Year or to pursue other interests, it’s amazing to see the diversity of tertiary places offered to
WHS students. These included:
· Criminology/Psychological Science-Deakin University
· Biological Sciences (Bachelor)-La Trobe University
· Business (Management major)-La Trobe University
· Science – Swinburne University of Technology
· Game Design (Degree)-JMC Academy
· Science-University Of Melbourne
· Real Estate-Box Hill Institute
· Psychological Science-La Trobe University
· Photography (Degree)-Photography Studies College
· Psychology (Honours)-La Trobe University
· Occupational Therapy (Honours)-La Trobe University
· Engineering Technology (Associate Degree)-RMIT University
· Health Sciences (Bachelor)-La Trobe University
· Biological Sciences-La Trobe University
· Arts (Diploma)-La Trobe University
· Building Design (Advanced Diploma)-RMIT University
· Sport Coaching and Development (Diploma)-La Trobe University/Carlton College of Sport
· Health Sciences (Bachelor)-La Trobe University
· Film (Bachelor) -SAE Creative Media Institute
· Engineering (Honours) (Professional)-Swinburne University of Technology
· Health Science-Swinburne University of Technology
· Business (Diploma)-RMIT University
· Primary and Secondary Education (Honours)-Monash University
Year 9
As I write, our year 9s are about to embark on individual interviews with a Careers Advisor from the Morrisby organisation. Almost all our Year 9 students completed the comprehensive testing program, and now have access to information and guidance via the Morrisby portal – this is for life. Students can invite parents to share the portal information, if they wish to. Year 10-12 students, please don’t forget you can log in at Morrisby.com, using your school email and requesting a password reset, if necessary. You can change your
preferences and retake the questionnaires to investigate updated career suggestions. This is a free service for your working life – why not use it!
Year 10
Many students have already secured work experience positions for this year. Others are looking hard to locate an opportunity. Do you have a week long position you could offer our Year 10’s? We are always looking for contacts and leads to track down positions. The date of work experience is June 19-23 (or other dates by negotiation). Why is work experience important?
· If you have a limited work history, work experience gives you something beneficial to add to your CV.
· You are much more likely to have future job opportunities with experience under your belt.
· You can get an understanding of a particular job and whether it is something you might do in the future or not.
· Work experience shows motivation, passion, and commitment.
· You are being introduced to the world of work, and many of the so called, ‘soft work skills’ like communication, collaboration, punctuality and reliability.
· It is a way to identify your skills and highlight areas of improvement.
· There is often a chance your work experience employer might give you ongoing part time or casual work.
Year 11
Recently 130,000 spectators watched a thrilling Grand Prix final, with local Oscar Piastri finishing in the Top 10. Year 11 students were able to attend the opening day of this international event, giving them the opportunity to experience the atmosphere and structure of this annual race. Whether a fan of motor sport or not, most enjoyed the day, with our VM students completing work-related tasks. A number of displays in the technology zone of the Albert Park track focussed on driver education and STEM-related activities.
Air Show Excursion
Aviation Australia offered us the opportunity to visit a special Careers and Learning event at Avalon Air Show. Ten students from years 10-12 were invited to attend and had a great experience hearing inspiring speakers from various aviation occupations. They then had a tour and chance to explore a number of interactive displays.
Weekly Careers Newsletter
Don’t forget to visit the Warrandyte High School Careers website for lots of information, and to download and browse the careers newsletter each week. https://warrandytehighcareers.com/important-information/school-newsletters
Claire Bloom
Careers
Term 1 Sport Review
What a start to the year it has been for Warrandyte High School and Interschool Sport.
Congratulations to the Warrandyte High School Senior Volleyball teams that competed in the divisional competition. All teams played some fantastic Volleyball with all teams having success throughout the day. The year 12 boys team came third overall against some very tight competition. The girls team made it through to the finals and went down in 3 extremely tightly contested sets. I applaud the efforts of all students involved and thank the year 12 students who for many years have represented the school.
The next competition was the Intermediate Interschool Sports day. Thankfully the clouds passed and the courts dried up early in the morning ready for the Intermediate tennis at the Eltham Tennis Club. Warrandyte had two teams and played some excellent tennis against some of its neighbouring schools. With one win for the day and a few close losses the students can be congratulated on a great effort! Congratulations also to our Year 10 boys Volleyball Team who played with determination against a range of other schools. The Warrandyte High School Year 9 Girls Volleyball Team played magnificently against a wide range of other schools. They were extremely competitive to the end! Well done! Our Baseballers also had a great day out on the pitch – It really was a fantastic day for sport at Warrandyte High School with an exceptional level of participation from the year 9&10 students.
Following the school swimming sports it was time for the divisional swim sports. Congratulations to the 8 students who represented Warrandyte High School at the Divisional Swim Sports. All students performed exceptionally well giving their absolute best in all events. Congratulations to Giaan Vassie who won the 50m freestyle and now progresses to the regional finals. Whilst it was a small team overall Warrandyte came 5th but were definitely the loudest school cheering and supporting each other the loudest. It was terrific to also see mixed years levels come together to form a mixed medley relay team which missed placing by the touch on the wall. All students should be very proud of their efforts and how they represented the school with such pride. Giaan Vassie went on to represent not only Warrandyte High School but also our division at the regional swimming competition. She had a great swim against some very tough competition. In the end Giaan finished in 5th place but very close to 3rd and 4th. We thank Giaan for representing our school so well at these highly competitive competitions.
What a fantastic day the year 7 students had at their first interschool sports day. 18 students participated in baseball and 26 participated in volleyball. All students did a fantastic job and it was great to see their skills develop throughout the day. Their team work and encouragement of each other was also terrific to see. The day could not have run as smoothly as it did without our year 11 VET REC leaders who coached, umpired, scored and managed multiple teams the entire day. A huge thank you to them. A special congratulations to the year 7 girls A volleyball team who won the day and now progress through to the regional finals. Well done to all students on a great day
Next up it is the year 8 sports day and we look forward to again seeing our students represent the school and perform to the best of their ability.
I congratulate all students who have represented Warrandyte High School during the term 1 Interschool Sports program and look forward to a busy and hopefully successful term 2.
Ms Cook
Sports Coordinator.
The Warrandyte Festival
It was wonderful to be back in action at such a long running Festival tradition – the Warrandyte High Festival Pet Parade. Housed in a swanky, new and very spacious tent down on the riverbank, it was lovely to see lots of dogs and their keen owners join in the fun. We met lots of new dogs and many faithful friends we have known for years.
A big thanks to our Judges – Principal Rachel Lynch and School Captain Curtis Konynenburg, supported by stewards, Sue Martin and Matt Motea. Judging was not an easy job, with so many cute and well trained dogs, all looking their best for the Festival.
And, of course, a huge thanks to our wonderful sponsors, Dr Stuart (as we all know him) and the staff at the Warrandyte Vet Clinic, who supplied amazing pet hampers for the major prize winners.
It was also an amazing effort on behalf of our Parents and Friends group, who raised much needed funds for this year’s school production and development of the theatre. It wasn’t an easy job to pivot from a planning and catering for a two day event to the single day on Sunday. However this resilient bunch of volunteers produced hundreds of pulled pork rolls, dim sims and drinks for festival visitors. A huge thanks for all involved.
Claire Bloom.
Warrandyte Community Association Survey
The Warrandyte Community Association is conducting a survey of community attitudes to issues affecting the town’s natural and built environment. The purpose is to understand what matters to you about Warrandyte’s character, so that we can better represent your views when meeting with Councils or other state authorities.
We encourage you to complete the survey. It will only take about ten minutes online via this link: https://gundabluey.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0DLBDlkFiJyLOuy
The survey is anonymous, but on completion those who would like to enter the draw for a $100 voucher to spend at café Now and Not Yet can register with their phone number. Phones numbers will not be retained. It is just for the purpose of contacting the winner of the voucher.
For more information about the Warrandyte Community Association go to www.warrandyte.org.au
TEMPLESTOWE BOWLING CLUB 75TH ANNIVERSARY FAMILY FUNDAY
SUNDAY 30TH APRIL
The Templestowe Bowling Club celebrates its 75th Anniversary this year, being one of the oldest sporting Clubs in the Manningham area. The theme of our celebrations not only recognises our history but seeks to reinforce our commitment to the Community, with a range of activities.
One of these activities is a Big Family Fun Day on the 30th April to be held at our Club. It is planned to be an afternoon of fun, for the whole family, with lots of free activities.
