Why your child will thrive

Changing Pedagogy, Changing Structure
Why your child will thrive at Warrandyte High School

It has never been a more exciting time to be a staff member or student (or a family for that matter!) at Warrandyte High School. As the new Principal, it gives me great pleasure to inform the community of many exciting new changes that are, and will be taking place, over the course of the next few months and years. While there is still a lot of work and planning to be done, we have already made a fantastic start in only just a term.

Over the past term, staff have been collaboratively reviewing the various elements of our school that work well, and those elements that can be improved for the future. With student outcomes and wellbeing at the core of everything we have looked at so far, it has been fantastic to be part of a journey that will see programs in 2023 look different from what students have been used to.

From next year, all students in Year 7 and 8 will be supported through our newly developed Pastoral Care program which will aim to support the health, wellbeing and connectedness of our students to our school. We are also currently reviewing the structure of our Art & Technology program to ensure all students are provided with a breadth of opportunities over these two years so that they are able to make well informed choices from Year 9 onwards.

Pedagogy shifts are instrumental in bringing to life our newly structured ‘Year 9 and 10 Vertical Elective Program’ which for the very first time will see our Year 9 and Year 10 students come together for their elective classes. This has enabled a range of subjects to be introduced and included in the program, providing a breadth of opportunity to these students before they commence selections in their senior years of study.

From 2023, Warrandyte High School is extremely pleased to be expanding our VCE program with the introduction of the VCE Vocational Major which will see some students managing the rigours of a three-faceted program including classes at school, classes at TAFE and structured workplace learning. Warrandyte High School staff have recently spent several months designing the curriculum to provide this exciting new program to our students next year. We are also pleased to announce that all students in Year 12 next year will be able to continue their chosen studies from 2022 – we value the desire of all students to undertake a VCE program that meets their individual needs.

Throughout Term 4, I will be working closely with our Leadership team, with a renewed focus on Teaching & Learning Excellence and High Expectations – expect to see and hear a lot about this in the coming months and years. We are working hard to develop a three-year Literacy & Numeracy Plan which will well support all students and their individual needs with the ultimate goal of improving the literacy and numeracy outcomes of all students. Coupled with that, all staff will be forming working parties during Term 4 to lay solid foundations for planning in 2023 and beyond. We will also be working closely with our Student Voice Council to make sure their opinions and views are also shared and taken into consideration for our future planning to ensure all students who come to Warrandyte High School thrive.

Have a great term break everyone – I look forward to sharing more of our success stories with you all throughout next term.

Maths Week at Warrandyte High School

Maths Week had students from all year levels occupied with a range of logic and problem-solving activities. Some of which included:

• The premiere of the student’s vs teacher’s chess club and a samari sudoku.
• An awesome Guess the Number of Snakes in the Jar competition. It was great to see some students researching the type and weight of the jar and the type of lollies to use Mathematics to deduce the exact number.
• A whole school Who’s Guilty Problem-Solving activity in their weekly Home Groups/Pastoral Care group.
• The zenith of Maths Week was marked with a round of Bingo with high participation from all year levels.

It was wonderful to see so many teachers and students embracing the plethora of activities on offer that made Maths Week particularly engaging.

Leanne Zammit, Maths Leader

Department of Technology – Year 8 – Woodwork

Among the many opportunities and learning experiences, students got to construct a box with a lid, which included a corner rebate joint that was used to attach the sides.

Students had the option of painting, wood burning designs and staining their projects.

Technology subjects, which includes Digital Technology, Woodwork and Metalwork, Food and Visual Communication + Design, are widely popular across all year levels.

Information Night October 11

Careers

What are they doing now?

In this edition we feature Lewis Maillardet, the son of one of our teachers, Peter, our long-standing instrumental music teacher, or the “man in black” as some kids say.

Lewis is based in the UK and travels the world as an aficionado of all things coffee. He is actually a gold medal winner, please read on…

Lewis at work

Which years did you attend Warrandyte High? 
2006-2011

Do you have any enduring /memories of your time at Warrandyte High?
I often tell the story of me placing 3rd in the under 18s 3km when I was 15. I ran the
Under 16 one, set the pace for everyone for 6 and a half or 7 laps and got run down by almost everyone in the last 100m. Devastated, hands on my knees at the finish line, still trying to catch my breath I hear that the under 18s is starting, so I ran round to the start line to hear the start gun go almost immediately. I then sprinted the first hundred metres, set the pace for 7 laps but only got beaten by 2 people. I was very happy with myself to get a 3rd in the age group above, after back to back 3km races.

Do you recall some of your favourite subjects, and why you enjoyed them?
I think Psychology was one of my favourite subjects. I still find how the brain works fascinating.

What did you do after finishing school?

I went straight into a Certificate 4 of Sound Production at RMIT which lead into an Advanced Diploma and then Bachelor of Arts Degree.

Did you know what you wanted to do after leaving school?
Was there a defining moment during your time at school when you realised what you wanted to do with your life?
I think I had a general idea of what kind of job I’d like to do in terms of flexibility of working hours, ability to travel but I certainly didn’t know exactly where I’d end up. I think studying Sound Production and then Music Industry really helped massively despite not being the industry I’m in at all.

And what are you doing now in your career?

I am the UK Director of Sales for Mavam Espresso, a Seattle based coffee equipment manufacturer. My role is incredibly varied which makes it fun. I do everything from Sales and Service to Research & Development. I’m also extremely lucky to be able to travel around the world for work. I’ve been all over the US, UK, Europe and Asia.

What has/have been the highlights of your career so far?

In 2019 I won the UK Brewers Cup Competition which although it sounds
completely made up, is a competition that is totally real and based around making
cups of filter coffee (ie not coffee made under pressure like espresso) which is taken
incredibly seriously. There are national competitions held in over 40 countries
around the world, which meant I was sent to Boston Massachusetts to represent the UK in the World Competition.

Were there things that your education/training did not prepare you for, and/or what would you recommend students look out for as they prepare to enter the world of work?
Yes there are many things a classroom can’t teach you. Honesty in a good
workplace will be rewarded and pretending to know everything will get you
nowhere.

If you could impart a word of wisdom, what would be your message to current students at Warrandyte High School?
You’re almost guaranteed to change careers more than once in your life, so try to
embrace things even if you don’t see an immediate use for them. You will be
surprised what impact certain teachers have a lasting impact on you and you’ll also find yourself using things you didn’t anticipate to be valuable to you.

More Careers News

A big thank you to all the students from Years 8 to 11 who entered subject preferences into the portal recently. It was a great effort. Thanks also to Year 10 and 11 students and parents who attended subject counselling recently. Now the school works through the numbers and determines the curriculum.

Year 12 students are busily finishing off their studies and preparing for exam revision. Hopefully they had some time to visit tertiary Open Days to get a taste of student life. All students are urged to set up VTAC accounts before Sept 29th and to enter at least one course to ensure maximum future options.

Finally, a quick reminder to keep an eye on Compass notices related to a wide variety of opportunities for a variety of future courses and careers. The weekly Careers newsletter (as well as lots of other resources) is found on:
https://warrandytehighcareers.com/

Please feel free to contact me with any careers questions.
Claire Bloom

Teacher vs Students Chess Round robin

Recently, a group of Year 10 students asked for a Students vs Teachers Chess Round Robin. So, with students and myself emailing and attending meetings, we planned the round robin, deciding all the rules and regulations together.

In recent weeks, students and teachers have been participating in the Chess Round Robin. We started with eight students against eight teachers, each round consisted of the best of three, “timed” matches. This has seen Monday lunchtimes in the library become an even greater hive of activity, with many students and teachers observing matches and playing their own board games.

With the Grand Final fast approaching, the teachers sadly lost their last contender: Mr. Gedge, to Year 10 student: Thompson Tran. This set up the grand final between Year 12 student: Cameron Bailey and Year 10 Student: Thompson Tran.

So, who has become the inaugural WHS Chess Champion? Congratulations goes to Cameron Bailey. A huge acknowledgement also goes out to Thompson Tran who also defeated many contenders, teachers and students, to gain a place in the Chess Grand Final.

Fresh off the success of the Chess Round Robin, Chess Club is adding even more vibrancy to the hive of awesome lunchtime library activity that can always be found.

Year 8 Basketball

Recently in September, Year 8 students were involved in their Term 3 Interschool Sports Competition. It was a very successful day.

Four teams competing in basketball made for a very busy day, however, all teams performed exceptionally well and represented our school with pride. The B and C teams ended up coming first and 2nd which was a fantastic effort.

Throughout each game their passing improved and defence became stronger with the B team being undefeated and the C team only losing to the B team. This demonstrates the strength we currently have within the Year 8 cohort in Basketball.

The A team started off with 3 straight forward games and then came up against an undefeated opponent. Whilst the undefeated team started off stronger getting out to an 11 – 0 lead, Warrandyte persisted and came back to be only 3 points down at half time. The 2nd half was up and down with both teams lifting and it becoming more competitive. In the end, Warrandyte went down by only 2 points with Teagan Potter shooting a terrific 3 point shot on the siren.

The A team came 3rd overall and are definitely keen to come back next year to get some revenge. The girls’ team also played exceptionally well. Not to be deterred, the girls, each time they set foot on the court, they gave 100%. It was great to also see some of the players unable to play helping with the scoring and coaching of teams.

On the bus home, the major talking points were the half-court shot made on the buzzer by Lily Mason-Scott and Quinn D’Ambrosio in 2 different games. Overall a fantastic day out.

After School Cooking Classes for Year 4 + 5 Students

Throughout Term 3 a wonderful group of 20 Primary School students in Year 4 and Year 5 participated in our awesome afterschool cookery program. How they loved it! They came each week from many of our surrounding primary schools which included Warrandyte PS, Anderson’s Creek PS, Wonga Park PS, Templestowe Park PS and Warranwood PS.

Each week these awesome visiting primary school students made delicious food right there in our kitchen classrooms! Milo-pikletes, choc-chip cookies and butterscotch scrolls were but some of the dishes they prepared. In the process, they also gained a fantastic insight into high school life right here at Warrandyte High School. They learnt so much about Food Studies, a popular subject we offer at Year 7 right through to Year 12.

A huge thank you is extended to Vicky Boykett, one of our amazing Food Teachers, and her awesome team, who each week, afterschool, delivered this exceedingly rewarding program which was enjoyed by all!

In Term 4 we are offering an after-school Science Program for Grade 4 and 5 students. Two of our awesome Science Teachers are looking forward to dazzling an excited group of primary school students for this program! The experiments they will perform! The excitement!

Exploring inclusivity in Sport in Physical Education.

Over the past few weeks our Year 7 – 9 students have been exploring and learning more about inclusivity in Sport and how sports are adapted for people with a disability.

Year 7 & 8 students were involved in an interactive program teaching them about diversity, acceptance and disability. This has been achieved through participation in Wheelchair Basketball delivered by Basketball Victoria.

During the session, students got to experience firsthand what it is like to live with a disability by participating in wheelchair basketball. During this experience the students were challenged to apply their basketball skills whilst being confined to a wheelchair. Many of the students were amazed with how difficult it was to move around the court and execute the skills of passing and shooting which gave them a real appreciation for just how talented, fit and healthy people in a wheelchair need to be.

All students challenged themselves to develop new skills and were keen to further their understanding. Overall it was an excellent learning experience which was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Year 9 students were introduced and involved in a two-week program of Goalball. Goalball is a unique sport, designed exclusively for athletes with a vision impairment. Goalball’s distinctive competition atmosphere sets it apart from any other sporting experience. The games are required to be kept silent as 3 players on each team, who are completely blindfolded by “blackout” eyeshades, use their entire body to block a 1.25kg audible ball from making it into the opponent’s goal.

Goalball is a great sports activity where students were blind folded in full black out goggles and challenged to concentrate and use their hearing, tactile and non-sighted communication senses and skills. It promoted awareness and understanding whilst also enabling our students to participate in a vision impaired sport which encouraged cooperation, integration and inclusion.

Furthermore, this experience encouraged within our Year 9 students: development of auditory awareness, sound localization and tracking skills, development of communication within a team, development of body awareness, independent movement and gross motor skills. All this whilst being involved in a competitive sport in a fun, supportive environment.

It was terrific to see the progression of skills by the year 9 students over the two weeks.

Both incursions were a fantastic learning experience for the students where they gained a real appreciation for the challenges disabled athletes face when participating in sports. It further enabled our students to see how sports can be modified to be more inclusive.

Book & Literacy Week 2022

Recently we celebrated Book & Literacy week with activities and competitions in the Library and English classes right here at Warrandyte High School.

CBCA Literary Awards
Book week celebrates the winners of the Children’s’ Book Council of Australia awards. The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) is a not for profit, volunteer run organisation which aims to engage the community with literature for young Australians. The CBCA presents annual awards to books of literary merit, for outstanding contribution to Australian children’s literature. There are a range of categories and the WHS library has copies of all those shortlisted below

Next time you are looking for an independent reading novel try one of these:
Older Readers
Tiger Daughter by Rebecca Lim ……. WINNER!
Girls in Boys’ Cars by Felicity Castagna …… HONOURS!
How to Repaint a Life by Steven Herrick ……. HONOURS!
The Boy from the Mish by Gary Lonesborough
Terciel and Elinor by Garth Nix
Sugar Town Queens by Malla Nunn …. AUDIENCE CHOICE!
Younger Readers
A Glasshouse of Stars Shirley Marr – winner!
Dragon Skin Karen Foxlee – honourS!
Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief Katrina Nannestad – honours! and AUDIENCE CHOICE!
Exit Through the Gift Shop – Maryam Master ill. Astred Hicks
Huda and Me H. Hayek
The Detective’s Guide to Ocean Travel Nicki Greenberg
Eve Pownall Non-fiction winner
Still Alive, Notes from Australia’s Immigration Detention System Safdar Ahmed

Competitions
Many students stretched their brains by entering the lunchtime competitions.
Competition number 1 asked students to identify the titles of 15 childhood favourites just from a snippet of the front cover. From The Very Hungry Caterpillar to Where is the green sheep? memories of simpler stories came flooding back.

The second competition proved to be a little more challenging – three jars held three shredded books. By studying the slivers of paper and identifying key words or names of characters students correctly recognised Holes, Animal Farm and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Tuesday’s Home Group/Wellbeing Program saw the whole school participate in a non-fiction challenge whereby Home Groups raced to be the first to correctly put together an article about Sir Edmund Hillary which had been cut into 20 pieces – correct paragraph order was essential. Congratulations to Mr Gedge’s Home Group for being first to correctly complete the task.

Finally, we can’t forget Ms Dzur’s Kahoot which tested the literacy skills and quick reflexes of participating students.

Dreaming with eyes open….
The theme of the CBCA Book Week was ‘Dreaming with eyes open…’ and this theme was reflected in the craft activities on offer in the library. Students participated in bark drawing, creating leaf mandalas, and creating dream catchers.
In English classes students practised the comprehension strategy of visualising by drawing what they ‘saw’ during independent reading sessions. A display of these visualisations will be put up in the library.
Acknowledging the importance of reading and the wonderful literature available to our teenagers shouldn’t be confined to one week… we encourage all our students (and their parents!) to read for at least 15 minutes a day so that we can dream with eyes open every day!

Mooncake Festival

Mid-autumn Festival, also called Mooncake Festival, is one of the major events for Asian people.

The festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar with full moon at night. It occurred on the 10th of September this year. People usually eat mooncakes, make lanterns and enjoy watching the moon.

It is also a reunion moment for family members. At Warrandyte High School, we are enriched by having our International Student Program. We bought some mooncakes for our international students as an acknowledgment that they are far away from their home and parents.

In addition, our program had some activities this year in the library such as making playdoh mooncakes and rabbit lanterns to celebrate this festival. Our celebrations were enjoyed by all.

Heidi Luo, international student program coordinator

The 2022 WHS Music Concert

It was a memorable and enjoyable night. Parents felt welcomed and included, and this was demonstrated by the fact that the whole audience partied on – over tea, coffee and cakes – for ages after the students had stunned them with the high quality of their performances.

What the concert showed us is that Instrumental Music is alive and well at Warrandyte High School.

It also showed us that we have a very talented and committed group of young musicians, who are encouraged and mentored by a gifted group of Instrumental teachers – Peter Maillardet, Josh Licht and Stephen McCulloch.

We have many students enrolled to learn instruments. And finally, after three years of lockdown restrictions, we were able to once again run a School Music Concert.

In addition to our thirty or so performers, we had a strong audience – of teachers and ex-students, parents and grandparents, friends of performers.

The program was compered by our two School Music Captains, Molly Sizer and Lucas Gillard-Goode. They introduced our new principal, Mrs Rachel Lynch, who presented the ‘Welcome to Country’, recognising the importance of the traditional owners of this land, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation.

The entire body of performers were on stage at the beginning of the program, and performed a ‘Call and Response’ piece, entitled The Full Catastrophe which included such memorable lines as ‘Wocka’, ‘Slama lam a ding dong’ and ‘Who put the bop in the Bop Shu Bop Shu Bop?’.

We were very fortunate to have had a sneak preview of the newly released single Timekeeper, performed by India Robinson, Singer-songwriter, an immediate past student of the school. She was accompanied by Instrumental Music Teacher, Stephen McCulloch on guitar, who also provided harmony vocals; by our talented and popular PE teacher, Ante Sonjo, on Bass Guitar; by Marija Passarella, one of our music teachers currently on parental leave; and by students: Oscar and Curtis Konynenburg, on keyboards.

There were two unsung heroes of the night:
One was Rhys Bryant, an ex-student, who did an amazing job in the control booth, managing both lighting and sound.

The other was Peter Maillardet’s wife, Bronwyn, who volunteered to assist with organising the tea, coffee and cakes.

In a program full of highlights, there was a very powerful performance by the VCE Vocal Group – Amber Gedge, Amber Robertson and Rhianna Cummings, accompanied by Stephen McCulloch on guitar. They sang Leonard Cohen’s great song Halleluja. Their harmonies were exquisite, and their performance was full of power and soul!

The program had everything:

• The WHS Vocal Ensemble began with ‘The Cup Song’, followed up by ‘I am Australian.’
• Felix Woo and Lucas Gillard-Goode, along with their mentor, Peter Maillardet, performed Meatball Parade – and given the musicians involved, a most aptly-named piece.
• Lucia Rossi and Peter M. then played the haunting ‘Flower Duet’, from the Opera Lakmé by Léo Delibes, as a clarinet duo.
• The ever-versatile singer-song-writer, guitarist, piano teacher and vocal coach – Stephen McCulloch – then performed his own song, Grit.
• At this point, Compere Lucas Gillard-Goode shouted a warning down the microphone: ‘It’s Percussion Time’. And an assortment of individual drummers – Nathan Mayberry, Axle Harrison and Tim Laukart – displayed their emerging talents. After which, the seven strong Percussion Army captivated the audience was their excellent ‘Carv’n’ It Up’ – a stirring, thumping piece.
• Our Junior Band was next, with three pieces – the French Folksong, Frére Jacques, Beethoven’s
Ode to Joy, and the well-known Hard Rock Blues.
• Next, Lucas Gillard-Goode stepped down from the compere’s podium to perform Hadyn’s Trumpet Concerto. What a multi-talented performer he is!
• Year 7 student Mitchell Wellesley then guided his mentor, Peter Maillardet, through Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water in a alto sax duet.
• The Senior Band followed up with three fine performances: the ever-popular ‘Viva La Vida’, Jeremiah Clarke’s ‘Trumpet tune’. They finished with the theme music from the TV series, The Avengers, with Alan Silvestei’s confusingly- titled piece, ‘The Avengers.’
• Amber Gedge then performed her solo piece, Go Easy On Me. What a talent this young person has!
• The Guitar ensemble then performed Crazy Little Thing Called Love, assisted by The WHS Senior Band. They then completed their set with Hearts Of Steel.
• Peter Maillardet then demonstrated that the much-maligned recorder is an instrument that can produce the most beautiful music. His performance of Askokan Farewell was hauntingly beautiful.
• The penultimate performance, on – of all instruments – the ukulele, was performed by Music Coordinator Barry Carozzi. This self-written song, The Longing for a Simpler Life, was saved from oblivion by the brilliance of Ante Sonjo on Bass Guitar.
• In a final act of fun and entertainment, the audience was required to SING FOR THEIR SUPPER; they were required to participate in a reprise of the Call & Response that opened the Concert. Their willing participation showed just how wonderful the night was for everyone.

It was a memorable night, and the atmosphere in the foyer afterwards was warm and positive, even joyous.

What the concert showed us is that Instrumental Music is alive and well at Warrandyte High School.

Emergency Management at WHS

At Warrandyte High School, we routinely perform emergency management practice drills and debriefing session all aimed at refining our processes.

On 19 August,2022 a logistics meeting took place, the agenda item was to prepare for our upcoming whole school on-site evacuation practice drill.

On 29 August,2022 our whole school on-site evacuation took place. The entire school evacuated to our outdoor basketball court area.

Debriefing then followed, enabling us to further fine tune our processes. Emergency Management never takes a holiday at WHS!

Home Group / Wellbeing + Pastoral Care Program

Ms Bloom’s Home Group recently undertook a team challenge to decorate a set of themed biscuits, using a limited set of equipment.

Designs were created in the first session and in the following week, teams of 4 or 5 created their masterpieces in 15 minutes. The results had to be simple but well-coordinated.

The finished biscuits were lots of fun! Congratulations to the winning team who had a Marvel Super-Heroes theme.

Vertical Home Group takes place each week at Warrandyte High School with a strong wellbeing/school connectedness focus.

Sailing Camp

Check out some photos from our recent Sailing Camp! It all happens at Warrandyte High School!

Student Voice / Footy + Day at Warrandyte High School

The Student Voice Council at Warrandyte High School is very vibrant and active, meeting with the Assistant Principal and Leadership every fortnight.

This active student leadership group surveyed students through our Home Group Program and it was decreed that it would be awesome to have a day of fun activities consisting of:

• AFL games
• A Spelling Bee Competition;
• Basketball games and
• Trivial Pursuit competition via Kahoot

And so our Footy + Day was born!

It was a great way to end Term 3! How the students and staff had a wonderful day! For a gold coin donation, students and staff were invited to wear their favourite football colours – quite appropriate as we are in the thick of the Footy Finals! Our canteen sold special footy food packs to commemorate the day. It was enjoyed by all and it was a great way to end Term 3.