Around the Senior School

Learning Enhancement Team: Study Hub

Study Hub continues to be a well-attended offering every Monday to Thursday afternoon run by the LET.

We are so grateful to the staff that volunteer their time to offer support to our students.

As we wind down and look to Term three, a reminder of what is offered at Study Hub is timely!

Study Hub in Term 3:

Monday-Thursday from 3.30-5.00pm in the Bennett Building, Rooms 21 and 22.
We have staff who offer specialist help on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
On Wednesday - Science with Mrs Litchfield
On Thursday – Maths with Ms Vere

All students are welcome to join these sessions or to sit in the quiet and assisted environment to complete their homework and study.

LET Student of the Week

Week 7 – Abbey Kiss – helping and looking out for other students

Week 8 – Myles McLellan – improvement and hard work in Maths!

Orange Sorry Day

On Friday 26 May, the Kinross Wolaroi School Indigenous Dance Groups were invited to perform at the Orange Sorry Day function held in the Orange Civic Theatre foyer. The event included a Welcome to Country and a Smoking Ceremony followed by a number guest speakers with the Kinross Wolaroi Dance Groups finishing the formalities. The event also included the lighting of the Flame of Hope, a Reconcilation Week cauldron that burnt throughout Reconcilation Week.

The boys' group performed four dances. These included a Welcome dance, a Passing of Knowledge dance, a Wambuwuny (Kangaroo) dance and a celebration/show-off dance. The girls' group performed their Welcome/Passing of Knowledge dance.

Gordon House Fundraising for Cancer Council

I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to everyone who supported the charitable work of Gordon House on 25-26 November. The generosity displayed through contributions of time, delicious baked goods, and monetary donations truly resonated with the purpose of our cause. Together, we successfully raised a total of $1623.06, which has been devoted to supporting the admirable mission of the Cancer Council.

I want to extend a special recognition of gratitude to Mrs McManus and her exceptional Year 12 Mentor group, whose unwavering dedication and passion serve as an inspiring example for us all.

Moreover, the students of Gordon House also volunteered their time to assist in setting up the local Stars of Orange event, which resulted in an impressive fundraising achievement of over $220k for Cancer Council NSW. Their efforts truly made a significant impact.

Once again, I would like to thank each and every individual who contributed to our charitable endeavours. Your support has been invaluable, and we are incredibly grateful for your generosity and commitment to making a difference in the fight against cancer.

Katie Ferrari

Head Mentor Gordon House

Opal and Fergus Chase

These siblings shaved their heads together with all their family members on the weekend to raise money for Western Cancer Council. The family raised $14,000. Congratulations!

ChemisTREE Depth study

Year 12 Chemistry students visited de Salis Winery and Newcrest Laboratory as part of their Depth Study on analysis of inorganic and organic chemicals.

Charlie Svenson is a Chemist by trade and moved to Orange to develop a wine making business. He taught the staff and students about the chemistry of wine making and demonstrated the chemical tests that occur at various stages in the wine-making process.

Students then visited the Newcrest Chemical Laboratory and learnt about fire assay and mineral testing in samples to parts per million and parts per billion. The students were shown how atomic absorption spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma and other technologies are used to analyse rock samples from Cadia valley and all over the world.

Secondary Schools Student Leadership Seminar

Last week Hugh Thompson and Tom Patton participated in a Secondary Schools Student Leadership seminar at the Parliament of NSW. This opportunity allowed Hugh and Tom to view the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council of NSW in operation, hear from the Premier of NSW, Government Ministers, and other parliamentarians about what leadership is and what it involves. Tom and Hugh also had the opportunity to converse with Her Excellency, The Honourable Margaret Beazley AO QC, Governor of NSW and be involved in discussions around the impact of AI on the people of Australia and NSW, well as joining a tour through Government House. The boys thoroughly enjoyed the day and also met with school leaders from a variety of schools across NSW.

HSC Economics

Week 5 and 6 have presented excellent learning opportunities for our Economics students. In Week 5, HSC Economics travelled to Sydney to attend the annual UBS HSC Economics Day, hosted at the Wesley Conference Centre on Pitt Street. There were four key lectures presented on current issues and challenges in the Australian and global committee, with 100s of HSC students from around the state attending. Guest speakers were from UBS (Swiss bank), ANZ (Australian bank), the Reserve Bank of Australia, and Economics Journalist Ross Gittins (pictured). Ross is a legend of the economics community, and with over 50 years’ experience reporting at the SMH, his insight and analysis of the recently announced federal budget had students hanging on every word.

In week 6, we were graced with a day of lectures from guest speaker Mr Edward Fang, who topped the state in Economics in 2012 and continues to be an advocate for the importance of current Australian and global economic issues when entering the world beyond school. Both Year 11 and 12 economics students attended the day, with everyone taking something different from Edwards’ in-depth insight to the HSC syllabus, and thorough knowledge and application of real-world economic issues. His advice and guidance on approaching exams were a standout, with everyone picking up some key skills to take into future assessments. One Year 11 student commented, “it was great to listen to Mr Ed Fang and it was cool to see how vital economics is to the world and see how what we are learning fits into real life.”

Well done to all who were involved in these great learning experiences.