End of Term 2

Faculty News

English Report

…And just like that, Term 3 is over. I would like to thank the English faculty for once again rising to the occasion and inspiring creativity and greatness within our wonderful students. Of course, teaching and learning is a two-way street (with some roundabouts as well) and it would be remiss of me not to thank and congratulate our students for their outstanding efforts and personal bests throughout the term. Below are some highlights:

  • Year 8 have blown us away with their dramatic reinterpretations of plays they have been studying in class. The creativity, collaboration and critical thinking on display is testament to the engagement with their learning and their ability to think outside the box. Well done to all of Year 8 and the Year 8 teaching team – Mrs Klein, Miss Hammond, Miss Fitzgerald, Mrs Schild and Mr Newton.
  • Thank you to Miss Natalie Hammond who ran an English session for the Year 5 Taster Day. The Year 5 students were engaged and inspired by Miss Hammond’s creative take on picture books.
  • Well done to Year 9 who have completed their study of Shakespeare’s tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. We have been blown away by the authentic voices in the reviews – although we disagree with many who stated Baz Luhrmann’s interpretation wasn’t very good!
  • Year 7 and 8 Young Achievers have also been creative this term. The humorous and professional looking television commercials made in a Gruen pitch-style challenge showcased their artistic talents, and I have been impressed by their ability to analyse film during our recent study of Hugo.
  • Year 10 are inching closer to the senior school, and should be proud of the recent assessment task which challenged them to critically reflect on their own writing. This is an important skill for the new HSC syllabus.
  • Finally, I would like to celebrate Ms Lisa Selsby and the Year 12 English Extension 2 class. Hannah Yeadon, Grace Oldfield and Madelyn Lane are to be congratulated on their sophisticated Major Works.

Of course, Term 3 is most significant as it is our last with the Year 12 cohort. We have been extremely proud of the way this group have approached the subject of English, and are excited to see the different paths these students take. Good luck in the HSC Exam Year 12, we’ll miss you.

Mr Blake Wawrzyk - Head Teacher English

Science Report

Another busy term and we have had some definite highlights. Week 4 was National Science Week. The theme for this year was Game Changers and Change Makers. Science students completed a series of challenges in their classes.

 

Year 8 and Year 7 YAP students completed the Marshmallow Challenge where they had 20 minutes to build the tallest tower out of 20 sticks of spaghetti, 1m of tape and 1m of string. The tower had to be able to support a marshmallow on top of their tower. The height of the winning tower was 77cm, an amazing achievement by Matthew Khan, Mohammed Sager, Harrison Day and Jye Goncalves.

Year 9 students had to build a tank stand using only 15 straws and 2m of masking tape. The winning stand had to hold a 1 litre container and support as much water as possible. Some groups were successful in building stands that could hold up to 800ml of water.

Year 10 had to construct a parachute from a bag, 3m of string, a styrofoam cup and tape that can safely land with 50ml of water. The winning team for flight time was Angel Gould, Eliza McFawn and Isabella Tramner . The team that landed with the most water still in their cup was Michael Porter, Lachlan Todd-Hunter, Caleb Jennings and Alex Demitriades.

Congratulations to all the winners and those who participated in the challenges.

 

Last Thursday we had an amazing opportunity to attend the Australian Engineers Conference in Darling Harbour. Select students were invited from Years 7 - 10. Students got to speak to industry experts about the exciting world of Engineering and discover how the industry will transform in the years ahead. This included houses designed to be environmentally friendly and sustainable which adapted to you as you age, 3D printing of prosthetic limbs, chairs and personalised steering wheels for racing car drivers and drones which can spot and distinguish between sharks, whales, crocodiles and a distressed human.

Leading Australian Universities showcased their cutting edge student and faculty project works. This enabled students to speak directly those who are currently studying engineering courses in a variety of areas and see the types of projects they were working on.

 

The staff would like to thank the students who attended as they immersed themselves in the experience and were a credit to our school.

Mrs Louise Watkiss - Head Teacher Science

Agriculture

Term 3 has been eventful on the HKHS farm!

 

Year 11 have been studying their final unit of the preliminary course, ‘Animal Production’. Earlier in the term they incubated eggs from the school’s Isa Brown and Polish Frizzle chickens and learned about embryo development. The eggs took approximately 21 days to hatch and since then the students have been caring for the chicks while also completing a feed trial to see the impact of high protein diets on poultry. Factors measured include bird weight, body condition, breast circumference and egg colour.

 

Best of luck to Year 11 as they finish the term with their preliminary examinations.

 

The farm has been abuzz with Stage 5 Agriculture studying apiculture (beekeeping). Students suited up to assist Miss Greenwood in opening the hive for a post-winter inspection. They got to use a hive smoker, observe bees up close, smell fresh honey and feel the surprising weight of a honey packed hive frame. Prior to the day they also completed anaphylaxis training.

On Wednesday 19 September, students had the opportunity to speak with Barbara Elkins, a member of the Central Coast Amateur Beekeepers Association. Barbara brought an array of items with her, including honey, queen cages, bee specimens, beautifully painted hive boxes and her impressive repertoire of knowledge. She spoke about bee behaviour, the business side of beekeeping, and how to establish a hive, among many other aspects of the process which students were able to ask questions about.

All students undertaking Agriculture as an elective have been developing a new composting system. Pictured are some of the Year 11 students who constructed it using recycled pallets, along with some of the year 9/10 students who help to maintain it by adding green-waste materials. A big thank you goes out to the Henry Kendall High School kitchen and canteen staff who provide food scraps for us to compost. Alongside our recycled bathtub worm farm, the compost project is a great example of sustainable living.

 

We look forward to what term 4 and spring may bring!

Ms Amy Greenwood - Teacher Agriculture