General School News
English News
This term, 7L English have been learning about ‘Sustainability’. Students have adopted a Green Sea Turtle through WWF, created their own ‘plastic bottle’ terrariums, and established a class fish tank using Devil’s Ivy to oxygenate the tank. These activities and investigations allowed students to realise the importance of protecting the natural environment and how to reduce waste and pollution.
Our ‘plastic bottle’ terrariums required students to bring in their own empty bottles and learn about the different layers, such as charcoal, moss, sand, and potting mix, which allows the ecosystem to filter water correctly. 7L English enjoyed learning about how to make and care for their terrariums, even though the classroom did get a little messy! The ‘plastic bottle’ terrarium is the perfect ecosystem, students noted, as it contains no pollution and is self-sustaining. Students used Devil’s Ivy cuttings, but there were many cuttings left over. The class researched growing requirements of the Devil’s Ivy and discovered it grows well in water and does not require to be planted.
Therefore, 7L’s Betta fish, Winston, was introduced to the class. The tank is rimmed with the ivy cuttings and will continue to grow into the tank and release oxygen into the water for Winston to breathe. Our class mascot further cemented the idea of clean water to students, as they compared the environment of the tank to our own Lake Illawarra. 7L English have done a fantastic job in their investigations and demonstrated a clear passion for sustainability and the environment. Well done!
Ms McLoughlin
Winds of Joy
Last week 6 of our students were lucky enough to experience a day out on Sydney Harbour. The opportunity was made possible through the lovely people at ‘The Winds of Joy’ Program, who volunteer their time to provide students with unique opportunities. We couldn’t have got a better day with the weather, our students taking turns in driving the boat, and working on their communication and team-work skills.
A great day had by all involved
Wonderful World of Science
Year 7 students have been investigating forces, such as friction and gravity. Many students successfully completed a STEM challenge where they built a hovercraft that could overcome the force of friction.
They also investigated the affect of mass on the rate of falling objects, recreating Galileo’s Leaning Tower of Pisa experiment. Students used slow motion camera technology to capture the exact moment that the bottles landed (one empty, one full), and found that objects that are the same size and shape will land at the same time, even if they have different masses!
The next unit of work will focus on the classification of Life on Earth, and was kicked off with a fantastic trip to Taronga Zoo and a lesson at the Taronga Institute of Science and Learning. Thank you to the wonderful staff at the Institute for having us!
Year 8 students had a fantastic day during their Marine Studies excursion at the Lake Illawarra foreshore. They explored the marine environment and many learned how to kayak, canoe and stand up paddle board. Students also enjoyed fishing, catching nippers for bate and discovering marine creatures up close, such as the octopus that came over for a visit!
Students are currently learning about elements, compounds and mixtures. They have mastered the use of the Periodic Table of Elements, and have conducted some very interesting experiments around chemical reactions. The image captured through a microscope, showed the students the reaction occurring between zinc and copper sulphate. The students cold actually see the pure copper atoms precipitating out of the reaction as they were displaced by the zinc.
Year 9 students have been learning about the communication systems in the human body, including the nervous system and the endocrine system. The students in year 9, as part of one of their learning activities needed to dissect a sheep's brain, well done.
A group of Year 9 students will be participating in the UOW STEM+X program this term, completing a two-day bootcamp and preparing for their role as future STEM+X Ambassadors for local primary students. Congratulations on these students for being selected to participate!
Year 10 students have recently finished up their unit on Motion and Energy. They were challenged to create a vehicle powered only by either a balloon or a mousetrap, and analyse the vehicle’s movement with respect to Newton’s Laws of Motion. This challenge was a tough one, but many students were successful! We were very impressed with their resourcefulness, using digital resources for inspiration and instructions, and excited to help our students develop key 21st Century learning skills, including critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity!
The Science staff would also like to congratulate Year 10 students for their tremendous efforts in preparing for and completing their Mid-course examination. It has been wonderful to see students developing their understanding of the world around them and challenging themselves to achieve their best in class.
Earn and Learn is on again at Woolies!
Woolworths Earn and Learn has started! Please remember to shop at Woolworths between Wednesday the 1st of May until Tuesday the 25th of June and collect as many stickers as possible and place them in the Lake Illawarra High Schools box Located at Woolworths Warilla Grove, Stoney Range Shellharbour or our school front office.
Lets see how many stickers we can collect and get some great resources for our school.
Stand Tall - The Event
An exciting excursion, held on the 12th of June, led a small group of Lake High students to the International Convention Centre at Darling Harbour, where a whopping 8000 students and teachers met for 2019 STAND TALL event. This is an inspirational event for high school aged youth, where young stars gather to motivate the students about making positive life choices, overcoming adversity, believing in yourself and not giving up.
On the day, all of the 8000 people receive a program booklet.
Look at the fabulous students who graced the cover of this year’s program,
with a photo taken from last year!
Our very own Lake High Super Stars HANNAH EZEOKE and LAINEY HOOPER.
To say that we are proud is an understatement!
Ms Marissa Jeuring
Library News
What an amazing year we have had so far. It gives me great pleasure to report that our borrowing records are through the roof. Now more than ever we are seeing students and teachers alike borrowing books from us to take home and enjoy. That is the key term here, enjoy. Reading for fun is the best possible way to increase ones literacy and it looks like many of our students are taking up the challenge.
Perhaps it has something to do with our tech-less Tuesday. That’s right, a full day where we put down our devices and computers and simply enjoy the finer things like conversation (I am being flippant but you get my point). Now I’m normally the first person to defend technology as a learning tool and as a brilliant way to bring people together but it is definitely nice to do away with it occasionally and simply enjoy ones surroundings.
Jumping back into technology now, the LIHS eSports and video game club is running every Thursday between 3pm and 4pm. In this club, we aim to provide a space where students can play video games together. Through this we learn about teamwork, friendly competition and sportsmanship. If anyone would like to join us on Thursday, all you need do is come to the library and get a permission note. Once that has been done and you get it signed by a guardian, bring it back and you’ll get your all access pass to our Thursday evenings of fun.
This year’s Children’s Book Council of Australia Shortlist is looking very interesting. As an avid follower of the awards, I am quite excited to read the entries myself and discuss which one I think will take the prize. We have all the entries in the library so if you are keen to have a go of the best books of 2019, feel free to come and borrow one. For more information, check this link out.
https://cbca.org.au/shortlist-2019
We are also very lucky to have our newest book order of Manga in the library. Old favourites like Attack of Titan and Amulet have new additions and we have a few new entries to the collection including the ever-popular Pokemon.
Our ordering process is much more streamlined these days as we are able to get requests onto our shelves much faster than previous years. As always, if you have any recommendations for our collection, all you need do is come and visit us in the library.
I’ll finish this article with this thought. With holidays coming up in the next few weeks, times could not be better for borrowing a good book. A reminder that all our students are able to borrow four books at a time.
All the best Lake Illawarra High School from all of us here in the library.
Mr Nairn
From the Maths Faculty
The students of 10.1 maths took part in another Escape Classroom recently. Students work collaboratively to complete a series of problem solving tasks. They attempt to beat the other teams to be the first to find the combination that opens the key chest. The winning team received a box of chocolates and Vivo points. This activity encourages critical thinking, creativity and collaboration.
Year 9 Creating Chances
Over the past few terms, selected Year 9 students have participated in a rewarding program called ‘Creating Chances’. Students have developed important skills in resilience and leadership through this sporting program. On Wednesday five of our students, Courtney Riggs, Tayla Gage-Simpson, Sophie Hunt, Dustin Riggs and Robie Hodgson, went to the University of Wollongong to coach Lake South Primary School Students. The day was a real success and our students demonstrated their maturity and excellent coaching skills.
Well done to our Creating Chances students!
Ms McLoughlin