Around the Senior School

Kelly Rimmer’s Visit - Year 10 Elective History

Year 10 Elective History was joined by local author Kelly Rimmer (The German Wife, The Warsaw Orphan) for their lesson on 8 September as part of our historical fiction unit.

It was very beneficial as it educated us all about the inner workings of how books are made and published. We were taught about how the foundation and research that goes into the book is crucial for writing historical fiction novels. Seeing what historical sources Kelly used was interesting as it gave us an insight into what was required to build a historical world and historical perspective. We listened intently as she provided examples of how she uses primary sources and historical figures to guide the emotions and experiences of her characters before engaging in a Q&A where we had the opportunity to ask questions.

Georgia McIntosh (Year 10 Elective History)

Year 9 Entry for 2023 Duke of Edinburgh

The Duke of Edinburgh is a non-competitive self-development international program available to all young people which encourages them to set and achieve goals at a level appropriate to their needs and aspirations.

Year 9 in 2023 are offered the opportunity to undertake the award. The School pays the registration fee of $150 for joining the program, as an acknowledgement of the benefits to the students and community of undertaking the Award. It is expected that Year 9 students will complete the “Bronze award” in 2023.

An information pack has been emailed to all students of Year 9 in 2023.

If you require any further information about the award, please email lcallaghan@kws.nsw.edu.au.

Year 7 History Annual Longship Competition

A fleet of Viking longships have arrived in the school library as part of the annual Year 7 history 'Viking Longship Challenge'. Students were tasked with creating a longship out of materials they had at home or in the boarding house. We have had submissions of longships made from a range of materials including cake, clay, wood, paper, and plastic bottles. The History Faculty have been amazed at the effort and innovation of our Year 7 students, with some impressive submissions. These longships will be on display for the remainder of the term with winners from each class announced in the coming weeks.

Regional Youth Orchestra

Olivia Martin (Year 9) was recently selected for the Regional Youth Orchestra. Last week she took part in a six day program with members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Australian World Orchestra. RYO NSW provides talented musicians with opportunities to play and perform, and to learn from leading conductors, orchestras and artists from Australia and the world. The AWO along with the Youth Orchestra showcased their talent in a performance at the Opera House on Saturday night. The combined orchestra featured 120 musicians on stage.

Year 10 Science

Year 10 Science students recently created a large-scale Hertzsprung-Russell diagram as part of an investigation of stars. The HR diagram provides a means of classifying stars according to their luminosity and temperature. Each student had prepared two ‘star cards’ and had to use the scales and other students’ stars to determine where their stars should be placed.

Dubbo Wether Expo

The Kinross Sheep Team recently competed at the Dubbo Wether Expo. Sixty-two high schools across NSW were part of the competition. There were two sections to the competition - sheep and fleece judging and wether showing. Edward Southwell (Year10) won the sheep judging and Tom Patton (Year 11) placed fourth in the fleece judging. Edward was also awarded Junior Judging Champion and he has now qualified to compete in next year’s Sydney Royal Easter Show.

This is a unique opportunity for students to be involved in preparing sheep for showing and sale. A special thank you to Jason Southwell for imparting his knowledge of sheep showing to our Kinross Sheep Team. Also a big thank you to our Agriculture team assistant Frank Weymouth and all the Year 10 Agriculture students who fed and helped prepare the sheep for the show. It was also lovely to catch up with a number of Kinross Wolaroi families who popped in to say hello during the Expo.

Mrs Aldersey and Mr Zinga

Term 3 in PDHPE

In an interview, Simone Biles said, "if you're having fun, that's when memories are built", and that is what the PDHPE faculty has tried to instill in our programming throughout the year. Term 3 has been no different; from film studies to rowing units and world games to creating ninja warriors, this term has incorporated a vast array of pedagogical strategies to enhance students' understanding and put their learning into context. And we can't forget our senior students, who have been busy at their desks studying for Preliminary Final Exams and the Trial HSC.

As digital natives, our Year 7 students have been busy this term creating websites on eSafety; if this is an area of interest for you, please have a look at some of our student's work:

Year 8 have been busy developing their understanding of respectful relationships and communication while also developing their motor skills by competing in an inter-class competition (currently led by Miss Madden's 8L class). Before this, they were provided with the opportunity to participate in a rowing unit run by our Rowing MIC, Mr Adam Harrison. This saw students taken to the shed at Spring Creek, put through their paces on the ergs and capsized in the (heated) pool on a single scull.

Year 9, on top of developing their self-control, building their relationship skills and managing risk behaviours, have been training to become Australia's next Ninja Warriors. This fundamental movement skill unit culminated in each class's excursion to Central West Gymnastics to run through their new ninja warrior course.

Year 10 have been exploring future options, from tertiary education pathways to employment opportunities and how to overcome adversity and face obstacle with resilience. They have also been exploring games from around the world, including Gaelic Football, Badminton and European Handball, to name a few.

Our PASS classes have been busy investigating Australia's sporting identity and analysing the aspects that help fuel and improve athletic success in various sports.

The PDHPE Faculty would like to extend our best wishes to the Class of 2022. The finish line is in sight, but the hard work continues. Best of luck in your final examinations and wherever life takes you next. In the words of the great Dr Seuss, "You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself in any direction you choose!"

Dudley Cup Debating

Both of our Kinross Wolaroi teams competed for the Dudley Cup Debating last week, finishing first and second respectively and qualifying to compete at the final in October.

They are a great group of students, and throughout the day I received many comments not only about how lovely and well-mannered they were, but also how skilled they were in debating.

Congratulations to:

George Hogg

Sala Ormes-Smith

Anabelle Van-Wyke

Ollie Krause

Lulu Clinton

Alice Scholte

Gretel Sabotta

Issy Wong

Justina Holland, MIC Debating