General School News
Letter to Year 8 Parents Introducing Future Proofing
Dear Parents and Carers of Year 8 students,
We’re thrilled to announce that Lake Illawara HS is taking part in Australia’s largest-ever wellbeing study for high school students – the ‘Future Proofing Study’. We’ll be working with the Black Dog Institute and UNSW, along with 170+ other Australian schools, to improve the mental health and wellbeing of Australian teenagers.
Starting in Term 3 this year, participating students will try out new mental health apps and complete surveys about their health and wellbeing at school until they are in Year 12. The surveys will ask about a wide range of issues important to young people, including health, emotions, friendships, school, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are looking forward to inviting all Year 8 students to participate in this important initiative. Students will need parent permission and a smartphone to participate. We will provide more information about this study early in Term 2 when you will also be given the opportunity to enrol your child. If you are interested in learning more about the study now, the researchers have recorded a webinar you can watch online here:
We hope you share in our commitment to this project and improving the mental health outcomes for Australian young people through quality research.
Regards,
Mr Anthony Hicks
Principal
Students Can Get OFFICE 365 for free!
Here is the guide:
2021 SRC Representatives
Congratulations to all students who have been voted in to join the Student Representative Council at Lake Illawarra High School for 2021. These students have pledged to run annual fundraising and raising awareness activities such as Valentine’s Day, Harmony Day, Legacy Week, World’s Greatest Shave and Reconciliation Week.
They will also participate in many exciting community events such as the Women’s Day Morning Tea, Whitlam Youth Roundtable and the Shellharbour Youth Summit, just to name a few!
Congratulations!
Year 7
Dominic Borg
Elle Fackender
Ava Brislane
Caitlin Worldon
Riley Gillett
Year 8
Tori Henderson
Chae Conte
Isaac Grillis
Cayden Dawson
Clark Morrison
Trinity Chandler
Year 9
Lilli Anger
Shianne Shaw
Lexie Hodges
Paige Parker
Katie Brown
Year 10
Ella Riley
Minna Parker
Irimana Reid
Seth Brown
Baylen Russell
Year 11
Aylish Mitchell
Tahnaia Markham
Jacinta Bazzano
Jai-Ann O’Nains
Molly Yates
Courtney Riggs
Year 12
Bailee Walsh
Akala Lawrence
Lachlan Moosmann
Kasey Yates
Chantelle Borg
Logan O’Sullivan
SRC International Women’s Day Morning Tea
On Monday the 8th of March female representatives aged 16-18 from the SRC went to the Civic Centre at the Shellharbour council building to celebrate International Women’s Day. The girls were given a chance to interact, be inspired and to discuss issues relevant to women of this age group. There were a variety of guest speakers including:
Kirli Saunders
Kirli is a proud Gunai Woman and award-winning international writer of poetry, plays and picture books. She is a teacher, cultural consultant and artist. In 2020, Kirli was named the NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year. Her new book 'Bindi' was the inaugural winner of the WA Premier's Book Awards, Daisy Utemorrah Award and will be released in October.
Leo
LEO is an independent artist with a powerful presence and wicked sense of humour. With an enchanting voice and story to tell, LEO uses honest songwriting to take listeners on a journey through her own experiences, creating an engaging atmosphere.
Jodi Edwards
Jodi is a D’harawal language speaker who is passionate about awakening the language and working in and with the local Aboriginal community
Melissa Gaspari
Melissa is passionate about learning and discovering new and innovative solutions to create a truly sustainable built environment and the impacts our environments have on our health, both mental and physical.
Dr Katarina Mikac
Dr Kataraina is a Senior Lecturer at UOW. She is a champion of women in science and strives to mentor young women in science. Dr Katarina was recently named as a finalist in the 2021 Shellharbour Citizen of the Year Awards.
The girls said that they were inspired mostly by the personal stories of these women. They were honoured to hear about the battles and victories that each person had been through and how to be a stronger woman. It was a great chance for the girls to bond with each other and afterwards they spent time reflecting their own experiences of being a woman in 2021. The group came back to school wanting to share their experiences with the younger girls in the SRC, which was great to see.
Ms Emily Robinson & Sarah Nicholson
SRC Co-ordinators
Harmony Day at LIHS
To celebrate Harmony Day, the SRC ran a stall at lunchtime on Friday 19th March. Harmony Day is time to celebrate Australian multiculturalism and the successful integration of migrants into our community. Australia is one of the most successful multicultural countries in the world and we should celebrate this and work to maintain it.
Harmony Week is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values.
To celebrate this important day the SRC students came up with a variety of activities to bring students together, including:
- Scavenger Hunt
- Orange Hair Spray
- Lolly Guessing Competition
- Art Activities
There was some great conversation about belonging, particularly ways that LIHS can make all students feel like they have a place here. The students did a great job and should be proud of their efforts!
Ms Emily Robinson & Sarah Nicholson
SRC Co-ordinators
Lucky Vivo Winner!
Well done to Brianna Kerr who was the lucky recipient of a $500 voucher as she was a top Vivo earner.
Keep following the school rules and trying your best in class to be in the running for this fantastic reward.
Year 12 Metal and Engineering and Construction Achievements
These photos are of Year 12 Metal and Engineering/Construction student’s completing their mandatory work placement with various industries this term, as well as the FarmBot garden installation which should be up and running by the end of this Term.
The feedback from employers of student’s efforts and behaviour was excellent.
Well done team.
Mr Cohen
Growing Sustainable Biomes in Geography
Year 9 Geography B Sustainable Biomes growing project.
Year 9 Geography B are studying Sustainable Biomes. They are focusing on the type of environments that exist across the world and how they are changing. One of the main concepts learned in this topic is how biomes constitute a significant food source worldwide. If people don’t start to look after their environment, food security can be affected.
The class was inspired by the Woolworth’s Discovery Garden seeds when doing their grocery shopping. 9GeoB decided to grow some seeds in class. The class had a lucky dip of the seeds.
It got very messy mixing the soil with water in the classroom, but everyone got there in the end! The students set up a growing station at the front of the room to keep an eye on their new babies.
Each day the seeds were watered. Within five days, most of the seeds had sprouted! The seeds were then ready to transfer to soil outside the classroom. A spot in the quiet quad seemed the best choice, as the class could easily keep an eye on them, and the area got a good amount of sun during the day.
Ms Robinson collected polystyrene boxes with drainage holes, potting mix and sugarcane mulch so the seedlings would have a comfy new home. The class spent a Friday afternoon out in the garden learning about the best way to plant their seedlings, the importance of using mulch and the benefits of fertiliser.
This is where things started to go downhill! When the class returned on Monday, all of their seedlings had died! The hot weather and our inability to water them meant that there were no survivors. BUT it was an important lesson for the class! It’s not easy to grow food! The weather and water are essential in making sure that seedlings survive.
Ms Robinson decided that the project wasn’t over, so she headed to Bunnings to get some well-established seedlings and some bean seeds. The class planted strawberries, carrots, lettuce, and spinach.
To protect the plants from the birds, they were covered with netting. The class was a lot luckier this time, the weather was a bit cooler over the first weekend after being planted, and there was a good amount of rain. Nearly a week after being planted the seedlings are going strong!
Ms Emily Robinson
HSIE teacher
LIHS Easter Show
This coming Thursday (the last day of Term 1). Make sure you're at school and get involved in these fantastic events.
