Newsletter 2018 – Term 2, Week 6

View and download PDF version of Newsletter here

From our Relieving Principal

STARS Assembly

Last Tuesday we held our first STARS assembly for the year, with over 250 students being recognised. Each student received a certificate emblazoned with ‘Commitment to Studies’. When I have discussed academic progress of students with parents over the years, the most discussed aspect is that the student does the best they can. STARS recipients are congratulated and should be proud of their achievements and efforts.

Subject Selection Evening

Next Wednesday we are having a Subject Selection Evening for students in Years 9 and 11 in 2019. All faculties will have staff available to answer specific questions about individual subjects. Students in Years 8 and 10, of this year, should already have received their subject guides. Following this on the Friday, Year 10 students will be individually interviewed and guided in their initial subject selections by a panel of staff members.

CCTV

Our school is in the process of installing Close Circuit Television (CCTV) in a bid to reduce the amount of after hours vandalism that has occurred over the past year. The cameras will be clearly visible and each entry to the school will have signs indicating that CCTV is in use. The Department of Education’s Safety and Security Unit were consulted and devised the plan for the location of the devices. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me.

Mr Scott White
Relieving Principal

From the Deputy’s Desk

Uniform

I would like to congratulate the vast majority of our students for their continued outstanding level of school uniform worn each day. With the weather cooling, most students do make an effort to wear the correct school jumper, however, a small number are coming to school in an array of colours that do not meet uniform requirements. These students are required to hand in an explanatory note from home to the Deputy before 8.45am to obtain a uniform pass. A clean school jumper may be swapped for the non-uniform item. In this way, the school is working to ensure that we support all of our students in meeting uniform requirements.

Please note: students are not permitted to wear ‘short shorts’ and/or tights.

National Reconciliation Week

Reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is a high priority for the Department of Education and it is important we put our good intentions into practice to learn and grow as a society. Almost all Australians think the relationship between each other is important, yet too often, this goodwill is not reflected in practice. There is a zero tolerance approach to racism and discrimination at Kariong Mountains High. I am encouraged to see our students act with courage and call out racism as they witness or experience it; there is no place for racism in our school.

Future Focus Learning

Mr Riley and myself, along with twenty Deputy Principals from the Central Coast, were fortunate enough to be invited to the Google headquarters in Darling Harbour, followed by a Future Focused Immersion Experience at the Australian Technology Park. After a big day of being inspired and understanding the pedagogical advantages to a futures space in a school setting, we are keen to set Kariong Mountains students up for the workforce of tomorrow.

KMHS Japan Tour 2018

16/04 – 27/04

At 8:55pm on the 16th April, 15 students of KMHS, the Hadley family , Mrs Cutting, Miss Rose and Mr White, waved goodbye to Australia, family and friends, as they flew through the night to Japan. We arrived in Tokyo at 5am to embark on our 10 day adventure…

Tokyo

We spent the beginning and end of our trip in this amazing city, the highlights included seeing a Japanese baseball game with 45000 locals (and being there on the right night to get free shirts!), ordering sushi from an iPad at a Sushi Train, playing with interesting gadgets at Electric town, Tokyo Skytree (the tallest building in Japan), cooking our own okonomiyaki and, of course, Tokyo Disneyland!

Kyoto

We left behind the craziness of Tokyo for the calmer city of Kyoto for three days. We climbed the mountain of the famous Inari Shrine on our first afternoon there, and the next day, continued to see some of Japan’s best natural highlights including the Bamboo Forest and Monkey Park (another mountain!).

We visited the famous Nijo Castle, ate at a Ninja restaurant, visited the famous food street of Osaka, and spent our last night in Kyoto singing ourselves hoarse at Karaoke! And, Olivia turned 18!

Hiroshima

In our two days here, we saw the Peace Park, which holds the Sadako statue and Peace Museum, and visited Miyajima island, where we made friends with the local deer and made famous local biscuits. Mr White also got to catch up with his son, who is living and working in Japan.

Thank you to the participants for being an amazing group to share this trip with!

Mathematics

The different ways we learn at KMHS

Year 11 Mathematics Standard

Year 11 Mathematics Standard are investigating the use of Pareto Charts as part of their new syllabus content. A Pareto Chart is a real-world tool, commonly used by modern businesses to highlight the significant factors behind a specific problem or issue.

The Pareto chart provides a graphical depiction of the Pareto Principle (commonly known as the 80/20 rule). It states that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Business often use this tool to determine which issues need their attention to fix a problem.

The Pareto Principle states that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes …

As can be seen in this student’s worked example, this Pareto chart is displaying the results of a survey on major health issues. Using the Pareto Principle (80/20 rule), we can identify that Obesity and Mental health were the 2 most significant health issues affecting this population.

Canteen News

New Brekkie Menu:

Hash Browns … $1.00
Waffles … $1.80
Cheese and Bacon Roll … $2.00
Hot Chocolate … $2.00
Plus all the drinks

Notices