31 May 2019

Newsletter Articles

Brain Bee finalists, Callum Fetherstonhaugh, Tess Gerhardy, Tamsin Jones and Kayla Malkin with teacher, Natalie Knowler.

From Our Principal

Students Qualify for State Finals of Brain Bee

We have been recently advised that four of our Year 10 students, (Tamsin Jones, Kayla Malkin, Callum Fetherstonhaugh and Tess Gerhardy) have qualified for the South Australian final of the annual Brain Bee Challenge.

Conducted by the Australasian Neuroscience Society, ‘Brain Bee’ sees participating students spend several months learning about the brain and its functions before undertaking a comprehensive online quiz to determine state finalists.

Students will travel to the University of Adelaide in June for the state finals and on the day will also learn about neuroscience research and find out about careers in neuroscience.

Currently the students and Science teacher (and brain expert!), Ms Natalie Knowler are working hard in preparation – learning as much as they can about the brain.

This is the second year our school has participated in ‘Brain Bee’ and the second year that students from Kapunda High School have made it through to the state finals. Isabel Castaneda came sixth in South Australia in 2018.

Focussing on Learning Ahead of the End of Semester

In three weeks’ time, we will have reached the half-way mark of the year. For many of our students it has been a particularly busy term with a range of learning outside of the school as well as involvement in extra-curricular activities.

In that context, it is very important that in these final weeks of the semester, there is a concerted effort to complete all outstanding assessment tasks.

For our Year 12 students, the immediate focus is on completing their compulsory Research Project. In several weeks’ time, teachers will be uploading the Research Evaluation for external assessment and soon after the Folio and Research Outcome will be sent off for moderation.

While these are important deadlines, it is important that students do not ‘drop the ball’ with their other subjects, but keep a balanced approach to their learning – putting in the necessary hours both in and outside of school.

Our Year 11 students also have a busy final three weeks of the semester with satisfactory completion of SACE Stage 1 subjects heavily emphasised. Of particular importance is the need to complete the compulsory Literacy and Numeracy subjects at ‘C’ or better. A number of students will also have end-of-semester examinations and it is important that they begin preparation as soon as possible.

Year 10 students will have a combination of PROGRESSIVE (English, Mathematics and Science) and final grades for semester subjects. Year 10 is an important foundation for senior school success and as such, achieving ‘C’ or better in all areas is something that we want all students to be striving for. A sound work ethic, completion of all homework and meeting deadlines goes a long way to making good grades a reality. Next semester, Year 10’s commence the compulsory SACE subject – Personal Learning Plan (PLP).

Year 9 students will have a combination of PROGRESSIVE (English, Mathematics, Science and Physical Education) and FINAL GRADES (all other subjects) at the end of this semester. At this level, one of the main reasons some students underachieve is incomplete assessment tasks. If you are concerned with your child’s progress in any subject and want to check they are ‘on track’ please call, email or ‘DayMap’ the relevant teacher, sooner, rather than later.

Year 8 students will have a combination of PROGRESSIVE (English, Mathematics and Science) and FINAL GRADES (all other subjects) at the end of this semester. It was great to see so many Year 8 parents in for the recent interviews but again, if you are ever concerned, please do not hesitate to get in touch with subject teachers.

Music Evening – Wednesday, 5 June

One of the highlights of the school year is the annual music evening, this year scheduled for Wednesday, 5 June.

Commencing at 7:00pm, at the Kapunda High School Drama Room, the evening is a tremendous opportunity for students to showcase their talents and to gain confidence in performing in front of an audience.

A particular highlight will be a ‘sneak’ preview from the forthcoming School Musical, Spotlight.

While I know that the event will be well supported by families of students who are performing, I particularly invite all members of our school community to come along and enjoy what is a great celebration of the Arts.

REMINDER: Staff Development Day, 7 June

All schools across the Goyder and Light Partnership will have a pupil free day for the purpose of furthering our work with the implementation of the Australian Curriculum and learning design, assessment and moderation.

Our staff will be working with teachers from Eudunda Area School and Nuriootpa High School throughout the day. Initially they will collaboratively moderate student work samples ahead of a review of assessment tasks to ensure that they provide all students the best chance of showing what they know, understand and can do. There will also be a focus on sharing innovative practice and enhancing understandings of how to best teach concepts, motivate students to achieve their personal best, etc.

Kristen Masters
Principal

Advanced Notice: Canteen Closed on Monday, 3 June

Our Canteen Manager will be attending training on Monday, so students are advised to bring their own food on the day.

Year 11 Drama Performance

Thursday evening, the Stage l Drama class performed their play, The Gateway in the KHS Drama room. The play, which was developed by the class, presented a day in the life of a young person, and discussed just some of the issues, choices and obstacles young people face in their day to day life.

Community Support

Kapunda High School would like to thank local business, Mantina Quarries for their continual support.

Mantina Quarries has provided many tons of rubble on numerous of occasions to the Trade Training Centre and Agriculture grounds at no cost. This support has enabled the development of these areas, which in turn enhances the learning areas and opportunities for students.

Youth Opportunities Scholarships

Chloe Dabrowski and Elijah Smith were recently awarded scholarships through the Youth Opportunities program. The aim of the scholarship is to help graduates achieve study goals and future career plans. A recipient can receive up to $1000 to support their goals.

Any Youth Opportunities graduate is eligible to apply for the scholarship, as long as they have graduated from the program within the last two years.

The next round of scholarships will be advertised soon.

For more information, please email scholarships@youthopps.com.au, speak to your trainer or contact Dani Ryan, the Youth Opportunities coordinator, at school.

Viticulture

Recently, Barossa Grape and Wine and some local employers and industry members offered local high school students a fantastic opportunity to engage in learning about the Viticulture Industry in the local Barossa Valley. Charlotte Adderley from Kapunda High School, along with students from a variety of other schools, engaged in this experience and had a fantastic time learning about a myriad of aspects of viticulture that she had never considered previously. Charlotte really enjoyed her experience and is looking to pursue an apprenticeship opportunity within the industry. Here are some things she learned about and enjoyed throughout her week:

I enjoyed learning all the different kinds of field work involved in Viticulture as well as the modern technology and machines that weren’t used four or five years ago. I generally loved the whole course and enjoyed finding out about all the different jobs and many industries that are involved in the Viticulture Industry.

I am very interested in pursuing a job in Viticulture, because I loved the work experience that I did with BGWA. My group learned how to prune and pick, and were introduced to people from all around the world.

Something I found interesting was that the Viticulture industry now uses more modern technology for work - where once a job would have taken hours or days to do, it may now only takes a few minutes.

Anyone interested in working in an industry such as Viticulture should give it a go, because you never know what you will learn. Personally, I recommend this amazing BGWA course, because it opens up so many opportunities for a future careers.

Charlotte Adderley

Duke of Edinburgh Excursion

This week, our Duke of Ed students began the Service component of their program. Their goal is to support the local council, and the broader community, through engaging in working bees to develop the landscape.

This will involve working alongside the Environmental Officer to landscape around the four Kapunda Chimney entrances to Kapunda. They will be meeting once a month to do a four hour block of work (6 month project) and transport is being provided by the Council Community Bus to go to and from school.

Today was a Work Health and Safety Induction, developing an understanding about landscaping, visit each of the landscaping sites and the Kapunda Mine and the Town Square for some landscaping ideas. We thank Greg and Andrew so much for their knowledge and time. Congratulations to Felyka, on organising a successful introduction to the service component of the program.

Update Your Information

KHS relies on various methods of communication between the school, students and their families to relay information about learning, student well being and numerous other topics. In order to do this, our family records must be accurate.

In the event of an emergency - for example, medical or an extreme environmental event such as the Pinery fire, KHS endeavours to communicate with families promptly and in whatever way is effective and efficient.

This can be extremely challenging, if not impossible, when contact details are not current. When this is realised, every effort is made to seek alternative, even round-about ways of making contact eg through emergency contact persons or known associates.

If you've changed your mobile phone number, email or other details, please contact the school.

Japanese Host Families Required

We are seeking another five host families this year to accommodate visitors from Hachioji Junior High School in Japan. Hachioji students will arrive Wednesday, 24 July and leave Friday, 2 August 2019. Host families in the past have truly valued this experience.

‘It really was an invaluable experience for our family. We learned some of their language and culture and also shared our lifestyle and experiences with them.’ host family 2017

If you are interested in hosting a student or have any questions please contact Kristin Hodge via email kristin.hodge993@schools.sa.edu.au.

Helping Keep Children Safe Through New Screening Laws

Stronger, more effective and transparent screening laws for people working or volunteering with children have been introduced in South Australia. The new screening laws were recommended as part of federal and South Australian royal commissions, to help keep children safe in our communities. The new laws mean that from 1 July 2019 everyone working or volunteering with children must have a valid child-related check.

Also changing from 1 July 2019 is the state’s current system for child-related employment screenings, which will be replaced with a working with children check (WWCC). This new check is coming in to better protect your children and make sure that people working or volunteering with children are suitable. It does this through a monitored and more robust assessment of a person’s eligibility to work or volunteer with children. Because the check is monitored, immediate action can be taken if a person is charged with a concerning offence. The new check covers off on a person’s national criminal history, including all spent convictions, pending and non-conviction charges, and other disciplinary and child protection information.

A WWCC is valid for five years and is portable across roles and organisations throughout South Australia.

Current, valid child-related employment screening checks done by DHS/DCSI will be recognised as a WWCC until they expire. There is also a 12 month transition period for anyone with a National Police Certificate assessed by their organisation, with the certificate valid till 1 July 2020.

For most people, this means they don’t need to do anything to be ready for the new law starting on 1 July 2019.

For more information about the new check visit the DHS website.

Community Notices

Vintage Cellar Hand Short Course – School Holidays

An opportunity for students to complete the Vintage Cellar Hand short course is available in the Term 2 school holiday period.

• This short course will provide you with introductory training in the wine industry, including an overview of the requirements and fundamentals for vintage cellar hand work.
• The course includes both theory and practical activities, along with winery site tours, and will focus on cellar hand basics of the wine production process, such as cleaning, transfers, additions and finings, as well as work health and safety (WHS) and food safety.

Course: Identify key operations in wine production (FDFWIN1001)

Click on the link below for course information and student registration page.

Tuesday, 9 July and Wednesday, 10 July
9:00am to 3:30pm
Cost: $300 per person

*Must be 16 years and over and have arrange own transport

For further information, contact: Brett Ancell, Business Development Account Manager (08) 7210 3089 or M 0472 808 191

ADF High Tea – Girl’s Leadership Opportunity

Girls in years 9 to 12 who are interested in this opportunity should speak to Mrs Chancellor.