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Q News Term 1, 2023

6th April 2023

In this Issue:
Next Principal’s message

Principal’s message

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Josie Millard
Principal

As we come to the end of term that has been full with many co-curricular activities and a huge range of learning opportunities and assessments, I would like to take the time to thank those who have committed so much to make it all happen.

Thank you to the amazing staff of Kew High School for everything they have done to make this a vibrant term. Both teaching staff and the education support staff have given of their time, and of themselves, to ensure that so many of our students have been able to find a way to connect to the school community. Through sport, music, performance and debating, students have represented their school and have engaged in their area of passion with like-minded students. Students have joined a huge range of clubs this year and the initiative of the School Captains to host a ‘Clubs Expo’ at the beginning of the year has certainly led to many, many options and increased participation. Thank you to the staff who not only give of themselves, but who ensure that it is the students who lead, who are innovative and who work to improve the school environment that they spend their days in. I do hope that you get a sense in this newsletter of the tremendous range of opportunities for students at Kew High School.

I’d also like to thank the parents and carers who have supported our school throughout Term 1. Our amazing parents on School Council provide such specialised and caring support to the Kew High School leadership team in areas such as Finance, Facilities and Policy and Risk. There is no doubt that the expertise and the time that is provided by parents allows the school leadership team to do what they know best – leading teaching and learning. Thank you to every parent and carer who attended either the Year 12, Year 9 or Year 11 Information Nights. These were well attended and it is great for the school staff to not only deliver important information to families, it is also a great opportunity for us to hear the questions from families so that we can understand what the needs of the broader community are. These have certainly been beneficial for all involved. The Year 7, 8 and 10 Information Nights are being held early in Term 2, so please do check Compass Newsfeed for details on these. Thank you to every parent who has come to the school to meet with staff this term, either to discuss learning behaviours or to talk about positive approaches; we thank you for engaging with the education of our students, knowing that it is through strong partnerships that the best outcomes occur.

Finally, I thank the students of Kew High School for making this such an amazing place to work each day. This is indeed such a great school because of its students. At the beginning of this year, I spoke to each of the year levels and told them all that, in 2023, we have high expectations of them. We expect students to work hard. We expect them to reach their potential. We expect them to engage and provide opportunities for all others to engage. They do this, and they do so with positive attitudes. Whenever I feel a little distracted with the busy-ness of the day, I walk outside and there are students who say ‘hello’ and tell me a little about themselves and their day at school. The students are uplifting.

I wish students, parents, carers and staff all the very best for a wonderful holiday break. Term 2 commences for students on Wednesday 26 April (House Athletics Carnival). I look forward to seeing everyone rested and refreshed for learning in Term 2.

PreviousCover PageNext Ride 2 School

Ride 2 School

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Michael Roberts
Year 12

On the 24th of March the annual “Ride-to-School” day went off without a hitch.

There was a whopping 203 recorded students who caught public transport to school, 34 students who where driven in by car, 31 students who walked and 26 cyclists who braved the cold when riding to school, later tucking into their Hot cross bun breakfast, with a clear favourite of the chocolate variety. In total 26 student bicyclists rode into school, with 36% of riders coming from Alphington.

Although it may seem tacky, and seeded in myth, there’s clear, scientific benefits to your mental and physical health when exercising that can help elevate your studies and sporting prowess, so anytime your able to come ride to school, you won’t regret it.

Furthermore, a special thanks to those students and teachers who volunteered their time to help out with tallying up our results, as well as all those who rode in on Friday and every other day to school!

Ride on Kew

PreviousPrincipal’s messageNext Gardening program

Gardening program

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Phillip Naughton
Gardener

The main project this term has been the construction of a new garden bed at the end of the west wing. The garden has been constructed with recycled materials, sand and donated succulent plants. This minimal cost project was installed with the help of the Landscape Lads Mark IV, Henry, Toby, Jerry, Cato, Christian and Flynn. The team also installed board edging to hold the sand mulch in pace.

Some self-seeded pumpkins have created interest in the car park garden. The area now has a dripline irrigation system to keep moisture available for the soil development. Next term we will plant the Car Park Garden and continue to restore the War Memorial Garden next to the Jacaranda Garden and the theatre garden.  

Ms Elise Dunstan continues planning and work to foster interest in the school environment from students, staff and volunteers. We were fortunate in having volunteers Bev, Terry and Mark clean up the court yard at the back of the library. Students are now laying mulch each week at lunchtime to make the area look well maintained. Bev and Terry also weeded and trimmed shrubs along the Burke Road Native Garden.

Ms Dunstan has overseen the installation of worm towers in various areas of the school to manage organic waste and nourish the soil. Thank you to Food Studies classes for putting aside their fruit and vegetables scraps from the pracs to feed the worms in these towers.

A recommended  good read and reference book: beg, borrow or find Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake.

PreviousRide 2 SchoolNext Year 10 Physical Education

Year 10 Physical Education

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Catherine Gayfer

This term, Year 10 PE students have developed their leadership skills by designing, implementing and participating in a variety of unfamiliar cultural games such as Czech handball, Korfball, Sabakiball, Pesapallo and Brazilian foot volley.

Henry and Gerry led a game of Torball (German goal ball) which is a team sport for the blind and vision-impaired. It was very different experience playing sport without all your senses, trying hard to listen out for a ball emitting a beeping sound and then trying to save a goal whilst blindfolded. Students realized how heavily they usually rely on their vision during sport and physical activity.

PreviousGardening programNext Volleyball Champions

Volleyball Champions

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Louise Bates

Having successfully won against the local schools in our area, both our Year 11 and 12 boys and girls Volleyball teams progressed onto the Schools Sports Victoria’s Region competition. Both teams found themselves in the hardest side of the draw so with only short game times and the winner of each pool going straight through to the final, they had to start off strong. Although challenged from other schools such as Rowville who have a Volleyball Academy and Monbulk who also have recognised Volleyball Programs, the girls won through and faced Mooroolbark Secondary College in the final. They rallied well but the Kew girls had more experience and like the boys who faced Ringwood Secondary College in the final, our skill and patience paid off. The girls won in a straight 2 set match and the boys, who gave up the first set, got back on track and won sets 2 and 3 convincingly.  

In May, both teams will compete at the School Sports Victoria’s State Championships. They are training hard and will be up for the challenge! Good luck and go Kew!

PreviousYear 10 Physical EducationNext Kewspaper

Kewspaper

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Mark Rossouw

The Kewspaper is a Kew High School publication written by students, for students.

Entirely student run, curated, formatted, edited and published. Students write for each other and the school community to celebrate each other and build community. Students of all year levels write on school life, politics, pride, sports and the environment – and student school leaders reflect on school events and milestones throughout the year.

The latest edition of Kewspaper is out now!

PreviousVolleyball ChampionsNext Year 10 Engineering photo gallery

Year 10 Engineering photo gallery

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PreviousKewspaperNext House Cup

House Cup

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Ollie Price
Year 12

The House Cup returned for 2023 in Term 1 with over 200 students signing up from Year 7 to Year 12 representing their respective house across four tournaments. It all kicked off with a Teachers vs Year 12 students game where the teachers managed to win out in penalties. Here’s how the House Cup unfolded:

Year 7
Following the preliminary rounds, it was evident that Barker and Wilsmere were the two teams to beat and so they met in the Grand Final. After Barker took an early lead, Wilsmere received a penalty with the help of VAR to equalise the game and send it into penalties. In the end, it was Patrick coolly slotting his penalty and a decisive save from Eric which helped Barker claim the Armstrong-Wallis Cup.

Year 8/9
Having gone through the group stage undefeated, Cotham finished on top of the table. However, a surprise win from a Year 8 heavy Wilsmere in the preliminary final against Barker set up an intriguing clash against Cotham featuring mainly Year 9s. A tense grand final ended in 2-2 thanks to a late goal from Gio and ultimately that proved important as Wilsmere proved too strong in the penalty shootout with Samir securing the Kyriakos Cup for the team in gold.

Year 10
This was by far the biggest tournament with over sixty Year 10s signing up. The group stage had it all – a worldie from Arya, unbelievable saves from Ric and precision passing from Lucia and Ben. It was Boroondara who ended the group stage on top, winning all three games. It looked extremely likely that they would play a star-studded Cotham in the Grand Final until some goal-line heroics by Daniel denied them the opening in the Preliminary Final before Charlie scored moments later to seal a spot in the Grand Final for a plucky Barker outfit. Barker showed it and more in the Grand Final, sending it to extra time before Milo scored from a tight angle to cap off their unbeaten campaign by sealing the championship.

Year 11/12
Four even teams of VCE students set out to win the ultimate prize and it was Boroondara who finished on top of the table after an unbeaten run in group stage. They came up against a Wilsmere outfit in the Grand Final who were out for redemption having lost in the previous year’s final after bottling a 3-0 lead. Taking a 4-1 in the second half, Boroondara look all set for victory with goals from Cal, Kristian, Bilal and Ayub. However, Wilsmere came storming home through Ben and Marcus before yours truly sealed a famous 5-4 victory with some individual brilliance in the dying moments.

Sardy-Tambo Shield
To close out the House Cup, the Year 10 Boroondara team took on Year 11/12 Wilsmere in what was billed as a David vs Goliath battle. Wilsmere put their foot down early, scoring three times to take early control of the game. A goal from Pip was followed by Reuben hitting the goal post, making for a tense last final moments before Wilsmere sealed victory with two goals in the dying stages to claim a 5-1 victory and take home the Sardy-Tambo Shield for 2023.

PreviousYear 10 Engineering photo galleryNext Alumni spotlights

Alumni spotlights

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Elise Dunstan
Community development co-ordinator

Shali Lingaretnam (Class of 2000), Olivia Lucisano (2010) and Tim Crisp (2001) are the first of nine alumni to be interviewed for 2023.

Broadly speaking, these recorded QnAs are intended to inform, inspire and encourage students to strive, aspire and achieve. On an individual level, they help answer a variety of student and parent questions about school, further study, employability skills, opportunities for personal growth, career development and industry insights. Shali, Head of Investment Stewardship talks about maths and encourages girls to pursue STEM, Olivia, Talent Acquisition Lead provides helpful advice for Year 10s embarking on work experience from an experienced recruiter’s perspective, and Tim, a former CEO shares his journey from studying engineering to being retired at 40!

These Spotlights can be viewed from the alumni section of the school website, and six more will be published throughout the year so, stay tuned for more!

Shali Lingaretnam
Shali Lingaretnam
Tim Crisp
PreviousHouse CupNext International Women’s Day celebration game

International Women’s Day celebration game

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Natalie Govic
Year 12

To mark International Women’s Day in 2023, the soccer program joined forces with the social justice captains and teachers to hold our first celebration game. A record crowd was set on the day with an incredible atmosphere matched with memorable game between the Year 10 and 12 students and the teachers. The students were well on top early, capitalising on some sloppy defence to take a 2-0 lead with Lucia and Jess dictating the play. Then the comeback happened, as an inspired Ms Wallace took complete control of the midfield and helped the teachers equalise and send it to penalties. In the end, it was Ms Tilley’s incredible goalkeeping that helped the teachers seal victory. It is a game that none of us will forget and we are so thankful to the teachers who we definitely consider as role models. We hope we inspired the younger students and have paved the way to follow in our footsteps in the years to come.

PreviousAlumni spotlightsNext Sports report

Sports report

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Elisa Catanzariti
Leader of Sport

Matty Hoy and Alex Wallis
Sport Captains

Term 1 has been a massive term of Sport at Kew this year with two house events: interschool sports for all year levels (including some Region events) and the start of a new lunchtime club. Here is an update.

House Swimming Carnival

On February 13th, we had our House Swimming Carnival held at Boroondara Sports Complex. Despite cooler weather, students were keen to participate and try their best in a range of events and distances, with our biathlon event proving to be a popular choice. Students that finished 1st or 2nd in their events were eligible to participate in Division Swimming.

Cotham House were the winners for the day.

Division Swimming

On March 14th, students from Kew High School participated in Division Swimming against the other schools within our division. Students gave it their best and represented the school well, with a number of students finishing within the top 3 of their events that they participated in. Well done to the swimmers that won races and progressed through to Region swimming.

Special congratulations to Mayan Bhaskar (Year 11) who broke the Division record in 2 events: 12-20s 100m Butterfly and the 17s 50m Butterfly!

Region Swimming
Well done to Mayan B and Athan L on representing Kew High School at Region Swimming. Both did their absolute best whilst they represented our school well and should be proud of their efforts!

House Cross Country
Congratulations to all students that participated and gave it their best in our House Cross Country on Wednesday afternoon! The results are in and Barker House was our winning house in what was a close race!

Interschool Sport
This term gave students the opportunity to participate in Baseball, Basketball (Years 7 and 8), Cricket, Softball, Tennis or Volleyball (Senior and Intermediate) against the other schools in our division. Participation levels were high with most sports sending out the maximum number of teams possible.

Congratulations to the Senior Boys and Girls Volleyball teams, Year 7 Boys Basketball and Year 8 Boys Tennis team for qualifying for Region competitions by winning the Division day. The Senior Boys and Girls Volleyball teams have since won Region Volleyball and will both progress through to State in May.

Year 7 basketball
Year 8 boys tennis team
Year 8 baseball
Senior boys and girls volleyball teams
Year 8 girls tennis team
Senior boys and girls region volleyball champions

Badminton Club
Starting this term and continuing onwards, there is Badminton Club running on Friday during lunchtimes. There will be a range of opportunities for those at varying skill levels, with the option to play matches and to receive assistance and improve their skills. In the future there may be events such as tournaments run with this club. We’ve had a great turn out so far so we’d love to see you all down there. 

PreviousInternational Women’s Day celebration gameNext Top Screen

Top Screen

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Danny Gesundheit

Year 11 and 12 Media classes had the great opportunity to visit ACMI on Wednesday 29th March, to watch Top Screen.

Top Screen is part of VCAA’s Seasons of Excellence highlighting the brilliant work of year 12 students who complete arts-based subjects like Media, Art, Theatre Studies, Music. Top Screen focuses on the film work of Media students from 2022. Melbourne Museum is also hosting Top Designs which features audio, photography and print work from Media students. This year’s Top Screen program had 15 films selected from over 300 entrants from across the state. 

The students were treated to an array of wonderful work in the state-of-the-art ACMI theatre. Animation, music video, drama and documentary were some of the genres of the films. It is hoped the experience was one of inspiration for the students especially when they come to making their own media products. Hopefully, we will see a Kew High student in Top Screen or Top Designs next year.

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