Q News, Term 2 2021

Josie Millard

Congratulations and Thank You to Daryl Bennett

It is with some sadness that we bid farewell to Daryl Bennett as he leaves Kew High School to take up the position of Principal at Swinburne Senior Secondary College. Daryl commenced as Assistant Principal in January 2015 and has become as well recognised and respected figure across the school since then. Daryl has made many significant contributions to Kew High School but he is most proud of his work in building the capacity of teachers to analyse data to celebrate success in learning or to identify programs to support student learning. Another major achievement was his work on the VCE Outcomes policy which led to a change in the culture of continuous learning in the senior years at Kew High School.

Daryl leaves us to begin at Swinburne on the first day of Term 3, 2021. Swinburne is a vitally important public school in our network. It allows young people to reach their potential and for some, it provides them an opportunity to continue to remain connected to their education.

I thank Daryl on a very personal level for his support of me as I commenced in the role of Principal at Kew High School. Daryl’s fundamental belief that the school, and the students were vastly more important considerations than personal ones, enabled me to get to know Kew High School. I know that I could not have done it without him. It is most fitting that Daryl leaves us to lead his own school. My congratulations are heartfelt.

On behalf of Kew High School, I thank Daryl for his contribution to teaching and learning in our magnificent school. We wish him the very best in his new role.

School Strategic Plan

The 2020-2024 School Strategic Plan has been finalised by the leadership Team and endorsed by the Kew High School Council. The plan will direct our work over the coming three years and I am excited to commence this next stage in our continuous school improvement. Members of the school community are invited to read through the plan on the school website.

Sweeney Todd

The VCE Theatre Studies students performed the musical, Sweeney Todd this week. The performance was simply magnificent. I do not know of another school who could perform a musical as part of the curricular program – and I cannot believe that anyone else could do so to the standard that we reached at Kew High School.

I was perhaps most impressed though by the resilience of these students. The performance was originally scheduled in the first week of the lockdown and, after many re schedules, has been performed to smaller audiences, but with an increased number of performances.

If being a student at Kew High School, means teamwork, belonging, challenge, excellence and friendship – then these students certainly showed all these qualities and more.

I must also, and especially, thank their teachers, Michael Brandt and Seraya Brain. Their work and support of the students was exceptional.

STEM Centre update

The work on the new building has continued despite the inclement weather over the past few weeks. Much work has been done on the interior of the old part of the west wing and we hope to have some of our refurbished classrooms returned to us early next term. I expect that we will begin to see the building rise quickly during next term.

Our plans for the interior of the new building are extremely exciting and I have been privileged to be a part of some rigorous conversations regarding the impact our new environment will have on the teaching and learning at Kew High School in the future.

Daryl Bennett

After six and a half years, I am leaving Kew High School to take up the position of Principal at Swinburne Senior Secondary College at the start of term 3. I do this with a mix of excitement and sorrow.

I would like to acknowledge and thank the dedicated staff that I have had the privilege to work with and lead. They work tirelessly and skilfully to provide the students at Kew High School with the opportunity to be their best.  A special note of gratitude to Clare Entwisle, Pamela Dunstall and Josie Millard for the work we have done as principal team members in my time at Kew High School. Each has played a part in my growth as an educator and leader, and helped prepare me for the role I am about to undertake.

My interactions with the students at Kew High School have been an absolute pleasure. The way they represent the school and themselves, as learners and people, is something that I have been grateful for daily. I wish all the students and their families the very best of luck in their future. I hope they continue to Aspire, Strive and Achieve.

Catherine Gayfer

In year 10 PE during term 2 we undertake a unit called ‘Leisure for Living’, where we go out into the local community (during our scheduled double period) to visit health/fitness and sport/leisure facilities. The aim is to experience ways to continue being active once we finish compulsory Physical Education at school and to discover the benefits to our physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual health and wellbeing.

Ari and I chose to go to Latitude in Heidelberg on Thursday 25th March. We travelled via the 548 bus and when we got there, nearly the whole facility was open to try for us alone! My classmates and I participated in rock-climbing, basketball, general trampoline activities, dodgeball, parkour and obstacle courses. A highlight for me and a lot of others were the basketball rings, which were surrounded by trampolines, letting anyone dunk the basketball with ease. Along with it being a fun social activity with the class, it was also great exercise. – Hamish

On May 13th, the year 10 PE class caught to 200 bus to play minigolf at Yarra Bend Golf Course in Fairfield. This activity was planned and led by Emily and Harry, who were very organised. As we were walking down through Studley Park, the weather was not looking good. When we got to the course, we were quickly thrown in and played some mini golf (some taking it more seriously than others!) Overall, it was a fun activity that once again brought us closer as a group. – Harry  

We travelled by tram to the O’Brien Icehouse to do Ice skating on Thursday the 27th of May. After an hour long tram ride and a 20 minute walk, we finally arrived at the venue. Once we arrived, we got a helmet and ice skates and went to the ice rink. Some instructors showed us how to stand with balance, fall correctly, move forward and turn. My favourite part was getting to go with my friends, plus I don’t do this type of activity very often so it was a special occasion too. I would highly recommend this activity, as it is great fun for everybody, no matter your experience level. When I got on the ice, my mental health and wellbeing improved as skating is relaxing for me, but for others it may have tested their confidence and co-ordination! – Jemima

I had never done ice skating before so I was excited to try something new, but I was also nervous about ice skating as it can be quite dangerous. Most people in my class were so confident and seemed to learn it super easily, whereas I held onto the wall the whole time. I fell over probably 6-7 times but it was all part of the experience. Although falling over multiple times, I still enjoyed it and I was glad I did not give up. I persevered and went out of my comfort zone which enhanced my physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing. – Zach

Archery at Ambrose Archery in West Heidelberg was something that many of us had never tried before – it required good concentration, balance and co-ordination. We caught the 548 bus to the venue and, after channelling our inner Robin Hood, took turns shooting 6 arrows into the target about 20m away, when we could hit close to the bullseye the instructor moved our target back further. A tip for other beginner archers: wear an arm guard – that bow string leaves quite a bruise if it whacks you on the way through!

Judy Bartosy

Musicland never stops and term 2 saw us involved in a schools music festival, as well as in preparations for the Music Camp and mid year concert. The Music Festival was the All Saints Jazz Festival held over the weekend of May 1st and 2nd at St. Leonards College in Brighton. This festival attracted more than 30 schools, who participated in competitions over the two days. Our stage band performed 3 pieces and were highly praised for their efforts. The Stage band was conducted by Martin Corcoran, assisted by Ken Gardner, and is made up of 15 students. The students were able to watch other ensembles performing throughout the day and really enjoyed this interaction with students from other schools.  The Music Camp and mid-year concerts were postponed and will be held at the start of term 3. We hope to see many of you at our concert!

Kieran CAIRNS 9F

In the middle of term 2, Mr. Chris and Mr. Gesundheit took their year 9 semester 1 media classes to the city to take photos of life in post-lockdown, as well as to visit ACMI’s newest exhibition about the story of the moving image.

From the first projections and optical illusions to the birth of film and beyond, moving images have the power to spark imagination, share stories and shape history. As a group, we discovered how inventors, innovators, and artists at the turn of the 20th century wielded light, split time and captured motion, embracing the technological revolution that continues today. Featuring ancient shadow puppets, Victorian-era magic lanterns, original cameras, iconic costumes, movie sets, sketches, clips and contemporary art, the story of the moving image traverses time, countries, and cultures in a mesmerising exploration of an art form that changed the world and illuminated our collective humanity.

Five distinct sections frame the major moments in moving image history: the origins and future of cinema, production design and the creative process, Australian culture and stories, the rise of videogames, and how screens inform, influence and empower us.

Personally, I enjoyed the trip to the city, as I got to dive into the history of not only films but video games as well.

Congratulations to VCE International Students on completing Semester 1 successfully!

Junling Yang

Following the enthusiasm for the Swimming Day in Term 1, VCE International Students continued to savour the opportunities of involving themselves in the school activities in Term 2. Athletics Day and Senior Sports Day were hugely enjoyed by our students, competing on the field or courts. For those who chose to study instead on those days, they had a productive day at school. When the 4^th state lockdown started, our students switched swiftly to the online mode, just like the rest of the school. They all agreed that online learning was not as effective as onsite-learning, but this time they were more experienced and they learned the lessons from last year! It is very gratifying to watch our students blossom as they grow in their confidence and connectedness with the school. We celebrated yet another extraordinary Semester 1 with a festive Dragon Boat lunch package with our students. This year’s Dragon Boat Festival fell on the 14^th of June, coincidently a public holiday in Victoria. It is an occasion widely celebrated in many Asian countries, including our students home countries such as China, Viet Nam and South Korea.

On the 22^nd of April, the Year 12 Geography class went on a fieldtrip to the YarraBend development (on the site of the old paper mill in Alphington) and further on to RMIT university for a talk from the well renowned Associate Professor, and member of the Kew High school parent committee, Dr. Wendy Steele. This excursion was part of our studies for the land use change unit. During our visit to the YarraBend redevelopment site, we met with Malinda, an enthusiastic sales team member who ran us through many of the features that are present in the ongoing development and that they have incorporated in an attempt to make this the “world’s most liveable suburb”. Prior to our discussion with Malinda, we had a chance to go down to the river nearby and see some of the features in the surrounding area. As we quickly learnt (thanks to our walk and the enthusiasm of the sales team), the location of YarraBend is one of the main features that makes it so appealing. Having such a large development site so close to the city is very rare these days, hence the reason why YarraBend is such a unique development that has not been done before.

After our discussion with the Sales Team, we were given the opportunity to interview locals on Station Street. The responses we collected  represent a large variety of viewpoints. Many people were happy with the construction and prefer it to the old paper mill, whilst others were unhappy with the look of the new development and preferred the paper mill, due the history that it carries.

At RMIT, Dr. Wendy Steele discussed what makes a sustainable city and how hard it is to meet all of the features that make an area liveable. This was a very insightful and valuable discussion, allowing us to further analyse the liveability of YarraBend, and how realistic the claims made by Melissa truly were.

Huge thanks to Mr Barrett for organising the fieldtrip and Ms Lobb for helping on the day.

Ag Luczak (she/her)i, QNetwork Secretary

Hello carers, parents and friends at Kew High School,

The start of Term 2 may feel like a slightly different planet…imagine….a wine and cheese night, held inside, without a mask in sight. But it happened! See the photo as evidence.

The QNetwork wine and cheese night was a great success – members of our wonderful Kew High School community from all year levels in attendance, great (short and sharp) speeches by VP Darryl Bennett, QNetwork President Ken Brown and School Council President Paula Davey, The wine flowed, the laughs echoed and the lights had to be turned off to encourage party goers to leave the building – surely a sign of a great night.

If you missed out on this event, don’t worry. We are hopeful that the COVID gods shine on us again for our Q NETWORK TRIVIA AND COMEDY NIGHT, SAT 28 AUG – starring Dave O’Neill (yes…some parents are really well connected!). Please save the date.

The QNetwork doesn’t just party though. This term, we also got behind the Year 12 Sausage Sizzle and Athletics Day Canteen. With over 320 snags and 20 vegan sausages and 0 leftovers at the sausage sizzle, our hypothesis that there is never enough sausages was confirmed (as was the hypothesis that the vegetarian movement still has a way to go!).

“It was great being on campus and helping out. The campus was buzzing and the kids were great. I loved it.” Catriona, QNetwork member.

Finally, we would love you to join us. We are always looking for new members to thrash out issues, big and small, to make the Kew High School experience even better for our darling teens (even if the gratitude may only come in a few years).

If you are interested, please email qnetworkpfa@gmail.com

In this session we started to learn how to use a laser cutter and we have started designing some objects. Mr Burgess has created a Dungeons and Dragons dice tower. Other objects that were also made were dice cubes and tessellated patterns.

The D&D Dice roller

Claudia Dal Pos, 7D

On the 26 March, some of the year 7 girls participated in the interschool sport district netball tournament. Despite the tough weather conditions, it was a great day. Everyone had lots of fun and were competitive, whilst also demonstrating respect, confidence and fairness. All the teams played very well and well done to the B team who came second, and the A team who went undefeated and came first! The A team will be continuing to regionals! Well done girls! Great job to everyone for participating!

Dan Norton

During my time over the bushwalking camp at Anglesea, I learnt how to apply my knowledge to real scenarios, walks, maps and so much more. Along with this came challenges, as well as rewards. During the bushwalking, I was able to maintain a high morale within the hiking group. At times, the group and I would have to endure hours of walking around using a variety of navigational tools. Although I got better with using a compass and map, I still think I have a lot more to learn and develop to become a more confident and capable navigator.

I think I did a good job at being a team player with James and Cooper. When we had to cook, Cooper and I let James do his thing and we just tried to help with the 1%ers. When it came to all the tasks around packing up and setting up campsites, I tried to help James where I could so we could move as fast and efficiently as possible.  I also utilised my humour, character and musicianship to help boost morale, which seemed to have worked and encouraged other participants to do the same. – Jude Harris

I was thinking that I was tired and a little cold from being on the bike ride. But I was also thinking that I really liked the group I was in because we did fun things, like having bike stunt competitions. – Seren

When this photo was taken, I was thinking that I was trying to help the people at the end of the line to get up this hill because it was a very steep incline.

Danny Gesundheit

Dr. Tim Kitchen was the special guest in the first Media class for Unit 2! Dr. Kitchen is the senior education specialist for Adobe Australia. He spoke to the students about the vast range of software available for them to use. He also gave real world examples of people using Adobe products, like the Lady Gaga competition and how the latest Spiderman film was made. It was impressive to see! But what was most impressive was Dr. Kitchen talking about the five most important skills the World Economic forum recommends young people should have when they go out into the workforce. Creativity is one of them! Dr. Kitchen encouraged the students to be creative and to start their own businesses! It was an inspiring talk and hopefully the start of something for many of these students!

You can read more on Dr. Kitchen’s website: Tim Kitchen at Kew High School

Ben Abbott

House Athletics

A warm sunny day greeted staff and students for the 2021 House Athletics. Participation was at an all-time high and a number of track and field event records were broken throughout the day. There was some great support for house groups, with bright and creative costumes on show from the year 12’s, who all showed perfect house spirit. A big thankyou to all the students who participated and congratulations to those students who have progressed on to represent the school at the Division carnival.

State Orienteering

In only the second time, the school has participated in the state orienteering championships at which we were successful in winning the overall team championship. Thank you to the 20 students who participated on the day and congratulations to Jensen Key, Milla Key, Jal Wishart and Casey Clough for winning their respective age group titles. A massive thankyou to the Key family for providing compasses and orienteering advice to all the students throughout the day.

Division Cross Country

Congratulations to all the students who progressed through our house cross country afternoon and represented the school at the division event. A beautiful day at Hislop Park allowed for great racing and the Kew students completed some amazing runs.

Congratulations to the 12/13 Girls, 12/13 Boys, 14 Boys and 15 girls for winning the teams events for their respective age groups.

Some amazing individual results saw Holly Porter, Ruby Fraser, James Alex, Toby Hopkins, Lachie Warwick, Milla Key, Sophie Smith, Mayan Bhaskar, Mia Dal Pos and Jensen Key all finish with podium results.

Further highlighting the success of the day were the 32 students who qualified for the Region Championships to be held in term 3.

Inter-School Sport

Over 30 teams represented the school in a variety of sports throughout term 2. Congratulations to the following teams who progressed through to the Eastern Metropolitan Championships; Senior Boys/Mixed Table Tennis, Yr 7 Boys/Mixed AFL, Yr 7 Girls Netball, and Inter Girls AFL. Good luck to all the students who are representing the school at the rescheduled Yr 8 Inter-School competitions this week.

Further, congratulations to our Inter Girls Tennis team, who finished runner-up at the Region championships.

State Swimming

A massive congratulations to Mayan Bhaskar, Isabel Fraser, Jules Gillespie, Blake McManus and Rain Zhang for winning their way into the 2021 State Swimming Championships. In a great start to the day, Mayan finished with a silver medal in the 15 Boys 200m Freestyle. Blake finished with a 7^th place in the 14 boys 50m Backstroke, with less than 1 second separating him from 2^nd place. Our relay team of Mayan, Jules, Blake and Rain put in an amazing swim to finish in 5^th place in the 15 Boys/Mixed Relay.