As many senior students prepare to leave school at the end of this year and embark on further education or a new career, a whole batch of students are preparing to join the ranks of the senior students next year.

As students approach the senior years, they are expected to start taking more responsibility for their own learning. For many students part of this is a realisation that they need to do their schoolwork for their own sake, to keep options open for their own future – so they start to work for themselves, not just because their teacher or parent says they have to. Other students come to realise that in order to cope with the increased workload in the senior years, they need to work more efficiently at home and in the classroom, small changes like changing who students sit next to can make a big difference to how much work is completed in class.

So for students who are commencing their senior studies next year, the final term this year is important in taking stock of your approach to school and your studies. Do you work well in the classroom? Who do you sit next to? What are your listening and research skills like? Do you have systems in place to manage your homework and assignments? Do you know how to study effectively and have you tried different study techniques?

On the last day of Term 3, the year 11 Advanced English cohort, accompanied by their teachers (Ms Yong, Ms Bonis and Ms Ball) watched a performance of Shakespeare’s Macbeth at the Pop Up Globe in the Entertainment Quarter. Our tickets were as ‘groundlings’, which are standing tickets in the pit below stage. While this meant standing over 2 hours we were definitely closer to the action. Performances at the Pop Up Globe are still running until December 1 and I thoroughly suggest you go experience the world of Shakespeare (https://popupglobe.com.au). The following pieces are reflections by the students of their educational, enjoyable and at times uncomfortable experiences.
By Ms Yong

Students in years 9-12 at HBHS have the opportunity to study a wide variety of languages not offered here at school, by studying with the state’s leading language educator via distance education with the NSW School of Languages, located at Petersham.

The school offers 12 languages to students if the language is not offered at HBHS. The courses conform to NESA requirements and therefore can be studied as courses for completion of ROSA and the HSC.

Languages available include: Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Modern Greek, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Courses are at Beginners, Continuers and Extension levels.

Student learning is provided at HBHS during the regular school day and is supported through a diverse program of written materials, telephone lessons, online activities, email, face to face study days at the Petersham campus, excursions and even overseas tours.

The school’s PB4L Team has initiated awards that will reward students for effort. We all know about presentation days rightly recognising first place in every subject and each year group have a dux.

Now every student will be able to be recognised for effort and application each semester. The awards are named after our school colours. A Blue Award recognises a student whose effort and application have been outstanding in every subject. A Maroon Award will be presented to a student whose effort and application are outstanding in all but one subject. The reports for each semester will determine these awards.

The first formal assemblies were held for the Year 11 and Year 12 cohorts on Tuesday 3 July in the school hall. About half of the students in each cohort were rewarded for their consistent effort and application in semester 1. The students who received awards are listed below. Congratulations to all of them.

The Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 assemblies will be held early term 2.

As well, there is no reason why every student, in every grade, can’t receive one of these awards in semester 2!

On Monday the 4th of June, a group of 40 students from years 10, 11 and 12 headed to the Trades Expo at the ICC at Darling Harbour. It was a day of exploring, understanding and observing of the different types of trades in the industry. We were given a chance to explore each trade throughout the day to learn more about the pathways we could pursue to. There were trade displays which ranged from automotive, carpentry, construction, electrician, plumbing, bricklaying, commercial cookery and many more. There were also representatives from TAFE  as they showed us pathways and discussed what they offer.

The trades were showcased by many businesses which proved to be very insightful and interesting for us. The companies who were displaying their type of trade, also gave us an opportunity to experience hands on tasks.

The Year 11 and 12 Parent and Teacher interviews are on Tuesday 5 June 2018 from 4:00 pm till 7:00 pm.

Student reports will be available from the School Office from 3:20 pm.

Teacher appointments can be made via Moodle. Please click on the image for the instructions on how to use the booking system. 

Please encourage your son to log onto Moodle and book teacher appointments.

Only booked appointments will be available to parents on the 5 June 2018.

The School’s Korean and Middle Eastern liaison officers will be available to assist parents during this time.

If you are unable to attend, student reports may be collected from the School Office only with written parental permission, from Wednesday 6 June 2018.

Meeting Rooms for the day are as follows:

On Thursday the 8th of March 2018, all the Year 11 boys doing Industrial Technology Electronics went on an excursion to Wavetronics at Riverwood.

We all assembled in the morning at 9.30am and it was really great to see all the students waiting eagerly, till I introduced them to the Sales and Marketing Manager.

After the introduction we were taken to each stages of their factory from the basic circuit drawings to the complex etching being done by using X-rays. Currently they were working on Road Transport Signal Equipment and the boys really learnt about the stages in which they build these signals. Students were given samples to handle and were also shown how these work in real time. The boys had a great exposure to large etching machines where they made printed circuit boards for various companies worldwide. Year 11 Students took lots of photos and we were lucky the management permitted us to use it only for our projects.

Every year Western Sydney University offers The Academy Access Award to a future HSC student. The successful recipient for this award is Fawad Faheem. This will entitle him to an early entry, a conditional scholarship to the value of $20,000 and access to the academy, which is a leadership/mentoring program. This is a great accomplishment for our incoming school captain, and on behalf of the school we would like to congratulate him for achieving this milestone and wish him well for his future endeavours.

Three of us attended the 3 day career day at the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School to see the business side of the Hospitality industry. We were given the opportunity to go to this focus day & learn about how the school is run, the students’ lives & if you were to attend this school, what you would be doing. We were given valuable experiences on the environment of the campus, strict dress codes to get student ready for work, joining in on a revision lecture, we also participated in the various workshops such as events, coffee making, housekeeping, success coach and the tours of various hotel/restaurants.

In Week 9 of Term 4, 24 Modern History students attended the Canberra Camp. The focus of our learning was the detailed analysis of objects and displays at the Australian War Memorial. This added greatly to our understanding of conditions on the Western Front in World War I. We also completed an overview of Conflict in Europe during World War II, which was a great introduction to the HSC topic that will be studied next year.

The group visited Parliament House on the day of the Same Sex Marriage vote in the House of Representatives and it was great to join in the excitement of many people who had campaigned for so long to achieve this legislative change, as well seeing some celebrities in the visitors’ gallery! We also toured Old Parliament House and learned of the history of this beautiful art deco building.

I would like to acknowledge the Australian Government’s financial support of this trip via the PACER rebate scheme. The school received funding of $20 per student towards travel expenses.

On Wednesday the 25th of October, a selection of Homebush Boys High School students had the privilege to go to the University of NSW to attend the High School Information Day for Engineering.

The coordinators of the prestigious event and university students gave us a very warm welcome as we entered the grounds. The organisers briefly discussed the major role of Engineering in our society and how it plays a major role in our daily lives whilst outlining the schedule for the day. As students, we were informed about the splendid campus of UNSW and its numerous engineering facilities and labs. After the terrific introduction, we were sent off to our first Engineering workshops of the day which gave us insights to specific fields of Engineering.

On 11 August 2017, 40 boys from Chinese 8E, 8G and Year 11 Chinese Beginners went on an excursion to Sinofield Chinese Centre, Blue Mountains.

Sinofield is a non-profit organisation providing professional consultation and project management in school education and culture-oriented programs.

It was warm and sunny when we left in the morning, however it was windy and cold in the Blue Mountains when we arrived at Sinofield after one and a half hours. However, all our students were very excited.

The valuable information below is from the ELES Study Skills handbook creator Dr Prue Salter. HBHS has subscribed to the handbook in 2017 to deliver ongoing study skills to our students in years 7 – 12. All students in Years 11 and 12 have access to the website. Students should see Ms Budanovic if they have lost their log in details.

How can parents help during stressful assessment times?

The second semester often heralds blocks of examinations or assessments for students. Some students cope well with the pressure and stress while others find it overwhelming. Of course, the more prepared students are, the less stress they are likely to experience. Encourage students to start their preparation for examinations and assessments early, in particular their study notes. If your student has examination blocks this semester, these tips will help you provide the support they need.

Work Ready Program Reminder

Tuesday 14th March 2017 all Year 11 VET students period 2 to period 4.

The program is targeting all year 11 Vet students. It is a compulsory program. The students will develop all skills needed in the workplace, as they are having their work experience in different companies and organisations. This will enable them to be work ready and thrive whilst they are on their work placement. Any student who is absent on that day must report to Mrs Anton or Mr.Abbou for a catch-up session.

This year’s Philosophy is ‘Preparing for life beyond school.”

We wish you and your son a warm welcome to Year 11, 2017.

My name is Ms June Su in the LOTE Department (languages other than English) the year 11 Adviser and Mrs Rita Zammit, also in LOTE, is the Assistant Adviser. Should you need to discuss any matters relating to your son’s wellbeing please don’t hesitate to contact us on 9764 3611, leave a message with your return phone number if we are in class and we will return your call as soon as possible.

This year will be an even busier year for your sons in their academic endeavours, their sporting and extra-curricular commitments. Together we will ensure that it will be a fulfilling year and a happy one.

This term our year 11 multimedia class were invited to attend a masterclass at the Adobe Offices in the heart of Sydney’s CBD. Our teacher Ms Dorman and my fellow class-mates were taken on an extensive tour of the stunning Darling Harbour offices which encompassed the entirety of the 27th floor and offered incredible 360 degree views of the city. We were introduced to several of the employees and were shown their exciting work-spaces, which included old-school gaming arcades, soft drink dispensers and mini golf! After the tour we were taken into a high-end conference room called The Nambucca Training Room. Here we were taught the software program Adobe Muse by Brett Kent (Adobe Education Leader) as well as how to make a short video with Adobe Premiere Pro. The workshop was very relaxed and fun as students utilised new information whilst eating an infinite supply of some delicious complimentary muffins! Most importantly we acquired important skills which will aid us in developing dynamic major projects for our upcoming HSC. Overall the experience was informative and fun as students fully embraced their time at the Adobe Offices.
 

On Saturday 21st May, I was selected along with Wilfred Knight and Peter Koungoulos of Year 11 to participate in Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA) at NSW Parliament House. It was organised by Rotary. It was an imitation of the real United Nations Assembly. There were 24 teams from different schools, each representing a nation in the world. We had the difficult task of representing the Russian Federation.

We were given actual UN resolutions to debate and vote on. The resolutions were debated and each team had to formulate their allocated country’s stance on each resolution. There were two major resolutions: Status of Refugees and South China Sea. The general resolutions were about accessibility to water and banning plastic bags.

On Wednesday 6 April, the Homebush Boys HS Year 11 debating team competed against Santa Sabina for the Maurie Moroney Memorial Shield. This competition has been a tradition between schools in the Strathfield district since 1979. The debate was held at the Strathfield Golf course in the evening. Homebush have held the shield since 2013. Our team was comprised of Divik Nigam (first speaker), Amaan Ansari (second speaker) and Ibrahim Taha (third speaker).

The topic focused on making Science a compulsory subject for the HSC. In a lively and relevant debate, the Homebush team gained the ascendency early as the affirmative team and presented some compelling arguments. The boys were decisive in taking the challenge to the opposition and more than held their own in all the exchanges.