Sharon Andrews
Year 11 and 12 Program Coordinator

As we move closer to the end of year there is an important message for the Year 10 students. You will have a Transition Week in Week 9. This is a chance for you to engage with teachers in the subjects that you have selected for next year. It is really important you make the most of this time to see if the subjects are going to suit you. Make sure you engage in a positive manner and don’t make decisions based on a short time in a lesson. Discuss any concerns you have with the teachers as they will be able to help you make an informed decision.

Middle School Assembly

We had our final Middle School Assembly on Tuesday November 21. We would especially like to congratulate the following students for being recognised in our Values awards. Also a special mention to Ben Duson (Year 7), Jean Dizon (Year 8) and Chelsea Condipodero (Year 9) for winning the movie ticket for their year group.

Mark Pettit
Year 9 and 10 Program Coordinator

The Year 10 Outdoor Adventure Program class completed their final excursion for the Specialist Program last week to Rottnest Island.  

Students displayed their snorkeling skills at various sites around the Island traveling to each location by bike.   Rottnest is an amazing location for snorkelling with a diverse marine ecosystem and stunning clear water.

There were some keen fisherman amongst the group too who managed to not only catch their fish, but also prepare the whiting for the BBQ for a fresh, tasty dinner. 

It was a wonderful way to wrap up the OAP Program with the weather really turning it on for everyone.

Special thanks to Miss Hall for the fabulous photos and assistance and Mr Forrest for his assistance too.

Jeff Cameron 
Health and Physical Education Teacher

Applying knowledge of electrical circuitry and the flow of electrons was the challenge for our AE students in Physics. Tasked with designing and building a working electronic Quiz Game, they showed finesse and creativity in coming up with bespoke patterns of power.

Then it was all about beating someone else’s design. Which they did.

Lindesay Pound
Science Teacher

On Friday the 17 November KSHS Year 9 rock band 'Skeptic' performed at the annual Falls Road Primary School fundraiser night markets. The band's members Sofia Morrison, Alice Clark, Greg Lawrence, Hanna Tengku Rasydan and Ruby Dunne performed for an hour and were warmly received. Well done team!

Marcus Roberts
Music Director

Politics and Law

In Week 4, our Year 11 Politics and Law students were treated to a visit by Keegan Burke who is the Communications Officer for Matt Keogh, the federal Labor member for Burt and Minister for Veteran’s Affairs.

Keegan was educated at Lesmurdie Senior High School and completed a film degree before working as a social media manager for the City of Kalamunda.  In 2020, the local member for the state seat of Kalamunda proposed some funding for a particular project and as Keegan thought the project was a good idea, he decided to volunteer to help that member get elected. The member won the election and Keegan got a job, so he started doing media communications for Labor politicians such as Stephen Price, Tania Lawrence, Sam Lim and Matt Keogh.

In his present role, he describes himself as a 'gun for hire'. He will often go to Canberra when parliament is sitting and works for Matt Keogh, but not the ministerial portfolio. He helps when people are struggling, shores up safe seats and represents Matt Keogh on the ground, working with the community in the electorate of Burt, which includes the suburbs of Armadale and Gosnells.

Keegan emphasised how different Western Australia is to other states and WA experiences issues that are not experienced nationally.   He gave a number of examples with different bills and issues where WA’s perspective needed to be taken into account by federal ministers.

Keegan shared his experiences of working for a member whilst they were in Opposition and now in government. He stressed how much he enjoyed the job, and whilst it was hard work and competitive, it was also rewarding. There is a constant engagement with people and he found it energising. In just the last year, he’s spoken to over four and half thousand people and that only reflects a small portion of the electorate. He said he has learnt a lot about how people think, that people can be hyper-aggressive or very nice and he enjoys having interesting political debates with 'random punters'.

Keegan gave us an insight into the workings of parliament and some of the key politicians the present Labor government has to work with to enable their bills to pass. He also gave us an overview of some of the issues affecting past and present bills.

His role also includes designing policy, ensuring it’s targeted. He emphasised it’s not about buying votes, that it’s about serving the people that gets the votes. Keegan outlined that voters are complex people and generally vote for a myriad of reasons. He stressed it’s super important to have hard discussions with people on issues you care about and that people are more than happy to change their minds if spoken to nicely.

He certainly encouraged students to think about joining a political party if they want to enact change as it is the members who vote on policies. He emphasised that politics is an action, it’s 'an engagement in voter multiplication'.

We’d like to thank Keegan on highlighting to students how their knowledge and understandings learnt in Politics and Law has real-life application and can open up career opportunities that are completely unpredictable.

Melinda Davies
Politics and Law Teacher

Workplace Learning

During Weeks 5 and 6 our Year 11s as part of our Workplace Learning Program (WPL) have had work experience placements in many interesting job roles to explore possible career pathways.

Some of these placements included the luxurious Ritz Carlton in their fine dining restaurant, designing and creating props for theme rooms at a premier escape room operator ‘Escape This’ Northbridge, caring for wildlife at Kanyana Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre and construction/welding practice targets for Defence Forces SAS soldiers. This is just a few of the 60 work experience placements for this semester.

I would like to thank all those businesses for accommodating our students and allowing them to develop their work skills and gain extremely valuable experiences in our local community, especially in our local hills community. We appreciate your continued support!

Maxine Merchant/Bec Fairbrother
Workplace Learning team

Apprenticeships - Workplace Learning Program

At the conclusion of 2 weeks of  work experience placements for Year 11 students, we are very excited to announce 2 of our students who were exceptional in their placements have now been offered apprenticeships!

• Jed Rovacsek has been offered a Fabrication Apprenticeship with Burgess & Hobbs Welding & Fabrication. The Director of this company (Rory Burgess) is an ex-student who has established a highly successful company in Walliston
• Zach Laidley has been offered an Electrical Apprenticeship with a local hills based Aircon & Refrigeration company, Iceberg Air

Many other students have also been offered casual or Christmas holidays employment, to name a few this includes:

• Tom Brant – Rebel Sport Store
• Blake Manning – Tyrepower Bayswater
• Libby Guy – Escape This
• Tiffany Ramsey – Ally Fashion
• Jackson Criddle – Basketball WA
• Philip Saunderson – Furion Scaffolding

We would like to congratulate these students and also to all the workplace learning students who received valuable insights and experiences and who positively represented our school – well done!!

Looking forward into 2024 – we are pleased to announce that 10 students will be participating in VETDSS courses at either South Metro or North Metro TAFE and another 3 students in external RTO Fee for Service courses at MPA Skills and WA Beauty Academy.

Kalamunda SHS Careers Team

This year a student 'Green Team' lead by myself and Ms Gillett was formed and have been busy learning about the environment and sustainability.

Containers for Change came to Kalamunda Senior High School this year and was promoted to the students with the help of our Green Team. The Containers for Change bins have expanded the way our school can deal with the waste we produce and has introduced a new recycling stream into our school alongside the current paper and cardboard recycling occurring in classrooms and offices.

National Recycling Week was observed from the 13 to 19 November. At school, the students participated in a recycling lesson in mentor and put their newfound knowledge of the ARL (Australasian Recycling Labels) to the test in a lunch time waste sorting activity in the main quad. Much fun was had, and we hope that the students can use this knowledge to help recycle right!

For further information on how you can recycle right at home and the changes coming to waste management in the City of Kalamunda check out the links below:

Across the semester, the Green Team have also been busy making fauna bags for Kanyana to help provide a safe pouch like environment for baby animals in care. They learnt the art of measuring, cutting, pinning and sewing fabric. It was a whole team effort, and we are pleased to have presented nine fauna bags of various sizes to Kanyana this term. We look forward to continuing helping Kanyana and our local wildlife next year.

Any students interested in joining the green team come and see myself or Ms Gillett. We look forward to sharing more sustainability and environment stories with you next year.

Laura Morris
Teacher

How to Talk With Kids About the War in Gaza and Israel  

Parents and families across the world have been distressed by the war in Gaza and Israel. Those who are there (or who are connected to the people of the region) may grieve for loved ones who have been killed or fear harm and devastation. Parents everywhere struggle to understand what’s happening and how to feel about it, and to talk with our kids about the images as well as the absence of humanity and compassion they see in the news and on social media.

In previous global conflicts, Greater Good turned to two researchers to gain insights about how to talk with kids about humanitarian crises. Abigail Gewirtz is a professor of psychology at Arizona State University; Shauna Tominey is a professor of human development and family sciences at Oregon State University. Here are six tips adapted from two Greater Good articles about their work: “How to Talk With Kids About Scary News” and “Five Tips for Talking With Kids About What’s Going On in the World.”

1. Tend to your own needs
   “It’s not until you recognize what your stress level is—how you are feeling—that you are really able to help anybody else,” says Gewirtz. As we search for wise words to help our children make sense of violence and inhumanity, we, too, need to acknowledge our heartbreak. Find ways to connect with your community of friends and loved ones and receive their compassionate support.
2. Seek to understand more deeply and listen
   “Taking time to go beyond the headlines and learn more can build our knowledge and understanding of a topic so that we can feel comfortable talking with children in a way that is developmentally appropriate, as well as clearing up misconceptions,” says Tominey.
   Once you know more about the context of the conflict and feel more prepared to have a conversation, you can invite your child to tell you what they’ve been hearing or wondering about it. Listen attentively to their thoughts and questions. Be curious and make space for them to keep sharing their perspective with you.
3. Be humble and honest
   “Even if you don’t have an answer to a question, talk together about strategies to look up information from sources you trust, and about what makes a source reliable,” says Tominey.
   Look for news sources that go beyond your bubble and that represent holistic perspectives. Teach your children how to be critical consumers of news and to seek out different viewpoints that represent an assortment of voices. Show them how to be aware of misinformation, which has been rampant on social media.
4. Prioritize humanity
   While war is one of the most traumatic parts of the news right now, our conversations with our children about Gaza, Palestine, and Israel do not only have to be about this moment. We can talk to our children about individual people from these places and their life stories.
   “Your children will have friends, classmates, and community members now and in the future with diverse identities and from diverse backgrounds,” says Tominey. “Through these conversations, we can help teach children that the identities and cultural traditions each person carries are just as important to them as yours are to you.”
   Help children understand that all people have inherent worth so that they come to see themselves and others as global citizens–all of whom strive to live in dignity.
5. Help your children to take compassionate action
   “The really important thing for parents to understand is that, just like us, children need to feel that there is something they can do,” says Gewirtz. “All of us feel more awful if we feel totally helpless—and our children are no exception.”For example, some children may want to find ways to donate to humanitarian organisations that are helping to provide aid. Older children may want to participate in marches to express themselves non-violently.
6. Be a haven for children to navigate their emotions
   “Let them know that all feelings are OK,” says Tominey. “Help your child express their feelings in healthy ways, such as by talking about them; sharing feelings through stories, artwork, and play; taking a walk; or in other ways.”

While violence and intergenerational trauma are realities of our world, nurturing a loving space for our children’s emotions can help them learn that compassion is, too. “Trauma tries to convince us that compassion, community, and humanity aren’t possible,” writes psychiatrist Paul Conti in his book, Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic. As parents, we can show our children not only how to imagine these possibilities but to also act to make them achievable.

BY MARYAM ABDULLAH | OCTOBER 13, 2023

Greater Good in Education Magazine

Aundraea Stevens
Convenor of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Committee