November Community Newsletter

Year 12 Graduation

We said farewell to our class of 2020 at the end of Term 3. This special event is an important time for our students and signifies the next chapter in their lives. We are very proud of all of our Year 12 students and we wish them all the success in their future lives.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank our outstanding student leaders: Captains Ann Mai and Addison McDonagh and Vice Captains Lorraine Varghese and Aditi Dutta. They have all served our school with distinction in their leadership roles. I also need to extend my gratitude to Mrs Heather Costa Year 12 Deputy Principal, Mrs Imelda Judge and Mr Troy Neale Head Teachers Teaching and Wellbeing and Mrs Sarah Gibbs and Mrs Amanda Langley Year 12 Advisers for their outstanding support and guidance of our Year 12 students.

Our Year 12 students recently completed their Higher School Certificate (HSC) Examinations and we wish them all the very best with their HSC results and we wish them every happiness in their lives.

Student Leadership Team

I would like to formally congratulate our newly appointed MFHS Student Leadership Team.

Captains: 

Shamika GC and Luke Cox

Vice Captains: 

Julyanne Poutoa and Dylan Perera.

Head Prefects: 

Arushi Chand, Catherine Chua, Asher Mali

Prefects: 

Harashada Chaure, Amrit Kaur, Enan Talukder, Grace Johnston

SRC Representatives: 

Chang-Chien Lin, Prasanna Middella

Featured Faculties

This newsletter edition features reports from the Creative and Performing Arts, History and Languages and the Social Science Faculties. I hope you all enjoy reading about the great teaching and learning that is taking place at MFHS.

Relieving Principal

Mr Justin Perrett

Year 7 and 10 Wellbeing Team Report

Year 10

Subject Selection and the development of the curriculum pattern developing well for the 2021 pattern. Some irregularities with some choices so we are meeting with them and developing the best plan possible to accommodate their subject choices. Confirmation for TAFE positions are now becoming available to students. It is rewarding to see the excitement in students as these positions are confirmed and they begin to see their senior study pattern take form. Thanks to Mrs Judy Buckler and Mrs Melissa Purdon for their work in this area and the support they provide students during this time of transition.

Selective students who have completed the Year 11 Investigating Science course have finished their examination and conducted themselves very well. Exciting to see what they have learnt and developed as their depth studies. These were on display in the library to demonstrate to other students across the year groups and encourage continual improvement. We are extremely proud of their efforts and parents can view these projects from our school website.

Year 10 students participated in an end of term outdoor event; ‘MFHS Trivia’ to congratulate them for a positive term and acknowledge the winners of the learning from home challenge. The event focused on school based trivia questions and general trivia questions. It was a lovely way to enjoy our time together and a good substitute for Celebration Day which could not run this year. I would like to thank the ever enthusiastic Year 10 team for the organisation of this event; Mr Tim Wood (Year Advisor), Ms Carol Fong (Assistant Year Advisor) and Ms Sangeeta Hegde (Head Teacher Teaching & Wellbeing).

It was also great to see Year 10 get behind a very elaborate day of celebration for Mr Tim Wood’s birthday. This was a true acknowledgement of the strong relationships developed across the year group and relationships which we hope will continue to strengthen as the year group takes on senior study and a more prominent role as the leaders of our school.

Year 7

Year 7 are progressing well with the submission of some larger assignments and major works being drawn together across the curriculum. It is very enjoyable having the opportunity to visit their practical subjects and observe their sporting endeavours during sport and PDHPE. It has been a complex start to high school for Year 7 but they are enjoying what opportunities they can within the current restrictions and demonstrating maturity and a commitment of learning. Over 70 letters of commendation were sent out in Term 3 for Year 7 students. These letters are formalised communication with caregivers to recognise outstanding academic results, diligence in the classroom and the issuing of positive behaviour for learning tickets by classroom teachers.

Many Year 7 students who are involved in the role of student office duty are completing a great booklet devised by the Wellbeing Team.  They are enjoying the activities and the goal setting processes that are part of the booklet. These booklets were developed to help with the development of future Individual Education plans and to also provide students with school based information. We are enjoying reviewing the booklets students have completed and getting to know our Year 7 students.

Mrs Luisa Trieu

Deputy Principal

Deputy Principal Report (Relieving) - Mrs Veronica Mafi – Year 8 and Year 12-2021

As I walk around the school, it is great to see students working hard and engaged in their learning.  I thank our parents and carers for ensuring that your children are ready for school with the correct school uniform and equipment. I also appreciate your work in supporting our mobile phone policy.

It has been a busy year, so far and shows no sign of slowing down. Our Teaching and Wellbeing Team for Year 8 and Year 12-2021 has worked tirelessly throughout the year. Members of our team includes: Ms Melissa Collins – Head Teacher Teaching and Wellbeing, Ms Rhiannon Hall – Year 12 -2021 – Year 11 Advisor and Mr Alex Colless – Year 8 Advisor. I thank them for all their work last term.

I would like to thank Ms Emily Khau for the organisation of the Captain Elections.

I would like to thank the faculty Head Teachers I supervise – PDHPE, Special Education, History and Languages – for their work throughout last term and their faculty leadership. I also thank all of the teachers in these faculties for their enthusiasm and professionalism.  I would like to thank Nicole Boyles – HT PDHPE – for her leadership of the Life Ready Program with Year 11 students. Students were highly engaged in this valuable program.

Our work as school is strongly supported by our wonderful SASS staff. Though they are recognised each year with the SASS recognition week, which is important, they work tirelessly each day to provide supports. I would like to thank our office staff, led by Mrs Jasmine Brooker, for all their work on reports and with all the additional communications provided to parents and carers this year and for their ongoing support of students on a daily basis. I would like to recognise the tireless work of Student Learning Support Officers, that I supervise, for their work with individual and groups of students in special educations classes and in mainstream classes.  Their work involves working in classrooms to further explain work, assisting individual students in organising and completion of work and support of teachers in their teaching practice. I would like to thank Mr Roger Worthington, our General Assistant (GA) and Mr Don Dean, our Farm Assistant, for their work throughout the holiday period which included overseeing contractors and maintaining the school grounds. They really have gone above and beyond. Working together, we have achieved an increasingly improved school environment. The PDHPE classrooms have been repainted, new seating has been installed and our new gardens have been maintained.

I would like to thank our Work, Health and Safety Team led by Mr Jack Conner, for their work. This is a cross-faculty team that meets on a regular basis to maintain the safety of students and staff in our school. Our team’s work is important in the school and has become even more important as we implement COVID- 19 directions. We have continued to meet via TEAMS throughout last term. Mr Roger Worthington (GA) provides a report for our meetings. We also have members of the Student Representative Council (SRC) present a report as part of our meeting. This recent initiative of the addition of SRC has been welcomed by the team, as student voice is valued at our school. It has been great to hear from students as to their concerns and to be able to work on these as a team. Achievements of the team have included: resurfacing of netball and the side of basketball courts, ordering an all terrain wheelchair, completion of mandatory evacuation/ lockdown drills, improved storage for equipment and hooks for bags outside the TAS-Food Technology area, additional attached seating in shaded areas and internal and external site inspections.

Year 12- 2021- Report – Year Advisor for Year 12- 2021 – Ms Rhiannon Hall

Year 11 students are starting their Year 12 courses this term. It is hard to believe that they are now entering their final year of Secondary Education. Some of our Year 11 Students are now in the process of changing subjects for their Year 12 studies. The Careers advisor, Mrs Judy Buckler, is meeting with students and supporting them in making important decisions regarding their selections. I thank her for her work with students and bringing so much knowledge and experience to this work.

Year 12 Commencement will be held this week. We have had to make alternative arrangements to the commencement process, which previously included a ceremony attended by parents and carers, due to COVID – 19 restrictions. This has meant that we had to rethink how we as a school continue to celebrate student achievements in completing the Preliminary Higher School Certificate course, as well as providing important information about the HSC course in an appropriate manner. 

Ever the optimists, we saw this as an opportunity for students to set goals for their Year 12 year and to be guided by teacher mentors/advocates in determining their individual goals through the Individual Education Plan process. Students will be attending school on their Study Day to complete activities. Students also receive important information on assessments and receive their certificates and Year 12 Assessment Handbooks on the day. The Year 12 Assessment Handbook is an important document and I ask that parents and carers support heir child in Year 12 by reading though this document. I would like to thank Ms Melissa Collins, Mr Nathan Antony, Ms Rhiannon Hall and Mr Josh Luc for their work with Year 12 – 2021.

Year 12-2020 have also had the opportunity to view a podcast organised by Ms Collins and Ms Hall. I thank them for their work on this innovative project.

Year 8 Report – Year Advisor for Year 8 Mr Alex Colless

Year 8 students have really settled in well this term with a focused approach. Thank you for supporting students to have the optimum start to the term. We would like to thank those students who have applied for SRC positions.

 A reminder that students Year 8 assessment booklets provide a valuable guide to student’s assessments. Support in organisation of materials and equipment may still be needed for some students. If you could continue to support us with this, if you see that this is needed, that would be appreciated. Please remind your child to ask for assistance if they need it. Our Teaching and Wellbeing Team members are here to help.

I thank Mr Alex Colless for his work. We will be organising some fun activities for Year 8 at the end of the Term.

We appreciate all your support of our work as we continue to facilitate learning and wellbeing supports for your child/children. Your positive approach and support for our roles is appreciated.

Regards and thanks,

Mrs Veronica Mafi – Deputy Principal (Rel)

Year 9

Targeting Attendance and Lateness

There have been many studies that talk about the crucial link between great attendance and improved academic results and connection to school. Even missing one day of school every two weeks can add up to a significant amount of days over a year and over a student’s time at school overall.

The Education Act is in place to reinforce the law regarding attendance at school in NSW. In addition to this, parents are required to explain the absences of their children from school promptly and within seven days to the school. Explanations for absence can be made through replying to the text message from the school, a phone call to school 9605 3111 or by writing a note for your child to hand to their roll call teacher or the front office.

Lateness for students is also a concern. A strong ethic of being on time is an integral life skill. Our starting times are:

Monday 8:55am

Tuesday 8:55am

Wednesday 9:05am

Thursday 9:05am

Friday 9:05am

We often see more lateness on Monday’s and Tuesday’s. Students who are consistently late are missing significant time in programs such as PBL. Students should aim to be at school 10 minutes prior to the start of the day at the latest, rather than aiming to get to school at the time the bell is going. Students will have a much calmer start to the day if they are not running late. This is better for all students and means that they are better able to focus in class.

When a student’s attendance falls below 95% we have cause for concern.

Obviously, we want our students to remain at home if they are unwell. To rest and recover, and undergo a COVID test if this is needed.

Some reasons that are not acceptable for being absent include, looking after younger siblings, haircuts, or job interviews.

I would like to see Year 9 focus on being at school every day unless they have a valid reason. As a cohort this is going to give them a great foundation as they head into their ROSA year and then senior school.

Year 12 - HSC

We wish them all the very best in their HSC. Their graduation day was fantastic and our thanks goes to Miss Hannaford for her filming of the event and posting it on line for all our families to watch.

We continue to wish our Year 12 students the very best for their exams and their future endeavours.

Kind regards,

Mrs Heather Costa

Deputy Principal Years 9 & 12

Creative and Performing Arts Newsletter 2020

We all know this year has been quite different compared to the world in which we are all familiar. As students, teachers and parents there have been varying challenges we have all faced. Despite these challenges, and rapidly changing times our dedicated Creative and Performing Arts staff have continued to support, develop and deliver the very best of Public Education across our key learning areas in Music, Visual Arts, Visual Design, Photography & Digital Media, and Dance.

Our creative and talented students here at Macquarie Fields have found solace in knowing they have been able to pursue their interests and passion in Creative Arts, whether that was at home participating in online learning or here at school. It has been pleasing to see many students have continued to make progress, develop learning goals and deepen their knowledge. Students have focused on their projects, continuing to grow and evolve their skills.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions many of our extra curricular activities and ensembles have not been able to run and so our focus has been our classrooms.

Our CAPA classrooms are impressive, encouraging, innovative and vibrant.

Mrs McDermott, Mrs Davidson, Ms Langley, Mr Bozzetto, Miss Tran, Mr Lee, Mrs Costa and myself are all experts in our field. We all love learning. We love developing new and exciting content and we know the importance our subjects have in developing skills for the 21st century learner. Our student achievement and success is proof of this.

Here is a small array of what our students have been involved in and achieved in 2020.

Visual Arts

Operation Art Exhibition

Every year New South Wales students are invited to create an artwork for Operation Art, an initiative of The Children’s Hospital at Westmead in association with the New South Wales Department of Education. Artworks, which are uplifting in their subject matter and help make children’s lives in hospital more positive are selected to be hung on the walls of The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

All students who enter Operation Art have their artwork framed and exhibited at the Armory Gallery, Sydney Olympic Park. Artworks are then selected to be exhibited at the Art Gallery of New South Wales or a regional art gallery. MFHS student artworks have been selected to go on regional gallery tours, hung in Westmead and become resources for other teachers learning about making artworks.

Congratulations to the following students exhibiting in Operation Art 2020. Paulinka Karrell, Year 8, has had her mixed media portrait artwork selected for display in the collection of the Office of the Children’s Guardian Awards. Amelia Thornton, Year 10, has had her print selected for display in Bear Cottage or donated to a regional hospital for display in their paediatric unit.

Student artworks have also been entered this year in Young Archies (Art Gallery of New South Wales), Fishers Ghost Art Award (Campbelltown), Mil-Pra AECG exhibition (Casula Powerhouse), Schools Reconciliation Challenge (Reconciliation NSW) and the Nagoya Sister City Art Exchange (Arts Unit).

The Nagoya Sister City Art Exchange is an exhibition opportunity for all NSW public schools students in Years K-12, and is held annually. This exchange encourages students to participate in international friendship and cultural exchange activities, which in turn promotes the further development of sister city relationships. Selected artworks from NSW Public Schools are exhibited in Nagoya, Japan. MFHS student artworks have been selected on the many occasions we continue to be involved in the exchange. In 2020 we had Ariba Mahasin’s work chosen to be exhibited and received four artworks in exchange from Japan. This is a wonderful achievement. We have found the artworks to be inspiring and informative. It is very interesting to see what other international Visual Arts students are learning about and working on. It is important to learn about other countries and their culture.

Congratulations to Ariba Mahasin Year 8 who has had her artwork, pictured, chosen for the exchange. Our other entries by Shashank Setty, Fontayne Tufuga and Faustina Lim were unlucky to miss out on being selected this year.

Kaldor Public Arts Project

Many of our Year 9 and Year 10 Visual Arts students were involved in an extra-curricular opportunity created by Kaldor Public Arts during terms 2 and 3 this year. Kaldor Public Art Projects is a pioneering arts organisation, dedicated to taking art outside museum walls by developing large scale public artworks.

They support international and Australian artists to create work , which is always available for the public to experience for free.

Our students were fortunate to participate in an innovative education project which the Kaldor education team put together in response to COVID 19 called Do It - Homework. Students participated in zoom meetings with the education team and professional artists to develop their artmaking practice. All schools involved were paired with another school in NSW to create an art exchange between students. We were paired with Glenn Innes High School. Our students created their artwork and were mentored in this process by practicing artist Amrita Hepi – all via email and zoom. We then shared our work with Glenn Innes High School. As a result of our participation in the initial phase of this project Macquarie Fields High School was invited to work directly with Amrita Hepi to create a series of artworks, commissioned by Kaldor Public Arts as an extension to the project.

Our students were highly enthusiastic about their involvement in this project and have been enriched in their studies of Visual Arts. After a zoom meeting with Amrita Hepi one student said, “That was so amazing – I never thought I’d meet a real artist.”

Year 8 Visual Arts

Our Year 8 Visual Arts students have been introduced to a variety of artists who work in various mediums over the course of the year. Students have learnt about artists and their individual artmaking practice including specific techniques, while developing and refining their own creative skills in Still Life & Portraiture. In term 3 we introduced a new topic called Caring for Country. This new topic aims to embed, grow and highlight interest and consideration towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and contributions as well as approaches to reconciliation. As well as a focus on Australian culture. Students learn about the Land, Sea and Sky how the land was cared for by our first People and how we can continue to look after the land for generations to come. As a faculty we are advocates for Aboriginal education and we want to continue to enhance our student's interest, understanding and connection with our local area and communities.

Students used Mixed Media to create these Artworks. Influenced by artist Howard Arkley, the students painted a suburban exterior of a house, their house. They have used a warm colour pallet and decorated the houses with Indigenous signs and symbols to create meaning.

Support Unit Visual Arts

Students from our Support Unit are this year completing the Stage 4 Visual Arts course and have made ceramic sculptures, paintings and drawings to the themes of Animals in Art, Portraits and Our Natural World.

Year 9 Visual Arts 

Year 9 Visual Arts started this year learning about Recycled Book Sculpture. They created their own imaginative sculptures and honed their problem- solving skills as they worked to bring their ideas to life. They also created virtual art exhibitions using the online program ArtSteps. Students worked as curators to select works for the exhibition, design the space of the exhibition and produce exhibition notes for the visitors to the exhibition. Most recently this class has been working on the topic Artists and their Special Places. They have been learning about artists who create works exploring their personal connection to place, most notably Ken Done and Claude Monet. They have been making ceramic tiles exploring the patterns of the landscape and large paintings of Sydney Harbour to develop their painting techniques.

Year 10 Visual Arts

Year 10 has been engaged in a wide variety of artmaking activities this year. During terms 1 and 2 they created beautiful Lino prints which explored family and cultural stories. They explored the practice of Appropriation in Visual Arts, creating their own version of the Mona Lisa to represent contemporary values and events. They have also developed their knowledge of artists and their skills in Art History and Criticism. They are currently working on a project to create a small monument celebrating the life of an influential Indigenous Australia using ceramics and other sculptural techniques.

Year 10 Visual Design

Year 10 Visual Design have been working on a cartooning and illustrating unit of work. They have been designing and creating Skate Decks. The students have shown an interest while learning about influential artist Michel Jean Basquiat and his unique graffiti style artworks. They have appropriated his cartoon like imagery and text to decorate their own skate deck. The decks are colourful and each student has told a different story that is subjective to them.

Year 11 Visual Arts

Year 11 Visual Arts have been busy this year, completing the Preliminary course. Students have learned a range of artmaking techniques through their studies of topics on The Body in Art, The Art of War and An Artist and their Practice. They have mastered drawing, mixed media works, ceramic sculptures and dry point etching. Students showed dedication to their learning throughout all the ups and downs of this year to make fabulous artworks and develop their skills in Art History and Criticism and are excited to begin their HSC course in term 4.

Year 12 Visual Arts

What a roller coaster ride the students of year 12 Visual Arts have experienced. There were many ups and downs but we were persistent and dedicated in our attitudes towards both our historical and critical studies and our individual artmaking practice.

Year 12 managed to fall in love with their artmaking, they were consistent and continued to seek answers creating a variety of successful artworks. I am incredibly proud of this class and the hurdles they faced. They came up with unique concepts, creating sophisticated artworks. We made it year 12! Take pride in what you have achieved. It’s time for you to exit the ride and seek new horizons.

Stop the press in the latest news- Congratulations to Sushoma Gafur who has had her Visual Arts Body of Work SELECTED for Art Express 2021.

Year 9 Photography and Digital Media

Photographic and Digital Media students have had a year full of creative challenges, which they have embraced with enthusiasm. While students were learning from home they explored many creative techniques to extend their skills using their phone cameras. This resulted in some imaginative photographs as students interpreted the projects and found ways to complete them with the materials they had in their homes. They also learned about photographers who engaged with social issues and the world around them in their theory work. At the end of term 2 students had the opportunity to work with Miss Hannaford to learn how to use 360 degree cameras which were on loan to our school. Students had a lot of fun exploring how to compose an image that could be viewed from all angles. This term they have been learning how to use DSLR cameras and exploring long exposure photographs and developing their Photoshop skills in the topic Ghostly Portraits

Mrs Karen Metcalfe

Head Teacher Creative and Performing Arts

The History and Languages Faculty

The History and Languages Faculty made every effort to create engaging and enriching learning experiences this year.

Online Learning with the History and Languages Faculty

Online Learning was a challenge that the History and Languages Faculty met with vigour to ensure that quality of teaching and learning was maintained whilst students engaged in remote learning. We used Google Classroom to communicate with our students and also sent home booklets of work for anyone with technology issues. With our Year 12 students we used DoE Zoom Videoconferencing to provide interactive learning sessions, which was a wonderful way to stay in contact with, and check in on the well-being of our Year students. Ms Collins even had a ‘Virtual Easter Hat Parade’ with her Year 12 Legal Studies class. The languages classes, led by Mr Kermali and Mrs Vrountzos, found some innovative ways to communicate with students studying languages online.

“Going into Covid-19, no one could have prepared for online learning. I was admittedly quite worried about taking my classes online, however, this soon faded. The History and Languages Faculty was incredibly supportive and accommodating during the online learning period.

Initially, I thought it would be difficult to maintain motivation for Japanese, however, with Mr Kermali’s engaging Zoom lessons and his encouragement, our class was able to push through the remaining topics.

Ms Fong’s Modern History lessons were always enjoyable and fun, with many historical jokes as well as inspiring words being exchanged. We were often so fully engaged in the topics we were studying, we forgot that the bell should have rung! Ms Collins’ Legal Studies lessons were no different; her ability to link contemporary affairs to our syllabus content, as well as incorporate numerous puns, made for engaging Zoom lessons that I always looked forward to.

Surprisingly, I found myself waking up at 8 am for Mr Neale’s History Extension Zoom class. I had enjoyed Mr Neale’s class prior to online learning, and this did not change during the lockdown. Mr Neale and my peers were all super uplifting, always offering memorable advice. Overall, the History and Languages faculty provided immense support to us students on our HSC journey, and any stress previously felt soon went away.”

Alice He - Year 12

“Online learning was definitely not easy; however, the History Faculty and its teachers really made every effort to make lessons enjoyable and engaging. History and Japanese have got to be my favourite subjects at school, and I was pretty upset that we were moving to online lessons during quarantine.

I always enjoy Modern History lessons with Ms Fong and this certainly did not change during online learning. Ms Fong always made sure we had plentiful resources on google classroom and it helped immensely in a time when receiving physical copies of resources was difficult. Mr Neale was also really helpful for online Extension History and always motivated us to wake up at 8 am in the cold.

Japanese was one of those lessons I was scared I would get off track and be completely lost in, however, Mr Kermali and his zoom lessons were engaging and kept our class on track with our remaining topics. Though it was a hard time, schoolwork was one thing that I was not completely worried over or stressed about, mainly due to the hard work of the History and Languages Faculty and its teachers.” 

Samiha Arefin - Year 12

“If I could sum up 2020 in one word, it would be challenging. I anticipated my last year of high school to be a year of accomplishments, celebrations and everything you see in those “coming of age” movies. But this year has proven to be nothing but hardship and difficulty. Prior to the lockdown, I found it difficult to cope with the rapid changes, in not only school, but with the general restrictions too.

During the lockdown period, I felt extremely supported. I was provided with a laptop for online learning and despite the burden of additional responsibilities, I still felt confident in completing my work. The History faculty had offered me support in various ways, with guidance, words of encouragement, the provision of resources and constant positivity.

Ms Collins and her extreme wit, Mr Neale with his jokes and Ms Fong with her kind words uplifted me in ways I never expected. Special thanks to them for their continuous support. Despite these times of uncertainty, this year has taught me to surround myself with optimistic people. In order to overcome obstacles, optimism is the key to developing better resilience.”

Angelina Papalii, Year 12

ANZAC Day Tribute

The History faculty has always honoured the service and sacrifice of all Australians who have served in the armed forces. In 2020, our student leadership team, Addison McDonagh, Ann Mai, Aditi Dutta and Lorraine Varghese along with army cadet, Mostafiz Rahman, created a socially distanced tribute to the ANZACs. With the support of Ms Collins and the school senior executive, our student leaders and cadets led a moving and solemn video tribute. Mr Ray James, the Acting State President, NSW RSL, included a message for our school and students which was read as a part of the ANZAC Day Tribute. 

State Library and the Jewish Museum

Year 12 Modern History, Extension History and Society and Culture students were able to have a Year 12 Study Day at the NSW State Library and Jewish Museum prior to the Covid-19 restrictions. 

At the State Library, Year 12 learnt advanced research skills from the State Librarians and explored the archives beneath the State Library. Students were keen to dive into the resources of the Library for their Extension History projects and Personal Interest Projects (PIPs). The students had a great time finding Mr Celestino’s state rank PIPs and Mr Neale’s publications. Thank you to Mr Neale and Mr Celestino for organising such a valuable excursion for our senior students.

Nan Tien Temple

Our senior Studies of Religion students had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the practices of Buddhism with a visit to the Nan Tien Temple, organised by Ms Er. The students toured the temple, participated in a dharma talk where they learnt about Buddhist practices and ethics as well as learnt some Tai Chi. It was a great day out for Year 11 and 12!

Future History Teachers

Inara Iftekhar, School Captain 2019, is currently studying at the University of Sydney to become a History teacher. Congratulations to Anarchy Dharma from Year 12, for his early entry into History teaching at Western Sydney University!

“It’s currently Week Two of my second semester of uni, and I am sitting in my virtual history lecture, listening to my professor enthusiastically talking about the importance of oral histories in depicting the Great Depression in Australia. I can not help but be taken back to the cold Friday morning Modern History classes with Mr Neale, as Mr Neale animatedly talked about the economic repercussions of the Great Depression; or my year 10 History class with Ms Fong, where we would look at the primary sources related to the Vietnam War. Now almost a year later, despite the countless classes and assessments that have gone by, those lessons in the D Block with Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro; are the memories I value and remember most about the Macquarie Fields History faculty. 

The Macquarie Fields History faculty propelled me to find a passion for History and gain confidence in my abilities, something that I will forever value. So despite having to navigate a whole new world at university, as I study History and Education, I feel confident in my ability to tackle higher level history units.

If I had one piece of advice for my fellow History buffs and lovers of History, I encourage you to engage with what you’re learning in class and never feel afraid to discuss and ask questions, because, it will serve you well when studying History at University.”

Inara Iftekhar, former School Captain and future History teacher

“I recently received an early entry offer to Western Sydney University for a double degree in Bachelor of Arts (Pathway to Teaching) and a Masters in Secondary Teaching. I am very excited about this offer and would like to say that I've enjoyed every lesson with the History faculty, and hopefully, I might be able to do a practicum placement at MFHS. Thank you to all in the History faculty.”

Anarchy Dharma, Year 12

The Wide World of Social Science 2020

The 2019 HSC

2019 has been another very productive year for the Social Science staff. Last year’s HSC results were again excellent in our subjects and in 2019 Business Studies and Economics again led us thanks to the hard work of Miss Shakespeare, Miss Barnes, Mr Morales and Mr Baker. Business Studies, again, achieved our best subject result, with a very diverse group, which showed that our value-added component was excellent. Economics continues to be a powerhouse subject for Social Science. Society and Culture students all completed above state average PIPs (Personal Interest Projects) and most students achieved middle or upper Band results. We are hoping for even better results this year with six Year 12 classes doing the HSC.

The Faculty 2019/2020 Directions

During 2019 the Social Science faculty went through preparations to implement the new Stage 5 Commerce syllabus for 2020. We will begin programming these ideas during the current school term. All of the faculty have been involved and engaged in the new course structure and preparation. We will have seven Commerce classes next year. Our faculty did a good job with eh remote learning program in term 2. There were many innovative assignments and audio PowerPoints to help with our student’s remote learning. We had a massive over 20 Google classrooms running for students to participate in.

The 2020 Faculty

This year the Social Science Faculty has been made up of;

Mr Celestino- Mr C continued as Head Teacher and has guided the staff through the changes which are coming into 21^st century education. He also turned 71 this year and many people celebrated with him at the end of Term 2. In 2021 there will be a completely new Year 10 Commerce syllabus for this popular elective in Stage 5. This will mean more changes to our resources and curriculum, but it will be a challenge and it is hoped it will spark new and innovative lesson ideas for this popular subject. This year Mr C has taught Years 11 and 12 Society and Culture, Year 10 Geography, Year 7 Geography and Year 10 Commerce. He also ran the Future Teachers Club during this difficult year.

Miss Shakespeare- Miss Shakespeare has had multi-roles at MFHS. She is an exemplary Business Studies teacher and led our excellent results again last year. She also ran the LEAPS program for several years and was the SRC coordinator until this year. Miss Shakespeare has also assisted greatly in the development of the Prefect and school captain selection process which is now being used and has proved very successful. She assisted last year in the Super 70s show coordination in dance and they worked very hard. Miss Shakespeare has also been involved in the recertification of our very popular Stage 5 Psychology course, which has also been successful She has been teaching Year 9 and 10 Psychology and Geography, Year 7 , 8 , 9 and 10 Geography, Year 11 and 12 Business Studies.

Miss Barnes- after doing several wonderful years of teaching at MFHS, Miss Barnes spent 2018 at Mount Annan High School as Head Teacher Wellbeing. It is well deserved.  In 2019 year she returned and helped with the Year 12 Formal organisation, Future Teachers Club, several faculty organisational tasks, she both initiated and ordered our new furniture- this is a major commitment, and she did an exemplary job! Miss Barnes this year had a break and went to the UK where she got married! Now she has returned. Miss Barnes has been teaching Year 11 Business Studies, Junior Geography, and has done a wonderful job teaching coordinating Year 10 Commerce again. She had initiated the Market Place idea for the Year 10 classes (four of them). This took last year during Week 10 and was a highlight of the year for our Commerce classes.

Mr Baker- The man with the infectious laugh! Mr Baker won a Director’s Award in 2014 for his teaching practice and work within whole school initiatives. He is a great example of the future of the teaching profession. Mr Baker has been involved in the PBL and High Resolves programs and has been instrumental in the creation of lessons and activities related to this vital program. He has also continued to work with the High Resolves program in Year 8 and 7 this year. This important program has become a great addition to our school. Mr Baker currently teaches Year 11 and 12 Economics, Year 9 Geography and Year 7 Geography. He is a passionate teacher and contributes much to the faculty and our school. He also had a lovely addition to his family this term, his new daughter, Claire, was born in October 2019.

Ms Wiecek- Ms Wiecek is currently on a Part-Time load of three days each week. She teaches Business Studies, Psychology and Junior Geography. However, she has made a wonderful contribution to our school with her work in Stage 5 Psychology. This subject is growing and next year will have five classes. She helped initiate this program and has seen it develop into one of the school’s most unique and popular courses. Ms Wiecek is a diligent and committed teacher with a strong desire to produce lessons and assessments tasks, which challenge and extend our students.

Mr Mudaliar- Mr Mudaliar came to our school this year to replace Mr Morales. He has done an outstanding job in Business Studies, Economics and Commerce and has added a new dimension to our faculty. Like Mr C Mr Mudaliar had a wide range of experience and has been teaching almost 50 years. He has handled a wide range of classes and subjects with professionalism and enthusiasm. We are happy to have him join our team.

Miss Khau- Miss Khau is a dynamic and engaging teaching teacher who at MFHS is now in her third year. She has made a great contribution to the school both in Social Science and in whole school activities, such as dodgeball and staff/student challenges. Miss Khau is also a graduate of MFHS and was once in Mr Morales’ Economics class! She has been a welcome addition to our staff and has added much to our faculty this year. In addition, she, like Miss Shakespeare, is an amazing baker! She also picked up her first Business Studies class in Year 11 this year and has done an amazing job. Miss Khau is now the coordinator of the SRC and has done a wonderful job this year.

Ms Doan- Ms Doan was with our faculty for the first three terms this year; She was an Intern teacher at the school last year and was able to return this year to take Miss Barnes place during her absence. Ms Doan taught a wide array of subjects including commerce, geography and business studies and she did a great job in all of them! Her commerce work has been memorable and she tackled Year 11 Business Studies for the first time. I am very proud of her efforts.

Future Teachers Club 2020: Update!

The FTC, led by Mr C, through the Social Science staff, has now entered its seventh year. It had about 100 members in 2020 many were our Year 11 and Year 12  students. They were offered various activities to become involved in. These have included two Sydney University visits, a Primary School Teaching Program and our now famous Teach Week; however, due to COVID-19 all of the programs had to be cancelled this year!

We did however have our first FTC Graduation Lunch in the outdoor area (The OLS), it was very well attended, and our canteen put on a fabulous luncheon. This will now be a permanent part of our program and will be continued next year.

Currently, with the help of Miss Worthington in PDHPE, we are arranging the revamping of the Club. We are holding meetings this week to recruit members for 2021 when we expect to see the program at full capacity again.

The FTC is an amazing initiative and it has allowed students to see the other side of education. Students have been able to try their hand in organising and presenting structured lessons and engage in other educational activities. This initiative has received acclaim from the DoE, with a visit from the Education Minister last year, and a visit to Queensland in 2018 to present our program. Teach Week, now to be Teach Time, and our primary program this year involved more than 10% of the entire school. And we now have passed the 1000 students mark since 2013 this year. This year the group was presented with a Director’s Award for the program as part of the school’s PEX initiative.

Our initial meeting this year have attracted over 200 applications so far for 2021. The FTC is a major force in our school’s extra-curricular activities.

Other whole school activities Mr Celestino and the Social Science staff are involved in include- High Resolves, Celebration Day Committee, the Pillar Teams, the new House Points system, the Rainforest Teaching and Reflection Area, and more.

Year 9 and 10 Commerce 2020

Students enrolled in Commerce this year have been learning about a wide range or relevant topics all aimed at making them better prepared for the responsibilities of adulthood.  The Commerce syllabus has been restructured, and by 2021 all students in year 9 and 10 will be learning the new syllabus. This new syllabus and the content which is taught can be found on the NESA website.

Students in year 9 ended term 3 by participating in the annual Commerce competition “The Pitch”.  This is a small group task whereby students who have completed the topic “Promoting and Selling” put their newfound skills and knowledge into practice to develop or improve a product or service, create a marketing plan and then “pitch” this product and plan to the class. We had some fantastic ideas presented this year ranging from chocolates infused with medicinal qualities, windows that convert into high quality TV’s and headphones that become water proof speakers. After much deliberation, the winner of the 2020 “Pitch” competition was awarded to Saihaan, Zoeb and Huian for their innovative low cost smart phone, which would, marketed to audiences of international cricket. The winning team created a 3D printed model of the phone, devised an effective marketing strategy and created an online ordering website. 

Each year we in Social Science are impressed by the creativity and thought that goes into these ideas. Commerce is a fantastic subject to actively learn many life skills and develop greater business and finance knowledge.

All students in Commerce also get to participate in the ASX Share market game. This complements the learning in the Investing topic. The ASX game mimics the real Australian share market, with all shares bought and sold at the same price as current real market prices. Students are given $50,000 to invest and need to apply their knowledge of investing to turn this initial capital into a greater return; not an easy task given current worldwide financial market volatility!

What Careers are Available with Social Science Subjects?

Geography 7-12

Environmental Management, Geology, Climate Change, Cartography, Urban Planning, Ecology

Careers in geographic studies, environment change and management and urban planning are examined throughout the geography curriculum. During Year 10 and in the Taster Courses there is a complete slide and discussion on the wide array of career possibilities, including transportation and tourism opportunities. The Year 12 Senior Geography course has one third of the course devoted to Economic Activities in which we do Tourism, which looks at the skiing as cold weather tourism, and we study the Australian Skiing Industry as a Case Study.

Society and Culture:

The many career opportunities of SAC are discussed throughout this course. Students are interested particularly in Psychology, Sociology (Criminology) and Anthropology (Cultural Studies). Many do their PIPs (Personal Interest Projects) on these topics with the hopes of studying these disciplines at Uni. As with Geography, time is spent during the Year 11 course and the Taster Courses explaining the career possibilities in the academic Social Sciences.

Commerce Stage 5

Employment Issues

Students were taught the topic through interactive, project based learning by engaging in a "Job Fair."  This involved the students learning how to write a resume, how to apply for positions, how to write a job advertisement and how to prepare for an interview.  Each student worked as both an employee and employer. They needed to write a job advertisement and appropriate interview questions and then select the most appropriate candidates for the interview. After the interview, each student was given feedback on his or her answers and the most suitable person was selected for the job.   For this activity, students learnt about employment relations laws regarding WH&S, discrimination and EEO.  They also all submitted a resume, which many used to apply for real jobs outside of school.  Students were also able to dress in professional clothes for the interview day.

Commerce Stage 5

Running a Business

Through this project based learning activity, each student worked in a small team to develop a business plan (financial projections, budgets, marketing and operations) for a real business, which was open on the "Market Day".  Students learnt how to conduct market research, budget expenses, estimate income, and work out gross and net profit and tax.  The students had to evaluate their business and marketing plan through market research and alter the plans to better suit the needs of the target market.  The skills learnt in this activity are transferrable to many occupations.

Business Studies Stage 6

Throughout the Business Studies program, students are exposed to many businesses across a range of industries. They learn about the role and function of different business areas and employees. Students also learn about human resource management and industrial relations laws.  They also participate in an excursion where they see the operation of a business and able to speak to staff about career options.

Throughout the preliminary course, students have opportunities to create their own business plans in both formative and summative tasks. They are exposed to real world methods of business planning and management.

In Year 9 Psychology, we talk about the educational qualifications one must obtain in order to become a Psychologist compared to a Psychiatrist and what roles/jobs/activities each professional can carry out in their day-to-day work. We also talk about what a Forensic Psychologist does and where they work.

In Year 10 Psychology, we talk about the different approaches employed by Psychologists to treat patients and thus the areas of psychology they may specialise in. We also talk about how these treatment methods have changed over time and consequently, the role of psychologists has changed over time.

Miss Shakespeare, Miss Barnes and Mr Celestino

Immunisation Program Update

Dear Parents,

As you are aware due to Covid 19, the 2020  Year 7 school program school clinics were suspended at the beginning of 2020 and then resumed after June.

The required interval between HPV- Gardasil 9 dose 1 and dose 2 is 6 months.

Therefore all Year 7 students who were given HPV – Gardasil Dose 1 from June 2020 onwards will be offered HPV – Gardasil – dose 2 during Term 1, 2021.

There is no need for parents to take their children to the GP as all outstanding 2020 Year 7  vaccinations will be caught up through the school immunisation program in 2021.

Thank you 

Mrs V Shipley