As mentioned in our last newsletter, it was wonderful to see so many parents and carers engaged in our year 7 and 8 cohort meet the teacher afternoon. To further support your child’s learning, this week you will receive a progress report which will indicate how your child is tracking mid-way though our semester reporting period. I like to think of these reports as a temperature check to see how a child is progressing with their learning with time to discuss and impact future learning if necessary to positively effect the semester grade. More importantly, these reports are followed by our parent teacher night and these opportunities are always a great way to engage and connect in meaningful conversations about student learning with your child’s teachers.
NAPLAN took place in recent weeks for our year 7 and year 9 cohorts. I would like to congratulate all students who took part in NAPLAN. Our students showed a positive attitude and focussed on the task at hand, with flexibility and dedication, which was fabulous to see. I would like to thank our staff coordinators of NAPLAN for providing a calm and organised environment where all students could strive to do their best.
A wide variety of our students and classes have been fortunate to experience school camps this term. These include year 7 who went to Jindabyne, Outdoor Education, DARE and STAR. The range of activities and learning opportunities organised for these experiences promote positive relationships and reinforce the LHS values of CARE, QUALITY and CREATIVITY. I am always so proud of how regularly I receive positive feedback from service providers and members of the community about the behaviour, integrity and leadership our students show during these experiences. I would like to acknowledge staff for the huge amount of time and effort in planning and preparations required to provide a successful and worthwhile camp experience for our students. I also acknowledge the disappointment of our Musical students and staff when their camp had to be cancelled at the last minute due to an extreme fire danger warning. Safety will always come first and we are working hard to move this experience for these students to a future date.
Kind regards,
Jacqui Ford
Parent Teacher Evenings 3 and 4 April
We will be holding parent teacher meetings during week 10:
Monday 3 April from 4:00pm to 7:00pm and
Tuesday 4 April from 4:00pm to 6:00pm.
Bookings are made using the Parent-Teacher Online (PTO) system. Login details and instructions will be included in the email with your child’s report, which will be sent this week.
For those who do not have access to the internet, or if you experience difficulties with the online system, please phone the school on 61421176 and a member of our friendly front office staff will help you to make the appointments.
If a teacher has asked to have an interview on your child’s report, you are strongly encouraged to take this opportunity to meet with them. Of course, if your child’s report does not indicate that an appointment is requested, all parents are still welcome to seek an appointment.
This is a reminder to ensure your children and young people understand the importance of stranger awareness safety and information has been included on how to report an incident.
Please support us to keep our children safe by having conversations about moving safely around the community. You may wish to visit the Australian Federal Police website section on Child Safety for tips. In addition, the Safety4Kids is a non-government website that has useful information and links. The Constable Kenny website also has a number of tips for parents for younger children.
If you become aware of an incident or notice anyone acting suspiciously around a school or student, contact police immediately on 131 444 or in the case of an emergency call 000. If you witness an incident or if you have any information that could assist police, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Information can be provided anonymously. We would also ask that you notify the school so we can also support the wider school community to be aware of incidents.
Careers Update
Celebrating Engineers Week
A few weeks ago, a group of 16 LHS students, eager to learn and passionate about engineering, travelled to an engineering firm KBR which works with the Australian Government to create science, technology and engineering solutions. First, as an introduction, the KBR team spoke to us about many interesting instances where engineering can be found, including space solar power and Australian army aircrafts. As those in the group were in Years 9 and 10, they also informed us of internship opportunities and the path from high school to a career in the broad field of engineering, which we discovered included a range of diverse subtypes such as biomedical, mechanical, mechatronics, electrical, civil and chemical.
After this, our group split in half and met two different teams of KBR who explored different examples of engineering; systems engineering and mechatronics. The team of system engineers spoke to us about virtual reality, and how it is used in real-life instances for infrastructure plans and medical simulations, working to improve design, safety, and training with the use of a 3D representation. With the team focused on mechatronics, we viewed a robot that had been created and coded by the KBR, which detected radio signals for protection purposes. Before we left, the KBR team were also kind enough to gift us multiple tokens such as a Zero Waste cap, an engineering group bag, a notebook and a pen, as well as an information booklet which many of us were reading on the ride back to school after a fascinating day full of facts.
By: Angel Thakker and Naomi Kerr
Health & PE News
It has been a busy start to the year in HPE. In week 2, over 180 SEAL students were inducted into the SEAL program and are now out and about participating in their strength and conditioning sessions, squad, and individual sessions.
In week 3, we had the return of the Lyneham High School swimming carnival. Participation on the day was fantastic in both races and novelty events. School spirit was high with several chant offs, dance offs and best dressed competitions. Our winning house for the day was STURT! Congratulations to all involved. Information regarding results, age champions and qualification into the regional carnival have been communicated to relevant students.
Our Athletics carnival is coming up in week 10 on the 6 April. Students are currently participating in a variety of lessons in HPE to support their participation on the day. Just a reminder that this is a normal school day, and all students are expected to attend.
School Sport is now back in full swing, and students are reminded to check the School Sports google classroom and daily notices about opportunities to participate.
Ms Ward
Instrumental Music Program (IMP)
The IMP, running since 1973, recently announced that a significant number of Lyneham High students have been selected for their 2023 Extension Ensembles. These selections follow a rigorous audition process, and is the equivalent of representing the ACT in music. We would like to congratulate the following students:
Name
Year
Group
Emily
Camilleri
7
Junior Concert Band
Chloe
Edwards
7
Junior Concert Band
Claire
Mathew
7
Junior Concert Band
Linnea
Raymer
7
Junior Concert Band
Anni
Bui
8
Junior Concert Band
Khanisorn
Carruthers
8
Junior Concert Band
Thomas
Eleutherios
8
Junior Concert Band
Eram Nikolita
Haque
8
Senior Concert Choir
Aiden
Isbister
8
Junior Concert Band
Cinbi
J-Shin
8
Junior Concert Band
Penelope
Kite
8
Senior Concert Choir
Sophie
MacDougall
8
Junior Concert Band
Marlise
Periac
8
Junior Concert Band
Nomon
Vos
8
Percussion Ensemble
Somon
Vos
8
Percussion Ensemble
Nomon
Vos
8
Junior Concert Band
Somon
Vos
8
Junior Concert Band
Emma
White
8
Junior Concert Band
Julian
Williamson
8
Senior Concert Choir
Julian
Williamson
8
Junior Concert Band
Arlen
Wood
8
Junior Concert Band
Jayden
You
8
Junior Concert Band
Hannah
Applegate
9
Senior Concert Choir
Lucinda
Camilleri
9
Senior Concert Band
Lucinda
Camilleri
9
Senior Jazz Band
Narayan
Dwan-Holland
9
Senior Concert Band
Jade
Ernst-Russell
9
Senior Concert Band
Lucinda
Hope-White
9
Senior Concert Choir
Ruth
Norrish
9
Senior Concert Band
Sampurna
Banerjee
10
Senior Concert Choir
Amelia
Bobbin
10
Senior Concert Choir
Xiaodong (Harvey)
Chen
10
Senior Concert Band
Xiaodong (Harvey)
Chen
10
Percussion Ensemble
Eva
Crosthwaite
10
Senior Concert Band
Henry
Denniss
10
Percussion Ensemble
I
M
10
Senior Concert Band
I
M
10
Senior Concert Choir
Oliver
Macnab
10
Senior Concert Band
Oliver
Macnab
10
Senior Jazz Band
Alice
Rea
10
Senior Concert Choir
Catherine
You
10
Senior Concert Band
Languages at Lyneham
Congratulations to Naomi Kerr, Emma Zhang, Ruth Norrish and Mehar Jhajj, who won the school level of the ‘Dis-Moi Dix Mots’ poetry competition. Naomi and Emma’s poems have been submitted as Lyneham’s entries.
Year 8 Indonesian students have had fun learning how to play traditional games, like sepak takraw, or foot volleyball in the hall.
Food Technology High Tea
Some of our Year 10 Food Technology classes have been conducting a mini design task with the goal to create a high tea product to be served to students and staff. Students have been busy in the classrooms investigating & designing their product and this week they have taken two lessons to prepare and cook their creation. Invited students completed evaluation forms for each item they tasted for the student chefs to make modifications where applicable for the next big cook. Congratulations to all students involved - your final products were delicious!
Arts Faculty News
Year 8 Drama
Emily Criticos, a pre-service teacher, has recently spent 4 weeks working with year 8 students in Drama. We have been working on monologues. Students have chosen a teen monologue. Ms Criticos has been helping students to understand their character and has provided many techniques in the delivering of the monologue.
Next they learn the monologue and perform it. I think the students have really enjoyed their time with Ms Criticos, she prepared engaging, relevant, and informative lessons.
Year 9/10 Drama
Students have been exploring emotion masks where they have chosen an emotion and developed a character around it. They have looked at images of people's faces and have simplified the expression. Students were then given a paper mache mask, where they used Magiclay to mould the expression and accentuate features if needed. They then chose a symbolic colour associated with that emotion. Once finished students will progress to a performance of a 1-minute mime. This will be assisted by instrumental music. We will then move on to Commedia Dell'arte and the exploration of stock characters and improvised masked performances.
Year 9/10 Digital Photography
The Year 9/10 Digital Photography class has been developing their technical and compositional skills this semester by looking at aperture, shutter speed, texture and the rule of odds. The students have been learning how to control the settings on a digital SLR camera and have been exploring what aperture and shutter speed do to an image so that they can apply it to their photographic compositions.
Each photographic assignment that the student submits has three parts: a reflection, final matted image (like you see here in this newsletter item) and a contact print (thumbnails) of all the images from their photoshoot.
Year 7 Visual Art
Our current year 7 students have started creating their own landscape paintings on canvas that are inspired by the works of American artist Bob Ross. The art rooms have been a hive of activity as the students have explored composition, colour mixing with acrylic paint and discovering different ways to apply paint using a range of tools such as palette knives, fan brushes and large wide brushes. The works are looking great so far, and we can’t wait to see them completed.
Year 9/10 Ceramics
Over the past few weeks, the ceramic students have been busy designing and making Whimsical clay figures. Students were asked to research clay figures online, which they then drew inspiration from drawing their own ideas and thus creating their own original figurine. Throughout the creative process students employed the different techniques of pinch, slab and modelling to form and finesse their figures.
Year 9/10 Visual Art
The year 9 & 10 Visual Art students have been working steadily on a compositional drawing that connects sections of a human face with the face of an animal. This Mixed Species Drawing has encouraged the students to think carefully about composition, looking at facial features and detail to arrange and create seamless joins between the two images. Over many weeks they have been exploring a variety of drawing techniques with graphite to produce realistic texture and form on paper while using their original collage design as reference material. We are very proud of how the students have tackled this challenging task and the results are looking impressive.
Musical & Live Production
Over the past few weeks, the year 9 & 10 Musical Production class has been working on Act 1 of the Lyneham High School musical for this year, ‘The Wizard of Oz’. After a rigorous audition process, which showcased the depth of musical and theatrical talent we have at Lyneham, the real work began. Students have been working hard to learn lines, dances, singing, and instrumental music with the aim of having a full run through of Act 1 ready by the end of term 1. Unfortunately, the musical camp that was scheduled in Week 7 had to be postponed, but the students have taken this in stride and are as keen as ever to put on a great show.
Year 9 Band
Students in the Year 9 Concert Band have had a busy term of learning new repertoire such as Welcome to the Jungle, Thriller, I’m Shipping up to Boston and their Eisteddfod piece, Zeus: King of the Gods. Their first performance of the year will be at the 2023 Back to Band BBQ that will be held on 29 March (week 9). Shortly after this they will be performing at the week 10 Whole School Assembly in which they will perform Thriller and Welcome to the Jungle. The Year 9 Concert Band hopes you can all come to the BBQ and support the immense musical talent that our bands have here at Lyneham High School.
Year 10 Band
The Year 10 Concert Band have been very busy this term. Starting way back in week 2 in which the students were scheduled to perform at the assembly. Not deterred by the small amount of rehearsal time (one and half lessons) we had, the students worked hard and diligently and gave a brilliant performance of Earth, Wind and Fires' ‘September’ which was enjoyed by the entire school. Since then the Year 10 Concert Band has been working hard at developing a performance repertoire aimed at year 6 students (who might be interested in joining the band program in 2024) and for whom our students will be performing on this Thursday. The year 10 Concert Band, along with the whole band program, will be performing at the inaugural Band BBQ on Wednesday March 29 (week 9). This will be a chance for all of the band program to get together and meet one another as well as for our band families to come along and enjoy an afternoon of music and sausages. Finally, the students have been focusing quite a bit on their Australian National Eisteddfod piece, ‘Fate of the Gods’ and we are so impressed by the musicality they have demonstrated as well as their maturity as they progress on what is quite a difficult piece of music.
Year 10 Band Performing September at the Assembly in week 2 of term 1
Exciting News
Mrs Jeffery’s 7H2 is proud to announce that Charles Huang was awarded his Licentiate in Music (LMusA). The diploma ceremony was held in Sydney on the 12 March. The Licentiate in Music, Australia (LMusA) is a diploma awarded by examination to outstanding candidates in the fields of musical performance and music theory by the Australian Music Examinations Board. Congratulations Charles.
Grit or Quit. How to Help your Child Develop Resilience
Grit. Don’t quit.
That’s the mantra many parents may have in mind when they, like me, spend what feels like years ferrying children to a seemingly endless variety of sports and activities. From enduring sheets of almost vertical icy rain while cheering them on a hockey pitch, to obscenely early morning starts for rowing, I can happily say my own grit and resilience has been tested to its upper limits. But what about the children’s?
When it comes to grit, resilience and kids sport, the question around their enrolment, ongoing participation and right to quit is often the topic of much conversation – and consternation. As parents, what should we do when kids announce, often mid-season, they want to “take a break” or quit altogether?
As a parent and educator this raises the question of that invisible line we often tread about how much to push them, when to let them take a break and when it’s OK to just let them quit.
Grit matters
More than mere buzzwords, the terms grit and resilience have themselves been the subject of extensive research. US-based researcher Angela Duckworth has defined grit as “perseverance and passion for long-term goal”, saying it involves
working strenuously towards challenged, maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress.
Grit has been associatedwith growth mindset, satisfaction and a sense of belonging.
perseverance of effort predicted greater academic adjustment, college grade point average, college satisfaction, sense of belonging, faculty–student interactions, and intent to persist, while it was inversely related to intent to change majors.
A study of children coping with reading disorders found
strong evidence that grit and resilience is significantly related to mental health, academic success, and quality of life.
Duckworthsuggests resilience is a component of grit but there are other models, too.
For instance, Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) veterans Dan Pronk, Ben Pronk and Tim Curtis (authors of the book, The Resilience Shield) propose groups of resilience factors as a series “layers” (such as a professional layer, a social layer, an adaptation layer) which interact with each other. They note the challenge of defining resilience, referring to it as “an outcome better than expected given the adversity being faced”.
Giving grit a chance to grow
As adults, perhaps we can reflect on experiences we’ve had in life that have helped build our resilience. But kids and adolescents are still developing grit and the ability to work strenuously towards a goal. Their brains are undergoing significant developmental changes.
My research has a focus on teacher education and what helps teachers stick with a career that can occasionally be extremely challenging.
Learning to help children and adolescents navigate challenging situations and being able to cultivate your own resilience in the face of trying circumstances is a crucial skill for teachers.
So how do we handle those difficult conversations when kids announce they want to quit a sport or activity?
Firstly, remain neutral and check the temperature of the conversation. Is this a heat-of-the-moment conversation? Right after a big loss or a less-than-stellar piano recital? Good decisions are not usually made in those moments.
Talk to the coach or tutor to figure out what may really be going on. Sometimes the problem can be peer related and again, it is important for kids to learn to navigate those challenges.
All told, when kids announce they want to quit, keep the dialogue open. Listen carefully when they explain their reasons, but talk to your children about grit, too.
Share with them research that compares a growth mindset (which teaches that even when things get hard, we can learn and grow and get better) with a fixed mindset (which posits that either you’re good at something or not and there’s little room to change). Research suggests having a growth mindset can foster persistence and positive long-term outcomes.
The key is that parents don’t teach resilience to children just by telling them about it. It is truly built through experience.
With better awareness and acceptance, approximately one out of every 50 children is receiving an autism diagnosis. More and more families are deciding when to share this information with their child. Some parents worry that doing so will “label” their child, or make others treat them differently.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disability that presents as differences in socialising, communicating, and processing information (including thinking, sensing and regulating). The earlier a child is identified as autistic, the earlier supports and services are provided. This leads to better outcomes for the child and family.
These benefits also flow from talking about the diagnosis. But what’s the best way to start that conversation? And what does your child need to know?
Getting in early
Children are receiving diagnoses as early as 12–18 months in our program, which helps maternal and child health nurses screen for autism during regular health checks.
Early identification of autism allows parents and professionals to learn how their child communicates as early as possible. Then they can match that child’s communication style to help them learn important, everyday life skills.
Rather than a focus on “changing” or “fixing” an autistic child to suit others, it’s better to encourage acceptance.
While some parents may worry about stigma and labelling, those within the Autistic community report that labelling happens regardless of whether parents discuss diagnosis or not. It can instead take the form of harmful labels like “weird” or “strange”. In fact, others are more likely to form negative first impressions when they do not know someone is autistic.
Parents may also think they need to wait until their child seems “ready” to understand a diagnosis. But this can lead to people not knowing they are autistic until many years after their diagnosis, and fuel feelings of shame.
An empowering truth
Telling children they are autistic as early as possible has several benefits. Research shows teenagers talk about themselves in a more positive way when their parents have had open conversations with them about being autistic, compared to those who did not. When this conversation is had earlier, autistic people have better quality of life and wellbeing in adulthood.
By understanding themselves at an earlier age, autistic people can feel empowered, advocate for themselves, and potentially gain access to supports and services earlier.
An open discussion around diagnosis also provides an earlier opportunity to “find a community”. Some autistic people say they feel understood and accepted when they connect with other autistic people. This can increase positive identity and self-esteem.
Having the chat – 3 ideas to guide parents
1. Check in with your own feelings
First, identify where you are at with your feelings around the diagnosis. You may still be coming to terms with this new path for your child and family – and this may make it difficult to have a discussion without becoming distressed or emotional. Wherever you are on your journey to acceptance, it’s important you are in a positive frame of mind when raising this topic with your child.
If you’re not ready, you may choose to wait while you process your own emotions. But don’t wait too long, given the importance of knowing about an autism diagnosis early – especially if your child starts asking about their differences compared to other children.
2. Build awareness into everyday talk
We recommend parents or carers start by talking about autism in everyday life. If your child is very young, not yet talking or communicating much, you could use autistic figures on TV, such as Julia on Sesame Street. For example, you could say: “Did you see how Julia needed to have some quiet time, like you need sometimes? Julia is autistic, just like you.”
Older children and teens already know the world is diverse. They may have classmates or neighbours from different cultural backgrounds or have friends or family from the LGBTQIA+ community. You can start discussions about autism as part of neurodiversity. For example, you could say: “There are different types of brains, just like there are different cultures and ways people express their gender.”
3. Choose a good time
For younger children, it’s best to incorporate everyday talk about autism during times they are calm and alert – for example, in the morning, after a nap, or during calming and wind-down routines like bath time or reading books before bed.
When explicitly telling your older child or teen they are autistic, you might want to do this during “low-demand” times such as during the school holidays. It may be easier for your child to take on new information when they are not busy with school and other activities.
Many autistic children may not have the privilege of fully understanding what being autistic means. This could include autistic children who also have a significant intellectual disability, who may not yet be able to communicate using speech, or who are not able to use assistive technology. However, parents of these children should not assume they have no understanding at all. Such conversations should be part of everyday life for all autistic children.
Julia is an autistic character on Sesame Street.
Looking for more information
We recommend resources which describe autism using neutral language (such as “differences” and “challenges”) rather than those which use negative language (terms like “deficits” or “symptoms”). As well as reading material developed by professionals, parents can learn a lot from the lived experience of autistic people.
Our colleague Raelene Dundon’s book is a good example. The Brain Forest by Sandhya Menon (also a colleague) is about different types of brains.
There are free online resources to help you and your child learn about neurodiversity. Reframing Autism has developed resources on next steps after a childhood diagnosis and ways to talk about it.
For older children and young teenagers, this self-help guide is by autistic authors. And this video by the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, covers many of the traits, challenges and strengths of autistic people.
Ultimately, we want all children to accept themselves and their differences, and be happy about who they are. But this is a two-way street – society also needs to accept that being different is OK. This begins with parents and carers and their early conversations with children about their differences, and acceptance of themselves, regardless of their neurological make-up.
Apply now for the Future of Education Equity Fund 2023 Apply now for the Future of Education Equity Fund for the 2023 school year. Eligible low-income ACT families can receive one-off payments for financial aid to help cover the costs of their children’s educational costs, such as sport equipment and activities, music lessons, school uniforms and excursions. The Fund is open to eligible students enrolled in preschools that are attached to an ACT government school, through to Year 12 in the ACT. Further information and the online application form is available at https://www.education.act.gov.au/support-for-our-students/financial-and-resource-assistance-forfamilies
School Calendar
Did you know the school’s calendar of events (excursions and the like) are maintained as a Google Calendar which is accessible from the front page of the school’s website (see below)? Events are maintained weekly.
