CONDELL PARK HIGH SCHOOL - Third Avenue, Condell Park NSW 2200

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CONDELL PARK HIGH SCHOOL - Third Avenue, Condell Park NSW 2200
CONDELL PARK HIGH SCHOOL
                            Third Avenue, Condell Park NSW 2200

                               Preparing Our Students For The Future
                                               Term 4 2019

Principal’s Message
This is our final newsletter for 2019. We have had another successful year here at Condell Park High. In this
last edition of our newsletter, we have tried to bring to you a collection of wonderful activities and events
where our students and staff have been engaged in teaching and learning whilst having fun. Schools are
meant to be a place where students have fun while learning. I hope that we have been able to provide this for
your children. Some of the activities we haven’t included in our newsletter are our “Maths Riddle of the Week”,
“Maths and English student of the Month”, “Word of the Week”, “History Competition of the Week” and our
“Chess Club” just to name a few.
Our results in NAPLAN this year has again indicated solid results in student performance. Compared to similar
school groups and the State, we have had substantial value added in most of the test domains. In Reading,
our school’s value added was 40.0 points compared to 38.8 for similar school groups and 35.7 for the State. In
Numeracy, our students achieved 43.8 average scaled growth compared to 36.5 for the State. Exceptional
value added result have also been achieved in Grammar and Punctuation, and Spelling. Our female Year 9
cohort has done remarkably well in Numeracy with 42.9 average value added compared to 33 points for the
State and 38.9 for similar school groups. These results are used every year to plan programs and adjust
existing ones to improve student performance and given them the skills they require to thrive in whatever
future pathways they endeavour to pursue. We are eagerly awaiting HSC results due to be released on
Wednesday 18 December.
We have lost some valued members of our teaching staff this year. Firstly, Mrs Deborah
Ritchie who was our Head Teacher Teaching and Learning. She retired after many
years of teaching in public schools. One of our Maths teachers, Mrs Dart, was appointed
to a school closer to home. We also said goodbye to Miss White, our Head Teacher
Special Education who has taken a position as Head Teacher Special Education at Dapto
High near her home. A huge thank you to them for their passion and dedication to our
student community and wish them all the very best. We have new members of staff to
                        replace Mrs Ritchie and Miss White. We are very fortunate to
                        have Mrs Andrea Kocsi-Thwaites as our Head Teacher Teaching
                        and Learning who comes to us with a great deal of experience in
                        this role. We also have a new Head Teacher Special Education,
                        Mr Tom Naseby who will take up this position in 2020.
                        As for 2020, we are funding newly created Gifted and Talented classes for Stage 4.
                        These new classes will have different names and we are very excited about the future
                        focused opportunities that your children will be experiencing in those classes. One
                        specific criteria of these top classes will be the small number of students in each class.
                        The purpose will be to measure academic growth increasing students achieving in the
                        top two bands in NAPLAN. Students who are fortunate enough to gain placement in
these classes will be supported with a growth mindset ensuring that learning is valued, challenging and
engaging.
I am currently recruiting new staff for next year as our student population continues to increase. We will more
than likely exceed 900 students next year. This is amazing. Our school population has continued to climb, our
results have continued to improve and the Department of Education has recognized our school as Excelling in
relationship we have with our community and community perception. Thank you to each and every one of you
for trusting us with your children. Our partnership is vital in ensuring that our school provides the very best
educational outcomes and support for your children.
After 16 years as Principal at Condell, and on behalf of all the staff I wish our Christian families a very Merry
Christmas and again for the 17th year, I will be back to lead our school in 2020.
CONDELL PARK HIGH SCHOOL - Third Avenue, Condell Park NSW 2200
Achievements for 2019
Congratulations to all of our students who have excelled in their academic and sporting
achievements this year. I would like to pay particular attention to our out-going school captains
for 2019, Than Ly and Adam Abboud. Further, we had an unprecedented number of fourteen
prefects including vice captains, who actively added value to the ethos of our school community
upholding the school’s values of Respect, Equity, Safety and Positivity. We feel very proud of
their achievements and wish them every success in their future endeavours.

Mentoring
This year, we trialled a program to support students with their self-esteem and classroom
engagement, which was very successful. Data from student and teacher surveys revealed that
students felt they had a teacher to support them when they were feeling anxious or having
trouble with in-class engagement. As a result, this program will continue next year.

NAPLAN and Targeted classes for 2020
The school has achieved above average value-added growth in the Literacy and Numeracy
results for the seventh consecutive year. However, there is room for improvement for our middle
and top performing students. The NSW Department of Education has introduced targets for
students to achieve in the top two bands. Consequently, the school is targeting this group of
students and providing smaller classes with the aim of supporting and measuring progress in
Literacy and Numeracy skills.

P&C
I would also like to thank the P&C for their continued support of our students and teachers. The
P&C has been a very committed group led by our wonderful senior Community Liaison Officer,
Mrs Antoinette Balamoan. This year, for the first time, parents were invited into their child’s
classrooms to observe student engagement. Parents really appreciated this opportunity and
requested more classroom observations next year. They also attended Harmony Day and
Education week events, recognising the wonderful talents and achievements of our students.

University Links
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our universities with whom we have very
strong links. Western Sydney University provided our students with individualised career
guidance, study skills and essay writing workshops just to name a few through its ‘Fast Forward’
Program. Sydney University also provided our students with on- campus visits, tutors for digital
media and Spectacular Science. The University of NSW provided juniors and seniors with its
‘Aspire’ program.

Our staff
I also wish to take this opportunity to thank our committed and passionate staff who work above
and beyond expectations to provide our students with co curricular and extra curricular activities
through incursions and excursions. There is a lot of administration and responsibility involved in
taking students out of their usual school routines, but we know opportunities add great value to
students when achieving course outcomes.

Wishing you all a very safe and happy holiday,
Ms Victoria Nielsen Deputy Principal
CONDELL PARK HIGH SCHOOL - Third Avenue, Condell Park NSW 2200
Congratulations to the following students who were nominated by staff and students, to
represent Condell Park High School within the Student Executive Body. Students were pinned
with their badges at the Year 12 Graduation at the end of Term 3.

Adna Halilovic        Ibrahim Tarrawally     Lana Daaboul     Hamzie Kouchaji    Rayan Kabalan
Captain               Captain                Vice Captain     Vice Captain       Senior Prefect

Abdel Khader Khoder    Sara Eid             Elias Sabbough    Fairyal Baghdadi    Imran Khan
Ambassador             Ambassador           RESP Captain      RESP Captain        Senior Prefect

           Term Four 2019/ Term 1 2020

   Wednesday 18/12/19            Last day of Term 4 for
                                 students.

   Wednesday 29/1/20             First Day of Term 1 for
                                 Year 7, 11 and 12.

                                 First Day of Term 1 for
   Thursday 30/1/20              Year 8, 9 and 10.

                                                             Daniah Kusnadi       Sha Aung
                                                             Sports Captain       Sports Captain
CONDELL PARK HIGH SCHOOL - Third Avenue, Condell Park NSW 2200
Condell Park High School farewelled the Class of 2019, an amazing group of young men and
women, at a formal graduation assembly. The occasion was marked by celebration and
sadness, with many students coming to terms with the end of their high school life.
Thank you to all the families, staff and friends who supported Year 12 along their journey.
We wish them all the best in the future endeavours...and we will miss them!
CONDELL PARK HIGH SCHOOL - Third Avenue, Condell Park NSW 2200
Condell Park High School has a strong commitment to Remembrance Day
commemorations. On Monday 11 November, the school leaders accompanied by
the support unit, led the Remembrance ceremony at school. Our student
representatives spoke to students about the significance of this day to all
Australians and to many countries around the world. The students also laid a
wreath of flowers during the moving ceremony which is a major feature in the
service and allows the school, through its students, to commemorate the service of the fallen.
The Prefect body and support unit students represented Condell Park High School with total
professionalism and respect. Thank you to Ms Kessegian and the Year 8 students who performed
the National Anthem proudly. A very moving and honourable ceremony.

Year 12 Ancient History students travelled to the city
to attend “A Day in Herculaneum,” an excursion
directly linked to their Core Study. The day proved to
be beneficial for students and teacher alike, filled
with HSC exam tips, content breakdown and
extensive source analysis. Our students found this a
highly valuable experience!
CONDELL PARK HIGH SCHOOL - Third Avenue, Condell Park NSW 2200
Hospitality students collectively catered and served a thirteen course degustation for seventeen
staff members of the school, on Friday 29 November 2019. Students enjoyed the experience of
showcasing their skills.
The Kitchen Operations class worked towards meeting competencies from Cluster D recipes:
Methods of Cookery. Additionally, the Food and Beverage students were meeting competencies
for Cluster D: Serving Food and Beverage. The event was very successful with all staff delighted
with the amazing service, food and beverages.
CONDELL PARK HIGH SCHOOL - Third Avenue, Condell Park NSW 2200
On the 6 November 2019, The Victor Chang Award was presented
to Kelly (Hong Knoc) Le of Year 11.
The Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute is a research
organisation with a national and international reputation for
excellence. It is committed to the promotion of Science in the
broader community.
The institute has established this Science award to recognise the
efforts and achievements of high performing Science students in
Australia. It was designed to foster and encourage interest in
Science and careers in Science which require the highest levels of
educational achievement, innovation, creativity and hard work.
Congratulations Kelly!

Using digital technologies : This year students have had m ultiple opportunities to
indulge in learning with digital technologies in their classroom via their TAS and Science classes.
Students have been given authentic learning experience where they explored how technologies
such as the 3D printer, drones, Sphero balls, Mindcraft and VR Kits can be used to design
solutions to real-world problems. Students in Years 7-10 have immensely enjoyed learning using
these gadgets and have seriously increased their skills in coding and designing.
CONDELL PARK HIGH SCHOOL - Third Avenue, Condell Park NSW 2200
On Tuesday 29 October, a group of Year 7 girls participated in the Canterbury Bankstown Council’s
Girls Get Active day. The day is designed to encourage females aged 11-18 years to participate in a
range of sports, such as AFL, Basketball and NRL. As part of the day, the girls met a number of
professional female athletes such as Simaima Taufa (pictured), who is an integral member of the
Australian Jillaroos since 2014 and was the winner of the 2017 female Dally M award.

On Thursday 21 November, the PE faculty in collaboration
with the Youth Frontiers mentoring group ran an Oztag gala
day as part of a fundraiser for Camp Quality supporting “Kids
with Cancer”.

The gala day was run as a Tri-Series with teams from Condell
Park H.S, Chester Hill HS and Kogarah HS competing in Oztag
games throughout the day. Impressive performances from
the Condell Park HS teams saw our school crowned
‘Champions’ in both the Year 7/8 and Year 9/10 divisions.

Students from the Youth Frontiers mentoring group sold
donated drinks and ice blocks on the day to help raise
money for this great cause.
As a result, we were able to raise $850 to donate to Camp
Quality. Well done to all students involved.
CONDELL PARK HIGH SCHOOL - Third Avenue, Condell Park NSW 2200
On Wednesday 6 November, a selected group of Condell
Park Year 9 students attended a Future Thinkers Day at
Fuji-Xerox at Macquarie Park. During the day, students
were taken through the steps of the design thinking
process. Students worked with employees from Fuji-
Xerox in small groups on resolving an issue as a team
using the design thinking process. Students benefitted
greatly from this workshop experience including learning
to work as a team, design thinking (thinking outside the
box/critical thinking) and life in a corporate environment.
The 20 students represented the school proudly and the
feedback from the corporate team about our students
was very positive. Well Done Condell Park! Mrs Gremos
CONDELL PARK HIGH SCHOOL - Third Avenue, Condell Park NSW 2200
Year 10 Participated in the Work Experience Program during Term 4. Students were very
successful in sourcing placements and fulfilling their responsibilities. Work experience venues
varied from construction, child care, automotive, administration, to retail. This program provides
students with a valuable opportunity to develop employment related skills for the future, as well
as make links with employers. Congratulations to the students who were offered apprenticeships
and part time jobs!

This year we are very proud to announce that Year 12 student Jihaan El Sayed’s artwork has
been nominated to be a part of the Art Express exhibition. Many thousands of artworks are
submitted for marking every year and only the works of the highest standard are nominated.
This is a huge honour and is a credit to her hard work and dedication. Congratulations Jihaan!!
On 27 and 28 November, eight local primary schools attended Condell Park High School to take
part in Year 5 “Taster Day.” These days involved students in Year 5 from local primary schools
engaging in a variety of lessons targeting different subjects they will be doing when they enter
high school. The lessons, delivered by teachers at Condell Park High, were informative, practical
and filled with fun! The Year 5 students enjoyed their ‘high school’ experience, particularly the
endless supply of lamingtons provided for morning tea. A huge thank you to all the students and
teachers involved for making these two days a great success!

 On 19 November, our current Year 12
 students were welcomed at WSU, Parramatta
 Campus to attend “U-Day.” Our seniors
 became familiar with all the possibilities open
 to them after high school. Our students
 attended different workshops and were given
 valuable information about all the resources
 available to them, both during and after
 school. A very enlightening day for all!
This month, Condell Park High School staff and students have been supporting a very worthy
cause, “Ladies of the Land”, an initiative which has been encouraging the wider Sydney
community to donate items to make “Pamper” boxes for the struggling and very hard working
farming ladies of NSW. To date we have created 82 boxes and are still going! These boxes will
be full of items such as body and hair products, non- perishable food items such as chocolates,
cosmetics and special treats to make this Christmas a little bit more enjoyable for them. As a
school community we are extremely proud to be doing our bit in supporting these wonderful
women who generally put themselves last, and very proud of our SRC and senior prefects who
have played an instrumental role in promoting this cause. Ms Adams

                                   On Monday, Tuesday and Friday of Week 7, Year 7 students
                                   had the opportunity to attend swim school. Students spent
                                   Monday and Tuesday at Birrong Pool refining their skills in
                                   and around water. On Friday students spent the day at
                                   South Cronulla beach where they participated in activities
                                   on the sand and in the water. A fantastic time was had by
                                   students and staff.

The mentoring girls have been busy making home-made
candles to add to the Ladies of the Land hampers. The
project is designed to support rural female women who are
currently suffering in one of the worst draughts in Australia’s
history. As part of the project, students utilised mathematics,
science and food technology skills to design, plan and
produce the candles, which were set in recycled food jars.
Thank you to Ms Adams, Mrs Brackley, Miss Danaskos and
Ms Mona for their support.
Miss Roche
On Tuesday 26 November 2019, Year 8
students competed in our annual
Spelling Bee. There was a great air of
excitement amongst all of the classes.
After a few rounds, 8T and 8S were the
remaining two teams. Moving onto the
individual spelling component, Mohamad
Awad (8T) was eventually crowned
spelling champion of Year 8 2019.
Congratulations to all students who
participated.

                                         Last week all students from Year 7 to 10 who
                                         participated in the Premiers Debating Challenge were
                                         recognised for their outstanding achievements as a
                                         debating team member. Congratulations and thank
                                         you to all students who participated in these debates.

 Three of our Year 10 students; Janine El Hindi,
 Yasmine Mohsen and Immanuel Mansour were selected
 to participate in the SunSafe Ambassador program.
 They attended a workshop at Westmead Hospital
 where they learnt about Melanoma (a deadly form of
 skin cancer) and sun safety and worked on their
 presentation skills. After completing this workshop, our
 students prepared a Sun Safety presentation which
 they delivered to our Year 7 cohort prior to Swim
 school.
On Thursday 24 October the HSIE faculty and Mr Chahrouk went on the Year 10 Geography
excursion to Bicentennial Park Education Centre in Homebush. The excursion was a huge
success, students went on a hands-on field trip where they utilised a range of geographical skills
and tools, examined a range of water quality issues and point sources of pollution that have an
impact on the protected wetlands they visited.
Although a very tiring and hot day, the students thoroughly enjoyed this learning experience and
were very grateful and appreciative that they had been given the opportunity to go on an
excursion as a year group.
All Year 10 teachers were so proud of how they represented our school, the tour guides warmed
up to them very quickly and also commented on how they brought their own rubbish bags and
worked collectively to clean up after recess and lunch. Overall, such a success! Thank you Year
10, Mr Chahrouk and the HSIE faculty.

Joyce Eldahr
HSIE Faculty
THANK YOU to the local businesses that support our students through Work Experience opportunities,
Workplace learning and fundraising. Condell Park High School is very appreciative to have your continued
                                         school involvement.

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