Senior School Weekly - Term 3, Week 7

Term 3 - Week 7 l August 2021

SENIOR SCHOOL WEEKLY

Parent Teacher PHONE Interviews – Monday 13th September 2021 4:15pm to 8:30pm (Bookings are now open)

Year 8 HSIE – Medieval Europe

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Human Society & its Environment Year 8 HSIE – Medieval Europe This week, Year 8 HSIE students are wrapping up the unit of Medieval Europe. What better way to do that than looking at the crimes and punishments of Medieval Europe!

Students learnt about how many daily occurrences in today’s life were considered crimes in Medieval times. Students were shocked to find that things such as nagging husbands and speaking badly of royalty would have gotten them in some serious trouble if these laws were still applicable today.

In this unit students also gained knowledge on the contributions of Muslims to the world during this era. Students were given the opportunity to research some contributions of Muslims and present on, in their opinion, the most significant ones. Fan favourites included coffee, hospitals and art/ architecture. Very few students saw the invention of algebra as an invention they were a fan of!

With their pending assessment in the works, I’d like to encourage year 8 to maintain their enthusiasm and commitment to learning. It’s not easy, but they’re doing a great job.

Ms Zakos

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Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) What do the ancient Babylonians of Iraq, Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi of 9th Century Persia and our Bellfield Year 7 students all have in common?

They are all masters at balancing equations. Yes, you heard right, our Year 7 have become experts at balancing one line algebraic equations and they can explain by building a balance scale.

As Part of their assessment task 3, they were required to build a balance scale and demonstrate how it can be used to solve algebraic equations. Given they are in lockdown, they were also required to create a video to showcase their designs and explain how a balance scale and solving algebraic equations are related. This task achieves the syllabus outcomes to be able to generalise number properties to operate with algebraic expressions and communicate mathematical ideas using appropriate terminology, diagrams and symbols.

Since Bunnings has been closed due to the lockdown restrictions, our year 7 students have improvised by designing a balance scale entirely from materials found at home.

Below are some designs that my class has already lodged to me, and there are more to come when the assessment is due in Week 8. Stay tuned during week 8 for the 'best of the best' balance scales.

Yours sincerely Mr. Khalil Mathematics Teacher

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Sport @ Bellfield College

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Creative Arts, Languages and English Stage 4 Visual Arts Students in Year 7 and 8 spent week 6 developing artworks to represent the commemoration of Muharram. Students were asked to develop an artwork using an art form of their choice.

Students included an explanation of the work's connection to the Visual Arts Frames. The Frames are one of the core areas of the Visual Arts Syllabus, which are used to decipher artworks.

Mrs Hayes Visual Arts Teacher

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Ensure to visit the website- Sign up with your Google Account and start getting access to FREE courses and certificates: Website: https://www.coursera.org/ How coursera works: https://about.coursera.org/how-coursera-works/

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A parenting style for our times I spoke to a mother recently who was struggling to find the right balance in her parenting approach.

She was frustrated that she always had to nag her children to get cooperation. More disturbingly, she felt a lack of connection to her children, which concerned her given the challenges we are now experiencing.

I suggested that she should “guide like a cat and nurture like a dog”. She loved what I had to say so I thought it valuable to share my ideas with the Parenting Ideas community.

You have some cat and dog in you. It’s just a matter of accessing those parts and bringing them out when we need them.

Find your inner cat to guide and manage The cat is the credible side you all have, but find difficult accessing. It’s expressed through your nonverbals – your tone of voice, your posture and your head position.

A cat speaks with flat, clipped voice. Your head is very still and body upright and confident. The quickest way to access your inner cat is to speak with your palms facing the ground. You’ll find you’ll naturally speak with a clipped voice, still head and body and a serious expression on your face. This is your credible (and calm) side.

When you speak from your cat side people will usually believe what you have to say. The cat side gives you authority.

Australia’s former foreign minister Julie Bishop was a good example of using cat behaviour. Whether you liked her or loathed her you couldn’t deny that she oozed authority. That’s because she accessed the cat side of her nature in public.

Guide like a cat by speaking calmly, quietly and staying still when you speak. ‘Cats’ will also withdraw eye contact rather than stand and argue so look away or respectfully move away rather than become involved in a pointless argument with a child.

‘Cats’ also look for ways to manage visually (with such things as rosters or charts) or by moving close and whispering, rather than repeating themselves. If ‘cats’ repeat themselves, they are more likely to lower their voice than raise it to get attention. These cat behaviours work well when guiding and managing children and teenagers.

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Use your inner dog to nurture and build relationships We also have a dog side to our nature. This is the approachable, conversational, relationship-building side. When you access this side you’ll speak with lots of inflection in your voice. Your head will bob up and down. You’ll probably lean forward as you speak and you’ll smile a lot. The quickest way to access your dog nature is to speak with your palms up. You can try it now. Stand up, put your hands out with your palms up and start speaking. You should notice a big difference in how you deliver your message from when you spoke with palms facing down. If not, alternate speaking with palms up and down until you see a difference.

The dog side of our nature is what many of us feel more comfortable with. If you are in a management position at work, you probably spend more time accessing your cat than your dog.

Although effective managers will move seamlessly between the two, accessing their dog when networking and relationship-building, then finding their cat for negotiations or when making decisions.

Actor Hugh Jackman is an example of a public figure who is dog-like as he usually speaks with lots of up and down pitch in his voice, a big smile and open body language. However, he can switch to cat mode in interviews when talking about something serious. He will speak quietly, calmly and his head will stay very still. We believe him when he speaks. He’s no lightweight. It’s his ability to switch from cat to dog and back again that makes him so charismatic.

Bring your cat and dog to your parenting Effective parents can make subtle adjustments to their communication. That is, they alter their style to suit the situation rather than let their moods dictate their communication styles. This is not necessarily conscious. Do it often and you’ll find switching from cat to dog and back again becomes an ingrained parenting pattern.

Get your cat and dog wrong and you’ll be ineffective. Guide like a dog and you’ll do one of three things – whine to get cooperation, become angry if they ignore you, or do nothing because you don’t want to offend your children. Build relationships like a cat and you’ll be seen as distant, stiff and unapproachable.

Get the mix right and you’ll be able to give your children exactly what they need. That is, the leadership and safety that cats provide and the nurturance and encouragement that comes naturally to dogs.

Michael Gross

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Parent Communication - Sentral Parent Portal Bellfield’s Student portal is a one-stop shop for everything. Students can access the portal using their school logon, which gives them access to their timetable, assessment marks, attendance history and reports from anywhere at any time.

In addition, the parent portal provides parents with 24/7 access to their child’s data. Parents can log in to access their child’s reports, attendance and welfare details as well as updating family contact details. Furthermore, if you are a parent and want to see your child’s records, contact the college and you will be given an access code for the parent portal, which you will use to access your child’s data.

You can access the portal here: https://bellfield.sentral.com.au/portal

Please download the Sentral for Parents app from App Store or Google store. Enter the name of the college (Bellfield College) and Click ‘Next’

Parent Communication - WhatsApp Save the college mobile number:

0430 842 666

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Ms Mouina Ramadan Head of Senior School mouina.ramadan@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Ms Mariam Bazzi HSIE/English mariam.bazzi@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Ms Zeinab Rammal HSIE/English zeinab.rammal@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Miss Ayah Balloot Head of Department – CA.L.E ayah.balloot@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Mr Mohamed Mohamedali HSIE mohamed.mohamedali@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Ms Chanel Jbarah HSIE/English chanel.jbarah@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Mr Wassim Hijazi Head of Department – HSIE wassim.hijazi@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Mr Ali Fawaz HSIE/English ali.fawaz@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Mr Owen Gates Science and Mathematics owen.gates@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Mr Hussein Akil Head of Department – PDHPE hussein.akil@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Miss Monika Kumar HSIE/English monika.kumar@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Mrs Zahrah Shaddad PDHPE zahrah.shaddad@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Dr Abdi Ali Head of Department – STEM abdi.ali@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Mr Mahdi Hussain English mahdi.hussain@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Mr Mustapha Khalil Mathematics mustapha.khalil@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Mr Javid Karimi Mathematics Coordinator javid.karimi@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Ms Riem Derbasi English and Learning Support riem.derbasi@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Miss Staphanie Laguna Science and Mathematics stephanie.laguna@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Mr Moustafa Nehme Year 7 Year Advisor moustafa.nehme@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Ms Maysaa Balhas Arabic and Languages maysaa.balhas@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Mrs Shweta Sharma Science and Mathematics shweta.sharma@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Ms Chanel Jbarah Year 8 Year Advisor chanel.jbarah@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Mrs Sasha Hayes Visual Arts sasha.hayes@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Mrs Marwa Hijazi Science and Mathematics marwa.hijazi@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Mr Mahdi Hussain Year 9 Year Advisor mahdi.hussain@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Mr Matthew Kent PDHPE matthew.kent@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Mrs Rana Chebli IST / Arabic Teacher rana.chebli@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Miss Zeinab Rammal Year 10 Year Advisor zeinab.rammal@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Mr Andrew Smith Music Teacher andrew.smith@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Mr Mark Pardi Technology Teacher mark.pardi@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Mrs Shweta Sharma Year 11/12 Year Advisor shweta.sharma@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Ms Aspasia Zakos HSIE/English aspasia.zakos@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Mrs Fatima Dirani Learning Support Teacher fatima.dirani@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

Br Mohamed Wehby Director of IHSAN mohamed.wehby@bellfield.nsw.edu.au

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