The Bugle is pleased to present a fortnightly feature with Kiama High School, bringing you the latest news and events from the school.

Kiama High School is in the swing of the final term of the year.

Year 7 students have enjoyed an excursion to Symbio Wildlife Park as part of their Science studies.

The Year 7 will also take part in Police Youth Talks, addressing the dangers of vaping and the importance of cyber safety, with a focus on the risks of filming and sharing inappropriate behaviour online.

The Aboriginal Education Team is proud to announce that Kiama High School will host a Cultural Immersion Day on Wednesday, 20 November.

Local primary school students will be welcomed for a day of cultural learning, connection, and celebration.

Activities will include weaving, art, Indigenous games, and storytelling, with opportunities for students to engage with community members and deepen their understanding of culture.

India talks up a storm

India, a Kiama High Year 7 student, was recently recognised for her Exceptional Achievement in the Junior Secondary Speaking Award.

India has earned recognition for her outstanding performance in the prestigious Junior Secondary Speaking Award, a competition open to students aged 14 and under as of January 1, from public and private schools across NSW.

India was one of three students selected from the Zone round to advance to the Regional Round, where she was declared the winner.

From there, she progressed to the State Round, competing against regional champions from nine other schools across NSW.

While India did not secure the top spot at this level, Kiama High was incredibly proud of her dedication and impressive results.

Students excel at maths competition

The Australian Mathematics Competition is a nationwide challenge which brings together some of the brightest mathematical minds, testing creative

problem-solving and logical reasoning skills.

This year saw a record number of participants from Kiama High School, with students competing across the Junior (Years 7–8) and Intermediate (Year 9) divisions.

The results were exceptional, reflecting the enthusiasm and the growing mathematical capability of the students.

Two students achieved a Distinction – placing them among the top 20% of

students nationwide.

Henry Mathies (Year 7) – Z Score: 1.18

Seb Moore (Year 8) – Z Score: 1.02

There were 13 students who earned a Credit for performing well above the national average.

Atticus Coffey (Year 7)

Frederick Cunningham (Year 7)

Hugh Hassall (Year 7)

Eli Laidler (Year 7)

Ted Loemker (Year 7)

Jessica McDonald (Year 7)

Rhys Budd (Year 8)

Josie Cross (Year 8)

Luca Jarratt (Year 8)

Baxter Mackay (Year 8)

Emily Raval (Year 8)

Jacob Van Alphen (Year 8)

Rory Lea (Year 9)

Another 23 students received a Proficiency, demonstrating strong mathematical reasoning.

Democracy Letter Writing Challenge

Last term, the Year 7 Ad Altiora English class participated in an enrichment activity designed to awaken their sense of democracy and develop their persuasive voices to strengthen our local community.

Kiama’s class winner was Tanner Walls, who presented thoughtful ideas on positive changes that could be made at a school level to reduce our carbon footprint.

Tanner’s letter will be sent to the Minister of Education as part of the challenge.

Smart Energy Consulting: 2017

Letter to the Secretary of the NSW Department of Education

Dear Secretary of the NSW Department of Education,

My name is Tanner Walls, and I am writing to you about an environmental problem that has an easy solution.

What I am referring to is the average usage of electricity caused by the school and how much that costs.

Kiama High uses 1452kWh of electricity per day and compared that to a normal average household electricity intake, 8-21kWh per day, adds up to Kiama High averaging to about 69.14 houses of electricity per day.

These costs add up because 1452kWh of electricity costs about $488.93 per

day, based on the cost that Sydney uses.

That adds up over time. But with solar panels, we get eco-friendly and cost-friendly too.

Using the system gross cost formula, we can get $208 039 to buy the entire solar panel system.

This will save money on electricity for the rest of the solar panels lifespan, which lasts 25-30 years before decreasing in efficiency by 0.25% to 1% each year, saving $5353783.5 before the system efficiency begins to decrease, ignoring rainy days or days where solar panels are unusable.

And this is just the bare minimum to eliminate buying electricity from power grids that rely on fossil fuel. If enough solar panels are bought, we can beat the amount of electricity consumed per day and start making income off them.

It’ll be small but can fund days where solar panels can’t be used, making a sustainable power system that does not need funding and can run itself if extra power is sold and bought from power grids on rainy days.

Kind Regards,

Tanner Walls