Narrabri High School Community News Educational Excellence and Innovation in a Unique Caring Environment

March 2019

Meetings 18th March in Library

6.00pm Canteen Committee 6.30pm P & C Meeting

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Principal’s Report

We are more than half way through the first term, yet in some ways it seems that we have only just returned to school. I would encourage you to visit the Narrabri High School webpage and check out the scope and sequence documents that have been uploaded for many subjects. You will then have an idea about the courses being studied, the assessment tasks and the report outcomes for each of the semesters. If you are reading this as an email, the following link makes it easier: https://narrabri-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/learning-at-our-school/curriculum/subject-scope-and-sequences.html In future, if you would like to receive the newsletter as an email, please contact the front office. On Sunday 24th February Ms Broderick and I attended the function to announce the winner of the Lillian Hulbert Award. This award is open to Narrabri and district students under the age of 18, who have distinguished themselves in heroism, sporting and academic achievement and community service. The lucky, and deserving winner was Jenna Baxter, who will receive $12300 on her 21st birthday. The Shire Council administers the award process, and this year Lillian's daughter, Lyn was able to be present. Lyn commented on the amazing achievements and opportunities that our youth undertake. I endorse this, and would add that we have such a wonderful and nurturing community, and dedicated teachers who work with students and parents to enable this to take place. Whilst Jenna won the award, Emma Young, Layten Smith and Matthew Nash are also winners, who we recognise for their ongoing achievements. Similarly, both students from Wee Waa high school were wonderful ambassadors for their town. A community member rang me about the swim squad who went to Armidale. She wanted to let us know how wonderful our students were, and they are a credit to the school. She particularly noted how supportive and encouraging they were amongst their squad. She is very happy with the high school and the opportunities that we offer, and cannot understand the negative comments within the community.

Congratulations to Marara on their victory in the swimming carnival. This was one of the best swimming carnivals that I have experienced. Two records were broken, and there were many close races. What was different this year was the incredible spirit of participation, especially the music and dance. Furthermore, the sportsmanship and encouragement of other students really added to the positive vibe. There were so many examples of this that I witnessed! I received so many positive comments from parents about their child never entering into any events, but they did this year. I know of one student who sent their mother away because they were having too much fun and didn't want to go home. Miss Robinson is thanked for her organisation, but it was the hard work of the rest of the staff as well as the willingness of the students to participate which made the big difference. During the holidays a number of our students went on a Department of Education music excursion (West of the Divide) to Italy and Croatia. Having spoken to some of them they are so thankful for the opportunity and really enjoyed the many unique experiences. Another student went to a National camp and really learnt so much....she has provided us with a report of her experience. It is great that we can offer our students such opportunities, but it is also heartening that some of the students are taking these opportunities. These students needed to raise money to participate and to

C a l e n d a r

March

19 Namoi Zone Winter Trials

21 Year 9/10 State Touch Qualifier

26 Photo Day

26 Open Boys Soccer

28 Girls league Tag 14’s & Opens

April

1-5 Year 12 Half Yearly Exams

3 North West Winter Trials

8-12 CHS Swimming

give up some of their holidays. They willingly did this and have really grown and matured as a result. Congratulations to Mrs Magann for successfully completing her librarian studies. As well as coming to work every day. Mrs Magann went home and completed external studies to gain her new qualification. Mrs Flood has just begun her maternity leave and we thank Mr Napier for relocating to our town, and taking on Mrs Flood’s Science position. Mrs Charalambous has transferred as Head Teacher from Administration to Science. We are in the process of creating a merit selection advertisement for the now vacant Head Teacher Administration position. Both the school and the DoE have been actively looking for a replacement Agriculture teacher. There is currently an advertisement running for this position. There are two pages in this newsletter highlighting the recently created document called the School Community Charter. The document outlines the expectations of the school when contact is made, and how the school deals with such contact. The vast majority of our parents are respectful and collaborative, understanding that treating people fairly is the way to make progress. The charter explicitly outlines examples of behaviour that is unacceptable in the community and therefore in our schools.

Year 7 Blue Mathematics

Year 7 Blue played in Mathematics creating shapes with their bodies, supporting each other both physically and mentally.

Year 12 Privileges for 2019

As negotiated with the school Executive, Year 12 have been given this list of privileges. It is expected that the students will follow these guidelines with maturity. Breaches of the guidelines may result in temporary or permanent removal of privileges on an individual or group basis. Year 12 students:

1. Will be allowed to leave school grounds for the duration of Lunch break at 11.20am through to 12.00pm. They must sign out in the book provided.

2. Students who have a study period, period 5 or periods 4 and 5 may sign out in the book provided without a leave pass.

3. May apply to leave school grounds if they have two consecutive study periods not at the end of the day. Students will need to apply for a leave pass and this leave pass will be granted on an individual basis. Students are required to sign out at the office and show the staff the pass.

4. Will be allowed to use the coffee machine and microwave in the staff common room at appropriate times throughout the school day.

5. Will be allowed to use the water cooler situated in the staff common room.

6. Will be allowed to access the seating area situated at the front of the school during their study periods. This will continue to be a passive area to allow students the opportunity to engage with their learning in a productive manner.

7. Need to attend roll call as this is the time where all-important information regarding their patterns of study, dates and ongoing requirements is distributed.

8. Leaving the school grounds for any they reason must sign out using the Year 12 sign out book.

All leave impacts on a Year 12’s attendance and engagement with their studies. Application for leave will need to be applied for using normal school procedures and with prior communication as there are statutory regulations set down by the Department of Education that need to be adhered to.

Back to school

It’s that time of year again, when many of our staff members are preparing their kids for the school year.

There’s lots to think about in terms of getting organised, from the practical such

as packing lunch boxes to ensuring your children’s emotional wellbeing.

Packing a healthy lunchbox doesn’t have to be hard or time consuming. Think about including:

Something to keep the lunchbox cool and a drink – water is best!

A piece of fruit or a container of chopped fruit Some easy to eat vegetables for example,

cherry tomatoes, snow peas, carrot sticks A healthy snack for example yoghurt, cheese

and crackers, popcorn A sandwich or some healthy leftovers for

example, fried rice or pasta Use the holidays to involve kids in the kitchen - try new foods and make it fun. Lead by example and let your kids see you enjoying healthy food too. You can find more information about healthy eating and keeping kids active by visiting http://www.goodforkids.nsw.gov.au/ To help nurture your children’s mental health, you could think about joining BITE BACK’s six-week mental health fitness challenge. BITE BACK is an online positive psychology program run by the Black Dog Institute. It teaches 12 to 18 year olds skills for maintaining a healthy school/work/life balance through fun, interactive exercises and information. https://www.biteback.org.au/ You could also think about encouraging the practice of mindfulness, which has proven to help children regulate their emotions and build positive relationships with others. Check out the Smiling Mind app, which has short mindfulness sessions, including a sleep program for people aged from seven. https://www.smilingmind.com.au/ Hopefully you find some of these tips useful, and help make the start of the school year a little easier for you and your children.

Namoi Touch Trials

On Friday 8th March Narrabri High School held the U15s, Open Girls and Boys Namoi Touch trials. There were 80 students from Moree, Wee Waa, Warialda, Bingara and Narrabri High Schools that trialled for the teams.

Students participated in ball skills and drills to begin with and then moved into a game. Mr Swaddle and Miss Robinson had a hard job picking the teams due to the large number of talented students.

Congratulations goes to the following students from NHS who made the U15 and Opens teams. U15s Boys- Sid Harvey, Miles Campbell, Jarmarl Zarka, Isaiah Cochrane, Rhys Bower, Jaylen Sharpley, Bernard O’Connor (shadow) and Ashton Smith (shadow). U15s Girls- Tashanny Clark, Holly Ford, Martha Harvey, Lauren Brown, Zara Foley, Laine MCauley, Krista Zarka (shadow) and Pippa Smith (shadow).

Open Boys- Tom Nolan, Jonty Schwager, Jakeb Nipperess, Keegan Richardson, Rodney Lamb, Bailey Ballangarry and Ayden Hunter (shadow).

Open Girls- Elsie Ford, Alex Hall, Alyssa Ford, Caitlyn Ford, Cassidy Staines, Mikaela Woodward, Aimee Fladrick and Alexandra Bennett (shadow).

These students will now progress to the North West Trials. The U15 trials will be in Inverell on Friday 15th

March and the Opens will be on Monday 13th May which is also in Inverell.

National Youth Science Forum

In January 2019, I had the amazing opportunity to be a part of the National Youth Science Forum, also known as NYSF. This forum was held in Canberra and ran for 12 days during the school holidays. While on camp, we stayed at the Australian National University in dorm rooms, which gave us an actual feel of what university life was actually like. Prior to NYSF we were given an interest group, this particular group determined what activities we would be doing on some days and my interest group was ‘Ecology, Sustainability and the Environment’. This wasn’t my first preference; however, I did really enjoy it and learnt a lot from it. Even though NYSF was a science forum, it wasn’t purely about science, it was more a place to make friends and lifelong connections while also finding your passion. It gave me the chance not only to broaden my scientific mind but to also make friends with kids from all over Australia. Most of the time there was spent socialising at events such as the disco, rotary alumni evening, floor parties and the science formal dinner. I made friendships which I hope last me the rest of my life. While on camp, I attended all kinds of STEM visits in hopes of broadening my horizons and opening my mind. Ironically, it only narrowed them. There were a few visits that I really loved and a few that I didn’t love as much. Some of my visits consisted of excursions to landfill areas, insect forensic labs, paramedic training labs and capital pathology labs. While visiting these places, I got a good feel of what it was actually like to pursue a career in that particular field. The elective visit that I chose, to visit capital pathology, was by far my favourite and definitely inspired me to want to pursue a career in that field. After attending NYSF, I feel as though I have really grown as a person. Science and human physiology have always been something that I thought I was interested in and after attending NYSF and getting a real, hands on experience of both of those things I’m sure it is something I could do for the rest of my working life. After NYSF, I am now certain that I want to attend Macquarie University in Sydney to study a Doctor of Medicine. I am hoping to return to university a few years later to study an additional

course in Surgical Pathology. Without the endorsement from Narrabri Rotary Club I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to attend NYSF and truly grow my passions and knowledge. NYSF was a truly life changing experience and it will always be something that I will look back on. Georgia Goodhew

Swimming Carnival

A fantastic evening was enjoyed by all at our twilight swimming carnival in 2019. Music and dance offs again kept the crowd entertained out of the pool and there were some fantastic results in the pool. Champion House - MARARA Age Champions 13 years Girls – Rosie Ross 14 years Girls – Ella Tomlinson 15 years Girls – May Krishna 16 years Girls – Charlotte Penberthy 17+ years Girls – Meagan Dampney 12 years Boys – Fletcher Williams 13 years Boys – Isaiah Cochrane 14 years Boys – Miles Campbell 15 years Boys – Ben Thomson 16 years Boys – Ayden Hunter 17+ years Boys – Andrew Coleman Record Breakers 13 years Girls Backstroke – Rosie Ross 35.12 14 years Girls Butterfly – Ella Tomlinson 33.11

Careers News Universities Showcase 2019

During Week 4, Year 12 students were given the opportunity to attend the annual Universities Showcase presentation held at the high school. This year speakers from

seven different universities spoke with students about university courses, admission procedures, scholarships, accommodation while studying, and university life in general. The presentation, which was well-received by our students, was followed by a small careers market type session where students were able to visit individual stalls for each university and ask their own questions. The Showcase was an excellent introduction to the university option and has served our students well over many years. This year there have been substantial changes in the admission process and students will be updated on these as the information is received (please see below). It remains imperative that all Year 12 students attend roll call regularly as this is the forum in which most of this information will be disseminated.

University Entry – Year 12 This year university entrance procedures have changed. Instead of waiting until Term 3 for most of the information on courses and applications, as in past years, many dates have been moved forward. Most significantly, Year 12 students interested in applying for university courses will now receive their free

University Admission Centre (UAC) Guides and UAC pins in late March. Students should be careful not to lose their PIN as they cannot access the online university application process without it. Applications for university through UAC will be open on the 3rd April, and on-time applications will close on 30th September, 2019. There is a late fee for applications received after this date. The earlier opening date gives students much more time to decide for which courses they wish to apply and allows schools more time to submit School Recommendation Scheme ratings for their students. As yet we have not heard about any date changes to the University of New England and Southern Cross University Early Entry Schemes, which sit outside the UAC process. Defence Force Visit.

Last week over 30 students from Years 10, 11 and 12 were treated to a presentation by members of the defence force recruiting team. The team, led by Sergeant Paul Gallaway, introduced students to the opportunities available to students in the armed services and the various avenues available to them for entry, including general and officer entry and sponsored entry schemes involving study through the Australian Defence Force Academy and the University of NSW. Students were given the opportunity to ask questions and had time at the end of the presentation to speak with the presenters one-on-one. A great deal of interest was generated by the talk with some students making further enquiries after the visit.

Job Jump The school currently subscribes to a weekly careers newsletter called “Job Jump”. The newsletter gives up to date information and website links on a variety of jobs, courses and vocational events, university entry schemes, TAFE, scholarships, apprenticeship opportunities and other careers related areas. Each edition is emailed to Year 12 students’ school email accounts. Year 12 students are urged to check their emails regularly to scan through the newsletter for opportunities that may be of interest to them. It is also important that they do this as other information coming directly through the Careers Office at the school will also be directly disseminated in this way.

Visual Arts Update Students of Visual Arts have been quite busy the first few weeks of school with all years creating a title page for the topics they will study this term. Students starting out in Year 7 started their term by experimenting with new materials and tackling the idea of ‘What is art?’. Their first creative task was to design and colour two title pages, one for ‘Visual Arts’ and another for their focus area of study this term ‘Me, Myself and I’. In this topic students look at artists such as Kahlo, Hundertwasser and Modigliani. All students will create artworks based on their interests, as well as a portrait of their friend.

Year 8 students became reacquainted with Visual Arts these past weeks and were introduced to their topic ‘Portraiture’. Students will learn about the history of portraiture as well as look into Australia’s famous portrait prize the Archibald prize. They will develop the skills to create an appropriated version of an Archibald prize. Miss Sorby and I look forward to seeing our students skills develop in this, with hopes that one day a Narrabri High School student may enter this prestigious prize.

Year 9 and 10 were introduced to Modernism. Students in Stage 5 will focus on the development of Modernism and creating artworks based on art movements within this period of art. Year 9 attempted still life art, where Miss Sorby shuffled tables and chairs around a still life

assemblage featuring ukuleles, flowers, books and a skull. One of the focuses in year 10 is a portrait in the style of fauvism where their artworks feature bright, bold colours and lines.

Already students’ artistic talents are starting to shine across the years. Miss Sorby and myself look forward to a productive year with our students and helping them develop their skills in drawing, painting, printmaking and sculpture. Also, the Visual Arts department is promoting art competitions and chances to exhibit artworks. Currently there are posters around the school encouraging students to submit artworks based on Harmony Day, Dulwich Cycling Club and Operation Art for the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. Miss Sorby and myself will keep students informed about any future art competitions, providing opportunities to demonstrate their skills.

Kathleen Kennedy Visual Art Teacher

Year 7 Japanese

こんにちは！ようこそ！Year 7 have made a great start in

their adventure of learning about the language of Japanese. At the beginning and end of every lesson we greet each other in Japanese. You might like to ask your child to show you.

We began out the year by seeing how much students already knew about Japan. Most students knew at least one thing and were surprised to know that they knew a bit more without even realising, like the word “emoji” which translates as emotional characters. They learnt to write their name in Japanese

and then created a かけじく (kakejiku) which is a name

plaque.

Year 7 are in the process of learning how to write in Japanese and you may have noticed a key ring with lots of different coloured cards coming home. These are the 46 basic

Hiragana which is like our alphabet except it consists of sounds rather than letters. Students need to learn these and sit 6 quizzes by the beginning of Term 2. Students have also looked at two Festivals in Japan –

せつぶん (setsubun – Bean throwing Festival) and

ひなまつり (hinamatsuri – Doll or Girl’s festival). Japan

loves its festivals and we will be looking at various ones throughout the year. By the end of the term students will sit their first main assessment task for Japanese which will be a little conversation asking information about each other like name, age and birthday.

Congratulations Mrs Magann

Congratulations to Mrs Magann on receiving her Masters Degree in Librarianship from Charles Sturt University on the 17th December 2018.

North West U 15’s Girls Netball Knockouts

On Wednesday 20th February, Miss Sorby accompanied 11 budding netball champions to Tamworth to play in the North West under 15’s Netball Knockout competition. Addison Russell, Martha Harvey, May Krishna, Ella Tomlinson, Zara Bennett, Claudia Penberthy, Mackenzie Knox, Pippa Smith, Holly Ford, Emma Redfern and Tiarne Ryan all played exceptionally well against both Peel and Warialda High Schools. Each game was very close, and Narrabri won both games by 1 point! The North West Championship final was then played on the 7th March against Tamworth High School at Narrabri Netball Courts. Although the girls demonstrated exceptional endurance and sportsmanship, Narrabri was defeated by Tamworth on the day. While it was a loss, the team was in high spirits and were proud of their achievements as the 2nd best team in the North West.

North West Softball

Congratulation to Elsie Ford, Zara Foley and Alex Hall for their enthusiastic effort in the North West Softball team that played in Wagga Wagga. They had a great time and learnt so much about the game. They all batted well making it across home base a few times.

North West Cricket

Congratulations to Jacqueline Collett, Elsie Ford, Caitlin Ford and Alyssa Ford for their outstanding representation of Narrabri High in the North West Cricket team in Sydney. Their attitude and sportsmanship was something to be proud of. A special congratulations to Alyssa for making the CHS 2nd XI side. She top scored the carnival with 200+ runs and was also the recipient of the North West Player of the Carnival. Elsie is to be congratulated on her outstanding hat trick and steady batting. Caitlin and Jacqueline were handy in the field and batted well. All girls played in the best spirit of the game and the North West team came home in 3rd place, which hasn’t been achieved for more than 15 years.