PARKES HIGH SCHOOL

Inspiration - Innovation - Inclusion

I S S U E 4 - W E E K 8 T E R M 1 2 0 1 7

Phone : 6862 1844 Fax : 6862 5046 Email : parkes-h.admin@det.nsw.edu.au

Parkes High School Proud to be a member of the Henry Parkes Learning Community “Leading In Education”

ALLERGY AWARENESS - IMPORTANT REMINDER Due to the increasing number of students with severe allergies and anaphylaxis we ask

students, parents, and all staff to not bring the following items to school:

All nuts including peanuts, cashews, pistachios, nut mixes, peanut butter, products including peanut / nut or extract or oil. These include nutella, muesli bars, satay, various sweets, chocolate and biscuits.

Raw Egg

Also, students should not share or exchange food.

Bullying No Way Day Parkes High School took part in the National Bullying No Way Day on Friday 17 March ,2017. School Captain Yasmin Potts facilitated a whole- school session where short videos were shown to the student body. Yasmin was ably supported with the technology by Year 9 student Tynan Matthews. Students were given colourful arm bands by their SRC representatives and enjoyed activities at lunchtime including skipping and dancing. Students and staff made orange-iced cupcakes that

were arranged in the words “ Parkes High School

Says No To Bullying”. It has been submitted to the

National Bullying No Way website.

Please turn to page nine for more photos.

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Congratulations to School Captain, Yasmin Potts, who has been selected to attend the London International Youth Science Forum in England, in July. Yasmin is one of only twenty students across Australia selected from over 600 applicants. Yasmin will need a very large suitcase as she will have to ‘pack’ several members of staff inside! This is an outstanding achievement for Yasmin and is understandable when she talks with such passion about science. We thank our local Rotary Club, who supported Yasmin when she was successful in obtaining a place in Australian Youth Science Forum, held in Canberra in January this year. Yasmin is pictured left.

Our Year 11 Information Night was a tremendous success last week. The large number of parents who attended said they found the evening informative and the booklet developed by Year Advisor, Ms Melanie Olney, was very useful. Thank you to the parents and staff who attended and spent time discussing the educational opportunities that are available atParkes High School.

Year 10 Vocational Awareness Evening: Thank you to the parents who came to our Year 10 Vocational Awareness Night through the thunder, lightning and heavy rain. If you were unable to attend due to the atrocious conditions, your child can pick up a booklet from Mr Duncan during their Careers lessons. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call Mr Duncan at school on 6862 1844.

Cyber Safety: Thank you to Senior Constable Craig Skene, Police School Liaison Officer, and Senior Constable Simon Lockwood, Police Youth Case Manager, who spent time during the week talking to our students about cyber safety and general safety. We appreciate the work our local Police Officers do to keep our students, our school and our community safe.

Quota International Women’s Day: School Captains, Yasmin Potts and Chloe Henderson, and Principal Sandra Carter (pictured right), attended the Quota International Women’s Day celebration at the Services Club last Sunday. The theme was ‘Be Bold for Change’, and it was wonderful showcase of the talented citizens of Parkes, some of whom have stayed in Parkes, others having travelled to our shire and those whohave left and come back. An absolute highlight was the beautiful voice of Deputy Mayor, Cr Barbara Newton. We are currently working with Quota to develop a sustainable girls program that utilizes the wonderful support of Stefanie Loader, CEO of Northparkes Mine.

Interim Reports: My apologies for the delay in sending home the Interim Reports for years 7 to 11. We have encountered a technical issue with the new system and several people are working to resolve the problem.

Please mark the following dates in your diary: Recognition Assembly 31st March; Year 12 Half-Yearly Exams 3

rd April to

7th April. In Term 2 we will have the Years 7-11 Parent Teacher interviews on Tuesday 2

nd May; 4 – 7 pm in the Hall.

Expectations of students: I have spoken to our students and explained that my expectations are that they will be safe, respectful and responsible at school. I have also explained that this year my priorities for the student body are attendance, adherence to wearing our school uniform, and our student learning culture.

Attendance: Our overall attendance rate is concerning. Students MUST be at school unless there is a justified reason to be absent. Please attempt to make appointments outside school hours whenever possible.

School uniform: Our Parents and Citizens Association have worked tirelessly to ensure that our school uniform is sophisticated, functional and ensures students comply with safety regulations. Many items of our school uniform are now available through our front office. If parents or care providers are having difficulties in purchasing our school uniform, please contact me at school. At our last P&C meeting our school uniform policy was tabled for discussion at the next meeting as part of our three-year review cycle.

Student learning culture: All our teachers are now undertaking professional learning in HOW2Learn. This stands for Higher Order Ways to Learn. Part of this process is to develop strategies students can use to support their own learning. Students need to be actively engaged in their learning to achieve subject specific learning outcomes and to progress along the learning continuum. Learning is a dynamic process and it needs to be continually practiced.

Our next P&C Meeting for 2017 will be held in the Conference Room (just along the corridor from the front office), on Tuesday 28

th March at 7.30 pm. I look forward to seeing all our new and continuing parents.

Please contact the school (6862 1844) or make an appointment if you need to discuss any aspect of your child’s education or if you need clarification on any issues or events your child may be involved in.

Please be aware that all visitors to the school, including parents, must report to the office in Albert Street.

At Parkes High School we are safe, respectful and responsible.

Mrs Sandra Carter - Principal

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SRC Leadership Course On Monday February 20, the PHS Student Representative Council travelled to Orange to participate in the annual leadership day. Mrs Justine Morrissey (SRC Coordinator) and Mrs Jodie Sutton (Aboriginal Education Officer) addressed the students on what makes an effective SRC and what the expectations were for all SRC Representatives. The Year 12 representatives each explained their roles for the year including Chairman, Secretary, Correspondence Secretary, Treasurer, Publicity Officer and Senior Aboriginal Representatives. A lot of discussion at the leadership day centred around what the SRC could do to improve Parkes High for the students and staff. Year 12 students worked with their allotted year group as mentors, and decided on goals such as the creation of an outdoor learning area, student-versus-teacher challenges, a well being hub, additional house events to maintain school spirit, (for example tug-of-war), an Indigenous Mural in the quadrangle, Indigenous dance group and inaugural paper plane challenge. The students also celebrated last year’s achievements, some of which included the successful Bingo night. Already this year the SRC has held a Valentine’s Day Fundraiser, assisted at the PHS Open Night as tour guides, and saw the mounting of student and staff art work created late last year on the successful R U OK day. After the course was completed all students had a fun playing Tenpin Bowling. The PHS SRC is looking forward to another effective and productive year.

UNIFORMS Now Available At Parkes High School

Cash or Cheque to the School Office

Beanies $10.00

Scarves $10.00

Girls Dress Pants $40.00

School Hats $15.00

School Tie $15.00

Girls Skirt $45.00

School Jumper $50.00

School Jacket $50.00

Blue Shirt $20.00

White Shirt $20.00

Trackpants $30.00

Sport shorts $15.00

Sport shirts $24.00

IMPORTANT DATES

Monday 27 March Year 7 Vaccinations

Tuesday 28 March P&C Meeting

Friday 31 March Recognition Assembly

Monday 3 April Year 12 Half Yearly Exams - All Week

Thursday 6 April Year 9 Recognition Excursion - Orange

Friday 7 April Last Day of Term 1

Monday 24 April Staff Development Day

Wednesday 26 April Students Begin Term 2

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EDET Traineeship Two students from Parkes High School have been successful in securing a School- Based Traineeship in Aboriginal Education Support. The students, Tiarnna Mills and Courtney Parker, (pictured right) will be working with younger students and staff from Bogan Gate Public School and Parkes Public School. On completion, the trainees will gain a Certificate lll Education Support qualification, which will contribute to their HSC pathway. Recently, the students attended an Induction Day at Dubbo TAFE, to help understand the expectations of the Education Support Course, and to meet the other six students who will be a trainee at other schools in the central west. Both girls have already started working in their respective schools and are thoroughly enjoying their experience in the classroom. Many thanks to Ben Smith Acting Principal, Colleen Leonard and Kath Whitchurch for working with Courtney at Parkes Public, and to Kylie Dunn, Acting Principal, and her staff at Bogan Gate Public for working with Tiarnna.

State Hockey Selection For Gracey

On July 1, I was lucky to be selected into the State Squad and was successful in gaining a spot in the under 15’s NSW Blues Team.

For the past 6 months I have attended training sessions and selections at Dubbo, Orange, Bathurst, Lithgow and Newcastle.

This is the third state team I have been in as a goal keeper. Last weekend, I attended a state training session at Moorebank in preparation for the Australian Championships in early April.

I am very excited and happy to have the opportunity to play at such a high level.

By Gracey Denham-Jones

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Jessie Day (pictured top left) organised a hair shaving extravaganza that raised $400 for cancer research. Jessie’s friends, Will Smith, Liam Turnbull, Bailey Jones and Lachlan Davies (pictured bottom left) all went under the clippers for a great cause.

Year 12 Health Expo The annual Year 12 Personal Development, Health and Physical Education Health Expo was held recently in the LP Johnson Hall. The Expo compliments students’ study of morbidity and mortality rates in Australia, and the need to address many of Australia’s serious and life threatening lifestyle diseases. Students have been researching the importance of promotion on educating and increasing people’s awareness to help modify health behaviours and reduce mortality rates. Health promotion Initiatives that were on display included: Buzz Day (Diabetes), R U OK Day, Life Line, Kids Help Line, Head Space, Don’t Beat about the Bush, Bite Back and Movember (Mental Illness), Jump Rope For Heart, Go Red For Women, Swap it don’t stop it and Go for 2 and 5 (Cardio Vascular Disease), Slip slop slap seek and slide, Relay for Life, Canteen’s Bandanna Day, Biggest Morning Tea, Quitline and Pink Ribbon Day (Cancer), Asthma Friendly Schools, (Asthma), Kids alive do the Five, Don’t Rush, Stop Revive Survive, What’s your Plan B, and Get your hand off it – mobile phones (Injuries). The local primary schools were invited to attend the expo and over 100 Year 6 students from Parkes Public, Middleton Public and Parkes East attended. Each display was interactive and extremely informative and the students and general public thoroughly enjoyed the experience. One of the main highlights of the expo was during the public evening session, where Jessie Day organised a hair shaving extravaganza that raised $400 for cancer research. Jessie’s friends, Will Smith, Liam Turnbull, Bailey Jones and Lachlan Davies all went under the clippers for a great cause. Congratulations to all the students for their efforts in creating such a brilliant Health EXPO, that helped inform many people about the benefit of health promotion, and leading a healthy life.

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Careers - Let Your Journey Begin Here By Mr Kieran Duncan

Please 'like' the PHS Careers noticeboard

Facebook page for access to further careers information

Year 10 Vocational Awareness Night: I would like to thank everyone who attended the Careers Awareness Evening on Monday 20

th March despite the terrible

weather conditions. The night proved to be very informative, with presentations from and Mrs Justine Morrisey, Transition Officer, Charles Sturt University prospective student adviser Melinda Negus, along with a detailed overview of the Schools’ Work Experience program. Students who missed the evening will need to pick up a copy of the Work Experience Infor-mation Booklet during their Careers lesson. If you missed the event, and would like further information and career support for your child, do not hesitate to contact me at the school. WANT TO FIND OUT MORE? The Careers department subscribes to career sites to enable students and families to ac-cess updated career information: A very informative site career site called www.mhscareers.com. To view the news pages and calendar on the website: Login with the word Parkes and password: “Currajong” Alternatively go to www.jobjump.com, password “yak” for a wide range of career related material. Charles Sturt University MyDay: http://news.csu.edu.au/events

The MyDay program gives you the chance to spend a day on campus participating in a range of activities specifically focused on the course area you're

interested in.

Wagga Wagga – 7th April, Communication and Creative Industries, Teaching and Education, Psychology, Social Work,

Medical Radiation Science, Medical Science and Dentistry, Nursing, IT, Accounting, and Business

Wagga Wagga – 10th April, Agriculture

Bathurst – 10th April ,Communication and Creative Industries, Exercise and Sport Science, Policing and Criminal Justice, and Paramedicine

Wagga Wagga – 11th April, Agriculture

Orange – 11th April, Clinical Science, Dental Science, Pharmacy, and Physiotherapy

Albury-Wodonga – 12th May, Teaching and Education, Nursing, IT, Accounting, and Business

Bathurst – 9th June, Engineering

Bathurst – 16th June, Computer Science, IT, Accounting, Business, Nursing, Teaching and Education, and Psychology

Dubbo – 20th June, Info Day - All Courses

Port Macquarie – 20th June Info Day - All Courses & Online

Port Macquarie – 21st June Info Day - All Courses & Online

Albury-Wodonga - 27th June, Allied Health

Wagga Wagga – 3rd July, Animal and Veterinary Sciences

Port Macquarie – 3rd July, Exercise and Sport Science, Paramedicine, Physiotherapy, and Medical Radiation Science

Wagga Wagga – 4th July, Animal and Veterinary Sciences

Port Macquarie – 4th July, Accounting, Outdoor Recreation and Ecotourism, Business, Communication and Creative Industries, Policing and Criminal

Justice, Teaching and Education, Psychology, and Social Work

UNE Pathways Enabling Course: This pathway course is for students without a traditional educational background. It will enable them to eventually

undertake an undergraduate degree, having successfully completing the course. In the Pathway course students receive additional mentoring and tutori-al support. https://my.une.edu.au/courses/courses/ENABLE

University of Sydney HSC Preparation Courses: The courses run at various times throughout the year. There are preparation courses for Biology,

Chemistry, Economics, Exam preparation, legal studies, music, visual arts, business, design and technology, English, history, mathematics and physics. Dates for specific courses can be found by following the below link. https://cce.sydney.edu.au/courses/education/hsc

My Gain: Apprentice Vehicle Trimmer: Watch this video to hear the story of Troy, who is studying a Cert III in Automotive and Marine Trimming Tech-

nology. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpgcEknxaz8

Pre-Apprenticeship Course Finder: This site can help you find a pre-apprenticeship course in your area of interest. You can search by location. http://

www.aapathways.com.au/Search/Preapprenticeships/Courses-by-State-and-Territory

National Institute of Circus Arts Come & Try Day: Sat 8th April If you’re interested in the classes offered by NICA, you can attend the Come & Try

Day to see if it’s something you’d like to continue. NICA offer classes throughout the term, and offer a Bachelor of Circus Arts in conjunction with Swin-burne at the tertiary level. http://www.nica.com.au/short-courses.php?cPath=6

Australian College of Natural Therapies 2017 Course Guide: For those interested in a career in natural therapies, the course guide can be down-

loaded through the form in the link below. This will also enable a career advisor to contact interested students to answer any further questions they may have about courses offered. http://www.acnt.edu.au/course-guide

Academy of Film Theatre and Television: Open Day: 13th May 2017, 9:30am to 2:30pmOpen day is an opportunity to obtain further information on

careers in acting, music, theatre or stage management. If unable to attend the open day private tours can be booked by calling 02 9213 4500. http://www.aftt.edu.au/events/open-days/register-for-our-next-open-day

The 2017 Bruce Dawe National Poetry Prize: Entries close Friday 12th May 2017.The Bruce Dawe National Poetry Prize is a competition run by the

University of Southern Queensland and is open to all Australian citizens or Permanent Residents. Entrants can enter up to 5 poems with a fee of $6 per poem.The prize is $2500. For more information visit: https://www.usq.edu.au/bela/school-of-arts-and-communication/bruce-dawe-poetry-prize/how-to-enter

Maths and Chemistry Video Tutorials: To help your students move to the head of the class in Maths and Chemistry, Curtin University experts have

developed a variety of instructional video tutorials.http://scieng.curtin.edu.au/about-us/outreach/outreach-videos/

Inspiration - Innovation - Inclusion

KOORI NEWS By Jodie Sutton - Aboriginal Education Officer

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AECG Meetings 2017 Term 2

23-24 May at 9:30 at Middleton Public School Term 3

15-16 August at 9:30 at Parkes East Public School Term 4

6-7 November at 9:30 at Holy Family

Year 7 Vaccination Program 2017

Each year NSW Health works with schools to offer the vaccines for adolescents, administered by the National Health and Medical Research Council.

The following vaccines will be offered for Year 7 students:

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in a 3-dose

Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine (dTpa) as a single dose

Varicella vaccine (chickenpox) as a single dose

The dates for the vaccinations are as follows: 27 March 2017, 29 May 2017 and 10 October 2017

Your child has been given the Parent Information Kit, containing a consent form which should have been completed and returned to his/her Year Advisor by Wednesday, 1 March 2017. Consent forms will only be accepted if they are completed using blue or black pen, and are original. (photocopied or faxed consent forms will not be accepted).

Parents/carers who wish to withdraw their consent for any reason may do so by writing to the school, or by telephoning the school. The Procedure for Withdrawal of Consent is available on the NSW Health website at

http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/Pages/withdraw_consent.aspx

Please contact the school on 68621844 if you have any concerns.

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Parkes High School ‘Bring Your Own Device’ Specifications”

Please refer to our Parkes High School Website for specifications before purchasing any new “Bring Your Own Device” computers or tablets.

Week Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12

8 Mathematics Science PDHPE

Science History PASS

Mathematics General

Mathematics Physics CAFS

English Studies

9 PDHPE Mathematics History

PBL

Mathematics IT Timber

Music 1 Chemistry

10 Geography

Music

PASS Textiles Outdoor

Education

Geography PDHPE

Food Technology

Legal Studies Exploring

Early Childhood Geography

SLR PDHPE

Students in Year 7 will undertake the following assessments this term.

They will be given a Notice of Assessment two

weeks prior to task. Please check with

your child for due dates.

English x 2

Mathematics x 2

Science x1

History x1

Music x 1

PDHPE x 3

Technology

Mandatory x 1 per subject

Visual Arts and LOTE - Ongoing assessment

throughout year

Year 12 Half

Yearly Exams

Term 1 Assessment Schedules For Students, Parents and Carers

Please use this as a guide to help your child plan their study schedules and assessment tasks. On occasion, changes may need to be made to this guide due to unforseen circumstances. Students can confirm dates with the Head Teacher of the faculty if they have any concerns.

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Bullying No Way Day

Ready Steady JUMP !!!

FREE Workshop

Parents, Carers and members of the local community are invited to attend a free course that

will be run at Parkes Services Club, Thursday 30th March and Friday 31st March 2017.

The course called Bridges out of Poverty, is a workshop designed to provide insights and answer for educators, community professionals, and allied health professionals supporting families challenged

by social and financial disadvantages.

The two days will provide educators and community workers with strategies for optimising

well being and educational outcomes for individuals and families.

For further information contact Stewart Vidler on 6392 8407.

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Have you received a copy of new ABSENCE NOTES Booklet? If not, the school office has extra copies.

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Competitions for 2017

At Parkes High School we are strong supporters of academic success. To that end, we encourage our students to enter the National and International competitions that are available. Many of our new students will have substantial experience with these competitions from their primary school days. By entering the competitions, our students have a chance to practise their exam technique skills (vital for those who plan to sit the HSC exams), as well as compare their results with students from around the country and from some other countries internationally. The Maths Challenge for Young Australians (MCYA) is a problem solving competition where students have three weeks to work on six mathematical problems; the cost of this will be covered by the school for students who enjoy a mathematical challenge. The following competitions are open to all students to enter –

Subject Test Date Fee

ICAS – Digital Technologies (Computers) 23th May $9.00

ICAS - Science 30th May $9.00

ICAS - Writing 14th June $18.00

ICAS - English 1st August $9.00

ICAS - Maths 15th August $9.00

Australian Maths Trust –Computational and Algorithmic Thinking (Informatics Competition) 21st March $5.90

Australian Mathematics trust – Australian Mathematics Competition 27th July $5.90

The Big Science Competition (sponsored by Rio Tinto) May $8.00

MCYA Term 2 subsidised

Entries close end Term 1 (late entries will be accepted for some but not all competitions, so get in early to avoid disappointment) Further information can be obtained by calling Helen Vere in the Mathematics Faculty on 68621844, or email Helen.vere3@det.nsw.edu.au. Please fill out the entry form below and return to the school with payment for those competitions being entered.

COMPETITIONS AND ASSESSMENTS - PERMISSION SLIP

Please return THIS section to the office with payment

Child’s name year

to participate in the following 2017 Competitions:

ICAS Digital Technologies – 23 May 2017 ($9.00)

ICAS Science – 30th May 2017 ($9.00)

ICAS Writing – 14 June 2017 ($18.00)

ICAS English – 1 August 2017 ($9.00)

ICAS Mathematics – 15 August 2017 ($9.00)

Australian Mathematics Competition– 28 July 2017 ($5.90)

Australian Informatics Competition – 21 March 2017 ($5.90)

The Big Science Competition – May 2017 ($8.00)

Maths Challenge for Young Australians – term 2 (subsidised, please tick if interested)

Please find enclosed ____________________ entry fee. Amount

I give permission for my child of

Name of Parent/Guardian: Date Signature of Parent/Guardian:

Inspiration - Innovation - Inclusion

Signing Your Child Out Of School For Appointments

If you send a note to the school in the morning we can have your child waiting at the

office for you to collect. This will save you time waiting for us to get them from

their class.

Please make sure you include your child’s full name on the note.

Pre-Loved Maths Textbooks Please contact Helen Vere if you are looking to sell or purchase a second hand text books on 68621844 or preferably helen.vere3@det.nsw.edu.au

The Townsend Memorial Scholarship

The Townsend Memorial Scholarship is available to students attending Parkes High School to assist students to complete a degree course of study at the University of NSW or University of Sydney in the faculty of Medicine,

Law, Dentistry, Architecture, Agriculture, Veterinary Science or Engineering.

Please see Mrs Carter to discuss your application.