GUNNEDAH HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Find us at: Marquis Street, Gunnedah NSW, 2380 Phone 02 6742 0155 Fax 02 6742 4429 Website: www.gunnedah-h.schools.nsw.edu.au Email: gunnedah-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au Issue 9 26.07.2013

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

W elcome back to Term 3. The first half of the term

will be very busy indeed and I’ll mention some of the

events and celebrations we have coming up. Firstly

some information concerning changes to procedure that

have been introduced this term-

Morning assemblies-There has been a change

to the start of the day with the introduction of

morning assemblies. These are conducted in

the gym from 9-9.15am. The format is that roll

call groups line up in alphabetical order. This

should cut down on mistakes in morning roll

marking. Roll mark will go from 9-9.07am and

morning assembly run by the Senior Council

will go from 9.07-9.15am. The assembly is

dismissed and students move off to period one.

There are several positives to this format. Any

staff, eg Year Adviser’s, Head Teacher

Attendance or Head Teacher’s in general, can

locate students quickly and easily at the start of

the day. The whole school hears the daily

announcements. And there are more effective

lines of communication with staff being able to

give messages to whole school. There is also a

settled, structured start to the day. Any student

arriving late between 9-9.15am is to go to the

back of the gym to have their name marked off,

not the front office.

Some acknowledgements and information on

upcoming events.

Parent Teacher night-Can I thank

Administration Head Teacher Kel Walls for

the work he put into organising the night. It

was well supported. With a good steady

stream of parents during the evening.

Feedback I have received from both staff and

parents has been positive. The only negative

that was bought to me was over accuracy

of rolls/attendance which is something we

Semper Optime “Always Your Best”

Excellence and

Innovation in a

Unique and

Caring School

YEAR 10 WORK EXPERIENCE

Issue 9 26.07.2013

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P & C Meeting Has been brought forward

to 14th August due to Agquip

are trying to address through morning roll

call. Megan Verdon, as Head Teacher

Attendance, is working with office staff to

tighten procedures in this area.

Stage 4 Literacy Initiative-Last week the

staff participated in the first block of

training delivered by District Office staff

on the Literacy Continuum and how to

implement it in the classroom to improve

literacy standards. This will be backed

with further training to targeted members

of the GHS staff who will then become

trainers in the school to other members of

staff. We will retest students in Years 7

and 8 half way through next term to see

what growth has been achieved and if

funding exists into 2014. Further tracking

will be continued.

Head Teacher Attendance and

Retention-Megan Verdon is now putting

systems and structures in place to combat

partial and long term truancy. Partial

truants will be identified as all teachers for

all lessons will mark rolls, suspected

truants will be compiled and Mrs Verdon

will be asking students the next day why

they were not in class. If it is shown that

they have truanted they will be placed on

lunch time detention. Students who

continue with this pattern of behaviour

will face stronger disciplinary sanctions.

Long term non-attenders will be placed on

school level support programs, and if this

is not successful Mrs Verdon will work

with the Home School Liaison Officer from

District Office to put further support plans

in place. Can I congratulate Gunnedah

South on the very impressive attendance

figures they have just published and send

a message to the high school community

that the bar for attendance and

participation is being raised.

Week 3-Will be a huge week as we have an

overlap with Education Week and NAIDOC

week and there will be a number of

information evenings. Nights to mark on the

calendar - Tuesday 30th July Year 10 Subject

Selection Night, Wednesday 31st July Year 6

Preview Evening and Thursday 1st August

Year 8 Subject Selection Night. Education

and NAIDOC Week displays and activities

will also occur during this week.

Shane Kelly

Principal

TENNIS OPEN TEAM

A t the time of writing, the girls in the Open Tennis

Team are Regional Champions for the third year in a

row. They defeated Armidale High School eight love in

the Regional Final on Friday 14th June in Tamworth.

The team will now travel to Ulladulla in the second

week of Term 3 to contest the State Finals against the

other regional winners.

Congratulations to our winners Gabbie O’Gorman,

Jessica Novley, Chloe Beasley, Kyra Carlyon and Nikki

Bruce.

STOP PRESS: Our Tennis Team members are State

Champions! More next issue.

VIDEO GAMES – ARE THEY TOO VIOLENT?

How do you know if the video game your child wants to

play is too violent - without having to buy and play it

yourself? There are plenty of less violent alternatives

that kids will enjoy playing just as much (if not more).

Find out more: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/10-most-

violent-video-games-and-10-alternatives

Issue 9 26.07.2013

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BACK TO SCHOOL

O n 20th June Year 5

and 6 students and

their parents attended

a ‘Back to School’

night at Gunnedah

High School. There

was a very good

turnout of families

from our Partner Schools. The theme of the evening

was ‘technology-rich learning in the 21st Century

classroom’. Teachers from across faculties conducted

lessons showcasing a range of technologies such as

iPads, laptops, interactive whiteboards, fitness testing

equipment and Lego technics. The School’s moodle

(web based learning management system or virtual

classroom)was also showcased and drew a lot of

attention.

SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

CHALLENGE

A group of 27 Year

9 and 10 students

recently competed in

the Science and

Engineering Challenge

held in Narrabri.

Students faced

challenges including designing and building airships,

bridges, catapults, balloon powered cars, vehicles to

traverse rough surfaces and towers to withstand

earthquakes. Other challenges included designing

networks for transport and electricity systems.

Keegan Lane and Luke

Williams won their

afternoon challenge by

designing the most cost

effective and reliable

electricity network. A

few other groups

achieved 2nd

and 3rd

place in their challenges.

All students are to be commended on their effort on

the day and the persistence that they showed in

attempting to solve the problem.

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SALT

S upporting And

Linking Tradeswomen

or SALT as we are

better known, was

started in 2009 and is

now a nonprofit

organization run by

volunteer tradies.

A major initiative of

SALT is the Skill

Women workshops.

SALT takes a mobile

workshop in its

purpose built trailer to

different venues to

teach women of all ages how to use hand tools and

small hand tools. Women aged between 7 and 91

years have taken part in the four hour practical

workshops.

SALT believes that

everyone should be

able to use a cordless

drill as a basic life

skill - almost as

simple as boiling an

egg and just as

useful.

Men have booked their

wives and children

into workshops and

they have had a

resoundingly positive

feedback. Each person

who completes the

workshop takes home a timber cutlery caddy which

they make themselves under the guidance of SALT

tradies.

We are thrilled to have been in Gunnedah to run two

workshops with the fantastic support of local schools

and Gunnedah TAFE.

Phone. 0419 160 934

Email. saltaustralia.org.au

http://www.saltaustralia.org/

SKILLS TASTER DAY

A large group of

Year 9 students

enjoyed a Skills

Taster Workshop at

Gunnedah TAFE.

Sponsored by BHP

Billiton, Careers

Network, and TAFE New England the workshops

allowed the students to explore their career options,

especially in the trade areas.

Students in Year 9

are at the stage where

they should be

considering their

future career, and this

day has been

designed to allow

students with an interest, especially in trades, to do

that.

Students selected

areas of interest

from a list of 14

different careers,

and were then

allocated three

workshops. Skilled

trades’ people involved the students in a small

activity in each workshop, as well as explaining what

the trade/career involved, how to enter the job, and

where to train for it.

The skill areas included hairdressing, beauty,

childcare, light automotive, heavy automotive,

engineering, carpentry, IT, aero skills, animal care,

and mining careers. The students were able to use the

driving simulator that is utilised for training truck and

heavy vehicle operators on mining sites. Nursing,

hospitality, & electrical were also popular with the

students.

The majority of

students agreed the

day was interesting,

valuable for their

career decision

making and an

enjoyable day.

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For some interesting reading, upcoming events and media releases then go to the Human Rights website.

www.humanrights.gov.au/news

www.humanrights.gov.au/get-involved/events-list

Thanks must also go

to the volunteers

from Gunnedah

West Rotary Club

who supplied and

cooked the BBQ

lunch. Also thank

you to the TAFE personnel for conducting the

majority of the

workshops.

GUNNEDAH HIGH SCHOOL

P & C

Charity Golf Day

Sunday 15th September

2013

$20.00 per person

Complimentary BBQ will

be available

4 Man Ambrose

Or

4 Ball Best Ball

Contact

Pro-Shop 02 6742 1751

Issue 9 26.07.2013

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YEAR 6 TRANSITION LESSONS IN TAS

Y ear 6 students from Local Primary Schools participated in timber and food technology lessons at Gunnedah

High School Wednesday 19th and 26

th June. The students made wooden pencil boxes and creatively decorated cup

cakes.

Issue 9 26.07.2013

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GUNNEDAH HIGH SCHOOLS

MORNING TEA

FOR

“CAN ASSIST”

The Gunnedah High School

P & C Canteen recently

donated a cheque for

$1220 to the Gunnedah

branch of Can Assist. The

money was raised from

fundraising from a student

and staff morning tea. Our

thanks go to Gae Bowen,

our canteen supervisor,

and Phillipa Henry for

organising the wonderful

morning teas. Can Assist is

a charity dedicated solely

to helping country people

affected by cancer.

Locally the Gunnedah

branch helps cancer

patients financially when

they may find they are

struggling to make ends

meet while undergoing

treatment for their illness.

They also help country

patients who may be

unable to afford the full

amount of their

accommodation costs in

Sydney. Pictured are

Robyn Blake (Can Assist

representative), Gae

Bowen and Phillipa Henry.

Issue 9 26.07.2013

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YEAR TEN WORK EXPERIENCE

O ur Year 10 students have just completed a week

of Work Experience in the community. A thank you

to the business houses who accepted one or more

students from Gunnedah High School, giving them a

chance to put into practice many of the theory skills

they have been studying over the past three and a half

years.

Just caught Jackson

as he was getting

ready to attend a

service call with

James from J & L

Computers.

Zakk Capes worked

at Namoi Meats.

Karah, Chloe,

Caitlin were having

a ball with the

children and their

toys at Good Start

Early Learning

Centre.

Brighton worked at

Avro Metaland. I

found him hard at it

helping sort and

move metal onto

racks with the

forklift.

Keegan worked at

Geoff King Engineering

Geoff had only good

reports regarding

Keegan and the Work

Experience project

each year.

STUDENT MEDICAL FORMS

D uring Terms 3 and 4 we will be updating our

medical records systems to ensure we have the most

up-to-date information on your child’s health.

If you have a child with a medical condition you will

receive a copy of the new forms in the mail and will

need to fill them out and return them to us as soon as

you can.

The good news is we have already started collecting

some of this information, which means less for you to

do.

The new forms will help us collect your child’s

important medical information and the introduction

of new systems will mean we’ll be able to better

manage the daily and emergency health needs of your

child.

We appreciate your support as we start collecting the

information and if you have any questions please call

the school on 6742 0155.

ACTION NEEDED ON ATTENDANCE

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I wish to address a few issues regarding attendance

at school and seek your assistance in maintaining

strong links with the school and encouraging regular

attendance for the benefit of your child.

Students absent from school: The students need to

bring a note to school if they are absent from school.

A phone call to the school is also acceptable. The

note needs to have legitimate reasons for students

being absent from school. Please clearly identify

these reasons. Leave can be granted in some

instances so be clear in your reason.

Students Late To School: Students, who are late to

school i.e. after 9.00am, should have a note

explaining the reason for their lateness. Those who

arrive during roll marking need to report to the hall

to be signed in to school. If you turn up to roll call

late this will be noted. After three times in a term

your parents will be phoned to confirm you being

late. Discrepancies or frequentness will result in

Issue 9 26.07.2013

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making up the time. Important announcements are

made in roll call. Therefore it is important that

students move quickly to their roll groups once the

bell has sounded.

If arriving after roll mark (after 9.15) students

need to report to the office to sign in. It is okay for

parents/guardians to deliver the students to the office

if they don’t have time to write a note.

Students Wishing To Leave School During The

Day: Permission will be given for students to leave

school during the day if there is legitimate business

that cannot be completed after school hours. This can

include dental & medical appointments, family

matters, meetings with officials,.

Students should bring a note to school which states

the reason for requesting leave, the time(s) the

student will be leaving and/or returning to school,

and the student’s details such as full name, year &

roll group. This note needs to be presented to Mrs

Verdon at the front office between 8.45am -9.00am

and a Leave Pass obtained. Police may ask the

student to produce this leave pass if they are seen

outside school grounds during school hours.

Unexplained absences

Unexplained or partial unexplained absences go onto

the students record and report if:

You fail to bring a note or call the school

when your child is away

Your reason is unjustified or has not been

clearly identified

A student is late to roll call

A student truants a class

A senior student leaves the school during the

day without their parent’s permission and/or

a legitimate reason

WHEN REASONS ARE UNJUSTIFIED YOU

WILL BE CONTACTED BY THE SCHOOL

IDEAS TO BUILD NUMERACY SKILLS

THROUGH HOBBIES AND INTERESTS

M any of your child’s interests will include

measuring skills and calculations.

While watching sports you could discuss the scoring.

For example, cricket lends itself to discussing run

rates and the use of graphs to present information.

Games such as football have averages, statistics and

graphs.

If your child

likes to

cook, you

could

encourage

them to help

prepare a

recipe that

he or she

really likes.

You could

ask them to

help you

work out the

quantities needed when changing a recipe from say

four people to six people. Cooking also helps

improve their skills in measurement, using units and

reading different types of scales. It may also offer the

opportunity to convert between units such as going

from teaspoons to tablespoons, millilitres to litres or

Fahrenheit to degrees Celsius. When cooking you

could discuss when things need to be measured

accurately and when approximations are good

enough.

Sewing, scrapbooking, cross-stitch, tapestry, quilting

and woodwork all include aspects of measuring and

patterning.

Is your child interested in the construction of models

such as cars, trains and aeroplanes? Take the

opportunity to discuss the scale or size of the model

compared to real-life size.

If your child likes playing computer games talk to

them about the point scoring system and how they

reached the score they achieved. There are a range of

computer games available on the Internet to help

improve maths skills.

Any parent/carers who do not

want their child photographed

could you please telephone the

school on 6742 0155

Issue 9 26.07.2013

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NAIDOC WEEK

NAIDOC WEEK 29TH

July – 2nd

August 2013 NAIDOC WEEK 29TH

July – 2nd

August

2013

Date: Time Activity

Monday 29th

July 2013 9.15am – 9.35am

1.10 – 1.30pm

Flag Raising Assembly

MC’s – Taylar Mancer & Sam Craig (yr (9)

Flag Raisers: Lyn Thomas (Australian); Les

Sussyer Torres Strait; Gwen Griffen

(Aboriginal)

Guest Speaker: Jason Smith AES

Sharon Collins: yrs 7; 8; 9; & 10 best decorated

cup cake (all day)

(Lyn looking at the timetables)

Morning Tea 11.10am – 11.30am

Billy Tea & Johnny Cakes (Megan &

Hospitality class)

Artworks for front foyer - yrs 7; 8; 9; & 10 (all

week)

Festival of Champions

1st activity – Billy Boiling (Shed compound

Rod Burnes -fire marshall)

Tuesday 30th

July 2013 11.30am –

12.30pm

1.10 – 1.30pm

Performer: Murri Kulcha in Education –

years 7; 8; 9; & 10 gym

Whole School Barbecue – (Gae Bowen

Canteen catering) Invitation to Elders &

staff – hall barbecue – hall booked for use

Music: Simone & Gunny Blue

Students singing Myall Creek song

Festival of Champions

2nd

activity – Kangaroo spearing – boys

Goanna hitting (digging

Sticks) – girls (small oval)

Wednesday 31st July 2013

1.10 – 1.30pm

Years 7, 8 9 & 10

Guest: Brett Murray – Bullying all years

Festival of Champions

3rd

activity – Quoits (small oval)

Thursday 1st August 2013 1.10 – 1.30pm

Festival of Champion

4th

activity – Balloon stomping

Friday 2nd

August 2013 1.10 – 1.30pm

Festival of Champions

5th

activity – boomerang throwing

Team member to be selected to go in the

returning boomerang competition

Issue 9 26.07.2013

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HSC

Performance Evening

Gunnedah High School

Year 12 Music Class of 2013-06-25

Presents

An Evening of HSC Music

Performances

Date

Wednesday 14th August

Time

7:00pm

Where

Gunnedah High School Auditorium

Featuring Music for Small and Large

Ensembles, Popular Music and

An Instrument and its Repertoire

this is an opportunity to hear students perform pieces they

will present in the upcoming HSC practical examinations

Families and friends are welcome as are

Interested members of the public

Issue 9 26.07.2013

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YEAR 6 PREVIEW EVENING

Gunnedah High School

AN INVITATION

All Year 6 students and families are invited

to our

Seminar &

Year 6 Preview Evening 4.00 – 6.00 pm Keynote Speaker

6.00 – 6.30 Supper

6.30 – 8.30 Preview Evening

Brett Murray 4.00 – 6.00 pm

Keynote Speaker

The evening begins with Brett Murray at

4.00 – 6.00 pm. Brett Murray is Australia’s

number one Anti Bullying authority and the

most sought after youth speaker.

This presentation is available to all staff,

parents and friends from our

Partner Schools across all years.

Brett Murray is the foremost authority on school

bullying and leadership development in the

Nation. He is in high demand across Australia

and more recently International destinations. An

author, writer, director and producer, Brett Murray

regularly appears on national television and radio

for his expertise in cultural trends. He is an

advisor to the NSW State Government and has

worked with the NSW Police and the NSW

Juvenile Justice Department.

Supper provided 6.00 – 6.30pm

(Catering provided by our Hospitality Students)

Year 6 Preview Evening

6.30pm – 8.30pm

The Preview Evening will showcase the

curriculum and programs of our school and

offer the opportunity for parents and

students to talk with staff members.

at

Gunnedah High School Hall

Wednesday, 31st July 2013

TALKING TO OUR SPONS OR

On Tuesday 11th June, six students (Cara, Aleasha,

Clare, Sophie, Courtney and Emily) attended

the Namoi Cotton Growers Association meeting to

present what we accomplished last year through the

project.

The project allowed us to gain a greater

understanding of both the cotton industry as a whole

and ourselves.

It taught us a variety of skills from team work,

leadership, time management, writing styles, use of

blogs and other multimedia forms along with an

appreciation of art.

Before this competition, there was no way I was

going to present to a room full of strangers about

cotton; now I have the confidence to that and much

more.

Cara Gold