Alstonville High School Newsletter · 9/11/2019 · Alstonville High School Newsletter: Issue 14,...

Alstonville High School Newsletter: Issue 14, 11 September 2019

Alstonville High School Newsletter

Developing future citizens and leaders of the community – life long learning!

Cawley Close Alstonville Phone: (02) 6628 5222 Web: alstonvill-h.schools.nsw.gov.au

Fax: (02) 6628 123 Email: [email protected]

Issue 14 11 September 2019

Our strategic guiding question? How can we ensure that our students achieve at least one year’s worth of learning growth from one year’s worth of teaching?

Values

We value and support:

A positive, healthy and safe

learning environment

Respectful attitudes and

actions

Diversity

Pursuit of personal excellence

Service to community

Team work

Quality learning and teaching

Initiative, leadership and self-

discipline

Learning

We aspire to be:

Life-long learners

Creative and critical thinkers

Effective communicators

Skilled in literacy and numeracy

Independent and organised

Competent and innovative with

technology

Environmentally, socially and

culturally informed

Caring and compassionate

Alstonville High School

Our community values integrity

in all aspects of life

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Term 3

9 Sep – 20 Sep Mon - Fri Preliminary Exams

17 Sep Tue Parent/Teacher evening

19 Sep Thurs TAS Open Night

24 – 25 Sep Tue – Wed RSA & RCG for Year 12

25 Sep Wed P&C meeting

26 Sep Thurs Movie World Year 12

27 Sep Fri Year 12 Breakfast & Presentation

27 Sep Fri Last day of Term 3

Term 4

14 Oct Mon Staff and students return for Term 4


Principal’s report

Education Week Awards

On Thursday, 29 August, I was fortunate to take three of our Year 11 photography students,

Brittany Turner, Isabelle Clark and Jade Convery, to the Education Week awards held at

Lismore Workers Club. The awards were to recognise the achievements of students,

parent/carers and teachers for their outstanding work over the past 12 months. Our three

students were invited to attend as the official photographers for the night capturing the

event, after our School Director had seen students

recording the events of other nights held at Alstonville

High School. I would like to congratulate the three

students on their ability to capture the mood of the night and the quality of their photographs.

On the night two staff from Alstonville High School received awards; Mr Brett

Price – for his work on establishing the Waratah Award (which is similar to the

Duke of Edinburgh Award without the cost), to develop leadership skills in our

students and Mrs Vanessa Christmas for her effort in leading the TAS faculty

through times of change with her highly developed leadership skills, and

taking on additional whole school responsibilities.

Senior Assessments

This is a busy time for our senior students. Year 12 only have two weeks of school left. At this point, all Year 12 teachers and

students are either finishing their last unit of work, or consolidating their knowledge after reflecting on their trial exam responses.

Their final assembly will be on Friday, 27 September. The HSC exams commence on Thursday, 17 November. Year 11 are hopefully

engaging in some last minute study and revision, as their final exams will be held during weeks 8 and 9. We wish all students the

best in their endeavours over the coming months.

Parent/teacher evening

Parent/teacher evening will be held on Tuesday, 17 September in the school hall from 4.00pm until 7.00pm. If you wish to book

an appointment this can be done through the Sentral Parent Portal until 1.00pm Tuesday. If you are unable to book or attend for

some reason, you can contact the school and we will organise a meeting for another time or a phone interview.

John Parker, Relieving Principal

School attendance and the link to the real world Staff at AHS are encouraged to have conversations with students about the importance of good attendance at school and link this

preparation for life outside of school. Ask any employer what they are looking for in workers and they will always rank reliability

well above intelligence or qualifications. An employee who is an absolute star is not much use if they are regularly away or late.

School really is a dress rehearsal of life. It is the training ground for developing good habits. These include getting to class (work)

on time, arriving prepared and ready to learn (work), interacting with people and sometimes doing stuff you do not enjoy

(including wearing the school uniform. I can’t imagine a teenager turning up to McDonalds, Super Cheap Auto, Bunnings, Dominos

etc. for a part time job and say I don’t like your uniform)……..unfortunately as we move from being children into adult life we just

have to do things we don’t like. As they say, “Life wasn’t meant to be easy”.

Our Sentral computer application gives a great visual representation of your child’s attendance pattern.

Green is what we want, as this is present all day.

Red - we want zero red days as these are absent without explanation (these are the ones that

employers hate). If your child is away either due to illness etc. please ensure you communicate

this to the school via the Sentral Parent Portal, phone or email the school or reply to SMS sent

out by our office staff.

Pink is when the student is late. Again, we want to avoid these.

Orange is explained absence-sick, family reasons etc. We are very reasonable in this regard but

if there are multiple absences, we may need further discussion to see if there are any ways we

can support the student. It is also important to have conversations with your child along the lines

of are you sick or just sick of school? Important difference. Sometimes we need to tough it out

and do the hard stuff.


One last note - we absolutely understand that teenagers can be stubborn and you cannot exactly pick them up and put them on

the bus. If you are struggling to get your child to school, please give the school a call and have a chat with the year advisor. We

work hard to put in place a coordinated approach to support parents and children to reengage them in school or address

underlying issues. It is not a perfect system but we do know that when parents and the school work together we have a much

better chance of success.

Drew Fox, Head Teacher Welfare

Year 10 Snow trip During week 6 of this term, 91 year 10 students attended the annual Year 10 snow excursion.

We left in the late hours of Sunday night. Following a 16 hour bus trip, we finally arrived at the snow. The snow was exceptional –

over 2 metres of snow, along with two days of clear weather which was ideal to learn to ski and board. Following three 2-hour

lessons over two days, most of the kids had taken to skiing and snowboarding very well.

The following day brought fresh snow and cooler conditions. By this time, the students were able to explore many areas that the

resort had to offer.

Our final day on the slopes was superb. Whilst still cold, there was no wind and

the sun shone. By now most of the kids were very adept on the slopes, and

were able to ski and board across the entire resort.

Following a night in Canberra, we visited Questacon, Parliament House, Old

Parliament House and the War Memorial in Canberra before making our way

home.

This excursion was made more affordable, thanks to the Australian

Government recognising the importance of all young Australians being able to

visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To

assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government

contributed funding of $60 per student under the Parliament and Civics

Education Rebate program towards those costs.

All enjoyed the excursion. The behaviour of all was exceptional, and this was an experience the group will remember for a long

time.

I would like to thank all students on the excursion for representing Alstonville High School with distinction and thank you Mr Fox,

Mrs Bramley, Mr Chate, Ms Davenport, Ms Twyford and Mr Larrescy for accompanying us on the excursion. Two parents also

came along to assist in the management of the excursion. Thank you to Mr Sean O’Connor and Mr David Moore-Evans.

Finally, on behalf of all students, thank you to parents for supporting your child on this excursion. As I mentioned earlier, (this is

an experience the group will remember for a long time), I know the cost of the excursion is significant.

Doug North (excursion coordinator)


CAPA Week 2019

Visual Arts, Drama and Music HSC students all presented their final works in a series of exhibitions, performances and concerts.

The evenings were a celebration of the talents and efforts of an amazing group of students. Parents, friends and community

members were impressed with the extraordinary breadth and depth of talent that was presented. You should be very proud of

your achievements year 12.


Year 7 students participate in Hair-raising event while learning about static electricity. While no longer currently studying this concept, students found it certainly sparked their interests – although nobody found it

shocking.

Baribunmani Wanyi Ngay – Health Careers for Young Aboriginal People On Tuesday, 27 August, Talani Smith, Shanaya Laurie and Sophie Luvara from Year 8 attended the ‘Baribunmanyi Wanyi Ngay –

Health Careers for Young Aboriginal people’ excursion. We travelled to the University Centre for Rural Health in Lismore where

we spent the day with three other local high schools. Our students particularly enjoyed

the learning sessions on injuries and management, as well as learning about the role

of a pharmacist and Webster packing.


AIME excursion On Friday, 30 August, 18 of our students attended the second Australian Indigenous

Mentoring Experience (AIME) excursion for this year. We travelled to Southern Cross

University in Lismore where we spent time with many other local high schools. Thank you

to our students, particularly Anna Harding and Brayden O’Connor from Year 7, who got up

on stage and spoke about the power of

imagination.

Kelsey Knee / Aboriginal Programs Coordinator

Agriculture Drought has hit hard at the AHS agriculture plot. We have decided to destock and are selling off our breeding Limousin cows this

week. In preparation for the lack of rain, we have planted a very early summer forage crop to provide for our remaining cattle. It

is a mixed crop with both LabLab and cowpea varieties as well as some millet and sorghum. There was an element of risk with the

early planting due to the low night time temperatures but we have established some germination.

On reading the latest research and advice from the DPI, I discovered the recommendation to grow LabLab in our red soils as a

better alternative to the slightly cheaper cow pea. A trial plot was established with controlled variables. The photo shows the

results and confirms the hypothesis based on the DPI recommendation.

Test yourself – which side (left or right) do you think is LabLab?


TAS TAS classes are inspiring and full of project-based learning at Alstonville High School. The students are producing a vast range of

projects and the results featured throughout our TAS section in this weeks’ newsletter are full of innovation and show the

students’ creative flair in various areas throughout our technologies. We put student based learning at the foremost and are

receiving excellent results. The pictures featured show some of the works currently taking place and finished projects.

Year 12 Industrial Technology – featured are some of the year 12 major projects. Come along next Thursday evening for TAS Open

Night.

Year 8 Technology Mandatory – completed buntings and moving on toward memo books – the salt dyeing process

Year 10 Textiles Technology – working on a furnishing tasks projects coming along nicely

Crawford House – Working with Crawford house to get keep the history of fashion alive and

the girls loved this dress up time.

Year 10 Food technology are currently studying equity and in a practical class made red velvet

cupcakes using beetroot.

Vanessa Christmas / Relieving TAS Head Teacher


Sport News

NSWCHS State Athletics Championships

The NSWCHSSA State Athletics Championships was held at Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush from Wednesday 4 to Friday 6

September. Alstonville High had six students compete at the championships that always provides difficult competition. We thank

the parents who gave their time and supported their children; their support is very much appreciated. Congratulations to all the

students who competed at this carnival for representing the school with their best effort and some great results.

Name Category Event Time or Distance

Bennett, Jordon Female - Age: 17-19 Discus Throw 1kg 21.63m

Carruthers, Ava Female - Age: 16 4x100 Meter Relay 16 Years 56.24

Jobson, Amalia Female - Age: 14 Javelin Throw 500gms 20.94m

Jobson, Kiara Female - Age: 16 4x100 Meter Relay 16 Years 56.24

Kelly, Piper Female - Age: 16 4x100 Meter Relay 16 Years 56.24

Sheen, Lilli Female - Age: 16 4x100 Meter Relay 16 Years 56.24

Paul Francis / Representative Sports Organiser

Communication Corner Reminder to Students and Parents - after a chat to employers, hosting our Year 10 students recently; and expectations regarding

mobile phones etc., here are some helpful hints about work experience:

Getting the most out of Work Experience

The benefits of work experience: getting experience for your resume, learning what a job is really like, getting a for

job applications, making contacts for paid work.

Before starting work experience - talk to your Careers Adviser, contact employer at least two weeks before starting.

During Work Experience - do the work your supervisor asks you to, observe the rules of your workplace (e.g., privacy, internet and

mobile phone use),be polite & respectful, be prepared to do some general, boring work, ask questions if you're not clear how to

do things, let your school/employer know if you will to be absent or late, report any problems to the CA, do any assignments set

by your school, keep contact numbers of parents/guardians, school & employer with you so you can contact them if you need to.

After you've finished work experience:-return sheets to CA related to work experience, give a thank you certificate to your

employer, let your Careers Adviser know how the placement went, keep a copy of your employer evaluation for use in future job

applications or placements, stay in touch with your work experience employer to see if paid work becomes available.

Year 12 - Just over 2 weeks to go until you finish term 3 classes and activities. Please be aware of closing dates for applications

etc. and that I am still available for any assistance for the rest of 2019 for students and parents.


Medicine and Allied Health day (not Nursing) - I have recently sent information to the Science Faculty to ask students in Year 11

Science courses or 10 Science 1 if they wish to attend a seminar in Lismore at Northern Rivers Rural Health, Uralba St. The day

comprises of workshops and presentations from students and qualified Health professionals. Possible Areas include Medicine and

Allied Health (eg OT, Physio, Speech therapy, Radiography, Dietetics, Pharmacy but not Nursing). I will be discussing with science

staff the suitability and motivation of students that have nominated to develop a priority list. Permission notes etc. will then be

given to students. If you were absent when the information was advertised in class, see the Careers Adviser on Thursday, 12 Sept.

TAFE TVET applications for 2020 closed last Friday. Late applications can only be added to online funding between 28th- 31st Jan

2020 with no guarantees of offers being made. On time students notified of any offer by 15/11/2019.

Karen Horne Careers Adviser Email: [email protected]

Year 10 Work Experience 26 -30 August

Georga Hayley R Nic Emily

Jesse Hayley J Kaeleb Nikola

mailto:[email protected]


Lennox Elspeth Jo

Other Employers included Alstonville Public, Alstonville Vet, Wollongbar DPI, Ian Weir & Son, Alstonville Plumbing & Gasfitting, Alstonville Community Preschool.

Fundraiser for Rotary Youth Programme The 31st August dawned as a beautiful sunny day for a Bunnings sausage sizzle. The last day of winter brought a steady stream of

customers to keep us busy. This was a fundraiser by Alstonville Rotary to help sponsor youth projects enjoyed by students at

Alstonville High School. We cooked and sold 700 sausage sandwiches and heaps of drinks, raising $1,292 net of expenses towards

future youth activities. Thanks to all volunteers.

A special thank you to students Grace Turner and Bella Walsh for giving up their Saturday to help Alstonville Rotarians, we enjoyed

their company.

Peter Swain, Alstonville Rotary Youth Coordinator

Many thanks to Host Employers: Keen St Vet Zest Eatery GG Automotive Wollongbar Foodworks Mint Carpentry Lismore Courthouse Koellner Steel Lismore Library TJM Northern Rivers UTS-Sydney labs N Rivers Fire Protection


Membership of Alstonville Rotary

Several members of Alstonville Rotary are teachers and we would welcome some parents as well.

Although Rotary has been around over 100 years, its work is still not well known within the community. However, those interested

in joining can get an overview of its reach and the depth of its contribution throughout the world via this link: www.rotary.org;

as well as what we do at District level www.rotary9640.org/

and locally at www.alstonvillerotary.org.au and www.facebook.com/AlstonvilleRotary.

Rotary has new membership categories and relaxed attendance requirements which our Club has taken advantage of with

members contributing whatever they can, whenever they can in an environment that promotes fellowship and fun.

Like to learn more – contact Aaron Perkins or Bob Costello on 0410 598 523.

http://www.rotary.org/

http://www.rotary9640.org/

http://www.alstonvillerotary.org.au/

http://www.facebook.com/AlstonvilleRotary


Recycle 10c Bottles at school:

Please encourage your children to use the new 10c bottle collection cages located in the school.

Return their used bottles and poppers at the end of recess and lunch. The school environmental

group will collect and ensure that money is then used to improve the environment at Alstonville

High School. Our next endeavour is to plant a new set of herbs into the herb garden. This money

helps to complete these projects.

KEEP RECYCYLING THE BOTTLES

The Environmental Group and Mrs Christmas/Ms Varela


Community Announcements

Alstonville High School Newsletter · 9/11/2019 · Alstonville High School Newsletter: Issue 14,...

Documents

Transcript of Alstonville High School Newsletter · 9/11/2019 · Alstonville High School Newsletter: Issue 14,...