PRINCIPAL’S REPORT 15TH DECEMBER 2011 ISSUE 14

Dear Parents and Community,Thank you for your help and cooperation throughout the year. It has been a year of highlights but none more so than the Junior Debating Team, led by Mr Richardson, who won the NSW Junior Debating Title last week in Sydney. The team of Jayde Hill, Hope Eadie, Zahira Gora and Connor Hoban defeated James Ruse Agricultural High School in the semi-final before talking all over Sydney Girls High School in the final. A wonderful achievement! Jayde displayed her versatility during the year by also being selected to represent Australia in Canada at the Cross Country Titles. Other notable achievements throughout 2011 was Rachel Hall’s artworks being selected to be displayed in Art Express, the huge representation at the State Athletics Carnival and the Under 16’s boys Rugby League team crowned North Coast Champions...but the best achievement of the year was the attitude, behaviour and respect displayed by students at our school. I hope that this type of attitude to studies and people becomes a strong factor in our school.A reminder to all parents and students that school resumes for all students on Monday 30 th January. I look forward to seeing you all then. Until then, from myself and all the staff at the school, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.Hilton Humphries

CALENDAR

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DEBATING STATE CHAMPIONS!!!

From left: Jayde Hill, Zahira Gora, Hope Eadie and Connor Hoban in Sydney

Principal’s Report Calendar Debating State Champions Duke of Edinburgh Activities Day WRALS

Work Placement Quick Smart Silver Award Cricket Representative School Hol. Activities Carpet Bowls

School Reports to be issued on Thursday 15th DecemberPresentation Assembly Thursday 15th December 9.15am start continuing in the afternoon with Teacher vs Students games...Be there!Last day of School- Friday 16th December 2011First day back 2012- Monday 30th January 2012

Nambucca Heads High School’s Year 8 Debating team comprising of Jayde Hill, Hope Eadie, Connor Hoban and Zahira Gora, achieved the ultimate success in the Premier’s Debating Competition when they defeated Sydney Girls High School in the final of the Competition in Sydney, to become State Champions for 2011!Nambucca Heads High School is the only school to achieve at this level on the whole North Coast.

Having defeated Banora Point in the North Coast Final the team travelled to Sydney by car on Tuesday, December 6th, for the State Championships which were held at the Women’s College at Sydney University with nine other Regional winners from across the state.After morning tea the teams were able to register and then have the Competition explained to them. The ten teams were divided into two groups of five for a round robin competition, with the winner of each division to meet the second place getter from the other division in the Semi-Final, with the two winners to meet in the Final on the Friday morning.

After lunch the Nambucca team were drawn to face Normanhurst Boys, a Selective School from Northern Sydney. The topic was that all classes at schools should be streamed on an academic basis, and Nambucca won the toss to take the Affirmative role.

A close debate gradually saw the Nambucca team take a dominant role though their eventual victory was close. After the debate the team made a point of paying close attention to the Adjudicator’s advice, a practice they successfully used throughout the Competition.

The next round saw them drawn to debate with Prairiewood High, another Selective School from the South Western Sydney Region.The debate saw Nambucca again taking the Affirmative side on the topic that the Government should stop funding elite sports. It was hear that the reason for the close listening to the advice from the adjudicators, as Jayde set up a strong model which was excellently supported by Zahira and Connor on the floor and Hope at the table for the team to again be announced as winners.With two wins the Nambucca team were now equal leaders in their division with Smiths Hill, yet another Selective School, this time from Wollongong, and were suddenly attracting attention from all the schools in the Competition. More importantly another win would give them a great chance of making the Semi-Finals.

Yet again the team made a point of spending some time with the adjudicator after the debate, a practice that was clearly becoming an integral part of their tactics.With Smiths Hill having been defeated by Normanhurst in the same round the organisers now had two teams on three wins and Nambucca to face Smiths Hill in the final round while Normanhurst had the workshop, a situation which caused them some concerns.

These concerns were further exacerbated when ten minutes into the preparation time a fire alarm saw the building evacuated till the fire brigade arrived, eventually giving the all clear.Again Nambucca were the affirmative, this time with the topic that the driving age should be raised and at the end of the debate the Nambucca team assuaged all the Organiser’s concerns by running out winners to place first in their division.The Semi-finals saw Sydney Girls take on Normanhurst Boys while the Nambucca team drew James Ruse Agricultural High School, with the debates to take place at 8pm that night after an hour preparation.After a short trip up the road to Newtown for a change of environment the Nambucca team settled into their preparation. For the first time in a long series of debates the team drew the Negative for the topic that the Government should ban gambling on sports,

This was possibly the best performance by the Nambucca team in the entire Competition. Jayde effectively established a strong line of argument and did real damage to the Affirmative’s case. Zahira followed this up with a great series of rebuttals, and then presented a line of argument which was more mature than would be normally expected from a Year 10 team. In the end Connor wrapped up the team’s case while effectively burying the Affirmative’s arguments with a series of

telling rebuttals. Throughout all this it was clear that Hope was providing valuable rebuttals and support to the speakers.

The James Ruse argument was strong, however, and when the panel of adjudicators left the room for over twenty minutes to reach a conclusion nerves began to tell. After describing the debate as the best he had seen all week, including the Year 9-10 Championships held earlier the panel

leader announced Nambucca as the winners, setting them up for a final clash with the only other undefeated team in the Competition, Sydney Girls High.After a nervous night the two teams gathered at 9am the next morning to choose the topic that the Government should introduce voluntary euthanasia, and the coin toss which saw Nambucca take the affirmative side.Any concerns the coach had that the team may have peaked the night before were dispelled as quickly as Jayde took the floor, again showing how much she had improved over the three days of intensive debating. The improvement was matched by Zahira, Hope and Connor, who all combined as a team to simply create too strong a case for the Sydney Girls team to come back at. After a short break while the panel discussed the result, Nambucca were announced as the winners of the debate and as State Champions for 2011.

Bill Richardson

TopDUKE OF EDINBURGH - GOLD & SILVER ACHIEVERS

Point Lookout to Darkwood Bushwalk - Silver group practice expedition15 students,  Ms  Mercer, Mrs Nichols and Mr Steward completed the challenging walk down the escarpment from 1600m at Point Lookout down the Bellinger River catchment and into the Thora Valley at Darkwood.   The group did an amazing job in what is a very tough descent.   The walk begins down the long Grass Tree spur, which is a 15km descent down into Sunday Creek for the first night camp.  We enjoyed the spectacular displays of the fire flies.  The second day involved about 4kms of challenging walking in the water over rocks and boulders to meet up with the Bellinger River which is crossed several times before reaching the second night camp at Long Point swimming hole. We all enjoyed a swim after a long day and a rest around the campfire at night.  The third and final day was a walk out along the Bellinger River with some swims across the river to access the track which had become very overgrown.  The group are now ready for their test expedition early next year which will be another bushwalk in the local area.  They are to be commended for helping each other along in the challenging moments and for keeping their humour and showing persistence. Thanks to Peter Lewis for driving the bus for us.

Nymboida Kayaking from Buccarumbi to Jackagery - Gold group practice expedition 6 students, Ms Mercer and Mr Steward completed an exciting and challenging trip on white water, enjoying the flow in the river from the recent rain.  The group have had a number of practice trips on the upper Bellinger and during sport  and were well prepared for managing themselves on moving water, including demonstrating how to pull into and out of eddies, pack their gear into waterproof bags, prepare nutritious meals for themselves and stay positive when they are cold and wet!

The Nymboida is a stunning wilderness river with many suitable grade 2 rapids which are lots of fun to kayak down.  The group inspect each rapid before proceeding and chose to portage around some of the large rapids which were "unpaddleable".  Students enjoyed the adrenalin and excitement which white water produces and demonstrated some excellent skills.  We had four days on the river and found lovely beach campsites to camp on each night. Thanks to Roy De Jong for assisting with transport.

Nymboida River

Nymboida River

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ACTIVITIES DAY...WEDNESDAY 14TH DECEMBER...HAVE FUN!

Activity Location Price Transport Staff

Surfing various $3 car Mrs GreenwoodIceskating/10 pin bowling Coffs $27.50 bus Mrs Bowen/ Mrs McKinnon

Movies Nambucca $22 foot Mrs DedmanSnorkelling V Wall $0 foot Ms Patu Rock Art V Wall $2 foot Mrs ThomasChoir School $0 Ms RydeKayaking Various $2 car Mr Steward

Raleigh Raceway $30 busWaterslides Raleigh $15 bus Mr RichardsonComputers School $5 Mr HazelwoodHorse Riding Valery Trails $28 bus Mr Webster

Bus prices will be determined after participant numbers are gathered....assume around $12Top

WRALS WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAMApproximately 55 Year 10 students from NHHS together with 10 students from BCS attended the finale of the WRALS/Work Experience Program for Year 10 at the Golf Club.  A range of exhibitors and guests attended the event, - TAFE, Southern Cross Uni, UNE, Centrelink, Group Training organisations - Key Employment, Directions Group Training, North Coast Group Training, and local Job Service Providers - ETC and Tursa employment services.  The VRA also demonstrated their role as a voluntary group in the community who provide assistance at industrial and vehicle accidents.

Students came to the Session prepared with a Job Application and Resume and were interviewed by personnel from the various organisations.  Students were also able to obtain information about courses, Apprenticeships, Traineeships and Tertiary study from Southern Cross, UNE, TAFE, the Group Training Organisations and Employment Services.  Mr. Ogilvy, Careers Adviser said that the day was very successful and thanked all the guests for their contribution and participation in providing a valuable experience for students.Photos & story - Helen Mower, Youth Directions

Aaron Brough, Aden Lynch and Jacob Scott

Mitchell Poole, Ly Xian Teh and Claire Hezlett

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WORK PLACEMENT 2011

Maita van Stockum - Tourism Coordinator NSC, Josh Lindsell and Dorothy a volunteer

Josh Lindsell has been nominated for the NHHS Year 11 Vocational Award for his excellent course work and commitment to Work Placement in 2011.  Josh is undertaking Construction, Entertainment and Information Technology for his HSC - all courses require 70 hrs of Work Placement over 2 years.  During 2011 Josh has always been willing to do work placement whenever he could to complete his course requirements.  Josh recently completed his Information Technology placement with Nambucca Shire Council.  The placement involved 3 days working with an IT specialist, at the Shire office in Macksville and 2 days at the Tourist Information Centre, Nambucca Heads. 

Josh said he enjoyed the variety of interesting IT work at both locations and thanked the Nambucca Shire Council for hosting his placement.  Youth Directions Coordinator, Helen Mower, who arranges VET Work Placements at the school congratulated Josh for his positive attitude and excellent course results in 2011.

Lewis Smith assisting a student with a Christmas worksheet in class at Nambucca Heads Public School

Lewis Smith completed his Information Technology placement with Nambucca Heads Public School last week.  Lewis has been assisting the staff with infant and primary students using Smart Boards and computers in the classroom.  Smart Boards or Electronic whiteboards are increasingly being used as a replacement for traditional whiteboards, as they are interactive and able to display a wide range of content from different sources, such as a computer/laptop, or the internet as well as specific curriculum software for learners.

Lewis has also been able to assist learners with more traditional tasks.  Thank you to Mrs Joske and staff at NHPS for hosting Lewis.

By Helen Mower, Youth Directions.

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QUICKSMART WINNERS...

Quick Smart students gather after receiving their certificates from participating in the Quick Smart program

Parents of Yr 8 students will be aware that the school runs a Quick Smart program. This program through sight and rote learning is about improving the numeracy skills of students. There has been significant anecdotal evidence that the confidence and capabilities of the students on the programs has improved dramatically.

Top ‘D OF E’ SILVER AWARD FOR ROBBIE

Robbie de Jong was the worthy recipient of the Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award which he receivedfrom the D of E coordinator, Steven Steward, at the last school assembly.

Robbie de Jong and Steven Steward

TopDAVID MARCHANT CHOSEN FOR REP CRICKET SQUAD

A big congratulations goes to Year 8 student, David Marchant, for recently being chosen in the North Coast Cricket Squad representative side. David will be travelling to Raymond Terrace for 5 days in January where he will be playing with the team.

David Marchant Yr 8

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SCHOOL HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES – JANUARY 2012

The Nambucca Shire Council school holiday activities are for 12-18 year olds only. These activities are drug and alcohol free. Council's Community and Cultural Services department have organised the following school holiday activities for the final 2 weeks of the January 2012 holidays:

1 SEA KAYAKING THE SOLITARY ISLANDS MARINE PARK - Friday 20 January 2012

2 BUSH WALKING IN BONGIL BONGIL NATIONAL PARK – Tuesday 24 January2012

3 THE NAMBUCCA VALLEY AMAZING RACE – VARIOUS LOCATIONS IN THE NAMBUCCA SHIRE – Wednesday 25 January

You must ring Patricia 6568 0249, Naj 6568 0255 or Vicki 6568 0254 to book a place for the activity and transport, if required. Limited places – Bookings essential!

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Indoor Carpet BowlsCome along to the Nambucca Heads RSL on Wednesday nights to take part in playing Carpet Bowls. Coaching will be given to new players. Costs are $1.50 for 3 games and there is prize money to be won. For more details please contact Frank Stennet – 6568 1009 or Thelma Spokes – 65688525Competition starts 7.00pm each Wednesday.