17.09.10

Excellent opportunities Quality teaching

Innovative programs Student success

20/20 Cricket Champions Our Years 7/8 boys cricket side are Matthew Phelps Shield champions for 2010, particularly pleasing as Matthew is an ex-student and former long serving member of the NSW State team. The team won their semi-final against Kingscliffe High School convincingly, 129 - 85. Pat Ivers bowled very well, taking 3/4, before Ollie James (26 n.o.), Luke Allen (25 n.o.) and Sacha Murtin-Cooper (23) made light of Kingscliffe’s score. The final was nerve wracking but Richmond River finally won by 4 runs, 107 - 103. Ollie James (25 n.o.) and Luke Allen (15) both bat-tled well again, but it took a great team effort in the field to dismiss the final Trinity batsman in the last over. I would like to congratulate the boys not only for winning but also for the way they played with real spirit and true sportsmanship. The team consisted of: Ollie James, Ben Warid, Damien Vidler, Luke Allen, Sacha Murtin-Cooper, Reece Marsden, Michael Jo-seph, Jacob Gray, Patrick Ivers, Jake Noble, Jason Cameron, Michael Fredericks, Reuben Patch and Luke Tonks. Mr Larkin, Cricket Coach

Gold at State Athletics From Thursday 9

th September to Saturday 11

th September the NSW Combined High School Athletics Championships

were held at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney. It was at this event that Ruby Morris became a State Champion when she won the 17 Years + Girls Shot put and placed second in Discus. This is an outstanding achievement for Ruby. There were some other excellent results for students from our school competing against the best athletes from all public schools throughout the state.

Athlete Event Result

Ruby Morris 17+ Shot put 1st

Ruby Morris 17+ Discus 2nd

Ruby Morris 17+Javelin 15th

Madison Riley 14 Years Girls 1500m Walk 8th

Eve Ivan 12 Years Girls 100m 11th

Eve Ivan 12 Years Girls Long Jump 8th

Malachi Joseph 12 Years Boys 200m 15th

Charlie Morris 14 Years Boys Javelin 6th

Nathan Perren, Daniel Goulding, Josh McPherson, Zach Wilson

16 Years Boys Relay Team 12th

Madison Fielder, Elyse Goulding, Laura Stoll, Amelia Grant

13 Years Girls Relay Team 12th

Serving it up in the Workplace Our Year 11 Hospitality students took their skills to the in-dustry as part of their VET course. This gave them first hand experience on the job, with real customers. Our stu-dents were complimented on their knife skills, their profes-sional presentation and their readiness to take on more skills and experience. All students acknowledged the open reception given to them in each of their workplaces - Caroona Nursing Home, St Vincents Hospital, Sweet Pea, The Mecca, Caddies, Miss Lizzies, Pickled Pepper, Coco’s, Henry’s, Fire in the Belly, Lismore Workers Club, Lismore TAFE canteen, Norsearch at SCU and Invercauld House. Our students gained offers of part-time employment, ap-prenticeships, career guidance and valuable learning ex-periences. A big thank you to our Hospitality Industry for their strong support. Mrs K Purcell, Year 11 Hospitality Teacher

DRAMAWORKS

Thursday September 9th Drama students attended the annual production of Dramaworks. This showcases those performances throughout the Northern Rivers by Year 12 students that are anticipated to achieve in the A or High B range for their HSC practical exam. It is a real privilege to be selected as two of our students were: Emma Newman for her insightful costume design for the char-acters in the play “Buried Child” and Hayley Larsen for her moving transformational rendition of Elphaba from the musical “Wicked”. Congratulations to both students for their determination and persistent striving to achieve excellence. “Wicked” Book Warehouse is holding a promotional reading of the novel “Wicked” by Gregory Dwyer based on the musical of the same name. It will be held at the Richmond-Tweed Regional Library Monday 4th October at 1.30 p.m. Actresses Maggie Kirkpatrick and Zoe Gertz will be in attendance as well. Inaugural Annual Northern Rivers Drama Festival will be showing on Thursday 23rd September at the Star Court Theatre begin-ning at 7 p.m. This is a celebration and showcase of the Drama talent from schools throughout the Northern Rivers. Tickets $5 avail-able at the door.

Year 10 School Certificate Trial Exams Monday 20 September Roll Call – Mark roll and students to MPU Periods 1 and 2 – Computing Trial Exam Tuesday 21 September Roll Call – Mark roll and students to MPU 9.10 – 10.40 am – Maths Trial Exam 10.40 – 11.05 – normal recess 11.05 – 11.50 – Period 3 11.50 – lunch 12.57 – Students go to MPU 1.05 – 3.15 pm – Australian History, Geography, Civics Trial Exam Wednesday 22 September Roll Call – Mark roll and students to MPU 9.10 - 11.20 am English Trial Exam 11.25 – 12.05 – recess 12.05 – 12.42 – period 4 12.42 – 12.55 pm short break 12.55 – students to go to MPU on start of lunch bell 1.05 – 3.15 pm – Science Trial Exam

Music Festival

Success

Congratulations to Natasha Basso of Year 9 who was extremely successful in the Vocal section of the Lismore Musical Festival. Natasha entered four sections, gaining a first place in two and second place in the other two (one of which was sung in Italian). Due to her consistent high quality performances she was awarded the Junior Vo-cal Championship Trophy. Natasha also won the Annett Coleman Award for the most promising vocalist. Natasha can be extremely proud of her efforts! Well done! HSC Performances I was privileged to attend the Year 12 performance night prior to the HSC. I would like to congratulate all Year 12 on their poise and presentation of some very well rehearsed pieces. Also I would like to acknowledge Sheryl Williamson who has worked tirelessly with this group of students on what is to be her last HSC. I will miss her company, inspiration, humour (and stress lev-els) next year! Good luck to Year 12 Music for the rest of their music exams. Mrs Liz Rosten, Music Teacher

Year 8 Reach High Showcase Year 8 Reach High students presented their Rich Tasks to an audience of their families and peers last night. The tasks, based on the topic of “Youth Issues”, involved ICT, collabora-tive learning and the collection, display and interpretation of statistical information.

From the Principal Another excellent week! Student Success I had the absolute pleasure to accompany Alex Jones of Year 12 to Sydney on Monday to see her receive the Minister’s Award for Excellence in Student Achievement. Alex was one of 38 students statewide and one of four from the North Coast to receive this prestigous award. The award Alex received is the highest recognition a student can receive in public education. Alex should be very proud to receive this award and her teachers, family and other support people should feel very proud to be associated with such a high quality student. A great result Alex and best wishes for the future. RRHS is very proud of you. As I look at our younger students I see great potential for future Year 12 students to emulate Alex in achieving this recognition just as students have in the past from RRHS. Out school has won 8 Minister’s Awards in the last 9 years! Alex continues a great tradition of success at this level and I would urge all students to take the opportunities in front of them and aim for the stars! Life is full of opportunities and it is up to us to make the most of them. All the students receiving their awards on Monday in Sydney had a common thread – they were all highly motivated, enthusiastic young people working hard at school while balancing excellence in social, community and sporting endeavours. Breaking News: Alex was named the NSW School Based Trainee of the Year at a ceremony in Sydney last night. Last night the Year 8 presentations were brilliant – I am continually amazed what our young people can achieve given the time and resources to explore their own ideas. Another quality RRHS program and thank you to the students for their presentations and special thank you to the staff who coordinated the event and evening. Year 12 are moving into their final week of school. Let me take this opportunity to wish them all the best in their upcoming exams and careers post school. Year 12 have been reminded to be sensible and enjoy their final days in a proper and safe way respecting the rights and property of others. Grounds work I have received information that the work scheduled to take place fencing the oval across the road and other associated sporting court upgrades will go ahead soon. I don’t yet have a

start date only that all work requested will be going ahead. Trade Centre upgrade A visit yesterday and a subsequent follow up call to Sydney confirmed the upgrades are going ahead with work most likely to start in 2011. The tender process is yet to be completed but the funding has been approved. I have the plans for the Kitchen, Wood and Metal rooms upgrades but am yet to see details of the Primary Industries development. Next year the school will be developing 3 focus programs – Performance, Basketball and Agriculture. These programs will involve working with our partnership primary schools as well with students in Years 7-12. Currently I am visiting primary school P&Cs and will be discussing these programs during this time. Still asking for students to consider being part of the school Basketball program from the beginning of 2011. Both girls and boys in Years 7 to 11 are encouraged to apply. At this stage students are asked to register their interest by writing their name on the clipboards in the front office foyer. Still looking for singlets for teams – need 12 sets - now have 4 sets – need a further 8 sets. Anybody out there that can help please let me know. Finally congratulations to Mrs Gae Masters on her just announced promotion to Deputy Principal at Kyogle High School starting in 2011. A well deserved promotion and RRHS wishes Gae all the best in her new role. Till next time! Mr C Watkins Principal

From the Deputy Principal The Big Picture in Education Two weeks ago I was fortunate enough to attend the NSW Deputy Principals’ Conference in Sydney. On the second day we were addressed by the Department of Education and Training Director General, Michael Coutts Trotter, who presented some interesting statistics on the importance of education for individuals, and for our country as a whole:

The higher the average age of students leaving school, the higher the gross domestic product figure for that country. Currently, Australia sits fourth in a comparison of OECD countries behind Luxembourg, Norway and the United States. The higher the average rate of improvement in student test results (i.e. NAPLAN, School Certificate, HSC) the higher the economic growth rate for that

country. On this scale, Australia again sits fourth behind Sweden, the Netherlands and Finland. Well educated people tend to be healthier. Statistics show that the higher the level of education, the lower the incidence of serious health concerns in arthritis, asthma, heart disease, mental and behavioural problems, obesity, tobacco and alcohol use. Statistical modelling has demonstrated that the greater the proportion of students completing Year 12, the more likely it is that we will experience a decrease in property crime. The level of education is considered more significant in this regard than job creation programs. With the above in mind, statistics also demonstrate what might already be considered obvious in that, on average, the higher the level of educational attainment (i.e. tertiary education) the higher the average level of income. Completing Year 12 is good, but getting a degree is better. Economic modelling has shown that by 2025 labour market demand for employees with any form of tertiary qualification will significantly exceed supply. The reverse is true for job seekers with no tertiary qualification. Finally, the future impact of the “boom economies” of India and China needs to be considered. If current trends continue, by 2030 China will produce 70 times the number of workers with tertiary qualifications as does Australia. The corresponding figure for India is 100. In an increasingly global economy, the impact such figures will have on the working lives of our children is certainly food for thought.

All of the above reinforces the importance of schools and families working together to encourage our young people to realise their potential through education, and to make the most of the enormous number of opportunities which public education in New South Wales provides them with. Mr M Hensley Deputy Principal

Being

RRHS

Is:

Responsible

Respectful

Honest

Safe

Monday 20/09/2010 Jenny Toovey & Maryanne Coppock

Tuesday 21/09/2010 Donna Walker & Julia Melland

Wednesday 22/09/2010 Kelly Wilson

Thursday 23/09/2010 Tanya Collins

Friday 24/09/2010 Linda Grey

If you can help please phone Kathy Claydon on 6621 4890.

Richmond River High School Telephone: 6621 3456 www.richmondri-h.schools.nsw.edu.au Canteen: 6621 4890

Monday 20/09/2010 Year 11 Exams Year 10 SC Trial Exams

Tuesday 21/09/2010 Year 11 Exams Year 10 SC Trial Exams

Wednesday 22/09/2010 Year 11 Exams Year 10 SC Trial Exams

Thursday 23/09/2010 Year 12 Slave Auction

Friday 24/09/2010 Year 12 Farewell Breakfast Year 12 Farewell Formal Assem-bly, 12 noon in the MPU

Next P & C Meeting

6.00 - 7.30 p.m.

Wednesday

13th October 2010

Lismore Workers Swim Team Club night : Friday nights, with sign-on from 5.30 p.m. and swim-ming commencing at 6 p.m., will commence the first Friday after

sign-on day. All enquiries welcome, Contact Debbie Magann on 66245194 Lismore Workers Swim Team

Oldest Club in Lismore

The Lismore Show The second week of Term 4

There is no gazetted Show Day holiday and students are expected to attend school as normal unless they attend the show as part of a school excursion. Please contact Mr Watkins if you require leave from school for the show period if you are involved in the family farm business and are involved in showing or caring for animals. Our Agri-culture students have been leading steers in class and at lunchtimes in preparation for showing. We wish them well and we thank our families who are assisting with this process.

The annual Paws in The Park family fun day is being staged Sunday September 26th 2010. This is a non profit, community day with proceeds going to Northern Rivers Animal Services and Northern Rivers Wildlife Carers. Come along for a few hours of fun, starting at 10am with a short walk from Davidson Oval (behind the PCYC) through the Trinity underpass to the Lis-more Rugby Club, Brunswick Street. At the Rugby Club there will be a series of displays, discounted microchipping, dog washers, face painter and jumping castle. Games and competitions will start about 11 a.m. and run through to around 2 p.m. In previous years, the following have been hugely popular and hotly contested (in good spirits): Best tennis ball retrieve

Dog/owner look alike

Fastest fetch

Most doubtful parentage (dogs) Egg and spoon race

7 legged race

Most impressive trick

Calcutta - where willing people are auctioned off and race to share in the prize pool. Enter in as many (or as few) events as you'd like, or just come along in the morning for a gentle stroll. Paws in The Park is a joint initiative between Central Veterinary Hospital, Keen Street Veterinary Clinic and Lismore Veterinary Clinic. The aim of the day is to encourage healthy, fun activities between humans and their hounds - are you up to the challenge?

For more information, please contact Ray or Jane at Keen Street Veterinary Clinic, phone 6621 9811.

Undergraduate Scholarships for 2011 All students should have received SCU STAR/Scholarship forms. See Mr Gooley if you need one. Vice Chancellor scholarship offers will be notified in early January while donor-funded scholarship offers will be made after the January UAC and QTAC admission main rounds. If students miss the closing date and still wish to be con-sidered for scholarships, please contact the Scholarships Office at SCU on 02 6620 3313 or 02 6620 3006 or email scholarships@scu.edu.au or enquire in person at Lis-more Campus (OASIS in the plaza).

„Energy Drinks‟ So called energy drinks are false

energy. Could students and parent/carers

please read the label of contents in relation to caffeine content and

sugar. Most have between 2 and 4 cups of coffee and 10 to 14 tea-

spoons of sugar in them - „Guarana‟ is a South American form of caffeine,

twice as strong.

Please do not bring them to school, as they will be emptied

out. Mr Dixon, PDHPE Teacher

Apprentice Automotive Technician An opportunity to commence your Automotive

Career Applications are invited for the above position. Ideally, candidates will have: ■ HSC (or studying for HSC) ■ Current drivers licence (Prov) ■ Completed some VET courses ■ Studied physics or chemistry ■ An aptitude for mechanical repairs ■ Strong analytical skills ■ A commitment to further study ■ Maturity and enthusiasm ■ Genuine interest in the trade. The starting date is negotiable. Study for Cert III in Automotive (Light Vehicle Mech) to commence in 2011. This is an outstanding opportunity to secure an apprenticeship with Lismore’s leading mechanical repairer, obtaining experience across a broad range of key learning areas with access to the latest in automotive equipment and industry knowledge. Applications close at 5pm on Friday, 24 Sept, and should be forwarded by post, email or in person to: Chris Albertini Automotive 150 Terania Street North Lismore 2480 admin@albertiniauto.com.au Enquiries: 02 6622 3300 www.albertiniauto.com.au