North Bundaberg. State High School Principal s Report

Transcription

1 OUTSTANDING LEARNERS OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS OUTSTANDING FUTURES North Bundaberg State High School 2018 Principal s Report No. 11 Wednesday, 18 July 2018 I am aware that the school community was informed late last term that I would be replacing Principal Robyn Kent during her leave for the first 5 weeks of this term. I was previously employed at North High as a teacher from 1996 to 2006 and I am currently the Principal at Isis District State High School. It is lovely to return to North High after many years and be welcomed so warmly by the staff and students. I am very impressed to see that the school has undergone many changes over the years and I must make note of the fact that North High is a very highly regarded school in our Region. It is also important to note that the academic performance of the school is as good as any school in our Region which is a reflection of the quality of school leadership and the dedicated teaching and non-teaching staff. Welcome to our first Newsletter for this term, I hope that all students were able to have a relaxing time over the winter vacation and have returned to school invigorated and ready to engage with their program of learning to the best of their ability. You can have a significant impact on maximising your child s performance at school by ensuring they attend school every day with the correct equipment and that they complete any homework to ensure they keep up with set work. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. Communication between school and home is critical to student success, please continue to contact the school if you have any concerns regarding your child s education so that together we can produce the best outcomes. In coming weeks we have some very important opportunities to collaborate through the My Big Picture Plan and the Student-led conferences (more detailed information can be found below) which take the place of traditional parent teacher interviews and encourages students to take ownership of their learning. Of course if parents wish to meet with teachers to discuss student progress they are always welcome to contact the school at any time. As the weather cools with the onset of winter it is timely to remind the school community of our winter uniform requirements. In order to assist with this I have provided you with information on our winter school uniform. I wish to emphasize that the only acceptable school jumper is our school jacket with the school logo as detailed in the photo. In general, we have an almost 100% compliance rate with the wearing of our uniform and it is at this time of the year this compliance rate drops with students not wearing the accepted school jacket. Plain black jumpers and hoodies or any other jumper are no longer part of our uniform.

2 The jackets with the school logo can be purchased at Lowes for $ We achieve our high rate of uniform compliance through student co-operation and your support. I am sure we can achieve the same outcome with school jumpers and I ask for your support in this matter to ensure our students meet our high expectations regarding dress. I look forward to getting around to classrooms and experiencing the exciting things North High has on display. Warm regards Chris Gill A/PRINCIPAL Student and Parent Opinion Survey Each year schools undergo the School Opinion Survey that is run by the department s State School Division to collect the opinions of students, staff and parents about aspects of the school. All parents/caregivers are strongly encouraged to complete the survey online and will receive a letter with an access code needed to complete the survey. The online survey opens on July 30 th and closes August 24 th. A sample of 60 students from Years 8 and 11 will be surveyed at school in the week beginning July 30 th. The sample of students will be notified shortly and will complete the survey at an organised time. We hope that many parents/caregivers will take the opportunity to reply to the survey and provide valuable information about their opinions on important aspects of the school. Please be prepared to receive your letter with your individual access code shortly and be ready for July 31 st when the survey opens. If you do not have access to a computer and would like to participate, a computer will be available in the main office for you to use from July 31 st. Thank you Graham Quinn

3 Junior School NEWS Student-led conferences 2018 On Thursday, 2 nd August (week 3, term 3), North High will be holding student-led conferences (SLC s). This is an opportunity for students, parents and teachers to reflect on successes, identify areas for improvement, articulate aspirations, and make concrete plans to achieve goals. In contrast to previous student-led conferences, students will also be able to book extra conferences with up to two subject teachers. After booking a student-led conference with your student s RAS teacher using the online system, parents and caregivers can contact the school via phone ( ) to reserve times with one or two subject teachers. Why attend a student-led conference? In contrast to traditional parent-teacher interviews, the student-led conference involves students in the process of reporting success, identifying improvements required and setting educational goals. This is vital in building student aspirations. The process has real-world relevance; setting goals, reflecting on performance and making plans for improvement are common practices in many industries today. The process encourages students to talk about the positive things, things they are proud of, as well as things they would like to improve. This is an important opportunity to celebrate student success in a formal environment. On this day, the student-led conferences will be held from 3:30pm to 7:00pm, to ensure parents and carers with work commitments can attend. We hope to see you there. Details: Date: Thursday, 2 nd August Time: 3:30 pm 7:00 pm Location: North Bundaberg SHS Achievement is enhanced to the degree that students and teachers set and communicate appropriate, specific and challenging goals. John Hattie (educational researcher and author) Acting deputy principal, Tom Wright To book, click on the SOBS icon or follow the link. Bookings open on Thursday 19 th July. This link is also available on our school website.

4 Why Student-led conferences? In 2015, North Bundaberg SHS started two new initiatives called My Big Picture Plan and student-led conferences. Student-led conferences are an important process at North High and significant resources have been devoted to making them happen. For this reason, it is important to understand what SLCs provide and how they are different to more traditional parent-teacher interviews. The following table compares the two processes. Traditional Teacher centred. vs. Student-led Student centred. Direct contact with subject teachers for detailed feedback regarding the subject. Parents are comfortable with the process as this is what North has done in the past. Meetings are very short 10 mins. Looks backwards, meetings are usually about progress made over the last semester. Students are not often present for the interview and not participating. The focus is often on what the student cannot do or what they need to improve. Students taking responsibility for their learning. Looks forwards, conferences are about long and short-term goals and aspirations for the future. Focus on careers in the senior school. Students consider their strengths and weaknesses, and how to build on these. Conferences are positive and future oriented. Does not eliminate traditional interviews traditional interviews can occur face-to-face or via phone at any time convenient for parents. RAS teacher is the "go to" teacher for academic mentoring or any other issues for the parent RAS teacher knows the big-picture story, developed over several years of working with individual students. All students take part in the My Big Picture Plan process, whether they attend a student-led conference or not, no one is missed

5 Athletics Carnival 2018 The North High inter-house athletics carnival was held on the last day of term 2, Friday 29 th June. Once again we were blessed with fantastic weather, blues skies prevailed, and it was a great day of competition, fitness and fun. Competition results will be available week 4.

6

7 Canteen helpers Year 12 Relay for Life students along with some other excellent students helping did a fabulous job running the canteen for Athletics Day on the last day of school. This year our students ran the canteen to help toward their fundraising for Relay for Life and achieved their fundraising goal! Some students were also working towards units of competency in hospitality. A special thankyou to Miss Maidment, Miss Harney and three students in particular who made hot chips and served customers consistently all day without much of a break. Year 12 recreation fishing and boating The Year 12 Recreation students have just finished their Fishing & Boating unit for the term. The two classes had the opportunity to go fishing & bait collecting off Mariners Way & fishing off the wharf at the zoo. Students enjoyed the experience with many fish being caught. During the course some students took up the opportunity to get their boat & jet ski license. Congratulations to these students. Thank you to Tackle World for coming out on the excursions, providing bait & helping the students out & to the Australia Boating College for providing the opportunity for the students to get their boat & jet ski license. Teressa Tibbey (Senior Recreation Coordinator) Sean-Henry Slean Chad King Dana Roberts

8 Year 7 Japanese Year 7 Japanese students in Mr Williams class finished the term watching an anime My Neighbour Totoro, and with some creative silly fun with a sushi art competition in their last lesson on Thursday. Students made everything from triangle sushi, maki sushi, bunny sushi, flower sushi etc. One of our students travelled to Japan in the holidays and may have some exciting stories to share! BBQ fundraiser On Friday, 6 July, Year 12 Relay for Life students, assisted by some teachers, held a fundraising BBQ at Bunnings Warehouse, Bundaberg. Proceeds were raised for the Year 12 Relay for Life teams. A special thankyou to the teachers Miss Whiting, Miss Wheeler, Miss Rayner, Mrs Latimer and Miss Coulton for their assistance throughout the day. The BBQ raised approximately $800 and we sincerely thank Bunnings Warehouse for giving us this opportunity. Relay for Life Coordinator

9 ADF visit to North On Monday the 13th of August, during lunch time, speakers from the Australian Defence Force will be at Bundaberg North. All year groups are welcome to attend and listen to the career information and ask questions. Look and listen for notices to sign on and room location. The ADF will also be at the Bundaberg Civic Centre from 5pm pm (TBC) for career information evening. Girls Academy newsletter During the holidays the Year 12 Girls Academy members attended a Summit in Canberra along with other Academy girls from all over Australia. The girls attended ANU to hear a number of motivational speakers sharing their experiences with the girls. These inspirational Indigenous role models were an amazing group of women, who have reached great heights in their personal and professional life. The girls also visited Parliament House and met with Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, attended the Gala Dinner keeping with the NAIDOC theme, Because of Her We Can and had a day of fun in the snow at Selwyn ski fields Ricky Grace, CEO, Girls Academy with Yr 12 North High students It was five days spent meeting new people, making new friends and enjoying each other s company.

10 DATES TO REMEMBER P&C Meeting A17, A block Admin 6pm 19 th July 2018 SOBS booking open Online SLC booking 19 th July 2018 Tertiary Trip Yr 12 USQ, Griffith Uni, UQ and QUT 19 th & 20 th July 2018 Student-led conferences 2 nd August 2018 COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD Click on the picture for more information North High Trivia Night Friday 27 th July 6pm in the school hall DONATIONS OF PRIZES FOR THE CENT SALES WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED Book a table by: Calling principal@bundnortshs.eq.edu.au STEPS social and community For more information Speak to the friendly team At STEPS YMCA Junior cricket Currently recruiting for U10s, U12s, U14s, U16Ss Sign on Friday 10 th and 17 th August 4pm 5pm At YMCA cricket nets Quinn Street, Kepnock

11 Do you use parks and playgrounds in Bundaberg? Bundaberg Regional Council would like to hear from you. To complete the survey head to Interested in Athletics? Come and try Sign on Friday 17 th August 6pm

12