newsletter - Cobar High School

NEWSLETTER
Cobar High School
2nd June, 2016
Term 2
BATYR Check in Day
Wednesday 22nd June
………………..
Term 2
PBL Rainbow Reward
Thursday 30th June
………………..
Where There’s a Will There’s a Way
Last day Term 2
Friday 1st July
………………..
Term 3
Staff Return
Monday 18th July
Students Return
Tuesday 19th July
………………..
Term 2 Awards
Assembly
Friday 22nd July
10am
School MPC
………………..
Parent Teacher Interviews
Wednesday 27th July
School MPC
5pm-7pm
………………..
Year 12 Trial HSC Exams
Monday 1st August Friday 5th August
………………...
Positive
Behaviour
for Learning
Respect
Excellence
Safety
PO Box 454
Phone: 6836 2705
Wetherell Crescent,
COBAR NSW 2835
Fax: 6836 1142
www.cobar-h.schools.nsw.edu.au
Thank you for supporting Minister
Piccoli’s Visit
Thank you to the staff and students who
participated in Minister Piccoli’s visit to
Cobar High School.
Minister Piccoli was met by school
captains Niamh Urquhart and Blake
Toomey.
He then had a conversation regarding
Cobar High School with the Captains,
Maree Angus Director Public Schools
NSW, Mary Urquhart President of the
P & C, Mr Shane Carter and myself.
Minister Piccioli visited a Literacy
Numeracy lesson where he sat with a
group of students and participated in a
numeracy activity led by School Learning
Support Officer Sharon Best.
Beginning Teachers Ms Lyndsay
Klopper, Mr Connor Boyko and Ms
Alexandra Hernando discussed the
support available to them and the
opportunities to extend their skills.
Aurora College staff and students Ms
Carolyn McMurtrie, Wilmien Kok and
Bryan Mitchell talked with the Minister
about the advantages of studying at both
Aurora College and Cobar High School.
Ms Amie Hill’s Year 12 Community and
Family Studies class showed how they are
using ALARM to learn the content and to
answer Higher School Certificate
questions.
Mr Josh Brown’s Year 7 Maths class
answered a number of questions from
Minister Piccoli.
Executive Staff:
Co Principals: Sue Francisco / Shane Carter
Co Deputy Principals: Shane Carter / John Carswell
Head Teacher English: Carolyn McMurtrie
Head Teacher Maths: Mary Arnold
Head Teacher Science/TAS: Andrew Watts
Co Head Teachers HSIE: John Carswell / Bianka Jacobson
Head Teacher Teaching & Learning/PDHPE: Amie Hill
School Admin Manager: Merryn McIntyre
The marvellous
morning tea was
provided by the
Stage 5 Food
Technology class
who were assisted
by Ms Wendy
Thomson and Ms
Erica Muldoon.
School Administration Manager Merryn
McIntyre deserves a special thank you for
all her organisation regarding the
Minister’s visit.
Minister Piccoli also donated three books
to the school library.
I was certainly surprised when Minister
Piccoli presented my Service to Students
medal due to my pending retirement.
The fantastic staff and students we have
at Cobar High School provided a great
overview of the school for Minister Piccoli.
Any staff or student who was asked to
assist with the visit did so and all teaching
staff agreed that Minister Piccoli could visit
their classroom at any time. Due to the
late arrival of the flight the classes
scheduled to be visited did not happen
and other classes were visited without any
warning.
This is another wonderful indication of the
commitment, dedication and outstanding
contributions of our staff at Cobar High
School.
Sue Francisco
Year Advisers 2016
Year 6:
Sam Dixon
Year 7: Matthew Klopper
Year 8:
Lyndsay Klopper
Year 9:
Doug Armstrong
Year 10: Andrew Coffey
Year 11: Kim Sutton
Year 12: Daniel Inkley
SRC Co-Ordinator: Chris Marshall
Girls Adviser: Leanne Carswell
Boys Advisers: Mitch Adams Years 7, 9, 11
Josh Brown Years 8, 10, 12
Presentation of Service to Students Medal to Sue Francisco,
Principal Cobar High School.
Last Wednesday Sue Francisco was
presented with a Service to Students
Medal for 34 years teaching by the
Minister for Education at Cobar High
School.
Sue commenced teaching at CHS in
1982 and has made a great
contribution to education during her
career.
She currently holds the dual role of
Principal, Cobar High School and
Principal School Leadership.
Beyond Cobar High School Sue’s contributions have included:

Contributing to Country Areas Program (CAP), by providing succinct advice about
schools’ needs.

Leading professional learning and providing support for deputy principals across
the previous Western Region. Recognised with life membership from the both the
Western NSW and NSW Deputy Principal Associations.

Active in Secondary Principal’s Council and chair of the Secondary Principal’s
Council Rural Education reference group.

Ensuring the Bourke School Group was an effective and collegial group, bringing
together staff in remote schools to support each other.

Being an active and involved member of the local community-netball, fundraising,
community events.

Relieved as Director, Public Schools NSW.
2016 Cobar High School Athletics Carnival
Wednesday 1st June was the day set aside for our 2016 School
Athletics Carnival. The day weatherwise was 3 seasons in 1 day,
but the rain held off. Many students dressed up on the day and
these colourful and enthusiastic competitors were cheered on
by fellow students, staff and a number of family members. We
would like to thank everyone who came down to support and
encourage the students, which helped to make it a very
successful and thoroughly enjoyable day.
133 points separated the 1st and last Sport Houses. The results
being; 1st Chesney on 573 points, 2nd Great Cobar on 493
points, and a tie for 3rd with Fort Bourke and Occidental on 440
points.
We had 9 records broken and these results were announced in the last Newsletter.
2016 Athletics Age Champions are:
Girls
U/12
1st
Tarnia McCormack
1st
2nd
Boys
Zane Taylor
Tommy Rogers
U/13
1st
2nd
Hannah Carroll
Allira Hurst
1st
2nd
Ben Griffiths
Tyler Coughlan
U/14
1st
2nd
Brennah Aumua
Madasan Taylor
1st
= 2nd
= 2nd
= 2nd
Dylan Boland
Alex Mahayothee
Seb Best
Riley Brown
U/15
1st
2nd
Abby Carswell
Sandie Mitchell
1st
Braith Good
= 2nd Jacob Christie
= 2nd Ashley Davies
U/16
1st
= 2nd
= 2nd
Julieanna Barrett
Haleigh Thornton
Hannah Kriz
1st
2nd
U/17
1st
2nd
Taylah Good
Kaitlyn Byrne
1st
2nd
Nicholas Buckman
Luke Grey
Robert Good
Andrew Rorke
Congratulations to all these students and to all students and staff that participated
on the day.
Drumbeat Program
(Discovering Relationships Using Music, Beliefs, Emotions, Attitudes & Thoughts)
During this Term Barnardos have been running the Drumbeat Program with a group of Year 8 students. The
Drumbeat Program aims for participants to improve self-esteem, to explore connections between making music
within a group and to assist group members in developing healthy relationships.
During the sessions the students are introduced to five core learning strategies,
which are drum songs, playing rhythm based games, conversations,
improvisation and finally a performance. Within each of these strategies
students are able to develop a variety of skills which are:

Teamwork through shared experience

Exploring peer pressure, communication and dealing with individual
emotions

Insight into key relationship issues and the different relationships that exist in real life

Promoting self-belief, creativity and flexibility in handling change within their lives

Students to recognise their achievements and their new potential to manage life
These skills were developed by the students through playing the drums, group discussions and mind mapping of
the students’ ideas on teamwork, emotions, communities and relationships.
All students participating in the program have become involved in learning the drumbeat songs and rhythms and
have shown great enthusiasm in all components of the program.
Thank you Zanette and Amanda for
running this worthwhile program with
the Year 8 students and giving them this
great opportunity to develop these
important life skills.
CHESS
Cobar High School v Wellington St Marys Catholic School
Wednesday afternoon Cobar
High students Bryan Mitchell,
Tyler Whittaker-Goodwin and
Ashley Trudgett played
Wellington St Marys Catholic
School via the Internet.
Cobar High School were
defeated on a countback.
HSC Enrichment Seminars Dubbo
Bryan Mitchell, Zara Ralph, Blake Toomey and Niamh Urquart recently attended the HSC Enrichment
Seminars held in Dubbo and gained valuable information about their specific HSC subjects over the two
days. The presenters were experts in their chosen field and many had been a member of an HSC
examination committee in the past. They shared valuable information on revision strategies as well as
hints and tips for answering questions in the exam when it comes to crunch time. The four students found
the seminars to be worthwhile and were eager to share what they had learned with their teachers and
peers. They are to be congratulated on not only displaying respect to the presenters and other HSC
students at the seminars but for continuing to strive for excellence by working on their assignments when
away from school for two days. Thank you to Mrs Nicholson for organising yet another wonderful
opportunity for our Year 12 students.
ALARM
A Learning and Response Matrix
Year 11 Students following the new ALARM
procedure in their Business Studies Class.
Cobar High School ARCO
(Anti-Racism
Contact Officer)
Every NSW Public High School must have a trained ARCO. My name is Sue Donaldson and I am Cobar
High School’s ARCO. My role is a first contact for students and staff who experience racism in the school
environment. I can assist in identifying the issue and attempt an informal resolution. Further, if the matter
needs escalating, I can help in drafting any necessary documentation and forward the matter to the
appropriate person.
I can be contacted by telephone at Cobar High School on 02 6836 2705, in person or by email on
sue.donaldson1@det.nsw.edu.au.
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability
Notification for Parents and Carers
All Government and non-Government schools across Australia are required to participate annually in the Nationally
Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD).
All Australian schools will collect data on their students who are receiving adjustments to meet additional learning and
support needs in accordance with their obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and Disability Standards
for Education 2005. This data will be provided to the Australian Government to assist in the development of a consistent,
national picture of the education needs of students with disability.
The data provided to the Australian Government by the NSW Department of Education and Communities is provided in
such a way that it cannot be used to identify any individual student or school.
General information about the national data collection can be found on the Australian Government Department of
Education and Training website at http://education.gov.au/fact-sheets-nationally-consistent-collection-data-schoolstudents-disability.
Privacy Protection
The NSW Department of Education and Communities follows the requirements of the Privacy and Personal Information
Protection Act 1998 and the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002. Schools will collect, record, store and
use data about individual students in line with these requirements. Data security and protection is a priority and students’
personal details will be kept confidential.
Under Clause 52 of the Commonwealth Australian Education Regulation 2013, data collected by the NSW Department
of Education and Communities for the NCCD must be provided to the Australian Government Department of Education
and Training. This includes the number of students at each level of education, the number in each category of disability
and the number at each level of adjustment. The information is provided to the Commonwealth as a series of number sets
that cannot be used to identify any individual student or school.
The Australian Government Department of Education and Training follows the requirements of the Commonwealth
Privacy Act 1988 when handling any data provided by NSW Department of Education and Communities in connection
with the national data collection. A privacy notice has been developed to by the Australian Government to provide
students, parents and carers with important privacy information in relation to the data collection. This notice is available
on the department’s website at http://education.gov.au/notices
If you have any questions about the data collection please do not hesitate to contact Leanne Carswell or Lynn
Fennamore at Cobar High School.
Regional Cross Country
On Wednesday 15th June, 2016 Cobar High School was
represented at the Regional Cross Country in Geurie by
Conor McMullen, James Matchett, Thomas Jones and Nick
Buckman.
It was a successful day with good times being achieved by
the students. Conor managed 10th place in his age group,
with James coming 21st in his race. Thomas was placed 17th
while Nick came 3rd. Nick has made it to State Cross
Country event.
Congratulations to these students and thank you to the parents
who drove the students to Geurie.
Each year our students are offered the opportunity to participate in external competitions run by the
University of NSW, The Australian Geographical Society and the History Teachers Association of Australia.
These competitions provide our students with valuable experience of testing procedures outside our school
environment.
The ICAS English Competition will be held on 2nd August and the ICAS Mathematics Competition will be
held on the 16th August.
We wish your student well in the competitions and thank you for supporting your child’s learning.
STUDENT INVOICES
Re: General School Contribution & Elective Subject Contributions
In order to be able to provide the items used by students in their electives and to maintain a fair and
equitable distribution of consumables it is essential for all students to pay their Elective Subject
Contributions. When students elect a subject, they do so with the knowledge that they are required to pay
the advertised contribution.
Elective subject contributions (Years 9 to 12) depend on the subject(s) chosen and are payable for
consumable materials required by students for the practical component of the course.
Although General School Contributions are voluntary they are essential in enabling our school to continue
to provide a quality education to our students.
Outstanding invoices for the General School Contribution and Elective Subject Contribution fees were sent
out this week. Payments can be made to the Front Office by cheque or cash (please enclose the correct
amount) or by direct deposit.
Direct deposit details:
Cobar High School Administration Account
Westpac Bank
BSB: 032 001
Account No. 147713
Please put your student’s name on deposit to ensure correct invoice is paid.
Alternatively, fees may be paid by fortnightly payments.
P&C
Meeting
Tuesday 2nd August
7:00pm
School Library
All Welcome.
AECG
Meeting
Cobar Public School
Staff Room
Thursday 21st July
3:30pm
All Welcome
RESPECT
EXCELLENCE
Assessments due Week 9
Year 11:
Year 12:
SAFETY
Assessments due Week 10
English Advanced
English Standard
English Studies
Mathematics
Mathematics General
Year 11:
English Extension
PDHPE
Sport, Lifestyle & Recreation
Year 12:
Mathematics General 1
PDHPE
Sport, Lifestyle & Recreation
Biology
CAFS
Period Times
Muster
8:55 - 9:00
Period 1
9:00 - 9:55
Period 2
9:55 - 10:50
Recess
10:50 - 11:20
Period 3
11:20 - 12:15
Period 4
12:15 - 1:10
Lunch
1:10 - 1:40
Period 5
1:40 - 2:35
Period 6
2:35 - 3:30
PBL
Vision Statement
“Cobar High School strives
for excellence in a
safe and respectful
environment”.
Tuesday ends at the end of Period 5
What’s On - Weeks 9 & 10, Term 2
Monday 20th June:
Professional Learning; Sydney: C McMurtrie
Tuesday 21st June:
Professional Learning; Sydney: C McMurtrie
Wednesday 22nd June: Professional Learning; Sydney: C McMurtrie
BATYR Check in Day
PBL Advance Tier Professional Learning; Dubbo: S Carter, J Carswell, L Carswell,
B Jacobson
Thursday 23rd June:
Western DP Meeting; Parkes: S Carter, J Carswell
Friday 24th June:
Western DP Meeting; Parkes: S Carter, J Carswell
Monday 27th June:
Professional Learning; Bourke: K Mulligan
Tuesday 28th June:
Professional Learning; Bourke: K Mulligan
Wednesday 29th June: PSL Meeting; Dubbo: S Francisco
Thursday 30th June:
PSL Meeting; Dubbo: S Francisco
PBL Rewards Day
Friday 1st July:
DJ Workshop: Cobar Youth Centre
Cobar High School
PO Box 454
Wetherell Crescent,
COBAR NSW 2835