Term 1 Issue 2 - Bunbury Senior High School

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
Issue 2
March
2014
SCHOOL
ETHOS
STATEMENT
During the school term we have welcomed a large number of
parents into the school for a variety of activities.
I was really pleased with the number of parents who attended
our Year 8 information evening and then stayed on the P&C
sausage sizzle. This evening was the first time that many
parents had been into the high school and they received a range
of information on such things as our school values, the
curriculum and the long term plan for their children in the school.
A question answer period followed and one of the valuable message to come from that session
was the need to let the school know if you or your child has any issues in the school.
We RESPECT
our traditions,
our
environment,
ourselves and
one another
We take
RESPONSIBILITY
for our actions
We develop
strong
RELATIONSHIPS
in the school
community
We learn from
RELEVANT and
real
experiences
We RECOGNISE
and reflect on
our
achievements
and successes
We encourage
RISK TAKING to
achieve our
potential
Communication between the school and parents is critical if we are to be able to support your
child to pursue their own level of excellence whilst they are with us.
Another two functions attended by large groups of parents was the orientation to the Year 9
laptop to students program. Again, there was a lot of information to be passed on and the
support of parents to assist with managing the use of laptops when they are at home is a vital
component of the program. We aim to enable every Year 9 and 10 student access to a laptop
during their class time and the proper management of the machines is a key to this happening.
The information to parents of Year 12 students was delivered in two sessions; one for ATAR
(Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) students and one for VET (Vocational Education and
Training) students. Again the response from parents was very positive.
The partnership between parents and the school needs to be a strong one in order to support
your children in the school. It is important that parents understand the school procedures and
the curriculum that their children are exposed to so that they can have informed conversations
with their children at home. Parents of our Year 8 students in particular will benefit from
attending information sessions that inform them of the daily operations of the school.
Electronic communication between school and parents is now in full swing with the launch of
the school App and the positioning of newsletters on the school website. The school App can
be set up to enable push notifications of news and events in the school and over time it will
contain information on the schools policies and procedures. Parents can send absentee
notices using the App and change their contact details including the very important email
address. The App can be downloaded free from the Apple App store for Apple mobile devices
or Google Play on an android device.
Finally, at the recent P&C AGM Jacquie Ross was elected as President and I want to
congratulate and thank her and the new committee for their new role and their commitment to
Bunbury Senior High School. In doing so I also sincerely thank Michelle Holzknecht and her
committee for their work over the past two years.
I wish all students, staff and their families a restful two week break during the school holiday
from the rigors of school.
Craige Pettit
Principal
MATHEMATICS STUDENTS EXCEL IN ‘HAVE SUM FUN’
COMPETITION
st
Kerrilie Haberfield, (Year 8), Monica
Vychytilova,(Year 9), -------(Year 10), Jake
Haisma, (Year 10), Cyril Harkin, (Year 9),
Lauren Thomas, (Year 8).
On Friday, 21 March, two teams of lower school students competed against
other regional school teams at Bunbury Catholic College in the „Have Sum
Fun‟ problem solving evening. Each team was comprised of two students from
each of Years 8-10. Bethan Rainey, Zachary Bradley Webb, Kohta Shimada,
David Strong, Simona Vychytilova and David Lown gained first place defeating
Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School by two points. Mr Peter Barratt who
organised the event, said,‟these two teams were engaged in a close
competition all evening and it was such a thrill to see our students win‟. Our
second team comprised of Jake Haisma, Nik Simphendorpher, Monika
Vychytilova, Cyril Harkin, Kerrillie Haberfield and Lauren Thomas which
finished in equal tenth position out of seventeen teams.
„Mixing with students from senior grades, experiencing problem solving in a
group and practicing their problem solving strategies were just some of the
benefits for these students who shared the event‟ said Mr Leon Rose, Year 9
Selectivet Academic Program mathematics teacher. Being with like-minded
peers is always a distinct advantage to students who love to have fun with
mathematics.
It is hoped that next year more students will be able to compete in this
competition, run by MAWA (Mathematical Association of WA), as we will enter
more teams.
has L-R David Strong, Year 9), Zachary
Bradley-Webb, (Year 10), Kohta Shimada,
(Year 9), Bethan Rainey, (Year10), David
Lown, (Year 8)
Sincere thanks to both Mr Rose and Mr Barratt for giving their time to the
students
Tyril Houghton
Head of Learning Area (Mathematics)
MURDOCH COLLEGE SEES SENIOR MATHEMATICS
STUDENTS ‘HAVE SUM FUN’
Mathew Eldridge, Thomas Bradley-Webb, Blake Collins, Jxi Wu, Keehan Smith,
Damian Needham and Casey Rooney of Year 12 were joined by Year 11 students
Sneha Mishra, Shakira Moulton, Lance McGuire, Anais Chen to form two teams to
compete against government and private schools in the annual senior school
th
„Have Sum Fun‟ competition at Murdoch College on Friday 14 March.
These students travelled by bus and having enjoyed a meal at the Gateway
shopping centre tested their mathematical talents against schools such as Perth
Modern School, Applecross and Rossmoyne Senior High Schools. Our teams
performed admirably, finishing in fifteenth and twenty-fifth positions out of thirty.
As the only regional school and considering the distance that we have to travel at
the end of a school week, this is a commendable result and students are to be
congratulated on their effort.
Whole Team Photo (Back Row L-R)): Blake Collins,
Thomas Bradley-Webb, Mathew Eldridge, Jxi Wu,
Lance McGuire. (Front Row L-R): Keehan Smith,
Damian Needham, Sneha Mishra, Shakira Moulton,
Anais Chen, Casey Rooney.
Thank you to all the parents who met us at the school at midnight. We really do
appreciate your involvement. Thank you also to our bus driver, Mr Dave Waddell
for volunteering his time to our students.
Congratulations, to all of the students who attended as you were a pleasure to
take to the competition and you are a credit to the school.
Peter Barratt, „Have Sum Fun‟ Competition Coordinator.
Keehan Smith, Blake Collins, Sneha Mishra, Mathew
Eldridge, Jxi Wu and Thomas Bradley-Webb
Youth Literature Programme
This term sixteen enthusiastic and talented writers participated in the first Youth Literature day for 2014. The students
who attend the first workshop were Cael McLeish, Megan Eagles, Georgia Dodds, Sophie Fryer, Cameron Satti
Kwergan Gregory, Josephine Spencer, Shauna McMahan, Savanah Piahana, David Strong, Lucas noble, Euan
Workman, Spiral McKenzie, Ashley McCann, Megan Lowe and Darcy Greig.
The visiting author was Science Fiction author Brian Falkner who spent a day working with the students. Brian talked
about his own work and career and gave useful tips to help the students with their own writing. Here are Cael‟s
reflections on the day.
The author we learnt from was Brian Falkner. Anyone who had never heard of him, like many amongst us, first saw
his face morphed onto many familiar characters, like James, Bond, Yoda and even the Terminator. These simple
Adobe Photoshop tricks were enough to excite us, and when he first started to tell us about himself, we found out that
this New Zealander was as funny as he was talented.
He first taught us about the five most important tips for a good story.
Setting
The Characters
Obstacles
Reaching
Your Goal
He also taught us to give any character a few quirks to make them real, as that would allow the reader to identify with
the character. We got to hear about his books, and he read an excert from most of them. He showed us a funny
parody of The Hunger Games‟ movie trailer, introduced this book “Brainjack” by putting a headset on, and showing us
two cool things done with the headsets, achieved by Neuroscience. He then proceeded to mime playing Call of Duty
with the headset, all just to show off the wonders of Neuroscience, which is what inspired him to write his story
“Brainjack”, in which video games are played using headsets, beaming the player into the game. To find out more, go
and read the book. I started reading it recently; it‟s very entertaining and thought provoking.
To say that the day was too short is an understatement. I am quite disappointed by the fact it ended so early, and I
wish it could have been a lot longer. Brian Falkner is the funniest author I‟ve seen in the program, and his tips for
writing are simple, yet crucial, and I think the program could benefit greatly from having more authors like Brian.
Cael McLeish
Euan Workman, Spiral McKenzie, author Brian
Falkner, Darcy Greig, Megan Low and Ashley
McCann
Darcy Greig and Ashley McCann team up
for “Story Sports”
LOST PROPERTY
Student Services has a large amount of Lost Property, swimming and gym gear.
If this is not collected by the beginning of term it will be taken to the Good Samaritans .
th
On Saturday 20 March 180 staff and students attended the Ball at The Lighthouse Beach Resort. Mulberry
House Antiques did a fantastic job of the decorating and the venue was transformed into a scene from The Great
Gatsby. We were entertained my Hannah Smillie‟s Acoustic Duo during dinner and danced away the rest of the
evening thanks to our DJ Nathan Wheels.
Everyone that attended voted for Belle and Beau of the Ball and the Winners were Donna Mather and Josh
Cruikshank, they both looked fabulous and led the rest of the students into the first dance of the night.
My thanks go to my gorgeous and helpful Ball Committee – Morganne Chapman, Tenikka Powell, Hannah Place,
Sophie Smillie, Matilda Renner and Freya Winsdor. I would also like to thank the staff that attended on the night,
these are staff that give up their own time to attend and help strengthen the relationships between staff and
students, without staff attending we would not be able to hold the ball. Many thanks to Mrs Vaughan, Mrs
Houghton, Mrs Unwin, Ms Appleton, Mrs Malone, Danelle Field, Dion Thorne, Mr Mazella, Mr Waddell and Mr
Hiscox.
Viewing and purchasing information about the professional photographs will be given to the school community
via the daily notices and the BSHS App/ Website.
Naomi Smith
Ball Co-Ordinator
2014
BUNBURY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
BOARD MEMBER PROFILE
Susan Unwin
I joined the Board to see how it functions and operates. I also wanted to have closer contact
with parents and the community in making decisions that will benefit staff and students
especially. I started teaching in 1974 and have been involved in school administration in a
number of roles. In the past I have been a year coordinator, HoLA of English, HoLA of
Welfare for both staff and students, a member of the Finance Committee here at BSHS and
the treasurer for the South West English Teachers‟ Association. I have also worked with one
of the Bunbury City Council Committees as the representative for SWETA for the Foreshore
Writers‟ Competition.
Chaplain’s Corner
Nicky Winmar Cup 2014
On the Labour Day long weekend I played with the South West Under 16‟s
Indigenous team in the Nicky Winmar Cup in Perth.
We played against the Perth Demons, East Fremantle and South Fremantle
teams.
rd
The South West team came 3 overall and lost only by percentage to Perth
Demons. I was awarded the Best and Fairest for the South West team.
Dwayne Maymuru in Yr 9.
Deon Throne
Update from the P & C
Hi, Jackie Ross here; new president of the Bunbury High School P & C. Karen Mazzella
(Vice President) and I are looking for enthusiastic committee members to serve on the
P & C.
Our next meeting will be
Week 1, Term 2: Wednesday, April 30 at 6pm.
Meetings will be as brief as possible. We are all busy people but we care about what
happens at the school where our children are being educated.
Please help us to help them.
If you would like to help in some way please email me at
jacquelinerossevents@hotmail.com
There will be a fundraising event each term, so keep a look out for
The “Update from the P & C” in each newsletter.
Warm regards,
Jackie
All new members are most welcome.
BUNBURY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
BOARD MEMBER PROFILE
Matthew Telder
I joined the board 2013. I have one teenager daughter at BSHS and a son in primary school. As a parent, I wanted a better
understanding of how the school worked. I felt that I needed to have input into improving the future for all of our young
adults who attend Bunbury Senior High School. I am farmer, and have worked in many and varied industries over the years.
I am currently involved on the committee of SWECC and been involved in other organisations in the past. I am always
prepared to speak up about things that I am passionate about.
CANTEEN NEWS
Volunteer Award for Term 1 goes to Anne Noonan who has been volunteering at our school for
37 years. THANK YOU ANNE!
I have to inform parents that prices in the Canteen will increase in Term 2 due to, food and drink prices increasing and also
due to the small amount of volunteers we have on our roster.
We will need to employ another Staff Member to keep up with the demand,
Thank you Debbie McGinley 9721 7910
Science Classes and Assessments
In Years 8-10 Science classes are organized into ability groups in order that teachers are better able to adapt the delivery of
the curriculum to the learning needs of the students. We use the performance data from the previous semester to enable us to
organize these classes. It is important, therefore, to ensure that students complete assessments so that their placement
accurately reflects their ability. Missed assessments will mean a lower score. If there is a valid reason (medical or
bereavement for example) for a late or missed assessment this will need to be supported by a note from the parent/guardian.
Currently we have typically three classes per year group running in the same periods. These will be at three different ability
levels. Each year has two such groupings.
We have structured our assessments so that there is predictable pattern to these assessments. Each content strand is
allocated about 9 weeks of school time. In that time there are four assessments. They will be a mid-unit test, an end-of-unit
test, a library and internet based research task and a laboratory based investigation. Each student will be a given a copy of the
assessment details and their weightings for each unit of work.
Parents are welcome to seek further information from me.
Trevor Walkington
Head of Learning Area Science
2014 Contributions and Charges
Many thanks to parents who have already met their commitment by early payment to the school.
Itemised statements will be mailed home in term one itemising contributions and charges that still require payment and this
may impact on selected courses in semester two.
Payment can be made at administration between 8am and 4pm each school day or by direct debit to the school bank account.
BSB – 016 560 Account No 3408 25826
Payment by credit card will be accepted by phone.
2014 Secondary Assistance Scheme for eligible families closes on Friday April 11, 2014 Information is available on the school
website or by contacting the school on 9781 2500 for an application form.
Financial scholarships for secondary school students
The Department of Education offers a number of scholarships for secondary students. These scholarships provide financial
support to students, allowing them to focus on their studies and achieve their educational goals.
Please visit
http://det.wa.edu.au/schoolsandyou/detcms/navigation/discover-the-opportunities/secondary-schoolopportunities/scholarships/
for information and application forms for all available scholarships
Scholarships are considered by a selection committee.
Applications close April 11, 2014
IMPORTANT DATES
2 April
4 April
4 April
8 April
9 April
11 April
12 April
28 April
29 April
2 May
6 May
6 May
House Athletics Carnival
Year 12 Geography Excursion
Hawaiian Ride for Youth
BEST Excursion
Broad Horizons BBQ Reward Lunch
Students Last Day
National Youth Week Markers
School Development Day
Anzac Day Assembly Period 5
School Tour
Whole School Assembly Period 1
1CD Outdoor Ed Sea Kayak/Bodyboard
Excursion
7 May
7 May
8 May
9 May
9 May
13–16 May
13-16 May
16 May
20 May
21 May
23 May
23 May
Parent Teacher Interview Night
Vibe 3on3
Interschool Athletics Carnival
School Tour
Year 11 Geography Excursion
Year 8 BEST Camp
NAPLAN
School Tour
UNSW Global Computer Skills Competition
SAP Year 8 & 9 Big Science competition online
School Tour
Music Night