Issue 17/2014 ... October 2014 FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Issue 17/2014
31st October 2014
.
October 2014
31 Prom Bake Sale
November 2014
03 Yr 12 English Studies Exam
9.00 am in Theatre
Finance Committee Meeting 7.30
pm in Library
04 Legal Studies Law Courts
Excursion to L3 and L4
Yr 12 Physics Exam 1.30 pm
In Theatre
06 Yr 12 Maths Applications Exam
9.00 am in Theatre
Yr 12 Maths Studies Exam
1.30 pm in Theatre
07 Year 8/9 Knockout Boys
Volleyball
Year 12 Modern History Exam
9.00 am in Theatre
Year 12 German Exam 1.30 pm
in Theatre
10 Yr 12 Biology Exam 9.00 am in
Theatre
Year 11 Major Assessment
Week
11 Remembrance Day Ceremony
Yr 11 Major Assessment Week
12 Yr 12 Chemistry Exam 9.00 am
in Theatre
Yr 11 Major Assessment Week
13 Yr 12 Physical Education Exam
9.00 am in Theatre
Year 11 Major Assessment
Week
14 Yr 12 Specialist Maths at 9.00
am in Theatre
Yr 11 Major Assessment Week
Notice of
Loxton High School
Annual General Meeting
to be held on Tuesday,
2nd December 2014 at
7.30 pm in the school
Library.
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Last week was very busy at school,
finishing with the SRC Breast
Cancer Awareness Casual Day on
Friday. SRC sold “brunch” items
and there was a tug-of-war and
other activities on the oval at
lunchtime. Then on Friday night the
Prefects held their Bowls Night at
the Loxton Bowling Club.
Both
fundraisers were very successful
with over $2,300 being raised! Well
done to everyone who assisted with
organisation.
Despite being in Week 3, we are
already busy preparing for the
remainder of the year.
On Monday the Year 12’s had their
last day at school, starting with a
brunch at recess and final assembly
after lunch. The assembly was well
thought-out and very entertaining. I
had high expectations of this event
and this one, being my first Yr 12
assembly,
certainly
didn’t
disappoint!
Year 12’s now move into exam time
with the first of the exams starting
th
on Monday and finish on 19
November.
Year 11’s start their Major
Assessment Week in two weeks.
Finance Committee will be meeting
rd
on 3 November to finalise the
budget for next year.
The
Governing Council Annual General
nd
Meeting will be held on Tuesday, 2
December and we have six
Councillors retiring from their
positions at the end of this year. If
you are interested in becoming a
part of the Governing Council and/or
Finance Committee, please contact
the School to find out more
information.
The Remembrance Day Service will
th
be held on the Green on 11
November, and this is a very moving
ceremony.
This year we are
honoured to have Brig Cheryl
Pearce, a past student, attending
our ceremony.
Presentation Night is set for
th
Tuesday, 25 November – always a
fantastic celebration of the year’s
highlights!
As we are currently preparing
classes for 2015, we would
appreciate it if you could let your
child’s Home Group teacher know if
your child will not be attending
Loxton High School next year.
JOHN TIVER
CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations to Roxanne Roy
who won the National Apex
Teenage Fashion Awards, Formal
Category in Melbourne on the
weekend!
Also congratulations to Ashley Tyler
who was selected to represent
South Australia in Aquatics at the
Special Olympics in Melbourne last
week. He swam three individual
races and one relay. Relay was
100m medley with Ashley doing the
100m freestyle home leg, he was
faced with an impossible task of
catching the leading team, who were
1 lap in front, he finished only half a
lap behind for the team to take
silver. He did 50m breast and
narrowly missed gold by .21 of a
second, 100m back he came in
second and for his 100m freestyle
he came in first by a mere .74 of a
second and a two second personal
best time. By participating in the
games he is now up for selection for
the world games to be held in Los
Angeles
next
year.
31st October 2014
Newsletter No.17
PREFECT BOWLS NIGHT
th
On Friday 24 October the Prefects successfully held their
major fundraiser for the year, a Lawn Bowls Night. The
social event was well attended, with over 80 people
participating in teams of four. Everyone enjoyed
themselves during the three rounds of bowling, followed
by a ‘Closest to the Kitty’ competition and a light meal in
the clubrooms.
Overall we raised $1200.25 from the night, which will go
towards future projects for the school. We would like to
thank all who attended, as well as the local businesses
that kindly supported the event by donating prizes for
fundraising.
A special thank you to the Loxton Bowling Club for
providing the venue free of charge and assisting on the
night.
The financial pressure on families at that time of the year
is incredible if your child has Prom, Graduation, Melbourne
Volleyball and don't forget Christmas and perhaps there
are other children in the family wanting experiences as
well. One Farewell is great as a lot of the students will
also go to ‘Schoolies’.
Next year a Formal Farewell will be trialled, the make-up
of which will be determined by representatives from the
2015 Yr 12 cohort and interested staff members.
JANE GARRARD
YR 12 HOME GROUP TEACHER
BARBERSHOP BOYS
It has been a busy time for the Barbershop Boys.
RESULTS OF FORMAL/PROM SURVEY
They performed for the School Chaplaincy Principal's
evening at the Pike River Function Centre on September
8th. On September 15th, the boys had an afternoon of
performing, commencing with a performance to an
audience of over 200 at the Probus Friendship Day and
later that day, to the residents of the Loxton Nursing
Home.
Towards the end of last term we conducted a Prom /
Formal Farewell survey, with access details provided in
the Newsletter. Thank you to those students and parents
who took the time to complete the survey.
The ensemble performed as part of Andrew Casey's Year
12 Music assessment at the end of last term and will sing
for Andrew's Year 12 moderation on Thursday 16th
October.
In response to the statement ‘A Formal (Year 12) Farewell
should replace the Prom and Grad Dinner.’ 75% of
respondents Strongly Agreed and 25% Agreed. Here are
some of the comments that best reflected the views of the
respondents:
ACT NOW THEATRE PERFORMANCE
JOEL McDONOUGH
PREFECT
I believe that there should only be one event to celebrate
the end of the year for senior students. I don't find it
necessary to attend a prom inYyear 11, it should just be a
privilege and celebration in Year 12 after a whole life of
education with the people who have been there with you
along the years. Combining the prom and graduation to
one event will make the celebration more meaningful.
Act Now Theatre Company performed a play called
th
Clocks, in the Loxton Theatre on September 19 . Several
Year 9 classes were fortunate to be part of the audience
and to participate in the interactive performance, which
was about challenging common perceptions about aging.
Thank you to Riverland Youth Theatre for bringing this
performance to our school at no cost to students and
giving them the opportunity to see issues-based Drama.
I strongly believe this is a very positive initiative for the
school. From my family’s experience, my current Year 12
daughter chose not to attend the prom in Year 11 as she
thought it would make it more 'special' in Year 12. As it
turns out we have heard many comments from past and
present students and families that the prom is much more
favourable inYear 11 and the students are 'over it' by Year
12.
If it becomes a ‘once off' celebration for all students as
they complete their schooling in Year 12, I feel it will be a
great night/finale for all involved.
This will also be a cost saver for many families who simply
can’t afford all of the expenses attached to graduation and
prom nights. Fantastic idea!
ANN-MARIE WASLEY
DRAMA / MUSIC TEACHER
31st October 2014
Newsletter No.17
YEAR 8 ART
4.
Visit the DECD website
www.decd.sa.gov.au or
Visit the CFS website www.cfs.sa.gov.au
5.
to find out whether a Catastrophic Day has been
declared and therefore school buses will not run.
Given the size of our school it is impossible to contact
every family in person. Therefore it becomes the
parent/carers responsibility to confirm whether that
day (and subsequent days) have been declared
“catastrophic”.
Staff and Local Schools’ Responsibilities
It is staff and local schools’ responsibility to listen to
ABC local radio etc after 5.00 pm on the day
immediately preceding a possible Catastrophic Day
to ascertain the Fire Danger Rating for that day.
Conclusion
We acknowledge the cooperation of parents, local
schools and bus contractor.
The safety of our
students is our first priority.
FLOW CHART
PREPARING FOR CATASTROPHIC DAYS
24 Hours In Advance
- Letter to Families
- Contact with Bus Contractor
- Contact With Local Schools
CATASTROPHIC BUSHFIRE DAYS
Loxton High School will be open if the Riverland Fire
Ban District is classified as “Catastrophic” by the
Bureau of Meteorology. However, no school buses
will run.
5.00 pm Day Preceding
Check
- ABC Radio 1062 AM
- Bushfire Parent Hotline 1800 000 279
- www.decd.sa.gov.au
- www.bom.gov.au
- www.cfs.sa.gov.au
Procedure
School Responsibility
In the event of the likelihood of a “Catastrophic
Day”.
1. Families will receive a letter from our school 24
hours in advance notifying them of this possibility.
2. The bus contractor and all local schools will be
contacted by phone and/or email.
Parent Responsibility
After 5.00 pm on the day immediately preceding the
potential “Catastrophic Day” parents must:
1.
2.
3.
Listen to ABC Radio 1062 AM or
Phone the Bushfire Parent Hotline number
(1800 000 279) or
Visit the Bureau of Meteorology website
www.bom.gov.au or
Catastrophic Day
Yes
No
Normal School
-
No school buses
Loxton High
School open
31st October 2014
Newsletter No.17
GOVERNING COUNCIL NEWS
nd
Our Annual General Meeting is to be held on Tuesday, 2
December in the Library at 7.30 pm. We will be looking for
six new Councillors on the night. The period of service is
two years and below we have some comments from
existing councillors that may encourage you to generously
donate your time to our school:
programme which can be started at any time during
the season. For enquiries please contact:
Club Registrar – Karina Lambert 0431 521 339
President – Kerri Donaldson 0488 533 431
Alternatively you can email enquiries to
vitorrenmark@gmail.com
Please note: training for existing members commences on
Monday the 27th of October at 6pm
______________________________________________
“It was important to me to be part of my children’s
secondary education, being part of the Governing Council
offered me just this experience. By being involved with
GC, it gave me the chance to experience information first
hand and how it would impact on my children’s secondary
years and learning.
I have enjoyed the relaxed, open and friendly atmosphere
the meetings offer, as well as meeting new people”.
“I joined Governing Council because I hold Loxton High in
such high regard and am forever grateful for the high
standards and commitment to our children and
opportunities that are offered. I wanted to offer the
wonderful staff whatever support I could and ‘pitch-in’ to
help ensure the standards are maintained and the positive
culture of the school is recognised and staff and students
feel that the community is beside and behind them all the
way.
Loxton High has given our children such a
wonderful, confidence building experience which has
valued them for who they are and encouraged them to
reach their potential. Serving on Governing Council is my
way of saying ‘thank you’.
410 Berri Army Cadet Unit is
re-open and parading every
friday night at 7.00 pm.
We are calling on anyone
between the ages of 13 to 17
who is interested in learning
new
skills,
looking
for
adventure and a challenge or gaining leadership while
making new friends. The Army Cadets will teach
communications, bush craft, marksmanship, map reading
and more. There are opportunities to attend annual
camps on Army Bases and a chance to travel overseas or
interstate.
For those who are interested, you can find more
information at
http://www.armycadets.gov.au/join/Pages/Cadet.aspx
or email cusack6@hotmail.com
The unit is located at Foreman Road Berri.
Interested? Watch out for our circular coming home next
week with nomination forms attached. We’d love to have
you join our Council.
CANTEEN
Monday Nov
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
03
04
05
06
07
Sonia Koskinas
Sally Searles
Karen Milich
Tracey Reichelt
Dianne Smith
The 2015 C.A.S. Hawker Scholarships open on Monday
th
nd
8 December 2014 and close on Friday 2 January
2015. The C.A.S. Hawker Scholarship is one of the most
generous privately funded scholarships available to
undergraduate students in Australia. Each residential
scholarship is valued at up to $45,000 over three years.
Monday Nov
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
10
11
12
13
14
Helen Badran
Tracey Jaensch
Diana Williams
Julieann Phillips
Jodie Pearn
Information about the C.A.S. Hawker Scholarship and an
application
form
are
available
at www.hawkerscholarship.org or by contacting the
secretary to the Trustees on 08 8127 1654.
COMMUNITY NEWS
The Vitor Renmark Amateur
Swimming
Club
annual
registration day will be held at
the clubrooms located in the
Renmark Swimming Centre on
Wednesday
the
5th
of
November
from
5:30pm.
Training for new members will
commence following registration on the night. Swim
for fun, fitness or to compete, you’ll be coached
according to your goals and intentions. Take
advantage of our free 2 week Come ‘n’ Try
The Charles Hawker Scholarship perpetuates the memory
of scholar, soldier and pastoralist Charles Allan Seymour
Hawker and commemorates the achievements of one of
Australia’s
most
respected
statesmen.
The scholarships are available to all Australian students.
The majority have been awarded to students entering their
first
year
of
university
study.
Selection is largely based on personal qualities and
demonstrated leadership as well as academic ability.
Undergraduate Hawker Scholars are able to attend a
range of Australian educational institutions. For more
information please check the website :
www.hawkerscholarship.org.