BATEMANS BAY HIGH SCHOOL

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

NAIDOC Week

NAIDOC Week, from 3 July to 10 July, is a time to celebrate Aboriginal culture. It's also an opportunity to recognise the contributions that Aboriginal Australians make to our country. As NAIDOC Week tends to fall during the holidays, Batemans Bay High School regularly celebrates this occasion during the last week of Term 2, culminating in a special assembly on Thursday to which the whole school community is invited.

The theme for NAIDOC Week 2016 is “Songlines: The living narrative of our nation”. For Aboriginal people, the Dreamtime describes a time when the earth, people and animals were created by their ancestral spiritual beings. Dreaming tracks crisscross Australia and trace the journeys of these ancestral spirits as they created the land, animals and lore. Dreaming tracks are sometimes called songlines because they record the travels of these ancestral spirits who “sung” the land into life. Songlines are recorded in traditional songs, stories, dance and art.

The depth of knowledge embedded in the songlines is fascinating. The Euahlayi people of northern NSW remember the Black Snake/Bogong Moth songline connecting Normanton on the Gulf of Carpentaria with the Snowy Mountains near Canberra, which also happens to follow the Milky Way. Whilst they speak of the songline in terms of dreaming, it is also testimony to the remarkable and often unrecognised astronomical skills that Aboriginal people used when navigating this enormous land.

For me, every week at school is a learning week. What more fitting way to end a term than by observing NAIDOC Week, a time where we all learn a little of the past and contemplate how these lessons can shape our future.

A Golden Anniversary

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the HSC. Over 2.3 million people have sat HSC exams since the first cohort of 20,000

commenced in 1967. This year, 70,000 students are on track to complete their HSC and enter the next phase of their lives with a credential respected by employers and universities around the world.

Valuable advice for success in NSW’s 50th HSC exams has been published in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper and website. The HSC 2016 Study Guide not only includes information for students, but also for parents looking for ways to understand and support their children in the lead up to HSC exams later in the year. The guide offers more than 50 articles by people with in depth, current knowledge – HSC teachers, BOSTES Inspectors, mental health experts and former high achieving students.

The 2016 HSC written exams will start on Thursday, 13 October with English and finish on Friday, 4 November. HSC results will be issued to students online, by email and via SMS from 6.00am on Thursday, 15 December.

Term 3 Parent/Teacher Evening and

Year 11 2017 Information Session

Parents should add the upcoming parent/teacher evening to their diaries and calendars. The evening is on Tuesday, 26 July (week two next term) from 4pm to 6pm and will be immediately followed by the school’s information session for students entering Year 11 in 2017.

Some parents have requested bookings with teachers on the evening. Past experience suggests that it is actually easier for parents to access teachers without bookings. All teachers present at school that day will be in attendance for the full two hours to maximise their availability. However, as a courtesy to other families, we ask that conversations are limited to five minutes. If you would like to discuss any matter in depth, you don’t need to wait for the evening. Simply call the office staff and make an appointment to see a teacher at a mutually convenient time, or schedule a follow up meeting with the relevant teacher on the night.

Greg McDonald Principal

Principal: Greg McDonald

Term 2, Edition 19 27 June 2016

Published

Every Monday

2 George Bass Drive BATEMANS BAY NSW 2536 4478 3600 Fax 4472 8173

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What’s On Term 2

Week 10 Tuesday 28 June Girls Volleyball Knockout - Bomaderry Wednesday 29 June Debating - four students participating - Bomaderry HS Thursday 30 June NAIDOC assembly p2, 9.50am Thursday 30 June Cure Brain Cancer Foundation - Beanie for Brain Cancer day Friday 1 July Last day of term 2

Term 3 Tuesday 19 July All students return to school

Zoe Vandenberg Year 10 Zoe is an excellent example of someone with a growth mindset. She approaches challenges with a positive attitude. This was evident with Zoe and all the Drama students who took part in Acting Up, showcasing the talent of Batemans Bay High School to many private schools in Canberra.

Year 10 Mitchell Glanville is kicking goals this term! Mitchell Glanville has attended work experience at Bunnings every Wednesday for the past five weeks and has shown he has a great work ethic and many of the skills needed to be effective in this type of work place. Mitch was involved in providing general store maintenance, loading and unloading palettes, ensuring shelves were neat, tidy and full, and providing customer service. Mitch really enjoyed working as part of the team at Bunnings. On Tuesday, 7 June, Mitch assisted Mr McDonald in greeting school principals and leading them to the library where they were to undertake a course. On Thursday, 16 June, Mitch was part of a group of twelve students from Batemans Bay High

School that rode in the Coondoo Classic, the South East Coast Secondary School Mountain

Biking Championships held in the Currumbene State Forest. Mr Smith and Ms Pratt were

both impressed with the level of commitment Mitch and his fellow BBHS team mates

displayed.

Mrs Angie O’Connor Special Education Head Teacher

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With NAIDOC Week being celebrated this week, some of our students asked to help

clean up the Koori garden. With the help of two workers from the local Lands Council who

also donated an array of native plants, a refurbishment of the garden was underway. The

crew got to work in the morning and after much effort throughout the day made the Koori

garden look brand new.

Congratulations to all that helped!

Richard Lloyd, Norta Norta

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Write down your solution and hand it to Mrs Cannings with the names of all students who participated. A solution is more than just the answer. It must show how you found the answer.

A list is made of every digit that is the units digit of at least one prime number. How many digits appear in the list?

Last weeks answer: The minimum number of extra squares that need to be shaded is 3.

NAIDOC Week Celebrations

NAIDOC week is set to be action packed at Bateman’s Bay High School this year with a wide range of activities on offer including; Koori games, bush tucker talks, Aboriginal dance workshops, an art competition, boomerang throwing, BBQ, assembly and damper making. We would like to extend an invitation to family and community members to attend our NAIDOC week assembly at 9:50am on Thursday, 30

June. The assembly will showcase all of the things

students have been involved in throughout the week and will include a dance performance and didgeridoo playing. After the assembly guests are encouraged to stay for morning tea. This is a fantastic opportunity for students, teachers and the wider community to come together to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture and achievements. We hope to see you there!

Mrs Rowing, Ms Webb, Mr Lloyd The Norta Norta Team

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Year 11Earth and Environmental Science and Year 12 Chemistry spent Thursday morning

visiting Deep Creek Dam and the Surf Beach Water Filtration Plant. Gillian Kearney,

Sustainability Education Officer from Eurobodalla Shire Council organised and ran the visit.

Water treatment is an important part of the Year 12 Chemistry syllabus and Year 11 are

currently studying Water Issues and looking at sustainability of water use locally. The

students were surprised to find the amount of work that goes into reliably producing our clean

drinkable water. Thanks to Peter and Barry at the Surf Beach Water Filtration Plant for their

time in teaching us about water treatment.

Watching a backwash of the Daff tanks that use filtration and

floatation to treat water

Checking out the lime storage silo at the Water Filtration Plant

At Deep Creek Dam

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On Tuesday, 21 June, forty one Year 10 students travelled to the Sydney Jewish Museum. They met George, an 89 year old Holocaust survivor, whose story both enthralled and saddened the group. The accompanying teachers were very impressed by the behaviour and interest shown by the students. Simon, the curator, congratulated the students on their depth of knowledge and the insightful questions they asked.

Mrs Suzie Rooney HSIE Teacher

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On Thursday, 23 June, a group of year 9-10 students went to Moruya TAFE and the students experienced most of the courses on offer. Students remember the mocktails which were available through hospitality. Most of the boys enjoyed the brick laying and carpentry, whereas the girls enjoyed beauty and hairdressing. A lot of the students came back with painted nails from the beauty workshop. TAFE also offers early childcare, aged care, marine studies, commercial cookery, business studies, animal studies and horticulture. We enjoyed the day and thank TAFE for the take home information provided in the show bags.

By Georgia Caitlyn, Emily and Cameron

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