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BULAHDELAH CENTRAL SCHOOL

A PRIDE School Strive to Achieve Term 2 Week 4 Issue 7 19th May, 2014

Strive to Achieve

BULAHDELAH CENTRAL SCHOOL

A PRIDE School

Strive to Achieve Term 1 Week 4 Issue 2 18th February, 2013

BULAHDELAH CENTRAL SCHOOL

A PRIDE School

Strive to Achieve Term 1 Week 4 Issue 2 18th February, 2013

GREAT NEWS INSIDE * P&C Reforms

* NAPLAN

* Secondary Athletics Carnival

* P&C Meeting 16th

June

* Eisteddfod Results

* Primary Athletics Carnival

* Healthy Lunchbox

* Music Achievements

*

BCS SCHOOL PROGRAMS VALUE OF THE WEEK Respect. We respect the rights of

others, ourselves & the school in

an environment of harmony &

personal responsibility. Do you

respect yourself, respect others &

take responsibility for your own

actions?

Secondary & Primary

Athletics Carnival results

on pages 4, 5, 8, 9.

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PRINCIPAL’S REPORT:

Friday’s Water Crisis Most parents would be aware that on

Friday we had an issue with lack of water available to the school for the

majority of the day due to a broken water main. As was explained to the students at the assembly the school would remain open and normal lessons would operate for the day. Quite a number of parents opted to keep their child/ren at home which did alleviate issues with the toilets and made it a little easier to function. We were fortunate to have access to tank water for hand washing and flushing toilets when necessary. I’m happy to say that everyone survived and the school was back to normal by 1.30pm. Stewart House Each year 1,800 public school children in need visit Stewart House from many parts of NSW and the ACT. During their stay, children are provided with optometric, dental and medical treatment as well as emotional support. This is balanced with health and educational programs and out of school activities to boost their self-esteem and to promote a healthier lifestyle. Children in the care of Stewart House attend a specific purpose school onsite for 8 days of their 12 day stay. The NSW Department of Education and Communities provides infrastructure and staffing support for Stewart House. All other costs associated with the children’s stay are met from charitable donations. Stewart House needs your support to ensure we can continue to provide important services to children. During the program children:

Receive free eye, dental and health screening and treatment.

Develop self-care and conflict resolutions skills.

Learn to relax and overcome anxiety.

Participate in excursions and activities to develop a broader outlook on life.

Establish friendships and routines in a safe community.

Increase their self-esteem. Over the years Bulahdelah Central School has sent many students to Stewart House and I’m requesting that you consider supporting the continued operation of Stewart House by using the Stewart House Donation Drive 2014 envelopes that were distributed this month. If you didn’t get one please pick one up at the office. One lucky supporter will win a $4000 holiday of their choice.

Reforms to P&C Federation The NSW Parliament has introduced legislation to reform the NSW Federation of Parent and Citizens Associations, which has suspended operation pending Supreme Court action. While these reforms will not affect the day-to-day operation of individual school P&Cs’, they will introduce a new executive structure which will ensure the Federation operates as a modern and representative body on behalf of school P&C Associations. Each school’s P&C Association will be asked to vote for councillors and delegates who will represent their electorate at the Federation’s Annual General Meeting and councillors who will serve on the Federation’s Board of Management. More information will be available on the Department’s website at: http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/gotoschool/a-z/involvement.php.

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BCS DEPUTY PRINCIPAL:

We are now three weeks into Term Two and already we have achieved

exceptional results in the areas of the stage and field. Over these first three weeks, we have had students compete in the Taree Eisteddfod, knockout soccer, debating, athletics and cross country. I commend all these students on their efforts for representing Bulahdelah Central School with the pride and enthusiasm displayed. I would also like to acknowledge and thank the staff members involved for their time and effort in preparing, transporting and coaching students with these extra curricula activities. Please read supporting articles in this and following newsletters for further details. At present our Year 7 and 9 students have been demonstrating their literacy and numeracy knowledge in the annual NAPLAN exams. These exams give our students the opportunity to measure themselves against students across Australia and more importantly, against themselves and allows us to see their progress over the last two years. Of course we will be doing our own testing to measure students’ progress and understanding with our upcoming half yearly exams for Years 7 to 10. Students are encouraged to make a start or increase their time on study in the lead up to the exams to ensure they are prepared and competitive. Parents will be given an insight of their child's progress with monitoring letters coming out again in Week 5. I strongly encourage parents to get more involved in their child's education by supporting them with a quiet area to study, discussing their curriculum, going through their class notes with them and talking to their teachers. In an earlier assembly this term I offered the students a challenge on behalf of our Attendance Team. If students can obtain a school attendance rate of more than 90%, we will offer them a subsidised reward excursion to Sydney. Absences will include explained, unexplained, approved leave, suspensions, truancy and lateness.

Attendance will include school business and flexi-leave. If a student has one day off per fortnight their attendance would be at 90%, the challenge is to attend school more than this from the start of Term 2 to Week 4 of Term 4. It is the aim of the team to increase the school's attendance figures, to be higher than the Region and State percentages in 2014. We are still considering how to address the Year 10 attendance figures being the lowest in the secondary sector of the school. This week we have started the process of electing new school captains for the 2014/15 period. This is a rigorous and challenging set of events leading up to the elections which will be held in Week 7, with the appointment of the new captains at our Week 9 assembly. By all accounts it will be another busy term.

May 22 Yr11 RYDA Driver

Yr12 Geography Field Study Day

23 Yrs8-11 Maitland Goal

27 Taree Eisteddfod Vocal Group

28 Yrs9-11 Tocal Steer Day

June 2 Yrs8-9 Oakdale Farm

16 P&C Meeting Tea Gardens 3.45pm (4pm start)

Yr12 Science Experimentalfest

18 Yrs5-6 P J Tierney (Author Visit)

20 Chris Hoare Cup Bulahdelah (Date to be confirmed)

27 Yrs9-12 Timber & Woodworking Expo

IMPORTANT DATES:

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On the 7th of May we held the school Athletics

Carnival. Due to the school oval still being closed,

we moved the carnival down to the Jack Ireland

Sporting Complex. This turned out to be an

amazing venue for the carnival with lots of space

and a great layout for our events. The only down

side was that we were unable to run our long

jump on the day. This will instead be done at

school during PE lessons. The day was an

outstanding success and all involved enjoyed

themselves immensely.

I would like to thanks all parents and staff

involved and most of all the students for their

cooperation and positive attitudes.

We had some great results and these students

will be representing BCS at the Manning Zone

Carnival will be held on Tuesday the 20th of May

at the Tuncurry Athletics Complex. Good luck to

all 56 competitors.

Brooke McKenzie

(Sports organiser)

Girls Boys

Indiana Gregory 12 Benjamin Ayliffe

Leilani White 13 Bailey Battle

Tamara Gooch 14 Luke Rochester Jake Curnow Joshua Dallas

Bianca Mason 15 Matthew Williams

Alexia Bednarczyk 16 Jayden Lilley

Ellie Gooch 17 Carl Williams

SECONDARY ATHLETICS

CARNIVAL:

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B

Melba 1031

Wentworth 1056

Bradman 933

Kenny 721

K

W

M

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It is important for parents to make attending school a priority. Allowing children days off for birthdays, to look after younger children, to go shopping, to keep you company or because they were tired from a late night, not only sends the wrong message to your child, it is also against the law. Children who get used to having days off school for these kinds of reasons develop an attitude that their attendance at school is not very important. This can become a big issue as a child gets older. Teach our children that being on time is important. Children that are often late to school miss the part of the school day when the teacher explains new activities. The beginning of the day is also when many students are freshest and can concentrate better. Students who are late on a regular basis may become the target for comment by other students and often as a result isolate themselves from their peers.

Celebrate Attendance

Hints and Tips No 2: Teaching good habits

Dates for P&C Meeting Term 2:

16th June Tea Gardens 3.45pm

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BCS DEPUTY PRI. PRINCIPAL:

NAPLAN is over for another year. Results will be available to the school and

parents towards the end of next term. The school receives the results and these are then forwarded to parents. All students participated in a Bus Safety Workshop, last week. This is a wonderful initiative and I would like to thank Busways and Mel Read for providing our students with the opportunity to increase their skills and knowledge in order to be safe bus travellers. At our last Assembly we inducted our captains for Term 2, Bailey Middleton and Taylah Smith. Congratulations to both students, who I know will do a fantastic job at leading our school this term. The Life Education Van will be at school on Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th May. The van complements our school’s Drug Education program which is a mandatory component of the PD/H/PE syllabus. I would again like to thank the P&C for their support of this vital educational program by subsidising the cost for students. Our students did extremely well at the Taree Eisteddfod, last week. Thanks to Ms Vella for facilitating student participation in this event and thanks to parents for transporting the students to and from the event. Well done to all students who participated throughout the week. You did your school and yourselves proud!

The results are: Novice Verse Speaking Solo 10 years and under 3rd place Finlay O'Connell Prepared Speech 10 years and under 1st place Westleigh Richardson 2nd place Seleana Murphy 3rd place Maggie Cunich Original Poetry Reading 10 years and under 1st place Finlay O'Connell Impromptu Reading 12 years and under 2nd place Finlay O'Connell Mime Solo 14 years and under Highly Commended Ryen Brown Humorous Recitation Highly Commended Bryleigh Barrish. There will be a Talent Quest for primary students on Wednesday 21st May. We have a program comprising 12 acts, which I am very much looking forward to seeing. All primary students will attend the talent quest as the audience. I would like to thank Ms Vella for her organisation of this event. Mrs Wills will be on sick leave for the next 5 weeks. The class will be in very good hands under the excellent tuition of Mrs O’Connell and Miss Ward.

Debutante Ball 24th May

6.30pm at Bulahdelah Bowling Club

Tickets: Adult $28

Child (4-12) $10

Entertainment & supper provided.

Tickets available from Bulahdelah Preschool.

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On your mark, get set, GO! What a great day we had for our athletics carnival! The venue was excellent, the weather was magnificent and the participation of the students was very pleasing indeed. I would like to congratulate our age winners and runners up as well as ALL students who participated, on the day, and may not have received a ribbon. You are ALL winners! It was great to have the infant students with us for the morning.

There was certainly lots of encouragement from parents, family and friends. I would like to thank the parents who came along to the carnival to support the students. We love having you at these special events! I would especially like to thank those parents who assisted in a myriad of ways throughout the day, from time-keeping and measuring to helping pack up the marquees at the end of the day (a huge job). Your assistance was very much appreciated.

Girls Boys

Sasha Middleton 8 Cole Buchanan

Charlise Luxon 9 Zane Pringle

Amber Cunningham 10 Angus Devon

Finlay O’Connell 11 Harry Plummer

Heidi Buchanan 12 Brodan Nassif

PRIMARY ATHLETICS

CARNIVAL:

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Bradman 229

Kenny 255

Wentworth 245

Melba 204

K

W

B

M

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Music students from Bulahdelah Central recently

performed in the instrumental section of the

Taree Eisteddfod achieving outstanding results.

The adjudicator, Mr Ben Tracy, commented on

the excellent musical and performance skills

demonstrated by our students during their

presentations.

The Eisteddfod provides participants with the

opportunity to work with professional stage

managers and sound technicians and assists with

developing their performance skills and musical

confidence.

Well-deserved congratulations go to the

following students:

Kyra-Lea Gregory Year 12

1st Place: Entertainer Solo - Open Age

Kyra-Lea’s performance of “War on Love” earned

her first place in this solo section for the 3rd year

in a row. Kyra also received a Highly Commended

in the Vocal Solo section.

Bryce Hunkin Year 12 and Kyle Main Year 11

Equal First: Instrumental Solo

Both boys performed their own compositions on

the guitar. The adjudicator could not separate

our students in terms of their musical ability,

giving them both a mark of 24/25, and awarding

them equal first place.

TAREE EISTEDDFOD MUSIC ACHIEVEMENTS:

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Year 8 student, Shannah Barrish, recently attended the Secondary Schools’ Regional Music Camp held at Lake Ainsworth on the North Coast. Students attending the camp came from many areas around NSW including Norfolk Island. There were many different musical activities on offer during the camp including concert and stage

bands, rock bands and improvisation and singing groups. Shannah's main activity was participating in the vocal ensemble. Under the direction of a professional singing teacher, the students learnt a range of vocal skills and techniques which they were able to use in their performances. Shannah was also involved in a world music group where she learnt a variety of drumming techniques used in music from other cultures. The students also participated in a range of recreational activities including rock climbing and bike riding. Evenings consisted of talent shows with a grand concert on the final night for family and friends. Shannah was excited to be given a solo in both the vocal group and drumming group at the concert.

Our courageous Year 7 debaters; Lachlan Rutter,

Laurie Bray, Georgia Smith and Maddy Stockell

competed with Gloucester High in the Taree

Eisteddfod Debating Challenge. Although we did

not win this round our debaters carried

themselves with pride. They were excellent

ambassadors of our school. Faced with

unenviable odds the Year 7 Debating Team was

forced to defend the statement “Girls have it

better”. For some members of the debating team

this was the first time they had participated in a

formal debate. The Adjudicator commended our

debaters on their confidence and showmanship.

Good job!

Thank you to all those parents who supported us.

Please continue to support our debaters in the

Premier’s Debating Challenge next Term.

Mrs Rosyline Caro

REGIONAL MUSIC CAMP – LAKE AINSWORTH:

YEAR 7 DEBATING – TAREE EISTEDDFOD:

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BREKKY CLUB:

CHOOSE WATER

AS A DRINK

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Bulahdelah Brekky Club started in 2006, providing breakfast for K- 12 students two days per week. Now, some 8 years later, the program continues, largely due to the support of the Red Cross, Bulahdelah Lions Club and local volunteers from the community and staff. Every Thursday and Friday morning approximately 100 students line up for toast, cereal and milo to fill their stomachs in a warm, safe and friendly environment.

Given that many students are growing teenagers, slept in, ran out of time for brekky or travelling significant distances to attend our school, a prepared breakfast is valued and proven by research to promote concentration in the classrooms. The support from the students has demonstrated the need for this fantastic program within our school and we thank our supporters and volunteers.

BREKKY CLUB:

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BCS distributes the Tall Timbers newsletter by

FAMILY EMAIL. Please ensure that your family

email is entered correctly on our records. We also

place a copy of our newsletter on our website;

Next Newsletters for Term 2: 2nd & 16th June.

http://www.bulahdelah-c.schools.nsw.edu.au

Parents, if you have changed any details e.g. your address, mobile phone, home phone or emergency

contacts, could you please make sure you let the office know so we are able to keep an accurate record. It

is important for us and your children that we are able to contact you in case of an emergency.

HOUSEKEEPING INFORMATION:

ARE YOUR CONTACT DETAILS UP-TO-DATE?

UNIFORM PRICE RISE

All Primary & Secondary

School Shirts are now $25 each