byron bay high school newsletter...blending elements of heightened naturalism, expressionism and...

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

This newsletter is a celebration of student achievement and participation reflecting the first eight weeks of this year. I am astounded at the passion and dedication by both staff and students in taking up opportunities to explore their individual talents and interests. Take the time to read the articles and photos that capture some highlights so far in 2019.

Collaboration

Our Parent Teacher Evenings were a very positive event this week in creating dedicated time to give feedback to parents and students in regards to their progress in each subject. The more we work in partnerships with home, the more success we have with students as they tackle new learning challenges.

Our Attendance school data received an excellent report from our Home School Liaison Officer who monitors students’ attendance. Thank you to all parents for their communication in regards to illness, travel or the leave students need to take from compulsory school days. This communication enhances our monitoring and support in regards to student Attendance.

ExcellenceCongratulations to our Year 12 students, Oscar Soper, Oscar McMahon and Marli Maddison who are all finalists in the Young Men’s BASE Youth Leadership Awards. The awards will be announced at a breakfast on Friday 5 April.

Our Open Boys Soccer Team were sporting our new kit on Wednesday during a match against Tweed River High School. Not only did they look fantastic but also won their match 10-0. Congratulations to all players!

Connecting with LandPositive Change for Byron Bay High School students are giving a presentation this afternoon at The Farm after completing tree planting. At our school assembly this week the group shared their research and initiatives to improve the quality of our environment inside and outside of our school. They will also be drawing a raffle this afternoon for which the funds raised will go to offsetting the carbon emissions created by the group’s travel by plane to a conference in 2018. Good Luck if you have bought yourself a ticket!

Remember to keep in contact with the school in regards to changes at home or any educational needs.

Ms Janine Marcus - Principal

Byron Bay High School

OUR VISIONByron Bay High School delivers a

collaborative learning environment where students achieve excellence

through our connection with community and land, creating holistic leaders of the future.

The Future is OursByron Bay High School stand proudly on the traditional land of the Arakwal people of the Bundjalung Nation

T: 02 6685 8188E: byronbay-h.school@det.nsw.edu.auwww.byronbay-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

Newsletter

What’s Coming UpTerm 1Monday 1 and Tuesday 2 April Responsible Service of Alcohol Certified Course

Tuesday 3 April - 10.20am GoMA and QAG Brisbane Excursion

Wednesday 3 April - 10.20am Performance Assembly - all welcome Ballina McDonalds, Year 12 Business Studies CHS Boys Open Tennis

Wednesday 3 - Tuesday 23 April Italy Excursion

Friday 5 April - Day 7 TVET Beauty Salon (Kingscliff) AFL Northern Exchange CHS Open Girls Soccer Round 2

Tuesday 9 April - Day 2 FNC Girls/Boys Touch Football Gala Day

Wednesday 10 April - Day 3 SRC Assembly Presentation

Friday 12 April - Day 5 Lighthouse Students Ballina Cinema Excursion

Term 2Monday 29 April - Staff Development Day

Tuesday 30 April - Day 6 School returns for all students

Thursday 9 May - Day 6 Vaccinations Year 10

Friday 10 May - Day 7 Year 10 Northern Rivers Career Expo Cross Country

Term 1 Week 9 | Friday 29 March 2019

PAYMENTS AND NOTES NOW DUEYear 7 - 12 - School FeesYear 7 - 10 - Term 1 School Sport - now overdueYear 11 / 12 Visual Art - GoMA and QAG Excursion - $35Year 11 / 12 - TVET Beauty Salon (Kingscliff) - $20Year 10 - Northern Rivers Careers Expo - $10

Byron Bay High School Newsletter Term 1 | Week 9


“Geography explains the past, illuminates the present, and prepares us for the future” - M. Palin

Year 11 Minyon Falls and Brunswick Heads overnight excursionOver two days last week, students studying Senior Geography had the opportunity to enhance their classroom knowledge through immersion (literally in some cases) in the landscape and local waterways.

Students have been investigating the topic ‘Biophysical Interactions’ which leads to an understanding of the dynamic relationships between all living things, the land, water and air.

The fieldwork provided an excellent opportunity for students to assess the interactions between each of the biophysical components as well as some of the human impacts in our region. Dorroughby Environmental Education Centre (DECC) helped the students to conduct measurements of water quality, river channel morphology and human influence along our waterways.

Starting at the top of Minyon Falls students were introduced to the relationships between the river, the geology and the vegetation. They tracked changes in temperature and humidity as the descended from the dry sclerophyll forest into the subtropical rainforest at the base of the falls. At the base, students conducted the same tests as they did at the top of the falls, in order to measure any changes in the abiotic variables. These tests would be used throughout the following day as well and provided students with skills that could be used in a wide range of professions, beyond their Senior Geography Projects in Term 2.

In the afternoon we visited Rocky Creek Dam where students actively discussed the region’s water supply and the increasing pressures exerted upon it by a growing and seasonal population. Students were creative in suggesting solutions to the issues of water management and scarcity. Heading back to Dorroughby Environmental Education Centre we stopped at a small dam and were very fortunate to see platypus playing in the wild as the sun set.

The following day students spent time on the bank of the Brunswick River at Mullumbimby learning about the geomorphology of the region, the surrounding land uses and their influence on the river ecosystems. As the tide changed, we got into kayaks and started to measure the same abiotic variables at various stages along the river towards Brunswick Heads. Investigating river width, depth and calculating flow rate, as well as dissolved oxygen, nitrates and changes in pH and salinity provided students with a holistic view of a river system.

The data collection was not without its challenges, managing to hold position in the channel in kayaks, to make measurements proved tricky as the king tide rushed out. Students acted quickly and collaboratively to achieve their shared goal of data collection. The kayaking afforded students the chance to analyse the changes in channel shape and water quality as well as seeing the erosion and vegetation along the river banks as they approached the estuary. After lunch, students took part in a beach clean up at Brunswick



Heads sampling along a transect, sifting sand for macro and micro plastics. The data was then sent to AUSMap which is an example of ‘citizen science’ that students may draw upon for their Senior Geography Projects.

Staff from DECC commended the students for their engagement and questions throughout the excursion. Of the thousands of students they work with the staff highlighted Byron Bay High School students positivity and enthusiasm and felt very secure in the knowledge that the “future is in good hands”. Thank you to the staff at DECC, Jade Vickery and the students involved for engaging so wholeheartedly with the experience as active citizens.

Mr Stuart Galletly - Head Teacher HSIE

International Women’s Day

On International Women’s Day Ms Marcus, Ms McGregor and Ms Lowe accompanied five of Byron Bay High School’s seven finalists to the Inaugural Base Leadership Awards Breakfast. The awards recognise and support young people in the Byron and Tweed Shires who are excelling in their chosen field; Academia, Community Service, Performing Arts, Creative Arts, Sport, and Indigenous Spirit Leadership. Not only did Byron Bay High School have seven finalists, but two of our students won their categories; Mia Thom (Academia plus Indigenous Leadership) and Lily Spiteri (Visual Arts)! All finalists will be invited to a mentoring day in Term 2.

We are so proud of our girls for putting themselves forward and being such positive role models. Well done! Five boys from Byron Bay High School have also been selected as finalists - Oscar Soper, Oscar McMahon and Marli Maddison in the Boys Base Leadership Awards. More news on them when we have it!

Ms Sarah McGregor - Head Teacher English



CAPAL News Year 11 Drama Production planning and rehearsals are underway for Angela Betzien’s ‘Children of the Black Skirt’. Showcasing over three nights in Term 2 Week 9.

Ms Simone Museth - Drama Teacher



Zeal Theatre VisitOn Friday 8 March, Year 9 -12 Drama students were lucky enough to participate in our annual Zeal Theatre visit. This year, Zeal performed their cutting edge drama ‘KING HIT’ to a captive audience of Byron Bay High School, Mullumbimby High School and Alstonville High School Drama Students. An engrossing Q&A session followed the performance.

KING HIT is aimed specifically at upper secondary schools students in Years 9-12 and examines violence amongst young people, the perpetrators, victims, witnesses and the so-called ‘innocent bystanders’ and offers alternative perspectives to reckless and abusive behaviour.

KING HIT is written and performed by Zeal veterans Stefo Nantsou and Tom Lycos as a master class of multi-character acting in a fast paced production blending elements of heightened naturalism, expressionism and verbatim theatre. The actors spent the rest of the school day working closely with Byron Bay High School Drama students to develop their acting skills, stage presence and capacity for creative collaboration.

The students had a fantastic time. They were moved by the production, asked profound and probing questions of the actors and produced some excellent performance work in the actor-led workshops.

Until next year, thanks Zeal Theatre!

Article written by Alisha Doherty-Hough – Year 11 Drama Promotional Designer



Important information - Attendance at Byron Bay High SchoolStudents are required to attend school on each day the school is open. It is the responsibility of students, parents/carers to ensure that students attend school regularly. Byron Bay High School uses an electronic attendance system. Byron Bay High School will text parents/carers to inform them if their child is absent from school. Parents can respond to this text with a legitimate reason, and this will count as an explained absence. Absences are recorded as being either justified or unjustified on student school reports. Attendance in each course will also appear on students reports.

Absence - what to do when my student is away• Please wait for the text message and respond to that message – it is not necessary to phone the school.

(Please note this is not the school mobile number - it changes daily); or

• Log in to the Parent Portal. Click above your child’s photo on the ‘absences’ button and on the left you will see the grey ‘explain absence’ button; or

• Send in a hand written note with parent/carer signature within seven (7) days of being absent. Note is to be placed in our absentee box located in our school student front office foyer.

Leaving early - collecting students from school before the end of dayIf you know your child has to leave school early for any legitimate reason please follow the below process.

• Send your child with a note written and signed by the parent/carer.

• This note needs to be signed by a Deputy Principal before 9 am.

• Once signed by a Deputy Principal, students must present their signed note to the front counter to receive their leave pass.

• Students present their leave slips to teachers in order to leave the class early, or if they are challenged by teachers on supervision.

• Students who subsequently return to class after an appointment must swipe in at the Front Office before returning to class.

Parents are reminded that this facility should be used only for medical or dental appointments that cannot be made after school or for other matters of an extremely urgent nature.

** It is extremely important to follow this process as it is not always possible to get your child from class. This allows the student to leave their class, at the time required and without disruption to the learning of the other class members.

ImportantIf you need to collect your student unexpectedly you will be required to come in to the front office to sign them out. Phone calls and emails are NOT acceptable. No student should leave the school grounds without permission.

Students being collected by someone other than their parent/carer or emergency contactDuring school hours students are only allowed to leave with their own parent/carer or a person listed as an “emergency contact” as per the enrolment application. If you require another person to pick up your child for any reason you will need to write a note for your child. This note will need to be signed and approved by the Deputy Principal before 9 am and a leave pass issued by the office. The person named on the note will be required to come to the office with identification.



Agriculture NewsNow that the season has brought some needed rain the Year 9 and 10 Agriculture students have started planting for the season ahead!

Mrs Jennifer Woodward - Agriculture and Science Teacher



Year 10 PASS Beach Fitness and ConditioningAs a part of the Year 10 PASS program we have been travelling into the local beaches and walking trials and going through a fitness and conditioning program. The students have been running stairs, jogging on the beach and performing different partner style workouts to improve their overall strength, aerobic fitness and wellbeing. Below are some pictures of the students in action.

Mr Harley Schmidt - PDHPE Teacher / Sports Organiser and Year Adviser

Sport News Wednesday Sport Selections Term 2

With the end of term approaching it is time to start thinking about sport selections for Wednesday afternoon sport. Sport is a mandatory requirement for Years 7 to 10.

Where possible, it is encouraged that medical appointments are made outside of school time and not on Wednesday afternoons. Students wishing to leave sport from the venue must have a written note signed before 9am by a Deputy Principal. Students who need to leave school before sport commences must apply for leave with a detailed note signed before 9am by a Deputy Principal.

Please be mindful if your child does sport away from the school grounds that arrangements to collect them early need to be made prior to them leaving for school that morning.

Please see below for the sport selection procedure for Term 2. Sport will commence Term 2 Week 1. All permission slips and payments must be returned to the front office by Friday 5 April - Week 10.

Thursday 28 March - Notes handed out last period to Years 7 - 10. Online payments open Thursday evening (note must be returned the next day for this to be processed).

Friday 29 March - Front office payments open from 8.30 am

Monday 1 April - Sport Selections in class time - Period 2 - Year 10 Period 3 - Year 9 Period 4 - Year 8 Period 5 - Year 7


Open Boys Basketball

Opens Boys Basketball team now join the girls as Far North Coast Champions. Our boys defeated Ballina Coast High School convincingly. The boys will now go on to play Rivers College and the girls to play Evans River for a spot in the final 32. Good luck teams!

Byron Bay High School Open Boys Soccer against Tweed River High School

Byron Bay High School Boys Open Soccer side played Wednesday 27 March and defeated Tweed River High School 10-0. In the opening round of the State Knockout Competition. This was also the first match played in the School’s new jerseys. Top performers of the match were Conor Benlsey with 4 goals and Oscar Soper with 2 goals. The whole side played controlled football throughout the game and will go on to play Wollumbin High School in the coming weeks.

Mr Harley Schmidt - PDHPE Teacher / Sports Organiser and Year Adviser


NSW CHS Championships Byron Bay High School students continue to excel across all sports. We have had an outstanding year thus far. Congratulations to the following students who have been selected in North Coast Teams to represent at the NSW CHS State Championships. (Please excuse our students being out of uniform, they were celebrating Harmony Day!)

• Soccer - Alby Kay, Conor Bensley, Japara Van Der Donk, Aaron Spry, Maggie Motley, Isabella Leckie, Ali Dean

• Basketball - Flynn Bosselmann, Isaiah Campbell, Harley Kent, Rocco Cipriano, Alfa Mondrup

• AFL - Marlin Corbett, Ishta Raju, Harley Kent

• Netball - Freya Peacock

• Swimming - Marley Shrimpton, Rex Coppin, Eve Porter, Meg Porter

Also a big Congratulations to Meg Porter who won North Coast 16 Year Girls Age Champion at the recent North Coast Swimming Championships.

Congratulations to all of our swimmers who made up the Far North Coast Team (previously mentioned in the last newsletter). Your efforts resulted in a win for Far North Coast Region! Awesome effort by everyone.

Sports coming up are Open Boys and Girls Soccer, Touch Football and Tennis.

If you have any questions please contact Kelley Caoyonan or Harley Schmidt in PE.



Soccer Basketball

AFL Swimming Netball



Open Water Polo Regional Final

Alstonville High School have been the dominant Waterpolo school in the Northern Rivers region for 30 years. Today Byron Bay High School put a challenge on their dominance and pushed them all the way in a gutsy effort in our boys and girls open teams.

Boys went down 9-4. However, the end score was not a true indication of the game. Early in the second half we had clawed our way back to 4-4 after a 4-2 deficit at half time. Standouts on the day were Beau and Seth Carter. A great effort by all who had no subs at all. With this team plus two or three more the future looks bright!

The team was: Jonah Caoyonan, Tex Hembow, Callum Balcon, Alby Kay, Seth Carter, Kurtis Barton and Beau Carter.

Our girls had put up a great fight but went down to Alstonville 7-4. Freya Peacock was a standout player on the day scoring most of our goals. Grace Eady was solid in defence. They are a great young team with lots of potential, looking forward to the next few years as they develop.

The team was: Josephine Nagel, Elisha King, Jimi Carle, Maggie Motley, Wilhemena Keiler, Ella Whan, Megan Porter, India Hembrow, Grace Eady, Freya Peacock.

Mr Timothy Sawyer - TAS Teacher and Year 7 Year Adviser

Maths NewsEquipmentIt is important that all students bring the required equipment to their maths lessons. Without a calculator, pen, book and ruler it is hard to engage with the course work and understand the required outcomes. We are lucky enough to have 30 computers for our faculty to share and we use these devices to complement the learning of students in our classes as it is important work through the practical components of our courses.

Google ClassroomMost classes will have access to their own online classroom where the teacher will put all the information your child needs in order to stay up to date with what is happening at school. This is a great tool when students are absent as they are able to see what was done in class for that particular lesson. It can also be used as a place for questions to be asked if your child is unsure of the homework that they are completing.

Amazing results for Pi DayMr Armstrong ran a Pi Day competition where students were given the opportunity to recite Pi to as many decimals places as they could. The prizes were a pie from the canteen or one of Mr Armstrong’s famous pineapple’s. There were many exceptional entries with Sam Jimenez-Swain being the winner reciting Pi to 103 decimal places! Thank you to Mr Armstrong for running this competition and donating the prizes. Some notable entries were:

• Joe Tysoe - 101 decimal places• Jordan O’Connor - 98 decimal places• Angas Rehn - 87 decimal places• Christopher Von Reinhaart - 53 decimal places

Mr Curtis Miles - Head Teacher Maths



Science News

Year 11 Earth and Environmental Science students went on a field trip to The Island Quarry and Minyon Falls in Week 7. They conducted soil tests, water quality tests, and observed geological features at locations along the way. They have also been conducting soil tests back at school.



Year 8 Science have been learning about forces. They investigated magnetic force and used iron fillings to map the magnetic field.

Year 11 Physics students have been working on their first Depth Study in class.

Ms Elise Cox - Science Teacher

Welfare NewsWe are participating in the Stewart House Donation Drive 2019. Stewart House offers a unique schooling and cultural experience for disadvantaged students across NSW who travel to Sydney to participate in the program.

Students who attend Stewart House are also offered medical, dental and mental health support. This valuable program is funded through donations. Donation envelopes will be going home with Year 7 and 8 students this week. If you are able to make a donation please complete the envelope and return as soon as possible to Mr Duncan (Head Teacher Welfare) or Mrs Yeadon (Science).

The Wellbeing Team Information Document has been update for 2019. The document outlines the various roles within the Wellbeing Team at Byron Bay High School and provides up-to-date contact details for the various people who can provide support for students at the school.

The 2019 Wellbeing Team Information Booklet outlines the various roles within the Wellbeing Team at Byron Bay High School and provides up-to-date contact details for the various people who can provide support for students at the school. If parents and care givers require additional assistance with their child please use this contact information or contact the school. The booklet can be found on our website or click the below link.

https://byronbay-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/doe/sws/schools/b/byronbay-h/pdfs/handbooks/Wellbeing_Team_2019.pdf

Mr Ritchie Duncan - Welfare Coordinator





Calling Under 14 and Under 16 BOYS - COME AND HAVE A KICK! ! !

•2018 saw 125 kids in the Byron Shire playing AFL

•2019 is shaping up well too

•Dropout rates in sport for 13+ yrs olds is alarmingly high BUT it’s the time when sport is so important

•Gavin (better known as Chook) is our U14 Boys coach. He’s played 200 games of 1st division local footy in Melbourne and is busting to share his love of the great game with our local kids. He is supported by some of the best coaches in the business in 2019.

AFL is gearing up for another season of fun, fitness, friends and FOOTY!

TRAINING Mon/Thurs 5.30-7pm & MATCH DAYS SUNDAY

Register at byronbayjuniorafl.com or Chat to Chook directly on 0438 296 275

byron bay high school newsletter...blending elements of heightened naturalism, expressionism and...

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