NEWSLETTER 22 August 2017

Dear Parents and Friends of the College

Shared Lunch

Thank you to our Year Two students and

teachers who invited me to lunch last week. It

was fantastic to see them make use of the

produce from the garden to prepare soup and

fritters. I was impressed how all the students

worked together to produce their lunch. Thank

you to the many parents who assisted on the

day and the teachers who planned and

coordinated the activity.

Canberra

I’m sure our Year Nine and Ten students will

enjoy the excellent opportunity to travel to

our nation’s capital this week, as well as

spending some time in Sydney. The history

they will experience will be a valuable learning

journey for them. I appreciate the support of

families to be able to provide this for our

students and thank the staff Mr Hawker, Mrs

Taylor and Ms Felton for their coordination

and participation.

Spelling Competition

Our Spelling Team has been working hard in

readiness for the Interschool Competition. I’m

sure you will join with me to wish them all the

best as they represent our college proudly.

Chess Interschool

Good luck to our Chess Team which will

compete on Friday in the Interschool

Challenge and thank you to Mr Klaffer for

once again organising the event to be held

here in Mount Barker at Frost Oval.

Dyslexic Support

I had the pleasure of hearing the students

involved in this group give their presentation

on how they are going to fundraise to help

provide covers for iPads used by our students.

I hope parents support the activities which will

occur in the college in week 10, please check

our Facebook page and notes home for

details.

Condolences

We have been recently informed of the

passing of two former students Lloyd Dunham

and Mitchell Harding. Our college community

sends our thoughts to the families in these

sad times. If you believe your child may need

some support please make use of our student

support services by contacting one of the

deputies who can help arrange this service.

Andrew Fraser

Principal

Bravo to these readers who have

achieved the BRONZE award.

Hannah Lindberg, Harper King, Amaya

Hill, Nilan Haidary, Kyle Bielecki, Ariki

Wharepapa, Ezra Ritchie

Sensational reading to the following students

who have achieved the SILVER award.

Summer Poett, Billy Godden, Natalya

Hook, Ella McCorry, Jayden Plug, Riley

Parry, Blake McFarlane, Jack Smith,

William McNamara, Abby Baker, Anna

Handasyde, Jacob Cobain, Hayley White,

Branden Chant Downer, Eryn Molloy, Rex

Spink, George Corke, Neveah Burt, Kezia

Newman, Jared Ballard

Good Work to our students who have

achieved the GOLD award.

Millicent Drayton, Suhdah Haidary,

Suhbah Haidary, Helen Azimi, Cayden

Ballintijn, Laura Kirke, George Theron,

Darcy Watson, Mia Wyatt, Zahra Rezai,

Beau Sobey, Ruby Gee, Alex Skinner,

William McNamara, Abby Baker, Nakita

Camplin, Bevin Versluis, Connor Maguire,

Alexander Wright, Annie Wyatt, Ebony

Clark, Lucas Valcan

Praising everyone who has achieved the

PLATINIUM award.

Kaleb Glas, Patrick Lynch, Riley Dayman,

Bailee Skinner, Tomas Lynch, Stan Ebert,

Amelia Wright, Alysa Camplin, Katelyn

Oborne, Ryan Bedford, Koby Parson,

Amelia Baxter, Bonnie Back, Clair Swiggs,

Alex Thielle, Taylor Carr, Madison

Clouston, Laura Maciven

K-6 News

One of the greatest pleasures I derive from

my job is walking around the college talking

to students. Sometimes there is an extra

incentive to be out and about, such as the

cooking the Year Two students were doing last

Wednesday. The broccoli soup and potato

cakes that the students, staff and parent

helpers made were delicious. We have a

fantastic Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden

which provides produce for class cooking.

Thank you to Mrs Sheryl Reynolds and Mrs

Jolyn Graham who play a large part in its

upkeep. It has been great seeing students

working with Mr Paul Ritchie in the garden,

although the opportunities have been limited

with the weather we have been experiencing.

Book Week

Hopefully you are putting the final touches to

your child’s Book Week costume for the

parade this Friday 25th September. I can’t

wait to see how the students dress

themselves to look like their favourite book

character. The fantastic staff in the library

have put together a wonderful display to

celebrate Book Week. Feel free to wander

through with your child/ren as we celebrate

the joys of reading.

Lockyer Leapers

Next Friday 1st September, the Lockyer

Leapers will be performing at the college.

Their performance last year was a real eye

opener for our students and this year will be

just as entertaining.

Athletics Training

All of our Year 1 – 6 students will commence

athletics training this Friday. Watching book

characters complete 100m races or thread the

needle will be a sight to behold.

It would be great if next Friday your child can

come in their House shirt to add to the colour

of athletics training.

IMPORTANT: Class Requests for 2018 We are currently investigating our class groupings

for Kindergarten to Year 6 for 2018. If parents have any special requests regarding the placement of their child/ren, please address them to:

“Private and Confidential”

Mr L Swann, Associate Principal K-6

Closing date for requests will be the end of Week

8, Term 3 – Friday 8 September, 2017. Please understand that, while we will do our best, we cannot guarantee that all requests can be accommodated. As always, we will endeavour to get the best balance of students, year groups and teachers for 2018.

Lennon Swan Acting Associate Principal K-6

CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME

In past years Student Councillors from Mt

Barker Community College have conducted

fundraisers for well - known charity

organisations such as Jeans for Genes, SIDS

for Kids and Bandanna Day. This year

however, students decided to think more

locally and support the Community Resources

Centre; through a Food Drive and Wood

Raffle.

Students from across the college brought in

donations of non-perishable foods and

toiletries, which were collected centrally.

Councillors then raffled off a load of wood,

kindly donated by Chris and Jenny Parsons

and collected by Dean and Jack Poulish.

The response was very favourable and we

were able to delight the Manager of the

Resources Centre, Martina Meinen, recently

with our donations and cash, in excess of

$450.00, to be spent as seen fit by the staff,

in a way which will benefit local people who

need a bit of a hand this chilly winter.

Book Club – College Library

Book Club closes on the 1st of September. On line orders can be placed by following the link on the back of the order form.

iPads in Year 7

This year we have been very fortunate to

have had a bank of iPads based in the Year 7

area. These devices have proven very useful

as they allow students access to learning and

research at their desks. Quick and easy

programmes such as Keynote, allow students

to demonstrate their understandings in a

visual format; which benefits Dyslexic

students and those who prefer visual media

within which to learn. The ability to research

study topics from their desks makes time

management more effective and allows easy

sharing of resources and peer teaching. With

applications across subjects the iPads have

been a very welcome addition to our teaching

programme.

In Term 3, students in 7.3 are working with

Dr Bejah to create their own documentaries

about Australian politics. Digital literacies,

also called ‘21st Century Skills’, are a core

part of the Australian Curriculum. Students

are learning how to use Puppet Pals on iPads

to create their work. They are using Paint on

laptops to design their own backgrounds for

these creations. Students have started to

develop collaborative scripts that we will patch

together to make the full movie. Stay tuned!

Year 7, 8 & 9 Multi-Sport Carnival

On a delightful Great Southern winter’s day,

the heavens opened with rain in honour of our

Mount Barker students who travelled to

Albany to represent the college in AFL, Soccer

and Hockey.

The day began with us all waiting at college to

get the go ahead from the event organiser as

they were concerned that it might be too wet

to play. In order for this decision to be made,

the powers up above stopped the downpour

and cleared the sky – much to the delight of

all our Mount Barker students. Mr Sobey

received the all clear so we left school with

hope to play in rain free conditions.

Two buses were needed to transport the huge

turnout from our school. Everyone enjoyed

the sun and music choice of Mr. Gibson’s CD

which was deliberately left to inspire our AFL

girls ahead of the game. As soon as we hit the

‘welcome to Albany sign’ the sun disappeared,

the grey clouds came back and the heavy

waterworks began.

As we travelled the furthest to the Multi-Sport

Carnival and had to wait for an ‘all clear’

before leaving the college, we arrived 5

minutes before the first game. Perhaps this

was to our advantage as all the students were

pretty warm with the bus heater system

blaring.

All teams went out and performed brilliantly in

our first game. The AFL girls won their first

game by two points with Captain Gracie

Gibson kicking the winner on the siren in front

of the jam-packed spectator pavilion. The side

were coached by Assistant Coach Rhys Hogg

and Head Coach Mr. Sobey. The hockey girls

came out strong with a win under the

direction and management of Champion

Hockey Coach Lauren Ridgwell. This win was

particularly impressive as due to our later

arrival, our Goal Keeper was still putting their

pads on for the first half of the game and ran

onto a clean sheet in the second half. The

girls defended brilliantly under the

circumstances and went on to win the game

comfortably. The boys battled hard but

narrowly lost to an experienced Bethel

Christian School side.

Our Soccer teams were managed by Mr.

Gibbons-Eyre, who had a lot of experience

and expectation after leading the Country

Week team to a grand-final. As the big boss,

he had the help from Assistant Coaches,

Mohammad Nawroozi and Emma Kirkwood

who blessed the boys and girls teams

respectively with their numerous knowledge

bombs before, during and after each game.

The girls went down early to a strong

Denmark SHS side.

The rain did not stop and offered no break to

any of the sports. At one point play was

suspended due to lightning but swiftly re-

started once it passed. The heavy

precipitation had severely affected the

conditions of the pitches, turf and oval’s.

Some of the Albany locals walked past the

hockey area enquiring if the Albany Leisure

and Aquatic Centre had just unveiled a new

outdoor pool. Hockey definitely received the

brunt of the bad weather, based near the

overflowing drainage stream with no run-off,

the grass pitches were more like junior

swimming pools. This combined with 30+

hockey players meant that there was heaps of

splashing and the ball spent just as much time

floating as rolling. The highlight of the day is

when superstar Coach and Hockey Umpire

Michael Stirling in Year 12 slipped over and

continued to umpire whilst performing

backstroke up one wing of the boy’s game vs.

Albany SHS.

All teams and students played amazingly and

definitely represented the college in an

admirable fashion given the weather. The

Girl’s Hockey team lost a 2-0 lead in the

grand final against Albany SHS and came

second overall.

The best part of the day was in the bus on the

way home. Not because we were in the warm

and had shelter over our heads but due to

buzz and contentment amongst our students.

I would like to thank all students, staff and

student coaches who made the day possible.

Mr. Rogers

Chaplain’s Corner

What are signs that digital usage is

becoming a problem?

If your children are exhibiting these types of

behaviours, it's time to think about reducing

the time they spend on media: Spending less and less time with family

and friends

Difficulty focusing on the present moment

due to craving video game or cellphone

Developing health issues such as Carpel

Tunnel Syndrome, eye strain, weight gain,

backaches

Withdrawing from sports, hobbies and

social interactions

Losing sleep due to gaming, texting

Acting irritable or discontent when not

using digital items

Declining grades in school, missing school

Talking and thinking obsessively about the

digital activity

Denying or minimizing any negative

consequences

When you realize your children's media usage

is having a negative impact on them, you

need to set some limits despite their

protesting. It is also wise to keep TV, internet and other

digital media out of your children's rooms or

any room with a closed door, where it’s much

more difficult to monitor what's going on. What are ways to limit media usage? If your children are old enough to discuss the

issue, sit down as a family to talk about it.

State your concerns and brainstorm ideas on

how your family could limit media usage.

These are some ideas other families have

used:

Declare a "screen free day" once a week

where nobody watches TV, uses the

computer or plays video games.

Install monitoring software on digital

devices that allow you to set limits.

Track daily media usage and stop using

media after the allotted time is up.

Set timers to go off after a media time limit

has been reached.

Turn off digital devices during meals.

Turn all devices in to parents’ room before

bed.

Although your children may resist your efforts

to reduce their screen time, the long term

benefits are worth it!

Canberra Excursion August 2017

The Canberra Excursion heads to the other

side of the country soon. This year we have a

group of around 40 year 9 and 10 students

attending. This is a great experience and

highly valued by the federal government

The Australian government supports student’s

attendance through (PACER) Parliamentary

and Civics rebate and will provide funding to

help reduce the significant cost of the

excursion. This rebate is in the vicinity of

$240 per student. The rebate is paid to the

school after the completion of the educational

programs in Canberra. Educational programs

that we participate in are at Parliament

House, The Old parliament House Building,

the High court of Australia, the Australian War

Memorial, and the electoral education Office .

This excursion allows students these and

other opportunities to develop greater

understanding of Australian history, culture,

heritage and our democracy during their time

in Canberra.

Students record their experiences and some

lucky students give a report to a school

assembly on return.

Brett Hawker Coordinator

MUSIC

If any students

would like to

donate their old

recorders, I am

collecting them for

one of our lovely

students to take to Bali to donate to the

orphanage our students work with. If you

would like to donate yours, please pop it into

the labelled box in my classroom. Thanks!

Miss Reynolds

KP P&C Father’s Day Fundraiser

Just a quick reminder that donations are now

being taken by the class teachers for the up

and coming Father’s Day fundraiser. There are

plenty of spaces remaining on the roster (on

the pin-up board near the glass doors at the

entry to the KP area) for helpers on the day.

If you can spare an hour on Saturday 26

August please put your name down as many

hands make light work. Thank you for your

support. Rayona and Sharon, KP3 Class Reps

P&C Meeting

All MBCC families, staff and supporters are

invited to the next P&C meeting:

Next Wednesday, 23 August 2017

MBCC staff room Starting at 7.30 pm

Agenda includes:

* Deciding projects/funding requests to

support

* Fundriaser planning (incl the Community Fair, Nov 2017)

For more info contact Lisa on 0427 512 150.

The Mobile Dental Van will move to Kendenup

Primary School from the 7th of August for 5-6

weeks (approx.) then to Cranbrook Primary

School. If any parents have any emergencies

or any concerns, they can still phone us and

know where we are located.

Kind regards

Mt Barker Mobile I Dental Health Services Ph: 0437 486 143 MtBarkerMobile@dental.health.wa.gov.au I www.health.wa.gov.au I www.dental.wa.gov.au

FREE LIVE ONLINE INFORMATION SESSION

Hear from our very experienced, National Director, find out more about discounts and scholarships

available and ask questions.

Thursday, 31st August at 7.30pm

Register now

Visit www.studentexchange.org.nz or call 0800 440 079 for more information

MBCC: PO Box 116 MOUNT BARKER WA 6324

Ph: (08) 9851 3400

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Please email Fiona.Brown2@education.wa.edu.au

College Webpage

mountbarkercommunitycollege.wa.edu.au

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School Dates for 2017 https://www.education.wa.edu.au/web/at-school/school-

life/future-term-dates