NBSC Balgowlah Boys Campus Maretimo St, BALGOWLAH, NSW 2093 Ph: 9949 4200 Fax: 9907 0266 nbscbalgb-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au www.balgowlahboys.nsw.edu.au

The Balgowlah Boys Campus Newsletter

Week 7 Term 1 2020 Principal’s Report

The year has kicked off at a galloping pace: Open Day & Open Night, swimming carnivals, Design, Make Innovate, Year 7 Day in the Park, CHS knock outs, Best Start Testing, excursions, school photos and school improvement works. It is the way we like it, work hard, play hard.

As announced on Facebook we have been successful in a number of sporting competitions this term, including basketball and cricket. A few weeks ago our rowers competed at Penrith in the state championships and they delivered 3 gold medals. This placed the school 2nd in the schools ranking just behind Sydney Boys which has over 100 years of competition in this arena.

Balgowlah Rowing Team

Another amazing sporting result was the school surfing team winning the annual @lifeline High Schools Challenge trophy. Considering the boys were up against a sports high school that has a “surfing academy” it demonstrates the sheer talent of the Balgowlah students.

In

other exciting news, the next phase of the school improvement project – hopefully joint funded by the school, our school P&C and state government. Will be the refurbishment of the School Hall entry and surrounds. This refurbishment will enable more students and parents to participate in school events, options for outdoor learning space and a total overhaul of the facade to improve aesthetics. The school and P&C are working in partnership to explore designs, with a view construct a design concept that can be continue around the perimeter of the school on the Maretimo and Sydney road aspects.

We are still experiencing difficulty with the lack of bus capacity both to and from school. The school has been contacting Brookvale Depot daily when notified of issues with boys denied access to school specials. Please keep this feedback coming and hopefully we will be able to increase capacity. In addition, could I ask parents to remind their sons that travel on public buses that they need to stand for elderly passengers. Transport NSW have been presented with application for an additional afternoon service to run to Brookvale and also to start the services of the 684 earlier in the day so students arrive to school on time. Stop Press The Department of Education has measures in place to ensure the wellbeing of students attending public schools and slow the spread of COVID-19 in the community and protect those who are likely to experience more severe disease such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions. The Secretary of Education gas just emailed all principals, a phased social distancing strategy will be implemented from Monday 16 March 2020, to support ongoing school operations. All school assemblies are to cancelled and excursions outside of your school’s local community should be cancelled until further notice. The school will email effected year groups to give more specific information. Paul Sheather Principal

Year 8 Geography Year 8 Geography students went out to Penrith to visit the ‘Sydney Water - Waste recycling facility’ and conduct field studies at various sections of the Nepean River. During this excursion, students learnt about the water cycle, water as a resource and factors influencing water availability in Sydney. They also learnt about sustainable water management and how we monitor water quality to protect the environment and public health for a liveable city. This learning has fed directly into their current inquiry fieldwork project that requires students to design solutions to improve the school’s stormwater management.

Year 11 Geography Year 11 Geography students went out to Bobbin Head to increase their understanding of the nature and functioning of the four components of the biophysical environment. Students applied a range of fieldwork strategies to investigate two different vegetation communities in mangroves and dry sclerophyll forest.

Year 12 Geography Fieldtrip to The Hunter Valley: Viticulture and Wine Industry

On Friday 28th February, the Year 12 Geography crew got on the road and headed north to the Hunter Valley as part of their examination of the global viticulture and wine industry. The class is currently studying the various forces that are reshaping nature, spatial patterns and future directions of the $370 billion global industry. As part of their studies of the global industry students are also required to focus on a local case study – Tamburlaine Organic Wines

This vineyard is the nation’s largest producer of organic wine, a market that is growing in sales by over 50% per annum within Australia. Students were taken through the vine rows and investigated the biophysical conditions and ecological constraints influencing the cultivation of the grapes. The impacts of the recent bushfires, ongoing drought and changing climate was emphasised during the fieldwork. A range of sustainable best practice management techniques were evaluated before we witnessed first-hand the critical steps in the winemaking process following their recent grape harvest. We were then taken into the warehouse where the boys were challenged to think about the impacts of changing economic and socio-cultural forces that are influencing the business’ operations. In particular, we learnt about the impact of the free trade agreement with China and the boost it has provided the export side of their business and changing labelling regulations in the European Union.

Following our time at Tamburlaine we headed up for a quick look at one of the oldest wineries in the Hunter, Audrey Wilkinson, which provided the boys with good a sense of scale to the wine growing region. We finished off our time in Pokolbin with a visit to the newly built $8 million cellar door complex at Brokenwood Wines which provided a great insight into the commercialisation of the industry and the growing influence of wine tourism. On our way back to Sydney we passed through Cessnock to get a sense of the transition this region is going through as the coal industry starts to slow down. The boys enjoyed a late lunch ‘cholesterol hit’ at the famous ‘Burgerfiend’ before sleeping it off on the drive back to Sydney. The boys demonstrated great respect and engagement throughout the day and it brought their study of the global wine industry to life.

Year 10 History and Geography excursion Year 10 will be visiting the Easter Show and the Sydney Jewish Museum on the 6th and 7th April. At the Easter Show students will experience the manner in which food is grown and sourced and will be used to complement their study of sustainable biomes at school. The visit to the Sydney Jewish Museum will take place at the same time that students are studying the Holocaust. Apart from visiting the museum, students will be hearing the testimony of a Holocaust survivor. Notes are available from their classroom teachers or can be downloaded from the CANVAS portal Bally Surf Team On Saturday 7/03/20 at the @wsl 'Sydney Surf Pro', our Opens Surf Team lifted the annual @lifeline High Schools Challenge trophy. It's a big win for the boys and the school, as we have placed 2nd and 3rd over the last few years to a very strong Narrabeen Sports High team. Congrats to all students involved and a special mention to our junior surfers for stepping up in the pressure situations that tag team surfing demands. Cheers also to the coaches, Paul Burnett and Dean Stringfellow.

As a result of winning this event, the team has qualified for the ‘Lifeline Classic’ on Sunday 29th of March to be held at Queenscliff. The team will be doing the rounds during ELAN over the next week to raise money for ‘Lifeline, Northern Beaches’. There are plenty of fantastic prizes on offer including weekend accommodation, surfboards, NRL VIP experiences and plenty more. Please give generously to this great local organisation.

More than 60 year 9 boys have registered for the Bronze Award this term. As students choose activities and begin setup on the Online Record Book they are encouraged to find a suitable adult assessor to mentor them throughout their Community Service, Physical Recreation and Skill. Classroom teachers at Balgowlah Boys campus are a great resource as assessors but students must have a conversation with them first. For example, walking for fitness may be assessed by a PDHPE teacher. Activities cannot start until working with children numbers are provided. The first Bronze hike will head out at the end of week 7. Students will complete a day of training followed by a 2-day hike in the Colo River area of Wollemi National Park. Silver Pack and Paddle expedition bookings are now open for students to secure their place. The expeditions will go over 3-days in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park with a hike and paddle through Pittwater. Gold students are encouraged to contact Ms Busse asap to book their Gold Practice Expedition in Bungonia National Park 22-25 April 2020. Places are limited. Vicki Busse Duke of Edinburgh contact for Northern Beaches Secondary College T: 02 9939 6942 E: vicki.busse@det.nsw.edu.au