10th February, 2017, ISSUE NO. 1

Welcome to our New Students Calendar

February 14th

Youth of the Year Dinner

February 15th - 17th Year 9 Camp

February 15th - 16th Year 7 Peer Support Camp

February 16th Basketball Port Macquarie

February 20th Rugby League 15’s & Opens

Wauchope

February 24th LNC Swimming Carnival Macksville

February 27th LNC Rugby Union Kempsey/

Port Macquarie

February 28th - March 3rd ArtExpress Sydney

February 28th 15’s LNC Touch Bowraville

Nambucca Heads High School would like to welcome Year 7 and all new

students to our school community. We also have four new staff members,

Mr Chris Barnes in Visual Arts, Mr Mitchell Adams in Design and Technology

and former students Mr Matthew Rumsey in Music and Ms Dakota Hillery in

HSIE. Year 7 Year Advisors, Mrs Danielle Bowen and Mr Clay Urquhart, are

very pleased with how well the Year 7 students have settled into their daily

routine. They will be attending a Peer Support camp on the 16th and 17th

February. The camp will be held at the Coffs Coast Adventure Centre. This

camp is an excellent opportunity for students and staff to get to know each

other and build some important skills in team work, collaboration, social

negotiation and decision making. Year 7 students will be working closely with

their Year 10 Peer Support Leaders on this two day camp.

Activities include a ropes course (giant swing, mega drop and sky wire), peer

support team-building activities, capture the flag, and a number of other fun

sporting and recreational activities.

Welcome and Enjoy

Year 7 2017

Principal’s Report Dear Parents and Community

Welcome back to all in the Nambucca Heads High School community and a special welcome to all of

our new Year 7 students and parents who have joined our school community this year and to those

students and parents in other years who have also joined us.

We have four new staff members in 2017; Mr Mitchell Adams has transferred in from Cobar as our new

TAS teacher. Mr Chris Barnes was appointed from Alstonville High as our new Visual Arts teacher. Our

two other new teachers are ex-students of NHHS and we welcome back Mr Mathew Rumsey in Music

and Ms Dakota Hillery in HSIE.

Strategic Direction 1 of our 2015-2017 School Plan is Whatever it Takes for student success. In 2017

all Year Advisors have again been provided with an allocation in their timetable so that they can provide

even more thorough pastoral care for your child. Part of this allocation will see each student in the school being provided with a

Personalised Learning Plan (PLP) in order to set individual goals and plans in 2017. We have already started this process as

each student has been provided with a PLP planning sheet dated for parents and carers to complete after discussions with your

child. Please return this form completed ASAP.

The program is a great example of what our GONSKI funding through our RAM allocation is being used for. In 2017 we are

also going to utilise some of our RAM funding to lessen the cost of school camps on parents. All school camps this year will be

subsidised by these funds.

Students who would like a locker for the year need to pay $50 for the year, $10 a term hire and $10 refundable deposit for the

lock, to the front office. The lockers are filled on a first in, first served basis.

All parents are invited to attend our first P&C meeting of the year in the school library at 5pm on Wednesday 22nd February.

As always please contact me at the school if you have any questions in regards to your child’s education at NHHS.

Highlight of the fortnight:

The arrival of our 2017 Year 7 cohort, or in other words our HSC Class of 2022! Our new Year 7 students have settled well and

are working productively in the classroom and having fun when in the playground. Thank you to the rest of the student body

who have made them feel welcome in their new school.

Simon McKinney

Principal

The Student Representative Council (SRC) for 2017 has been voted on and will be inducted during assembly on Tuesday 21st

March. The SRC is made up of four students from each year and is voted in by the students. Family and friends are invited to

attend the ceremony - personalised invitations will be sent

soon. The SRC is responsible for making suggestions to the

School Leaders with regards to socials, uniforms, school

rules etc. They also raise funds during the year for various

charities. One charity they have decided to support this year

is the Leukemia Foundation and will hopefully be

participating in the ‘Shave for a Cure’ campaign. Our very

courageous principal, Mr Simon McKinney, has put his hand

up to have his head shaved BUT we need to raise $1000

to make this happen. If you would like to see Mr McKinney

with a bald head please make donations to one of the SRC

members or go to the fundraising page that has been set up

http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/sarahmagill. Thank you

SRC 2017

The NHHS P&C will be holding it’s first meeting for 2017 on Wednesday 22nd February in the school library

commencing at 5pm. Meetings are very casual and are usually about one hour in length. Attending these

meetings is a great way to keep up to date with what’s happening at school. If you would like to speak to a

member for more information please contact Annette Welsh at the school.

Nambucca Heads High School and Indirapurum Public School As mentioned last year, NHHS has been selected as one of eight Australian schools, through an

application process, to participate in the 2017 Asia Education Foundation BRIDGE School

Partnerships Program.

BRIDGE stands for: Building Relationships through Intercultural Dialogue

and Growing Engagement and aims to connect Australian teachers, students and

school communities with their counterparts across Asia.

http://www.asiaeducation.edu.au/programmes/school-partnerships

Indirapurum Public School in New Dehli, India, is Nambucca Heads High School ‘s exchange partner school. Indirapurum is a

school of over 1500 students from Kindergarten to Year 12 and focuses on encouraging ‘the best in its students by providing an

environment in which the students discover and realize their potential with a view to empowering them to be responsible

citizens and leaders of the nation and the global society of tomorrow’.

Working in Indirapurum Public School over the Christmas holidays and living with my collegial partner, Anjali Verma, the Vice

Principal and her family in New Dehli, allowed me to be immersed in all aspects

of Indian culture and life. Together, Anjali and I have designed creative and

challenging projects to stimulate intercultural conversations about issues of

importance to young people. These include focus areas of:

Student Leadership

Debating

Cultural and School Events

Year 8 Reebok is about to begin our school’s first project: The ‘Flat Traveller’.

This idea is based on the ‘Flat Stanley Project’: a literacy strategy which has been running for over 20 years where students

send a flat visitor to a school, a family member, a politician or anyone of interest and the recipient returns the little flat guy along

with a completed journal, post cards, photos, films etc. In our case, Year 8 Indirapurum students have sent images of

themselves to our students as ‘Flat Travellers’ ready to explore life in Australia and Australian life through their eyes.

Ms Tina Seckold - Head Teacher English

BRIDGE Partnership

Our School Newsletter is available to be received via email. Our eNewsletter includes

more photos and links. If you would like to be included on our email list please contact

Annette Welsh at the school with your email address.

The Eight Indian Teachers representing Schools from across India at the 3 day conference in New Delhi

Swimming Carnival

Our annual school swimming carnival was held on Wednesday February 1st. It was an extremely hot, but great, day with a

fantastic number of students attending and participating on the day. Year 12 students once again didn’t disappoint with

some fabulous outfits and swimming aids. Congratulations to all those who have qualified for the LNC carnival to be held

on 24th February at the Macksville Aquatic Centre. Also a big congratulations to the students who had a go and helped

their house with points. The winning house this year was Gordon in a very close race.

CHAMPIONS

New Staff Members

Mr Chris Barnes Ms Dakota Hillery Mr Mathew Rumsey Mr Mitchell Adams

AGE FEMALE MALE

12 Sumah Robins Alex Parker

13 Nelson Langley Ella Williams

14 Monty Wilson Domynique Byrt

15 Bradley Stone Charlie Dent

16 Kane Galo Alex Cowan

17 Leighton Borthwick Annabelle McCullagh

Learning to Learn: Training Your Brain Workshop 1

Years 7 and 8 participated in their first ‘Training Your Brain’ workshop last Thursday.

The workshop targeted how the brain works and how knowing this can be linked to improved learning.

Through a variety of activities students explored how their brain is unique and how thinking about how

they learn will improve their learning capacity.

Year 8 will continue this conversation through their morning roll

call where they have already learnt about melatonin’s impact on

brain alertness as well as how your 4 hour nostril breathing

cycle can affect how you respond to different questions and

learning experiences depending on your left or right brain

dominance.

A second “Brain” session will be held in Term 2 where students

will explore the idea of Mind Sets and how changing your internal

dialogue through language can improve learning.

Year 7 students attending the workshop

Please go to the following link for more information on Training the Brain https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=JiTz2i4VHFw. This is a great clip about what the students are learning

Each year NSW Health works in partnership with schools to offer the vaccines recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for adolescents as part of the school vaccination program. In 2017 the following vaccines will be offered to Year 7 students:

dTpa vaccine (Diphtheria, Tetanus & Pertussis (whooping cough) as a single dose

varicella vaccine (chickenpox) as a single dose; and

human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in a 3-dose schedule at 0, 2 and 6 months

Parent Information Kits that include an information sheet, consent form and privacy statement will be sent home to parents / guardians. To consent to the vaccination of their child, parents / guardians are advised to:

read all the information provided

complete the consent form, including signing their name next to the vaccine/s they would like their child to receive

return the completed consent form to their child’s school

ensure that their child eats breakfast on the day of the school vaccination clinic.

Please note that students who commence HPV vaccination in school clinics in Year 7 but do not complete the course during the school year may be offered catch-up doses at school in Year 8. Parents will be notified by letter from The Public Health Unit if this applies to their child.

Students who have any HPV doses at their GP will be advised to complete the course with their GP.

Parents/guardians who wish to withdraw their consent for any reason may do so by writing to the school Principal or phoning the school. The Procedure for Withdrawal of Consent is available on the NSW Health website at: www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation

To improve vaccination completion, students will be opportunistically offered any missed doses throughout the

year where possible.

A Record of Vaccination will be provided to each student vaccinated at each clinic. Parents/guardians should ensure that this record is kept for future reference and should not assume that their child has been vaccinated if they do not receive this Record of Vaccination. The first of these vaccinations will be on 2nd March for Year 7.

Year 12 students will be offered the Meningococcal vaccine later in the year. More information will be sent at a later date.

Training Your Brain

NSW School Vaccination Program 2017

Junior Uniform: Years 7- 10

Sky blue button through or polo style shirt with school logo, sleeves and collar

Navy blue shorts, long pants, tracksuit pants for boys, checked skirts or checked shorts for girls

Navy blue jumper with school logo

Sport and PE Shoes

White polo style shirt with school logo and navy blue shorts Covered, lace up joggers

Senior Uniform: Years 11-12

White polo style shirt with sleeves and collar or button through shirt with sleeves and collar

Navy blue shorts, long pants, tracksuit pants for boys, checked skirts or checked shorts for girls

Navy blue jumper with school logo or Senior Jumper

PE Shoes

White polo shirt and navy blue shorts Covered, lace up joggers

Uniform is checked regularly. ALL students are required to wear the correct uniform. If financial difficulties prevent the

purchase of uniform requirements, contact the school, as support from the Student Assistance Scheme or the school clothing

pool may be available. Students who are repeatedly out of uniform will be denied all privileges the school has to offer. Enclosed

footwear is compulsory. Thongs and other such footwear will not be tolerated. A school tracksuit is currently being styled

and will hopefully be available later this year.

Tights and denim are NOT an acceptable part of the school uniform, in either the junior or senior years.

Both the junior and senior uniforms are available for purchase from the uniform shop located at the school operated

by the Nambucca Heads High School P&C

Regular attendance at school is essential if students are to maximise their potential. Schools, in partnership with parents/carers,

are responsible for promoting the regular attendance of students. While parents/carers are legally responsible for the regular

attendance of their children, school staff, as a part of their duty of care, monitors part or whole day absences. If your child is

marked absent at roll call, without an explanation, an SMS will be sent to the mobile number on the student’s record.

Parents/Carers are responsible for:

Enrolling their children of compulsory school age in a government or registered non-government school or registering them

with the Board of Studies NSW for home schooling.

Explaining the absences of their children from school promptly and within seven days to the school.

Ensuring that their children attend school regularly.

Taking measures to resolve attendance issues involving their children.

School Staff are responsible for:

Providing a caring teaching and learning environment which fosters students’ sense of wellbeing and belonging to the

school community

Recognising and rewarding excellent and improved student attendance.

Maintaining accurate records of student attendance.

Implementing programs and practices to address attendance issues when they arise.

Providing clear information to students and parents/carers regarding attendance requirements and the consequences of

unsatisfactory attendance.

If your child is absent from school, for any reason, notification must be received by the school

within 7 days, otherwise the absence will remain “unjustified”. This could affect any

Government payments you or your child receives.

School Uniform

School Attendance

5 Ways to Wellbeing

At the end of last year, I attended a wellbeing conference and would like to share with you what I found most valuable from this day. One

presenter, Therese Joyce, spoke about ways to improve our mental wellbeing - which is about feeling happy, content, engaged, positive and

valued. It’s about having good relationships with others, being confident, being active and willing to try new activities. The great thing is it’s

SIMPLE!

CONNECT – with people around you, family, friends, team mates, work colleagues. Ask questions to start discussions about interests,

take time each day to be with your family, turn off TV’s and electronics and talk or play with younger kids, have lunch with a friend,

skype a distant friend.

BE ACTIVE – find an activity you enjoy and engage daily, or different activities weekly. Join a club, meet new people, go for walks/

cycle on the beach or in the forests that surround our beautiful valley. Research has shown that physical activity can alleviate

symptoms of mild depression as well as protect against anxiety. Apps can help you track your fitness as well as provide realistic

training goals.

KEEP LEARNING – challenge yourself to learn a new skill – photography, playing an instrument, dance, chess, bridge, a language?

Find a new favourite author, at work challenge yourself to take on a new responsibility, visit the library or a museum, research your

family tree, travel. Set a goal this year to learn a new skill and enjoy the rewards.

GIVE TO OTHERS – something very small like a smile or a kind word can go a long way. Volunteer at your child’s sport group, visit an

elderly neighbour and offer assistance, talk to a friend and really listen to what they are saying, look after a friends toddler for an hour

to give them a break. Opportunities are endless!

BE MINDFUL – be aware of the present moment, don’t always be future focussed. Enjoy simple small pleasures that are around you

all the time. Turn off electronics and step outside, look, listen, feel and just appreciate the moment. The practice of Mindfulness had

become very popular and it’s very simply about just being in the moment, gently redirecting wandering thoughts and enjoying calm and

peaceful moments.

Research shows that by following these 5 ideas you can boost your general

mental wellbeing, there is evidence also that when times get difficult (which they

inevitably do!) you will have the resilience, confidence, and desire to cope more

effectively.

Last year, by gaining my bronze medallion, I was able to volunteer as a water

safety person at my son’s surf club during carnivals, training, and nipper’s days.

I met new people, learnt new skills, improved my fitness, and have spent more

time in the ocean appreciating its beauty. An example of one change that

encompassed all 5 ways to wellbeing.

I encourage you, as parents and carers, to talk to the young people you live with

about these ideas and see as a family what small changes you can make to feel

happier, more confident, engaged and positive about the future.

From NHHS School Counsellor Michelle Versluys Beautiful Nambucca Heads

Nambucca Valley Physical Culture Club

Physi classes have recommenced at the Nambucca Community and Arts Centre. Nambucca Valley Physi is affiliated with the Edith Parsons School of Physical Culture. Based on basic ballet, and modern dance, physi is great for physical fitness, flexibility, co-ordination and posture. Physi is also about learning to work in a team, building self-esteem and sportsmanship. You can contact us via Facebook - Nambucca Valley Physi, or phone Joanne - 0422647214.

Beachers Netball Club

Registration Day on Saturday 11th March, 2017 at Gordon Park, Nambucca Heads from 9am - 12pm. Players from 5 years and

older are eligible to play. ALL WELCOME. Coaches are still needed for some teams. Bring along uniforms that no longer fit to

take advantage of our exchange program (most be in good condition). Further enquiries please call Stacey - 0408 118 443 or

Danielle - 0431 671 782 or search Beaches Netball Club on facebook.

Bowraville Netball Club

Registration Day on 25th February, 2017 at the Hennessy Tape Oval, Bowraville from 10.30am - 1.30pm for players turning

age 10 and older. There will be a free sausage sizzle. Further information please contact Sandra Gill - 0417 819 955 , Melanie

MacDonald - 0498 270 546 or Allyson Stone - 0422 240 030. There will also be a Barefoot Bowls Fun Day to raise funds to

purchase uniforms and sporting equipment. The fundraiser will be held at the Bowraville Recreation Club on Friday 7th April,

2017 commencing at 4pm. Cost will be $5 per player with a gold coin donation for a sausage sandwich.

Sporting and Community Notices

Wires Rescue & Immediate Care Course

HELP WANTED - Join WIRES to help rescue and care for native animals. Sign up for WIRES Accredited Training

now. Complete our online training and face-to-face workshop with optional practical assessment for

accreditation. Cost $175. Please email to register your interest - training@wires.org.au. For more information

visit www.wires.org.au