WILLYAMA WHISPERS – Term 3, Week 2, 3 August 2018 Principal: Grant Shepherd PO Box 708, Broken Hill, NSW, 2880 Phone: 08 8088 1055, Email: willyama-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au, Web:http://www.willyama-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

Artwork by Ayva O'Meara, Year 9 Visual Arts, The Environmental Journal

Principal’s Update

Term 3 is well underway with a number of very successful events occurring already

including our NAIDOC activities day, parent teacher afternoon and our first

performance of Shrek The Musical Jnr in collaboration with Theatre 44.

Massive congratulations to Lydia Hinton-Neal and Kalyce Pressler on their fantastic

achievements at the School Sport Australia (National) swimming championships in

Tasmania recently. Both girls did extremely well with the ultimate highlight being

Kalyce achieving gold in the 200m Breaststroke final making her the fastest 14 year

old in Australia. We are very proud of both girls and they have very promising

futures ahead of them.

I was fortunate enough to attend the first performance of Shrek The Musical Jnr at

Theatre 44 last weekend and thoroughly recommend going to see it this weekend. It

definitely showcases the various talents of our young people across the entire

Broken Hill community.

It was great to see so many parents at our parent teacher afternoon last week. We

love catching up with you to discuss your child (ren)’s progress and how we can

best work together to maximise their learning outcomes.

Check out the great photos inside this Whispers of our NAIDOC celebrations.

Upcoming events:

4-5 August Shrek The Musical Jnr – Theatre 44

6-7 August Year 8 Wellbeing days

10 August School athletics carnival – Zinc Oval

Grant Shepherd

Principal

Lydia Hinton-Neal and Kalyce Pressler at the School Sport Australia (National) swimming championships

NAIDOC Celebrations Day On Friday 27 July Willyama High School took part in our NAIDOC Celebrations Day.

NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the

history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

NAIDOC is celebrated not only in indigenous communities, but by Australians from

all walks of life. NAIDOC stands for the National Aborigines and Islanders Day

Observance Committee.

The 2018 NAIDOC theme is “Because of Her, We Can”. Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander women have played, and continue to play, active and important roles at the

community, local, state and national levels. They continue to influence society as

doctors, lawyers, teachers, electricians, chefs, nurses, architects, rangers,

emergency and defence personnel, writers, volunteers, chief executive officers,

actors, singer songwriters, journalists, media personalities, board members,

accountants, academics, sporting icons and Olympians. They are mothers, elders,

grandmothers, aunties, sisters and daughters. Their achievements, their voice and

their unwavering passion provides strength, has empowered past generations and

has paved the way for generations to come. Because of her, we can!

Year 9 and 10 students with guests Aunty Beryl Carmichael, Julie Philp, Jodie Edge, Vicki Adams,

Colleen Probert, Sissy Cearns and Jamie Gilby.

Year 8 students with Jodie Edge, Peter Macbeth and Miss Kelly

Mr Ancora with Didgeridoo performer Anthony Hayward

NAIDOC Assembly At our NAIDOC assembly students who were involved in the Willyama Sign Project

unveiled their impressive mural. Emily Scott, Hamish Bolton, Thomas Jinks, Riley

Mashford, Isaiah Hughes, Connor Ormsby and Maddi Bassett-White, along with

Ayva O’Meara and Kaleesha Langdon, designed and painted the mural, which is to

be reinstated with the original Willyama High School 1974 Sign. Hamish and Riley

spoke about the significance of the design and the colours used. We would like to thank Jodie Edge, Aunty Beryl Carmichael, Julie Philp, Sissy

Cearns, staff from Broken Hill High School and Anthony Hayward for sharing your

time and knowledge with us. Peter Macbeth, the Director of Schools in the Far West

NSW, and Mayor Darriea Turley for your generosity of time and being part of our

NAIDOC Celebrations Day.

Save a Mate & Pinnacle of Success On Monday 30th and Tuesday 31st of July Year 9 participated in the Save a Mate

and Pinnacle of Success programs run by the Australian Red Cross and Mildura

Youth Training Adventures Inc. respectively.

The Save a Mate workshop is a harm minimisation program, focusing on alcohol

and drugs, which provided important knowledge and skills to the students to look

after each other as they negotiate their way through adolescence.

The Pinnacle of Success challenges students through adventure, team building,

motivation and personal development through participating in activities such as the

ladder climb, rock climbing wall and leap of faith.

Students participated in each program with enthusiasm and we thank the Australian

Red Cross and Mildura Youth Training Adventures Inc. for coming to Willyama and

sharing their knowledge with Year 9.

Students looking at the effects of caffeine Trinity McKenzie-Gilby – leap of faith

CBCA Book Week Theme: Find Your Treasure

Dates: 18th - 24th August 2018