Download - Batemans Bay High School School Matters
■ Newsletter Edition 17 ■ Week 4, Term 4, 2017
Batemans Bay High School
School Matters
Farewell Mr Attwood
■ Phone: (02) 4478 3600 Bridge To The Future
■ Fax: (02) 4472 8173 Batemans Bay High School
■ Email: [email protected] 2 George Bass Drive
■ Website: www.batemansba-h.schools.nsw.edu.au Batemans Bay NSW 2536
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Batemans Bay High School
Calendar Term 4, Week 4
Mon 30 Oct HSC Exams continue, Hanging Rock
Fri 3 Nov SRC Senior Leadership camp, Durras
Wed 1 Nov Djaambii Swimming Program
Thur 2 Nov School Assembly
Thur 2 Nov ALC and PCYC Cultural Introduction
Week 5
Mon 6 Nov - HSC Exams continue
Mon 6 Nov Special Education, Sailability
Mon 6 Nov - Year 10 Exams continue
Friday 10 Nov ALC and PCYC Cultural Introduction
Wed 8 Nov Birdland excursion Year 7
Wed 8 Nov Djaambii Swimming Program
Thur 9 Nov Year 7 Swim School
Fri 10 Nov AIME, Hanging Rock
Fri 10 Nov Special Education Preschool visit
Week 6
Mon 13 Nov Year 9 Exams continue
Wed 15 Nov Six Decades of Bullying Performance
Wed 15 Nov Djaambii Swimming Program
Thur 16 Nov School Assembly
Fri 17 Nov AIME, Hanging Rock
Term 4, Week 7
Mon 20 Nov Special Education, Sailability
Tue 21 Nov Year 9 Peer Support Hanging Rock
Wed 22 Nov Djaambii Swimming Program
Thur 23 Nov ALC and PCYC Cultural Introduction
Thur 23 Nov Year 7 Swim School
Feature Photo
Farewell to Mr Robert Attwood
In this issue… Principal’s Message ...................................................................... 3
Future Directions ...................................................................... 3
Farewell Mr Attwood .............................................................. 3
From the Deputies ........................................................................ 4
Learning ....................................................................................... 4
School ........................................................................................... 4
Acknowledging Students and Staff ................................... 5
Student Achievement .................................................................. 5
Seaside Carnivale .......................................................................... 5
Cheerleading & NFL Flag Football ......................................... 5
Night Circus .................................................................................... 6
Agriculture News........................................................................... 7
Mountain Bike Championships ............................................... 9
Community Announcements ................................................... 9
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Batemans Bay High School
Principal’s Message
Future Directions
The school held a very productive planning afternoon a
fortnight ago. Teaching and non-teaching staff,
students, parents and community members started with
a brief situational analysis, outlining the key indicators
of the health of the school. The data was not limited to
the typical attendance, retention and examination
statistics. There was plenty of qualitative feedback
gathered from students and parents which provided
food for thought. It is fair to say that the school is in a
good position and although there is no need for
wholesale change, there is always scope for
improvement.
After much discussion and collaboration, several
priorities for the upcoming three-year school plan
emerged. All reflected the school’s strategic directions:
- Engaged, committed and successful students
- High quality teachers and teaching practices
- Enriched, supportive school environments
Of particular note, the next iteration of the plan will
feature strategies to provide greater personalised
learning and differentiation (especially in Years 7 and 8),
increase students’ ownership of their learning, continue
the emphasis on adequately resourcing teachers and
foster new parent and community partnerships with
school. The draft plan will be published for consultation
before the end of the year.
Despite the overwhelming positivity about the future,
there is one disheartening development. The amount of
flexible funding per student is likely to rise by only 2%.
Under the original Gonski model, it was predicted the
school would receive around $350,000 additional
funding next year. The latest funding package
(sometimes referred to as Gonski 2.0) hinted that the
figure would drop to about $100,000. Unfortunately, the
school’s planned budget allocation report indicates the
actual increase in 2018 will be limited to $38,131. This is
obviously disappointing and will place some restrictions
on the programs we enact. However, good schools are
not determined by their wealth but by their student
outcomes, which in turn are determined by their
teachers. Parents should have every confidence that
their children will be successful, solely by virtue of the
high-quality people we have in this school.
Farewell Mr Attwood
It is the nature of schools that teachers come and go
with uncommon frequency. Temporary teachers
abound to accommodate fluctuations in enrolments or
periods of leave, and new permanent staff fill the
vacancies created by retirements, transfer and
promotions. It can be a challenge keeping parents
informed of such changes, which can happen at any
time of the year and with short notice. The staff turnover
in a student’s six-year high school career means the
school can be almost unrecognisable by the time he/she
leaves Year 12. My ideal school would see all teachers
employed permanently working full calendar years, but
reality is much more complicated than that. Fortunately,
unlike some schools on the coast, Batemans Bay High
School is not full of teachers who have been stuck here
for 30 years waiting to retire.
I always like to acknowledge arriving and departing
staff. The individuals in question often prefer minimal
fanfare and usually acquiesce to their requests. On this
occasion though, I would like to single out one of our
much-loved teachers. Mr Robert Attwood arrived at
Batemans Bay High School in the late 90s as a
Mathematics teacher. Students, parents and staff over
the past 19 years have known him in many capacities,
from the Head Teacher of Administration, to
information technology guru, to the curriculum
coordinator, and to the man on belay during acrobatic
performances.
Mr Attwood will be taking up the post of Head Teacher
Mathematics at Monaro High School in Cooma from
next Monday. He is a dedicated professional who
devotes an incredible amount of time and effort to his
students, often behind the scenes. He is the kind of
person that gets along with everybody – not because of
any disingenuous front but because he is an honest and
earnest person. On behalf of the school, I wish him well
in the next stage of his teaching career, and his life. We
will be sorry to see him go.
Mr Greg McDonald
Principal
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Batemans Bay High School
From the Deputies
We are now in Week 4 of the final term for the year.
School for 2017 will conclude on Friday 15 December.
Leading up to end of year presentations and reward
excursions, we still have much teaching and learning to
accomplish. As mentioned previously, both Year 9 and
10 will be sitting formal exams in the coming weeks. All
subject areas will be continuing to complete units of
work for semester two assessment and reporting. In-
class tasks and tests will be scheduled for our Stage 4
Year 7 and 8 students.
Learning
While most learning takes place at school in a more
formal setting, students are also encouraged to revise
their work and complete tasks at home. Parental
attitudes towards learning have been shown to have
some effect on a young person’s attitudes and values on
education. One of these suggested effects comes from
what has been termed academic socialisation.
Academic socialisation
The term academic socialisation describes certain kinds
of parental behaviours which have a demonstrably
positive impact on learning and academic outcomes.
Academic socialisation involves:
communicating with children about parental
expectations for education and about the value
and enjoyment of learning,
discussing learning strategies with children,
linking school work to current events and other
topics,
fostering educational aspirations and making
preparations and plans for the future,
providing a stimulating home learning
environment, and making learning enjoyable
and rewarding, and
focusing on activities which are directed at
building students’ decision-making and
problem solving skills and affirming their
growing autonomy, independence, and
academic abilities.
Figure 1: A model for effecting change through
parental engagement
Academic socialisation provides a way of considering
parental involvement that focuses on the needs of the
child, including independence and autonomous
decision-making. It is considered especially relevant for
high school students as it is not dependent on parents
sustaining relationships with every teacher. Rather, it is
intended to develop abilities in students over time that
allow them to independently assess their goals,
anticipate the results and consequences of their own
actions, and learn from their successes and failures.
At BBHS, we promote a joint partnership between
parent/carers and teachers to enable your children, our
students to work towards achieving their own individual
potential.
This excerpt was taken from a report by the Australian
Research Alliance for Children & Youth for the Family-
School and Community Partnerships Bureau. For more
information go to: Parental engagement in learning
School
As well as curriculum-based learning taking place, we
also have a variety of extra-curricular activities that
enhance learning outcomes. Over the next few weeks,
students will have opportunities to engage in work
readiness programs (Year 9), transition to high school
programs and sailability for our special needs students,
leaderships camps for our senior SRC, swim school
programs for Year 7 and ED students, peer support
training, cultural immersion activities and AIME for our
Koori students, a visit to Birdland for Year 7 science, a
live performance highlighting the effects of bullying, a
ceramics course for Year 11 artists and a CIT musical
performance for our talented musicians and the
enjoyment of the whole school.
Over the last week, we have encouraged students to
show respect for our school property. We insist that our
surroundings are kept free from rubbish, graffiti and
disrepair. The physical environment is looking fantastic
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Batemans Bay High School
and the interior paintwork has livened up the building
façade.
A reminder that energy drinks and spray deodorants are
banned items at school. The service station will not sell
caffeinated drinks to students.
Acknowledging Students and Staff
We would like to acknowledge all our casual and long-
term temporary staff. We value and appreciate their
contributions to our school community. Thank you to
our GA Michael O’Brien and his helpers who continue
to keep the school looking great.
Students who deserve special acknowledgement are
those students like James Dickinson (Year 9), who show
respect for other student’s property. James handed in a
mobile phone belonging to a senior student. She was
extremely pleased when it was returned to her.
Mrs Caroline Preston and Ms Fiona Saunders
Student Achievement
Keira Bareja Year 7
Keira demonstrates excellent application to all areas of
her studies. She produces quality work at all times,
completing class and assignment work with diligence.
Seaside Carnivale
Batemans Bay High School students were well
represented in the ‘Battle of the Bands’ at the Seaside
Carnivale on Sunday 15 October. Bay High provided
three of the four performances and took out 1st, 2nd and
4th prize.
Congratulations to Wynta McLachlan first place
Emma Backhouse and Dayne McCartney second place
and Jessica Hughes fourth place.
Ms Kathie Harris
Music Teacher
Cheerleading & NFL Flag Football
During Term 3 Year 9 Physical Activity and Sports
Studies (PASS) participated in a new unit of work.
Students were given the choice in the first lesson of NFL
Flag Football, or Cheerleading. We then compiled two
NFL teams each with their own cheerleading group.
Students chose their own team names and colours and
quickly got to work.
The girls and boys who chose NFL Flag, got straight into
learning the basic rules and skills to play this unfamiliar
game. They spent a few lessons altogether learning the
terminology and how to play. After splitting into their
teams they worked out positions and game strategy.
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Batemans Bay High School
The cheerleading groups worked together at the start to
look at basic cheers, mannerisms, moves and rhythm.
Like the NFL teams, they soon split into two teams to
work on half time performances and cheers. Focusing
on trust, teamwork and timing.
After many training sessions, the first match was on
Monday 16 October. This mock NFL game was a huge
success, with close scores in the first half. The half time
cheerleading performance went beyond expectations.
Zig Zag Allstars (green) scored a touchdown to start
second half. This made it difficult for the Kookaburras
(yellow) to catch up and the final score was 36-18.
Students individually gave a score for person on the
match in both NFL and Cheer teams.
Cheerleading – Tayah Hancock (yellow) and Hailie Hill
(green)
NFL Flag – Ethan Jackson (green), Angus Knight and
Scott Stuart (yellow)
Special mentions to Claire Ison and Natasha Dawson
who elected to play NFL (which was predominately
chosen by the boys in class) and Marcus Cristello and
William Graham for volunteering to referee.
Well done to all students in the PASS class, you all were
amazing participants.
Miss Gilligan and Mrs Cameron
PDHPE
Night Circus
An edited DVD of our Night Circus production is
available to order from the school office for $10.00
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Batemans Bay High School
Agriculture News
Spring has certainly sprung in the Ag plot. Alice, one of
our pigs, has had eight piglets. They are all thriving. We
have hatched lots of baby chickens which will be for sale
when they are older. Belle, our jersey cow is pregnant,
due next March.
The students’ gardens are also looking. Thanks to
Mr Terry Paranthoiene for his help in this area.
Thank you to Calum MacDonnell, Scott Stuart, Angie
Bass, Scott Rigby, Ethan Jackson, Domenic
Catanzariti, and Chloe McAuley from Year 9 for the
photos.
Mrs Megan Nicholls
Agriculture
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Batemans Bay High School
Mountain Bike Championships
On Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 October, Year 10 student
Jack McFarlane competed in the Junior East Coast
Titles Mountain Bike Championships. The conditions
were really tough with temperatures over 30 degrees.
11 riders were unable to finish the course due to heat
exhaustion. However, Jack’s hard work and training paid
off and he powered on and won convincingly. Jack is to
be congratulated.
ZOOm Calendar
Our talented Year 9 Photography students have
produced a 2018 calendar from their experience at
Mogo Zoo. Available to purchase from our school
office.
12 monthly A3 wall calendar
Full colour on glossy paper
2018 school and public holiday dates
12 large animal photos
Great gift idea
Only $5.00
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Batemans Bay High School
Uniform Shop Opening Hours Term 4
Tuesday and Thursday 8:00 – 11:00am
Community Announcements
Batemans Bay High School Newsletter regularly includes
community information and advertisements. The School does
not endorse or accept responsibility for these activities.
Attendance at or use of these services is at the discretion of
the students. Batemans Bay High School Newsletter regularly
includes community information and advertisements. The
School does not endorse or accept responsibility for these
activities. Attendance at or use of these services is at the
discretion of the students.
Safer Drivers Course
For Young Learner Drivers Preparing you for your Ps
Become a safer driver and earn 20 hours of bonus
log book credit by enrolling in a Safer Drivers
Course.
The Safer Drivers Course is available to learner
drivers under the age of 25 who have completed at
least 50 log book driving hours.
To book a Safer Drivers Course contact: Pro-Active
Safer Driving
Next courses at Batemans Bay
Wednesday 22 November – 5:30pm to 8:30pm
Thursday 4 January 2018 – 10:00am to 1:00pm
Email: [email protected]
Home - proactivesaferdriving.com.au
0431 869 345