Principal: Phil Fitzsimons 8532 1788 – Chairperson Governing Council: Sue Horsnell 0413 866 666

Murray Bridge High School

It is through working together, with respect, that we can achieve excellence

Excellence, Respect and Working Together Tel: 8532 1788 Fax: 8532 5335 Email: dl.0785.info@schools.sa.edu.au www.murraybridgehs.sa.edu.au

From the Principal Lynton Hall

The Governing Council AGM was held on Tuesday 25 March. Attendance at the

meeting was pleasing and the Governing Council for 2014 is now in place. Below is a list

of members.

Chairperson: David Watson

Deputy Chairperson: Sue Horsnell

Treasurer: Julie Webb

Minutes Secretary: Brendan Watts

Correspondence Secretary: Rosalie Nethercott

Aboriginal Parent Group Rep. Rosalie Nethercott

Principal: Phil Fitzsimons

Student Representatives: Kayla McDiarmid, Luke Johnson

Staff Representatives: Andrew Walkley, Deb Johns, Tania Ireland

Community Representatives: Sue Horsnell, Keith Simmons, Cathy Smith,

Parent Representatives: Yvonne Mach, Donna Pearce, David Watson, Tracey

Cregan, Narrelle Roe-Simons, Anja Bates, Kerry Daniel,

Tracey Long, Codie Miegel, David Talbot, Brendan

Watts, Jule Webb, Pru McDonald, Peter Wulff.

In addition, Craig Morrison was elected to the Curriculum Committee at school and will

report back to Governing Council on their decisions.

Governing Council meets twice per term, on Tuesdays of Week 4 and Week 9. The

next meeting will be held on Tuesday, 20 May. All parents whether elected to Governing

Council or not are welcome to attend these meetings. We look forward to a productive

year’s work.

Assessment and Reporting

Friday, 28 March marked the end of the first assessment period for 2014. Staff will report

on student achievement for Term 1. The first report is a formative report. Students will

be assigned grades for their performance in their subjects so far. In addition, teachers will

provide a diagnostic comment identifying areas where, if a student has displayed a

weakness, what the student can do to improve, and if a student has displayed strength,

how the student can use the strength to his/her advantage.

Reports will be issued to students to take home at the end of the school day on Friday,

11 April, the last day of Term 1.

Parent/Teacher Interviews

Parent/Teacher interviews will be conducted over two nights this year; Tuesday, 6th May

and Wednesday, 7th May. There was significant increase in the number of bookings made

by parents/caregivers last year.

Having two nights for interviews will make it easier to accommodate parent/caregiver

requests for interviews. Parents/Caregivers are now able to make bookings on line.

Details of how this can be done are described in this newsletter on page 6.

TERM 1, Week 10 – 31 March 2014

CALENDAR

TERM 1

April

Wed, 9 Apr Youth Opportunities Graduation

Fri, 11 Apr Last day Term 1 – 2pm dismissal

TERM 2

28 April – 4 July

STUDENT FREE DAYS

Mon, 19 May – Staff T&D

Tue, 10 June – Australian Curriculum T&D

PUBLIC HOLIDAY

Mon, 9 June – Queen’s Birthday

Please Note:

The email address for attendance in the 2014

diary is incorrect.

If your child is absent from school please ring

the Attendance Hotline on 8531 2949 or

email dl.0785.attend@schools.sa.edu.au

Duty of Care before 8.30am

Please be aware that staff do not commence

yard duty until 8.30am. Please do not send

your child to school before 8.30am as there

will be no supervision or duty of care before

this time.

Murray Bridge High School Newsletter 31 March2014

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Close the Gap by Lachlan Miles

On Thursday 20th March (Schools Close the Gap day)

students from Mr Miles’ History class took time out from

their normal curriculum to make posters acknowledging

the Close the Gap campaign.

Closing the Gap is about the gap between indigenous

and non-indigenous people in several major areas. They

are: health/life expectancy, education, living conditions,

employment and incarceration. In all these areas

Indigenous Australians have statistics that show they are

well behind the “average” Australian. For example

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people still die on

average between 10 and 17 years before other

Australians. By displaying posters with this information

on them we were hoping to raise awareness of these issues that need to be addressed.

Harmony Day Concert at Murray Bridge North

Primary School by Sean Hickey

Three school ensembles travelled to Murray Bridge North Primary

School to present a concert as a part of Harmony Day. The Senior

Concert Band, Guitar Ensemble and Junior Concert Band presented

a half hour program to the school, which featured music from the

blues through to modern day pop songs.

It was a great opportunity for some of our students to visit their old

primary school and reconnect with familiar faces. It is easy to forget

the many years our primary schools have invested into our students,

helping them to develop the basic skills needed to be successful in

High School.

Local Vocal Workshop

On Tuesday, 25th of March the Senior Vocal Ensemble had the

opportunity to work with a five-piece A Capella vocal group courtesy

of the Instrumental Music Service (IMS). Local Vocal is a group of

singing teachers who travel around to various schools providing

specialised vocal workshops and concerts. Along with our own

Vocal Ensemble they presented a performance to the Year 8

Advanced music class at the end of the workshop.

What's in store?

Over the next two terms the region will be "Working in Harmony"

with Adam Page, a South Australian musician and composer,

specialising in loop-based composition. Adam will be working with

students from the Primary Schools and Murray Bridge High over a

four-month period and present a concert in Term 3. Check out his

webpage at http://www.adampage.prosite.com. This will be a great

opportunity for our students to work with an Industry Professional.

Murray Bridge High School Newsletter 31 March2014

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Year 9 Fabric Technology by Ruth Shakes

Year 9 Fabric Technology developed many new skills this term.

The student’s task was to plan and create 2 examples of

applique that could be applied to a pillow slip or tea towel.

Techniques of satin stitch and blanket stitch were learnt and

applied with most students learning quickly. Students selected

designs, and then had the fun of selecting fabrics for the

creation of their work.

Student comments below:

“I learnt that hand stitching is not as hard as I first thought it was”.

Alek

“We learnt that sewing of any kind isn’t too hard if we are

patient”. Chelsea and Kirsty

“We learnt how easy cross stitching is”. Emma and Tara

“I preferred to hand stitch than machine stitch because I think

hand stitching is easier”. Xiaoxiao

“Learning to hand stitch wasn’t as difficult as I thought and I

ended up really enjoying it”. Taylah and Hope.

“I enjoyed learning how to hand stitch and I found the machine

stitching hard”. Ellen

“I learnt how to hand stitch while making my pillow case. I found

that it wasn’t hard and everyone liked my finished product”. Kylie

A pleasing result was created by all students who realized that with a bit of effort they can achieve a high level of success.

Year 9 girls display some of the work they have created

Power Workshop by D’Allen Worden, Reece Knitschke and Brianna Wilson

On the 20th of March the SAASTA students were involved in

a power workshop. The power workshop involves a number

of football related exercises and cultural activities which

allowed the SAASTA students to bond and work as a team.

We were lucky enough for Port Power player Chad Wingard

to join us along with other Port Power staff. Chad was kind

enough to run through some kicking and handballing drills for

us. During one of the handballing drills we were asked some

questions about food and reactions of the body from doing

different things, for example; ‘How many serves of fruit and

veg should you eat a day’. Once we were given the question

we had to handball the football through either a ‘true’ or

‘false’ slit.

After the football exercises we went up to the class room

and the representatives from Port got everyone to introduce

themselves to the class and to talk about their background.

They helped the class with the war cry for the Power Cup

which is coming up in May, and gave us ideas on what we can

do to improve ours. We had a great day and thanked

everyone for their input and support on the day.

Murray Bridge High School Newsletter 31 March2014

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Lower Murray Trade Training Centre Update By Greg Fulwood

Animal Studies

No we did not find a group of stray dogs wandering around

the school as the picture suggests (top right). The dogs belong

to RTO’s and trainees attending a hands-on session at the

Trade Training Centre and were being used to teach animal

handling techniques. The day was successful without a nasty

nip being inflicted by dog or trainee.

Steering Roper Road Farm in the Right

Direction by Ian Howard

Two steers arrived at Roper Road this month for students in Year

12 to prepare for the Royal Adelaide Show. Murray Bridge High School takes this opportunity to thank Vaughan Campagnolo for

helping to source the two steers. Thanks also to Matt Jaensch

(Big River Murray Greys) and Tim Cartledge (Lancaster Black

Simmentals) for supplying the two steers as seen below. The

steers have settled in well and are an integral part of the Year 12 curriculum. Other year levels also participate in the feeding and

preparation.

In other farm news over 500kg of tomatoes have been sold

through the Swanport IGA and Farm Fresh Market. The White

Suffolk ewes have been mated and since the last report we have

learnt that the Gale families (Finger Post), Andrew Heinrich (Ella

Matta) and Allan Piggott (Illoura) have donated the semen that was used. We wish to thank these producers for this significant

donation to the Roper Road program.

We also note that we were successful with a third prize for White Suffolks at the Mt Barker Show on 22nd March.

BREAKING NEWS Steve Koeher (Radnor) delivered 9 merino wethers for the Royal

Adelaide Show program. In another generous gesture of support

for the Murray Bridge High School Agriculture program, Steve

indicated that the wethers would be donated.

We take this opportunity to thank these kind, community minded

producers for their generosity and support for the enhancement

of learning in Agriculture.

Doorways 2 Construction

Trainees are currently building their saw horses to enable

them to be used as aids throughout the rest of the year

in the workshop. A number of projects around the

MBHS campus are being considered so keep an eye out

for bollards and bunting next term which will indicate a

worksite where these trainees will be using the skills

learned in the workshop on actual builds.

Electro Technology

These trainees are currently honing their skills in sheet

metal work. They are learning to measure accurately using

micrometers, vernier calipers and steel rulers to enable

them to build tool boxes that they will be able to take

away with them for use in an apprenticeship or at home if

they wish. The exercise will give them skills in bending,

drilling and riveting sheet metal and working to a design.

Murray Bridge High School Newsletter 31 March2014

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UMAT WORKSHOP (Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test)

Saturday, 24 May 2014 9.00am – 5.00pm

St Peter Girls School

"Students in Years 10, 11 and 12 interested in medicine,

dentistry, or optometry will need to sit the compulsory UMAT

(examination) when applying for one of the above career

choices. NIE will be conducting their final UMAT preparation workshop on the 24th of May.

Places for this event are strictly limited and registration is

required. All details are available via www.nie.edu.au

The workshop includes an overview of the entire UMAT

process - exam, scores, standardising, applications, university

requirements, interviews, past experiences, professional advice,

performance expectations, and more. Each student is

individually assessed and fine-tuned for peak performance. Strategic problem solving and tuition in each of the three

UMAT constructs. The workshop will be conducted by three

highly experienced and expert lecturers who will define and

explain each UMAT construct. A full practice test conducted

under exam conditions, followed by a feedback session. This intense full day preparation workshop allows students to

identify and explore their true strengths and weaknesses.

Pedal Prix Update by Gilbert Tuazon

Pedal Prix Team Manager and Program Coordinator

Hi and welcome to another Pedal Prix update.

Fitness training for season 2014 commenced last Thursday

(after school). I was amazed at the turnout for the first session

with 28 enthusiastic students showing up. After a brief meeting

in G1 to clarify expectations, I sprung a fitness ‘Beep Test’ on

the students. Surprisingly, there were no complaints and they

were all willing to participate. Despite a fractionally shorter

(than regulation) course, the results were sensational. The

majority of the group exceeded level 10, some going beyond

13. The bar of fitness has definitely been set high this season.

In 2014 Murray Bridge High School Pedal Prix team are

determined to be better prepared, fitness wise, than ever

before. Team selection will be much more stringent and will

favour those team members who invest the full complement of

hard work, positive attitude and team commitment.

Our “new” Open Team bike is due to arrive at the end of

Week 9. The vehicle is an ex Scotch College bike that has

been a category champion in the few events it has entered. In

transitioning to this bike we will be bringing MBHS back up to

speed with the latest composite body technology. This will

provide the students with an opportunity to improve their

competitiveness. Though the new chassis is 2 years old, it

utilises strong Kevlar and carbon fibre components that many

of the top teams currently use. I am hopeful that a 10kg drop

in vehicle dry weight will result in faster lap times and less rider

fatigue. The pending arrival of this vehicle is very exciting for all

involved.

Just to reiterate, details of trainings are outlined below.

Thursday ONLY, at this stage. Meet at the gym in sports

clothing and footwear at 3:15pm. Training will end at

approximately 4:30pm

Attendance to trainings ARE COMPULSORY. Failure to

attend or failure to contact Mr Tuazon in regards to attendance issues may affect your selection.

‘MBHS Open bike 2014’

Murray Bridge High School Newsletter 31 March2014

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Parent-Teacher Interviews 2014

Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th May

3:30pm to 7.30pm

Interviews will be of 10 minutes duration. There is a 5 minute gap between each interview.

For these interviews we are using an internet-based booking system called Parent Teacher On-Line (PTO). It will save time for parents, staff and students. Using this system you will be able to book the interview times that suit you best from any internet-connected computer.

HOW TO ACCESS PARENT TEACHER ON-LINE (PTO)

Go to the school’s home page www.murraybridgehs.sa.edu.au

Click the PTO icon as shown here:

Enter your Login and PIN Login details have been sent home with the youngest student in your family and have been emailed to parents with a current email address listed at Murray Bridge High School. For those who have listed an email address with, your pin may be accessed via email when you enter the PTO website. In the PTO

website, click Obtain PIN/Password and enter your email address. Your PIN will be emailed to you.

Bookings can be made and changed online until 3.00pm the day before the scheduled interview date.

WHAT THEN?

Full instructions are provided to you after log in. Please note the following points:

When you log on, the system displays only your own child/children. Bookings are made for individual parents/caregivers, not

for couples. If two parents/caregivers wish to attend a single interview time slot, only one parent/caregiver should make the

booking for both to attend.

You will only be able to book time slots that are available at the time you are using the system. As time slots are booked for

teachers, those time slots are no longer displayed as available. PTO prevents double-booking of teachers or

parents/caregivers.

When you have made all the bookings you require, you can print a report of your bookings in time order. You can log in and

change bookings any time up to 3:00pm the day before interviews. If you need to change or cancel a booking after this time,

please call the school on 8532 1788.

If you see this symbol displayed next to the class name, it means this teacher would especially like you to book an

interview.

If you encounter any problems using PTO please contact the school on 8532 1788 for assistance.

FOR PARENTS/CAREGIVERS WHO DO NOT HAVE INTERNET ACCESS AT HOME OR ELSEWHERE

A computer will be available in the front office at school during school hours (Monday to Friday, 8.30am – 4.00pm).

OR

Parents/caregivers can ring the school on 8532 1788. The receptionist will take your call and arrange to make the bookings

that you request. You will then be sent a printed sheet of the confirmed bookings. If you choose this option, please contact

the school as early as possible so there is sufficient time for you to receive the sheet of confirmed bookings.

If you are unable to have a parent-teacher interview on May 6th

or 7th

, but wish to speak with one or more of your student’s

teachers, please contact the school on 8532 1788 to arrange a phone interview or a face to face interview on a different day.

Lynton Hall

Deputy Principal

Murray Bridge High School Newsletter 31 March2014

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