South Grafton High School Excellence and Innovation Issue No.8 – Term 1 22 March 2013 Principal: Mr Brian Heath

South Grafton High School, Tyson Street, South Grafton, NSW, 2460. Telephone: 6642 1466, Facsimile: 6643 2027,

Email: sthgrafton-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au, Website: www.sthgrafton-h.schools.nsw.edu.au Page 1

Diary Dates 22 March Yr 7 Vaccinations

25 March Yr 9 Vaccinations

25 March Yr 7 & 8 Mathematics Week

26 March Yr 7 Swim and Survive

26 March Duke of Edinburgh excursion

27 March Geography Competition

29 March Good Friday

1 April Easter Monday

2 April Yr 9 & 10 Mathematics Week

3 April Yr 7 & 11 Interim Reports Issued

4 April CHS Swimming Championships

4 April Maths Enrichment Program

She is the Best We’ve known it within our school for some

time but we now have proof from outside our school. Our canteen manager, Vivi Riches, was named as the 2013 State

winner of the Healthy Kids Canteen Award. All schools in the State can

nominate someone for the award and with a large number of entries, it was a fantastic result. We are very proud of Vivi

and the P&C who nominated her.

Student Exchange Programs We regularly have students on exchange coming to our school and we sometimes

have our students travelling on exchange. We currently have Aymeri Piganiol from

France with us on a Rotary Youth Exchange. Lucy Heathcote will be

travelling to France for her exchange program through the World Education Program. If students are interested in

Rotary Exchange they can see Mr Heath.

Vaccinations This week Year 7 started their vaccination program for secondary school. Next week,

the offer is for Year 9 boys to be vaccinated against HPV. I encourage

everyone to take up this free vaccination and so help guard against the HPV having effects in the future.

Action within our school Over the past week, there has been a

huge amount of activities occurring. Last week we had a number of students either

shave their heads or colour their hair as they raised money for the Leukaemia Foundation in the Shave for a Cure day.

We started this week with the HSIE Medieval Day with students in Years 7, 8

and 9 involved as well as staff coming dressed for the occasion. Harmony Day on Wednesday was organised and run by the

Aboriginal Education team and SLIKK and this involved local community members,

staff and students in several activities at our school. On Wednesday evening, the SRC ran a social with students coming

dressed in a safari theme. Thursday saw some of our students travel to Yamba for

a Closing the Gap day.

Aunty Irene instructing some students on the finer details of painting at Harmony day

South Grafton High School, Tyson Street, South Grafton, NSW, 2460. Telephone: 6642 1466, Facsimile: 6643 2027,

Email: sthgrafton-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au, Website: www.sthgrafton-h.schools.nsw.edu.au Page 2

South Grafton High School Newsletter, Issue No.8 - 22 March 2013

PBL and Anti-Bullying program

There are many things occurring within our school to draw attention to working as

a team and avoiding using comments against others. Our current PBL campaign

is called “Nice and Polite” and encourages everyone to think about how they speak to others. Often the words and tone we

use are the way we get judged. Have you also visited our facebook page and viewed

some of the latest additions? You can also make a comment and pledge to support a stand against violence and bullying!

Attendance

A reminder to everyone that attendance at school is an integral part of learning. It has been shown that students develop

significant gaps in their learning often associated with poor or sporadic

attendance at school. Additionally, if a student is away from school for any reason, they need to supply an

explanation for this absence. Parents can do this by phone, written note or by

email. If parents want to check on their child’s attendance, they are welcome to do so at any time. It would be great if we

could increase our attendance rate for our school.

In the near future, Departmental Attendance staff will be interviewing a number of our students to discuss attendance issues. This will provide valuable feedback to our school about how the students feel about a wide range of concerns. Please notify the school if you have any objections to your child participating in this activity. Parent Advice Regarding Attendance at

Secondary School. Legal requirements In NSW it is compulsory for children to

attend school between the ages of 6 years and 17 years. The only exception to this is

where students have very unusual and specific circumstances that require an alternative educational program. Students

can only leave school before reaching the age of 17 under specific circumstances

that involve an alternative educational

program, or an approved combination of

work and training. Generally, for children of school age, it is

the parents’/carers’ responsibility to ensure the children are attending school.

Children should attend school every day that the school is open for instruction – unless there is a satisfactory reason for

not attending. Satisfactory attendance is 85% or above.

Anything below this level is regarded as being unsatisfactory. It has been shown that children have difficulty coping with

the academic demands of school if their attendance is below 85%. If the school

cannot resolve attendance issues then the student is referred to the Home School Liaison Program, and it becomes a legal

matter.Paul Farrell, Home School Liaison Officer, Grafton

MULTILIT recommences at South Grafton

High School on Monday 25 March 2013. MULTILIT (Making up Lost Time in

Literacy) has become an integral part of our junior literacy program. MULTILIT

super group sessions provide an opportunity for students to develop reading skills in an encouraging

environment.

Congratulations to all students involved in the program for 2013. We look forward to working with you and helping you track

your progress. Remember, reading is a fantastic skill to have and opens up many

opportunities in the future. Improved reading also helps us to feel better about ourselves and more confident.

Let's work together and strive for success.

Ms Heath and the MULTILIT Team.

South Grafton High School, Tyson Street, South Grafton, NSW, 2460. Telephone: 6642 1466, Facsimile: 6643 2027,

Email: sthgrafton-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au, Website: www.sthgrafton-h.schools.nsw.edu.au Page 3

South Grafton High School Newsletter, Issue No.8 - 22 March 2013

SRC Shave for Cure: our lunchtime event last

Friday saw over 30 students shave their heads for Leukemia. Many more coloured

their hair in front of a large and supportive crowd. The SRC team raised close to $1000 altogether for this great

cause. Thank you to everyone who contributed.

Social: Our ‘Safari’ social was very well

attended on Wednesday night. Many students dressed up creatively for the

theme. Special thanks to the staff who gave their time to supervise. Without their help, socials are not possible.

Open Girls Cricket

Last Thursday, the South Grafton High School girls cricket team travelled to

Hunter Sports High School to participate in the top 16 teams in New South Wales. The girls won the toss and sent Hunter

into bat. The opposition reached a total of 203 runs and only losing 5 wickets. The

big hitting M Gibson was dropped twice but went on to hit 107 runs not out. The best bowlers for South were Poppi

Kroehnert – 1 wicket for 41 runs and Kayla Worthing – 2 wickets for 35 runs.

Other bowlers were Ashleigh Campbell, Stacie Plater, Shantelle Lentfer, Chelsea Cotten and Natasha Rudder.

South could only hit a total of 34 runs all out. The best batters were Shinae

Macdonald and Ashleigh Campbell. The girls would like to thank Mr O’Connor for

driving the bus and the SRC for helping with the cost of the bus.

Open Girls Soccer Congratulations to the open girls soccer

team who defeated Grafton High 3-1 on Wednesday. The game was close from kick-off with South High keeping Grafton

High in their own half for most of the match. We scored through Keanah

Scholes and Grafton High scored to make it 1-1. South then scored two goals midway through the second half one by

Ashleigh Campbell and then Kayla Worthing to win the match 3 - 1. The next

game is against Toormina High.

South Grafton High School, Tyson Street, South Grafton, NSW, 2460. Telephone: 6642 1466, Facsimile: 6643 2027,

Email: sthgrafton-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au, Website: www.sthgrafton-h.schools.nsw.edu.au Page 4

South Grafton High School Newsletter, Issue No.8 - 22 March 2013

Combined High School (CHS) Boys

Knockout Tennis This week our CHS boys team played

Coffs Harbour Senior Education Campus (CHEC) in round 1 of the boys tennis.

Team members were Carl Diebert, Vytus Jarasius, Daniel Wade and Jack Hill. The boys played with spirit and enthusiasm,

however Coffs won round 1 defeating SGHS six sets to two, 35 to 18 games.

Congratulations to the boys on their efforts.

Adidas Fun Run

Our school will be hosting the Adidas fun run in conjunction with our school cross country carnival. The Adidas School Fun-

Run is a healthy, fun and active fundraiser that ensures we send the right message

to our students about getting active, having fun and maintaining a healthy

lifestyle. The main focus of the event is on participation. All students have the opportunity to raise money for their

school and redeem some fantastic prizes for their efforts. The more money we

raise, the better the outcome for our school. Sponsorship forms and information can be collected from the PE

staffroom from Mr Dewberry or Ms McGregor. We encourage everyone to get

involved.

Community News

Free Art and Illustration Workshop Saturday 23 March, 3.00 pm – 5.00 pm

South Grafton High School Hall, Tyson St. South Grafton. 12-18yrs only. Have a passion for art and design? Learn

amazing illustration skills from local artist and graphic designer,

Jess Francis. Use your skills to create your own postcard art and send it to friends!

You can just turn up on the day but places

are limited. For further info and to secure a spot,

contact mark.conaghan@clarence.nsw.gov.au

Grafton Junior Showgirl The junior showgirl competition is aimed at finding a young lady between the ages

of 15 and 17 to represent the Grafton Show Society at both the show and official

functions throughout the year. Contestants will gain free entry to the show on Friday 19 April 2013. No

fundraising is involved. Enquiries: Lisa Green phone: 0413 068 596.

Canteen Roster

If you would like to volunteer please call

Vivi on 6642 1466 or 0427 178 375.

Monday

25 March

Julie Anne Brett

Help Please

Tuesday

26 March

Janice Daley

Wednesday

27 March

Debbie Thompson

Thursday

28 March

Joanne Emanuel

Puberty, Sexuality and Relationships

Dates: 22 April 2013

Time: 6.00pm - 8.00pm

Venue: Multitask

296 Molesworth Street

Lismore NSW 2480

Contact:For more information or to register contactDanielle FehirFamily Planning NSW T: 02 8752 4388F: 02 8752 4396E: daniellef@fpnsw.org.au

Cost:Free

Find out how to support your family member’s personal development and sexuality in a positive way.

• Issues around sexuality and disability

• Tips for talking about sex and answering tricky questions

• Preparing for puberty changes

• Decision making and safety

• Books, DVDs and resources

• Experienced presenters to answer your questions

• Meet other parents

• Free resource bag

Parents, foster parents, relatives and other unpaid carers of people with disability are welcome. This forum is not intended for service providers (please contact Family Planning NSW for information regarding professional education). We regret we are unable to provide respite/childcare.

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