■ 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: batemansba-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au 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: admin@proactivesaferdriving.com.au

Home - proactivesaferdriving.com.au

0431 869 345