Court Street GILGANDRA NSW 2827 Phone: 6847 2276 Fax: 6847 1288

PRINCIPAL Mr Neal Reed DEPUTY Mr Joshua Webb HEAD TEACHERS English/HSIE Mrs Fiona Lambell Mathematics Mr Steven Schier Science Miss Sheryn West (rlg) TAS Mr Russell Woollams SUPPORT Mrs Di Irvin YEAR ADVISORS Year 7 Mr Andrew McCutcheon Year 8 Mrs Laura Jordan Year 9 Miss Kristy Smith Year 10 Mrs Jessica Reed Year 11 Mrs Stacey O’Neill Year 12 Ms Kristen Skewes P&C President Mr Paul Alchin AECG President Deidrie Naden ARCO Mrs Meredith Schier

Newsletter 10 June 2019 Term 2 Week 10

EMAIL: gilgandra-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au www.gilgandra-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

Quote of the week

The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything they make the most of everything.

Principal’s report...

Gilgandra High School Captains, Henry Johnson and Ruby Schembri

attended a leadership program in Sydney. Together, they had a chance to

discuss leadership with NSW Parliament members and experience a tour.

Roy Butler, Member for Barwon, took the time to meet and speak with both

Ruby and Henry.

I would like to commend our students for their ongoing pride in the school and in themselves. We were privileged to host students in Years 5 and 6 from Gilgandra Public School, St Josephs Catholic School and Tooraweenah Public School last week for our annual Open Day. Our Year 10 students were the group leaders and, as always, they stepped up to the mark with candour and enthusiasm. Events, such as the Open Day always reveal unexpected leaders and we are very fortunate with our Year 10 cohort to have a high calibre of young persons developing as school leaders. The partner primary schools also deserve special mention, the students were impeccable with their manners and attention. Well done one and all. Our range of extra-curricular activities continues to expand. This week there has been very strong interest from students in the Chess Club, run by Mrs Reed. Students have demonstrated a keen interest with the initiative, to the extent of having a school-run competition for Term 3. I look forward very much to the growth of this opportunity for students to think critically and strategically. As we head towards the two week break, our students and staff deserve a big congratulations for their efforts this Term. Under somewhat trying circumstances in a world without a casual teacher, the students have shown wonderful resilience and patience far beyond their years. The staff, too, have demonstrated an incredible and ongoing commitment to keeping the school and the lessons running as smoothly as possible. My sincerest thanks for everyone’s efforts in this space. Every good wish for a safe break and I look forward to an even stronger Term 3.

Neal Reed

Principal

Dates for your diary...

Volunteers are required to help in the canteen.

If you can spare some time Please ring the school 6847 2276

ABSENT FROM SCHOOL

If your child is absent from school and we have not received an explanation, you will receive an SMS message confirming your

child’s absence. Please respond to the SMS message ASAP, replying by SMS is at no cost to you. Or you could phone or

send in note so we can update our records.

Term 3

Monday 22rd July Staff Development Day

Tuesday 23rd July Students return for Term 3

Tuesday 30th July Student Sport Photos

Wednesday 14t August Single Cup

Wednesday 21st August Ron Gibbs Football

Monday 9th September Start of NAIDOC Week

Friday 13th September End of NAIDOC Week

Tuesday 24th September School Production

Wednesday 25th September School Production

Thursday 26th September Year 12 Formal

School Holidays at Gilgandra Shire Library Looking for something to do? Come to the Library for something good to read, or book in for one of these free workshops. (Book early, as places are limited to 12 in each session).

3D Printing Workshop

Learn how to design a 3D model and print with artist Andrew Christie. See live 3D scanning. Saturday 13 July. 12noon-2pm for students aged 10-14yrs, 2.30pm-4.30pm for students aged 15-18yrs. (Parental permission forms must be completed).

Young Filmmakers Boot Camp

Learn how to make your own short film from start to finish with Dubbo Filmmakers. Saturday 20 July, 2019 10am-4pm. Open to ages 12-18yrs. Participants need to bring their own iPhone, iPad, android phone or tablet or other filming device, earbuds or headphones, cords to recharge the device and water bottle, snacks and lunch. Optional- a USB, to take copies of work produced home- 64GB recommended. (Parental permission forms must be completed).

For more information, please phone the Library on 68178877 or

Email library@gilgandra.nsw.gov.au.

NEWS FROM THE SCIENCE FACULTY We would like to welcome Ms Sally Bray to the Science faculty. Ms Bray comes to us from Sydney Girls High School and has an extensive knowledge of Physics and the practical applications of Science. This term, Year 7 have been learning about space and energy changes in the world around them. Year 8 have been studying “Sustainable Ecosystems” and “Forces”. In this topic they completed an inquiry-based learning activity on paper planes, where they were required to make two different planes that could fly the furthest distance or have a flight time of more than 10 seconds. During this task the students were able to further develop their practical skills in communication, problem solving and evaluation. Year 9 are studying “Our Coordinated Body. In this topic they have been investigating the organ systems in our body and how our bodies respond to disease. Year 10 students are in the midst of learning about the inner workings of genetics and the structure of DNA in the “Life Goes On” topic.

On 2nd April 32 students from Years 8, 9 and 10

had the opportunity to participate in the Science &

Engineering Challenge in Dubbo. This is an annual

event run by the University of Newcastle and is

sponsored by the Rotary clubs of Dubbo. We

compete against teams from other schools in our

area; We won our region and on the 26th and 27

th

of August we are going to Newcastle to contest the

“Super Challenge”. At this point in time we have

the second highest score of all the regions. We

wish our Science and Engineering team good luck!

Please feel free to contact your child’s teacher if

you have any questions about their class work or

assignments; Ms West, Mrs Skewes and Ms Bray

will be only too happy to help you. We all look

forward to continuing to working closely with our

students and their families for the rest of 2019.

Miss Sheryn West Head Teacher Science (rlg)

Year 7 learning about space and energy changes in the world around them.

Open Day

Last Wednesday 26

th of June, Gilgandra High School hosted the annual Open Day for aspiring

primary students coming up to high school. The day was a huge success, run primarily by an assortment of Year 10, 11 and 12 students, who guided groups of Years 5 and 6 through the subject stations. The Year 5 and 6 students engaged in a range of activities organised by the school faculties. Students participated in an egg dissection through Agriculture, a fitness test through PDHPE, an interactive music station and photo-booth through Music and Drama, and a range of other exciting activities. To conclude such an eventful day, the school held a BBQ lunch for all students, a time to share food and mingle with future friends. What a wonderful day!

Coen Naden, Mr Smith, Ian Louie-Wood

Michael Raglus and students from St Joseph’s Catholic School enjoying the Open Day

Jason Newman and Lachlan Fairey

Open Day