PO Box 294, Kaolin Street Lightning Ridge NSW 2834 T 02 68290511 F 02 68290137 E lightningr-c.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Term 1 Week 8 2020

LIGHTNING RIDGE CENTRAL SCHOOL

International and national media has been dominated by the

COVID-19 pandemic. The NSW Department of Education

has been keeping schools up to date on a daily basis and

there is up to date factual information for all parents and

carers on our school website and Facebook page. I advise

all parents and carers, where possible to access the

information on our website.

The key point is that

The Department of Education continues to work closely with NSW Health to monitor and respond to developments and to ensure the safety and wellbeing of students and staff. Consistent with current guidelines, children, students and staff who are unwell with respiratory illness should remain at home until symptoms resolve. Source: https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/school-safety/novel-coronavirus#Current1

Updated 8.00am 16th March 2020

All other students who are well are expected to be at school. Carers and

parents can be rest assured that in the event of a case of COVID-19 being

confirmed, the NSW Department of Health and Department Of Education will

contact the relevant school and take the appropriate actions to ensure the

wellbeing of students and staff.

National Day of Action Against Bullying

This Friday 20th March is the National Day of Action Against Bullying. We

intended to have an assembly on this day but the Department of education has

prohibited school assemblies.

We will continue to roll out information of the school’s website and Facebook page about this day and continue to work with parents, carers and students on a daily basis to ensure all students feel safe and a sense of belonging at school.

Principal: Mr Richard Finter

Deputy Principal: Mrs Margaret Morriss

Deputy Principal: Mrs Jane Miles

Principal’s Report

2020 School Newsletter now available online via our Skoolbag App and

website on www.lightningr-c.schools.nsw.edu.au and SkoolBag

Join us on

National Day Against

Bullying

Fri 20th March

Paint the town REaD

Run/Walk

Sun 29th March

POSTPONED

K-12 Cross Country

Fri 3rd April

Last day of Term 1

Thurs 9th April

School Holidays

Mon 13th - Fri 24th April

Students Return

Tues 28 April

K-12 ANZAC Ceremony

Tues 28th April

Secondary Deputy Principal’s Report

Cross Country will be held in Week 10 the course will once again start and finish on

the school oval, students will be running around the golf course and return to the

school oval. All students will be competing, if selected they will travel to Coolah in

Term 2.

Students in Year 12 should be preparing for their Half Yearly Exams. Exams will be

conducted during the last week of this Term.

Mrs Currey has organised a group of students to participate in the ‘Merino

wether challenge’. Students will build their knowledge of Merino fleece production and breeding. This

leads into an event in August in which students will parade their sheep and hopefully win the

challenge.

If you need to get a message to

your child please contact the

school office by 2:30pm.

Thankyou

Primary Deputy Principal’s Report

We have had some changes in teachers in K-6 this term, so I thought I should clarify

what is happening.

Earlier in the term, Mr Mison had to leave LRCS to attend to urgent family matters. As

a result, Mr Rich Delhaas is now teaching S1Y and will continue for the remainder of

2020. This has meant that Mr Crawley has temporarily become our K-6 PDHPE

teacher because Mr Delhaas is now on Stage 1 class. Ms Julia Georgievska has

stepped up as K-2 Assistant Principal until this position is filled.

Ms Anita Johnson also had to leave LRCS to attend to family matters. As a result, Mrs Megan Loiterton

has offered to teach MC Bumblebees until a replacement teacher is employed.

These positions have been advertised and LRCS is currently in the final phase of the employment

process. I will advise all as soon as we have filled these positions.

Has this been the ideal way to start 2020? No, it has not been however I am proud of the way our

students and staff have all pulled together to ensure learning is maintained and disruption minimised.

On a different note…

Some links for apps that families may find beneficial:

Child Safety Handbook http://nsw.childsafetyhub.com.au/handbook/

The Child Safety Handbook App includes everything we need as a community to protect our most

valuable and vulnerable resource – our children. From preventative measures at home to safety

outdoors, from cyber-safety to dealing with peer pressures, this App is a resource for every family

and school community. Available from iTunes and Google Play Store.

School Updates app https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/practical-help-for-parents-and-

carers/nsw-school-updates-app

The NSW School Updates app allows parents and carers to receive operational status updates for

NSW public schools. {ie whether schools are open or closed due to extreme weather or disasters}

Available for iOS and Android.

The Yalari, Rosemary Bishop Indigenous Scholarship Program is now available. This is for Indigenous

students from regional, rural and remote communities who are entering Year 7 in 2021. If you would

like a Scholarship Application Pack, please contact me via the Office and I will provide it for you.

Happy fortnight! =)

Library Report Well done to everyone who got their reading challenge cards in. Certificates will be

handed out next assembly and books will be handed out to students in class the same

week.

I have been busy adding all of the books that students in Years 1-9 read during this

challenge to the Premiers Reading Challenge website. It is great to see so many of our

students reading multiple books regularly. There will be a small change happening

with the form used to track the books next term, be sure to read the update instructions carefully when

they come out early next term.

After a busy couple of weeks Kerrieanne and I have finished removing books from the shelves ready for

the book sale starting Monday next week (Week 9). Whilst some of our shelves look a little bare at the

moment I can assure you that we have new and exciting books on their way to us. We also have through

the Oliver system a range of audio books and eBooks available for the students to

use.

At the start of the year I asked students in years 7-12 what they would like to see in

the library to get them to use the space more. I had an overwhelming response of

beanbags. So after filling my car and Kerrieanne’s car with beanbag beans, plus the

actual bags there are now seven beanbags set up in the library thanks to some

wonderful helpers who were under strict instructions not the spill any beans. Many

students have been enjoying this addition to our library during lunch, and I sure have

been enjoying them too.

Thank you to my wonderful helpers for filling the bags and Kerrieanne for helping me

get the beans to school.

I hope that the people who have volunteered to share a poem, rap or nursery rhyme at the Paint the

Ridge REaD walk/run have been practicing. Unfortunately due to the current circumstances, this event

has been postponed. A new date to be advised.

Turtle Draw Winners:

Week 6 Week 7

Kindergarten: Gabriella Nardini ES1P Kindergarten: Arthur Langmead ES1P

Stage 1: Max Dominic S1B Stage 1: Cayden Mahoney S1D

Stage 2: Riarnah Hawkins-Lohse S20 Stage 2: Taniqua Wallace S2H

Stage 3: Brett McFadden S3N Stage 3: Tristan Ronai S3N

Miss Cross’ top picks:

Junior Fiction Fiction Senior Fiction Non-Fiction

Worth your Weight in Opal

Myah Claus ES1P

Myah was nominated by Mrs Cross fro trying her best in

all learning areas. Keep up the great work, Myah!

Worth your Weight in Opal

Tallara Bolton-Haynes S1Y

Tallara was nominated by Mr Delhaas for doing her best in all subject areas. Congratulations Tallara!

Worth your Weight in Opal

Solomon Seabrook S2F

Solomon was nominated by Mrs Caley for making an excellent start to the year in class, representing his class in long distance swimming and being pleasant and caring to his classmates.

Worth your Weight in Opal

Hendrik Haverhoek ES1P

Hendrik was nominated by Mrs Cross for using the alphabet chart to independently write the word 'cat'. Keep up the outstanding work, Henry!

Worth your Weight in Opal

Miles Smith S2O

Mungin = Mosquito

After the rain, we have lots of mungin!

Worth your Weight in Opal

Jannarli Bolton S3N

Jannarli was nominated by Mrs Cross for helping Kindergarten students during numeracy and sport. Well done Jannarli!

Miles was nominated by Mrs Caley for thinking deeply when responding to discussion questions and using his background knowledge to make meaningful contributions to question/answer sessions.

Taleah was nominated by Miss Ravot for making an ex-cellent start to Year 11 Mathematics. She has shown dedication and a mature attitude towards her studies.

Worth your Weight in Opal

Taleah Anderson Yr 11

MC

Senior

Welcome back to 2020, we have been

working hard throughout the term on Time

in Mathematics, Persuasive and Discussion

text types in English, making the most of

our water resources in HSIE, Teamwork as

a class. We have used timber in some out

our technology class, bottles to make boats

and have made some very nice food.

Food For Families is back up and running so a thank you to the staff who have been ordering.

Primary

The Bumble Bee class has been researching the ‘Bunya Nut’ a

prehistoric Dinosaur and Aboriginal food. The Bunya Nut is produced

by a large tree called the ‘Bunya Bunya Pine. For a short time each

year, these trees produce massive pine cones and the nuts are

harvested from inside the cone. Bumble Bee students harvested and

processed the nuts before investigating how to prepare the nuts for

cooking. Students enjoyed making and sharing a cake and chocolate

thick shake flavoured with the Bunya Nuts. They also produced quality

work during writing and maths and attended an excursion connected to

their Bunya Nut research.

PASS

Stage 5 have been working on their assessment task; where they are required to create a new Sport

combining 3 games. Students have been combining mainstream sports such as Basketball, Oztag and

Soccer into one Sport.

SLR

Our fearless SLR students have been studying the unit titled: Games and Sport Applications 1. This unit

has been looking at attacking and defensive structures in professional Sports ; along with the various

tactics employed to maximise performance.

Assessment tasks will go out this week.

Child Studies

Students are learning about the diverse needs of

children. What learning needs and disabilities are

and investigating ways in which students can

assisted in their growth and development.

Students are currently completing an Art

Enrichment Portfolio which is the formal

assessment task for Term 1. This involves students completing the activities and devising the materials

and methods required to perform the activities with supervision.

Art enrichment activities for children build skills such as self control, patience and creativity while

improving fine motor skills giving the students a sense of completion/ pride in work

Year 7 Music

Music Students are learning how to make

sounds using their body, this is called body

percussion. The students will compose their

own body percussion rhythm and perform

this in front of their class members. Students are also progressing

through the Music theory, this will assist students once they start

learning the Ukulele, Guitar and Keyboard. Year 7 Music students

are encouraged to listen to all Genres of Music and think what they like and don’t like about it.

Secondary Studies

PDHPE Stage 4

This term students explore a range of challenges often associated with adolescence, such as friendship

and relationship conflicts, time management, domestic violence and family breakdown, bullying and

mental health, investigating and proposing strategies they can adopt and the available support people

and services they can access when dealing with conflict and issues. The National Stand Against

Bullying Day is on Friday 20th March and students have been discussing strategies on how to stand up

against Bullying and assist individuals and themselves on how to cope mechanisms on how to prevent

bullying.

During PE Practical lessons students have been participating in Net Games. This involves volleyball,

tennis, netball and basketball.

The PDHPE / Sport Faculty recently purchased

Soccer goals. One set is already out on the Senior

Oval; with another set to be placed on the Junior

Oval commencing Term 2.

The goals have increased student enjoyment for

Secondary students playing Soccer. We are sure

Primary students will enjoy having access to the

goals from Term 2.

Stage 5

This week students are learning about the impact of drug use on the individual and their community.

Influences and scenarios are analysed to assist students to make informed decisions about drug-related

situations and encourage the development of harm avoidance and minimisation strategies. Students

participate in research about illicit drugs and practice strategies to respond to a drug related emergency

Please ensure your child’s walking note has been handed into the office, so students have the

opportunity to go to the tennis courts.

Secondary North

West Swimming

Well done to Sophie Small

who competed at the North

West Regional Swimming

Championships in Armidale on Tuesday 3rd

March. She did herself and the school proud

in the 50m Freestyle against some very fast

competitors from across the region.

Congratulations Sophie!

CWA Land Cookery

Congratulations to Natasha Kotru, who

made Honey Jumbles for the CWA Land

Cookery Competition. Her entry was sent

to the CWA Group Conference at Pilliga

on the weekend and was awarded Second Place in this

section.

CWA is the Country Women of Australia and is renowned

for cooking and hospitality. The judges are particular in

what they expect.. Natasha’s biscuits were iced beautifully

in pink and white and they were all the same shape and

size.

Due to an ongoing partnership with Walgett PCYC – thanks to the Fit for Life Program – five LRCS

students were selected to take part in the Raw Challenge at Doyalson this past weekend. Each year,

more than 50,000 people tackle Raw Challenge obstacle events and this year Toby Brenton, Trent

Hawkins, Georgina McBride, Keenan Middleton and Jada Seaton were lucky enough to attend.

The Raw Challenge course consists of over 60 unique obstacles that are dynamic and constantly

changing to meet the growing fitness levels of challengers and enhance the Raw Challenge experience

every time.

Their website suggests that there are numerous certainties when participating in the Raw Challenge,

such as; having fun, getting muddy and being tested mentally and physically!

“That’s all true, it’s amazing and really fun, but the one thing the website doesn’t tell you, is

how crucial teamwork is. That’s what makes it fun. Doing it with your teammates is so much

better than doing it yourself” – Keenan Middleton.

Located 90 minutes north of Sydney, Doyalson Raw Challenge is nationally recognised for boasting

the most obstacles in an event of this kind. Each year, more than 50,000 people tackle Raw Challenge

obstacle events. This year our students were part of a larger PCYC group that consisted of students

from schools in the North West (Lightning Ridge, Walgett and Coonamble).

“It was only Georgie and I from Lightning Ridge, but all of the other girls from different areas

were really welcoming. We had a heap of fun and worked well together” – Jada Seaton

The head of PCYC Walgett, Amanda Cheal, informed me that our students were enthusiastic, well-behaved and represented our school with pride. I would like to personally thank Amanda and the PCYC for their hard work this year in providing opportunities like this for our students and I would like to congratulate Toby, Trent, Georgina, Keenan and Jada for the level of Respect, Responsibility and Pride they showed while representing our school, well done kids!!

The National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence is an important day in our school calendar.

We’re joining the nationwide movement to ‘Take Action Together’ and say ‘Bullying, No Way!’

We’re proud to say ‘Bullying, No Way!’ and we are putting our anti-bullying initiatives in the spotlight and

calling on our school community to stand with us.

The National Day of Action at Lightning Ridge Central School will incorporate a number of activities

including:

Teaching and Learning activities

A whole school pledge against bullying

School-wide competitions (Posters/Artworks etc.)

Survey to address issues and suggest solutions for the future

Presentations from Police Youth Liaison Officers

Young Australians are talking about what works to address bullying and are ready to take hold of the

issue, with the support of their communities. That's why the #NDA2020 theme is Take Action Together.

This year we will elevate student voice and empower students to join the national conversation by

completing a survey to share their thoughts on the issue of bullying. It is important that we include them

in finding solutions for the future.

The NDA promotes school, parent and community partnerships to build supportive learning

environments and find workable solutions to address bullying. Together we can make change. Everyone

has a role to play in supporting young people in dealing with bullying and helping to energise positive

discussions about the issue.

Let's unite the ideas and actions of LRCS students with those of other schools around Australia to

generate a powerful roadmap to a future without bullying

The National Day of Action against bullying and violence is still

on Friday 20th March. However due to circumstances beyond our

control LRCS will celebrate this event at a later date.

Canteen Information