Bundaberg North State High School eNewsletter

From the Principal's Office

Next week our year 12s complete their final assessment and attend their Graduation ceremony on Wednesday 17^th November followed by the Prom on Thursday 18^th November at Brothers Sports Club. Parents are invited to attend the Yr 12 Graduation Ceremony, in the school hall on Wednesday, 17th November. Families should arrive at 5:15pm for a 5:30pm start. I would like to wish all our Year 12 graduates all the best for their final week of school and all the best for their future.

Year 10 and 11 students complete their final assessment on 24^th November and their final day of school is 26^th November.

We are currently working on our Annual Implementation Plan for 2022 and presented the draft plan to the School Council last week. In 2022, we will be introducing a new North Support Structure that is based around our existing RAS (Relationships and Self) classes and provides all students with support from their RAS teacher, a RAS coordinator and a RAS Head of Department. This wrap-around support will provide students with monitoring of their progress, behaviour, attendance, uniform and well-being and will replace the existing Year Level Coordinator model.

In December we will begin a new uniform contract with Shawline Embroidery (FE Walker Street). All uniform items will be available at Shawline Embroidery instead of LOWES. There is a new North jacket, jumper and trackpants available for 2022. We understand that some uniform items have been out of stock this year due to the changeover of suppliers but uniforms will be available at Shawline Embroidery from December 1st. Please ensure that you have purchased all the necessary items ready for 2022. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns.

In 2022, we will be continuing with the Friday 5 model, finishing face to face classes at 1.10pm and providing students who remain at school with assistance with homework while providing staff with professional development time to build capacity in the planning and implementation of the Australian Curriculum. We will be focussing on improving student outcomes through conducting moderation processes with the continued goal of increasing the number of students receiving A – C results. If your student will be leaving school at 1:10pm you don't need to do anything. But if your student will be remaining at school on any Friday afternoon, we ask that you complete the form below to register their attendance.

As mentioned in a previous newsletter, North High has been selected to join the GP in schools pilot program. We are in negotiations with a local GP clinic to provide a GP service one day a week at school. The program must be up and running by May 2022.

North High has also been selected to join the Link and Launch program – that provides assistance to year 12 leavers and assists them in engaging with further education, training or employment. We are currently running a recruitment process to hire a Link and Launch officer 4 days per week to service the Bundaberg students and assist them in finding meaningful pathways.

There are certainly many projects on the go for North High for 2022 to support our students toward our vision of ‘Outstanding Learners, Outstanding Achievements and Outstanding Futures.

Friday 5 continues to provide assistance to a wide range of students. Each Friday, students who remain at school for Friday 5 set a goal for the afternoon to achieve a set task or amount of work. Some students are working on assessment and others on homework. Thank you to the teacher aides and staff who assist the students each week. The students who attend regularly are working very well and are into the routine of organising their time to achieve their goal each afternoon. Well done students.

Friday 5 - Students remaining at school until 3pm Term 4, 2021

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Parent representative for School Council

Bundaberg North State High School is an Independent Public School. The Independent Public Schools (IPS) initiative empowers school principals in conjunction with staff, parents and the broader community to make important decisions regarding their school and respond directly to local needs and aspirations.

Would you like to be a parent representative on the 2022 School Council? School Council representation is for two years and meetings are held once a term (4 times per year). School Council’s role is to provide guidance and support around strategic decision making for the school. If you would like to nominate please complete the nomination form and return by November 19th. If you would like to know more about the role please contact me on 41 300 222.

Robyn Kent

Principal

Nomination-form-2022.pdf

Author in our midst

Jess Laven graduated from Bundaberg North SHS in 2020 and she wasted no time in making a name for herself. Since finishing school in November last year, Jess has written a textbook to assist senior students to prepare for their assessment. That book has now been published and we welcomed Jess back to North High to give us a signed copy. We are very proud of Jess and her outstanding achievement.

Mrs Jensen, Business teacher

Where are they now?...

Name: Kirralee Randle

Graduating year: 2016

Best memories: The wonderful friends that I had made along my journey at NBSHS as well as the teaching staff that made school bearable, fun and excited me for what my future held.

What did you do after school? I studied a bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours) while working part time.

What are you doing now? I am an Occupational Therapist working within the community with people of all ages trying to make their lives a little brighter.

Words of wisdom: Never stop learning, because life never stops teaching. Stay humble.

Trainee teachers time at North ends

Our prac students Zara, Grace, Lucas, Ruby and Chloe joined us for a 3-week block this term. Our pre-service teachers were based primarily with the English faculty, whilst also observing and teaching in HPE and history. It was an absolute pleasure to have the students working with us and joining us for fun events such as the Colour Blast. The pre-service teachers were very impressed with our school and students, and stated they would love to join us at Bundaberg North State High School when they begin their teaching careers.

Mrs Fletcher, Head of Department

What's happening in our school library

Bundaberg North SHS is very fortunate to have a trained teacher-librarian and a very experienced library aide with much knowledge, understanding and support to share with the students. Gone are the days when a library was a place reserved for reading, browsing and 'shushing'.

The library of today is a vibrant, colourful and inclusive space for all kinds of activities … playing card games or board games with friends; doing a puzzle with friends; browsing for the next great read; enjoying multi-player computer games; sharing a quiet moment for chat; enjoying some quiet moments alone;

READING, getting ready to read, requesting your next read, thinking about your last read!

Our library is open for students before school, at big lunch and after school (on most days)”.

Ms Hall, Teacher Librarian

Informed decisions with Yr 7 Mathematics

Year 7 Mathematics students this term were treated to a virtual visit by Mr Glenn Capuano from consultancy firm Informed Decisions (http://id.com.au) who talked to the young mathematicians about the reality of using the Australian Census data to make informed decisions about planning for the future of Australia.

As Glenn is based in Melbourne, we connected via Microsoft Teams and Glenn showed the students some interesting statistics and changes regarding the Bundaberg population and how we can use data to make comparisons to inform decision making (for example: should we build another aged care centre in Bargara or North Bundaberg?)

We are very grateful for Glenn donating his time to the students to assist them with their mathematics assignment and also giving them a glimpse into possible career paths using mathematics and statistics.

This relationship was made possible through our school’s ongoing participation in the Bundaberg Jobs Commitment.

Mr Andrew Duncan

Head of Department (Mathematics)

Turtley time for Planeteers

Four of our junior Planeteers attended the Turtley Interactive Presentation at the Moncrieff Entertainment Centre as part of the Milbi Festival. Dr Col Limpus, the Department of Environment and Science Chief Scientific Officer, talked to us about the critically endangered "Milbi", or white-throated snapping turtle, which is native to our area and a totemic animal for the Taribelang Bunda people. We learnt that the Milbi is a "bum-breathing" turtle which nests along the bank of the Burnett River in a stretch of just 2km, where its eggs often become prey to feral animals. Dr Limpus also spoke to us about the dangers facing our local nesting sea turtles and the progress that has been made to increase their numbers. Representatives from the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences research centre discussed their research projects on microplastics.

Did you know that young sea turtles mistake floating microplastics (less than 5mm across) for food, which then get trapped in their digestive tracts, ultimately killing them?

And every time you dry your clothes in the clothes dryer, nanoplastics (even smaller than microplastics) are released into the environment, potentially leaching toxic chemicals into the soil?

The best thing we can do as individuals to help preserve sea turtles in the future is to reduce our use of plastics, so they don't make it into our environment to break up and become microplastics. Even re-using a single-use plastic product once will help to reduce plastics in our environment. Avoid buying products packaged in plastic; look for products packaged in tin, glass or paper.

Miss Roberts, Planeteers Coordinator

Walla C RAS class' gratitude

Today in RAS we reflected on kindness and gratitude with discussions about our hamper of Christmas goodies for the Salvation Army but also about the number of people in our school for whom we should be grateful. The ones that keep our school looking inviting and pleasant, but maybe are seldom thought of. So we decided to write short letters of gratitude to our cleaners and groundsmen. Definitely worded completely by the students! Here are some examples…

Thank you for doing all that you do. The school wouldn’t be the same without people like you.
Thank you for keeping everything nice and green. It makes the school look so much better and nicer to be here.
Thank you for cleaning up our school everyday. I really appreciate all the hard work you put into your job.

Thank you.

Ms Hall, RAS teacher

For all chess players

The final Sunday Junior Chess Tournament conducted by the Bundaberg Chess Club Inc is being held on 21st November 2021. All enquires for Junior Chess should sent to John and Elizabeth Harris email:- presidentjohn@live.com.au or Ph:- 0418686497.

Cost for the tournament is $8.00 for the morning. A maximum payment of $16.00/ family with 2 or more players. The venue is upstairs in the U3A building on Woongarra St, Bundaberg. The Bundaberg Library is behind this building on Woondooma St. The competition starts promptly at 9.00 am. Could children please arrive at 8.45 am to register for the tournament. Each child needs to bring a water bottle and adequate morning tea. The morning consists of 6 rounds of competitive chess plus a chess lesson from Mr John Harris. The morning usually concludes around 12.00-12.20 pm.

Prizes are given for 1st to 5th place depending on the number of players attending. Lucky door prizes are given and prizes for the most interesting chess game. Players will be awarded Grand Prix prizes at this tournament.

Q Parents communication & information

Have you registered for QParents yet?

QParents is a safe, secure portal which gives you access to

your student's report cards (current & historical)
attendance record
your student's timetable
absences (you can report a new absence or explain an old one)
pay invoices
communicate with the school and more

It is easy to register, the app can be downloaded to your phone and can be accessed anywhere at any time. Please contact the school office for more information or to ask for your unique registration code to be sent to you to start the registration process. Please visit QParents for more information.

Register now to get access to your student's term 4 report card as soon as it is released.

School Savvy is back for 2022

Bundaberg regional residents can once again look forward to the School Savvy CQ pop-up shops returning in 2022, with Childers and Gin Gin getting savvy shops of their very own.
From January 10, students from families facing financial struggles will be able to access second-hand uniforms and essential stationery supplies to prepare them for the new school year.
Uniform donations are now being accepted, with many convenient locations available. For a current list of donation points in your area, visit www.centacarecq.com/donationpoints.
Support your local community and make a difference in a school student’s life. The School Savvy CQ team is looking forward to seeing you!

Bursary for Kameron

Congratulations to Kameron in Year 8 who has won a 'Talent Today, Talent Tomorrow' bursary from Gladstone Ports Corporation to further his studies. Well done Kameron.