BNSHS Newsletter 14th September 2022

From the Acting Principal's Office

As term 3 draws to a close I would like to thank all of our North High families for their contribution to another successful period of teaching and learning. Particularly uplifting this term has been the level of student participation the huge number of events held this year. We recognise that our students cannot achieve all that they do without the support of their parents and carers, and we sincerely value the partnership between school and families.

One of the most inspiring events held recently was our school Arts Night. Not only did the evening feature a diverse and fascinating range of artistic works from students of all ages, it was also entirely planned, organised and run by students. It is rare to see students given so much freedom to manage a significant school event such as this, but the results speak to the incredible value there is in trusting to the enthusiasm and willingness to try that we see in our young people.

I also note with pride that North High has once again sent year 10 students into the wide world of work experience in this last week. This culminating event in the senior education and training plan process shows that we are committed to merging the practical with the theoretical, when it comes to aspiration building and goal setting with our senior students. Well done to all the year 10s who took up the challenge.

As we look towards term 4, our next academic milestone will be the release of mid-semester reports. I urge any parents and carers who would like more information about their student’s progress and academic goals to contact the school or classroom teacher.

Term 4 also brings with it the external exams for students studying General Subjects. This can be an anxious time for young people. While we always encourage students to devote themselves to their studies at this crucial time (and consider reducing paid work commitments), it is also important for adolescents to maintain a healthy perspective, and look after themselves, physically and mentally. Healthy foods, adequate sleep, and continuing to engage in rest and recreation, are also important exam preparation strategies.

Best of luck to our year 12s, and all of our students, for an outstanding term 4.

Friday 5 - Students remaining at school until 3pm Term 4 , 2022

Rules for E-scooters

Recently, our school community has noted some students riding hired E-scooters on the streets around Bundaberg North SHS. Most concerningly, this has also led to some close calls with vehicles travelling on the roads. I urge parents to click the link below to see the Queensland Government rules regarding the use of personal mobility devices in public spaces, and to check if their student is complying with these rules.

Mr Tom Wright, Deputy Principal

https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/safety/rules/wheeled-devices/personal-mobility-devices

The Watson Report

TIME TO REFLECT ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

It has been a busy term with many examples of outstanding student achievement across all areas of the school in the last few weeks. All students should be proud of their achievements:

• Opti-MINDS team winning their Wide Bay category, now preparing for the QLD State Finals in October. Many of us were able to witness their creative and entertaining play at Arts Night. Good luck girls!
• Open Boys Volleyball team represented our school at the Senior School Cup on the Gold Coast. Playing against teams from all over Queensland, they placed 12^th in their division. Great effort boys!
• Spirit of North Day was a fun day to recognise and celebrate all things ‘North’. Thank you to Vanessa and Byron, our School Captains, for leading this event. It was an opportunity for all students to contribute to the year 12 mural, join in a free dress day, have selfies with Buddy Bear and eat RAS House inspired food! A fun day for all!
• Year 10 students have been very busy considering their futures, with CQU Experience Day, SET Planning Interviews, RYDA and this week participating in work experience. Year 10s, you will be well prepared to take on senior!
• Gala Day yesterday with teams across seven sports. From speaking with teachers, our students demonstrated teamwork and sportsmanship. Good job!
• CO2 Dragster Cars which is a year 9 curriculum activity, resulted in three students having their cars in the QLD Schools State Championships. These students did an amazing job, with two achieving a place!
• RAS House Tug-of-War Challenge, with the whole school on the oval in their RAS House competing for the honour of best RAS Class. Well done Walla A! It was a great way to spend a morning outside in the sunshine. There was even a tug-a-war event between senior students and teachers. I wonder who won?
• Arts Night last Wednesday evening, showcasing the incredible talents of our students. A night to remember! Many thanks to Helena and Charley, our year 12 Cultural Reps for leading the organisation of the event, a huge job, but worth the effort!

Thank you to all students for your commitment to extra-curricular activities, as these enrich your time at school and contribute to life-long learning. Have a safe and happy holiday.

RECOGNISING POSITIVE STUDENT BEHAVIOUR

This week is when we celebrate amazing student attendance with Reward Day. Over 240 students qualified, achieving over 90% attendance for the ten week period. Students could choose from a tuckshop voucher, pizza party or Bargara Beach Trip. Please see the slide below with further information.

Students are collecting orange Gotchas, that have a focus on one of our school values, Respect. There are many new items for students to ‘cash in’ their Gotchas! Please see the slides below. Keep up the great work students.

DEALING WITH CONFLICT

At Junior Parade this week I spoke about resolving conflict and what students should do. Three steps: Stop and think, walk away, seek help. Seeking help can include; talking to a friend, reporting an issue, seek help from school support staff. Please see the slides below that were shared and discussed, as well as the ‘Do you need some help’ flyer that lists supports at school. The best way to deal with conflict is to seek help. It is never a good idea to confront someone in the playground. Staff will always assist students to come together to talk, away from other students and bystander behaviour. Learning to deal with conflict is a skill that we all use in life and school is a place to support students to do this.

Mrs Watson, Deputy Principal

Presentation Night

The Bundaberg North SHS annual Presentation Night ceremony will be held on Thursday, 13th October.  On this day we celebrate our students academic, cultural, sporting and service achievements with the major awards being presented at the end of the evening.  Award recipient names have been emailed to all student families and are available on the student Sharepoint site.  Please contact Mrs Sellers in the school office if you have any questions relating to the awards.

We would be delighted to have you join us to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our students.   Bookings are not necessary.  

Senior News - External Exams

External exams will be held for all General Subjects in weeks 4 - 7 (24^th October – 15^th November) of term 4. Year 12 students are only required to attend the relevant scheduled events, such as exams and tutorial sessions. There will be no regular classes for Year 12s during the external exam block. All students have been emailed their exam schedule.

The external exams will occur during two sessions each day:

AM session: exams commence at 9:00am

PM session: exams commence at 12:15pm

Transport and arrival

Students should ensure they have reliable transport and can arrive 30 minutes before their exam commences. After an exam session, students are expected to leave the school grounds promptly. If they do not have access to transport, they should contact Mr Wright via email ASAP to arrange supervision for any sessions they will be at school.

Equipment

Students have also received an equipment list via email. Please help your student to arrange the correct equipment for each exam session. You can view the equipment list here:

https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/senior/snr_ea_equipment_list.pdf

Protocols and conduct

Students have been sent the directions for students document. All students will need to comply with all aspect of the exam procedures. You can view the directions for students here:

https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/senior/snr_ea_directions_students.pdf

Uniforms

Students are required to wear full school uniform for all attendance, including exams, tutorials, catch-up sessions and prom/graduation preparation sessions.

Tutorial sessions for General Subjects

Tutorial sessions have been scheduled for most General subjects, to ensure students are able to receive feedback and support from their teachers during the exam block. Students should ensure they arrive promptly for tutorial sessions, and note that tutorial sessions may not be scheduled during their normal timetabled periods.

Catch-up sessions for Applied and VET subjects

Unless the subject teacher confirms that a student has completed all assessment and VET modules, students are expected to attend all scheduled catch-up sessions. Teachers will inform students if they are required for catch-up sessions.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding external exams, please email or call the school.

Arts Night 2022

On Wednesday evening the talents of Bundaberg North SHS students were on show at 'Arts Night 2022'.  The annual event once again showcased a wide range of student talents from an exhibition of visual art, comedy, singing, creative short films, artistic aerial movement to the organisation of the event itself.  Year 12 students Charley and Helena headed a crew of students to plan and deliver a fantastic night of entertainment and it was very encouraging to see the event so well supported by families and fellow students.  Well done to all.

Arts Night

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Sports Gala Day

THE SENIOR NETBALL team came together for the last time for BDSSA Netball 2022 as most of these players are in Year 12. It was a great day of sport, friendship and laughs. The team had some wins and a few losses but at the end of the day they all had fun and represented North well.

The JUNIOR NETBALL team played very well throughout the day winning their second game against Shalom 17-8 and coming very close in all of their other games.  The team played well together and show great promise for the coming years.  All girls displayed great team spirit and represented the school with pride. 

THE JUNIOR GIRLS Football team showed great ‘North Spirit’. A team full of first timers, but they all tried hard and are already making plans for next year.

The SENIOR Boys Basketball teams did themselves and the school proud. They were competitive in every game and showed great team spirit and sportsmanship.

Junior boys finished 3^rd overall. They played really well, winning their games against Shalom and Bundaberg State High School. Maveric played well all day with his scoring and rebounding and Eric was a standout as well with his 3-pointers, rebounds and blocks. Overall, the boys had a really fun day and look forward to playing again.

Our girls Oz Tag team met on Tuesday to participate in Gala day on what turned out to be a beautiful spring day. In our first game we played Bundaberg State High School. We went into half time 2-0 down and after Taya giving instructions to the team they went out and worked together to end the game in a draw. Aleara scored two tries, one off her own grubber kick and another from weaving through the defence to level the game. Unfortunately, the girls went down 6-3 in their second game of the day against St Luke's. Aleara again scored a try off her own kick and one from a sprint down the side line, rounding off the day scoring all our tries for North High. Special mention to Tarnay for two close tries and Bella and Leshae for running down a girl to secure a try saver. It was wonderful to see the girls work as a team in an unfamiliar sport and end the day with smiles on their faces. 

Reef guardian Eco-Challenge

2022 Reef Guardian Student Eco-Challenge!

Do you have a great idea that will help protect the Great Barrier Reef? It could be a product, service, app, or technology that could be used in your school, home, or local community.

The Challenge:

The Reef Authority is seeking support from a new eco-friendly business to help address an environmental issue facing the Great Barrier Reef. In teams of 2 to 4 students, you will need to:

1) Research a current issue relating to the Great Barrier Reef

2) Use your STEAM skills to identify a possible solution to the issue

3) Prepare a 2-minute video pitch to explain how your eco-friendly business idea will help address the issue

If you are interested in being part of a team for the Eco-Challenge, come along to the Planeteers meeting this Thursday in the library classroom, J04, at second break. We will work out our teams and start to investigate environmental issues and solutions.

Mrs Roberts, Planteers Coordinator

GP bookings now open!

Appointments are now available to visit the GP each Tuesday at North High.  Students can make bookings by scanning the QR code above, which takes them to the school webpage, where they click on the MAKE A BOOKING box.  Alternatively appointments can be made simply by emailing GP@bundabergnorthshs.eq.edu.au.  

Bookings are completely confidential, as are all emails sent to this address.  So, if you would like to provide feedback you can also do this by emailing GP@bundabergnorthshs.eq.edu.au

CO2 Dragsters

Year 9 Material and Technology students were selected from our school C02 Dragster competition to compete at the QLD State Championships in September. Five participants across QLD were given a Judge’s Choice award and our Bundaberg North students Ethan and Zahlia were both selected for one of these awards. A number of students have been selected to compete at the National Championships in October so stay tuned for the results. Mr Monsen also entered the teachers’ division and came 3^rd in the state and will also be going to Nationals. Good luck to all participants and congratulations!

Emily Kresew, Design and Technologies teacher

P&C News

Our tuckshop is looking for volunteers. Please email Jacky our convenor if you are able to offer any help jburt144@eq.edu.au 

We are always looking for new Committee members. The P&C meets once each month to discuss matters of concern to the school and the school community.  If you would like to connect to the P&C but are not able to attend meetings in person, we are happy to have you join the meeting via Teams or phone.  Meetings are held on the second Thursday of every month in the conference room in A Block and commence at 6:00pm.  You will find meeting dates on the school websites event calendar. 

www.facebook.com/bundabergnorthhighpandc

pandc@bundabergnorthshs.eq.edu.au

Mrs Shelley Hansen, P&C President 

Heywire competition calling for entries

Know a young person with a story to share? The ABC's Heywire competition is looking for young people aged 16-22 who are living in regional, rural or remote Queensland to share what life is like in their part of the world.

ABC's Heywire Competition has been around for the past 23 years, celebrating the lives and stories of young, regional Australians. Winning Heywire stories are played on regional and metropolitan ABC radio stations, triple j, Radio National, ABC TV and iView.  

Young people can share a story of their lived experience in Bundaberg their way: up to 400 words, a 2-3 minute audio recording, a 2-3 minute video or a photo essay. Go to abc.net.au/heywire to enter by September 16. 

Stymie - #saysomething

What does Stymie do for young people?

Of every 30 young people in Australia seven will be dealing with a mental health issue, yet only two will reach out for support. Stymie works with you to give the young people you are working with, the power to say something or ask for help. We are an early intervention initiative that changes and saves lives.

Stymie empowers young people to ask for help when they need support, or if they are seeing or experiencing harm.

Stymie provides online reporting for schools. Encrypted, anonymous notifications are delivered within seconds to authorised recipients, who respond according to their wellbeing framework. The notification provides the option to include screenshots or images that validate the notification.

Being able to anonymously report, relieves feelings of helplessness for those who want to help their peers but don’t quite know how. Our purpose is to support you in creating an environment where harm can be minimised and effective action can be maximised.

Stymie can be used by anybody. It does not have to be a student at our school. The link to make a notification is on the school website front page

Important dates

Support for families & community