Bundaberg North State High School eNewsletter

From the Principal's office

Congratulations and farewell to Class of 2022

Last week saw the culminating activities for the graduating class of 2022. These events all occurred with a mix of trepidation and excitement by the students and sighs of relief and proud moments for the staff and parents alike. The events, from the final school parade and day of activities to the formal proceedings at the evening Graduation and the glitz and glamour of the Prom on Thursday night, all came together thanks to the efforts of a vast crew of staff. In particular, thanks go to Senior Schooling HOD, Mr Shield, and Deputy Principal, Mr Wright, for their coordination of the final day and Graduation and to Prom Coordinator, Mr Williams who all had a strong group of helpers to make the events fun and memorable for those in attendance. We thank them all for their efforts and trust that the Seniors enjoyed their last events here at Bundaberg North SHS.

I hope all the Seniors of 2022, are enjoying their newly found freedom this week. I wish each of them all the very best for the release of their results on the 16 December via My QCE / QTAC portals and hope that their results reflect the efforts they have made over their senior school years.

The Prom photo lift out will be in this week's Bundaberg Today newspaper (released Friday).

Final weeks of school

With the Year 12s leaving the school, focus is shifting to the other year levels and their successful completion of assessment and for Year 10 and 11 students, preparedness for their senior years as they finish this school year on Friday (25 November). Teachers are completing their marking and are preparing their reports for these students over the coming week with report cards being released to students on 9th December.

Years 7 to 9 will continue here at school for a further 2 weeks (upto 9 December). They will complete all assessment by Tuesday 29 November and will undertake an alternate program of curriculum activities from the 30th November. Whilst the alternate program is a more relaxed environment, it should be remembered that normal school expectations in terms of uniform, attendance, phone use and communicating respectfully is expected.

Year 6 Orientation

Next Wednesday, 30th November we will host our incoming 2023 Year 7 students for the day so they can familiarise themselves with our campus, form new friendships and meet some of their teachers. If you have a student in Year 6 and haven't enrolled them yet, please contact the school as soon as possible for enrolment applications/forms. Thank you to Shelley Thornton, Head of Department of Junior School and Student Services, who has pulled together a very engaging and informative program for the Year 6 students to experience next week.

Vaping

Vaping continues to be a concern for us here, and in many high schools. We, like most schools, are receiving regular communication from parents and community members who are totally surprised and appalled at the age students are vaping and the access to vapes that students appear to have. We continue to remind students that we are a government facility and as such, it is against the law to vape or smoke on our premise. Like all smoking devices, vapes are also a banned item at school. These facts are an aside to the obvious yet ignored health concerns that vaping causes or the cost of the device.

At this point it is important to remember, that we, State Schools, are a reflection of our broader society and that what we experience within our fence line, is merely a reflection of what is occurring outside of our fence. So I, like every other Principal will continue to enforce our policy which prohibits vapes or any other smoking equipment, because it is outlawed on our premises and it is against the law for many of students to possess due their age. However, I believe society has a larger issue that needs addressing. Where are the students obtaining these devices? Why are parents allowing under age students access to or supplying these potentially damaging devices to their students?

As I have said to many parents since this 'vaping phenomena' started, if your student wants to access their school free of these devices, they need to display courage and step up and inform the school as to who has them. They can do this via STYMIE which is anonymous. I encourage you to discuss this with your students and for parents to be in support of the school implementing consequences for those who are ignoring our expectations.

Mrs Natalie Brandon, Acting Principal

STYMIE - Anonymous reporting

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

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The Watson Report

Congratulations to year 10 and year 11 students

As the year 10 and year 11 students finish their school year, I would like to congratulate them on their efforts this year. This group of students have achieved a lot and should be proud of their efforts in all areas of schooling. The year 11 students will become our new school leaders. Year 12 is an exciting time for students with many milestones, but also many responsibilities. Year 11 students start their QCE journey and need to commit to their studies from day one. Enjoy your break and see you next year at North!

This Friday 25 November is Reward Day for our year 10 and year 11 students. Over one hundred students qualified, with a choice of a trip to the movies or a tuckshop voucher. Well done to these students! More than half the students chose to attend the movie: Black Panther – Wakanda Forever. Details about the day are included below.

Reward Day – years 7, 8 and 9

Reward day for the junior students is Tuesday 6 December. In the next few days, students who qualify for Reward Day, will be given a choice of reward: either visit to Norville Pool, including use of inflatables, from approximately 11am to 2.30pm, or $5 tuckshop voucher. Once students have made their selection, parents/carers of the students that choose the pool trip, will receive an electronic version of a permission form. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Recognising positive behaviour

Students have been busy collecting new green Gotchas, as well as many other colours! Students receive Gotchas when they demonstrate the school values of Respect, Responsibility and Safety. There are many options for students when they ‘cash in’ their Gotchas. All 2022 Gotchas must be ‘cashed in’ this year, as new Gotchas will be released next year. For further information, please see below.

Junior Certificate of Education (JCE)

At Bundaberg North SHS a Junior Certificate of Education (JCE) is awarded to students who have demonstrated a strong commitment to their learning throughout years 8 and 9. To earn a JCE, a student must achieve a C range academic result in English, Mathematics and Science across two consecutive semesters between semester 2 year 8 and semester 2 year 9. The student’s term 3, year 9 result can be considered for the semester 2, year 9 result.

During term 3, students at risk of not receiving their JCE participated in a monitoring process with support from their teachers and RAS Heads of Department. Most students have been able to improve their results enabling them to receive their JCE. The JCE ceremony is Tuesday 6 December at 9am. All students in years 7, 8 and 9 will be attending. Photos will be taken and made available for parents and carers. Congratulations to the year 9 students for their efforts this year.

Mrs Watson, Deputy Principal

Year 12 Graduation and Prom

We said goodbye and good luck to the 2022 Bundaberg North State High School Year 12 cohort last week as we watched them graduate, then celebrate the end of their schooling by attending the Prom. Proud parents attended the graduation ceremony in our school hall on Wednesday evening to see 13 years of their childs education come to an end. In a glittering finale, Brothers Sports Club hosted our students for their night of nights.

Prom 2022

Year 8 North High student Aleara, was nominated for the Australian Rugby League Junior Girls team 2024, and has accepted the offer. Congratulations to Aleara for her success with Rugby League and receiving this recognition by being selected for the team. In early 2024 she will travel to France and the United Kingdom for training and an international league competition. Well done Aleara!

Australian Mathematics Competition

The Australian Mathematics Competition is an online, 30-problem, maths competition that aims to demonstrate the importance and relevance of maths in students' everyday lives. It is run by the Australian Maths Trust and is open to students in Australia and New Zealand. Every year our students have the opportunity to participate in the competition.

This year 76 of our students participated in the junior (years 7-8), intermediate (years 9-10) and senior (years 11-12) divisions, gaining:

5 Distinction certificates
23 Credit certificates
39 Proficiency certificates
9 Participation certificates.

The student achieving the additional certificate of "Best in School" this year was year 8 student, Ezra. Students achieving distinctions and credits were presented with their certificates on year level parades this week. Other certificates will be given out in maths classes this week.

Congratulations to all students who participated in the competition this year.

Mrs Tracy Roberts, Acting Mathematics Head of Department

Recycling week

November 7^th to 13^th was National Recycling Week. Our Planeteers designed and made a mosaic recycling sign from discarded bottle tops and a cardboard box. Planet Ark started National Recycling Week in 1996 to focus attention on the environmental advantage of recycling. Recycling means less waste ending up in our environment or landfill, as well as fewer resources having to be mined each year. At Bundaberg North State High School, we collect Containers 4 Change bottles, poppers and cans in a bin near the Tuckshop entrance for recycling. We also have many yellow-lidded kerbside recycling bins around the school that students and staff can access. At home, you can collect discarded household batteries and take them to the town library, Battery World, Aldi or one of the council's waste facilities to be recycled. The council and Officeworks also have a variety of recycling options for items including e-waste. Look out for other recycling options in our community.

Mrs Tracy Roberts, Planeteers Coordinator

Jack is a CO2 winner

Some of our year 9 Materials and Technologies Specialisations students who competed at the Queensland State C02 Championships were then selected to go on to the National Championships in South Australia in October. Those students were Jack, Braydon, Kai, Charley, K’Larni, Ethan, Caleb, Kharma and Mathieu. There were 5 judges who each selected a C02 dragster based on the finish and design and Jack was selected for one of these awards so a special congratulations to Jack! Congratulations to all participants.

Mrs Kresew, ITD Teacher

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

Stymie - #saysomething

STYMIE

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

Raising Teens today

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

Next Step Survey

2023 Next Step Year 12 Completers Survey

A reminder that our Year 12 students will be invited to participate in the Next Step Year 12 Completers survey starting in March 2023. The short confidential survey will ask questions about graduates’ activities since finishing school, like study and work.

Graduates can expect to be invited to the survey via a letter from the Minister for Education or an email or phone call from the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office on behalf of the department. Please check your contact details are correct with your school and your learning account by logging into the student portal at https://myqce.qcaa.qld.edu.au/

We appreciate your participation in this important survey as it helps our school improve our senior services for future students. For more info visit www.qld.gov.au/nextstep.