BNSHS Newsletter 11 October 2023

From the Principal's office

 October 9 – Week 2 Term 4

It is that time of year when we acknowledge and celebrate the contributions and achievements of our students at our Annual Presentation Ceremonies.  I would like to congratulate all our students who received recognition for their achievements in academic, sporting, cultural and service fields.  It was wonderful to see so many students receiving awards for their effort and commitment this year.  On Tuesday 10^th October we held our Presentation Parade and Presentation evening and I would like to thank our sponsors, special guests, parents and family members for attending the ceremonies to support their children.

Our Year 12 students will be completing their studies at the end of week 3 and then commencing a 17 day external exam period before their Graduation ceremony on November 15^th and Prom on November 16^th.  We wish all our Year 12s the best of luck as they complete their final assessments.

Over the September holidays 52 students, 4 staff and a parent went on the ski trip.  I want to congratulate all students on an excellent trip and returning with no broken bones!  We have received very positive feedback from a range of people acknowledging the good behaviour of the students.  Thank you to Mr Williams, Mrs Watson, Mr Cameron, Ms Foskett and Mrs Lerch for accompanying the students.  Well done to the ski trippers!

This term we will be continuing to work with staff and resources from our North Coast Regional office and Queensland Police to assist with addressing the events and challenges we faced at the end of last term. Last week we had an audit conducted of our North Support Structure and an officer from North Coast Regional (NCR) met with a range of staff and students to gain feedback about what was happening at North and suggestions for improving support practices.  We will be continuing to work the NCR to make recommendations for implementing new/revised practices.  Staff will be undertaking a range of professional development to enhance practices.

Last week we received design plans for the redevelopment of the B Block toilets.  We recognise that the outdated toilet block is in need of an upgrade to assist with providing floor to ceiling individual cubicles and a more visible facility to improve safety and hygiene for students. This redevelopment is planned to be completed by early 2024.  This has been in response to feedback from students, parents and staff and in particular to the feedback around students vaping.  In the last newsletter you will have seen some resources pertaining to vaping to assist parents and students.

Finally, I want to remind you that in 2024 there will be a state-wide mobile phone ban for students at State High Schools.  Phones and wearable devices such as smart watches and earpods must be ‘away for the day’.  We will be providing more details about this throughout the term but students have been reminded of this on parade last week and need to be working on how they are going to manage this from the start of 2024.

Robyn Kent, Principal

Final weeks for Year 12

Last weeks of Year 12 classes

Year 12s will complete their last day of timetabled classes on Friday 20 October. Students are expected to complete and submit all assessment on or before their due dates whilst continuing to uphold all school behaviour and attendance expectations. If students do not submit assessment by due dates or don’t sit their external exams, attendance at Formal and or Graduation will be reviewed. AARA forms will need to be completed for any students who are unwell and unable to complete assessment on due dates. Please contact Deputy Principal, Natalie Brandon if needing an AARA as soon as you can.

Year 12 Exam Block (23 Oct to 13 Nov) 

Attached is the Exam Schedule including Study Sessions. This has previously been emailed to all year 12 students and their parents. Students are reminded to be at school at least 15mins prior to their exams to ensure we can start on time. If students are absent for an exam, early notification to the school is needed. If a student is late, they may not be admitted to the exam depending on the time they arrive, thus it is extremely important that students have reliable methods of transport to school for their exams and alarm clocks etc to be up in time.

Year 12 Formal

Students attending the formal MUST purchase their ticket at the school office prior to the end of October. Students and parents have been emailed about this including the Clearance Form that needs to be completed prior to collecting their ticket. All students should have entered their car details for the arrivals and also added themselves to the tables for seating arrangements. Links to these documents have been emailed to the Year 12s. 

Students are encouraged to have formal photos taken with families and friends (especially those external to the school) prior to arrival at the Formal as there is limited space and time for this to occur at the venue. Only current Year 12 students and staff will be allowed in the venue for the Formal.

Natalie Brandon, Deputy Principal Senior School

Year 9, 10 and 11 Students

Nominations now open for the myQCE Student Reference Group.

The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) is recruiting new members for the myQCE Student Reference Group in 2024. The group gives students the chance to have their say about the QCE system processes and senior schooling. Queensland students who will be in Year 10, 11 or 12 in 2024 are eligible to apply. The group meets four times per year and membership is ongoing until students graduate from Year 12. Nominations close on Friday 27 October 2023 — for more information and to nominate, visit the myQCE website 

Presentation Ceremonies 2023

Tuesday 10th October was a special date on the North High calendar.  At a special Presentation morning Parade, students were presented with certificates for Service to the School, Cultural Participation and School Sport along with Reach for the Sky awards.  After years of COVID restrictions, it was a pleasure to welcome back parents to our morning ceremony.  Congratulations to our award recipients.

Presentation Parade

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Our academic awards ceremony was held on Tuesday evening and was a special night for many students whose dedication to their study was celebrated and rewarded.   At Bundaberg North State High School we present a Dux award in each year level and warm congratulations go to the students who received this award.  Please see the list of major award winners below.  

We sincerely thank the sponsors and those who have supported North High throughout the year, including parents and families of our students.  

We are very proud of the achievements of all award recipients and thank parents, carers, family members and all who supported their students.   

Presentation Night

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First Nations partnership

The Local Community Engagement Through Co-design (LCETC) model aims to assist the Department of Education to work with First Nation Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to elevate their voices and utilise cultural protocols and knowledges in schools through a process of co-design.

From this program the Bundaberg North State High School (BNSHS) Local Community Education Body (LCEB) was formed.

The LCEB consists of First Nation’s Aboriginal  Elders, parents, grandparents, and community members, a Torres Strait Islander member and also BNSHS First Nation CEC’s and Principal, the Community Partnerships Officer - Indigenous Education and a Project Officer from First Nations Strategy and Partnerships (Engagement Team) Department of Education.

Through this partnership we endeavour to support and improve the outcomes for our First Nation students at BNSHS.

If you have any queries, would like more information or are interested in participating in the project in some form or capacity,  please contact the First Nations CEC’s at BNSHS. Together we’ll endeavour to support our First Nations school community at BNSHS.

Ecoman

Day 1 of ECOMAN hosted by @Ulton Accountants has arrived! Year 11 Business students Sophie, Kye, Jack, Byron and Zeke are learning about a “real” business over the three day program. This morning, students began their day by appointing themselves as positions within the business such as CEO, Finance, Personnel (HR), Production and Marketing/Sales. They are required to work as a team to bring a struggling coffee machine company, UBarista, back from possible bankruptcy in order to satisfy key shareholders. We wish the students well and look forward to hearing how the first day of trading went.

Legal Studies group hit the city

On Thursday, 14 students from our senior legal studies class went down to Brisbane. First up, we were fortunate to have a guided tour through the Supreme Court Library. The students were most excited to see the massive Donoghue V Stevenson poster in the British section; they had been learning about that case in Semester 1. Then we got a variety of cases to choose from to watch, we observed two cases including the sentencing of someone charged with trafficking a dangerous drug and assault in the Supreme Court, and in the District Court a grievous bodily harm charge. Students finished the day with a tour of Parliament House where they not only got to participate in a mock conscience vote, but got to watch a heated sitting in the House of Representatives.

Amy Wilson, Legal Studies Teacher

Options for making payment

To assist families when making payments to the school, Bundaberg North State High School has a number of payment options are available.  

Small regular payments make it so much easier to pay fees and excursions. You can easily set up regular payments by the various methods listed on our Payment Options document which you will find at the link below.

Please feel free to contact our finance department who will be happy to help you set this up, or help answer any questions you may have.  

Australia Day Awards 2024

Next Step Summary

The Next Step Summary provides comprehensive information about the employment, study and life choices of Year 12 completers approximately six months after completing Year 12 in Queensland Government, Catholic and Indepencent schools.  

CoralWatch Youth Ambassador Program

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 

Friday 5 for Term 4, 2023

If you would like to register for your student's Friday 5 attendace for TERM 4, please use the link below. You are able to re-use this link throughout the term and update it as required.

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

Containers for Change program

Bundaberg North SHS supports the Containers for Change program and raises money for student resources.  If you have empty bottles or cans and would like to donate them to North High we would be very grateful.   You can either bring them to school office and staff will give them to the Tuckshop or you can take them to one of the recycling depots and quote our school code – C10002160.  

Thank you for helping our school and the environment.

QParents in 2025 at BNSHS

QParents is all about making parents’ lives easier. QParents is a safe, private app to help parents and caregivers manage important details about their child’s education. Once you are registered, you can sign in securely and- Make payments online- Check your student’s timetable, assessment calendar and report cards- Inform the school of your student’s past or future absence- See upcoming events- View enrolment details- Update your contact details.

From 2025, the school will be asking all parents to submit their consent for excursions through QParents. Click the link below for more information or contact the school to arrange for your unique invitation code to start your registration process.

You can watch the introductory video at the link below to learn more about QParents and how it can work for you.

QPARENTS INTRODUCTORY VIDEO

Important dates