BNSHS Newsletter September 2nd 2020

From the Principal's office

Term 3 holidays are fast approaching and students are preparing for assessment.  Our Year 12s in particular, are preparing for the first external examination period that is to be conducted under the new QCE (Queensland Certificate for Education) system.  In Term 4 all Year 12 students studying general subjects will undergo a 17 day external exam block.  There will be a series of tutorials and ‘catch up’ sessions being run during this time for all students.  More information about the timetable details and student attendance will be provided by the senior schooling team shortly.

This Friday, 4th September is a Student Free day.  Staff will be involved in professional development activities throughout the day and  students are not required to attend.

We continue to respond to the COVID guidelines and are working on how to conduct our Annual Presentation Parade and Presentation Night ceremonies on October 14^th.  Restrictions to the number of adults attending gatherings challenges the way that we can conduct the ceremony.  We do intend to recognise and celebrate the achievements of our students but this year it will have to be done in a different manner.  We will notify you of the details of the ceremonies by the end of term, bearing in mind that if COVID restrictions change again, so too might the way we conduct our ceremony this year.

The Year 12 Prom is still being planned but once again the format will be determined by the COVID guidelines.  We still intend at this stage, to hold the Prom at the Brothers’ Club on November 19^th. 

Year 10 students and their parents attended our Subject Selection Evening on August 17^th.  We are now inviting parents to attend the SETP (Senior Education Training Plan) interviews with their Year 10 student to discuss subject selections and their pathway for senior (from 11-18 September).  Bookings can be made through  the Student Online Booking System (SOBS) or by ringing the office on 4130 0222. 

Interschool sport has been running for 5 weeks now and will culminate in a Winter Finals day on September 15^th.  Teams selected to play in the finals will be notified by their coach and details of their competition will be provided.  Good luck to all our teams.

Finally, I would like to congratulate our ATSIAP (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aspirations Program) challenge team who placed 2^nd in the North Coast region.  ATSIAP is an academic challenge for eligible students in Years 7 and 8 that builds upon students' critical and creative thinking skills by providing opportunities to investigate solutions for real-world STEM challenges. Well done to our ATSIAP team – an Outstanding achievement. 

 Robyn Kent

SETP Interviews - Year 10 students and parents - last days

This term, year 10 students have been creating their Senior Education and Training Plans (SET Plans). A vital part of the process, is the SETP interview, where parents/guardians and students make final decisions about future pathways, including subject selection for senior school, and parents/guardians sign off on the plan. SETP interviews for all year 10 students will be held unitl 18^th of September. If your student has not had a SETP interview please book now by following the link below, or by calling the school office on 4130 0222.

Year 10 business venture

Students, get behind your fellow students and support their business venture on September 11th.

First Aid certificates for Yr 12 Rec students

Last term, through their first aid unit, the Year 12 Recreation students had the opportunity to gain their First Aid Certificate for the small price of $40. Despite, only a few students taking up the opportunity it was great to see them commit and finish the course to gain their qualification. The students completed the course via an online platform and then the practical first aid assessment was completed by a First Aid Instructor, which lucky for them was their Recreation teacher. Students have been encouraged to put their certificate in their resume and all students have been emailed a digital copy of their certificates for future reference. 
Recreation Coordinator – Miss Tibbey

Sport - Winter finals

Winter finals for interschool sport will be held on Tuesday 15^th September.  Currently North High have only the girls netball competing in the finals, with the open girls football yet to qualify.  There will be three netball teams proudly competing for our school, Year 9, Year 10 and Opens.

Students must arrange their own transport to and from the netball courts, and due to covid restrictions for school sport, parents are not able to remain on the grounds to watch.

Students should arrive 8:30am and arrange to be collected at 2pm.  A canteen will be operating and water and shade will be provided.  Players will receive a letter with more details.

Mr Thatcher, Sports Coordinator

Opti-minds...but not as we know it

Bundaberg North’s strong tradition in the state Opti-minds challenge continued last week with four teams representing years 7 to 11 competing in the COVID compliant version of the event. For those unware Opti-minds is a team challenge which promotes creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and sustainability. Teams had six weeks to design a ten minute video performance complete with props and costumes to communicate their ideas. This year our teams were challenged to take a popular character from one well-known story and transport them to the world of another well-known story. Our teams chose some classic characters including Dora the Explorer and Winnie the Pooh transporting them into the worlds of Little Red Riding Hood, Click Clack Moo and The Paper Bag Princess.

These students spent a large portion of their own time developing their scripts and costumes and each group came together on the day to create some truly memorable performances. Most importantly each group participated in the event with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and overall they once again demonstrated why Bundaberg North is home to some of the region’s most creative people.

Free dress day - Wednesday 9th September

Students can dig out their brightest NEON for next Wednesday's free dress day.  A gold coin donation is all that is required to don your brightest neon yellow and hot hot pink for the day.  Money raised will go to Student Council projects.  Students must still wear closed-in shoes and follow uniform guidelines in relation to sun safety and decency.

ATSIAP takes 2nd place

Bundaberg North State High School is proud to announce it has achieved a top 2 in the North Coast Region for the annual Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Aspirations Program (ATSIAP). This challenge develops skills in: research, writing, oral tasks, persuasiveness and organising information. Students in the Junior School; Bianca, Kayne Corey, Indicah, Paige and K’Larni have spent the past few weeks of their RAS & parade lessons conducting research & developing their arguments, and Bianca’s presentation received 2nd place in the North Coast Region. We are waiting for further details about whether or not BNSHS will be invited to the State Finals, as the department considers the impact of COVID-19. Congratulations, students, on a very successful outcome! 

Mr Alberts, Community Education Counsellor

Yr 10 Campus Connect at CQU

On Tuesday, 18th of August, the first group of  Year 10 students from SETP classes were invited to participate in the Campus Connect program hosted by CQUniversity Bundaberg. This program is designed to provide an insight into university and TAFE life, allowing students to increase their knowledge of future pathways and the benefits of pursuing further qualifications. Students participated in several interactive sessions with university staff, lecturers and students to raise awareness about their career pathways and to assist in future subject selection. Students were praised for their participation within sessions and had an enjoyable time speaking with lecturers and current students. We would like to thank Miss Coulton, Mrs Coates and CQUniversity Bundaberg for the organisation of this event.

Vanessa Van Rooijen and Byron Lerch

Planeteers lunch time clean up

 Today the North High Planeteers coordinated a lunch time school clean up event. We were pleased to see many other students join us to clean up the school grounds, helping to prevent plastics from being washed into waterways and ending up in the reef. Thank you to all the volunteers. The Planeteers would like to remind students to use the bins provided around the school to dispose responsibly of their rubbish and to try to reduce the amount of rubbish in their lunchboxes by avoiding pre-packaged snacks and using reusable packaging such as beeswax wraps or containers.

Business advice for Year 11

Year 11 students were recently able to have all their questions answered about Australian Apprenticeships and Traineeships when four local business people attended the school for a Question and Answer session.

Clyde Garson – Mechanical Engineer, Bundaberg Walkers Engineering, Wendy Powell – Apprentice Field Consultant, MEGT, Karen McMonigal – Safety and Culture Senior Manager, Bundaberg Brewed Drinks and Annie Springate – Organisational Development Team, Bundaberg Council volunteered their time to attend.

The company representatives spoke about the core business of their organisation and about their employment procedures.  Students were able to ask questions and each business representative answered the question in relation to their employment practices and procedures.

At the end of the session, students had a better understanding of what an Australian Apprenticeship involves, the best way to apply for an Apprenticeship and where to look for advertised positions. Students were also given valuable information on resumes, cover letters and interviews.

Year 11 students would like to thank the guest speakers for their time and valued assistance.  

Ms Nicholls, Industry Liaison Officer

BYOxLink - Change for ALL students

Bundaberg North SHS's BYOD connection to the school network is changing to BYOxLink.  Education Queensland has developed BYOxLink specifically for all Qld state schools.

This means that ALL students must change to the new BYOxLink prior to the cutover on Monday, 7th September to continue to connect to our school network.  Students can onboard their device to the new BYOXLink prior to the cutover date, at their home or a public internet connection by using the help videos on student Sharepoint.  

Important dates

P&C back to basics

P&Cs Qld is continuing with their Back to Basics series and will be in the Bundaberg area next week. If you would like to attend please register using the link below as catering is provided by the P&C Tuckshops.

 Saturday 5 September – Bundaberg North SHS 9.00am – 3.30pm register here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/pcs-qld-north-coast-area-workshops-bundaberg-tickets-113847611270

 We are complying with the COVID-19 operating guidelines for state schools and advice from the Chief Health Officer. Please DO NOT attend if unwell.