BNSHS Newsletter 11 September 2024

From the Principal's Office

R U Ok Day

R U Ok was the theme of this week’s RAS - Wellbeing program. Tomorrow staff and students will be showing their support for mental health awareness and the importance of talking about issues through participation in the Staff v Student Volleyball, colouring in in the Library or engaging with Headspace at their a pop-up stand at lunchtime.

In RAS students watched a short clip-on ways to check in with friends:

Thank you to Mrs Thornton and the Student Support team for organising these activities this week but also being a great support for students’ mental health throughout the year. Thank you to the Better Buddies and Buddy Bear for your support of students making positive connections with each other.

Nurse Practitioner commencing Term 4

We know how important it is to support our students’ physical and mental health, which is why our school is proud to be participating in the GPs in State Schools Program. The program provides secondary students at 50 schools with free access to a GP or Nurse Practitioner service at school.

I am excited to let you know that we have secured a Nurse Practitioner to operate our school-based clinic. I would like to introduce Claire Bayliss (Nurse Practitioner) who will be joining our team from the first week of next Term. Claire will provide the majority of services that students would be able to access at a community-based healthcare clinic. Students can see Nurse Practitioner: Claire for any physical, mental, or sexual and reproductive health concerns.

Our school’s Nurse Practitioner clinic is taking bookings now for Thursday 3 October. The clinic is open between 8:30 AM – 3:00PM. It is hoped the service will be a fortnightly service.

Students are encouraged to talk to their Year Coordinator or one of the Support Services team for more information. They can make an appointment via the office.

Arts Night

Last Wednesday I, along with a sizeable crowd, were witness at the 2024 Arts Night! It was a fun night showcasing our very talented students – from singing to instrumental music groups to a drama performance and duets or solo performances. This was all live whilst we were also treated to the talents of our Media students work showcasing their cinematography skills. Thank you to the Arts Department staff and their HOD – Mr Guy Cooper who pulled the night together!

Prev

Showing images 1 - 8 of 28

Next

Phone reminder

As you know, this year the Government introduced the phone policy for all State Schools – “Away for the Day”. The benefit of this policy cannot be underestimated as it has been extremely beneficial to students and school operation on so many levels. All schools report that the drop in anti-social behaviour has been dramatic, every Year Coordinator and Deputy Principal will tell how much less conflict we are dealing with as a result of this ban. Phones are not out for conflict to be pursued nor can photos be taken and shared.

Most encouraging is the increased positive social interaction we are witnessing in the school grounds, students talking with each other. There is significantly less conflict occurring between students. Students even report how much more relaxed they can be at school as they are not worrying about who or what is being said on ‘socials’ or if there are photos being taken.

Then of course there is the obvious improvement in classroom engagement that has also resulted with no access to phones and their accessories.  

With all these benefits, it is then disappointing that we are seeing an increase recently of students ‘sneaking’ their phones out, sitting in toilets, calling parents to come pick them up or taking photos of each other when they think they aren’t being monitored. I have given reminders to students this week of the need to adhere to this policy and for teachers to enforce our procedure. If you student is found with a Phone or any associated accessory eg speaker / ear buds, they will be required to hand them into the office for the day, picking them up at the end of the day for the occasions and parents informed via text message. On the third occasion there will be a warning issued of a possible suspension if this continues.

Please ensure you are not encouraging student use of phones during school hours.

Term 3 BDSSS Concludes

Last week saw the last of the fixtures for Term 3 sport. I would like to commend all the students who represented the school, taking up this opportunity afforded to them by the following staff who committed to training and playing time outside of their normal duties.

Term 3 BDSSS Sport Coaches

TOUCH FOOTBALL

Y7/8 Boys: Year 12 students: Hayden & Bailey  (Mr Moore assisting)

Y7/8 Girls: Mr Moore & Miss Naughton

Y9/10 Boys: Mr Elphinstone

Y9/10 Girls: Miss Gold

Y11/12 Boys: Mr Verwimp

Y11/12 Girls: Mr Cooper

BASKETBALL

Y7/8 Boys: Mr Holt

Y9/10 Boys: Mrs Hearn

Y11/12 Boys: Mr Kenway

Ten Pin Bowling - Mrs Foskett

Table Tennis - Mrs Sudasinghe

Congratulations must go to the Yr 7/8 Boys and Girls Touch teams, the Yr 11/12 Boys Basketball and the Table Tennis team who all made it through to their final’s day! Well Done!  

Prom Invitations

This week Year 12 students received their official invitation to their Prom on the 14^th November via email. Whilst the vast majority have been diligently working towards their QCE and upholding the school expectations as outlined in their Senior Agreement, there is a very small percentage of students who unfortunately have not received their invitation at this point. Those students are encouraged to make an appointment with me after the holidays.

I would like to thank Mrs Coates (Year Coordinator) and Mrs Prince (Industry Liaison Officer) for their work with the year 12s in organising the Prom and the subsequent fundraising that has occurred across the year. This has enabled the cost per student to be one of the most affordable I have seen for many years at $70 per student. This can be further reduced for those students who have sold multiple boxes of chocolates across the year and through the Rewards system and their collection of Gotchas! Thank you, ladies, for your work to make our 2024 Prom so affordable for our students!

Newsletter

From next term, we are issuing our Newsletter every three weeks, therefore look out for newsletters in weeks 1, 4, 7 and 10. We are happy to receive feedback on our newsletters, if you have any suggestions, please email me on the principal@bundabergnorthshs.eq.edu.au email address.

QParents – download it!

Lastly from me is an encouragement for parents to sign up to Q Parents. It is the department’s application created to provide parents with digital access to administrative processes and a range of their children’s OneSchool data.

From next year, we will be utilising Q Parents for all permission forms therefore we encourage families to download the app as soon as possible to become familiar with its functions.

QParents provides a parent anytime access from a computer, tablet or smartphone to:

• view their child’s timetable
• update attendance records
• view behaviour information
• pay invoices, view outstanding payments and payment history
• view their child’s report cards (from any state school)
• update medical information.

Establishing this digital connection with parents and caregivers enables schools to achieve significant workload reductions, particularly in administrative processes, such as attendance and consent management.

I encourage you to watch this explanation video as it showcases the features of QParents and the process for logging in.

Natalie Brandon, Principal 

The Watson Report

NORTH REWARDS

Last week we recognised positive behaviour at North with two events. On Wednesday we celebrated the efforts of students who achieved 100% attendance in semester 1, with an Attendance Luncheon. There was an amazing variety of food, including nachos, pizza and vegemite puffs and cool cordial.  Thank you to the year 11/12 Hospitality students, under the guidance of Mrs Liddell for preparing and serving the food. Visit our Facebook page for photos of the event.

On Thursday, it was Gotcha ‘Cash In’ Day with over 8000 Gotchas ‘cashed in’ for hot chips, soft drink or iced coffee or a chocolate Breaka. Thank you, students, for demonstrating our school values of Respect, Responsibility and Safety, to earn Gotchas! Check out some photos on our Facebook page.

There is currently the opportunity for staff, students and parents/carers to provide feedback about the North Rewards program through a survey. Please access the survey using the QR code below. You can also provide feedback by contacting Mrs Watson on rwats34@eq.edu.au or 4130 0222.

PRESENTATION NIGHT

The 2024 BNSHS Presentation Night is only a few weeks away! We have two ceremonies on Thursday 10 October. One in the morning and one in the evening. Publication of award recipients will be next week. We’re looking forward to sharing the amazing sporting, cultural and academic achievements of students at North. All parents/carers and families are invited to attend. Please see the invitation below.

REMINDERS

Over the last week students have been reminded of bus area and oval expectations. Both places require students to follow rules and procedures to ensure the safety of all staff and students. Please see the bus expectations and oval reminders that have been shared with students.

Rebecca Watson, Deputy Principal 

Sport at North

Friday is North Highs 2024 Swimming Carnival, it will be a great day of competition and fun for all students. 

Students will travel by bus to and from Norville Pool and will return to school by 3pm. Reminder that there is no Friday 5 on this day. 

Please remind students to bring their hats, water bottles and lunch. There will also be a canteen operating at the pool on the day. The theme of the day is 'House Spirit' so students can come dressed in their house colours. 

We look forward to sharing with you in the next newsletter the results and fun from the day. 

Arts Night Success

On a memorable evening filled with creativity, passion, and inspiration, our school’s annual Arts Night came to life, showcasing the incredible talents of our students across a wide range of artistic disciplines. From live music to captivating performances and striking visual displays, the night proved to be a stunning celebration of the arts.

The event kicked off with an enchanting performance by the Strings Orchestra, whose delicate harmonies filled the auditorium with an atmosphere of elegance. Following this, the Concert Band took to the stage, delivering a powerful and lively set that had the audience tapping their feet and swaying to the rhythm. Their skilful performance of both classical and contemporary pieces demonstrated the students' hard work and dedication, leaving the audience thoroughly impressed.

The evening continued with a mix of impressive solo and duet performances, ranging from vocal and dance showcases to an incredible piano solo. Stunning artworks from Visual Art were displayed, alongside short films from the Media Arts and Film, Television, and New Media students and we all enjoyed the dramatic performance by the Drama Club.

As the night drew to a close, the Staff Band rocked the crowd with their energetic set, followed by the lively performance of the Sand Geckos, bringing the evening to an exciting finale.

A huge thank you to all involved in making this celebration of The Arts a truly unforgettable experience!

Guy Cooper, Head of Department - The Arts

Important dates

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.

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

Year 7, 2025 enrolments open

Intention to enrol at BNSHS - 2025

We are beginning to gather information on students looking to enrol at North High in 2025.  We ask that you complete this form, which records your 'intention to enrol' but is not an official enrolment document.  Using the details you submit below, we will provide you with an enrolment pack to complete and return to the school. We also require emergency contact and medical details for your student to enable them to attend our Year 6 to 7 Transition Day in Term 4 (Details of this event will be provided closer to the day).

To check if your student is in the catchment for Bundaberg North SHS, the map is available at catchment map

First Name of student *

Last Name of student *

Date of birth of student *

Name of siblings currently enrolled at North High

Parent Name *

Address *

Parent email address

Parent contact phone number *

What school does your student currently attend * Please SelectBundaberg North SSMoore Park Beach SSOakwood SSGooburrum SSKolan South SSSharon SSAvondale SSYandaran SSOther

If you selected 'other' please name the school your student currently attends

I have checked the BNSHS catchment map and I am *

IN the catchment

NOT in the catchment

What year level will your student be in in 2025 * Please Select789101112

How would you like to receive your 2025 Enrolment Pack? * Please SelectElectronically to my email address aboveHard copy to collect from my student's primary schoolHard copy that I will collect from North HighHard copy given to sibling who currently attends BNSHS

Please list any of your student's special interests, achievements, involvement in extra-curricular activities

Please provide the name and contact details of an emergency contact *

Does your student have any medical or health related illnesses or issues that we should know about to keep your child safe whilst they are at our school. * Please SelectNoYes

If you said yes to the above question, please provide full details here

Comments or questions.

Submit

Loading...

Thank you for your submission. It has been received successfully. 

Friday 5, Term 4 2024

Friday 5 - Students remaining at school until 3pm Term 4, 2024