129 Ravenshaw Street, Gloucester NSW 2422 / P 02 6558 1605 / F 02 6558 1229 www.gloucester-h.schools.nsw.edu.au / gloucester-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

GLOUCESTERHIGH SCHOOL

Quality education in a caring, innovative environment.

School Calendar 2020Monday 8 June Queens Birthday Public HolidayMonday 15 June P&C Meeting - 5.30pm at Gloucester Rec Centre Wednesday 17 June HSC Study Day - ChemistryTuesday 23 June HSC Study Day - Software Design & DevelopmentMonday 29 June - Friday 3 July Pre-NAIDOC Week CelebrationsWednesday 1 July HSC Study Day - BiologyWednesday 29 July HSC Study Day - Maths Extension

CANTEEN - Phone 65589963Tuesday 9 June ElonaWednesday 10 June Amanda MThursday 11 June MerrilynFriday 12 June Elona

Monday 15 June ElonaTuesday 16 June ShareeWednesday 17 June RayThursday 18 June Christina & CindyFriday 19 June Elona

NEWSLETTER Friday, 22 May 2020

Care Achievement Respect Effort Responsibilty

RECONCILIATION WEEK 2020We have had a week of recognition, a week of conversations and week of reflection about Australia and its first peoples. In roll call classes and general classrooms students and staff have been discussing the past and addressing some of the harder issues such as the stolen generation. We all agreed we must talk of these incidents as ‘stains’ on our history, as Kevin Rudd said in his ‘sorry speech’ back in 2008, and as a community and nation not let these stains happen again.

We also acknowledge we have a lot of work to do if we are to “Close the Gap”. Students identified a lot of areas within our community where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are currently disadvantaged, such as health and education. Also representation in government decision-making.

When asked “what would you do if you were in the government to help Close the Gap?” most students mentioned, as practical answers, changing the National Anthem, the flag or even Australia Day. In their conversations, most students wished we could all just get along, look after each other be proud of our culture which is Australian and Aboriginal. Our students have open minds and are not influenced by history. They just want us all to be one and realise we are all in this together.

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P&C MEETINGParents and Citizens are invited to attend the next Gloucester High School P&C meeting that will be held at the Rec Centre on Monday 15 June at 5.30pm.

Social distancing will be observed and sanitising equipment provided.

Diverse educational programs that challenge and inspire students

Jack Yarnold, Lachlan Harvey and Leon Macintosh showed great leadership in getting this project to completion.

RECONCILIATION WEEK 2020 continued...During Reconciliation Week all students collaborated to create an artwork of hands that represents us all together as one. Leon Macintosh, Lachlan Harvey and Jack Yarold showed great leadership in getting this project to completion. Lachlan Harvey also played his Digeridoo in the playground over several lunch times which really sounded great.

Thanks to all students and staff for your recognition of this week and your participation in the events created by our Aboriginal Education Team.

Mr Wisely, Deputy Principal, Aboriginal Education Coordinator

PRINCIPAL’S REPORTWe have had two weeks of full face to face lessons and the teachers are very pleased to have the students back in the classrooms. These last two weeks have enabled teachers to have a clearer understanding of where they are at with the units of work students have been doing while on COVID leave. For the majority of students, it has been a long-awaited time for them to reconnect with their friendship groups and for others it has been an anxious time after nearly 10 weeks at home. We have a number of support structures in place to assist students who are finding it difficult to get back into the structured routine at school or who are anxious about leaving home. In the online portals and on our school’s website there is information that may help your child overcome some of these difficulties or you can touch base with our school counsellor (Ms Roze Delaney), Learning and Support teacher (Mrs Margo Cameron), Head Teacher Wellbeing (Ms Myree Ribbons) or your child’s Year Adviser who can provide additional assistance. Further into this newsletter, is an article from Mrs Ribbons with information to support students during COVID-19.

I am asking for parent support to ensure your child is in the correct school uniform every day. We are a uniform school and the P&C have worked extremely hard to have items of the uniform readily available through the canteen for you to purchase. When families bring their child for a pre-enrolment meeting and during our transition meetings, both with the students and again with the parents, our expectations for students to wear school uniform is clearly communicated. If you have difficulty purchasing the uniform, please contact the school and arrangements can be made to assist you. Wearing a uniform: instils pride which is transferred into day to day activities; it is a much cheaper option over a long period of time rather than wearing fashionable/trendy alternatives which can be kept for the weekend and holidays; it develops a sense of belonging, for students who are out of uniform tend to stand out and attention is drawn to them; it is practice for when students leave school and enter a profession where a uniform is compulsory (nursing, government office, defence force, police, retail, mechanic workshops and so on) and it is necessary when students play in sporting teams.

Mrs Trudi Edman, Principal

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NEW SENTRAL PORTAL URL (WEBSITE) ADDRESSWe have experienced an upgrade from SENTRAL which has changed the way you access your SENTRAL Portal account. For a limited time there is a re-direction in place that will automatically take you to the new website, should you use the old address. Please note that is for a limited time giving you an opportunity for you to change your bookmarks or saved links to the new address.

NEW ADDRESS IS:

https://gloucester-h.sentral.com.au/portal

We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause. If you require assistance through this change, please contact our school office and request assistance from our Technology Support team.

If you are not a current Sentral Portal user and you would like to access this powerful tool which allows parents to access student information such as timetables, attendance, daily notices, newsletters, messaging to classroom teachers and booking Parent Teacher Interviews, please see our website for our easy stepped instructions: https://gloucester-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/parents--carers-and-the-community/parent-portal.html

Diverse educational programs that challenge and inspire students

WELLBEING DURING COVID-19 It has certainly been a challenging time for students, staff and parents. Student wellbeing remains an important foundation for achieving learning outcomes. Year Advisers, Girls/Boys Advisers and the Head Teacher Wellbeing support our students. Each year group now has a communication page either in Microsoft Teams or on Google Classroom. Students can communicate with each other in addition to contacting their Year Adviser about any concerns they have.

The majority of our students embraced online learning and learning from home very well whilst others found this change more challenging. Many of our students and parents received contact from Year Advisers during the lockdown period to see how learning from home was progressing and I wish to acknowledge their efforts in this area.

Online Learning Hub

Thank you also to Mrs Cameron (Learning and Support Teacher) and teaching staff who contributed content to the online Learning Hub for students. A great deal of time and effort went into this Hub to cover all subjects including Wellbeing. Thank you Mrs Cameron for the establishment of this valuable resource. Access is available on school’s website at: https://sites.google.com/education.nsw.gov.au/ghs-online-learning-hub/wellbeing. There are apps and websites on the learning hub that students and parents can access to assist with learning and wellbeing needs. There is also a NSW Department of Education Wellbeing Hub, which is located at: https://studentwellbeinghub.edu.au/.

Wellbeing Lessons

Upon returning to school, all students in Years 7-10 participated in a lesson called ‘Coping with Covid-19’. Students had the opportunity to discuss concerns about the pandemic such as not seeing friends and addressed ways to cope with anxiety due to change in schooling and daily life.

‘Bounce the Lockdown’ Lunchtime Initiative

‘Bounce the Lockdown’ room is another wellbeing initiative. This will be running for the next 10 school days. The focus is mental health fitness with students able to access a number of apps and websites for support. This is also an opportunity for students to talk about things with a teacher or just have a break from the playground. We acknowledge that getting back to ‘normal’ is going to be challenging for all of us.

Year 7, 2021 Year Adviser

Mr Cameron, Year 7 Year Adviser for 2021 has been busy recording a video with Mr Wisely for students who will be starting Year 7 at our school next year. It is unfortunate that we were not able to visit our partner primary schools due to the lockdown. Thank you Mr Cameron for showing what our school has to offer. We look forward to meeting this year group and welcoming them to our school later in 2020.

Should you be concerned about the wellbeing of your child during this time of uncertainty, please contact his/her Year Adviser or myself at school.

Ms Myree Ribbons, Head Teacher Wellbeing

Diverse educational programs that challenge and inspire students

MATHS CORNER QUESTION (for students and parents)

Question:

A girl bought a dog for $10, sold it for $15, bought it back for $20, and finally sold it for $25. Did the girl make or lose money, and how much did she make or lose?

Previous Answer:

Each person of the work crew of three people worked 20 days. Thus, the number of individual work days needed to do the job was 60. Then each member of the work crew of four people must work 15 days in order to provide a total of 60 individual work days.

* Maths corner questions have been provided courtesy of ‘Australasian Problem Solving Mathematical Olympiads (APSMO) Inc’ an advanced problem solving course currently being undertaken by some of our Year 7 & 8 students.

URGENTLY NEEDEDWe are requesting donations of school uniforms in reasonable condition that are no longer required. If you have anything you could donate, please deliver to the school office as our emergency supplies are running low. Thank you.

LIBRARY NEWSDuring our time of remote learning, the library got a make-over with new carpet! It looks great. A big thank you to Tim, Julie, Janelle & Jenne for bringing it all together and lots of packing and moving boxes of books. It was quite a task, but well worth it in the end.

The library is open for borrowing and returns, but not open for socialising just yet. I encourage senior students to take advantage of the quieter space as an area for study at lunch times.

Lots of books were loaned out in Term 2 and we’re still waiting for quite a few to be returned. Please have a look under the bed or on the shelves at home for any overdue books and bring them in so we can get them back in circulation.

Tess Nolan, Teacher LibrarianPick up your Book Club Catalogue Order (Issue 4) from the LIBRARY. To avoid cash transactions, orders for this issue need to be made online via www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP or returned and paid for by EFTPOS at the Front Office by 19/6/2020.

SCHOLASTIC - Book Club

Pick up your Book Club Catalogue Order (Issue 7) from the LIBRARY.

Orders for this issue need to be returned and paid for at the Front Office by 28/10/16

Travel Concession CardsIf your child is 16 years or older his or her concession card for travel is available for collection from the School Library.If your child previously had a card it may have expired in March.

Diverse educational programs that challenge and inspire students

SUNFLOWERS FOR THE MC CLASSThe Multi Categorical (MC) class provides specialised support for students. The students spend time working on individual learning goals both in the MC class and alongside their mainstream peers.

The MC class planted sunflower seeds during Term One. We measured and graphed the growth of our tiny seeds and now have some beautiful sunflowers peeking through our classroom window. These sunny flowers now measure over 1.80m high! Our garden project has been a fantastic opportunity to work together to observe how these magnificent plants grow.

It is great to see our school community enjoying our garden, we look forward to keeping the garden full of flowers.

Mrs Cathy Hoskin, MC Class Teacher

Diverse educational programs that challenge and inspire students

Click here for our Thank You video from all of our staffhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfFeolDuHr0&feature=youtu.be

Awarded to

This one is for you! This is a small token of our appreciation for your support and partnership

in the continuity of learning through the COVID-19 period. Thank you for all your work at home!

Principal

Principal Mrs Trudi Edman Deputy Principal Mr Mik WiselyAddress: 129 Ravenshaw Street, Gloucester NSW 2422Telephone: 6558 1605 Fax: 6558 1229Email: gloucester-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au Web: www.gloucester-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

SCHOOL VISION STATEMENTGloucester High School aims to develop a supportive learning environment that engages all students,

teachers and community in the pursuit of excellence.

#2020HSC#StayHealthyHSC

Questions about the HSC?Contact the COVID-19 support team on 1300 138 323 email covid19support@nesa.nsw.edu.au visit educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/stayhealthyHSC

Need help managing stress?Visit ReachOut.com for information, tools and tips to turn exam stress into success. If you need help right now, call Lifeline 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 or talk to your GP

Stay healthy on your HSC journey