woolgoolga high school...woolgoolga high school newsletter issue 18 .november 27, 2015 centenary...

Woolgoolga High School

Newsletter

Issue 18 .

November 27, 2015

CENTENARY DRIVE WOOLGOOLGA 2452 . 6654 1500 . [email protected] . www.woolgoolga-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

From the Principal P.2

Important coming dates P.3

Year 12 Formal P.4

Around the school P.5-7

Your child’s health P.7

Excursion P.8-9

Sport Congratulations P.10

Information P.11

Library News P.12-13

MC Class Garden P.14

Community News P.14

This November Woolgoolga

High School has been rec-

ognising Mental Health

Month. It is an opportunity

for everyone to reflect on his

or her mental health and

wellbeing. This year’s theme

is ‘Value Your Mind’. The

theme encourages us all to

think about the need for all

individuals to make mental

health a priority in our daily

lives.

To help highlight this

important message, SMILE

Month at Woolgoolga High

ran a very popular “Kind

Message Booth” for a week

during breaks. Students

were lining up to write

positive and encouraging

messages to others in the

school. The enthusiasm of

all involved showed that

Woolgoolga High students

truly value one another and

want to foster a positive en-

vironment at their school.

Alison Fenton,

Student Support Officer

Woolgoolga High School Newsletter 2 November 27, 2015 . Issue 18


Our Year 12 formal was held last Tuesday at

Pacific Bay Resort. The photograph in this

newsletter clearly demonstrates the maturity

of each of our graduating students. The

dresses and suits were immaculate and the

night was enjoyed by many staff, parents

and friends.

Year 6/7 Orientation Day is on 3rd

December,

commencing in the hall from 9.20am for

approximately an hour while students stay

on to experience a day of high school. St

Francis Xavier students and their parents,

who are unable to attend on the 3rd

, enjoyed

their orientation last Friday.

The Year 11 History excursion to Sydney is

another highlight in our school calendar. The

students learned a great deal and enjoyed

their time in Sydney. Thank you to Helen

Rook, Iain Henderson, and Lisa-Maree

Austin for making this excursion possible.

Similarly positive reports were forthcoming

from the Year 10 Gold Coast excursion.

Thanks to Simon Radford, Chris Blair, Chris

Black and Alison Fenton for your efforts over

the three day excursion.

Well done Addisen Mallet for your selection

in the North Coast Boys Open Cricket team.

This is exceptional considering Addisen is in

Year 9. Congratulations also Alisha Phoonie

on your 4th successive year of selection to

the North Coast Girls Open Cricket Team.

Good luck at your respective championships

next year!

From the Principal’s Desk

Year 12, good luck in your individual futures.

Thanks again to Claire O’Halloran for your organisation.

The photo booth, in particular was enjoyed by the crowd.

The Premier’s Reading Challenge is also

one initiative which encourages our students

to enjoy reading. It’s great to see so many

students participating in this initiative.

Many students who have difficulty in

normal classrooms and who have in the past

not completed very much work in those

classes, are now completing large volumes

of work. One of the most important changes

to our school this year has been the intro-

duction of our Distance Education Outreach

Program in “Noel’s Room”. Currently 14

students are benefitting from this intervention

and in partnership with Southern Cross

School of Distance Education, these stu-

dents are jointly enrolled in both Distance

Education and Woolgoolga High School.

Selection for this class is determined on a

needs basis. The quality of the work supplied

by Southern Cross School of Distance

Education is targeted specifically at the

individual and is conducted within a small

class over a shortened day. It is a great

success for those students, many of whom

will in the near future, return to mainstream

classes.

Until next time

Guy Wright

Principal



IMPORTANT COMING EVENTS

Mon Nov 30—Fri Dec 4 Year 10 Work Experience

Thur Dec 3 Year 8 Excursion

Thur Dec 3 Orientation Day

Mon Dec 7—Fri Dec 11 Year 10 Work Experience

Tue Dec 8 Yrs 7-9 Clearance forms due

Tue Dec 8 P&C meeting

Fri Dec 11 Yrs 7-11 Reports handed out

Fri Dec 11 Mufti Day Animal Rescue

Mon Dec 14 Annual Presentation Assembly

Wed Dec 16 Last day for student 2015

Thur Dec 17—Fri Dec 18 Staff development days

The WHS P & C

meets on the

second Tuesday of

every month at

6.30pm

Thursday 3rd December Year 6-7 Orientation Day

Book pack $40

Calculator $26

Woolgoolga High School Front Office : Cash, cheque or EFTPOS available

(no online payments please)



YEAR 12 FORMAL

Last Tuesday evening, Year 12 celebrated their Graduation Dinner at Novotel Pacific Bay. Parents

and guests joined us for the evening as we celebrated, one last time, the graduating Class of

2015. It was a wonderful evening where students all "dressed to impress". The gentlemen looked

as handsome as ever and the ladies, all made up, looked stunning. A wonderful meal, candy

buffet centre pieces and a photo booth filled the evening full of fun, laughter and memories.

A big thank you to the Year 12 students who helped with all of the preparations and set up for the

evening, the staff who attended the evening, the staff at Novotel Pacific Bay, HappyBooth, Kylie

Golsby for giving up her time to take photos and all Year 12 students. It was a great night,

thoroughly enjoyed by all.

As retiring Year Adviser, thank you Year 12 students and parents/guardians. Thank you for

making the last 6 years so memorable. I have found it both an honour and privilege being your

Year Adviser. All the best, take care and enjoy your future endeavours.

Mrs Claire O'Halloran Year Adviser Class of 2015

The Year 12 Formal was a great success. Thank you Claire O’Halloran , Year Adviser 2010-2015. Pho-

tos from the night maybe viewed at:

https://happybooth.smugmug.com/Woolgoolga-High-School/n-LGQ7V8/ Password : whs2015

https://happybooth.smugmug.com/Woolgoolga-High-School/n-LGQ7V8/



This semester Year 9 PDHPE students at

Woolgoolga High School have been study-

ing the seemingly endless range

of challenges and opportunities faced by

teenagers now and what they might be fac-

ing in the coming years. The stu-

dents’ most recent learning activity asked

students, in groups, to develop a board

game including the different challenges

and opportunities discussed.

Sherydan Simson and Georgia Bartley de-

veloped "Bully" based on the board game

Cluedo - the object of which is to find out

who the bully is, where they are bullying

and how they are performing it (ie. verbal,

physical or cyber).

Rhianna Birch and Miah Mills-Izard con-

structed a game based on Monopoly. One

part says "You passed your driving test -

collect five tokens" and "You participated in

underage drinking - give up five tokens".

Another stated "Chance card - what does

'abstinence' mean?"

All students in Year 9 did a fantastic job

preparing their games and all loved playing

each other. Great job Year 9!

Claire O'Halloran

PDHPE

Teacher



On Wednesday,

25th November

Year 10 PASS

elective partici-

pated in formal first aid

training with Kim Rayner

from Surf Lifesaving

NSW. Students complet-

ed a variety of hands-on

competency-based

assessments as well as

theoretical exercises on a

variety of topics.



We welcome information from

parents about your child’s health,

even if you are not requesting

specific support from our school.

Our school asks for medical infor-

mation when you enrol your child. It

is also important that you let us

know if your child’s health care

needs change or if a new health

condition develops.

Information about allergies, medical

conditions such as asthma and

diabetes, and other health care

related issues (including prior condi-

tions such as medical procedures in

the last 12 months) should be

provided to the school by parents.

Please provide this information in

writing to the principal. This will

greatly assist our school in planning

to support your child’s health and

wellbeing.

Please also remember to notify staff

in the school office of any changes to

your contact details or to the

contact details of other people nom-

inated as emergency contacts.

We appreciate your assistance in

this regard and assure you that any

information you provide the school

will be stored securely and will only

be used or disclosed in order to

support your son or daughter’s

health needs or as otherwise

required by law.

A reminder to parents

to notify the school

about your child’s health

On Friday 20th November some Year 6 students

from St Francis Xavier School attended their

(alternate date) Orientation Day. They participat-

ed in a variety of activities throughout the morn-

ing similar to those that will be experienced in

the regular Orientation Day held at Woolgoolga

High on Thursday 3rd

December. The students

are unable to attend the regular day due to

school commitments. Feedback from students

and parents that attended was extremely posi-

tive, with all looking forward to attending the

high school next year.

St Francis Xavier Year 6

students attend WHS

Orientation Day



Bright and early last Wednesday morning, the Year 11 Senior History excursion boarded to commence their academic adventure to Sydney. Thank you, Cynthia for christening the new bus on its inaugural outing! The first day brought us to Macquarie Univer-sity (where we almost melted in the heatwave) and our first visit to the Australian History Museum. Here students were able to handle original artefacts from World War I, which really supported their prepara-tion for the Core Study in the HSC. After checking out Macquarie University it was time to travel across the Bridge, where we were able to show our two ex-change students - Roberto and Jade - our famous Harbour and Opera House. Arriving at the YHA, we had time to get ready for our traditional Greek dinner at Diethnes restaurant. After feasting on the many delicacies, we walked down through Chinatown and into Darling Harbour. Thank you to Miss Austin who was better than any GPS! After 'test running' the equipment at Darling Harbour (who knew that Mr. Henderson was so agile?) we returned to the YHA.

Thursday morning dawned clear and bright and we were able to visit Circular Quay for our an-nual photo in front of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. Then it was off to the Jewish Museum where the Ancient and Modern History students followed two different, but highly relevant, programs. It was also an amazing opportunity to speak to two Holocaust survivors - Olga and Maurice - who shared their incredible stories with us. In the afternoon, we enjoyed a visit to the Sealife Aquarium and Wildlife Sanctuary and then made our way up the Sydney Eye for a spectacular view of the city. On Friday morning we visited 'Hogwarts', the Nicholson Museum at Sydney University, where students learned about the ancient world and were fortunate enough to handle genuine artefacts, thousands of years old.

Helen Rook

I would like to thank Mr Henderson

and Miss Austin for coming on

the excursion and for the parents

once again allowing their students

to partake in these incredible hands-

on educatioal opportunities. It was a

fabulous excursion and the stu-

dents, as always, were wonderful.

Year 11 Senior History Excursion to Sydney



Eariler this month 56 Year 10 students went on their

yearly reward excursion on a 3 day, 2 night extravagan-

za to the Gold Coast.

Once again we had an early morning start that got us to our first

stop Dreamworld right on opening time. The students had a great

day lining up and enjoying many rides at not only Dreamworld but

the neighbouring Whitewater World.

After a full day at the theme parks we headed to our accommoda-

tion for the night. Staying not in some dodgy dorms, but living it up

at the Seaworld Nara Resort, where students enjoyed a restau-

rant quality banquet style meal, and then reluctantly participated

in a trivia night. Then it was time for bed…eventually.

The new morning dawned and a group of sleepy Year 10 students

emerged and enjoyed a fantastic breakfast, then headed to Wet N

Wild to enjoy a wild and wet day of fun, where Year 10 gave all

the slides a real workout before returning to our resort for the

evening. This night after dinner the students really got into their

games night, that saw Jacob Nelson bring the boys to victory over

the girls’ team. Then once again it was off to sleep…eventually.

Mr Radford

Year 10 Adviser

Year 10 Gold Coast Excursion

Overall the excursion was an

enjoyable experience for both the

students and staff, and a great way

to recognise all those Year 10

students who have behaved

impeccably all year. I would like to

thank Year 10 for their outstanding

behaviour during our 3 days at

large, as well as Mr Blair, Mrs Black

and Alison for their invaluable

assistance on the excursion.

The final day dawned on a Zombie

like group of Year 10 students,

who packed up and headed out to

our final destination, Movieworld.

Year 10 plucked up the energy to

once again spend the day lining

up and going on some white

knuckle rides like the Superman

and the Scooby-Doo rides before

jumping on our bus and heading

home.



Emerson Bhatti and Luke Burke being awarded their medals by Mr Guy Wright

Congratulations to Addisen

Mallet (Year 9) who was select-

ed in the North Coast boys

open cricket team. Addisen will

compete at the CHS State

Cricket Championships in

Sydney during Term 1 next year.

What a great achievement to

be playing this level of cricket in

an open school boys team at

the age of only 15 years old.

Well done!

Congratulations to Alisha

Phoonie (Year 11) who has also

been selected in the North

Coast girls open cricket team.

This is the fourth successive

year Alisha has been selected in

this team. The girls CHS State

Cricket Championships are in

Bathurst during February next

year. Good Luck!

CR

ICK

ET



Mention head lice and most of us

instantly develop an itch. You'll find

these little critters at every school

across Australia - and probably the

world - at some point during the

year.

While head lice and nits, (the eggs of

head lice) are certainly annoying and per-

sistent, they're not dangerous. Here's eve-

rything you need to know to rid your kids

of head lice and nits.

Follow the link for information on myths, removal and

treatment.

http://www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au/wellbeing/

health/removing-head-lice-and-nits

Excursion Reminder

Year 8 students

to Dreamworld

on Thursday 3/12/15

Spots are still available.

Please note: there is an expectation of all

Year 8 students not attending this excur-

sion to be attending school for classes on

that day. It is not a day off for students

who are not joining the excursion.

Host Families Wanted

We are looking for caring families and

individuals to provide a wonderful home

away from home for international students

attending Woolgoolga High School. We are

expecting unprecedented numbers of

European students seeking enrolment at

our school in the near future.

Must be able to provide meals and a Work-

ing with Children Check for all adults.

Hosts receive $250 per week for a single

room.

Apply online to:

http://www.staydownunder.com.au or

phone school co-ordinator

Ms Genette Maniatis for further information

on 66541500.

Preliminary & HSC study guides

Leaving students would like to pass on text

books which are no longer required.

Bargain @ $10 each.

Chemistry; HSC Physics, Advanced Eng-

lish, Mathematics, General Mathematics,

Ancient History, Modern History or Biology.

See Mrs Hart in the Library

http://www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au/wellbeing/health/removing-head-lice-and-nits

http://www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au/wellbeing/health/removing-head-lice-and-nits

http://www.staydownunder.com.au/



Through a variety of initiatives headed up by teacher-

librarian Megan Hart, students in Years 7-10 at Wool-

goolga High School celebrated reading in style during

2015. Upwards of 300 students took up the

‘challenge’ that is the Premier’s Reading Challenge

(PRC) this year, with a record of 56 students com-

pleting the worthwhile initiative. At an assembly, held

the previous day, 41 of these students received their

certificates with the remaining 15 students being

awarded special Gold and Platinum certificates to be

received from the Premier’s office in due time.

Although the PRC only involves Years 7-9 generally,

students from Year 10 joined their junior school coun-

terparts last term to participate in the Woolgoolga

High version of Reading Hour. This wonderful initia-

tive was introduced into Woolgoolga High for the

National Year of Reading in 2012 and increased its

presence to all students (Years 7-10) participating in

a ‘Reading Hour’ of their own in the school Library.

Over the three-day period students’ interest and

depth of reading flourished with many reinvigorating

their focus on reading and broadening their

knowledge of the literary and factual world (through

books).

The NSW Premier

Mike Baird states

on the PRC

website how important it is as

it “allows students to

experience a range of

exciting stories, and explore

issues that can challenge the

way one thinks. With

thousands of books to

choose from, students have

the opportunity to embrace

subjects that will widen their

horizons and expand their

vocabularies. I encourage all

participants to be courageous

with their reading choices,

and to approach the

Challenge with great energy

and enthusiasm. The world of

books is certainly an exciting

one, and I wish all students

undertaking the Premier's

Reading Challenge a fun,

enjoyable and fulfilling

experience.”



With the school being selected as a Lighthouse School

for the newly-introduced Oliver Library interface,

students were encouraged to use the web-based

system to locate items of interest, for Reading Hour,

Premier’s Reading Challenge and the newly-developed

curriculum associated with Year 8 and 10 Information

and Digital Literacy course. This course, colloquially

known as IDL, further introduced Years 8 and 10

students to the online world, how to evaluate websites,

create original work and avoid plagiarism. Students also

read self-selected fiction then non-fiction texts, located

using Oliver Library and completed and uploaded indi-

vidual book reviews for each item. To assist students in

locating PRC texts, they have been organised into their

own area, labelled into three sub-sections according to

difficulty (as stated by the PRC lists). Last year, school

Library staff also genre-labelled the fiction texts to

further assist students to achieve outcomes based on

reading along sixteen different genre lines, such as Aus-

traliana, mystery/suspense, indigenous, humour,

romance, sport, etc.

At the Principal’s morning tea, to celebrate the success

of the unprecedented number of students who complet-

ed PRC in 2015, the Principal, Guy Wright spoke of the

importance of reading and its positive affect on our

everyday lives and into the future. He was marvelled at

the sheer number of students who completed the

challenge as did Ian Cook Head Teacher Welfare who

heads up the Peer Tutoring program held each morning

during Home Group. Both gentlemen were pleased that

a vast majority of past mentees and future peer mentors

in the field completed the challenge for 2015. This is a

testament to the diversity of strategies being utilised at

Woolgoolga High School to assist fluent and reluctant

readers alike to expand their experiences through

reading.

Congratulations to all students who successfully

completed the Premiers Reading Challenge from

Woolgoolga High School in 2015!



Christmas Carols – Friday 18th

December

6pm to 9pm on Woolgoolga Beach Reserve

The perfect way to share the spirit of Christmas with your family and friends.

The evening runs from 6pm until 9pm and hosts a variety of entertainment including performances

from the Toads and Woolgoolga Dance Studio, a wonderful selection of Christmas Carols and visit

from Santa!

As always there will be a BBQ to top off the night and a range of stalls selling refreshments, whilst

some of the local cafes and restaurants will stay open for the festivities.

Enjoyable family event proudly organised by the Woolgoolga and Northern Beaches Chamber of

Commerce and Life House Church along with the wonderful ongoing support from your local business

community – Woolgoolga Mitre 10, Seaview Tavern, Life House Care, Woolgoolga Advertiser,

Handybin, CHCC, Coffs Coast Holiday Parks, Fuji Xerox, Woolgoolga Diggers, Beach Street Family

Practice, Woolgoolga Dental Centre, GL Abbott & Co, Woolgoolga Real Estate, Mid North Coast

Physiotherapy, IGA and Woolworths.

Remember “Think Big, Shop Local”, these business are the ones that

support you!

Woolgoolga & Northern Beaches Chamber of Commerce Inc.

[email protected]

www.woolgoolga.org.au

“From little things,

big things grow!”

Over the past 18 months the

MC Class garden has grown

from barren ground to an

oasis of colour. Many thanks

go out to local community

groups and businesses, who

have so kindly donated during

this time. Special thanks to

Woolgoolga Garden Club, MI

Organics, Mitre 10 Woolgool-

ga and Jenny Skerda of

Brindleys Nursery.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.woolgoolga.org.au/



Woolgoolga High School Silver Awards are generously supported by:

Years 7, 8, 9 receive vouchers from

McDonalds Restaurants

Pacific Highway Coffs Harbour

Years 10, 11, 12 receive vouchers from

Riptide Pizzeria Woolgoolga Pizza Place

Fawcett Street Woolgoolga Beach Street Woolgoolga

6654 8989 6654 2744

Tuition—Woolgoolga

All ages, all abilities

All subjects, Qualified Teachers

Individually tailored programs

(Art & Drama—Coffs Harbour

Phone 6654 8397

2/7-9 Market St, Woolgoolga

pa

id a

dverti

semen

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Now Available At Woolgoolga High School

A secure Westpac banking facility has now been added to the Woolgoolga High School website to

allow parents/carers to make online Visa or Mastercard credit or debit card payments for things like

voluntary school contributions, excursions, sporting activities or sales to students.

Look for the $ Make a Payment button next to Contact Us at the top of our homepage.

For those experienced in paying online, the process will be familiar. Detailed instructions are availa-

ble by opening the Parent Online Payment Instructions on the Information tab on our website.

We hope that you will find this payment option convenient. Payments can still be made at the Wool-

goolga High School Office by cash, cheque or EFTPOS before school and during break 1.

http://www.woolgoolga-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/

Volunteers needed to serve in only 1 hour increments:

8.30am - 9.30am

11.00am - 12.00 noon

1.00pm - 2.00pm

If you can help please ring the school on 66541500 or follow the link on

the school’s website to complete the expression of interest.

CanteenCanteenCanteen———Eat Fresh Eat Fresh Eat Fresh http://www.woolgoolga-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/parent-information

See menu with price list on the school’s website

http://www.woolgoolga-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/

woolgoolga high school...woolgoolga high school newsletter issue 18 .november 27, 2015 centenary...

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