S

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.. Term 2, 28 May 2018

Raising our cups for cancer

weewaa-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au | 02 6795 4477 | http://www.weewaa-h.school.nsw.edu.au/ Principal: Arron Stevens | Deputy Principal: Jacqueline Neil

Organised in conjunc on with the Student Repre-senta ve Council, the School held a fundraiser in sup-port of the Biggest Morning Tea on Thursday 24th May. Community members were invited to help us raise much needed funds for lifesaving research, sup-port, and educa on for the Australian Cancer Coun-cil. Through the simple act of sharing a morning tea, we have contributed to providing vital hope to all people affected by cancer. Hospitality students baked a beau ful selec on of chocolate-chip and jam drop biscuits, brownies, and raspberry slice, staff also donated some tasty treats to share on the day. It was a great effort on behalf of the student council, who arrived early to set up and prepare the food and drinks for the hungry par ci-pants. It was heart-warming to see the school get behind a wonderful cause. Former staff Con nued

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Continued from page 1. Members Denise Horne and Bev Hardy, alongside current School Administration Manager Leanda Sadler, took a special moment to remember previous staff members Enid Trindall and Ros Hudson, who sadly lost their fight to cancer and were commemorated with memorial plaques in the school garden. Thank you to the SRC students and staff members Mr and Mrs O’Shea, who helped this social event run smoothly, and to the community for getting behind this event.

Mind, Body and Heart Day

Years 7-10 all participated in a Wellbeing Day on Wednesday 23 May. The day was designed to be a holistic approach to educate and equip students on how to live as healthy as possible. The students rotated through a number of sessions across the day which were presented by specialists in their field in the Hunter New England Health Region. The sessions covered:

• Health Wise - talking about nutrition, body image and hygiene • NSW Cancer Council - talking about reducing your cancer risk (Skin and lung cancers, alcohol

related cancer) • Mental Health apps and advice seeking help • Drugs and Alcohol • Sexual Health (Year 9 and 10 students only)

The sessions were very interactive, including teamwork, hands on activities, thinking outside the box and problem solving. A free BBQ sausage sizzle was cooked and served by the SRC and enjoyed by the students and presenters over lunch break.

CAPA CAPA had a very successful Wee Waa Show again this year. We had 45 entries in the Fine Art in Painting, Mixed Media, Drawing, Sculpture and Aboriginal Art and there were six entries in Photography. All students are congratulated on their hard work in creating quality artworks. Special mention to Tameika Stewart who won 1st prize in Mixed Media with 2nd place going to Amelia Kiem. Shannia Scaysbrook took out 2nd place in Drawing and a Highly Commended going to Claire Young. In the painting Lillianne Manson-Smith also got a Highly Commended.

Senior Music students Georgia Dickinson and Sam Galagher entered the talent show as a duo, taking first place. Georgia’s voice captivated the audience, singing an Ed Sheeran song “I See Fire”. They are to be congratulated on their great performance.

Wee Waa New South Wales Farmers Branch donate towards the WWHS Debating team.

Ten Students from Wee Waa High School are busy undergoing weekly training and practise during their lunch break in Term 2 for the 2018 Premier’s Debating Challenge for Years 7 and 8. Debates have been organised against Narrabri High School (topic- education), Collarenebri High School (topic- the media) and Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School (topic-Australian society). The Wee Waa NSW Farmers Branch Chair Michael Haire proudly presented a cheque to Team Captain Emma Kirby. The local Branch have a long history supporting the community across education, rural community issues and agriculture, and were ‘pleased to contribute’ said Michael. The first debate for the year will be held on Wednesday June 6 at Collarenebri Central School, accompanying the students will be staff Carmel Schwager and Helen Wenner. This year the Team will be guided by two Year 9 mentors Amelia Kiem and Sarah Hamilton, who will draw on their experience to support the Team. A team dinner will be held in the near future to provide the students and parents a chance to further build team spirit.

Persistence

Persistence isn't something you can teach, but we should support students to find things they're passionate enough about to strive towards, and learn how to be intrinsically motivated. Students can demonstrate persistence in the classroom by their willingness to continue to try in the face of challenge. This persistence can be a driving force to help them achieve their academic, as well as personal goals.

What can persistence look like at Wee Waa High School?

A persistent student will be characterised by their:

→ Perseverance → Resilient → Don’t stop trying → Brave → Risk taker → Determined → Patient

A persistent student will:

→ Keep trying – break tasks in to smaller pieces. → Keep trying– can you work out where you went wrong? → Dig your way out of the pit! → Be patient and soldier on.

Show Success

Wee Waa High School Show team has completed its very busy local show season with success at the Wee Waa Show on the weekend. 20 students competed and represented the school with pride and professionalism. The students looked fabulous in their uniforms and I was very proud to see the way they handle themselves with such professionalism and grace in the show arena. Our very own born and bred school steer came out winner this weekend winning the School Led Steer under 350 kg. Champagne- also born and bred at Wee Waa High School tipped Elvis at the post this time around and won the Over 350 kg School Led section. Thank you to the Wee Waa Show Society for providing a great show for our students to participate in and great prizes that will help us continue feeding and showing the steers. Congratulations to the following students who achieved success in their Student Paraders heats. Tori Stewart for winning Under 15s parading heat 1. Lucy Crutcher for winning Under 15s parading heat 3. Tori Stewart being awarded with Champion Under 15s Parader. Congratulations Tori. Congratulations to Jordyn Hayne for receiving Champion Parader in the Over 15s and Emily Shearin receiving Reserve Champion in this section. Wee Waa High School students also achieved success in the Junior Judging ring. Congratulations to Josie Galagher for winning the Under 15s Junior Judging and Emily Shearin winning the Over 15s Junior Judging, followed by Bryony Allen placing 2nd. On the Wednesday prior to Wee Waa Show, 26 students travelled to Coonamble to exhibit on behalf of Myona Charolais for the days competititon. We had a very successful day with much individual success resulting in Wee Waa High School being awarded most successful school in the Junior Judging Competition. Thank you to parent helpers for assisting in getting so many kids over to Coonamble for this great opportunity.

Mathematics/PDHPE Faculty

Years 7 to 10 are busily getting ready to complete their Half Yearly Examinations in week 5. In Mathematics we trialled a new assessment tool, where students are permitted to bring in a study reference sheet to assist them in their tasks. This has been a success, with students completing the sheets to a high standard and then not needing them whilst doing the test. This has continued this year, with most of the students engaged in this great study practice.

A reminder about the maths tutorial sessions held Thursday afternoons between 3:30 and 4:30. Parents do need to contact myself by phone 6795 4477 or email Marjory.Drummond1@det.nsw.edu.au and students must come with the problem areas they wish to get help with. We have had a few students working really hard on their algebra and fraction skills over the two last weeks. Well done to all those students who attended.

A bit of useless maths trivia, A pizza that has radius "z" and height "a" has volume Pi × z × z × a.

Our PDHPE staff are continuing to improve students’ fundamental movement skills to help them get and stay active. Did you know that research has shown that 9 in 10 young people don’t move enough? Our athletics carnival is on the 22nd of June, a great time to get our young people active in an enjoyable setting.

Science and Technology and Applied Studies

Year 10 are currently studying the topic ‘The Mysterious Universe’. The class designed posters and power point presentations to demonstrate their new learnings. Their work also helped to promote and inspire other students to take part in experiencing stargazing on live television, a ABC TV event held last week.

The Science and Engineering Challenge (SEC) will be held in Narrabri on June 7th. SEC is a nationwide STEM* outreach program presented by the University of Newcastle in partnership with communities, Rotary clubs, universities and sponsors. Through the SEC, students experience aspects of science and engineering which they would not usually see in their school environment.

The Challenge is always a great day and provides a number of educational benefits, including planning investigations, problem solving and team building skills. This excursion is usually restricted to only Year 10 students, however some Year 9 students may be able to attend depending on first in, first served basis. Students will depart from the school at 8:50am and return to the school by 3.20pm.

MC Class

Another busy week for our class with all students heading off to their various work placements on Tuesday, followed by

Wednesday's well-being day for the juniors. All students enjoyed the various presentations and got some valuable information out of it.

MasterChef came to Wee Waa High School on Friday 18th May, with our class taking over Mr O’Shea’s cooking arena. On the menu, homemade sausage rolls (made from scratch!). From all accounts they were sensational, and apparently not too many made it home to be shared with families and friends!

English/HSIE News

Library Refurbishment

The library is looking a lot fresher due to the commencement of refurbishment plans. New portable black shelving units have arrived that are able to be moved around the floor space, creating a more flexible learning environment for students and teachers alike. The units offer front-facing shelf space so books are easily visible to students.

To complement the shelving, book discs have been attached to the wall under the headings New Books and Quick Picks. These display fiction books in a bright and fun way, and have increased student browsing and borrowing through ease of access. Similarly, slat wall shelving has been attached to the opposite walls for books under Hot Topic for non-fiction and Recent Returns for fiction. It is great to see the students flicking through the impressive range of non-fiction books we have in the collection and learning through reading. Students in Stage 4 HSIE studying Ancient Egypt have been able to locate resources much more easily and Stage 6 English students have discovery related resources on display for their use. Professional and engaging signage complements the range of shelving, providing clear headings for genres and subjects within the collection. Gary Stewart has been very patient in his assistance with installing the signage and his help is much appreciated! We are very excited about the upgrade and very much looking forward to the addition of some comfortable casual seating and increased technology in the coming years.

Personal Learning Plans (PLP’S) are underway are under way for 2018 Wee Waa High School. Parents, children and year advisors have been attending and involved in the interviewing process.

The 2018 premier’s Debating challenge has begun and some students are participating in this competition at Collarenebri Central School on Wednesday 6 June. I will be attending this event to support the students.

The RAISE Foundation Mentor Program started in week two with one aboriginal student participating in this fantastic program. It’s designed to help secondary students in their confidence and career paths. Students from Year 9 and 10 are enrolled in TAFE courses in Narrabri attending fortnightly.

Stage 6 excursion

Twenty-seven students have recently returned from the stage 6 excursion in Sydney. Accompanied by teachers Mr Stawski, Mr Druce and Mrs Doring, the students enjoyed a jam packed week filled with educational experiences. Some of the highlights included visiting the Taronga Zoo, the Academy of Sport, Sydney Story Factory, Cockatoo Island and a live game of NRL (Tigers vs Cowboy)s at Leichardt Oval. The students travelled to Sydney via train and used public transport to negotiate their way around the Harbour City. Excursions such as this help students build friendships, independence, learn new skills and experience difference cultures.

 Yaama,  We have reached the midpoint of the term this week, from now on we are on the downward run to the July break. However, there is s ll a lot of work to be done before holiday sleep ins. Students are comple ng summa ve exams in classes. These assessments will be used by teaching staff to guide mid‐year grades so it is very important students meet deadlines to demonstrate their level of achievement over the past two terms. Please speak with your son/daughter to make sure they have met the requirements of the courses they are studying.    Teachers are currently in the throes of repor ng. This is important feedback to parents and carers about progress and achievement. Reports also serve as an introduc on to an employer about a student. As a school, we expect students to have high expecta ons of their teachers and high ex‐pecta ons of their own learning. Everyone can achieve and pu ng in the effort to do so is vital. It is this effort which employers look for in reports.  Our NAPLAN exams ran very smoothly for Year 7 and Year 9. Three days of examina ons can be very stressful and students conducted themselves very well.  A reminder that hooded jumpers are not part of our school uniform and students will be asked to 

remove them. If students are out of uniform for socks, skirts, shorts, shirt and/or shoes, please 

provide your child with a note to give to their roll call teacher for the an cipated period of  me 

they need to be excused. Please contact the school if we can be of assistance in a aining uniform 

items for your child. 

Arron Stevens,  Principal 

Principal's Message 

Monday 28 May, 2018 

 JUNIOR and SENIOR YOUTH GROUP is back! 

Come along, have fun and find out what Mark's Gospel says about who Jesus is.  

When: Friday nights, Juniors 5:30‐7pm, Seniors 7:30‐9pm.  Where: Anglican Church Hall (cnr Church St. and Cowper St.)  

Who: Juniors ‐ Anyone in years 3‐6 (or equivalent ages) Seniors ‐ Anyone in years 7‐12 (or equivalent ages) 

Wee Waa Youth Group

28-30 May Stage 4 & 5 Exams 30 May Bush Bots Houston Event 6 June Debating at Collarenebri 7 June Science & Engineering Challenge 11 June Queens Birthday 14 June P&C Meeting 22 June Athletics Carnival 6 July Last day of Term 2 9 July— 24 July Winter Holidays 23 July Staff development day 24 July

Term 2, 28 May 2018

2018 Wee Waa Show

Term 2—2018 Wk 5 A = 28 May– 1 June Wk 6 B= 4 -8 June Wk 7 A = 11 -15 June Wk 8 B = 18 -22 June Wk 9 A = 25 -29 June Wk 10 B = 2 -6 July

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