GRIFFITH SITE 88 Coolah Street, Griffith NSW 2680 PH 02 6969 9300 WADE SITE 1-39 Poole Street, Griffith NSW 2680 PH 02 6969 9300

E murrumbidgee-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au W https://murrumbidgee-h.schools.nsw.gov.au

TERM 2 – WEEK 3 – 2020Principal’s Update

NOTICE TO ALL VISITORS

Out of respect for students, staff and parents if you are experiencing cold or flu like symptoms,

for advice or information, please call the school on ph: 02 69699300

or email: murrumbidgee-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

We thank you for your co-operation and consideration during this difficult time.

WHAT’S ON AT MRHS?

TERM 2 -

WEEK 4Tuesday 19 May*Yr 10 vaccinations - Griffith site*Cancelled - Zone Cross Country - Hillston*Cancelled - 9/10 AFL Gala Day - Griffith

WEEK 5Tuesday 26 May*Yr 10 vaccinations - Wade site *Cancelled - NAPLAN online window begins

WEEK 6Monday 1 June - Friday 5 June*Cancelled - Yr 10 Work Exp - Griffith siteThursday 4 June*Cancelled - Pasifika Fundraiser Won-der Woman II Cinema Premiere

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Students and staff have enjoyed the staged return to school this week.We anticipate that the Premier will make an announcement early next week to confirm a 25 May start date for schools to return to normal timetabled classes.

I would like to thank all our students for the way they have accepted the changed circumstances in the school this week. They have been observing social distancing, washing their hands and sanitising.

I would also like to thank our cleaners who have been on site during the day cleaning toilets, staffrooms and high touch surfaces all over the school.

When we return to normal timetabled classes we will be ensuring these prac-tices are kept in place.

New toilets at MRHS Wade site have been handed back to the school and opened for students. They look fantas-tic. The capacity of the girls toilets has been increased by 50%.

New cricket nets have been completed at MRHS Griffith site. They will be handed back to the school next week.

Building update MRHS GriffithThe new administration building is nearing completion. All plastering and services are in place. It is awaiting painting, carpet, AV equipment and in-stallation of furniture. It is on track for finalisation before the end of this term.

A Block West has had its roof replaced. All additional entrances to rooms have been created. Ceiling and wall instal-

lation continues. All external windows are being painted.

The installation of the two new lifts in B and C block will commence in the next month and continue for approxi-mately three months.

Building update MRHS WadeThe Learning Resource Centre has had its roof removed and a new roof is currently being installed. Massive steel beams have reinforced the roof over the LRC. Downstairs joinery has created the maker space and new toi-lets. Frames for the 6m wide steps and bleacher seats have been installed.

The new canteen is progressing with all plastering and tiling completed. Ad-ditional windows, floor coverings and joinery are the next steps.

I would like to thank and publicly acknowledge a generous donation of hand sanitiser from De Bortoli’s win-ery. We really appreciate the donations from both Calabria and De Bortoli’s. It speaks to their commitment to our community.

Later this term we will be conducting reviews in to the success of the Inte-grated curriculum model, Learning coach sessions and passion electives. These initiatives have been operational at MRHS for the last 18-30 months. We will be asking for parent and student feedback during these reviews.

MRHS will be providing reports about student progress and achievement in Semester 1 before 30 August 2020.

This will be in the form of a simplified written report which will not include an A-E grade scale

We will be able to use the remaining time in Term 2 to conduct meaningful assessments to support these reports.

All the best

Mr Peter KingExecutive Principal

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Introducing new staff .....

Name: Mekayla EveringhamWhere have you come from to be at MRHS? I grew up in Port Macquarie and moved to Sydney in 2016 for uni. I then moved to Griffith in 2020 for work.

What are some of your favourite hobbies? Sport, going to the beach, spending time with my family, friends and dog.

What do you like about living in Griffith? I like the sense of community.

What do you like about being at MRHS? I like the students and the staff. I enjoy coming to work every day.

Name: Simon Moore Where have you come from to be at MRHS? I originally came from the Snowy Mountains where I enjoyed the cold winters!

What are some of your favourite hobbies? Listening to music and podcasts about interesting things while I play video games or build lego.

What do you like about living in Griffith? The many different things to do in my free time.

What do you like about being at MRHS? The amazing kids with all their different interests

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HSIE Report Welcome to Term 2 and welcome back to school, be it online or at school. It has been great to see your faces and hear from you!

The HSIE faculities would like to firstly congratulate our students on the way they have coped with distance learn-ing, be it either online or in booklets. The quality of work and effort has not gone unnoticed or unappreciated by your teachers. Thank you to all the parents that have supported their children’s learning through this difficult time.

At the Wade site, while we have been learning by distance some of our students have really impressed us with their ability to create work with only written instructions or video calling by teachers. Below are some websites Yr 11 Ancient History created for their first assessment task on Ancient Egyptian burial customs.

Also, below are some Yr 10 Geography assessment tasks where students had to create a website, poster or info-graphic on their Human Wellbeing topic.

Ms Shana Johnson, Ms Nell Duly & Ms Jodie HumeHSIE Head Teachers

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Year 10 Advisors Report “Time for everyone to stop and reflect on what is most important to themselves.” This was a message that was presented to Yr 10 on the Griffith Site at the start of the school year. This school year was always going to present great challenges to the students, as they can see the finish line of Yr 12 in the not too distant future.

At the beginning of the year, who would have known this was going to happen, a world pandemic! Over the last 8 weeks, our Yr 10 students have shown immense resil-ience and maturity as they navigate this new uncharted time.

The challenge that now faces them as Yr 10, is picking up from where they left off in regards to their studious attitudes. Every student at the Griffith site was asked to use a diary at the start of the year in order to write down when assessments are due and when homework is to be handed in. Students at the Wade site were encouraged to work with their Learning Coach teachers to create a schedule of assessments and class work to help them to

develop time management skills. Some students accepted this challenge and some have yet to accept it. A simple task of writing dates in a diary or calendar takes out the pressure of remembering due dates in your head.

During this ever evolving environment every student is asked to complete all necessary work sent home. Whether that be in Google Classroom or hard copy; and submitted for feedback.

Finally, please look after yourself and each other during this time. If you need any help please do not hesitate to get in contact with your Year Advisor, learning coach or classroom teacher. We look forward to seeing you back throughout the term.

Miss Robina Ingham & Mr Bradley ClarkYear 10 Advisors

SRC Report - Wade sitethrown around about how to build school spirit and how we could engage with community events. A big focus for the SRC was how to improve school spirit between the two sites and represent our school in a really positive manner.

We also had the opportunity to speak with the NSW Minister of Education and Early Childhood Learning the Honourable Sarah Mitchell MLC when she came to visit with local MP Helen Dalton. We were encouraged by having her listen to our point of view about the school. Student Leaders Matthew Hutchinson and Rebecca Groat, along with the oth-er students, were very well spoken about how Wade site was progressing and represented the views of the students genuinely and from the heart.

We look forward to getting back into the swing of things for being Student Representatives and hope that we can serve the student community faithfully as we transition back to school.

Miss Kirilly FarrellSRC Coordinator - Wade site

The SRC has undergone some changes since Term 4 2019 with Miss Farrell joining the team as the SRC Teacher Coordinator. We have also seen some wonderful additions to the SRC in new Yr 7 rep-resentatives of Marcus Howey and Jeffrey Howey, along with new Yr 10 Representative Krystal Mack-enzie. This year has been a bit of a crazy one so far, but the SRC has been able to be involved with some wonderful fundraising opportunities. In February, for Valentine’s Day we sold roses during Recess and Lunch for students to send to friends at school. We sold every single rose! A massive thanks to all who supported the Valentine’s Day fundraiser, it is great to see friends showing each other, and staff, a bit of love and appreciation. The two sites also were able to meet together before Covid-19 hit and start planning for the future of the MRHS SRC. We saw some really interesting ideas