WHAT’S COMING UP? FEBRUARY 28 – School photographs MARCH 6 – RYDA – Year 11 P&C meeting – 6.30 p.m. 9 – Interest groups 22 – Social – 7 – 10 p.m. 28 – Visiting musical performance – Year 7 “The Samba Experience” 29 – CHS Netball - Dubbo

P&C MEETING TUESDAY 6 MARCH

AT 6.30 PM ENQUIRIES –

PHIL SIMMONS 6889 8393

Narromine High School Newsletter Phone - 6889 1499

Email - narromine-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Webpage - www.narromine-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

Term 1 Week 5 Issue 1 Monday 26 February 2018

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT Welcome back to 2018. The start of a new year is exciting and our students have a big task ahead to meet Stage 6 and ROSA requirements. Our wonderful Year 7 students have created an outstanding impression with their enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Together with their parents, they were asked about their first couple of weeks and the feedback has been very positive and reassuring. Already friendships are developing and the enjoyment of being part of a new school has become obvious. These students are looking forward to participating in the many opportunities our school offers, such as sporting activities and the school’s show team.

We have a number of new staff who we wish to welcome - Mr Rafferty in Maths, Mr Molenaar in PDHPE and Miss Mrowka in TAS. Our new teachers have already met some of our community at our meet the teacher evening and found our parent community welcoming and friendly. A general reminder to all parents, if you wish to contact any staff members, please contact the school and either leave a message or make an appointment. Doing this ensures that we can give you the required time to discuss school business.

Many thanks to our parent community for their amazing support with the school uniform across each year group. When you look out across the school, it’s wonderful to see students in the correct uniform. I am asking all our parent community to please support the school’s procedures and ensure that your child follows the uniform expectations.

Please keep in touch through our Facebook page as there is a lot of school information posted throughout the week. From surveys last year, the community feedback outlined this was the preferred method to communicate school business. If there is something you would like to see from our school, please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss.

Principal Phil Rufus NHS SWIMMING CARNIVAL It has been an eventful start to Term 1, 2018 with our annual NHS Swimming Carnival held on Friday 9 February. We had fantastic weather and all staff and students who attended the event had a fun filled day. Students had the opportunity to gain house points by participating in both races and novelty events. Well done to all students who participated and a special mention to the students of Doongara who were the winning house of the day. Congratulations to the following students who were named swimming age champions.

GIRLS BOYS

12 YRS Shakita Richie 12 YRS Zeke Heterick

13 YRS Ashleigh Woods 13 YRS Brendan Baxter

14 YRS Ella Hutchison 14 YRS Joshua Ryan-Shields

15 YRS Joann Fidock 15 YRS Blake Harding

16 YRS Elissa Simmons 16 YRS David Walker

17 + Lakeisha Hull 17 + Joshua Hennessy

OVERALL Joann Fidock OVERALL Joshua Hennessy

NEW STAFF MEMBERS WELCOMED TO NARROMINE HIGH SCHOOL – left to right Garth Rafferty (Maths faculty) Megan Mrowka (TAS faculty) Jed Molenaar (PD/H/PE faculty)

Mr Rafferty – My home town is Port Macquarie where I attended the local high school. I completed my tertiary studies at Southern Cross University Lismore attaining a Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science/Secondary Education. Last year I taught at Gilgandra High and I’m excited to bring my knowledge and skills to Narromine High. My interests include playing guitar, camping, fishing and being outdoors. I enjoy long distance running and triathlon events. I’ve enjoyed meeting and getting to know all of my classes and the young people whom I am so lucky to work with at Narromine High. Mathematics for a lot of students can sometimes seem overwhelming so my aim this year is to instil a love of maths by making all classes a safe, engaging and fun learning environment.

Miss Mrowka - I grew up in West Wyalong, attended West Wyalong High School and then studied a Bachelor of Education (Technology and applied studies) with a major in Agriculture at CSU Wagga Wagga. I have previously taught at Dubbo College South Campus. My first several weeks at Narromine High have been eventful, with staff and students making me feel very welcome and I’m enjoying the atmosphere!

Mr Molenaar - I am a PDHPE teacher from Morisset a small town 30 minutes out of Newcastle. I have been teaching PDHPE and Science in the UK for the last two years at a behavioural school which gave me the opportunity to see some very different parts of the world. I am passionate about Rugby League and have played grade football on the central coast and represented the NSW independent school boys during my time at school. Leading a healthy lifestyle is something that is very important to me and I can't wait to share some information with the students of Narromine High. MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE Welcome back to what promises to be an exciting 2018 in the Science and Mathematics faculty. The Science faculty has remained unchanged in 2018, with Ms Battishall, Ms Goodhand and Mr Scholes. Last week our Year 12 Senior Science students went on an excursion combined with Mr Turnbull’s Year 12 Art class. Miss Battishall accompanied students to Sydney on this excursion to visit attractions such as the Australian and Powerhouse Museums. Term 1 will also see students from Narromine High School participate in the Science and Engineering Challenge; this will take place during March in Dubbo. The Challenge runs a range of programs but focuses on inspiring students in Year 10 to consider a future career in science and

engineering by choosing to study the enabling sciences and mathematics in Years 11 and 12. Final reminders in Science:

• Narromine will run the biennial Science Spectacular during term three of this year. The save the date for this event has been included in this edition of the Newsletter.

• All students should have leather enclosed shoes to participate in practical lessons. An information guide is also included in this edition of the Newsletter.

The Mathematics faculty has all new faces this term with Mrs Shackelton, Mr Rafferty and Mr McCabe. All students received Mathletics usernames and passwords earlier this term; this will allow all students to consolidate their skills at home to assist them in achieving to the best of their ability in 2018. If you’d like any further information about mathematics or science please feel free to contact me.

Miss C Goodhand (Relieving) Head Teacher Science & Mathematics MUSICAL NOTES Year 7 Music Year 7 have settled in well and are currently learning about how sound is produced and the notes on a musical staff. The drums have been quite a hit with many of the boys and the guitars are also popular. Students have learnt to tune guitars and play a simple melody on two strings. Year 9/10 Music Stage 5 Music has begun learning about jazz. They have been practising playing major scales on both guitar and keyboard. From here, they will learn the Blues scale in readiness for their upcoming composition assessment task.

Mark Prentice THE SENIOR LEARNING CENTRE AT NARROMINE HIGH SCHOOL

Located in the library red room Senior students have individual timetables that include study periods. The Senior Learning Centre is available to Year 11 and 12 students during their study periods. Situated in the school library, it is a space where students can complete private study, assessment and / or homework tasks, group work and research. It is also a space that provides support with developing study schedules and giving students skills to keep on task with their subjects. WHAT DOES THE SENIOR LEARNING CENTRE OFFER YOU?

• A pleasant, quiet environment • Goal development • Use of computers and printing. • Support with organisational skills and working towards your goals • Copies of syllabus and assessment tasks. • Research assistance • Study Seminars • Work hard at school and have more time for outside school activities •

Students are required to sign in and out of their study periods – when available a roll will be placed in the Senior Learning Centre.

WHAT CAN I DO WITH MY TIME?

• Complete homework • Work on Assessment Tasks • Complete past HSC papers • Write study notes • Practice essay questions • Review the Syllabus • Portfolio work for practical subjects • Complete topic tests/chapter reviews at the end of each chapter • Read English Texts • Re-read class notes • Make notes on things you need clarifying in class

During the Christmas holidays I was lucky enough to take six Narromine High students on the GDAY USA trip. Mark Coleman, Brodie Haddon, Blakely Heckendorf, Georgia McGuire, Brittney Haddon and Ella Geyer (pictured above) all became members of the ‘Googie Gang’ for three weeks. Narromine High was teamed up with the Lime group which included other schools from across NSW – there were lifelong friendships made between students and teachers. After telling the students that someone would definitely get ‘bomb’ searched and not to panic when they were randomly selected – I was the lucky individual. In fact it seemed I always happened to be this ‘lucky’ individual! The group also learnt that Nutella is a liquid - when Georgia was forced to hand hers over. After a stopover in New Zealand, our first destination was San Francisco – the windy city. Here we got to take part in a harbour cruise under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz Island. We had dinner at Hard Rock Café where the boys learnt that Georgia can and will out eat them! After dinner we watched the sea lions at Pier 39. This was also the first opportunity for some shopping and I learnt that it isn’t only girls who can shop till they drop, we then were lucky enough to catch the Old Trolley Car home past Lombard Street – the world’s most crooked street. After a sightseeing tour of the city of San Francisco it was time to say goodbye and head to the airport for our flight to Los Angeles – the city of the stars. Our first day here was spent on a tour of the Hollywood boulevard, the group quickly learnt that I wasn’t over exaggerating when I told them to hold their possessions tight and stick together. A day at Knotts Berry Farm was cut short due to rain, however it was the Pirate Adventure Dinner that night which is still one of the highlights for Brittney. Disneyland, which in case you were wondering really is the happiest place on earth, was a big day, twelve hours at this theme park – which could have easily been doubled. There is just so much to see and do and there wasn’t enough time for Mark to meet all the Star Wars characters! My personal favourite was Universal Studios and it has nothing to do with Harry Potter World having recently opened. The Waking Dead Ride that the students made me go on, just so they could hear me scream, definitely wasn’t my favourite part though!

This brings us to the final stage of our trip which was spent in homestay in San Diego. We were based at Steel Canon High School which has 2700 students – just a few more than Narromine High School. Each student had a different hosting experience but we continued to visit places together like Seaworld, Santa Monica Beach, Las Americas Factory Outlets, (where Brodie bought his 7th pair of shoes) and San Diego Zoo. The cultural experiences that these students gained over these three weeks I believe, will last a life time and the friendships they have developed even longer. I would also like to add how proud these parents should be of the students that participated in this trip and what an honour it was to take them. These students presented with nothing but respect, responsibility and care for the entire trip. How many teachers can say they took students to a foreign country for three weeks and did not once, have to correct behaviour?

Simone Googe aka Googie Gang!

USMC DEBUT BALL 2018 – EXPRESSIONS

OF INTEREST Expressions of interest for girls

who would like to do their debut, please contact the USMC on 6889 4288

or Sandra 0438 892 149. The ball will be held in July.

To participate all girls and partners need to be aged sixteen

by 1 April or in Year 11 at school.