N E W S L E T T
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Blakehurst High School Your Outstanding Local Comprehensive Secondary School Term 4 Update – December 2011 N Highlights for 2011 As we near the end of 2011 it is worthwhile to reflect on some of the highlights for the year. For me these highlights included; E Excellent NAPLAN results for Years 7 and 9 – particularly in Numeracy (well above State average). Some aspects of Literacy are still a concern and these will be a focus of our 2012-14 School Plan. W State Award of Excellence for our Environmental team. An extremely successful MULTICULTURAL day organised and run by our SRC. The 13th Annual Australian Business Week (ABW) conducted. This was organised by Ms Wiryakusuma and continued the strong link between our school and Kogarah Rotary. S We strengthened our links with our feeder schools – a group of Year 7 students as well as teachers, visited them early in the year and they came to us for taster courses throughout Term 3. Continued success on the sporting field. Including being named as the Zone Girls‟ L Champion school for both the Winter and Summer grade competitions. The collaborative development of the Schools RESPECT and RESPONSIBILITY charter; outlining the school values which we would like all school community members to E adhere. The introduction of new initiatives such as online study skills and the SMS attendance system – financially backed by the BHS P&C. The successful introduction of Year 8 and 10 selection evenings that fully informed parents and T students of the subject choices available to them. Overseas excursions to France and Italy as well as a myriad of other excursions designed to enhance student outcomes. Some of the physical aspects of the school were improved– the Hall was painted by Yr 12 as part of T their present to the school; hall fans, funded by the P&C; a Cola was constructed between the Gym and Hall; an upgrade of the Industrial Arts staffroom was completed; refurbishment of the basketball courts. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Blakehurst High School, Parents & Citizens Association E (P&C) for their ongoing support, both financially, as well as in representation on merit selection panels for staff; the canteen committee and the financial committee. The P&C has committed over $30000 in 2011 to school programs and projects including ; assisting with the school bus expenses; Presentation Evening Awards; sewing machines; Hall fans; upgrade of the Hall sound R system; Study skills/SMS; Transition advisers laptop; Science equipment; Music and Art equipment and technology; and Mathematics software. I would also like to thank the staff at BHS – I have said many times that I believe they are the best staff I have worked with in 34 years of teaching – this is because they are so concerned about achieving the best outcomes for students and most are keen to “go the extra mile” to assist their students. It is this that makes BHS the Comprehensive school of choice in the area we presently have an enrolment of over 1100 students with more knocking on the door every day. I am very proud of the fact that I am the Principal of a school that is fully inclusive; we are able to provide a quality education for ALL students regardless of their background, academic ability, or socio economic status. Many schools boast about their exclusivity – this essentially means they can exclude students they don‟t want – this is what makes us different; it makes us the school we are! P&C Annual General Meeting The P&C AGM will take place at the first P&C meeting in 2012. The date for this meeting is Wednesday the 7th of February at 7pm. It will follow the „Meet the Year 7 Teachers‟ event we will hold that afternoon/evening. Hopefully new Year 7 parents will stay on for the AGM. All parents are invited to attend. Leanne Roth, our School Counsellor, will be the Guest Speaker at the AGM. She will be talking about the transition of students from Primary to Secondary school, as well as the role of the School Counsellor Return Dates for 2012 The return to school for the 2012 year is staggered as follows; Staff return Friday the 27th of January – Staff Development Day Years 7, 11 and 12 return Monday the 30th of January (9am Assembly) Years 8, 9 and 10 return Tuesday the 31st of January (9am Assembly; Yrs 11 and 12 have Period 0 as per their timetables – 7-45 am start) 270a Woniora Road BLAKEHURST NSW 2221 Ph: 9546 3281 Fax: 9547 1024 Email: [email protected] Website: www.blakehurst-h.schools.nsw.edu.au STUDY SKILLS TIP FOR DECEMBER: END OF YEAR ‘SWOT’ REFLECTION At the end of year it is always a good idea for students to reflect on their approach to school. Not every student can achieve the best marks, but every student can achieve the best marks they are capable of, their own personal best. By focusing more on improving learning, and gaining deeper understanding, rather than just on marks, students often find their results improve significantly. A great approach for students is to undertake a simple SWOT analysis: Strengths: What are your strengths as a student? What achievements from this year can you celebrate? What do you do really well at school? What skills have you developed? What learning have you really enjoyed? Weaknesses: What are your weaknesses as a student? What areas could you improve in? What skills need more work? Opportunities: What opportunities exist for you to improve your approach to school? What could you do differently next year? What could you do to have better quality learning experiences next year? Threats: What is standing in the way of you achieving your personal best? What obstacles do you need to overcome? What actions could you take to deal with any threats to achieving your personal best? Students may also like to print the „Setting Targets‟ worksheet in the Goal Setting unit or the „Moving Your Results to the Next Level‟ sheet in Becoming a Senior Student unit. Our school‟s subscription details to www.studyskillshandbook.com.au are - User name: blakehursths Password: 186results Parent Tips Published in the Department of Education Newsletter Help Yourself and Others Young adulthood is an exciting time, but it can also be a time of emotional confusion and stress. The Reachout websit www.rachout.com has information on everything from family relationships, bullying, sexuality, to drugs and alcohol, grief and loss. There‟s also a helpline and live chat help. Reachout has an internship program for students who are interested in working in the social services sector. Flexible intern opportunities include the areas of marketing, IT, psychology, multimedia and more. Email [email protected] if you are interested. Also check out the „get involved‟ page for more ways young people 14-25 years can help others http://au.reachout.com/get-involved Youth info a click away Links and resources for young people on areas including: legal rights; school and beyond; health & wellbeing; disabilities; work & money; getting help; are available on the YouthNSW website. The site includes a comprehensive list of grants and funding available to young people to pursue specific projects. Go to: www.youth.nsw.gov.au/ Dedicated email trial for reporting bullying. Just a reminder that our school has been selected to trial an Electronic Bullying Reporting System. Please see the information from the DEC below. “In response to general community concerns around the reporting of bullying the Department of Education and Communities is piloting in 24 schools across NSW, a dedicated email address where students and their parents can report incidents of bullying. The school that your child attends has volunteered to be part of this important trial. Students and parents will be able to send an email anytime and from anywhere with an internet connection, to report student bullying behaviour online. The report travels instantaneously to the school principal or nominee in an email. The purpose of this email trial is to identify the particular benefits/advantages and limitations/disadvantages for the school community of using a dedicated email address for reporting bullying. An email account has been created at our school – You can access this email on the schools website: i.e. [email protected] After a report has been made a bounce back message will take place (i.e. an automatic response). This will give information about when the report would be looked at, some tips on what to do, contact information on support services and information about what constitutes bullying. The bullying e-mail will be a no-reply e-mail box. The responses are provided by a school representative, no anonymity will be available in this response.” Please note the school will not be acting on any anonymous emails as they may prove vexatious. I wish THE ENTIRE BLAKEHURST HIGH SCHOOL COMMUNITY A HAPPY AND SAFE HOLIDAY OVER THE FESTIVE SEASON. Late mail - 2011 HSC results just in! Staff and students are celebrating the outstanding HSC results we achieved this year. I have included a summary of the highlights below: Top ATAR Chelsea (Yi Qing) Zhang ATAR of 99.55 (NB maximum ATAR possible is 99.95) State Merit List Evangelia Haralabopoulos - 1st in the State for Modern Greek Beginners. Andrew Panopoulos – 5th in the State for Modern Greek Beginners. Nikolaos Triantafyllis – 5th in the State for Modern Greek Continuers. Nikolaos Triantafyllis – 5th in the State for Modern Greek Extension. Emily Gorscak – 9th in the State in Business Services.