IRRAWANG HIGH SCHOOL Promoting excellence in academic, cultural and sporting performance
Newsletter - Issue 1 - February 2016 Important Dates From the Principal’s Desk TERM 1 WED JAN 27 - FRI APR 8 Firstly, I would like to welcome all the new families that Mon 15 - Yr12 VET Work P’ments have commenced with Irrawang High School this year. Fri 19 Feb As an educator there is tremendous pleasure hearing the Wed 17 Feb Zone Swim Carnival buzz among students and staff at the beginning of the school year. How wonderful it was to hear the excitement Thur 25 Feb P & C Meeting 6:30pm in MICA of everyone catching up with friends, of receiving new timetables, of nervous anticipation by Year 7– the list goes Fri 26 Feb School Photos on.
Tue 1 Mar Regional Swim The challenge for us as a school community – students, Carnival parents and staff – is to maintain and build on that Stage 3 Open Evening excitement. Mon 7 Mar School Photo Backup Day I believe that, as a school community, we should have A joy of, and commitment to learning is already students’ academic success and their well being as a strongly evident around the school. I have been most Mon 7 - Yr12 VET Work P’ments dual focus for our actions everyday. impressed with the staff’s commitment to delivering Fri 11 Mar excellent public education, something that parents, I have started the year with high expectations of our Tue 8 Mar Athletics Carnival carers and the community rightly expect. If you have staff and students in both those areas. I expect any concerns throughout the school year, I encourage Mon 14 Mar Yr 7 Vaccinations students to work hard and work to their potential, you to approach the school, as it is better to sort a Yr 8 Catch ups demonstrate respect to the staff and fellow students problem rather than continue for a period of time and to become the best person that they can possibly Tue 15 Mar Backup Athletics worrying about it. become. Carnival I feel privileged to be Principal of Irrawang High School. Congratulations to all students receiving fine results in Tue 22 Mar Cross Country The staff, students and community have been most the 2015 HSC. The students, their teachers and parents Years 7 & 8 welcoming and supportive and I am excited at the are to be congratulated on the results. Congratulations Yrs 11/12 Busn Studies challenges and opportunities ahead for education to all the class of 2015 for a successful year and we look Ex’sion - Weathertex generally, as we strive to provide the best educational forward to the 2016 cohort results. We are still waiting opportunities for all students at our school. Thur 24 Mar Cross Country on all the data from the Board of Studies and the DEC
Years 9 -12 so that we can do a full analysis of the cohort’s I am looking forward to many years of working with the Fri 25 Mar performance. Good Friday Irrawang High community. Irrawang High School is a Positive Behaviour for Mon 28 Mar Easter Monday Learning (PBL) School that values respect and Background Wed 30 Mar Yr 10 Stockton Beach responsibility in creating a caring learning environment Mr Baxter has held a broad range of leadership Excursion and supports students to achieve their personal best. positions across the state in the Western Region, Blue The school offers all students the opportunity to Mountains, Western Sydney and most recently Tomaree Wed 30 - Yr 12 Performance achieve excellence in academic, cultural, sporting and High School. He brings a broad range of educational Thur 31 Mar Exam community endeavours. I am committed to building experiences and knowledge to the school as well as strong community ties as he lives in the Port Stephens Thur 31 Mar Ag - Royal Easter Show greater engagement with the wider school community, including our partner schools of Irrawang PS, area. Mr Baxter is actively involved with a number of Fri 1 - Yr 12 Half Yearly Exams Grahamstown PS, Wirreanda PS and Medowie PS. community and sporting groups in the region. Fri 8 Apr
Fri 8 Apr LAST DAY OF TERM 1 Sport 4-5
Welcome Yr 7/New babies 6 P & C Meetings IRRAWANG HIGH SCHOOL on the Ag plot Mount Hall Road P & C meetings are held on the fourth Welcome Mrs Zannoni/ 7 RAYMOND TERRACE NSW 2324 Monday of the month. February’s P: 49874687 F: 49831027 Snack & Study/ Congrats All welcome Josh! meeting has been changed to: Date: Thursday 25 February 2016 Principal: Mr P Baxter Congrats Stacie!/Defence 8 Transition Time: 6:30pm www.irrawang-h.schools.nsw.edu.au Where: MICA Room Students learning Gathang 9 [email protected] language/7kg gramma / This is a chance to meet other parents and learn what is going on Congrats Seth and Teeya! at your child’s school. Become involved in your school community. Inside this issue: PBL Forum/Snack and 10-17 Have your say in your child’s/children’s education. From the Principal’s Desk 1 Study/NDIS/Canteen Menu/ Ads and Sponsors Principal in attendance. New Teachers 2-3
Welcome to our new Support Class Teachers
Welcome to our new Support Class teachers By Mrs L Fagan Community Liaison Officer
Ms Natalie Moore Head Teacher Ms Natalie Moore (pictured right) comes to our school with a wealth of knowledge, having achieved positions of Head Teacher at various schools and Assistant Principal at a Central Coast SSP school (Schools for Specific Purposes). These students from Pre-school to Year 12 require intensive levels of support.
Ms Moore is looking forward to working collaboratively with her new team of highly qualified teachers and support staff who each bring different skill sets, and who collectively will be addressing each individual student's different needs and interests.
Ms Suzy Morris Ms Suzy Morris (pictured below) who will be teaching our Senior Support students was previously teaching at Tomaree High School in the Support Unit and looks forward to continuing the programs established by Mr Hannon.
The new staff join the team of highly dedicated teachers and support staff who create learning environments where students with a range of learning difficulties can flourish.
SAVE THIS DATE: Friday 26 February
SCHOOL PHOTOS
Envelopes out as soon as possible
New Teachers for our School
Welcome Mrs Wallace - "I have been made to feel very welcome here by both students and staff, Head Teacher English everyone has been so helpful and I have By Mrs L Fagan loved my time here so far," said Mrs
Community Liaison Officer Wallace. "I am highly committed to a
range of Literacy programs which will
A big warm Irrawang High welcome to see more students engaged with public our new Head Teacher English Mrs speaking, debating and theatre trips to Tracey Wallace. Sydney" she said.
Graduating in 1991, Mrs Wallace has As a proud Dhurrag woman, Mrs Wallace taught at a diverse range of rural and will be taking a keen interest in regional high schools; Walgett, Narrabri, Aboriginal studies and education along Woolooware and Deniliquin with her last with the Student Representative Council. posting at West Wallsend High School as
Head Teacher English. After 12 years at Mrs Wallace has an open door policy for
West Wallsend Mrs Wallace accepted all parents/carers/students and is the position at Irrawang High School and contactable by phone or email. Her firm is feeling enormously positive about the belief is . . . change. "Every child matters every day."
Young teachers start their Ms Ryan (pictured below) a targeted Science teacher Mr Taylor Ross career at our school graduate with degrees in (pictured below) a scholarship Mathematics and Music, gained her graduate who majored at university By Mrs L Fagan Community Liaison Officer Masters in Teaching last year and in Biology with a Minor in Physics was awarded a Maths Scholarship - and Chemistry, believes his students Teachers Ashley Burgess (pictured below) one of only 40 across the state. have responded well to his teaching and Leena Ryan have joined the Maths faculty, bringing with them a great deal of style. Ms Burgess and Head Teacher Maths enthusiasm and a determination to make their classes enjoyable and fun, by using a Ms Bailey, are working with Middle He looks forward to preparing his variety of resources and giving their School students in 7E & 7M in open senior students to become lifelong students more practical activities. space learning. Small groups of learners and teaching them to
students rotate within the space, become more independent later in As “New Scheme” teachers their goal is to individualise the learning process and with all taught the same content but the year in readiness for university engage and enrich the students in their in different ways. and/or further education. classes.
Sport
Sports News Swimming Carnival By Mr W Turner By Miss J Duma
Head Teacher PDHPE PDHPE Our competitors only Swimming Carnival (please see highlights on
Congratulations to our new captains and vice captains. next page) was held on Tuesday 9 February at Lakeside Leisure and Aquatic Centre. Although we only had a small number of competitors, all competed with much enthusiasm and displayed House Captains and Vice Captains good sportsmanship. Thank you to all who participated in the Bramley: Osborne: Carnival as competitors and those who acted as officials. Overall results are as follows. Captains: Courtney Cotton Captains: Jazmine Hughes Samuel Chaffey Robert Lewis Age Champions Vice Captains: Annabel Bisley Vice Captains: Dylan Hopper Congratulations to the following Age Champions: Riley Blunt Daniel Hilzinger Age Group Female Male Dawson: Moy: 12 Years Mahala Fisher Captains: Chloe Martin Captains: Shannon Reilly Noah Maher Joel Sheals 13 Years Gwen Dunn Timothy Blanch 14 Years Luke Allanson Vice Captains: Kalais Minnis Vice Captains: Amy Weston Bradley Marshall Jacob Zok 15 Years Mitchell Swan 16 Years Brieanna Paul Upcoming Sporting Events
17+ Years Emily Allanson Joshua Howland
Athletics Carnival - 8 March - All day at Vi Barnett Oval On Tuesday 8 March, students who catch buses to school will be House Point Score delivered to and picked up from the Vi Barnett Oval. If students st 1 = Bramley walk or ride then they will need to provide their own transport nd 2 = Moy rd to the oval. The carnival begins at 8:45am. Students can buy 3 = Osborne th food and drink from a canteen on this day. They will not be 4 = Dawson allowed to go down the street/or home for lunch. In the event students are unable to actively participate in the carnival they Zone Representatives should bring a note of explanation and they will be allocated a Ten students have qualified for the Port Stephens Zone Swimming task to assist in running the carnival. Students will participate in Carnival to be held at Tomaree Aquatic Centre on 18 February events as Professionals (really serious competitors) or Amateurs 2016. Good luck to all competitors. A full report will follow in the (students having fun with their peers). next Newsletter.
Cross Country Carnival - 22 March - Years 7 and 8 PDHPE News
24 March - Years 9 to 12 On their SPORTS day in week 9 starting 21 March (Tuesday - Health Topics Throughout the year, students will be covering a number of issues Years 7 and 8) (Thursday - Years 9 to 12), students will attend within the units studied that are ‘Sensitive Topics.’ These include their normal first two periods of lessons, then recess. The Drugs, Sexual Health, Relationships and Mental Health throughout cross country will be held in sport time only. The course will Years 7 – 10. If you have any concerns, please feel free to contact be supervised by staff and students need to follow all the PDHPE Department. Throughout the year Videos / DVDs / Film instructions. Students will then have lunch and period 5. In Clips will be shown that are relevant to the course. These have the event students are unable to actively participate in the been viewed by PE Staff and have been recommended as suitable carnival they should bring a note of explanation and they will for the course content.
be allocated a task to assist in running the carnival. PE Uniform
All students were given a letter last year (and it was distributed
Premier’s Sporting Challenge again at the beginning of this year) in regards to requirements for PE and Sport Uniform. Please note that shorts for PE lessons and Irrawang High School will be participating in the NSW on Sports day, must be a minimum of mid-thigh length, black Premier’s Sporting Challenge again this year. The Challenge sports shorts. If your child is unable to bring the correct uniform to itself will start early Term 2. Any students interested in change into for PE, they need to bring in a note explaining why, as participating in this year’s Challenge need to collect an well as an alternate change of uniform. Correct footwear was also information sheet and permission note from the Admin / covered in the letter given out stating shoes must be properly fitted
LOTE staffroom. For further information, please contact Miss lace up shoes. If you have any concerns in regards to correct PE Duma (IHS PSC Facilitator). and Sport Uniform, please feel free to contact the PDHPE Department.
Swimming Carnival Highlights
Welcome Year 7
New babies on the Ag Plot
Welcome Year 7 By Mrs L Fagan
Community Liaison Officer
Principal Mr Paul Baxter, Year 7 Deputy Principal Mr Pearson and Year 7 Advisor Mrs L'Ecluse welcomed our new Year 7 students to Irrawang High on their first day.
All students were beautifully dressed in school uniform
and beautifully behaved. Well done!
Also good to see familiar faces with our Year 11 and 12 students back and ready for another productive year.
News from the school farm . . . new enrolments
By Mrs L Fagan Community Liaison Officer
Seven, four week old quail chicks were made welcome to the school farm at the end of January and have settled well into their new home. Another 40
chicks have spent 16 days in the incubator ready to transition into a brooder where they will spend another four weeks before being pushed out into the big wide
world in their new home.
We had another special enrolment to the school farm on our first day back - a four month old Santa cross heifer (girl). Name to be decided - any ideas?
Welcome Mrs Zannoni / Snack and Study Congratulations Josh!
Bienvenido Mrs Zannoni By Mrs L Fagan Community Liaison Officer
Mrs Gabriela Zannoni has joined the Irrawang High team as a fulltime permanent Spanish teacher and is looking forward to working with the Year 7 and 8 students.
Studying Interpreting, Translation and Adult Education at university before Secondary Teaching, Mrs Zannoni is highly qualified to teach our young people.
Félix enseñanza.
Snack and Study has started this year By Mrs L Fagan Community Liaison Officer
Snack and Study ( Homework Centre) is located in the school library and is held every Monday afternoon from 3:30pm until 5:30pm, with students receiving a complimentary light refreshment during the afternoon. The intention of Snack and Study is to provide additional support for students with homework tasks, improve numeracy and literacy skills and access to technology located in the library.
Permission notes are available from the front office or from Mrs L'Ecluse in the senior learning and support centre.
Our Maths Whiz!! By Mrs L Fagan Community Liaison Officer
Huge congratulations to our unassuming and delightful School Captain Joshua Ferguson (pictured right) on receiving the highest grade (A) in the Colin Doyle Memorial Prize (Maths competition) run by the University of Newcastle.
The notoriously difficult competition is open to Year 11 students from schools in the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Upper Hunter and Central Coast districts studying Extension I Mathematics.
"Josh continues to achieve outstanding results in Mathematics. He plans to study Engineering at the University of Newcastle next year and we know he has a very bright future ahead of him. We are enormously proud of his achievements in Mathematics," said Head Teacher Maths, Ms Sarah Bailey.
Congratulations Stacie! Defence Transition
Congratulations to former Work consists of highly detailed
Year 12 student, Stacie Uhrig graphite on paper drawings of By Mr G Wyllie invented species of animals and CAPA Faculty hybrids that represent our power for imagination and view on It is fantastic news for Irrawang reality. Stacie always pushed High School with a former Year 12 herself during the year, dedicating Visual Arts student, Stacie Uhrig her own time out of class, after being selected for this year’s school and during the holidays.
prestigious ARTEXPRESS exhibition for an outstanding Body of Work These artworks will be on display during 2015. at the Maitland Regional Art
Gallery during September 10 These artworks have been a result through to October 30 2016. of dedication and perseverance, Definitely try and get a chance to with high levels of see her work as it is very experimentation and concept impressive. development. Stacie’s Body of
Defence Transition There will be a welcome function on Friday, would like to attend. I hope you can join us!
By Mrs G de Wit 26 February from 3:30pm to 5:30pm at Lakeside Bowl, Raymond Terrace (afternoon For some students, transitioning to a new Defence Transition Mentor school or having a family member on tea provided), however it will cost $5.00 per I would like to welcome all our new game/person. I invite all students and their deployment can be very stressful. I am Australian Defence Force enrolments to our families from the ADF to come along and available by contacting the school or by school and hope that you have settled in and enjoy an informal opportunity for new email [email protected] are underway with your studies. I am families to meet and learn about our local if you have any questions or concerns, no currently moving around meeting students community. Please RSVP me by Wednesday matter how trivial they may seem. and their families. 23 February for catering purposes if you
The Real Futures Foundation is a non-profit organisation which
has an established track record of helping to inspire and motivate students in Port Stephens to either stay in school and increase their educational engagement and attainment, or
choose a positive pathway that enables successful transition to employment, further education or training.
Aboriginal Education 7kg Gramma grown on the farm Congratulations Seth and Teeya!
Aboriginal Education By Mrs L Fagan Community Liaison Officer
Every Tuesday afternoon for the rest of the year, Jonathon Lilley (pictured right) from Murook will be teaching the Gathang language to our interested Aboriginal students.
The first lesson was fun and informative with the emphasis on the spoken word.
A very big gramma pie on the way By Mrs L Fagan Community Liaison Officer
A 7kg gramma pumpkin grown on the school farm and purchased by Mrs Agland (pictured right), will soon be made into a delicious gramma pie. Don’t forget to save us a piece, Lynne!!
Breakfast Club A FREE breakfast for all students is available every TUESDAY morning from 8:00 - 8:30am.
Food available can be - cheese toasties, sausage sandwiches, and always a hot Milo.
Congratulations to our two Year 9 English stars!! By Mrs L Fagan Community Liaison Officer Seth Latimer and Teeya Saunders (pictured right) both Year 9 students, entered the Australia wide Write4fun competition last year, with Seth writing a short story titled “There Is No End”, and
Teeya entering a poem “ My Eternal Memory.”
nd Teeya’s entry made it through to the 2 round of judging while Seths entry received a Merit award. His story will now be published in the Beyond Words anthology due to be released in April.
Considering there were over 7500 entries from all over the country this was an wonderful effort by our two amazing English students.
Congratulations to you both – along with English teacher, Ms King.
IRRAWANG HIGH SCHOOL
Mount Hall Road RAYMOND TERRACE NSW 2324 Phone: 49874687 Fax: 49831027 email: [email protected] Internet: www.irrawang.hs.education.nsw.gov.au
“SNACK AND STUDY” Homework Centre STUDENT REFERRAL Please complete the following and hand in to the front office or to Mrs L’Ecluse. If you wish to contact supervising staff in the Library , you can call the following mobile number: 0431595950.
Name: ...... Year: ...... Start Date: ......
“Snack and Study” runs on a Monday afternoon ONLY
Yes, I need assistance with:
Homework Tasks Preparation/Research for an assessment task Literacy Skills Numeracy Skills Study Skills
Agreement: I agree to behave in a safe and respectful way when I attend the “Snack and Study.” I will report to the Library on time and must remain there until 5:30pm. If I need to leave early, I will provide a signed note with the details on it from my parent/guardian. I understand that I will need to find my own way home at the completion of the afternoon session.
Further Information/Details: ......
......
Student Signature Parent/Guardian Name Signature
......
Student Mobile Number Parent/Guardian Contact Phone Number
Encouraging achievement through learning and participation for social and personal development in a community based school
Ads/IHS Supporters Port Stephens Netball
Port Association 2016
Stephens Winter Competition Netball
If you are interested in joining a team to play
netball in 2016 we have a number of clubs
looking for players, coaches and managers
for their teams in 2016. To find out more
information on local club registrations please
email or phone the Club contacts below:
Club Contact Phone Email
Glen Oak Netball 0411 542 604 [email protected]
Dungog Netball 0407 953 293 [email protected]
Irrawang Netball 0459 156 050 [email protected]
Koori Dolphins Netball [email protected]
Medowie Netball [email protected]
Onix Netball 0431 680 566 [email protected]
St Brigids Netball 0408 296 309 [email protected]
Terrace Central Netball 0417 251 006 [email protected]
For further information on Netball in Port Stephens please
find us on our Facebook page or via our website:
psna.nsw.netball.com.au
Irrawang High School
FREE School Phone App
How to Install Our School App
On Apple
On your iPhone open the app store
Search for our school name
Press Install
Enter your iTunes password
It will commence downloading immediately
Android/Google Play
On your SmartPhone open the Android/Google Play market
Search for our school name
Press install
Your app will start installing instantly
To Open Our School App
Look for our schools app icon on your phone screen
Press the icon once
It will open automatically
When prompted select yes to receive notifications and use
your location (this will make sure the Google maps and pop
-up alerts work for you)
If you encounter troubles
Shut down the app and or your phone to refresh the
phones memory
NEXT COURSES - Nelson Bay : Thurs 18 February & Thurs 17 March @ 5:00pm, Thurs 21 April @ 9:30am Raymond Terrace : Thurs 14 April @ 9:30am Uninstall your app and reinstall it Contact PCYC Port Stephens on 49813099 or online at pcycnsw.org Contact www.activeschoolapps.com.au/support for help
Can You Help in our Canteen?
IHS Supporters
Calling for canteen volunteers! By Mrs L Fagan Community Liaison Officer
If you are able to assist for a day here and there to help Canteen Supervisor, Allison Ryner we would love to hear from you. Lunch is provided and no money will be handled. You can contact Allison on 49874687.
Seeing much, suffering much, and studying much, are the Have you changed your personal details? three pillars of learning. Benjamin Disraeli If your student has any change in their Education is not a product; mark, diploma, job, money - in that order, it is a process, a never-ending one. Bel Kaufman personal details eg doctor, emergency
There are three ingredients in the good life; learning, earning contact, telephone no., address etc, and yearning. Christopher Morley please inform the school ASAP.
Does your child need an extra hand with English or Maths? IHS SUPPORTERS UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT
Sometimes children fall behind at school. They may have moved from another state, changed classes, or something else has happened in their life beyond your control. For whatever reason they then begin to struggle with their work at school, with their homework and with their exams. This can be frustrating for both them and you as a parent.
Kip McGrath specialises in helping children catch up to where they need to be in English and Maths. The resources we use are specifically designed to do this job. And the reason we only use qualified teachers, is that they have the tools and skills to accelerate your child’s learning, so that any gaps are closed as quickly as possible.
We complement what is done at school to help your child. Your school gives your child an essential foundation in education across a wide range of subjects and developmental activities. Our job is to give your child an extra hand when they need to catch up … for whatever reason. So together we can help your child reach their full potential.
If your child is experiencing these frustrations and they need an extra hand in English or Maths, then call Christine to see how we can help. 4983 1000 www.kipmcgrath.com.au/raymond-terrace
Ph: 49832088
IHS Supporters
Koryu Uchinadi Kenpo Jutsu
Practical, Application - Based Martial Arts
Full time training centre now open at : 9 Kangaroo St Raymond Terrace
Classes for Juniors (4-7yo), Youths (8-15yo), mixed age & adults. Open 5 days a week.
Koryu Uchinadi Teaches:
Strikes, Kicks, Throws, Joint Locks, Strangles & Grappling Koryu Uchinadi Develops:
Health & Fitness, Self Confidence & Self Discipline
Ph Sensei Bob King - 49964700 or 0416197644 www.kunewcastle.com
Abundance Auto Recycling
Have you got an old car or caravan around your place that you want removed?
Let Brett take all the hassle and worry away from you and
get the job done quickly and without any fuss.
Specialising in removal of car bodies, caravans and small trucks from Newcastle, Port Stephens and Lake Macquarie areas.
Contact Brett on:
0417067080
IHS Supporters
Help us to help you RAYMOND TERRACE Shout out to all parents/carers who would like to promote their WINDSCREEN SERVICES business and support our school at the same time. The school offers a 12 month advertising package which includes a large Does your windscreen need repairing advert in our monthly newsletter, logo placement on our school website and logo and information about your business on our quickly? Look no further than Geoff school app. All monies raised goes into school resources to assist Foot to help you out with his same day our students. mobile service. If you would like more information please contact Lue Fagan our cars * trucks * buses * 4WDs * plant Community Liaison Officer at school on 49874687 or [email protected] machinery
* custom cars * custom auto glass
Also insurance and emergency
work and servicing ALL areas
Locally owned and operated for 20 years
P: 0427833269
NSW Government Schools VISITORS TO Term Dates - 2016 IRRAWANG HIGH SCHOOL
Term 1 Wednesday 27 January - Friday 8 April
Term 2 Tuesday 26 April - Friday 1 July Visitors should not enter school playgrounds without the issue of a visitors pass from the front office. Term 3 Monday 18 July - Friday 23 September
Term 4 Monday 10 October - Tuesday 20 December NB: Teaching staff are not always available, *School Development Days occur at the beginning of Terms 1, 2 and 3 and the therefore it would be appreciated if last two days of the school year. Check with the school, as schools may vary appointments were made beforehand. some of these dates.
Irrawang High School POSTAGE MOUNT HALL ROAD PAID RAYMOND TERRACE NSW 2324
have you changed your address? - please let us know
Name: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Address: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... email: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Phone: ………………………………………………… Student’s Name: ……………………………………………………..
Mobile: ...…………………………………………….. Year: ………………………….
If you hold a bus pass, please see staff in the Photocopy Room