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Cnr Edinburgh & Nile Streets, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2450 Telephone: 02 6652 3466 Fax: 02 6651 4004 “Light out of Darkness” QUALITY EDUCATION SINCE 1938 th Term 1 — 2016/02 5 April 2016 FROM THE PRINCIPAL On behalf of our staff and students I would like to express our sympathy for the family of Tracy Skinner, one of our canteen assistants, who passed away over Easter. Tracy had a long history with our school, working loyally alongside retired manager Gail Swan and current manager Michelle Waugh for over 10 years. Tracy‘s children Brooke and Lucas completed their schooling at Coffs High, and their former teachers in particular would like them to know that we are thinking of them. My apologies to P&C members for the late but unavoidable cancellation of the AGM and March meeting. The electricity blackout in the whole Jetty area made the venue for our meeting unsafe. Our April meeting and postponed AGM were well attended and I thank the 2015 office bearers for their splendid work, and also the 2016 team taking on these important tasks:- President: Paul Covington Vice Presidents: Deanne Parker Sally Bryant Secretary: Rebecca Hulbert Treasurer: Karen Bryant Publicity Officer: Sally Bryant I would like to seize this opportunity to urge our new families to consider joining P&C. In our school this is an immensely active, efficient and generous organisation which over the years has given the school huge benefits, both financial and moral. Our best chance of seeing this dynamic asset continue to flourish is the pleasure of welcoming new people there with each new student intake. email: [email protected] website: www.coffsharb-h.schools.nsw.edu.au FROM THE PRINCIPAL Another matter of importance for new families, which I have been asked about several times, is the school’s relationship with the police. It all hinges on the wonderful work of Senior Constable Bernadette Snow, who is our local Schools Police Liaison Officer. Her work covers all public and private schools in the Coffs–Clarence command, from Maclean to Dorrigo. This makes her a very busy woman, and we are grateful for the support she can give us in a whole range of areas. Her primary role is proactive, mainly in the form of information sessions for students from Years 7 to 11. Topics covered are tailored to the age of the students, and include such vital matters as cyber safety, sexting, safe parties, bicycle rules, L and P driving. We keep these groups to normal class size, to allow better interaction and to give students the opportunity to ask questions. Senior Constable Snow is very good at building trust through these sessions, and as a result, students sometimes ask to speak with her for individual advice. Senior Constable Snow also works closely with the Home–School Liaison officers (Ms Joanna Reid and Mr Michael Gibson in the case of our school) in efforts to reduce truancy. Parents are no doubt aware that students noticed away from school during school hours can be questioned by this team about their reasons for not being at school. There are also occasions when Senior Constable Snow is called to the school by the Deputy Principals or myself — for example for mediation between groups of students in conflict, or to meet with a student and parent following a return from a serious suspension. So whenever you see a police car parked outside the school you can rest assured that it is most likely SC Snow going about her work, and that everything she does is about keeping students safe and helping them find better ways of relating to others. Patti Kearns SURVEY REQUEST ABORIGINAL EDUCATION CONSULTATIVE GROUP It would be appreciated if the Aboriginal community of Coffs Harbour High School could take a few minutes of your time to complete a survey for the Department of Education. There are only three questions which are listed below. 1 If you could have anything for Aboriginal students in regards to their education in your local community, what would it be? 2 What advice would you give directors and school principals in order to achieve these goals? 3 How could you support them to achieve this? Please click on the attached link (or copy and paste) to complete the survey. Thank you for your support. http://goo.gl/forms/3uS9XmCmSY 2 CHHS NEWSLETTER 2016/02 P&C REPORT CONDOLENCES It was sad to return after the break to the news that one of our canteen employees, Tracy Skinner, had passed away suddenly over Easter. Tracy has worked for us for the best part of a decade and as a volunteer for many years before that. She always had big heart and was much loved and respected by her fellow workers, volunteers, teachers, staff and students. On behalf of the P&C I wish to convey our condolences to Murray, Brooke and Lucas, as well as to Tracy’s many friends. POSTPONED AGM Our AGM scheduled for 7th March was cancelled due to a power failure in the whole Jetty region. Therefore the AGM will now be held on Monday 4th April followed by our regular meeting. We welcome new members to our meetings held in the library at 7.00 pm on the first Monday of the month except during school holidays. Entry is now via the main office. Being involved with your P&C is an excellent opportunity to be part of your child’s school and learn about the day to day running of the school, positive achievements and other relevant issues. P&C members are incredibly active in the school community. They have been invited to sit on panels to select staff, (including the new Head Teacher Languages and Head Teacher Learning Support); and they are involved in school planning. UNIFORMS Thanks to Michelle and Sharon who worked tirelessly at the start of the year ordering new uniforms and running the uniform shop. We understand there have been some faults with some new lemon shirts, particularly ripping under the arms. If you have a faulty shirt purchased this year please return it to the canteen to be exchanged. If you have uniforms still in good condition that you no longer need, please leave them in the main office for the Welfare Department. Some of the old polo shirts, no longer part of the new uniform, have been identified for recycling to students in underprivileged schools overseas. CANTEEN The vast majority of our fundraising comes from our canteen. It relies heavily on volunteers. If you are a parent, guardian or other family member who is able to spare some time, please call our Canteen Supervisor Michelle on 6652 4637. MENU Gluten-free sausage rolls and pies are now available but must be pre-ordered in the morning. Shortly there will be a canteen audit to make sure we are keeping within the Healthy Canteens guidelines. 3 CHHS NEWSLETTER 2016/02 P&C REPORT FROM THE P&C FEDERATION 2016 is going to be an important year for public education. As the federal election moves closer, your P&C Federation will be focusing on making sure that support for the proper funding of education is a key issue in the minds of our politicians. You will be aware that the Australian Labor Party has now promised to fully fund the Gonski needs based funding reforms as well as reversing the cuts to public education from the now infamous 2014 Abbott/Hockey budget. Education funding is too important to be a political football, so the P&C Federation is actively seeking to ensure that the Liberal/National government takes a similar position to the election. A strong public education system is the best investment we can make in our country's future. Every child deserves the opportunity to be their best, and the independently determined Gonski model is what our education system needs. Please look for opportunities to raise the importance of changing the government's mind at every opportunity. The igiveagonski website has lots of information. P&C FEDERATION ELECTIONS Federation of Parents and Citizens Associations of New South Wales 2016 election of councillors and delegates will be conducted by the New South Wales Electoral Commission. Details on their website www.pandc.org.au. Paul Covington PRESIDENT/PUBLICITY OFFICER 4 CHHS NEWSLETTER 2016/02 FROM THE DEPUTY PRINCIPAL Our warm summer months are coming to an end and soon our students will return to the cooler winter days. In the cold weather we sometimes find students wearing a variety of coloured jumpers and hoodies. I would like to remind parents/carers that we do enforce the wearing of our uniform throughout the year, including school jumpers. School jumpers are available for purchase in the canteen. Should you require assistance to purchase a jumper please see either the Deputy Principal or Mr Hardie-Porter and we will be able to assist you. I was fortunate enough to go to The Great Aussie Bush Camp two weeks ago with our new Year 7 students. It was a hectic three days, with students woken at 6.00 am, busy with adventure-style activities during the day followed by enjoyable night activities. The year group showed themselves to be a wonderful cohort of students who were cooperative, enthusiastic and respectful, and hopefully they took home enjoyable stories and memories. They all supported each other on the challenging activities and many friendships developed. Year 7 were given great assistance and encouragement by 17 Year 10 students and their involvement in this excursion was much appreciated. A big thank you to Mr Mason for his hard work organising a successful excursion.

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