#5 Term 1, 2013

BISHOP DRUITT COLLEGEFAITHFULNESS IN SERVICE

COFFS HARBOUR

BISHOP DRUITT COLLEGECOFFS HARBOUR 1 March | 2013

| Page 1Dynamic • caring • Optimistic

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Chaplain’s Chat

Last week’s wild weather provided us with a good test of our ability to communicate with parents and guardians in an urgent circumstance. We will not play Russian Roulette with flooding rains. The best place for your children in the severe conditions we experienced last week is safely at home.

I made the decision to close the school because we had reports from the SES and other sources that outlying towns were going to be cut off by floodwaters. We were also told by our bus companies that they could not guarantee that they would be operating on all routes in the normal afternoon period. The potential for students to be stranded at school was real, and we will do everything we can to prevent that from happening.

Many of our staff live in outlying regions, and they also had to get home while they could. It looks like another wet weekend is on its way.

I appreciate the decision of many parents and guardians to keep their children at home last Friday. The weather event we encountered came as no surprise. It had been predicted all week. Unfortunately, the weather forecast was correct!

I would be pleased to hear how you felt about the way we communicated our messages last week. I assume the SMS message was received by all who have a mobile phone registered with us, and hope that e-mail and App messages supplemented the SMS. I know there were a couple of areas around Coffs Harbour that lost power and mobile phone services simultaneously, so there was no way we could have contacted people in those few areas.

Thankfully, the school suffered no serious damage in the storm. There were a few leaks, but no major structural damage, and no serious damage to trees around the campus.

The ACER scholarship examinations scheduled for last Saturday have been rescheduled for this Saturday, 2 March. All families concerned have been advised of this change.

The P&F Welcome to Parents evening is being held from 5.00-7.00pm on Wednesday, 6 March. OOSH care will be available for children if you wish to bring them along. Please confirm your request for this care by e-mailing Marielos Urrutia: [email protected]

Congratulations this week to:

Jenny Taffs (12) who was awarded a CIS (Combined Independent Schools) Blue. These awards are rarely given, and go to • students who perform exceptionally at School Sport Australia (SSA) championshipsKalina Bennett (12) for being selected in the CIS Triathlon team to compete at the National Championships in Penrith in April, after • finishing in an incredible 7th place, at her first major Triathlon meet.Well done too, to these students who performed exceptionally well at the All Schools Triathlon championships last week – Tom • Place (11), 19th, Zac Freuden (10), 21st, and Zoë Burgess (10), 8th.Joseph Dean (12), who will be a delegate at the 2013 National Schools Constitutional Convention being held at Old Parliament • House, Canberra from 20-22 March. Joe was chosen to attend the NSCC from around 4000 students from government, Catholic and Independent schools around the country, most of whom attended feeder conferences in their home states last year.

From the prinCipal

pastoral Care

Alan BallPrincipal

Is it March already? How incredible it is that time slips by so fast when you’re having fun. One of the most enjoyable experiences that I was so privileged to be a part of this week was whilst leading Chapel for Kindergarten students.

Apart from being so cute, these enthusiastic students were eager to visit Chapel, and being their first time in Chapel, I like to explain to them what the Chapel is used for and what my role is. I showed them the very large Holy Bible and explained why we have various other symbols and objects in the Chapel and what they are used for.

Many of our students said that they had been inside a church before for special events, some said that their Grandma goes to church and some were intrigued with their first experience at our College. We had fun learning new songs and we prayed and they listened to a children’s version of how Jesus showed his disciples how to pray.

During this time of Lent perhaps you might like to spend some quiet time and reflect on the written word from the Gospel of Matthew 6: 7-15

“When you pray, do not use a lot of meaningless words, as the pagans do, who think that their gods will hear them because their prayers are long. Do not be like them. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask him. This, then, is how you should pray:

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Tim EganAssistant Principal (Head of Secondary)

Rebecca BrownVisual Arts

Mike CollessHead of Information Services

From the head oF seCondary

visual arts

dymoCks library books sCheme

Yesterday during assembly, I thanked the staff and students for their patience during the recent wet weather. It can be difficult not to get frustrated and annoyed when the sun is not out but to their credit, our students were mostly very sensible.

Our P&F association will be hosting a ‘Welcome to Parents’ event next Wednesday evening at 5:00pm, here at the College. This is an opportunity for all parents to come and meet others socially and form connections within our College community. Please take the time to come and support our P&F association.

Stage 6 Parent/Teacher/Student interviews are on Wednesday 13 March. Families should have received notification of this with instructions on how to book times for interviews. These interviews are extremely important in establishing dialogue with the College regarding your child’s progress. Interviews are available with staff from 4pm-8pm.

Another date for your diaries! On Wednesday 27 March we will host a BYOT Information Evening for parents here in the College Theatre, commencing at 5:30pm. This will be your opportunity to come and discover why the College is introducing this program, what we are doing to prepare for next term and some of the technological resources and innovations we will be incorporating into classrooms.

Year 7 and 8 students have had an exciting start to the year creating artworks that explore colour theory and the history of The Archibald Prize. Year 9 students have been painting with oils and Year 10 students have begun work on Identity Boxes. Enjoy some images of their progress!

Dymocks Bookstore Coffs Harbour has been a generous supporter of our College Library for a number of years. When parents, friends, teachers and students of Bishop Druitt College purchase books at Dymocks Coffs Harbour, Dymocks will donate 10% of the revenue from those sales towards the cost of purchases made by the College Library throughout the year.

To ensure that your purchases are included in the funds donated to the Library, please identify yourself as a member of the College community when you pay for your books at the counter.

‘Our Father in heaven: May your holy name be honored; may your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need. Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us. Do not bring us to hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One.’“If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.”

As we continue to journey together in this season of Lent may we use it as a time to reassess, reflect and examine ourselves as we go forward with Jesus?

Shalom my friends

seCondary sChool

Rev Marion TanfieldChaplain



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Sue SiwinskiHead of Science Faculty

Robyn CrispCareers Advisor

CareersUAC and QTAC have released University offers for our school. Once again we are very proud of our Year 12 students and the very impressive number of offers made to a university. Several students have reported that their transition from school to University has been smooth and that they are having the time of their lives especially during Orientation week.

Each family in Year 10, 11 and 12 should have received an email by now outlining the main elements of their respective BDC Careers Education Program. If your email address has changed or you did not receive this ‘Welcome to Careers’ letter (sent via email) please contact me. Senior students are encouraged to drop into see me in the Careers lounge to book an appointment, to collect resources or simply chat about specific action plans to achieve their career goals.

The main focus in Term 1 for Year 10 Careers students is on developing ‘self knowledge’ and confidence as well as skills to seek, apply and secure work.

There is an online learning Edmodo group called ‘10 Careers’ and this provides students flexible access to career information and learning activities at school and at home. Students can then progress at their own pace, catch up if they miss a class, support and interact with others. For more information about the Year 10 course go to http://www.bdc.nsw.edu.au/is-year10

Work experience paperwork is due in by end March. Go to http://www.bdc.nsw.edu.au/careers

For Year 12 students considering Medicine please see me to talk about UMAT (31 July 2013), various UMAT preparation courses and the possibility of doing local work experience.

All students interested in overseas school exchanges and volunteer gap year ideas, please browse literature in the Careers lounge. Applications dates for summer 2014 are due soon.

Upcoming events:Regional University Roadshow: Wednesday 6 March 2013 from 11.00am -12.00 with informative and motivational speakers from Southern Cross University, University of New England and Charles Sturt University. It will be held in the College Theatre and all Year 12 students are expected to attend. Parents are also very welcome.

UNE Open Day Friday May 3: Year 12 students interested in going to the annual University of New England Open Day, see me to collect an expression of interest /permission note.

UNSW Engineering Student-Parent NightDate: 20th Mar 2013Time: 6:00pmVenue: UNSW Kensington campusCost: FREEContact: Kate Stead: [email protected]/9385 6437For more information and to register, please visit http://www.eng.unsw.edu.au

sCienCeThe 2013 Talented Students’ Forensic Science Camp, which will be held at The Armidale School on 16-20 April, is one of the nation’s pre-eminent extension programs for Year 8 students. It offers challenging and hands-on experiences of scientific problem solving and a chance to work with talented students from all over Australia.

Run by The Armidale School as a five-day residential experience, the annual Forensic Science Camp was first held in 1994 and attracted widespread interest after it was featured on the ABC TV science program, Quantum.

Last year, over 100 boys and girls, a mix of city and country students from both government and non-government schools, were selected from a large number of applicants from NSW, the ACT, Queensland and Victoria to participate in the camp. The camp appeals to all enthusiastic and highly capable students. You can find out more by visiting the website at: http://wordpress.as.edu.au/forensic Interested students can also contact organisers by emailing: [email protected]

From the head oF primary

primary sChool

Week 5 has finished and I cannot believe how quickly the time has gone. Many staff have commented on how settled the students are in classes and learning is continuing at a steady pace. There are other things happening around the school in the coming weeks that you might like to flag with your children.

On Friday, Week 6, we will be thinking about International Women’s Day and some of our students will be attending a breakfast run by Zonta to celebrate the achievements of young women in Coffs Harbour.


http://www.bdc.nsw.edu.au/careers

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.eng.unsw.edu.au

http://wordpress.as.edu.au/forensic



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Karin LisleAssistant Principal (Head of Primary)

Patrick GalvinSenior Primary Coordinator

grade oF the week - year 3

talent development and Creative thinking

Students in 3M wrote short anecdotes about activities in Term 3. So far:

We had an awesome visit from Mr Win Howard who told us wonderful things about Space. He told us a lot of cool info.

We have done so many fun experiments.

We made an amazing moon surfaces out of cardboard, foam and covered it with tin foil and spray paint.

The room even looks like space.

We do Reading Eggs and Mathletics on the laptops.

I brought in a Moon that is 30 something years old. I also shared that a asteroid hit Russia.

We have done lots of different and exciting plays about Space and how day and night work.

Mr Reko comes and helps us in the class with Reading.

Mrs Meulenbroeks lights the candle at Circle time and we talk or write about how to be a good friend.

We looked at amazing space photos.

We do Crunch Sip and Read every day.

We danced to the Kids Warm Up song.

We did a rocket experiment and the first time it went on the roof and the second time we put more baking soda in and it wouldn’t go.

I am never going to leave 3M.

The Talent Development and Creative Thinking groups are now running. Your child should have let you know if they are in one of these groups. The Talent Development groups will change for Semester 2, and this will provide opportunity for a different group of students.

In week 7 we are going to be concentrating on the way we treat each other, in the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence. Groups of children will be creating elephants to remind us that bullying is not on at BDC. They will be presenting their completed pieces at Assembly (if it is not raining!)

On the Sunday of Week 7 (March 14) the Performance Choir will be joining other schools for Harmony Day at the Botanical Gardens. If you would like to go to this great celebration, it starts at 10am and there will be stalls celebrating the many cultures in our city.

I have had a few concerns raised lately about the students arriving and departing the College. We have put systems in place to keep your children safe but sometimes parents forget these systems in the business of their days. Please remember:

Parents need to drop their children in the morning at the appropriate Kiss ‘n Ride area, NOT at the top car park, where buses are • dropping children, NOR at the back of the College.When picking children up in the afternoons, please follow the traffic on the set route in the bottom car park, even though it may • be stalled for some minutes.DO NOT ask Secondary students to bring your Primary children across the crossing. This is against our Work Health and Safety • policy.

Hopefully we will continue to keep our children away from harm, we at BDC are committed to the care of each child. Have a great weekend, let’s hope it is not a rainy one again.

Zeb Misios (3/4R) Artistic nametag

Mary Wade

Mary Ann Wade was the youngest convict aboard the second fleet. She was sent to Australia charged with highway robbery at age 11.

Mary was born in Southwark, London on October 5th 1777. Her parents were Mary English and George Wade.

Mary lived with Jonathan Brooker near the Hawkesbury River from 1809. It was here that she raised her family, which eventually grew to 21 children!

At the time of her death, Mary Wade had over 300 living descendants and is a founding mother of early Australia.

Today, her descendants number in the tens of thousands, including Kevin Rudd, the former Prime Minister of Australia.

By Georji Dunstone 3/4R



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Dale CondonHead of Music K-12

assembly perFormanCes

world harmony Festival day

primary musiC Camp

ameb

kodaly

seCondary guitar band

If your child plays an instrument or sings and would like to perform at assembly please let your child’s teacher know and we can book them into the spotlight.

Primary Performance Choir (which includes some Year 5 and 6 students) have been invited to perform with the Combined Schools’ Choir at World Harmony Festival Day, Botanic Gardens, Coffs Harbour, Sunday 17 March at 9am.

The Primary Music Camp is going ahead. Primary Performance Band, Primary Guitar Group and Superstrings members are invited to attend this camp, which will be held at Yarrahapinni Youth Centre, 23/24 March. The cost of the camp is $85, which includes overnight accommodation and amenities, meals, sheet music, tutorials and rehearsals. Information letters will be sent home next week.

It’s AMEB registration time again! If your child has been nominated by their music teacher to sit for an AMEB exam, you will receive a letter next week. The closing date for registration is 15 March 2013, so your timely attention to the fee payment is required.

musiCal notes

Alice Jamison is running Kodaly music classes for all children interested in music. The classes help to develop a child’s confidence in music as it enhances their understanding of the structure of music: developing pitch, rhythm and a strong inner ear. They are very much based on games and the children are given the opportunity to enjoy music in a relaxed environment. These classes are a great base for someone already learning an instrument or for a child interested in music and not yet ready to begin learning an instrument. Cost is $5 per lesson, to be paid termly. Please contact Alice Jamison at [email protected] to book a place or for further information: Senior Primary (3-6) - Monday 8am, M1Secondary - Thursday, 8am, M2Lower Primary (K-2) - Friday, 8am, Band Room

This band is in its infancy and we have great hopes for some great music with this group. Any secondary student who can play guitar, read music and able to practice their part at home or at school during their break times are welcome. There is no cost associated with the band.

Please contact Mr. Santo Cimino on 0407292444 or email [email protected] for further information. Alternatively, contact the Music Office on 6651 5644 ext. 218 for further information.

swimmingThe Coffs Harbour weather ‘Gods’ smiled upon us in week 3 with two fantastic days of competition for the Senior Primary and Secondary swimming carnivals. The competition was as hot as the weather on Monday at the Senior Primary carnival with only 30 points separating the top three houses, and only two and a half points separating the top two! House points were also close for most of the day at the Secondary carnival, but the winners skipped away for a convincing victory in the end.

SenIor PrIMAry reSUltSHouse Champions: Hollows Runner Up: Murray(Followed by: O’Shane, Cottee, Sutherland, Kngwarreye)

Age Champions:

Girls 8-10 years: Bridget Jones Runner Up: Rhani SpencerBoys 8-1- years: Nicholas Greenway Runner Up: Harry Ward

Girls 11 years: Jessie Woodward Runner Up: Milly WilsonBoys 11 years: Thomas Sweeney Runner Up: Charlie Alderman

Girls 12-13 years: Claudia Benson Runner Up: Lilly HemerBoys 12-13 years: Thomas Winchester Runner Up: Darcey Newell

Record Breakers:

Bridgette Jones 10 years & Under 200 IM (4:18.37) beat her own record by 8.51 seconds. Note: She was only 9 last year.

College sport





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College Community

5 Mar6 Mar7 Mar13 Mar

NCIS Swimming, Years 3-12P&F Welcome to Parents Evening: BDC Greenroom, 5:00pm-7:00pmPrimary (5/6) Rugby 7’sStage 6 Parent/Teacher/Student informaiton evening

SeCondAry reSUltS

House Champions: Cottee Runner Up: Hollows(Followed By: Murray, Kngwarreye, Sutherland, O’Shane)

Age Champions:

Girls 12 years: Adelaide Fuller Runner Up: Mia FisherBoys 12 years: Nick Dollin Runner Up: Peter Halling

Girls 13 years: Rose Simmonds Runner Up: Carolyn WatsonBoys 13 years: Ky Kinsela Runner Up: Keaan Van Venrooij

Girls 14 years: Madeleine Gough Runner Up: Bridgette WardBoys 14 years: James Murray Runner Up: Peter Perkinson

Girls 15 years: Naomi Howe Runner Up: Riley NashBoys 15 years: Lachlan O’Reilly Runner Up: Branden Howe

Girls 16 years: Zoe Burgess Runner Up: Holly BettsBoys 16 years: Zac Freuden Runner Up: Ryan BeckettGirls 17 years: Mahalia Kinsela Runner Up: Emily MaloufBoys 17 years: Thomas Place Runner Up: Ben Welsh

Girls 18 years: Kalina Bennett Runner Up: Laura HallenBoys 18 years: Jeb Freeman Runner Up: Wil Ashley

Record Breakers:

Girls 15-16 200IM Record: 2:55.37New Record: Zoe Burgess 2:54.59

Girls 13-14 200IM Record: 3:09.94New Record: Madeleine Gough 2:51.47

Girls 17-19 200IM Record: 3:20.38New Record: Mahalia Kinsela 3:01.10

Boys 15-16 200IM Record: 2:32.65New Record: Zac Freuden 2:21.94

Boys 16 yrs Brst Record: 35.47New Record: Zac Freuden 34.34

Boys 16 yrs 100 Free Record: 57.53New Record: Zac Freuden: 56.53

basketball

rugby

triathlon:

upComing events:

It’s a week late, but we finally have a start to the basketball season. Teams have all been allocated however the draws have not been finalised by Coffs Harbour as gradings have not yet been completed. You should have received interim draws for this weekends games from Beth Hilton, via email. Please find the link for information on draws for this competition, once grading is finished.http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=1-3238-0-0-0&a=COMPS

The Friday Night 10’s competition commenced this week for U16’s & Open’s. These games were moved from Rugby Park to BCU stadium due to the wet weather and played before the Ella 7’s competition. Any BDC students who are interested in playing in this exciting new competition should contact Mr Grace or Mr Doran. The Coffs Harbour Junior Rugby Club is looking to welcome players for the 2013 season. Come and try Rugby sessions and details of our season are on our website at http://coffsjuniors.rugbynet.com.au/default.asp. Rugby is a Friday Night event played in an environment of friendly competition and family atmosphere. Details of Committee members and age coordinators are available through the web site or contact Vice President Howard Winchester 0417 249 379 for more details. Competitions are run in the U/8, U1/0, U/12 and U/14 divisions.

The CIS / NSW All Schools Triathlon was held in Penrith last week and we had 4 athletes who travelled to Sydney to represent Bishop Druitt College. Most of our students are new to this sport and do not get the level of training and competitions that the Sydney schools do, however our students performed beyond expectations and achieved outstanding results:

Kalina Bennett – Senior Girls Division Finished in 7th place and has been called into the NSW CIS Team.Zoe Burgess – Intermediate Girls Division Finished in 8th place, narrowly missing selection for the NSW CIS TeamTom Place – Senior Boys Division Finished in 19th place.Zac Freuden – Intermediate Boys Division Finished in 21st place.

Tuesday 5 March – NCIS Regional Swimming Championships - LismoreThursday 7 March – MNC Primary Rugby 7’s.Tuesday 12 March – NCIS Football Gala Day – TAS, Armidale.


http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=1-3238-0-0-0&a=COMPS

http://coffsjuniors.rugbynet.com.au/default.asp


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Bishop Druitt College

The Bishop Druitt College mobile app is custom built to serve the needs of our school

community, by improving two way communication between the school and its families.

This two way communication app means parents and the school staff can always be

better prepared for the day ahead. Great care has been taken to provide a valuable

service to meet the needs of our community.

BISHOP DRUITT COLLEGEPRESENTS

Come along for a fun, social night to meet and mingle with staff and other

new and current parents in an informal setting on the grounds of the College.

Drinks and nibbles provided.

Please note: If you would like to bring your children along, they MUST be booked into OSHC, which we will provide from 5-7pm.

Welcome to ParentsEvening

Wednesday 6 March5:00pm - 7:00pmGreen Room

Date:

Time:

Venue:

CANAPESDRINKS

parents and FriendsWelCoMe to PArentS, 6 MArCH, 5PMThe P&F will be holding their annual Welcome to Parents Evening on Wednesday 6 March, commencing at 5pm in the Green Room. Come along for a fun, social night and to meet and chat with other new and current parents. Drinks and nibbles provided. If you want children to attend, they MUST be booked into OSHC, which will be running until the end of the function.

dySlexIA IntereSt/SUPPort GroUP A few P&F Members are forming a Dyslexia Interest/Support group for all the BDC community. Come along for cup of coffee and a chat on Monday 11 March at 10.30am at the Rainforest Café. Everyone is welcome and we will be discussing possible awareness/fundraising. If you would like to come, could you please RSVP to Susan Robertson ([email protected]).

next P&F MeetInG – 18 MArCHPlease remember the next P&F Meeting is on Monday 18 March and we will be voting on the proposal to hand over the Canteen Management from the P&F to the College. Please come and vote and chat about any other College related information that may be discussed.

MotHer’S dAy – SUndAy, 12tH MAy 2013Mother’s Day is on Sunday, 12th May and the P&F will be holding their very popular Mother’s Day stall on Wednesday, 8th May. A note will be sent home next week in your child’s school diary and the cost is $6.00 per gift. If you would like your child/children to be able to choose a gift for their mother, step-mum, guardian or Nan, could you please return the tear off slip on the bottom of that form and return to your class teacher, no later than Friday 12 April. This is to avoid running out of gifts on the day.

ContACt USFor more information, to view our Constitution or read our latest meeting minutes, click on “Our Community” then “Parents and Friends” on the College Website. We look forward to your support.President: Allan Williams 0408 332 082 [email protected] & F email: [email protected]

next Meeting: 18 March 2013, Senior Common room, refreshments provided

The Bishop Druitt College Parents and Friends Association is an organisation that supports the aims and objectives of the College. It does so through the promotion of fundraising, fellowship, friendship and fun.





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#5 Term 1, 2013