MERRIWA RINGER Thursday 17 November Page 1

Published by: MERRIWA CENTRAL SCHOOL

Bow Street, Merriwa 2329 Ph: 6548 2119 Fax: 6548 2534

Email: merriwa2-c.school@det.nsw.edu.au Online: www.merriwa-c.schools.nsw.edu.au

Issue 35Issue 35: : Thursday 17 November 2011

CJO Photography

Merriwa Campdraft will be held this weekend from Friday 19 to Sunday 20 November at the Merriwa Showgrounds. Entry for spectators is free, so come down and check out some of the best horses and riders in the country and support the steak hut,

which is raising money for Relay for Life.

More on pg 45

MERRIWA RINGER Thursday 17 November 2011 Page 2

DISCLAIMER

Views expressed by contributors are not necessarily endorsed by the Publisher, Merriwa Central School. No responsibility is accepted by the Publisher or its

Committee for the accuracy of information contained in articles. The advertising of and use of product names does not constitute recommendations or

endorsement by the Publisher or its Committee. Advertisers indemnify the Publisher and its Committee against all liability claims or proceedings

whatsoever arising from the publication.

* When reporting an incident to the Police, always request and record you Incident Reference Number

MERRIWA RINGER Thursday 17 November Page 3

REMINDERREMINDER

The last Ringer for 2011 will be Thursday 15 December.

The Ringer will resume in 2012 on Thursday 2 February.

The deadline will be 12 noon Monday

30 January as per usual

The Ringer will be making a few exciting changes over the Christmas break. Get ready for the new look

Ringer

MERRIWA CENTRAL SCHOOL

Important Dates

NOVEMBER Thursday 17 Yr 10 Work Experience Kindergarten Orientation Friday 18 Yr 10 Work Experience Yr 4/5/6 Assembly - 2.10pm Friday 25 SRC Fundraiser - Secondary Monday 28 Swim School begins Tuesday 29 Teachers Industrial Action DECEMBER Friday 2 Yr K/1 & 1/2 Assembly - 2.10pm

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT Preschool and primary students were enthralled last week by a visiting circus skills performance on the Primary Campus. Students marvelled at juggling skills, acrobatics, and a range of zany antics form the travelling troupe. The troupe enjoyed the generosity of Merriwa and the warm welcome by our students.

Primary playground upgrade A small but dedicated committee met last week to discuss improvements to the primary playground. A range of options were discussed, however the committee is investigating the cost of shade sails, paving, a retaining wall, raised vegetable beds, and the removal of some asthma unfriendly trees. Police Talks As secondary students reach their teens they can often think of themselves as “ten foot tall and bullet proof”. Psychologists talk about an increase in risk taking behaviour in the late teens, to early 20’s. Next Tuesday Constable Smith will talk to secondary students about general safety issues, safe partying and cyber bullying.

Secondary transition Students from Merriwa CS, Sandy Hollow PS, Cassilis PS, and St Joseph’s Merriwa have completed their transition program in preparation for Yr 7 next year. A sausage sizzle was held on Thursday to celebrate the last day of the program, and all students received their MCS cap courtesy of the P&C. We look forward to our extra-large number of Yr 7 students joining us next year.

Future Year 7 students at the transition BBQ held in the new Trade Training Centre

Darren Noonan Principal

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MERRIWA CENTRAL SCHOOL PRIMARY NEWS

KINDER EARLY START Our Early Start students enjoyed another great session with Mrs Strachan (Miss Temessl) on Thursday morning. They worked on puzzles, enjoyed a story which was read to them, painted amazing pictures and practised writing their names!

Listening while our teacher shows us what to do! They were also taken on a tour of the school grounds so that they would know where all of the important buildings are. We look forward to having them join us again on Thursday 17 November and again on Thursday December 1.

Brooklyn, Mia and Ella practise writing their names! Katie Rowe (Speech Pathologist) will conduct a presentation on Thursday 1 December for the parents of pre-school students and, in particular, for the parents of those students commencing kindergarten in 2012. The

presentation will be held in our Primary Library commencing at 9.15am. Katie will be talking about:

What a speech pathologist does Normal speech and language development

and what to expect for a child at school entry

Why speech and language is important for school and learning, and

Ways to help speech and language development prior to and following school entry.

We look forward to seeing all interested parents at the presentation. Limited child care along with tea and coffee will be available.

Damien, Duncan and Riley working hard at writing their names!

Practising lining up!

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MERRIWA CENTRAL SCHOOL

PRIMARY NEWS It’s hard to believe that we are more than half way through Term 4 – after this week, there are only 4 further weeks of school for students and we have lots of things to get through! They include: assemblies hosted by Classes 1/2 and K/1 on Friday 2 December and by Class 3/4 on Friday 9 December, the election of our captains for 2012 and swim school. The final week of school will see presentation assemblies, a scripture assembly and reward days. Swim School will be conducted for our Year 1 to 6 students from November 28 to December 9. Notes went home last week with each of these students. They are due back to school by the end of this week: Friday 18 November. As summer approaches children spend more time in pools and the surf, so it is crucial that they learn to swim properly. Swim school will strengthen their skills so that they are more competent around water. Notes will go home to families asking for the return of Home Readers. Please look for any that you may have at home and return them to school as soon as possible. The Home Reader program for 2011 will finish at the end of Week 8 – two weeks from now. The Home Reader program is one strategy to allow us to meet the Regional targets of: 75% of Kindergarten Students reading at

level 6 or better, 75% of Year 1 students reading at level

16 or better and 75% of year 2 students reading at Level

26 or better. Another of these strategies is the Reader of The Week Program (sponsored by the P&C) which enables us to award a student from each class with a book to read at home. Readers of the Week for Week 5 of Term were: Aaron Hamson (K/1), Molly Wong (1/2 ), Libbie Towell (3/4), Helena Renshaw (4/5) and April Eipper (5/6).

Molly, April, Helena and Libbie are pictured with books which they received for their great writing throughout the week.

NEWCASTLE PERMANENT MATHEMATICS

COMPETITION RESULTS All year 5 and 6 students along with a selected group of Year 4 students, sat for the test in August. Altogether 19,356 students from 276 schools competed in the competition. We are very proud of the following students for their results in the Newcastle Permanent Mathematics Competition. Year 6: Ross Proctor, Jordan Taylor, Cara Hunt, Mathew Porter, Tiger Rawlings and John Whitby gained Merits, Corey Smith-Wildey and Breanna Goodear gained Distinctions and Caleb Withers gained a High Distinction and was placed 47th in the Year 6 division. Year 5 Students Shai Blackadder, Thomas Neale, Paige McConnell and Tarah Cox all gained Merits. Year 4 student Tori McNaught gained a Merit, whilst Joseph Whaley gained a Distinction in the Year 5 section of the test. These certificates will be presented at an assembly later in the term.

Ruth Hoye

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MERRIWA CENTRAL SCHOOL

SOLID STATE CIRCUS PERFORMANCE Whoever said you get nothing for free would have been eating their words last Friday as Solid State Circus treated primary students along with Merriwa Preschool students to a free show of acrobatic comedy. The circus troupe, a collection of performers from around the country, flipped, juggled,

joked and b a l a n c e d stuff on their face to the delight of students, parents and teachers. Solid State C i r c u s p r o v i d e d the free show as t h e y t r a v e l l e d t h r o u g h M e r r i w a f r o m S i n g l e t o n on their way to the North West of the state.

Glenn Kite

SECONDARY NEWS

REMEMBRANCE DAY 2011

Jade McConnell and Megan Whiteman of the SRC delivered a s p e e c h a b o u t Remembrance Day and read the poem “On Flanders Fields” a t t h e Remembrance Day service on Friday 11 November.

Our primary student leaders: B r e a n n a G o o d e a r (captain) and John Whitby (prefect) laid a wreath on behalf of the students and staff of Merriwa Central School. Students from St J o s e p h s ,

Merriwa led the congregation in a series of prayers. The crowd was joined by a busload of people who had been travelling through Merriwa and stopped to o b s e r v e Remembrance Day at the Merriwa Cenotaph. Father Michael led the congregation in prayer.

Ruth Hoye

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MERRIWA CENTRAL SCHOOL CAREER NEWS

Outward Bound Certificate IV in Outdoor Education - Outward Bound delivers a Certificate IV in Outdoor Education via an internship which is an intensive eight month residential Certificate IV in Outdoor Recreation program equipping people with all the necessary skills, experience and qualifications to become an Outdoor Instructor. July 2012 (winter internship) applications close in April 2012. Selection weekend will be 4th-6th May 2012, starting at 5pm and ending 4pm on Sunday. Winter internship begins first week of July. Visit http://www.outwardbound.org.au/careers/cert-iv-internship.html

Scientia Challenge Program - The Scientia Challenge Program is designed for gifted and talented high school students in Years 7-10. The program features a range of workshops from a number of academic disciplines taught over three days. For years 7-10 with curriculum pitched at years 11-12. January 18-20 or July 2-4 2012 $450 fee. Visit http://gerric.arts.unsw.edu.au/for-gifted-students/scientia-challenge-program/

The Centre for Continuing Education at the University of Sydney - is running intensive HSC Preparation courses in a variety of subjects for current 2012 year 12 students who want to extend their studies and enhance performance in their HSC year. The next series of courses commence between Monday 9 January 2012 and Monday 16 January 2012. Visit http://sydney.edu.au/cce/hsc to see the range of courses online.

UWS Youth Science Forum - Workshops, tours and hands-on activities in a range of subjects. 18 - 20 January 2012. Cost: $440 (incl. GST) Contact: Professor Robert Mulley (02) 4570 1210 or Lindy Pearson (02) 4570 1307 or l . p e a r s o n @ u w s . e d u . a u , h t t p : / /w w w . u w s . e d u . a u / _ _ d a t a / a s s e t s /p d f _ f i l e / 0 0 1 8 / 2 0 1 6 4 5 /YSF@UWS_Program_2012.pdf

Uni Australia Website - This website which may be useful for senior students has student reviews, ratings and rankings and

comparisons plus articles and guides giving tips for transition between year 12 and university. Visit www.uniaustralia.com.au Young Worker Toolkit - The Australian Government has launched the Young Worker Toolkit, an online reference to assist with common workplace issues. Topics include getting started at work, pay and conditions, workplace safety, harassment and fair dismissal and assistance links. The Toolkit is available at www.youngworkertoolkit.youth.gov.au University Open days University of Newcastle Advisory Days - Newcastle, Central Coast and Port Macquarie campuses. Wednesday 4 January 2012 between 2 - 6pm. Thursday 19 January 2012 between 3 - 6pm. http://www.newcastle.edu.au/what-can-i-study/news-and-events/ CSU Change your preference information sessions - Albury information session 16 December 1pm to 3pm, Gordon Bevan Building (673) - ground floor, Sydney information session, 4 January 9am to 5pm, Suite 1.01, Quad 3, 102 Bennelong Parkway, Sydney Olympic Park. Contact: 1800 334 733 to talk to a student adviser about options. http://www.csu.edu.au/apply/change-your-preference HSC and ATARs Wednesday 14 December 2011 NSW HSC

results released by Board of Studies Thursday 15 December 2011 ATARs

released by UAC at www.uac.edu.au Change of preferences Thursday 5 January 2012 for

consideration in Main Round 18 January – 25 January 2012 for

consideration in Late Round 1 February – 2 February 2012 for

consideration in Final Round If you require any further information about careers please contact me at school.

J E Hegarty Careers Advisor

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STUDENT OF THE WEEK

MERRIWA CENTRAL SCHOOL

SRC REPORT Hi everyone! On 28 October both the Primary and Secondary Departments held an out of uniform day in support of the Pink Ribbon Day charity. It is with great pleasure to announce that the money raised for the charity totalled $270.45. This money goes to the Cancer Council and will be used for vital cancer research. The next SRC out of uniform day will be on Friday 25 November and will be for the Secondary only. This will be the last out of uniform for the year and will be supporting the SRC’s sponsor child, Linh, as well as raising money for the school disco. As with all out of uniform days, students need to remember to wear closed in shoes, wear a

hat and comply to the general out of uniform policy. The annual school disco has been organised for Thursday 15 December. It will be held in the RSL Auditorium from 6.30pm to 10.30pm. All students from years 6 to 12 are invited with a $5 entry fee. The RSL be providing snacks and drinks on the night. The SRC knows that the event is a student favourite and we are all eager to make it an enjoyable evening! Have a great week!

Michael and Patrick Gilbey (SRC Treasurer and Publicity Officer

Name: Lachlan Walmsley Year Group: 7 Favourite Subject: Maths/PE Favourite pastime: Kicking the footy Dream Career: Still thinking Best school experience: ROAR Best personal achievement: Representing the school Advice on how to get along: Be nice

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ROAR Athlete Profile

MERRIWA CENTRAL SCHOOL

Name: John Whitby Year Group: 6 Favourite Subject: Sport Favourite sport: Football Favourite team: Eels Favourite player: Jarryd Hayne Best personal sporting achievement: Getting to Rep in football Who inspires you: My Rep coaches Advice to young players: Play hard and never give up What has ROAR taught you: To respect people

ROAR REPORT Trivia Night - Time is running out! Register your team of 6 for just $10 and enjoy a night of merriment as we raise funds for Movember! Be in the running for a range of prizes from the chest and show your support. Please leave your details with the front office.

DEPUTY REPORT

Transition - Last week was our final transition day with our Year 6 students and it was once again a highly enjoyable experience! Thanks to the P&C for providing the food for the BBQ and also the special gifts of school caps that the students wore with pride! Perhaps the highlight of the day was the Amazing Race coordinated by Mr Creamer with all of our students working together in a fun and

competitive environment. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to making these days so successful and we look forward to officially welcoming the students into Year 7 next year!

Adam Johnston Deputy Principal

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ST JOSEPH’S PRIMARY SCHOOL

This week we welcomed back an ex-student, Michael Gilbey. Michael is completing a week of work experience in the classrooms. He has been assisting students and teachers and looking at many different aspects of being a teacher. Thank you Michael, for all your assistance. Bishop Bill On Sunday the Parish of St Anne’s Merriwa and St Joseph’s Cassilis were visited by Bishop William - our newly ordained Bishop of Maitland-Newcastle. Clancy Moore, Sam Nairne, Ty Riley, Sarah Nairne, Tori McNaught, Brady Nairne and Eliza Peebles were confirmed at these Masses. It was a wonderful celebration for the parish and a wonderful way for Bishop Bill to meet the people of our region.

On Wednesday I will be attending an in-service regarding the Kindergarten Best Start Assessment. This assessment will be used at the start of next year with our new Kindergarten. The next Kindergarten Orientation day is on Tuesday 22 November 9am-12noon. On this day there is an opportunity for parents to talk to the teachers about some tips to help students start the year and make the transition as smooth as possible, also to let parents know some of the routines and expectations of school. A nutritionist will be speaking about the ‘Eat it to Beat it Program’ also on this day. This meeting will commence at 11am in the MacKillop Room. Please RSVP to the school by Monday 21 November St Joseph's Primary Merriwa warmly invites you to our Volunteers afternoon tea on 17 November 2011 commencing at 1.30pm in the MacKillop Room. If you have worked in the canteen, working bees, reading in class, library and so on then this afternoon tea is for us to say “thank you” to you. For catering purposes please RSVP to admin@merriwa.catholic.edu.au or 6548 2035

Spelling Workshop All teachers will be attending a Spelling workshop next Thursday afternoon at St Joseph’s Denman. Dr Lisa Kervin will be running the workshop. Lisa is a Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy. The focus for the workshop will be: research on current spelling trends, effective strategies in teaching spelling and practical classroom applications.

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ST JOSEPH’S PRIMARY SCHOOL