Wee Waa High School Issue 2, March 4th, 2014

Contributions by Thursday prior to publication to: Email weewaa-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au ; Fax 02 6795 3005

WEE WAA NEWSAGENCY & GIFTSHOP

& WEE WAA PHARMACY

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WEE WAA HIGH SCHOOL

From Term 2 WWHS newsletter will only be available electronically.

Please send your email address to janelle.lilliebridge@det.nsw.edu.au

http://www.weewaa-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/

P & C Meeting 13th March 7pm Yr 12 Formal Meeting to be held at 6pm.

Principals Report

During the first couple of weeks of the school year I have had the pleasure of visiting most classrooms from Year 7 to Year 12. As Principal, I was very pleased to see the motiva-tion and focus of our teachers who are committed to our students reaching their full potential. When visit-ing classes I consistently see classrooms with a posi-tive and supportive environment combined with stu-dents well engaged in their learning. Over the next couple of weeks I hope to visit more classes and check on bookwork and homework.

To ensure our students make excellent progress with their learning, there are a couple of areas that parents can assist with. Firstly, research shows that attendance at school re-sults in higher academic achievement. We ask that parents only keep students at home when they are to sick to attend school or have medical appointments. Consistent attendance at school and punctual arrival times will certainly assist all students in their learn-ing. In addition, regularly monitoring and supporting your child with homework tasks will aid progress. I would also like to thank parents and caregivers for their support in sending their child to school in uni-form. We have a school of well mannered and well dressed students. We are lucky to have very support-ive parents and caregivers at Wee Waa high School.

On Thursday 27th, we had a free dress day, cake stalls and a barbeque to support a local community fundraising event.

I would like to thank Mr O’Shea and Mr Legge for as-sisting the SRC and especially Autumn McCracken and Eden Booby for the initiative and organisation of the day.

On Wednesday 19th Wee Waa High School had a Year 7 BBQ to meet parents. Numbers were down a bit due to a clash with another event in town. We hope to do better next year. A big thank you to Mr Druce, the Year 7 Advisor, Mr and Mrs O’Shea, Mr Legge and SRC members Ryan O’Neill, Madison Doring, Madison Gallagher and Olivia Gligorevic.

Also Year 7 had a four day excursion to the coast last week and from all reports were very well behaved and had a great time. Again we would like to think staff who were prepared to take on the extra responsibility and work hours. Staff attending were Mr Druce, Mrs Doring. Mrs Wenner and Ms Fuller.

It was great to see a sprinkle on Friday, now all we need is serious follow up rain. Neil Schneider Principal

Year 7 Excursion

Last week Year 7 made the trip to Coffs Harbour for their Year 7 Camp. The 6am departure from Wee Waa High School did little to dampen the excitement of the students. After a tiring 8 hour trip, Year 7 were welcomed to the Coffs Coast Beach School and settled into their dorm rooms. It was then off to the Park Beach Plaza for some retail therapy. Some of the boys learnt the hard way that it’s not always fun to shop with the girls, and were found waiting impatiently outside of Supre.

Day two was filled with activities at the Coffs Coast Beach School. Students were split in to two groups and participated in 4 activities. The commando course was a gruelling obstacle course where students climbed and crawled their way through the muddy terrain. During the canoeing, students learnt the basic manoeuvres in the canoes, before have a race where each team had to collect as many coloured balls as possible. After lunch it was on to the high wire activities. Students were required to challenge themselves on the Mega drop, a 14m jump off a platform in a harness, and the Giant swing, which required all of the students to pull up their class mates before they were released for a heart stopping swing.

The students were given the opportunity to experience some of Coffs Harbour’s attractions on Day 3. At the Butterfly House, students learned about the lifecycle of a butterfly, had a guided tour through the butterfly enclosure and worked in groups to navigate through a maze. Students were then taken to Mutton Bird Island, which offered magnificent views of the Coffs Harbour area. After lunch it was off to Dolphin Marine Magic, where students were entertained by the dolphin and seal show. Student also had the opportunity to have their photos taken with a seal, pat a dolphin, and learn about other marine life and conservation. Day 3 ended with a much needed swim at the jetty foreshores.

Overall, everyone had a great time in Coffs Harbour. It was a great opportunity for students to make new friends and enjoy the many attractions of the Coffs Harbour area. A special thanks goes out to Mr Druce, Mrs Doring, Helen Wenner and Kristy Fuller for their organisation of the excursion.

Mr Druce

Ag Roundup Yr 11 Agriculture students went on an excursion to the Namoi Echo museum last week as part of their studies into the history of agriculture. The class all agreed the farming of today

with tractors and GPS guidance is much easier than the days of bullock and horse drawn ploughs! Of particular interest was the large wooden wheel and 2 row cotton planter. Yr 9/10 have been busy down at the Ag farm planting out vegetable seedlings and getting the herb gardens planted and mulched. We have planted some more watermelons

and pumpkins in preparation for Wee Waa show. Harvest is getting close for the watermelons currently growing and students have been taste testing the huge watermelons after hot afternoons in the garden. Yr 7/8 have also been hard at work getting the gardens ready for planting. We were a bit surprised to find a crop of potatoes in our digging, so collected them up and took them to the school cooking kitchen for the hospitality kids to use! Thankyou to Tony and Leanne Schwager for donating a load of gravel to the Ag farm. It is much appreciated and was spread by hard working Yr 11 students on the entry way into the farm. It has really improved the appearance of the entry to our farm and should make a huge difference when it finally does rain! The other teachers will be pleased Ag students won’t be carting mud into the classrooms.

Thank you too to Peel Valley Machinery for generously servicing our tractors. The Ag farm is really starting to take shape and its great to see the community getting behind us! Parents and students are reminded it is a safety requirement of Agriculture, along with other practical subjects that students wear leather covered in shoes for practical lessons.

Expressions of Interest- we are looking to move our sheep flock to a full blood line of dorpers and would like to sell the young cross-bred ram. We have a young ram, ready to work with great confirmation, We are hoping a parent or community member is interested in purchasing him from us. He is about 6-8 months old and ready to work. Please see Mrs Gett or Mr Schneider if you are interested in purchasing this young fellow. Mrs Gett

Wee Waa High School Issue 2, March 4th, 2014

IMMUNISATIONS FOR YEAR 7 AND YEAR 9

The first injections of the Immunisations program for all Year 7 students and Year 9 boys, will take place on Wednesday 5th March during Periods 1 and 2.. Can parents

please ensure that students have a good breakfast on the day. BASAIR—International Women of Aviation Week 3rd to 9th March 2014 Sydney—Bankstown Airport During this week there will be discounted trial flights ranging from $90 to $220 for women interested in a career in aviation. If you are interested call 979938900 of for more information visit www.sydneyaviators.com.au

UNSW INDIGENOUS WINTER SCHOOL 6th 12th July 2014

Free, fully supervised, week-long residential program for Indigenous students in years 10, 11 and 12. This is an opportunity

to experience university life. You will be introduced to tertiary studies in an area of your choice and identify your path of interest and subject areas. The program aims to nurture leadership, growth and development of all participants.

The program runs at no cost to the student and the uni-versity will arrange all travel and accommodation for students. If you are interested, please see me for an application form. Applications close on Friday 11th April 2014

HEALTH CAREERS EXPO

TAMWORTH EDUCATION CENTRE 114-118 JOHNSTON STREET

AMWORTH NSW

Tuesday 18th March 2014 2 Sessions 9.15 am to 11.30am and

12.30pm to 2.45pm.

This is for students in years 10, 11 or 1 and interested in a career in health. The health careers forum will showcase information on health fields such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, mental health, speech pathology, medical research, pharmacy, radiology, nursing, medicine and nutrition and dietetics. If you are interested in attending this expo, please see me as soon as possible.

WORK EXPERIENCE 2014

In the next week or 2, I will get information home to Year 10 parents about work experience for Year 10 students. Please start chatting with your child to come up with some ideas as to what type of occupation they may like to investigate during work experience. Have a great term Mrs L. Widauer

CAREERS NEWS

Learning mathematics through games

Students were playing a multiplication game with playing cards. Points were scored for the first person with the correct answer. If the answer given was incorrect, that person could not offer another answer until the others in the team had a go. It was a really fun class where the students learnt to multiply with directed number and every student participated without hesitation.

Mrs Lovelock