Newsletter 8
2 June 2011
EMAIL: narromine-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au
www.narromine-h.schools.nsw.edu.au
Term 2 Week 6B
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
Outstanding Results
Once again our cattle show team has performed exceptionally well at the Dubbo
Show. Details appear later in this newsletter. A big thank you to Mrs
McCutcheon, Mr McIntyre and parents for supporting our students.
PRINCIPAL:
Angela O’Callaghan
M.Ed.,BA.,Dip.Ed
DEPUTY:
Lisa Bennett
B. Arts. Dip.Ed
ACTING DEPUTY:
Jennifer Downey
B.Sc. Dip.Ed
About to Begin
A successful meeting was held on Monday with key stakeholders involved in
the establishment of our trade training centre. Construction is about to begin. A
special thank you to our project manager, Mrs Sheran Fisher, who has put an
enormous amount of time into overseeing development of plans for the centre
which will provide our students with an industrial kitchen and a metals and
engineering facility.
A Distinction Average
Warmest congratulations are extended to Angus Webb who completed Year 12
in 2009. He has been listed on a University of New England honour board for
achieving a distinction average. This is a fantastic achievement and is testimony
to the success our students can achieve when they move to tertiary studies.
13 Merilba Street
NARROMINE NSW 2821
Phone: 6889 1499
Fax: 6889 1553
HEAD TEACHERS:
English
Ms Cathy Reynolds
Mathematics
Mr Dean Leite (Acting)
Science/PD
Mrs Katherine Hyland
TAS
Mr Phil Rufus
HSIE/CAPA
Mr Greg Honan (Rel)
YEAR ADVISERS:
Yr 7 Miss Brookes
Yr 8 Mr Thakur
Yr 9 Mrs Bodiam
Yr 10 Mrs Wallace
Yr 11 Mrs Mussen
Yr 12 Mrs Fisher
Ex student and a Member of the Wallabies Pays a Visit
Paddy McCutcheon, well known to
our local community for his success
as a member of the Australian Rugby
Union team, visited our school last
week to offer tips to our footballers
and to encourage them to follow their
dreams. He provided coaching at
lunchtime to students from all year
groups. Our school is most
appreciative of his generosity and
willingness to visit his former school
and to connect with current students.
PBL Focus on Responsibility and Respect
Our focus for PBL (Positive Behaviour for Learning) in the last fortnight has
been on responsibility by arriving at class on time. A strong emphasis in coming
weeks is being placed on demonstrating respect through use of appropriate
language.
Well Done
Half yearly examinations have been held in the hall as a means of preparing
students for the school certificate and higher school certificate. Congratulations
to the vast majority of students who conducted themselves well in a formal
setting where they used their exam time wisely and endeavoured to produce
their best work.
Update on Upgrade to Netball and Tennis Courts
A quote has been accepted to provide new netting around the courts, to be fixed to existing poles. It is
expected that the project will be finished in the next few weeks.
Technology Upgrade
The school’s technology team has endorsed the purchase of a new server to be installed in the July
school holidays. A sincere thank you to our computer coordinator, Mr Rowan Garner, who has offered
to give up two days of his holidays to oversee the installation at a time that will cause least disruption to
students.
Meeting Our Attendance Target
Improving school attendance is one of our goals for 2011. It has been heartening in the last fortnight to
sign a large number of letters to families commending students on attendance.
Supervision Commences at 8.30am
A reminder that students are asked to arrive at school at 8.30am as that is the time when playground
supervision commences. They are to remain in the quadrangle until the bell goes.
Angela O’Callaghan
Principal
Narromine High P&C
When: Monday 27 June
Where: Staff Common
Room
Time: 7pm
All welcome
A Matter of Extreme Importance
It is of critical importance that aerosol
cans are not brought to school. This is
because we have people on site who have
severe life threatening reactions to aerosol sprays. Students have been advised of
this policy. Failure to comply with it may result in suspension.
PBL Winners
Congratulations to Sarah Grinsell, Sophie Walker and
Corralea Griffiths, the winners of our latest PBL draw.
A Web Site to Consider
Myfuture is a free national online career information service aimed at anyone wishing to explore career
options. It is an interactive, user-driven website that provides a range of interactive and information
resources including:



occupation and industry profiles
labour market and salary information
helpful hints and tips about writing resumes, finding a job, preparing for job interviews and
changing career paths.
The website has information on over 18,000 courses and 2,000 scholarships offered by Australian
universities and training providers. Visit www.myfuture.edu.au.
Agriculture News
The participation by our cattle show team in junior events at the Dubbo Show on Friday 20 May led to a
continuation of the school’s outstanding record of success when entering local, regional and state
agricultural shows.
The Parader’s competition was held first. This event is where the students are judged on their ability to
parade and handle an animal. All of our students participated in the intermediate age group section.
There were 120 competitors. It was very exciting to have Alisha Roots, Nathan Leach, Morgan Benger
and Melissa Stanford make it into the finals. Alisha Roots went on to become the Champion
Intermediate Parader, and Morgan Benger came 5th. Nathan Leach came 4th in his class.
Alisha then went into the grand champion parade competition, where she came a very close second to
the Senior Parader. She was then selected as the zone’s representative for the zone finals, to be held in
the near future, as the senior competitor was too old to compete at the next level.
The next event was the Junior Judging, where the students are required to judge a line of heifers. The
top competitors then have to speak to an audience, justifying the decisions that they made. Brad Fazzari
and Dylan Housden were in the top group of students selected to speak. We were extremely proud
when Brad was awarded Champion and Dylan Reserve champion Intermediate Junior Judge.
All members of the team performed extremely well. A special mention must be made to first time
competitor, Claudia Campbell. She did extremely well and I have no doubts that it won’t be long before
we see her winning ribbons.
Marrington Shorthorns from Dubbo sponsored two of our students to attend the show, covering their
costs in the junior events and providing them with a heifer each to lead and care for at the show. Brad
Fazzari and Katrine Rasmussen took this job very seriously and both did a great job with their heifers.
Katrine’s heifer, which was on loan, received a second in the heifer class.
The school’s steers looked fantastic. A huge thank you to Rawson Leach for lending the school two
shorthorn steers and to Steve and Amity Chase from “Waitara” Angus stud at Trangie for loaning the
school two Angus steers to use in the steer program.
Amanda McCutcheon
Agriculture teacher
Careers News
Finally, after more than two years of planning, a start is to be made on the construction of our trade
training centre, to be known as the Macquarie Trade Training Centre (or MTTC) for short). The project
includes a completely new industry standard kitchen, a modest extension to our industrial arts building
that will add considerably to the metals and engineering area, which we introduced this year, plus a
small allocation for additional fencing at the Jeff Field Centre to make the stock area dog proof.
Rawson Construction will bring safety fencing and other items on site this week so we can make a
prompt start. We are hoping this work will be completed by the end of the year so that students can
move into their new facilities at the beginning of Term 1 next year.
A significant number of Year 12 students recently attended the Tertiary Information Day, an annual
event where representatives from universities, TAFE colleges and other private providers give students
the opportunity to collect information and ask about course details. The Universities Admission Centre
gave a detailed talk about applying to university, which needs to take place at the end of September.
This event should help students in their determination of career destinations in the immediate future.
Further workshops will be held at school over the next few months to help prepare students for their
applications, including visits by UNE, CSU and Wollongong.
Information has gone home about the HSC Seminars which take place in Dubbo June 9 and 10. These
HSC subject workshops provide a great opportunity for revision and are highly recommended. The
school is offering significant subsidies to encourage students to attend. Students are responsible for
their own transport to and from Dubbo. Permission notes and payment are due to the office by this
Friday.
It was disappointing that the local Careers Expo was cancelled. Please note that we are trying to
negotiate attendance for Year 10 students at another regional event. We will let you know as soon as the
arrangements are in place.
Australia's national sail training ship Young Endeavour is now accepting applications for youth to join
eleven day voyages departing between September and December 2011. Young Australians aged 16 to
23 can apply for the ballot at www.youngendeavour.gov.au until 5 June 2011. No sailing experience is
required.
A voyage in Young Endeavour is a challenging adventure at sea, and a unique opportunity for youth to
develop teamwork and leadership skills through a world recognised organisation. The current ballot
includes voyages departing from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, which will be
crewed by youth from around the country.
During each voyage youth crew learn the skills to successfully sail a square rigged ship. They climb the
30 metre mast, set and furl sails, and maintain a 24 hour watch on the bridge. They also learn to
navigate, take the helm, keep lookout and help the chef in the ship’s galley. Once they have learned
these skills each youth crew will take command of Young Endeavour for 24 hours, sailing the ship along
the Australian coast. On their last day at sea they will host a local group of youth with special needs,
sharing their new found knowledge and experiences.
19 year old Kirsty Reaks, of Rye, was elected youth crew captain on her voyage from Devonport to
Geelong in January. “Being elected captain of a multi-million dollar ship was absolutely exhilarating.
What I wanted was a challenge, and the responsibility and adrenalin I experienced in Young Endeavour
were amazing. The problem solving skills, teamwork, the friendships, and working with so many
different people in a small space has been a fantastic life experience which I would recommend to every
single young Australian.”
Sheran Fisher
Careers Adviser
JUNE
7A
JUNE
8B
6 2nd
Immunisation
Clinic – Yr 7 & 10
7
15’s Rugby
8
9
HSC Seminars
10
HSC Seminars
11/12
13 QUEEN’S
BIRTHDAY
14
Water Treatment
HSC Chemistry &
Biology
15 Try a Trade
16
17
Pink Day
18/19