BISHOP DRUITT COLLEGE COFFS HARBOUR 5 April | 2012 | Page 1 DYNAMIC • CARING • OPTIMISTIC Issue # 10 www.bdc.nsw.edu.au COLLEGE NEWS Last Friday, 30 March, our Mystery Masterchefs (Tim Egan, Graeme Naftel, and Alan Ball) cooked dinner for eight at Peter and Jodie Hodges’ home in Coffs Harbour. The highest bids at last year’s P&F Trivia night auction was the chance to have us come to your home to prepare and serve dinner for eight (the Hodges, David and Dee Tune, Peter and Marg Roberts, and Rod and Tracey Peadon). All eight diners survived the evening, and the cooking trio surprised itself with its efficiency - and the standard of the fare created. The night was great fun, and a very enjoyable result of a trivia night auction. It was a great way for us to interact with members of our community in an informal and ‘unusual’ way. Unless television contracts follow, I suspect we three amigos might be on the auction block again this year! Last Friday, we also celebrated the naming and opening of the “Langford-Smith Resource Centre”. This encompasses the old library, the new BER funded Primary library, and extensions to the existing Secondary library. Ken Langford-Smith was our special guest, and joined us from Alice Springs for the event. He is a former Headmaster of The Armidale School, and it was his vision that eventually saw BDC established in 1993. He is currently Principal of Yipirinaya School in Alice Springs, a school for indigenous students. The new resource centre is our first building to be named after a significant contributor to the college’s history. Other buildings will also be named in this manner. On the matter of buildings, I am pleased to announce that College Council has identified an approved builder to complete the extensions and enclosure of the COLA project. Six builders submitted tenders. If we are favoured with a dry winter, the COLA will become an enclosed arena / multiple-purpose hall by the start of Term 4. We have also received a $50,000 grant to install 80 solar panels (a 15kW system) on the roof of the Science building. When installed, they will generate approximately 23,000 KW hours per annum, which will be consumed by the school, and represent a saving of 4.5% on our electricity usage. We must wait for a Development Application before we can proceed with this work. On Tuesday this week, staff attended a brief ceremony to dedicate a plaque to the memory of Mrs Cheryl Whelan in the memorial garden adjacent to the Music building. As well as the plaque, we planted a tibouchina to honour Cheryl’s favourite colour, purple. Her husband, Pastor Graham Whelan joined us for the ceremony. Congratulations to: Tenielle Stubbs (10) who placed 12th in the individual section of the School Sport Australia Triathlon in Bussleton, WA • Mitchell Dixon (9) and Jonathan Chan (10), who have qualified for the NSW Surfing titles • Thomas Sweeney (5) who placed 6th in the U10 High Jump at the NSW Little Athletics titles as Sydney Olympic Park, clearing • 1.3m Georgia O’Connor, Naomi Law and Shanae Purcell (7), who one the Junior Fitness division at the NSW Sports Aerobics competition • in Newcastle last weekend. Emma La Coste (9), won her Team division at the same event. All girls will go to the National titles in July Liam O’Mara, Eleanor Leal, Monique Orme, and Cassie Ellis (10) who completed their Certificate 1 in First Aid at TAFE recently. • It seems incredible that first term has come to an end. It has been a busy ten weeks. I wish you all a restful, safe and holy Easter and vacation, and look forward to an eventful and successful Term 2. Date Claimer: Sunday, 14 October, BDC Golf Day FROM THE PRINCIPAL Alan Ball Principal
Transcript
BISHOP DRUITT COLLEGEFAITHFULNESS IN SERVICE
COFFS HARBOUR
BISHOP DRUITT COLLEGECOFFS HARBOUR 5 April | 2012
| Page 1Dynamic • caring • Optimistic
Issue # 10
www.bdc.nsw.edu.auC
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New
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Last Friday, 30 March, our Mystery Masterchefs (Tim Egan, Graeme Naftel, and Alan Ball) cooked dinner for eight at Peter and Jodie Hodges’ home in Coffs Harbour.
The highest bids at last year’s P&F Trivia night auction was the chance to have us come to your home to prepare and serve dinner for eight (the Hodges, David and Dee Tune, Peter and Marg Roberts, and Rod and Tracey Peadon). All eight diners survived the evening, and the cooking trio surprised itself with its efficiency - and the standard of the fare created.
The night was great fun, and a very enjoyable result of a trivia night auction. It was a great way for us to interact with members of our community in an informal and ‘unusual’ way. Unless television contracts follow, I suspect we three amigos might be on the auction block again this year!
Last Friday, we also celebrated the naming and opening of the “Langford-Smith Resource Centre”. This encompasses the old library, the new BER funded Primary library, and extensions to the existing Secondary library. Ken Langford-Smith was our special guest, and joined us from Alice Springs for the event. He is a former Headmaster of The Armidale School, and it was his vision that eventually saw BDC established in 1993. He is currently Principal of Yipirinaya School in Alice Springs, a school for indigenous students. The new resource centre is our first building to be named after a significant contributor to the college’s history. Other buildings will also be named in this manner.
On the matter of buildings, I am pleased to announce that College Council has identified an approved builder to complete the extensions and enclosure of the COLA project. Six builders submitted tenders. If we are favoured with a dry winter, the COLA will become an enclosed arena / multiple-purpose hall by the start of Term 4.
We have also received a $50,000 grant to install 80 solar panels (a 15kW system) on the roof of the Science building. When installed, they will generate approximately 23,000 KW hours per annum, which will be consumed by the school, and represent a saving of 4.5% on our electricity usage. We must wait for a Development Application before we can proceed with this work.
On Tuesday this week, staff attended a brief ceremony to dedicate a plaque to the memory of Mrs Cheryl Whelan in the memorial garden adjacent to the Music building. As well as the plaque, we planted a tibouchina to honour Cheryl’s favourite colour, purple. Her husband, Pastor Graham Whelan joined us for the ceremony.
Congratulations to:
Tenielle Stubbs (10) who placed 12th in the individual section of the School Sport Australia Triathlon in Bussleton, WA•
Mitchell Dixon (9) and Jonathan Chan (10), who have qualified for the NSW Surfing titles•
Thomas Sweeney (5) who placed 6th in the U10 High Jump at the NSW Little Athletics titles as Sydney Olympic Park, clearing • 1.3m
Georgia O’Connor, Naomi Law and Shanae Purcell (7), who one the Junior Fitness division at the NSW Sports Aerobics competition • in Newcastle last weekend. Emma La Coste (9), won her Team division at the same event. All girls will go to the National titles in July
Liam O’Mara, Eleanor Leal, Monique Orme, and Cassie Ellis (10) who completed their Certificate 1 in First Aid at TAFE recently. •
It seems incredible that first term has come to an end. It has been a busy ten weeks. I wish you all a restful, safe and holy Easter and vacation, and look forward to an eventful and successful Term 2.
From The head oF secondaryiPad PilotNext term we will be running a pilot program with one lucky Year 7 core class. We are always trying to integrate technology in our pedagogy here at BDC and the tablet technology will be an integral part of that. The immediate advantages will be to transition from having many texts to the iPad and the implementation of apps as part of the teaching and learning process.
Being an apple school, we are only implementing the iPads and not the various android tablets. I would suggest that if you are considering a purchase in the near future, to purchase the iPad 2, 16 GB with WI-FI only. A larger capacity (32GB or 64GB) could be considered, but the 16GB will suffice for the school requirements. There is no need to have either 3G or 4G capable iPads, students will be able to access our wireless network with the WI-FI only machines.
Further information will be disseminated for the families of those who will be supplied with a machine for the pilot period. I will also keep the community up to date with the progression of the trial and a possible integration across other classes and year levels.
StAffingI would like to sincerely thank Mr Giorgio Dal Pozzo for filling in on a casual basis when we suddenly had to let Mr Jeff Scott go back to Queensland. He has been a steadying influence on those classes and we look forward to welcoming Mr Paul McCormack at the start of Term 2.
UniformWinter uniform will commence on Tuesday 29 May. This means a white College shirt, tie and blazer. The blazer MUST be worn to and from school each day. This uniform traditionally is worn until the end of Term 3, if weather permits.
A reminder that the requirement for shoes is black, leather lace ups. The sport shoes need to be predominantly white joggers, also with laces. NOT BOOTS. Please remember this when making purchases over the holidays.
In preparation for 2013, a few uniform items will not be permitted. These include the straight style skirt for all girls across Years 7-12 and the old style sports uniform with the white shirt and the non-crested shorts. Please be aware that the two-year turnover will be completed at the end of 2012, so all uniforms will need to reflect the new styles.
I would like to wish everyone a most happy and holy Easter and hope you have the opportunity to celebrate this time with your family and friends. I look forward to seeing everyone back safely in Term 2, refreshed and ready to take on new challenges.
secondary school
chaPlain’s chaT
It’s all about Jesus!!!
There are a lot of things that remind us of Easter. Things like hot cross buns, flowers, chocolate bunnies, and pretty baskets. Also at school this week, we had an Easter Service followed by a very creative Easter Hat Parade. And there are eggs! Yes eggs! Lovely chocolate yummy eggs!
The egg has long been a symbol for new life, from the time of the ancient Persians, the Egyptians, the Chinese, the Gauls, and the Romans all used the egg in their springtime celebrations. Many ancient cultures used the egg to symbolize both rebirth and the universe. Thus the origin of the Easter egg predates the origin of Christianity. Long before its association with Easter, the egg was a symbol of rebirth. Exchanging Easter eggs with one another is a custom that goes back thousands of years.
However, when Christianity spread to the lands of these ancient cultures, the exchanging of colored eggs became incorporated in the memorial celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, the Holy day that came to be known as Easter. These Easter eggs were colored and given as tokens to remind Christians of the tomb and Jesus’ triumphant victory over death.
Easter isn’t really about bunnies and baskets, eggs or hot cross buns, they’re only symbols that serve to remind us of the significance of Easter. It’s all about Jesus!!!
On Easter, the disciples went to the tomb and discovered that Jesus was alive! Jesus died a few days earlier but because God is more powerful than any of the bad stuff in the world, God raised Jesus from the dead. That’s the real message of Easter. As followers of Jesus, we need to remember to share the real message of Easter. A message of hope! Hallelujah Jesus is alive!
A 2013 Italy tour information night will be held for students and parents/guardians on Tuesday 1 May (week 2 Term 2) in C2, 5.30pm - 6.30pm. Attendance is important for those interested in the tour. If you have any questions or are unable to attend please email me on [email protected].
As part of our exchange with Centre Scolaire Aux Lazaristes in Lyon, France, one of their female students would like to come to Australia for approximately 8 weeks in June/July this year. Please note that this includes the 3-week break. In return, her family and school are offering to host one of our students for a similar period of time over our Christmas break. This would be a fantastic opportunity for any serious student of French from Years 9-11, who would like to improve his/her language skills and cultural knowledge between this year and next. Please consider this amazing opportunity!
to date i have had no expressions of interest so if you think this might suit you please get in touch with me ASAP: [email protected]
In French, Easter is called Paques. While Australian children look for chocolate eggs hidden by the Easter Bunny, French children find eggs dropped by flying bells! According to legend, the church bells don’t ring from Good Friday until Easter Sunday because they all fly off to Rome to load themselves up with Easter eggs, which they then bring back and drop down into the gardens of children all over France.
Japan is of course not a Christian country, but the end of March and beginning of April is still a very special time for Japanese people. They celebrate the return of spring with cherry blossom viewing parties (really a picnic with friends and family under the cherry trees in parks all across the country). This is called hanami (花見). The word is made from the characters for “flower” and “watch”.
However you are celebrating this Easter, have a lovely break. Joyeuses Paques!
The first edition of the Year 12 Careers Newsletter has been published. Please ask your children about this hard copy version. If you would like to have this emailed directly, please email me at [email protected]
Thank you to all for your support for the year 10 Work Experience Program. I will be processing applications over the holiday period and you will be receiving approval letters in Term 2. If students have not organised this essential careers experience, please apply for an extension through me.
Careers Portfolios for Year 10 have gone home this week. If your child was absent in Careers class this week please encourage them to collect one from the Careers lounge.
Upcoming Career Events
Rural Medical school work experience opportunity for students from Year 10, 11 or • 12 interested in Medicine. Email me for application details and forms
UNE University of New England Open Day 4 May for Year 12 students. All students • who have expressed interest need to contact me to collect a letter with permission and itinerary and notify your pick up and drop off points for the bus.
OHS Occupational Health and Safety Course offered at the college by an external • provider Maurice Tate to get a white card at a cost of $100. Interested students are to collect permission letters from me please.
There was an interesting, and unusually well balanced article in last week’s SMH, which discussed the pros and cons of each of the three education sectors. Having been fortunate enough to teach in high fee schools such as those mentioned in the article, I know the amazing resources available in schools that charge $20,000+ per child per year. Having also paid the school fees (though fortunately at a somewhat reduced rate), I know what a huge commitment and sacrifice is involved in such a choice. Whilst I realise that it is not appropriate to compare a school such as BDC with a Kambala or Cranbrook, the Superstrings camp, attended last weekend by my children, confirmed for me my decision to forgo luxuries to ensure my children are able to attend a school such as ours. We may not have the facilities available at high fee schools, but we certainly offer the extras and the quality teaching referred to in the article. The concert on Sunday, attended by more than 80 parents, may have been held in a barn at Sawtell Beach Caravan Park rather than a concert hall, but the quality of the product was exceptional, and it was organised by some of the most committed teachers I have ever had the privilege to work with. Below is a by no means exhaustive list of some of the ‘extras’ your children have had the opportunity to be involved in this term:
APril foolS DiSCo
The Primary ‘April Fools’ Disco was a great success, with excellent attendance and a number of impressive costumes. In total we raised $469.55, which will be donated to the AnCharnh school in Cambodia.
Below is the link to the article to which I have referred. It certainly made me appreciate the fact that I live in Coffs Harbour and not the Eastern suburbs of Sydney. Visit SMH article.
Swimming Carnivals• Bus Safety Program• Rock & Water• Drumbeat• Shrove Tuesday breakfast• Pet Porpoise Pool excursion• House Handball competition• Clubs – Gardening, Chess, Construction, Dance, Spanish, • Scrabble, Touch FootballRobbie Deans visit• Snake Tales• Harmony Day•
Cross Country Carnival• 2CSFM broadcast and breakfast• ELC Night of Nights• Disco• Easter Hat parade• Touch Football tournament• Parent / Student / Teacher interviews• Superstrings camp• Thursday afternoon golf at Pac Bay• Primary Golf Championships• Specialist sport coaching• Soccer & Rugby training and competitions•
Graeme NaftelAssistant Principal (Head of Primary)
rUgBY
There has been much discussion about a suitable time for training. To avoid any conflict with other sport training, rugby training will be held during lunch times for all Primary teams. Please see the Rugby blog, which can be accessed via the College website at Our Community / Sport, for details.
EAStEr VACAtion
I hope you all have a safe and restful holiday and look forward to seeing the children back at school on Monday 23 April. I would like to express my appreciation to all the staff who have worked extraordinarily hard this term. Thank you also to those members of the College community who have given up their time to help out at the school, and to those who have shown their support by working with the school for the benefit of the students.
Sir Douglas mawson
Life before he became an explorer
Sir Douglas Mawson was born on the 5th May, 1882 in Bradford, Yorkshire, England. He died in 1958 in Antarctica.
He moved to Australia and got a degree in geology at Sydney University and got a job as a teacher in 1905. He made three expeditions to Antarctica for the UK.
His three expeditions
His first expedition was to reach the South Magnetic Pole and he succeeded in 1908-1909. He also was the first person to climb Mount Erebus.
On his second expedition he joined the scientific team. He established his bases at Commonwealth Bay and the Shackleton Ice Shelf.
His third expedition that he led was a two-part expedition. In addition, he also made four scientific discoveries.
Mawson is so important because he found out about Antarctica, discovered new marine species, and he mapped some of the coastline of Antarctica.
By Tia Lang (5D)
Class Disco – google Apps
5M have been investigating the use of Google Apps this term. This uses Cloud Technology, which enables the students to share work with their peers and collaborate on projects. During these lessons they were taught digital drawing techniques including copy, group, order, rotate and size. They used these skills to create a digital person. We then exported our individual works into a class file entitled ‘Class Disco’. It was an excellent way to share and collaborate on our work.
We wish Renate Turrini well as she travels overseas in Terms 2, 3 and 4 of 2012. Renate will be traveling as part of a vocal ensemble called the Wayfarers. We welcome Alice Jamison, who will teach Renate’s piano students for the remainder of the year.
At last weekend’s Superstrings Camp we farewelled Cassie McKie. Cassie commenced her teaching of ‘Cello and Double Bass in 2010 and has been very important in establishing our lower strings program at BDC. Cassie is undertaking a research paper in Darwin and is looking forward to commencing her teaching career next year. I thank Cassie for her excellent contributions to the string program and wish her well for the future.
Congratulations to Amy Corcoran (Yr 7) and Siobhan O’Mara (Yr 7) for successfully completing requirements for the Trinity First Grade Singing Certificate. Both girls are dedicated BDC voice students.
musical noTes
Bodhi Hallas (5W)Paper mache penguin and clay whale
Superstrings Camp
Should teachers be required to wear a uniform to school?
This is a very interesting topic to look into and I think there are some reasons for and against.
Teachers could wear mufti but sometimes their clothing may not be appropriate for the event that is going to occur that day or it just does not look very good or nice. For example, some teachers would wear a long skirt, high heels and a nice shirt on a sport day! What’s the point of that? Teachers should have a uniform for special events or sport days.
If teachers want to wear mufti, they need to make it look good. If teachers do not dress nicely then the school should make them have a uniform, not the same as the students, but a different one. The teachers could help design the uniform. It could have the school logo on it and maybe some school colours.
Maybe men could wear a nice shirt, a jacket and trousers. Ladies could wear either a nice skirt and shirt and shoes of their liking (as long as they are nice) or slacks, a shirt, and again shoes of their liking.
On the other hand, if teachers have a uniform for themselves they won’t look very interesting. Their clothing will be very boring and children will not look forward to the different clothing their teacher wears each day. If every teacher wears a uniform, the school staff will look very boring.
Also, if there is a casual teacher for the day, what are they going to wear? People can’t just wear the one uniform for the day and then give it back. That is unhygienic and not very fair for the other teachers.
In conclusion I think teachers could have a shirt that they wear maybe once a week, or they can wear it whenever they like as well as their own choice of clothing.
By Laura Harrington (5W)
suPersTrings camP 201226 Primary students from Year 3 to 6 spent last weekend at the Sawtell Caravan Park for the annual Superstrings camp. The camp involved a range of rehearsals, tutorials, activities, games and much musical camaraderie. Our young musicians were treated to an amazing menu of food prepared by Michelle Egan. The camp culminated with a concert on Sunday in the Caravan Park Hall, which was attended by about 80 parents, staff, family and friends. My thanks to Cassie McKie, Louise Ray and Michelle Egan for their meticulous planning, to Wendy Phillips, who acted as our ‘Camp Mum’, and to our guest tutors, David and Sarah Matthews.
A final thank you to our parent helpers who assisted during the weekend at meal times. A great time was had by all. Bravo!
Last week the regional schools surfing titles were held at One Mile Beach at Forster, with twelve schools competing. Jakob Dolan, Jacob Spokes, Mitch Dixon and Jonothan Chan all made it through to the semis, which was a fantastic effort in such a tough competition. Congratulations to Mitch and Jonothan who qualified for the state titles.
There has been much discussion about a suitable time for training. To avoid any conflict with other sport training, rugby training will be held during lunch times for all Primary teams and during Monday sport times for Secondary teams. Please see the Rugby blog, which can be accessed via the College website at Our Community / Sport, for details.
BDC took on CCS in an U16’s inter-school competition. The scores changed constantly, with our boys puting on a wonderful second half team display to win comfortably in the end.
The U15’s boys Football team travelled to Woolgoolga for the first round of the Bill Turner Cup. After a very closely contested first half, the boys came off 1-0 down. Despite their determination and skill they were unable to take their chances and unfortunately lost the match.
Results from the Secondary Cross Country, held recently at Boambee Bay, will be published in the first newsletter of Term 2.
college sPorT
Dale CondonHead of music K-12
why do we need To PracTise?During the term, I have had a number of conversations with parents about student practice at home. Several times I have heard “My son/daughter is losing interest in learning an instrument and doesn’t enjoy practising”. Learning a musical instrument is a very involved activity. It takes time, perseverance, encouragement and commitment. If any of these four things are missing, then the musical journey may not succeed. Music is a discipline. No one enjoys doing anything poorly - adults and children alike. As parents, we cannot give our kids excuses or reasons not to be successful. Set the bar, stick to your guns and support your children to achieve success with their music. With success comes enjoyment and mastery.
The first week of Term 2 we will be celebrating Anzac Day. Children will be making their own Poppy Badge and enjoy an Anzac biscuit. This week children will also be getting into the kitchen, making French toast and Pancakes. The Centre will be closed Wednesday 25th April for Anzac Day.
A reminder for Vacation Care, next week we will be having an Easter Egg Hunt and will be challenging the Big Kahuna at Big Banana. We are also having a Movie Marathon where the best dressed will win a prize, and to end the week we will be heading to the clog Barn to learn how clogs are made and then having lunch at McDonalds. To make a booking for After School Care or Vacation Care please notify Mariellos on 6651 7400 or send an email to [email protected]. We look forward to seeing you at OSHC soon.
PArEntS & friEnDS CAtEring VAn Last Tuesday, the College held 46 Canadian Rugby players from St George’s College, Vancouver. A big thanks to all those who helped out on the day, it was greatly appreciated and all the players enjoyed our hospitality.
Throughout the year, the van will be facilitated at various events and will need volunteers to assist and prepare food. It is a great way to assist the College in providing a wonderful service to the students and visitors. If you would like to be placed on our Parents & Friends Catering Van Volunteer list, please email the P&F or phone President Allan Williams on 0408 332 082.
tHE motHErS’ DAY StAll – Don’t forgEt YoUr SliPS!Under the capable coordination of Deborah Mauger, The Mothers Day Stall will be held on Wednesday 9th May, the third week of Term 2. This stall gives students from K-6 the opportunity to buy a special gift for mum, step-mum or nana. Should you wish to purchase a gift or two, the cost for each item is $6.00 and will be added to your school account. A note will be sent home shortly in your child’s diary. Please return these to your child’s teacher as soon as possible to ensure the smooth management of this event.
grEAt motHErS’ DAY iDEA!Why not give your mother, grandmother or friend a BDC P&F Cookbook for Mothers’ Day? For just $25 you can share hundreds of yummy homemade recipes contributed by the BDC community and even offer to cook your favourites with them! They are available either through the Accounts office or send in the following order form to the Front Office. BDC P&F Cookbook order form
CAntEEn VolUntEErS nEEDEDIf you have a spare hour or more, especially between 10.30am and 12pm (recess service) or 1pm and 2pm (lunch service) the Canteen Manager, Ben Pike would be greatly appreciative. If you can offer a hand please fill in this form and return to the College or for further enquiries please email Ben on [email protected]
PoSitionS AVAilABlE Vice President Social and Vice President FundraisingDetails available from President Allan Williams.
UPComing EVEntSTrivia Night - 2nd June - Mark it in your diary now!
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] Meeting: Monday 21st May, 6.30 to 7.30 pm, 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.
