PRINCIPAL’S REPORT EMAIL: narromine-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au www.narromine-h.schools.nsw.edu.auWelcomeIt was a pleasure to welcome new students to our school at the start of term. A warm welcome is extended to you if you are reading our newsletter for the first time. The first one each term is mailed home. It contains information about assessment tasks due during the term.Marching with PrideCongratulations to all students who gave up their time to represent the school on ANZAC Day in the community march. They looked great in full uniform and are to be highly commended on the respectful and responsible manner in which they conducted themselves during the event. Thank you to parents who ensured their children attended and to staff who supported our students on the day. Special mention must be made of Danielle Leach who represented our school and community at Gallipoli on Anzac Day.

Megan Buttsworth, Terrence White Sarah Grinsell, Major McCulloch,

& Katie Willoughby Emily Witts, Aleisha Ellis &Maddison Thompson

Facilities UpgradeOur covered outdoor learning area has been revamped with new seating and paving. The barbeque is being remodelled. Funding, for which we are very grateful, has been provided under the Commonwealth government’s school pride funding program.Our Newsletter at Your Finger TipsHave you been to our revamped website? Miss Green is doing a great job, keeping it up to date. You no longer have to rely on your child to bring home the newsletter. It can be easily accessed by going to our website www.narromine-h.schools.nsw.edu.au. Please contact the office if you would like your newsletter emailed to you each fortnight.Staff NewsWe welcomed Miss Head and Mr Smyth back from leave at the start of term. Mr Carey has gained a position at Henry Kendall High School. He will be missed by students and staff, who appreciate his input into the school during his time in Narromine. His classes are being taken by Mrs Cusack and Mr Smyth. Mrs Bennett is overseeing the HSIE department. Mr Carey’s executive position is being filled in a temporary capacity until the end of the year by Mrs Quigg who will be responsible for a range of duties, with a strong focus on student welfare. Under the National Partnerships program, the school created a temporary position for a second Deputy. The successful candidate was Miss Jennifer Downey. She will continue to teach maths while carrying out her new duties.On Friday, we farewelled our Technology Support Officer Mr Henry Aranguiz, who has returned to his business on the south coast. Positive Behaviour for LearningYour school’s PBL team continues to meet three times a term to support the embedding of our core values of respect, responsibility and care into school life. We are most

Newsletter 529 April 2010

PRINCIPAL: Angela O’Callaghan M.Ed.,BA.,Dip.Ed

DEPUTY: Lisa Bennett B. Arts. Dip.Ed

13 Merilba StreetNARROMINE NSW 2821

Phone: 6889 1499Fax: 6889 1553

HEAD TEACHERS:EnglishMrs Cathy ReynoldsMathematics/CAPA –Second DeputyMiss Jennifer DowneyScience/PDMrs Katherine HylandTAS Mr Trevor Taylor (Relieving)Welfare Mrs Chris Quigg

YEAR ADVISERS:Yr 7 Mr ThakurYr 8 Miss TrethowanYr 9 Mrs WallaceYr 10 Mr LeiteYr 11 Mrs FisherYr 12 Mrs Mussen

appreciative of the ongoing mentoring given to the team by Mrs Pam Sharkey, the student welfare consultant for the Dubbo group of schools.Did You Receive Your Note? A note was distributed last week to students in Years 7 and 9 informing parents about the NAPLAN tests which will be conducted on 11-13 May for all students in Years 7 and 9. Please contact me, should you require further information.A Timetable ChangeIncreased numbers in Year 7 has necessitated planning for an extra class. A timetable change will take place in a few weeks time. Students and parents will receive notice of the proposed changes through the newsletter and web site. Fostering Community linksOur school is proud of its strong community links. It was my pleasure to share a cuppa and a chat with the President of the Rotary Club of Narromine when he visited the school recently. The President of Narromine Lions Club accompanied fellow Lions Club members Carol and John Barlow from Lithgow when they spoke to our students last week about the importance of making wise choices and living a healthy life style.Constable Marty Paice, the Police Youth Liaison Officer, is continuing to visit our school regularly as part of a mentor program. Please see information elsewhere in this newsletter about a program being offered by the Smith Family which could see you benefit by $500. I’d also like to draw your attention to some excellent courses being advertised by Interrelate in Dubbo.Homework CentreIt is hoped this term numbers will increase at our Homework Centre. It operates on Mondays and Thursdays. Please encourage your child to attend. Below are some tips for helping your child with homework. help your child with assignments, but don’t do the work for them as this doesn’t help your child to

learn let the school know of any family situation that may interfere with homework make an appointment to speak to your child’s teacher if your child is finding homework too hard help your child to have a regular time each day to do their homework help your child manage their time when they have lots of assignments at the same time help your child research information on the internet by directing them to useful sites, such as

www.tale.edu.au encourage children to re-read their writing to check for spelling and punctuation. Sometimes it’s

easier to find ways to improve writing when it’s read aloud encourage and praise all of your child’s effortsMore information at: www.schools.nsw.edu.au/media/downloads/gotoschool/ttsy7.pdf Please Contact Us Please don’t hesitate to contact us should you have any questions or concerns about your child. It is especially important that you notify Mrs Bennett or myself immediately you think your child may be being bullied. Our school does not tolerate bullying, however we need to know it is happening to address the matter.Angela O’CallaghanPrincipal

STUDENTS ENHANCING NAPLANAs a reflection of our NAPLAN results in 2009, the SEN program (Students Enhancing NAPLAN) consists of looking at various aspects of literacy in manageable chunks and building a solid literacy base for the students over Term 2 in 2010.Initially, the focus will be basic language conventions such as commas and question marks. However, it will then move to more detailed aspects of grammar and

punctuation such as clauses and phrases. These literacy concepts will help students to further develop their skills in sentence structure, punctuation and grammar. A calendar of the literacy concepts that will be visited each week has been included below.The desired outcome is for the whole school community to improve student literacy performance, using a variety of language conventions. This will be achieved through students being explicitly taught one literacy concept per week in DEAR. Teachers will follow-up by encouraging the use of the concept during their lessons, throughout the week. The SEN Calendar – Term 2

Week 1 Commas Week 6 ApostrophesWeek 2 Adverbs Week 7 PronounsWeek 3 Adjectives Week 8 Proper NounsWeek 4 Speech marks Week 9 Abstract NounsWeek 5 Collective Nouns Week 10 Assessment /Evaluation

SRC Report The 2010 Student Representative Council of Narromine High School has hit the ground running after elections were held in Week3 of Term 1. We have many great things planned for the year.One of our main focuses will be to support PBL (Positive Behaviour for Learning) outside the classroom. This has seen the junior male SRC members sanding down and painting the bus bay seats in the last week of Term 1 in order to update and refresh a tired area of the school. We also have plans to further paint the bus shelter and plant grass runners in bare patches between the shelter and A block.The regular inter-house sporting competition began in Term 2 and saw houses play off against each other at lunchtime in volleyball. In Term 2 this competition switches to indoor soccer where teams will have the opportunity to play twice a week. In Term 2 we will also run our first social for the year. This will be held in Week 3 on Thursday 6 May. We have sent notes home asking for parental help on the night – so please contact the school if you can spare half an hour for us. Remember, without parental support it is impossible for nights like these to go ahead.Another focus for the SRC members is keeping our playgrounds and eating areas rubbish free. We have already been holding ‘emu parades’ during lunch times whenever we feel there is too much rubbish. These are just a few of the activities the 2010 SRC has planned or carried out so far. If you would like to be involved in these activities or have any ideas or activities that you would like Narromine High School to run please, contact the school or speak to a SRC representative.

ZANDRA ROSE – LEADERSHIP SCHOLARSHIPWhen I was chosen for the UBS Young Women’s Leadership Academy I found myself being offered a mind opening experience. Held in the second week of school holidays, I flew to Sydney on the Sunday to meet with the group. As part of my scholarship, all travel costs and my stay in Women’s College at the University of Sydney were covered by UBS – a major international financial firm that has offices around the world, including Sydney.

Our first day began with meeting the other 49 girls, and finding out about their different background and cultures. The first speaker of the morning handed out a questionnaire which asked us questions about the way we approach life. This encouraged all of the girls to open up and the discussions that followed helped us become more aware of ourselves and how we view the world. Throughout the week, many women addressed us about a range of issues that will help us define our future pathways and encourage us to develop our potential. These sessions included the development of debating skills, improving our personal presentation, and team building and leadership skills.We also had the opportunity to visit the UBS office in the centre of Sydney. We had a tour of the building, visiting a number of different departments, meeting their staff and talking with them about the range of their operations. We were able to meet a number of young university students who also work part time with UBS. This gave us the opportunity to understand what it would be like to work for a large international company in the financial sector.Over the week we met many women from a great variety of backgrounds, including rural, who came to speak with us. We heard about how they developed an interest in working for a corporation and how they made their way into the positions they held today. These women have helped open my eyes as to what might be possible for my career. They have given me insights that I know will stay with me for life.Zandra Rose Year 11Sheran Fisher – Careers Adviser Zandra Rose 2nd from left

STREAM WATCH PROGRAMOn 27 April, Hanah Abel, Morgan Gleeson, Glen Simmons, Dean O’Brien and Emily Witts participated in a state wide stream watch program. The Water Catchment Management Authority invited a small group from all schools within the area to help conduct water quality tests. The students from Narromine High participated and often took on leadership roles, working with students from Narromine Public, St Augustine’s, Narromine Christian School, Trangie Central and St John’s Catholic School, Trangie. This program will continue to run with samples taken every six months, giving the school and the CMA a good picture of the water quality in Narromine.

CAREERSNuri Gili is the name of the Indigenous student support group at the University of NSW. Each year they offer their Winter School to encourage Indigenous students to apply for university at the end of their secondary studies. Through giving young students in Years 11 and 12 a taste of university learning and

life, the university wishes to enable these students to make better study choices and commit to this educational pathway. Over the years we have had several students gain a place at the University of NSW in this way.The Winter School takes place at the University of NSW at Randwick in the July holidays –3 – 10 July. The program is run at no cost to students. All travel, meals and accommodation are provided. Participating faculties include Visual arts, Law, Social work, Performing arts, Business, Medicine, Architecture & design, Education, Engineering and Indigenous studies. Students will choose one of these as a focus area while they attend the Winter School.Application materials and further information is available from Careers. Please note that applications must be with Careers by Friday 7 May in order to make the closing date of 14 May.Any students in Year 12 who might be planning to apply for medicine, dentistry, optometry and some pharmacy courses should note that they must apply to sit the UMAT exam by 4 June. Please see Mrs Fisher for more details.The Australian Agricultural College is again offering its introductory courses for students from Years 10-12 – TASTE the Agricultural Skills & Technology Experience 2010. These courses are run in holiday time at any of their three campuses – Dalby, Emerald, and Longreach (all located in Queensland). Opportunities exist in the July or October holiday periods. Cost is $295 which includes accommodation and meals. Information is available from Careers.

MENDOORAN SHOWThe Show team exhibited 10 steers at the Mendooran Show on 29 March.Eighteen students made the trip and competed well in a surprisingly strong cattle show.An early start at the Field Centre to wash the steers and load up equipment was followed by a pleasant trip to Mendooran. After unloading and further preparation of the steers, everyone enjoyed some of Mr McIntyre’s cooking. The steers were divided into fat and store classes. In the store class, ‘Boss’ was placed first. He was then judged against the best fat animal. He missed out on champion steer, however was awarded reserve champion steer when judged against the second best fat animal. After lunch the two judges gave the students some pointers on how to lead animals in the ring. The parader’s competition followed. Our most successful competitor was Alisha Roots, who came second in the intermediate class. Ian Anderson, Agriculture Teacher Brandon Quarmby with the reserve

Champion steer ‘Boss’

DO YOU REGULARLY RECEIVE THE SCHOOL NEWSLETTER?The first newsletter each term is posted home with your family account and any other important information.Newsletters are now published on the school website and can be accessed by logging ontowww.narromine-h.schools.nsw.edu.au. We are still attempting to have the weather station linked.If you would like the newsletter emailed to you, please complete the tear off slip below and return it to the school or alternatively you can telephone with your details to 6889 1499.………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

TEAR OFF SLIP FOR RETURNName …………………………………………. I would like to receive the fortnightly school newsletter by email. My email address is ………………………………………………………………………..

Signature ………………………………………………………

TAS FACULTY REPORTYear 7 & 8 Technology Mandatory classes are nearing completion of their current design projects. They have only four weeks of Term 2 on their current project before they change to a new technology. The quality of many of the folios and projects is outstanding and students are to be congratulated on the creativity of their designs.Stage 5 Industrial Technology students have completed at least one practical project in either wood or metal. The quality is good and students are demonstrating excellent practical skills. The construction of the Trade Training Centre will probably commence this year which will greatly improve facilities at the school for the benefit of all students studying metal based subjects, Primary Industries and Hospitality. Year 12 students have now completed their half yearly exams and Year 11 students should be preparing for theirs, commencing 3 May. Year nine and ten exams will follow shortly after. I would remind Year 12 Industrial Technology students that their major projects must be completed for marking by the end of Week 4, Term 3. The show team had some outstanding results at the Mendooran Show. You can read a full report elsewhere in the newsletter. The team also attended the Yeoval show on 27 April. The students who prepare and exhibit the steers are a credit to the school and the Narromine community.I would like to thank all students undertaking practical subjects for making a greater effort to wear the correct footwear. Trevor TaylorHead Teacher TAS

Open boys and girls touch football teams

TOUCH FOOTBALLOn Friday 23 April the Opens boys and girls touch football teams competed in the first round of the Western Region touch football knockout competition. The girls played first at 11am. They demonstrated great sportsmanship and a positive attitude as they went try for try the entire game. Steph Jolliffe showed her experience and skill as she put players through gaps, scored an intercept try and got outside the winger for a runner try. Alice Clarke put on a speed show as she was forever making breaks and even a runaway try…which was dropped over the line. The younger girls in the team including Alysha Harding, Kuine Edwards, Lorna Hull and Nina Patarana, all stepped up during the game and showed

fantastic potential for future touch football teams. Unfortunately the girls went down 5-3 in the dying minutes of the game. A fantastic effort by each of the girls. Congratulations to Steph and Alice Clarke who were both chosen as Best and Fairest by their team mates. Players in the girls team included Alice Clarke, Steph Jolliffe, Rachael Reid, Ivy Dwyer, Zandra Rose, Alysha Harding, Lorna Hull, Nina Patarana, Kuine Edwards, Grace Price, Eleanor Price and Monique McKean.

The boys played after the girls and showed from the first whistle that it was set to be a fast paced match. The boys demonstrated structure and were able to move up the field on turnovers quickly. They were constantly setting each other up and getting their opponents offside with their set moves and speed. Hayden Ellis, Justin Clarke and Ryan Wheeler showed their experience in the team with their ability to set up moves and tries. Congratulations to Jye Carter who scored the tries for the Narromine boys.Lachlan Reid and Ryan Richardson were the young boys of the team but were strong, stable players. They were the talkers of the team and were great in cover defence. Congratulations to Ryan Wheeler who was voted as Best and Fairest by his team mates. However, it was a close result as every player had fantastic games. The boys’ team consisted of Ryan Wheeler, Hayden Ellis, Justin Clarke, Ben Peters, Liam Gleeson, Matthew Walsh, Jye Carter, Blake McDonald, Lachlan Reid and Ryan Richardson.

MEET THE STAFFMal McIntyre, Narromine born and bred, moved to town after selling “Corambie” in early 2008 after 40 years working his property. Mal commenced his employment as the Agriculture Assistant in February 2009. Mal is married to Tracy and they have two daughters, Kelly who is studying Commerce at ANU, Canberra and Laura who is currently enjoying a gap year in England.Asked how he was enjoying working at the high school, Mal remarked “Marvellous institution – fantastic kids and colleagues and I’m thoroughly enjoying being involved in the steer show team”.We are all very happy to have Mal as part of our team!

JUNIOR TENNISWe are looking for expressions of interest in

a junior tennis competition to be run on Tuesday nights. Competition would be for children aged

from 11 years and up. Please contact Coral Leak on 6889 2497 if you are interested or would like

any further information.

Narromine High P&CWhen: Monday 17 MayWhere: Principal’s officeTime: 7pmAll welcome