GRIFFITH SITE 88 Coolah Street, Griffith NSW 2680 PH 02 6969 9300 WADE SITE 1-39 Poole Street, Griffith NSW 2680 PH 02 6969 9300

E murrumbidgee-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au W https://murrumbidgee- schools.nsw.gov.au

TERM 1 – WEEK 3 – 2020

WHAT’S ON AT MRHS?

TERM 1 -

WEEK 4Monday 17 February*Griffith site - Best Start - LiteracyTuesday 18 February* Term 1 - Sport teams trial day at Griffith siteWednesday 19 February*Griffith site - Best Start - Literacy*South West Zone Swimning - Leeton*Wade site - Year 7 Vaccinations/Year 8 Catch-upThursday 20 February* Griffith site - Best Start - Literacy

Friday 21 February* Wade site - EAL/D Learn to swim lessons* Griffith site - Best Start - Literacy

WEEK 5Monday 24 February - Friday 28 February*Griffith site - Best Start - Numeracy Wednesday 26 February*Griffith site - Year 7 Vaccinations/Year 8 Catch-up

Friday 28 February*Wade site - EAL/D Learn to swim lessons

WEEK 6Monday 2 March*Griffith site - School Photos* Riverina Swimming Carnival - Leeton Tuesday 3 March*Wade site - School Photos Friday 6 March*Open Boys Basketball - Leeton* Wade site - EAL/D Learn to swim lessons

Principal’s Update

Please note:School photos

Griffith site - Monday 2nd March 2020Wade site - Tuesday 3rd March 2020

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Increased subject choices for stu-dents at MRHS:In 2020 we have significantly increased the subject choices for both senior and junior students at MRHS.In Yr 11 this year we run 5 com-bined courses on the common line and another 6 combined courses on Thursday. We also run Extension 1 English and Maths across our school. This is a total of 13 com-bined courses in Yr 11. In Yr12 we run 8 combined courses on the common line and another 8 combined courses on Thursday. We also run Extension 1 and 2 English and Extension 1 and 2 Maths across our school. This is a total of 20 com-bined courses in Yr 12. That is a strong increase on last year and double what was offered in 2018.

The new model allows us to com-bine small candidature cohorts from each site together to form a class that would not otherwise run. We have also placed an increased focus on Literacy and Numera-cy in Stage 5. We have placed an additional period of English in Yr 9 and 10 and an additional period of Maths in Yr 9. All students in Yr 7 & 8 study Passion electives. On each site there are 12 Passion courses running and

students get to choose a new course each and every term. The wide variety of choice offered to students include courses such as Insta Eats, Coding and Robotics, Fashion and Textiles, The Book Nerd, Kitchen Chemistry, Movin and Groovin, American Sports, Forensic Science and Indigenous Culture and Games. Swimming Carnival and sports team selection day:I wanted to congratulate all our Yr 7 & 8 students who participated in the swimming carnival on Monday of this week. The carnival was a huge success and everyone enjoyed the experience. Our zone swimming team is going to be a very strong unit and we are hoping to retain our championship title this year.

On Tuesday 18 February we are holding our team selection trial day at MRHS Griffith site. This day allows all our talented sportsmen and women to come together for practice and to be selected in our combined MRHS teams. As I am sure you are aware the school had a hugely successful year last year on the sporting arenas of NSW. We look forward to our teams again making their mark on state wide competitions in 2020.

All the best

Mr Peter KingExecutive Principal

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Year 7 Advisors Report Yr 7 have had a flying start to 2020. Students have received their timetables, found their rooms and be-gun to settle into the routine of high school. They are enjoying their days and likely returning home quite tired as they adjust to their new setting. Still, they are arriving with a smile and growing in confidence with each day that passes.

Yr 7 have also had a number of extra organisational matters to be aware of. They are as follows:

Jindabyne Camp NotesStudents were all given a copy of the note for the Yr 7 camp to Jindabyne. The camp runs through Week 1 of Term 2 from Tuesday 28 April til Friday 1 May. The camp costs $380 and involves a variety of activities like BMX biking, rock climbing, ropes courses and archery. Students will need to return their permission notes and a $50 deposit by Friday 21 February.

Vaccination NotesStudents were also given an envelope containing information regarding upcoming school vaccina-tions. These vaccination rounds include protection against human papillomavirus (HPV) and diphthe-ria-tetanus-pertussis (dTpa). It is vital you seriously consider the importance of these vaccines to not only protect your child against such serious diseases but also provide a herd immunity for those unable to become vaccinated. Please ensure that signed forms are returned to the front office as soon as possible. Vaccinations are scheduled to take place on Wednes-day 12th of February for the Wade Site and Wednes-day the 26th of February for the Griffith Site. If your child is unable to attend school on these dates but would still like to be vaccinated, there will be some catch up vaccinations to be advised at a later date.

School PhotographsStudents will be participating in school photos shortly and should have received their photo enve-lopes. These envelopes require you to select the pack you would like for your child. Online ordering is preferred, but if you wish to pay by cash, the correct money should be placed inside the envelope and handed to the photographer on the day. The front office will not be exchanging money for students. Students will still require their photograph to be taken if you do not wish to order photographs unless you have been contacted personally. This allows us to

keep accurate records of each child present at MRHS. Sibling photos are also available and envelopes for these can be collected from the front office. Photos will be taken on the 2nd of March for Griffith Site and 3rd of March for Wade Site.

We are encouraged by how well Yr 7 are settling in. Remember, if you have a query or an issue arises, please feel free to contact us as Year Advisors. Of-ten, the sooner we know about an issue, the quicker they are to sort out. Thank you for supporting your children through this transition – their wellbeing is a direct testament to the effort you are putting in.

Mr Matthew Ingles (Wade Site), Mr Robert Taylor (Wade Site) Ms Melissa Laidler (Griffith Site)Year 7 Advisors

360 Banna AveGriffith NSW 2680

02 6964 1611edu@lecgriffith.com.au

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English Report - Wade siteWelcome to 2020! We are looking forward to an exciting, wonderful and busy year of learning! This year we have some returning faces in English with our staff of Mr Ma-ley, Mrs Elwin, Mr Aiello, Mr Pattison, Miss Farrell. We also welcome Mr Moore who has joined our faculty and school this year. A change for the English Faculty this year will see Miss Gorton step into the Relieving English Head Teacher position this year.

Students will be studying:

Yr 8 start the term with a study of fairy tales where they learn about the function and purpose of a fairy tale and consider why texts are appropriated for different audienc-es. They will construct their own appropriated fairy tale picture book cover to demonstrate their understanding of visual literacy.

Yr 9 have begun a study of famous speeches. They will construct a speech at the end of the unit to apply the rhetorical devices they have learnt about throughout the unit. In the second half of the term, Yr 9 will undertake a unit of work to enhance their understanding of Asia and Australia’s relationship with Asian countries. They will study various texts in this unit and construct a creative representation of their knowledge.

Yr 10 began by engaging with a variety of short stories. They will develop their understanding of the world around them, as well as working to enhance their reading and comprehension skills. Students will be examined on their reading ability at the conclusion of the unit. Follow-ing this, there will be a five week study of excerpts from Shakespearean tragedies, comedies and histories. This unit is designed to give students a taste of the breadth of Shakespeare’s works. Our Kidman covers both Yr 9 and 10 and allows students to engage with conceptual thinking utilising 21st cen-tury thinking skills. Yr 9 are starting the year learning about Australian Representations and using this to drive their understanding and application of self-reflection and collaboration using various technological methods. Yr 10 have begun a unit studying the reliability of texts, focusing on Disney films to answer the question ‘Are Mickey Mouse’s pants on fire?’ We are really excited to see what this group of students can create this year with an increased access to technology and awareness of an integrated curriculum.Students in English have begun to integrate technology in their classes, including using the Mobile Computers on Wheels (MoCoW) in lessons to collaborate. Students are both using their BYOD devices and the MoCoW to learn and share collaboratively. See the photos of Yr 9 Kidman starting the year with some engaging group work activ-

ities to help them learn about how we communicate in different ways. They had to arrange a picture book which has images that zoom out into order without speaking. There was lots of pointing and shuffling around the table and giggling to get it all done but it felt really good to be able to complete a tricky task together.

Class placements have been arranged based on a number of factors to determine a quality learning environment for all. As such, changes to classes based on wanting another teacher or not having a close friend in the class will not be considered an adequate reason to change classes. I am happy to discuss these situations with both students and caregivers at any time. Additionally, if students, parents or caregivers have any questions please feel free to contact your child’s classroom teacher or myself to discuss any issues or comments you may have. We look forward for working together to have a productive year of learning in English!

Miss Rebecca GortonRelieving Head Teacher English

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English Report - Griffith siteWe’re now into our third week of the year, and the staff and students at the Griffith site are now becom-ing used to learning in a school environment that is partly under construction with many lessons held in temporary demountable classrooms. What sustains many of us is the vision of the brand new teaching and learning spaces scheduled to be operational next year.

Meanwhile, in the English faculty we welcome two new faces, Karen Nottingham who has moved over to the Griffith site from the Wade site, and Andrew Ross who is beginning his full time teaching career this year. As well, we welcome back Laura Chettle-burgh from maternity leave. Laura is back only two days a week at this stage but we are grateful to have such a professional and expert teacher in our faculty.

This year I have put my hand up to be a part of the team teaching the Integrated Curriculum program to all of Yr 7. We have started the year with an intro-ductory writing year before moving on to a unit on Ancient Greece. The part of the Integrated Curricu-lum program that we are responsible for incorporates lesson outcomes from both English and History, and for those of us teaching the Quest classes, we are very excited as it provides us with the chance to be teach-ing more than one subject in each lesson.

Next term, we will be studying what life was like in Ancient China. One of the people we will be learning about Qin Shi Huang, the man responsible for unit-ing all of the provinces of China into one country. He was also the emperor who oversaw the construction of the Great Wall. As we continue to hear reports of the coronavirus from China’s Wuhan province, broadening students’ knowledge about the rest of the world becomes very important in times like these.

In Term Three, students in Quest will learn more about our Indigenous History before finishing the year by studying Medieval History. We are looking forward to it!

I would now like to introduce Karen Nottingham:

“Last year I started at the Wade site after teaching in Sydney this year, as our school’s needs have changed, I have moved over to the Griffith site where I am continuing to teach English and am the current year 8 Year Advisor. I have previously taught Advanced,

Extension 1 and 2 English, as well as Economics, both in High School and in Macquarie University’s Foundation Program. As a lifelong learner, I am commencing a new degree in Psychology this year. My interest in the ways in which trauma and dis-advantage impact learning and life outcomes was piqued when completing previous study in Educa-tional Psychology through UNSW. I hope to be able to conduct research in this area at a later stage and share that with our school community.

I am joyfully embracing the opportunities available for teaching and learning within a BYOD school! I use Google classroom to post content, resources and task instructions as well as providing a space for discussion and receiving student work. My 8A En-glish class are currently undertaking a collaborative research based task which will require them to pro-duce a brief multimodal presentation for the class on an issue connected to the context of the novel we are currently studying, Trash by Andy Mulligan. Tasks such as this allow me to embed important 21st Century learning skills in my programs to ensure my students are future focused and better prepared for employment in the Information Age. I can only do this if my students have devices and I strongly encourage all families to support the BYOD policy.”

And I would also like to introduce Andrew Ross:

“My name is Andrew Ross. I grew up in a small country town which many people struggle to pro-nounce and even spell. I moved to Griffith almost exactly 5 years ago to the day and have enjoyed living here since there are a great many things to do and the Italian cuisine is incredible.

I am currently teaching a Yr 8 class as part of my load. We have been exploring the world of Tolkien as we will be completing a novel study on The Hobbit. The students have enjoyed learning about the inspi-rations that led to Tolkien creating Middle-Earth and the influences Tolkien himself has had on popu-lar culture and literature.”

One of our more experienced teachers, Ms Elizabeth Ridgway has also provided a brief overview of what’s happening in her Year Nine English class:

“Yr 9 are starting 2020 by reading the novel The Outsiders by Sue Hinton. It is a classic book that

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English Report - Griffith site continued ....we study every year. The students are really enjoying the story of Ponyboy Curtis and his adventures with the Greasers.

We have been learning about parts of narrative structure, including comprehension, writing skills, narrative voice and expression. The students will be using this knowledge to create their own realistic fiction and will be writing their own narratives exploring real world issues.”

Mr Anthony CatanzaritiHead Teacher English

HILLSTON OUTBACK

Sunday 1st March 2020

TRIATHLON

Sanctioned by Triathlon N.S.W.

Entry forms available at:Hillston Outback Triathlon Facebook page

Four Great Events!Lions Park, Lake Woorabinda, Hillston

Micro - 8.00am100m Swim, 2km Cycle, 800m Run

Mini - 8.30am200m Swim, 10km Cycle, 1.7km Run

Sprint - 9.30am750m Swim, 20km Cycle, 5km Runminimum age 12 years

Walk for Life - 11.30am approxAround the lakeDonations to a local charity. Ages 0-100 encouraged to participate. Followed by presentation.Continual BBQ all morning.

Early registration discount (fully paid) up to 21st February 2020. Registration for all events from 7.00am on the day. Entries close 30 minutes prior to race start time.

For more info contact:Robin BartholomewRace Director

Phone:02 6967 2999

Email:hillstontri@gmail.com