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FRANCIS GREENWAY HIGH SCHOOL GAZETTE
We Value Your Input Please feel free to contact us at any time:
Po Box 124, Beresfield NSW 2322 Phone: 02 4964 1282 Fax 02 4964
1147 Email: [email protected]
Mrs Edwards (Principal) Edition 3 May 2014
NAPLAN NAPLAN testing for Years 7 and 9 will take place from
Tuesday 13 until Thursday 15 May. Students who are absent on one of
these days will have an opportunity to complete the missed test on
Friday 16 May. Bye Bye Birdie Our musical spectacular will take
place in the school hall this term (17-19 June). The students and
staff have been very busy rehearsing in the holidays and will
continue this term with the added tasks of prop building and
costume construction. Please come along and enjoy the talent of our
students as you are promised to be treated to an evening of
fabulous entertainment. Gifted and Talented Program I have included
a flyer in this gazette outlining our school‟s approach to teaching
students with a gift or talent in a specific area. Our school chose
to forego a GATS class in Year 7 this year as research indi-cates
that, not only does a GATS class not always support academic
achievement, it can have a negative impact on a student‟s social
and emotional development. Each Gazette I will be including
examples of
aspects of our GATS program.
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data School Students with
Disability Schools across Australia are taking part in a new
national data collec-tion on school students with disabilities. The
aim of this data collec-tion is to have better information about
students with disability. This will allow the right support to be
put in place for students allowing them the same opportunities for
high quality education as students without a disability. There is a
pamphlet at the back of the Gazette with more details. Please
contact the school if you do not wish your child‟s information to
be included in the data collection. As the colder months
approach... It is more difficult for all of us to get out of bed
when the colder months arrive. Students may need reminding that the
reality of life is that we need to get up and get ourselves to
school on time despite the temperature as this is the reality of
the real world of work. Stu-dents also need to ensure they wear
correct school uniform. Coloured jackets and hoodies are not part
of our uniform. Mrs Edwards Principal
Calendar of Events
May
Monday 19-Thursday 30 Year 10 exams in class
Monday 19 Knights Knockout U14/U16
Tuesday 20 P & C Meeting 7pm
Thursday 22 Zone Athletics Carnival
Regional Boys and Girls Tennis
Friday 23 Careers Expo
Monday 26 National Reconcilliation Week
Tuesday 27 Vaccinations
Friday 30 Girls Open Touch Gala Day
June
Monday 2-6 Year 10 Work Experience
Monday 2-4 Marine Studies Excursion
Friday 6 Knights Knockout U13/U15
Monday 9 Queen‟s Birthday Holiday
Tuesday 10 Year 10 Play “Opening Doors”
Tuesday 17-19 “Bye Bye Birdie” Production
FROM THE PRINCIPAL Term 2 is shaping up to be very busy with
reports being written, NAPLAN testing and our school musical.
Students will be undertaking assessment tasks throughout the early
part of this term. It is im-portant they have an organised space to
work in at home and com-plete the tasks to the best of their
ability. The assessment tasks and the first semester of school work
will be reported on this term. Par-ents and carers are welcome to
contact the school for further infor-mation concerning their
child‟s progress at any time. Parent Teacher Interviews I would
like to thank all the parents, carers and staff who attended the
interviews held at the end of Term 1. It is always wonderful to be
able to meet the families of our students and our children benefit
from seeing their family and their teachers working together to
support them in achieving school success.
mailto:[email protected]
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FROM THE DEPUTY PRINCIPALS Welcome back to what promises to be
another busy and exciting term. For all year groups, this term
involves more formal assessment than last. As reports are due by
the end of this term, please ensure your child is aware of any
tasks to be completed and do not hesitate to contact the school if
you have concerns regarding the work re-quired. Mrs Xenos
“Skoolbag” App is coming Our School is conducting a trial of our
own Skoolbag iPhone/Android App to help us communicate more
effectively with our Parent/Student community. We are trialling the
iPhone version for 30 days, if we continue with the App after the
trial we will then get the Android version in the Google Play
Store. If you would like to have a look as we work on building the
program, just look for our school name "Francis Greenway High
School" in the Apple App Store, and install it on your iPhone. Once
we are happy with the content and features of the App, we will
notify you via a notice on the school website and through a text
mes-sage. The advantage of the App is that we can reduce the amount
of text messages required, as we can send push notifications out
free of charge through the App. Absences will still be notified by
text, but you will have the option of sending an absentee „note‟
via the App, as well as being able to change your contact details.
We will still be using the website, text messages and where
appro-priate notes home, however the App adds another feature for
com-munication. Technology Over the next few terms our Bring Your
Own Device Policy (BYOD) will be rolled out. We will commence with
the senior students and move down through the years. This policy
will allow students to bring an approved device such as a laptop to
school and have it connect-ed to the school‟s wireless network. If
you are thinking of purchas-ing a device for your child to use for
school, please ensure you get the information about compatible
devices before you spend the money. No student will be
disadvantaged if they do not have their own device as we have an
ample supply of school laptops for class use. An information pack
about the Bring Your Own Device Policy is be-ing compiled and will
be released to year groups as we are ready to roll it out. There is
an agreement that must be signed before any device can be used and
it is important to understand the school will not be responsible
for loss, damage or theft of devices. Printing at School Students
are able to print from the computers in the Library. It should be
noted that the printing off of assignments is the responsi-bility
of the student at home and the school will not be held responsi-ble
if the Library is closed and students cannot print off work-
espe-cially if they have left it until the day it was due. Each
student has 100 pages they can use before they will need to
purchase more printing (cost =$5 per 100). Students can get their
student number which they will need to use to print from the staff
in the Library or their year adviser. They should not share this
number with anyone as they will be held responsible for all
printing under that number and any transactions that occur across
the internet with that number.
Year 11 & 12 Overall I have been happy in the way Year 11
have settled into Senior school-ing, although there have been a few
issues which I addressed with them late last term. The major one
being absences form class through truancy. All stu-dents have been
warned that on the first occasion they are detected truanting
(whole or partial) they will receive a Formal Warning; this means
they are on notice that a suspension may result in the next
instance. They will also be re-quired to attend detention. If there
is a second occasion, I will be recommending to the Principal a
suspension. This may appear harsh, but I believe that as sen-ior
students in particular, they need to commit themselves to their
studies and show additional maturity. This means the expectation is
that they will attend all lessons and if they don‟t, they will have
a reasonable excuse. Remember that Year 11 (or Preliminary Course)
is only 3 terms, so there is no time to waste. Year 12 is now over
halfway into their HSC course. If possible I would recom-mend that
outside school work commitments be kept to a minimum until after
the HSC. Working until after 11pm and in some cases well over 25
hours a week then coming to school and trying to keep up with the
school work load has seen students in the past fall apart and
really struggle to do their best. A reminder for Year 12 that the
Senior Study in A5 is open for you to use in your study periods.
Year 11 may use the room if it is not full. All senior students are
welcome to use the room during sport time, where there is also a
staff member on duty to assist if needed. Additionally we have an
after school homework centre available in the Library each
Wednesday until 4.30pm. Mrs Xenos Deputy Principal (Yr 11 &
12)
Mrs McIntosh Teachers Learning With Teachers This year we have
commenced an exciting initiative in our school where teach-ers are
working together to learn about classroom practices that enhance
stu-dent engagement in learning. Our wonderful teachers are working
hard to plan lessons together, encouraging professional
conversations about student learn-ing in an effort to focus on what
works to motivate and engage our kids in their own learning. What
this means in the classroom is that students will notice from time
to time that there is more than one teacher in the classroom
working to observe student engagement in learning and develop
effective teaching practic-es that encourage students‟ active
participation.
Year 7 I would like to congratulate Year 7 for being the most
settled year group making the transition to high school that I have
ever experienced. This year to date, we have observed that Year 7
class groups are working exceptionally well, where students are
engaged in their learning and being very well behaved. I would like
to encourage our most junior students in the school to continue to
be such exemplary role models and continue to demonstrate the
values of our school. Well done!
Year 8 I am disappointed to see that certain Year 8 classes have
not had a settled start to 2014 in Term 1 and I have found it
necessary to move some students across class groupings to assist
the management of these issues. I will be watching Year 8 very
closely this term and hope that we have a greatly improved year
group that will have many students eligible to attend our behaviour
and attend-ance reward excursion, “The Big Day Out” to Sydney‟s Wet
‟n‟ Wild in Decem-ber. To support Year 8 students to make good
choices about their behaviour, please speak to your children about
the importance of respectful, cooperative and responsible behaviour
at school and encourage them to value their educa-tion as a
lifelong process. We know that there is a strong connection
between
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education and life success and when we do not have disruptive
behaviours in our school, then all students can access learning
out-comes. We have very high expectations for our students and we
hope that these are shared by our community. Uniform As the winter
months approach, please ensure that students have warm clothes that
comply with our uniform policy. The uniform shop is open on Monday
and Wednesday to access “Alinta” apparel and remember that plain
black jumpers purchased outside this shop are also acceptable,
provided they are plain and do not have brand names, etc on them.
Anti-bullying On Monday 7 April (Term 1, Week 11) twelve of our
Year 7-10 stu-dents participated in an Anti-bullying initiative in
partnership with the Samaritans Youth Development team. These
students created Anti-bullying messages on posters and were
photographed to create images that will be published around our
school later in the year. I would like to congratulate these
students for their participation and creativity in this project and
we look forward to having their images around the school to
reinforce the message that bullying is NOT tolerated in our school.
If students have experienced bullying, please ensure that it is
reported so that we can respond. Our school Anti-bullying Plan is
available on our website at
http://www.millenniumschools.net.au/fghs/?id=6197 Mrs McIntosh
Deputy Principal – Rel. (Yr 7 & 8) Mr Brownsmith Year 9 &
10 I am really pleased with the way Year 10 have approached the
final year of Stage 5 in their learning. All students need to
ensure that during this term they have a clear outlook to when
assessment tasks are due and that they allow adequate time to
complete them. As the Record of School Achievement (RoSA) is a
cumulative cre-dential, recording completed Stage 5 and Preliminary
Stage 6 cours-es and grades, it is important that students continue
with a positive attitude throughout the year. To be eligible for
the RoSA students must complete all Board of Studies courses for
Stage 5 successfully and complete Year 10. Satisfactory attendance
needs to be main-tained throughout the year and students must
attend until the final day of Year 10. Please notify the School
Administration Office if students are ill or are attending family
events. It is the responsibility of students to catch up any work
missed due to absence. Year 9 have settled into their mandatory and
elective courses and any changes to their program of study should
have been made by now. I urge all students to make a concerted
effort in their studies for the start of this new stage in their
learning. Stage 5 prepares students for the rigour of Preliminary
and HSC courses and also for some students the beginning of their
working life away from school. To gain the most out of the
opportunities made available at school, students need to ensure
they access their teachers for assistance. As work load increases
please consider the Learning Centre as a resource available to
everyone on Wednesday‟s between 3pm and 4:30pm in the school
library. Staff are available to assist with home-work and
assessment tasks. If computer and internet access is not available
at home, this is a great opportunity to utilise this facility.
I am always available to speak to students about any issues they
may have but it is also important that the respective Year Advisers
of Year 9 and 10 be accessed for assistance where possible when the
classroom teacher is not able to help. Parents may also like to
discuss any issues with the Year Adviser as their first port of
call with the school. The Year 9 Adviser is Mr Russ in the PDHPE
Fac-ulty and the Year 10 Adviser is Mrs Middleton in the TAS
Faculty. Both of these staff have a wealth of knowledge about the
processes of the school and of your children. Mr Brownsmith Deputy
Principal - Rel (Yr 9 & 10)
CANTEEN Welcome back everyone, hope you all had a good break.
Second term specials in the canteen will be: Monday: Chicken and
gravy rolls $3 Tuesday : Spaghetti Bolognaise $3.50 Wednesday:
Nachos $3.50 Thursday: Savoury filled potato skins $3 We will also
be trialling Bacon and Egg Rolls on a Thursday morning for
breakfast $3. Remember ordering your lunch ensures you won‟t miss
out. We are open at 8am to take orders. Thank you to our wonderful
volunteers who give up their time and congratulations to our
volunteers who have gained employment. We will miss you in the
canteen. We have openings for volunteers on Mondays, Thursdays and
Fridays if anyone is able to help. Please call the school on 4964
1282 and ask to speak to Lisa or Darlene. Thank you
CAREERS & TRANSITION DEPARTMENT Careers Updates Year 10 Work
Experience paperwork has been given out in class during the last 2
weeks of Term. Any student absent from careers lessons can call in
at the Careers Office in the Library to pick it up. Year 10
Excursion to Newcastle University, “The Next Step” was on Thursday
10 April and was designed to assist Year 10 with planning for their
future. Students had an interesting day and found it very useful. I
hope that we will be invited next year. WHS White Card Training.
The first group undertaking training was on Tuesday 1 April and the
second group undertook their training on Monday 5 May. Any student
who still requires a White Card for Year 11 Construction can see me
for an alternative course outside school. See photo below. Mrs
Dempsey & Ms Taylor Coordinators
http://www.millenniumschools.net.au/fghs/?id=6197http://www.millenniumschools.net.au/fghs/?id=6197
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ENGLISH DEPARTMENT Term 1 was an interesting and exciting period
of change for the FGHS English faculty. We are well into our
implementation of the new English curriculum in Years 7 and 9 with
students in these years studying concepts as opposed to single
texts. In Term 1 Year 7 studied the concept of “The Hero‟s Journey”
with an English focus of Representation. This term they will engage
with a number of non-fiction texts to explore “Australian Identity”
focusing on cultural iden-tity and cultural representation. Year 9
students studied the concept of “Changing Relationships” with an
English focus of Perception. This term Year 9 will study a drama
text to investigate “Conflict and Resolution”. Planning has begun
for the implementation of the new English curriculum for Years 8
and 10 in 2015 and we all look for-ward to creating engaging
conceptual teaching programs for these year groups. The end of Term
1 was a very busy time for English students with the first round of
assessment tasks now completed for students in Years 7-10 in week
7. Students in Year 7 composed a narrative on “The Hero‟s Journey”,
Year 8 students composed an exposition around the topic: „Fast food
should be banned‟, Year 9 composed a narrative exploring the
“Changing Relationships” concept and Year 10 wrote an exposition
arguing for or against action movies being better than „chick
flicks‟. Half Yearly Examinations for students in Years 7-10 took
place in week 2 and for Year 11 Standard English students, week 1.
Any students who were not present for their first assessment task
or examination will need to obtain a misadventure form from the
Eng-lish staff room, if they haven‟t already done so. The
appropriate documentation is required, as stated on the form. Year
11 Standard students finished their Belonging study with their
assessment task submitted in week 9 last term and speeches
completed in week 10. They will all be quite sick of using the word
„belonging‟, nevertheless the Area of Study is a large component of
the Standard English course and they will need to endure it for a
bit longer. Year 11 Stud-ies students worked diligently on their
letter of application and re-sume, and practised their job
interview responses in readiness for their assessment task which
was completed in weeks 9 and 10. Year 12 are in the middle of their
respective courses, regular revi-sion of texts and concepts as well
as exam practise is extremely important from now until the Trial
HSC and the HSC exams. The Advanced students completed their
critical study of “Hamlet” in Term
1 and are now engaged in the comparative study of “Frankenstein”
and “Blade Runner” focusing on the values and concepts that are
explored through both texts. Much research about science and
eth-ics and morality was undertaken. Our Standard English cohort is
in the process of exploring the Area of Study Belonging, they have
begun exploring this concept and thinking about and discussing its
complex meaning. Our Year 12 Studies students have completed their
„Digital Worlds‟ study with the submission of their E-Portfolios.
Don‟t forget, all English assessment booklets are available
digitally via Moodle. These booklets contain information on
assessment tasks and include marking criteria. Each cohort‟s
assessment book-let is in the „General‟ section of each Year group
page. Feel free to contact classroom teachers or the Head Teacher
to discuss your child‟s progress or if you have any queries about
as-sessment tasks. Ms Walsh Head Teacher - Rel
HSIE DEPARTMENT Term 1 was a busy term for HSIE. Harmony Day was
a great success, which celebrated and respect-ed the diversity of
our school population and recognised the valua-ble contribution
that each student makes to our school community. In addition, we
also commemorated ANZAC Day with a school as-sembly which
recognised the sacrifice shown by those who served and died for our
country. We also had our Year 10 „Coastal Man-agement‟ excursion to
Newcastle beach, where the students were able to see for themselves
the various issues involved; such as coastal erosion and coastal
development.
In March, 50 Year 9 Students from Francis Greenway High School
went to Sydney for their Year 9 Historical Site Study excursion.
Despite the long bus trip, the students enjoyed themselves and
found the Hyde Park Barracks – built by Francis Greenway –
partic-ularly interesting. Student experienced first-hand what
hammocks were like, the story behind artefacts from our colonial
past and saw many of the sites of the City and Rocks area. All of
the students who attended were excellent ambassadors for our school
and were able to develop a better understanding on the new
Australian History curriculum topic „Movement of Peoples”..
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Finally on Marine Studies, we have opened our „Marine Room‟
which – after a lot of work – now has a number of tanks up and
run-ning, with Yabbies and a variety of fish. The Marine Room
allows those students who are studying Marine Studies, to gain
practical skills and experience with aquariums and marine life.
Thankyou to the P&C for your support. Also we are looking
forward to running the Marine Studies excursion to the Gold Coast
again, which was a great experience for those students who went
last year. Mr Budden Head Teacher
JAPANESE Language Other Than English (LOTE) – JAPANESE (nihongo)
This year‟s Year 12 students will be the first to sit the HSC
examina-tions in Beginners Japanese at our school. The examination
timeta-ble is now available. The Speaking Examination is on
Saturday 13 September. The time scheduling menu opens on Monday 2
June and closes on Friday 13 June. Students are able to select a
time to do the Oral Examination that suits them during this time.
After the closing date, students will be allocated a time by the
Board of Stud-ies. Students from the senior Japanese classes
recently went on an excursion to Nagisa Japanese Restaurant at
Honeysuckle. They had the opportunity to experience a selection of
Japanese cuisine and try out some of their newly acquired language
skills with the Japanese staff. It was pleasing to see the students
challenge their taste buds with some of the new flavours and
textures of Japanese food. Some loved the food, some didn‟t.
Regardless, it was a valua-ble experience, deepening the student‟s
knowledge and awareness of Japanese food etiquette.
Mrs Waller Japanese Teacher
LIBRARY AND YEAR 12 ADVISER Library Things have been busy in the
library this year with Mrs Dowker and myself moving things around
to create a more user friendly environ-ment. This will be ongoing
this term. There has been a slight change to staffing this term
with the addition of Mrs Gilby working as our library assistant on
Monday and Tuesday.
A reminder that students are welcome to utilise the library
resources to support their study during recess, lunch and study
periods. There are also chess sets available for student use,
including our giant chess set. Students can access the library
catalogue from home through a link called “My Library” on their
student portal. They will also find some helpful links to support
their study through the “My Library” web page. As the cooler
weather arrives and students are looking for indoor activities,
feel free to speak to Miss Gale about what new resources we have
available for you to read. Year 12 A few reminders regarding events
for our Year 12 students. Firstly a reminder that we have booked
the East Maitland Bowling Club for the formal on the 19 November.
Prices have not yet been set as we have not yet made decisions
regarding food and decorations but there is an account open for
students to start depositing money if they would like. We are
estimating that the cost will be just over $100 so if students wish
to start making payments they can. Later this term the committee
will begin to coordinate more details regard-ing the formal.
Students are also starting to realise that time is running out and
their school life is coming to a close. A simple word of advice is
to organ-ise your time and put aside time for your schoolwork (as
well as a social life). Ask teachers for help before you become too
far behind and don‟t panic. Take a deep breath, make a list of what
needs to be
done and take it one task at a time.
Ms Gale Teaching Librarian / Year 12 Adviser
PD/H/PE DEPARTMENT Term One proved a success for the PDHPE
faculty with all three sports carnivals completed, with high
student attendance and partici-pation. Congratulations to Attunga
for finishing first at the Athletics Carnival on 1535 points,
followed by Mulgabirra on 1176, Tikera on 1121 and Kilakara on 810.
Congratulations must also go to the following stu-dents who were
named Age Champions for our Cross Country and Athletics Carnival.
Cross Country Under 12 Ethan Kulupach & Charli Papas Under 13
Khye Heron & Mya Cooke Under 14 Tyson Thornton & Ellie
Papas Under 15 Liam Kulupach & Rylee Grant Under 16 Hayden
Norman & Lily Oldham 17+ Jimmy Hendrie & Shyden
Carne-Jordan Athletics Under 12 Ethan Kulupach & Charli Papas
Under 13 Khye Heron & Mya Cooke Under 14 Harrison Schiemer
&Tiarna Carne-Jordan Under 15 Bayley Ritchie & Rylee Grant
/ TkayahWidders Under 16 Jye Ireland & Claire Manning 17+ Jimmy
Hendrie & Shyden Carne-Jordan
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The following students must also be congratulated for
progressing to the Hunter Region Cross Country Carnival after
impressive perfor-mances at the Zone Carnival; Mya Cooke (1st),
Tara Ryan (6th), TkayahWidders (4th), Sarah King (6th), Crystal
Johnston (4th), Shyden Carne-Jordan (1st),Karleigha Melmeth (2nd),
Ethan Kulupach (1st), Ben Callinan (6th), Joshua Hendrie (5th) and
Jimmy Hendrie (2nd). We had many sporting teams compete in CHS
knockout competi-tions in Term One, some experiencing success and
moving forward in their respective competitions and others
unfortunately being elimi-nated despite their best efforts. The
Open Girls Netball, Softball, Soccer, Cricket and the Under 15
Girls Soccer, along with the Open Boys Rugby League and Table
Tennis were all eliminated in their matches. Success was tasted by
the Open Boys Cricket and Tennis along with the Open Boys and Girls
Touch teams. The Open Boys Touch have qualified for the Hunter
Final 8 series with some very convincing wins in their preliminary
rounds, including a 15-0 demoli-tion of Irrawang High. Good luck to
all the teams continuing on in Term Two. Finally we celebrate some
individual success. Four of our students have been chosen in their
respective sports to represent the Hunter Region in 2014.
Congratulations to Rory Sleeth–Hunter Under 15 AFL team, Gary
Anderson – Hunter Under 15 Rugby League, Bay-ley Ritchie and Jye
Ireland – Open Boys Touch. A special mention must also go to Bayley
Ritchie, Dylan Atkin, Gary Anderson and Jackson Hutchison who
represented the Hunter Region Under 16 Boys Touch team at the NSW
Championships recently, the Hunter team were defeated in the final
by North Sydney by one touchdown. With a number of outstanding
performances Bayley Ritchie was named player of the tournament and
named in the NSW CHS Under
16 Touch team.
Ms Conway Head Teacher - Rel Outward Bound 2014 Congratulations
to Hannah Scott, Nic Callinan, Sarah King, Jessalyn Cummings and
Lilly Oldham who were awarded part scholarships to attend the 2014
Outward Bound Course. These students will spend the last week of
this term in the National Parks near the Queens-land border where
they will hike, camp, climb, abseil, canoe and be involved in
leadership challenges. Any students who are 16 or older that think
this sounds fun but did not apply for Outward Bound may be
interested in the PCYC Blue Star Citizenship Course. This course
involves volunteer work and completing the Duke of Edinburgh
(Bronze) Award. For more infor-mation See Mrs Leeson or go to
www.pcycbluestar.org Ms Leeson Coordinator
Vaccination Day Vaccination day is Tuesday 27 May, for all Year
7 (girls and boys) and Year 9 Boys. Please ensure that students are
present at school on time, with an adequate breakfast, and fully
hydrated. Students should be able to roll up their shirt sleeves.
If any student did not hand in their forms for round one in
February and wishes to be add-ed can they please return forms to
Mrs Bull a.s.a.p. If any student has arrived at FGHS since round
one and wishes to continue vac-cinations at FGHS can they also see
Mrs Bull in order that I can notify which school they previously
came from. First Aid If any student in Year 11 or 12 wishes to gain
an accredited First Aid Certificate can they also see Mrs Bull.
This excludes students in the PE faculty classes (PHP /SRF) as you
will be doing your certificate in these classes later in the year.
Mrs Bull
Girls Adviser
SUPPORT DEPARTMENT
http://www.pcycbluestar.org
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Excursions Wednesday 7 May students from the Support Unit went
to Nelson Bay. When we arrived it started raining so we took cover
under the shelter and ate recess. When the rain stopped, we began
the steep climb up Tomaree mountain. Mr Middleton and Mrs Squires
led a group to the summit while Mrs Smart and Mrs Barlow took a
group to the gunning placement. All students participated with
enthusiasm and should be proud of their efforts.
Ms Mitchell Head Teacher
TAS DEPARTMENT New Faces The TAS faculty would like to welcome
to the team some new mem-bers of staff. Mrs Usher who started with
us at the start of the year replacing Mr Cromarty as our Head
Teacher. Mr Kierney who brings with him a wealth of knowledge in
metals technology. Baby News We would like to take the opportunity
to congratulate Mr and Mrs Walsh on the arrival of their baby boy,
Callum and we wish Mrs Walsh all the best whilst on maternity
leave. Mrs Walsh is currently being replaced by Mrs Smithson.
Friendly Reminders Just some friendly reminders for parents:
Paid fees = practical experiences Fully enclosed leather upper
shoes = safe feet USB‟s are a good way to save your work Pens,
pencils and books help record the work
Can you please remind your child to wear the correct footwear
and bring their equipment to each lesson. Congratulations Special
congratulations go out to two of our past HSC students, Jamie-Lee
Egar and Jessica Dorrington who have started appren-ticeships as
chefs. Well done girls, both well deserved.
Focus on learning Just a reminder of what our classes should be
working on at the mo-ment.
Year 12 Textiles MDP‟s and HSC revision, Year 11 Textiles mini
major design projects Year 11 and 12 CAFS assessment tasks due week
5 Year 11 Timber folio work Year 10 Food Technology whole course
exams on in week 5 revise all course content
Stay tuned, in the next Gazette photos of students hard at
work.
Mrs Usher Head Teacher
BYE BYE BIRDIE Francis Greenway High School is, once again,
bringing their creative talents to the stage in the production of
their musical BYE BYE BIRDIE. Following the success of BACK TO THE
80‟s and GREASE, the talents of the students of Francis Greenway
will transport you back to the 60‟s. In this musical we can see
teen heart throb, Conrad Birdie, being drafted into the army.
Before he leaves friendly shores he promises to give one last kiss
to one last girl. Get ready to tap your toes and clap along to the
hits of this great musi-cal. Fun for the whole family BYE BYE
BIRDIE promises to be a show not to be missed. Mark it on your
calendar, set an alarm, put a reminder on your phone. Tickets are
$10 each and go on sale on Monday 19 May. Available from the Front
Administration Office.
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Francis Greenway High has adopted an inno-vative approach to
catering for GATS in our school. Since over 90% of the 2013 HCS
cohort were accepted into the university course of their choice we
are clearly providing a rigorous aca-demic curriculum. Rather than
take the traditional approach where students are placed in a GATS
class irrespective of their gift or talent, our school offers a
program whereby students can pursue the area most pertinent to
them. Research indicates that labelling children and placing them
in a GATS class can have ad-verse effects on their social and
emotional de-velopment. At Francis Greenway High we believe
educa-tion is about catering to all areas of develop-ment and
allowing students to excel in their chosen area whether it be
sport, the arts, Sci-ence, English or Math.
Our next newsletter will feature our musi-cal, sport programs
and Mock Trial team. Following are some examples of what we
offer.
How does Francis
Greenway High School cater for students who
are Gifted and Talented?
Francis Greenway High School
Gifted and Talented Program
The FGHS Stingers Cheerleaders squad continued to impress in
2013 with many stun-ning performances including a feature
perfor-mance at Star Struck. At the AASCF State Championships the
Stingers finished 3rd in High School Cheer Level 2 and 4th overall
in High School Cheer. At the Kurri Kurri Commu-nity Festival the
Stingers took out 1st place stunt and 1st place All Star Cheer.
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Dr Zimmerman from the University of Newcastle has partnered with
our school in a long-term professional partnership to provide
students with a link to current, real-life scientists working in
our society and a chance to discover a link behind the curriculum.
The University of Newcastle, Ourimbah campus, along with Dr
Zimmerman, has offered the fully equipped university laboratory and
complementing course material to our students. Students have the
opportunity to visit and participate in practical activities,
including looking at a range of different specimens. It is an
extensive laboratory with excellent equipment and resources which
can be tai-lored to suit our needs. Dr Zimmerman will visit the our
school and give a presentation about his work
and what he specialises in. A goal of this partnership, is to
become a pilot pro-gram for high school level coral reef research
trips to Hideaway Island in Vanuatu.
UNITED NATIONS ASSEMBLY
Francis Greenway High School‟s Year 11 and 12 Le-gal Studies
classes host a Model United Nations As-sembly in conjunction with
the University of NSW. Fif-teen University students studying
International Politics work with our students to cre-ate an
environment mirroring an actual United Nations meeting. Students
represent twelve different countries and debate Human Rights issues
in the exact format used by the UN.
Scientists in Schools Program
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Information for Parents/Carers Schools across Australia are
taking part in a new national data collection on school students
with disability. The data collection is being introduced in stages
over three years, and started in 2013. From 2015, this information
will be col-lected in every school across Australia, every year.
All Australian governments have agreed to this.
WHAT IS THE BENEFIT FOR MY CHILD? All Australian governments
agree that every child in an Australian school should have a high
quality education. It shouldn‟t matter what the individual child‟s
circumstances are – every child should have the same opportunity to
succeed at school. The aim of this new data collection is to have
better information about school students with disability in
Australia. Better information about school students with disability
will help teachers, principals and education authorities to support
stu-dents with disability to take part in school on the same basis
as students without disability.
WHY IS THIS DATA BEING COLLECTED? There is nothing new about
schools collecting information about students with disability – in
fact, schools have had to do this by law for some time. But the
type of information currently collected varies between each state
and territory. With the new data collection, every school in
Australia will use the same method to collect this information –
that is, a govern-ment school in suburban Sydney will collect and
report data in the same way as a Catholic school in country
Victoria and an independent school in the Northern Territory. The
information provided through this new national data collection will
enable all Australian governments to better target sup-port and
resources to benefit students with disability. It will help to put
the right supports in place for students with disability so that
they have the same opportunities for a high quality education as
students without a disability.
WHAT ARE SCHOOLS REQUIRED TO DO? Every school in Australia is
likely to have a student with disability at some point. Schools
need to be able to support students with disability by removing any
obstacles for them to participate in their education. By law,
schools are required to make reasonable adjustments where needed to
assist students with disability. These responsi-bilities are
outlined in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the
Disability Standards for Education 2005. This means that schools
need to talk to the student and/or their parent/carer about
reasonable adjustments. These are things the schools do now and
this won‟t change. The new data collection will record students who
have been identified by a school team as meeting the definition of
disability under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and
provided with an adjustment.
WHAT IS AN ADJUSTMENT? An adjustment is a measure or action
taken to help a student with disability participate in education on
the same basis as other students. Adjustments can be made across
the whole school setting (like ramps into classrooms), in the
classroom and at an individual student level (like extra tuition
for a student with a learning difficulty).
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WHAT INFORMATION WILL BE COLLECTED? Your child‟s school will
collect and report information every year about:
Some students who are not provided with an adjustment at the
time of the collection will meet the definition of disability under
the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and will be eligible to be
included in the data collection.
WHO WILL COLLECT MY CHILD‟S INFORMATION? Teachers and other
school staff from your child‟s school will collect the above
information based on:
School principals are responsible for making sure that the
information collected about each student is accurate.
HOW WILL MY CHILD‟S PRIVACY BE PROTECTED? Protecting the privacy
and confidentiality of all children and their families is very
important. With the new data collection, this will be done in the
following ways:
mation from other schools, it will be by school only – student
names will not be recorded as part of the data collection.
– student names will not be recorded as part of the data
collection.
WHEN AND WHERE WILL THE DATA BE AVAILABLE? When all Australian
schools are taking part in the new data collection, the information
will be reported on the My School website from 2016 onwards. It
will be by school only – no student names are recorded as part of
the data collection.
CAN I DECIDE WHETHER MY CHILD‟S INFORMATION IS INCLUDED IN THE
NA-TIONAL DATA COLLECTION? It‟s your decision about whether you
want your child‟s information to be included in the national
reporting or not. Including every school child who is being
provided with an adjustment because of disability in this new
national data collection each year will help schools, education
authorities and governments to better meet students‟ needs. Your
school will tell you what you need to do if you don‟t want to have
your child‟s information included in the national data collection.
Even if your child‟s information is not included in the national
data collection, your school is still required to provide sup-port
to your child with disability and any adjustments that may be
needed to help him/her participate at school.
FURTHER INFORMATION Contact your child‟s school if you have
further questions about the Nationally Consistent Collection of
Data on School Students with Disability and how it may affect your
child. You can also visit
www.education.gov.au/nationally-consistent-collection-data-school-students-disability
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Dear Parent/Carers Nationally consistent collection of data on
school students with disability – 2014
Our school is participating in the collection of nationally
consistent data on school students with disability.
We will be collecting information already available in the
school about the support that is being provided to students with
disability.
Better data will help the Government plan for students with
disability.
The data collection will have no direct impact on your child and
they will not be involved in any testing process.
The NSW Department of Education and Communities will provide
data to the Australian Government from all NSW public schools in
such a way that no individual student or school will be able to be
identified. In this way, we will ensure the privacy and
confidenti-
ality of all students.
All information is protected by privacy laws which regulate the
collection, storage and disclosure of personal information.
Infor-mation about the Australian Government‟s Privacy Policy can
be found here:
http://education.gov.au/condensed-privacy-policy.
Information about the NSW Government‟s privacy policies can be
found here: http://www.ipc.nsw.gov.au/
If you do not want your child to be counted in the data
collection you must complete the attached form and return it to
the
school before the end of Term 2, 2014. A decision to exclude
your child will not affect the support they currently receive.
Further information about the data collection can be found on
the Australian Government Department of Education website:
http://education.gov.au/nationally-consistent-collection-data-school-students-disability
If you have any questions about your child being included in the
data collection please contact the school.
If you need help with English to make an enquiry contact the
Telephone Interpreter Service on 131 450 and ask for an interpreter
in
your language. The operator will call the number you provide and
get an interpreter on the line to assist you with your
conversation.
You will not be charged for this service.
Kind regard Jo Edwards Principal
If you do not want your child to be counted in the data
collection, please complete the attached form and return it to the
school be-fore the end of Term 2, 2014.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with
Disability – 2014
I/we
___________________________________________________________
Name of parent/carer do not wish my child
______________________________________ to be counted Name of child
for the purposes of the collection of nationally consistent data on
school students with disability.
http://education.gov.au/condensed-privacy-policyhttp://www.ipc.nsw.gov.au/privacy/privacy_ppipact.htmlhttp://education.gov.au/nationally-consistent-collection-data-school-students-disability
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Student Volunteering at FGHS Volunteering Opportunity for Year 9
students. The school canteen is looking for volunteers for the
following jobs:
Making hot chocolates from 8am to 8:25am, and Filling drink
fridges in the last ten minutes of lunch break.
Volunteers would be placed on a roster and would have to be
reliable. Participating students will receive in school training in
safe food storage and service prac-tices. The experience will be an
activity to enhance their resume and the hours volunteer-ing will
be included in the NSW Premier‟s Volunteering Award Programme. If
your child is interested, please encourage them to see Mrs Waller
in the Mathematics Department. For more information, about the NSW
Premier‟s Volunteering Award Programme, visit the following
website:
www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/volunteering/students
Mrs S. Waller
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/volunteering/students
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ACADEMIC – someone who teaches at a university
ALTERNATIVE PATHWAY – a different way of getting to university
(not straight from school). Universities sometimes use this
term on their websites. See Educational Access Scheme.
ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank) – the score your
son/daughter is given as a result of sitting their HSC.
Universities
have a minimum ATAR for each course and this can vary from year
to year.
BACHELOR DEGREE – the name of a first degree course and usually
takes 3 to 5 years of study. Names of degrees are often
shortened to: BA (Bachelor of Arts); BSc (Bachelor of Science);
BEng (Bachelor of Engineering) etc.
COMBINED DEGREE – a degree in two areas. It can take 4-6 years
of study to graduate from the two degrees. For example, your
son/daughter might combine Sports Science/Business if they‟d like
to run a gym, Arts/Law if they‟re interested in being a lawyer
in
the performing arts, or International Studies/ Nursing if
they‟re interested in nursing in a non-English speaking
country.
FACULTY – a university division e.g. Faculty of Engineering,
Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Business. Some universities call
their
faculties schools e.g. School of Medicine, School of
Economics.
GRADUATE – a student who has completed a university degree.
HECS-HELP – the government‟s interest free loan scheme that
allows your son/ daughter to defer (pay later) their course fees
until
they are earning wages above a certain amount.
HSC (Higher School Certificate) – the HSC is the NSW
qualification of students who successfully complete secondary
education.
It is awarded on the basis of a combination of school-based and
external examination assessments.
HONOURS – an additional period of study – usually a year –
during which your son/ daughter takes additional subjects (often
re-
search-based). Abbreviated to „Hons‟, e.g. BA (Hons).
EDUCATIONAL ACCESS SCHEME – an alternative entry to university
for students who have experienced long term disad-
vantages while studying. Visit www.uac.edu.au for more
details.
PATHWAY COURSE – a course designed to help your son/daughter get
into university, particularly if they did not complete the
HSC or need to improve their English. School Careers Advisors
and university staff can help with information about this.
POSTGRADUATE – a student who is studying a second degree such as
a Master‟s or Doctorate, or any level of study beyond a
Bachelor‟s degree. Abbreviation: PG, post-grad.
SUBJECT or UNIT – part of a degree. If your son/daughter studies
full-time, he/she will normally do 4 subjects each semester.
Each subject is worth a certain number of credit points which
count towards his/her degree.
TERTIARY EDUCATION – any study after high school. Also called
Higher Education.
TAFE – some high school students study at TAFE as part of their
HSC. TAFE also offers courses that will help your child get into
a
university course.
UAC (Universities Admissions Centre) – UAC has information about
all courses for all universities and processes all applications
from school leavers for NSW and the ACT. Website:
www.uac.edu.au
VET (Vocational Education and Training) – these courses are
sometimes taught through your child‟s high school, a registered
training organisation or TAFE. They include courses for
hospitality, engineering and trades such as carpentry and
mechanics.
Bridges to Higher Education is a partnership of five
universities (University of Technology, Sydney, Macquarie
University, Universi-ty of Western Sydney, University of Sydney and
the Australian Catholic University) and ten other partners. Bridges
to Higher Edu-cation is funded by the Commonwealth Government’s
Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP)
which
aims to boost the participation of communities underrepresented
in higher education.
www.bridges.nsw.edu.au
HIGHER EDUCATION – Common Terms
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HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT
Organisation: Developing good organisational skills is a key
ingredient for success in school and in life. Although some people
by nature are more organized than others, anyone can put routines
and systems in place to help get it together." Here's a list of
strategies that you can use.
1. Use checklists
Get into the habit of keeping a "to‑do" list. Use checklists to
record assignments, household chores, and reminders about what
materi-als to bring to class. You should keep a small pad or
notebook or your student diary dedicated to listing homework
assignments. Cross-ing completed items off the list will give you a
sense of accomplishment.
2. Organise homework assignments/assessments
Before beginning a homework session, you should number
assignments/assessments in the order in which they should be done.
You should start with one that's not too long or difficult, but
avoid saving the longest or hardest assignments/assessments for
last.
3. Designate a study space
You should study in the same place every night. This doesn't
have to be a bedroom, but it should be a quiet place with few
distractions. All school supplies and materials should be
nearby.
4. Set a designated study time You should know that a certain
time every day is reserved for studying and doing homework. The
best time is usually not right after school‑‑‑most children benefit
from time to unwind first. Even if you do not have homework, the
reserved time should be used to re view the day's lessons, read for
pleasure, or work on an upcoming project.
5. Keep organised books
Help keep track of your papers by organising them in a binder or
notebook. This will help you review the material for each day's
classes and to organise the material later to prepare for tests and
quizzes. Use dividers to separate class notes, or color‑code books.
Separate “to do" and "done" folders – organise worksheets, notes,
and items to be signed by parents, as well as provide a central
place to store completed assignments/assessments.
6. Conduct a weekly clean‑up Sort through your school bag and
books on a weekly basis. Old tests and papers should be organised
and kept in a separate file at home.
7. Create a household schedule
Try to establish and stick to a regular dinnertime and a regular
bedtime. This will help you fall into a pattern at home. Young
people with a regular bedtime go to school well‑rested. Try to
limit television‑watching and computer play to specific periods of
time during the day. 8. Keep a master calendar Keep a large,
wall‑sized calendar for the household that lists the family's
commitments, schedules for extracurricular activities, days off
from school, and major events at home and at school. Note dates
when you have a big exam or due dates for projects. This will help
family members keep track of each other's activities and avoid
scheduling conflicts.
9. Prepare for the day ahead Before you go to bed, you should
pack schoolwork and books into your bag. The next day's clothes
should be laid out with shoes, socks, and accessories. This will
cut down on morning confusion and allow you to prepare quickly for
the day ahead.