Our Mission: To provide a quality comprehensive and inclusive educational environment where all students can achieve Newsletter also on the web at www.cowra-h.schools.nsw.edu.au Principal: Charles Gauci B.Ed., Dip.T. Deputy Principal: Paul Bullock B.Sc., Dip.Ed. Deputy Principal: Ian Pattingale B.App.Sc., Dip.Ed.
Volume 2014 Issue 9
Friday 20 June 2014
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT This week Year 12 started their Trial HSC exams. It is the culmination of weeks of preparation on their part and I wish all of them the best of luck. Speaking of Year 12 students, many of you will be aware that our School Captain, Brody Hannan, has been given the opportunity to represent Cowra & Australia at the International Science Forum in London & Europe. As you can imagine this is a great opportunity for Brody and I encourage all to come along to the Services Club tomorrow to support his fundraising efforts. Last week secondary Principals from our area had the great honour of hosting almost 300 Principals from all over NSW at the Secondary Principals’ Council Annual State Conference. This was a tremendous professional development experience, including addresses & workshops from world leading educationalists. It was encouraging to have these experts reinforce that NSW public education is well and truly rated amongst the best in the world. It also provided a great opportunity to hear where the Department is heading directly from the Minister of Education, the Honourable Adrian Piccoli, who reassured all that he is still actively fighting for schools to receive the full funding promised under the ‘Gonski’ model and is committed to continued development of our great system. Students & staff were saddened by the tragic passing of one of our Year 11 students, Elizabeth Mangion, on Saturday 7 June after a short illness. Lizzy was a member of our Support Unit and I know her loss is felt strongest by the other members of this group of students & staff. We have all been touched by her passing, which was reflected by the number and cross section of students who elected to attend her funeral last Friday. Though sad at times, it was a tremendous celebration of Lizzy’s life and her irrepressible personality. The sympathies of the entire Cowra High community are extended to Mr & Mrs Mangion at this very sad time. As this will be the last newsletter for Term 2, have a safe and relaxing holiday. Charles Gauci
SRC members from Years 7-10 were presented with their badges at last week’s assembly and are pictured with the SRC Co-ordinator Ms Inala Childs
Good education no matter how rich or poor, that is what we are striving for.
TERM 3 DATES Monday 14 July School Development Day ~ students are not required to attend Tuesday 15 July Students return
PO Box 72 • Dowell Street • Cowra 2794 • Telephone: 02 6342 1766 Facsimile: 02 6342 1578 • Email: cowra-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au We value mutual respect ~ everyone has something to offer
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COWRA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
PBL REWARDS AND MERIT SCHEME NEWS At last week’s assembly the school welcomed another major sponsor of our regular PBL draws ~ Wayne & Jenny Howard of Sportspower Cowra. Staff & students greatly appreciate the support of PBL in our school and thank Wayne & Jenny as well as Jeremy & Julie Ryan of Mr Embroidery and Bruce Rowston of Bushmans Boots & All for the $50 vouchers they generously sponsor. The three lucky winners last week were Ashleigh Doolan of Year 7 (Mr Embroidery $50 Visa); Isabelle Lloyd of Year 9 ($50 Canterbury clothing gift voucher from Bushmans Boots & All); and Charlotte Imber-Holland of Year 7 ($50 Sportspower voucher). Other prize winners were Jacqui Dresser, Cameron Edgar, Bonnie Keys, Rebekah Lazarou, Sai Penukonda, Jake Slattery & Tristan St Clair.
Approximately 850 Service Eagles have been awarded to students this year. Our students have performed many community and school services as well as representing Cowra High School in sporting, cultural and academic events. These include the Service Eagles for students who attended the Camden exchange which will be distributed ASAP. The first of the Gold Eagle Certificates are currently being organised and will be awarded to students at a future assembly.
Year 8 students who received prizes in their special PBL draw at this week’s Year Meeting
APPLICATIONS FOR XSEL 2015
Charlotte Imber-Holland
Isabelle Lloyd
Ashleigh Doolan
It has been a very busy term for the PBL draws. At the Athletics Carnival hundreds of coloured Eagles were given out throughout the day to the many students who participated in events, students who assisted and for general display of respect and responsibility. Regular draws were made throughout the day and there were many happy winners. All of these Eagles are of
course still in the barrel. There was also a special focus on Year 7 earlier in the term to introduce them to our rewards scheme. Mr Bullock was inundated with students in his office to drop their Eagles off for the Year 7 collection. This special draw was conducted at the end of the Year 7 Celebrating Differences Day. Year 8 had their special draw this week with lots of prizes handed out. Year 11 need to stay tuned as we will conduct a special PBL focus for them early next term.
2015 marks the beginning of a new offering for gifted and talented students in rural and remote schools across NSW. Under the Rural and Remote Education Blueprint, a virtual school will operate which incorporates the selective stream offering which Xsel has delivered for Years 7-10 since 2010. As a current Xsel partner school, Cowra High students are invited to make application for placement in Years 810 in the new virtual secondary school in 2015. Xsel will conduct a selection and placement process this year for the 2015 student intake in the same way it has previously ~ students deemed eligible by the selection panel are offered places in Xsel as vacancies occur. Applicants will continue to be selected on two criteria: high academic achievement and demonstrated capacity for independent learning. Applications for Years 8-10 2015 are open Tuesday 24 June – Tuesday 29 July. Forms and instructions about how to apply will be available from the xselwebsitehttp:// www.xsel.schools.nsw.edu.au/ from 24 June. Further information about the operational aspects of the selective stream and the larger virtual secondary school will be available to you soon from the State Office development team. Please feel free to contact me if you have queries. Carol Heilman GaTS Co-ordinator
PO Box 72 • Dowell Street • Cowra 2794 • Telephone: 02 6342 1766 • Facsimile: 02 6342 1578 • Email: cowra-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au
COWRA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
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ABORIGINAL DANCE GROUP NEWS
NEW SCHOLARSHIP
Congratulations to Imajen James & Jesse Murray of Year 9 who have just been notified of their selection for the 2014 NSW Public Schools Aboriginal Dance Company. Over 1,000 dancers auditioned and only 30 have been selected for this elite dance group ~ Imajen and Jesse were also selected last year. The NSW Public Schools Aboriginal Dance Company is a joint partnership between the NSW Department of Education’s Arts Unit and Bangarra Dance Theatre, Australia’s leading Indigenous performing arts organisation which is comprised of students from Years 7 to 12 from NSW Public Schools. It is managed by the Arts Unit and mentored by Bangarra. The dancers will be trained to perform at the highest level and are considered as state representatives.
The Australian Federation of Graduate Women Central West NSW Branch have kindly decided to donate a new scholarship for $2,000 to a female student from either Cowra or Canowindra High Schools who has attained an excellent ATAR and been accepted into a university in 2015. This group supports the education of women & girls throughout the world and especially in the local area. This $2,000 scholarship will be financed from funds entirely raised in the local area. Candidates will be required to submit an application. Information regarding this scholarship will be provided to all interested female students in Year 12.
The 2014 NSW Public Schools Aboriginal Dance Company will be the lead group in the Aboriginal dance item at Schools Spectacular which will be held at Sydney’s Entertainment Centre on 28 & 29 November, as well as performing at the State Dance Festival held at the Seymour Centre in Sydney on 19 September. Imajen & Jesse’s first rehearsal will be five days at Bangarra’s studios during the first week of Term 3. Cowra High School has also been notified that eight places have been gained for the Aboriginal Dance Ensemble at the 2014 Schools Spectacular. The Wagambirra Dance Group auditioned for this earlier in the year. The eight dancers will be chosen in the coming months and will join Imajen & Jesse plus some Aboriginal dancers from Mulyan Public in Sydney in November. This will be the sixth successive year that Cowra High School has had students performing in the Aboriginal Dance Ensemble at Schools Spectacular.
I was lucky enough to attend the launch of this scholarship in Canowindra on Sunday 15 June. This is an inspiring group who has demonstrated their support of education for female students in the past through various scholarships and are now turning their focus to the local Cowra area. The guest speaker for the day was an exceptional Australian, Fran Raymond, who has risen through the ranks of the Australian Finance Industry to become a Chief Financial Officer for the Australian Government as well as being part of the Australian Delegation to the UN on the Rights of Women. Fran gave an enlightening address regarding the issues facing women especially in third world countries, where women are often under-educated and at times find themselves in unsafe situations. She informed us of strategies being implemented to try to resolve some of these issues. I was very pleased to be a part of this launch and would encourage all girls who plan on attending university in 2015 to apply for this scholarship. Paula Hambly Head Teacher Welfare
Cheryl McAlister Wagambirra Dance Group Co-ordinator
DENTAL HEALTH CONSENT FORMS Remember to return your dental health check consent forms to the office. The dental health van will be here next term.
Imajen James & Jesse Murray
PO Box 72 • Dowell Street • Cowra 2794 • Telephone: 02 6342 1766 • Facsimile: 02 6342 1578 • Email: cowra-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au
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COWRA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER EUROPEAN EXCURSION
RESULTS OF THE 2014 CAMDEN VISIT
After many months of planning and saving, it is now less than a week before a group of 21 students from Years 10, 11 & 12 accompanied by 8 staff members and parents depart for their much anticipated excursion to Europe with Academy Travel. The group flies out from Sydney next Thursday bound for Paris, with a short stopover in Dubai. The group will spend four days in France, visiting sites such as the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame & the Louvre in Paris before heading to the Somme Valley to visit important sites associated with World War I, including the Villers-Bretonneux memorial. Next is a brief visit to Belgium, where the group will attend the Last Post Ceremony at Menin Gate on 1 July following a visit to the Ypres battlefields. A number of students and staff have researched their family trees and identified relatives who served or died in these countries during WWI. Four days in Germany follows, which includes visits to the Brandenburg Gate, Hitler’s Bunker & Nuremberg. Last country on the tour is Italy where the group will visit Rome, Florence & Pompeii before arriving back in Sydney on the last day of the school holidays.
160 students and 9 staff travelled to Camden High School between June 4 & 6 to defend the Robert Montgomery Shield.
Last week, the Year 10 students going on this excursion catered for a German morning tea which included gingerbread and black forest cake for all participants. Special guest, Eugene Denat, a French woman, who is currently working in the local area, gave the group some French language practise and advice. The Year 11 participants had previously catered for an Italian lunch, while the Year 12 students prepared a French lunch, so everyone has a good idea of the types of food common in the countries being visited. A few weeks ago, the group was privileged to have a talk about Pompeii from Dr Estelle Lazer, a forensic archaeologist, who has spent many years studying the bones of the victims of the eruption of Mt Vesuvius which buried Pompeii in AD79. The group would particularly like to thank Ms Patterson & Mrs Meiklejohn who have put in countless hours of preparation to enable this excursion to take place.
Results were as follows; Rugby League Junior ~ Won 36-18 Rugby League Senior ~ Lost 42-8 Netball Junior ~ Lost 30-22 Netball Senior ~ Lost 48-43 Basketball Junior Boys ~ Won 14-3 Basketball Junior Girls ~ Won 14-6 Basketball Senior Boys ~ Won 22-21 Basketball Senior Girls ~ Won 14-6 Softball Open Boys ~ Lost 20-0 Softball Open Girls ~ Lost 18-0 Volleyball Open Boys ~ Lost 3-0 Volleyball Open Girls ~ Lost 3-0 Drama ~ Lost 3-1 Debate Junior ~ Lost Debate Senior ~ Won Tennis Junior Boys ~ Lost 5-1 Tennis Junior Girls ~ Lost 5-1 Tennis Senior Boys ~ Lost 4-2 Tennis Senior Girls ~ Won 3-3 on count back Super 8’s Boys ~ Draw due to rain Super 8’s Girls ~ Won 39-38 Soccer Junior Boys ~ Lost 5-0 Soccer Junior Girls ~ Lost 1-0 Soccer Senior Boys ~ Won 3-0 Soccer Senior Girls ~ Lost 3-0 Oz Tag Junior Mixed ~ Lost 16-7 Oz Tag Senior Mixed ~ Lost 12-5 Hockey Boys Open ~ Lost 3-0 Hockey Girls Senior ~ Lost 9-0 Chess Junior ~ Lost 2-0 Chess Senior ~ Draw 1.5-1.5 Super quiz Junior ~ Lost 57-53 Super quiz Senior ~ Won 59-36 Final result ~ Camden 44 defeated Cowra 22 to regain the Robert Montgomery Shield. Thanks to all the coaches for selecting & training teams and to all the students who were a credit to themselves, their families & our school for the entire visit. We now look forward to hosting Camden High in Cowra next year. Steve Johnstone Camden Visit Co-ordinator
Year 10, 11 & 12 students going on the Europe trip with Eugene Denat
PO Box 72 • Dowell Street • Cowra 2794 • Telephone: 02 6342 1766 • Facsimile: 02 6342 1578 • Email: cowra-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au
COWRA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
C A M D E N
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Photos taken by Jessie McLean
P H O T O S
PO Box 72 • Dowell Street • Cowra 2794 • Telephone: 02 6342 1766 • Facsimile: 02 6342 1578 • Email: cowra-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au