James Busby High School

What an excellent start to your high school career. Year 7s should be congratulated handling the transition from primary to high school so well. I am so proud of each and every one of you!

It has been a busy term! From completing the Best Start exams, to being brave with our immunisations! It has also been a challenging term, with all of the disruption and difficulties of COVID, and the rain. You have all been so resilient – a true credit to your new school!

I’d like to acknowledge the great work that is happening in our classrooms every day! Gardenia Tupu produced an excellent sketch in Tech Mandatory (see below). What a fantastic talent!

Cherish-Grace Peni made a fantastic poster for Harmony Day! (see below) Well done, Cherish-Grace. It was so wonderful to see our grade dress up and celebrate our diverse cultures and backgrounds within the school.

Lots to look forward to in Term 2! The Athletics Carnival is always a great day! And of course, let’s not forget NAPLAN! Our NAPLAN exams will be taking place in Weeks 3 and 4.

I look forward to seeing you all back at school in term 2!

Have a happy and healthy holiday!

😊 Ms Hall & Mr Sanchez

The first term has been a busy one for Year 10, with many of the students completing their first assessment task for each of their subjects. It has been pleasing to witness the high level of application and effort exhibited by the Year 10 students. A reminder to students who are absent on a day of their assessment to obtain a medical certificate and to see their teachers on their first day back at school. If you have any concerns or questions regarding the assessment policy, please reach out as we would like to best assist each student in meeting the requirements to proceed to Stage 6 (Yrs 11 and 12).

It was with great pleasure that we were able to recognise students who have performed above and beyond their teachers’ expectations. Each teacher was asked to nominate one Year 10 student who has consistently gone ‘over and above’ in the classroom. It was pleasing to see so many teachers asking to nominate multiple students. In total 75 nominations were made with 31 students (a third of the grade) recognised. These students were recognised and acknowledged at year meeting in Week 10, whereby the students were presented by the Principal with an award highlighting this achievement. It was truly positive to see so many students receive multiple awards from a range of their subjects. This recognition highlighted the fact that there are so many students who consistently exhibited positive examples of the school values.

From Week 10 this term and continuing in Term 2, Year 10 have been given the opportunity to participate in a free initiative run by TAFE, called the YES Plus Program. The intention of the course is to provide the Year 10 students an insight into future careers and to how see TAFE would be like as a future study option. The program allows for the students to visit TAFE to engage in courses that range from construction, health and beauty, engineering & robotics, running a small business, computers, vehicle mechanic, nursing, etc. At the end of the completion the students will receive a certificate of completion, and hopefully this will provide them with an advantage when securing a school-based apprenticeship (SBAT) in Year 11. Students are encouraged to sign up their interest to the program via the link that was sent through their school email. Any further questions should be directed to Mr Kwon (Careers Advisor) or Mr Suljevic (Transition Advisor).

A select group of Year 10 students continued their involvement with the Fast Forward program this term. This is a project where James Busby High School has developed a partnership with Western Sydney University. Students are provided with the opportunity to receive mentorship with university students. They will be heading to their university visit next term (10th June).

Additionally, we have also had a group of Year 10 boys involved in a project called Boys Education. On a weekly basis the boys are visited by guest speakers as well with the organising teacher; Mr McCabe – Head Teacher of PDHPHE to discuss important issues impacting on their physical and mental health.  After the completion of the course the boys will be able to rely on these strategies and techniques learnt to continue to make positive choices for their education and lifestyle.

Year 10 students will be participating in their first rounds of Minimum Standards testing next term. This is a requirement of the Department of Education and the school will endeavour to support each student to meet these standards. Should you have any questions regarding Minimum Standards, please direct your enquiries to Mr Costa (HT Secondary Studies) who will be happy to answer any of your questions.

Thank you for your continued support and we are looking forward to Term 2. Please do not hesitate to reach out should you require any further information or there are any concerns you have.

Ms Encina & Ms Kasavetis

Well done Year 11 for making through your first Term of being a Senior. Being a senior is a privilege and you should embrace every opportunity you get to study which will be beneficial towards your future. You do not have long to go before high school is over. You only have six terms of high school left. Make the most of it. You all went through disrupted education last year and you continued to work hard. You need to applaud yourselves for making it this far.

Attendance seems to be a concern for our year group. We understand that there are situations beyond your control however, you need to notify the school if you will be away. Punctuality is also an expectation for everyone and being a Senior student means you are setting an example for the juniors. Please come to school on time.

Most of you have done such a tremendous job with your organisation. You are juggling schoolwork, assessment tasks and work outside of school. Well done to you. For those that are struggling with getting on top of their assessments, please speak to your teachers or the Learning Support Team if you need assistance. We are here for you.

We are in the process of finalising our designs for our school jacket and we have started with our sizing. Please let your peers know that they need to get their sizing done asap if they have not done so as we need to hasten the process. Manufacture of jackets takes 8 weeks.

The wellbeing ambassador program is a great as it gives you skills to support your peers Being a wellbeing ambassador is a great privilege.  Most of you have taken up this opportunity to apply and become wellbeing ambassadors and future school leaders. We are very proud of you for your initiative.

A special congratulations to Andrew, Helaman, Alan, Kennye, Patrick and Max for your sporting achievements. Keep up the good work in making your school proud.

Well done to all of you for completing round 1 of the HSC Minimum Standards Testing. Those that were absent will have a chance to complete a catch-up test next term.

Continue working hard in Term 2, keep collecting merit certificates and keep achieving good results.  Have a good two weeks school holiday and we look forward to seeing you in Term 2 and to continue working with you.

Ms Teresa and Mr Khan

Year 11 Advisers

This term the Year 10 Child Studies class are studying the unit "Children and culture”. Each group of students got the opportunity to prepare a meal of their choice from a culture of interest. 

This term Year 8TM students have utilised a range of technologies to prepare a variety of food items including pizza and chocolate truffles.

The Home Economics faculty welcomes Ms Gauci this year, who is delivering the textiles unit to 8D. These students have been trialing a range of fabric decoration techniques, which they will use to decorate a textile item of their choice.

One of the units is Dreamtime. Below you can see some of Ms Gauci's Year 8 class hard at work, as well as their amazing creations.

This term Year 12 Food Technology students are studying the Australian Food Industry and prepared Lasagne to gain deeper knowledge and understanding of the production process.

As part of their assessment, Year 12 Hospitality were required to prepare a range of salads including Caesar, fruit and deconstructed Thai beef, (not pictured, roasted bean salad and niçoise).

Appetisers

- antipasto – Lamb kofta, tabouleh, Mediterranean grilled vegetables, hommus dip, parmesan twists

- hors d’oeuvres Vegetable pasties with spicy mango chutney

- tapas Lemon Pepper Squid and garlic aioli, Chicken meatballs with sweet chilli dipping sauce

This term, Year 8 students have been looking at ecosystems. In their study of this topic, students learned all about the features of different ecosystems - what the environment is like and what kind of living things inhabit the ecosystems. Students also learned how to construct a food chain and food webs from the living things in an ecosystem. We also discussed some adaptions features of the animals for the environment in which they live.

Check out some of the dioramas created by our students below.

Mr Zhang

Science Faculty

24 students from Years 11 & 12 took up the opportunity to participate in the Study Skills Workshop which was delivered from facilitators from The Junction Works.

Students were given tips on topics such as self-care, weekly planning, positive self-talk, as well as the different ways of retaining information. Students were provided with study tips and methods to assist them in their journey through the senior years of their schooling.

Students were also encouraged to complete a gratitude reflection and guided meditation to assist with their overall health and well-being.

Earlier this term our Year 11 Construction students spent a day completing their mandatory white card training.

Congratulations to all of our participating students for successfully completing their training.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at JBHS were invited to participate in three online dance workshops run by the Department of Education in collaboration with the internationally renowned Bangarra Dance Theatre.

This aim of the workshops was to foster the development of dance skills and cultural significance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in years 7 - 12.

During the online workshops, students learnt contemporary indigenous dance repertoire from some of Bangarra's leading dancers and choreographers. Students also demonstrated choreographic skills in composing their own movement.

The final workshop culminated in a small showing of the dance learnt to fellow peers, classes and parents.

It was a wonderful experience for our students to work with industry professionals and connect virtually with schools from all across NSW.

After almost two years of not being able to have a cross-cohort dance group due to COVID restrictions, Dance Group is back up and running and we have been busy!

The JBHS Dance Group (students in Years 7-10) and the Special Education Dance Group have worked really hard in a very short period of time, getting together their dance items to audition for the Metropolitan South and the Metropolitan West Dance Festival.These are highly prestigious dance festivals that involve a vigorous audition process with no guarantee of being accepted. For a school that offers dance as an extra- curricular activity, the students have worked really hard to learn a substantial amount of choreography. Auditions are in and we have our fingers crossed. I can not wait to see these items come to life on the stage!

Ms Cattanach

For Youth Week our Year 7 students had the opportunity to demonstrate their skills while also having some fun during week 11.

TEAM BUILDING!

TEAM BONDING!

CRITICAL THINKING!

PROBLEM SOLVING!

FUN!

Students had so many challenges to face, and they worked together to achieve their goals. 

The reviews from Year 7 came in:

"This is the most fun I've had in my life!" 

"Can we do this EVERY DAY?"

Needless to say, it was a successful day and the only negative was the time limit imposed. 

Ms Khuder

Head Teacher Community

Our talented artists, Jaylyn and Jazzlyn of Year 10 have completed their art works. You may remember from our last newsletter, they began their first art works late last year and we saw a work in progress.

To our amazement, both students have now completed not one, but TWO pieces each.

Their art hangs proudly in the Library among our Manga collection. We are so incredibly proud of Jaylyn and Jazzlyn. Every day, without fail, I hear positive comments and discussion about the art by staff and students. Our students even ask if they can purchase the works!

Congratulations to Jaylyn and Jazzlyn, who worked on their art independently, and at home. They completed their art out of a love for art and we are so in awe of their passion and dedication for their craft. We have plans to celebrate with their peers and family by having an official opening of our Manga section. Stay tuned!

Ms Khuder

Teacher Librarian