ENewsletter

Nhill College is a Child Safe School

Our School Values:

Respect
Honesty
Teamwork
Confidence
Excellence
Endeavour

School Wide Positive Behaviour Support Program

The School Wide Positive Behaviour Support program is designed to bring together school communities to develop positive, safe and supportive learning cultures by helping to foster an environment that assists schools to improve social, emotional, behavioural and academic outcomes for children. As part of the SWPBS program, a rewards system has been developed to encourage students to always:

Be Safe
Be Respectful
Be a Learner

From The Principal: Mark Zimmermann

Parent Teacher Interviews

Thank you to all those parents who came along to meet with staff during the primary Parent Teacher Interviews held on Monday and Tuesday. These interviews are important opportunities for staff to discuss the progress of students with their parents and all teachers place great value in the conversations held during these sessions. Secondary interviews are scheduled to take place on Monday 14th October - the second week of Term 4 - and the booking portal on Compass will open at 9.00am on Monday 16th September. Once again, we would like to encourage as many parents as possible to take advantage of this opportunity to meet with staff so they can be kept up to date with the progress of their child(ren).

Maintenance Blitz Funding

As has been reported in local media during the week, the Victorian Government has recently allocated $515 million across the state for a maintenance blitz in schools. As part of this allocation, Nhill College will receive $187,293 across 2019-2020. Mr Menzel will no doubt be very busy as a result of this announcement, and hopefully a number of local businesses will also be able to benefit from this funding boost. While we are very fortunate that our facilities and grounds are generally in excellent condition, there is always a need for regular maintenance to ensure that our students continue to experience the best possible learning conditions.

Boss of the School...

Some bright spark in the staff room recently pointed out to me that today is National Hug Your Boss Day. While no students or staff have been harmed as a result of this auspicious occasion - I was presented this week with a booklet compiled by the students in F/1 Kerber entitled 'If I Was Boss of the School.' I was so impressed by the contributions made by each of the students that I immediately shared it with the rest of the staff in the staffroom. Many of the suggestions put forward by the students have been very popular with staff, and I would not be at all surprised if there was a request that some of these ideas are implemented immediately. All pages contributed by the F/1 class have been included below...

Access to Nhill College Newsletter

If you are reading this, you obviously have access to the school newsletter. However, some families have asked how grandparents or community members can stay in touch with the school when they don't have access to Compass. The answer is that anyone can access the school's newsletter through the College website: www.nhillcollege.vic.edu.au. Please advise any family, friends or interested members of the wider community, that the newsletter is the main source of information from the school and that it is available to anyone who would like to read it. Spread the word!

2019 School Year - Important Dates

Year 10 Work Experience: Monday 16th - Friday 20th September
Primary Concert: Tuesday 17th September
Last day Term 3: Friday 20th September
Unit 3/4 VCDesign Revision lecture: Friday 11th - Saturday 12th October
VCE Revision lectures in Bendigo: Friday 18th - Sunday 20th October
Secondary Parent/Teacher Interviews: Monday 14th October
Year 6 to Year 7 Information Evening: Monday 21st October
Year 3 Roses Gap Camp: Tuesday 22nd: Wednesday 23rd October
Foundation Extended Day: Wednesday 23rd October
Nhill College School Fete: Friday 1st November
Year 9/10 Indo students - Indonesian Immersion Excursion: Sunday 3rd - Tuesday 5th November
Year 12 Dinner: Thursday 28th November

Year 12 Dinner

Please note the change in date for the Year 12 dinner

Year 12 Dinner – 28th November 2019 – Little Desert Lodge

Invitations will be sent during Term 3

From Assistant Principal: Mrs Magrath

RU OK? Day

On Thursday the Nhill College Wellbeing Team promoted the RU OK? Day to all Secondary students. The team handed out iced biscuits, stickers and wristbands which highlighted the messages of RU OK?

The Wellbeing Team also ran a competition asking students from Years 7-12 to nominate their Fearless Friends. They were asked to nominate a friend who is always by their side, who is courageous and not afraid to step up and start what can be a difficult conversation. The team were thrilled to receive several nominations for Fearless Friends from each year level and these Fearless Friends will be recognised and awarded a prize next week.

Wellbeing Team

It’s Cool To Be In School

Attendance is an important aspect of schooling at Nhill College. If you are not attending school it makes it difficult to learn. Class attendance will be celebrated each week, with classes being recognised for the best attendance in both primary and secondary classes. During the eigth week of Term 3, the classes with the most attendance were 4/5/6 Crouch and Yr 12.

School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) ROARWARDS

Nhill College has implemented a new reward system called ROARWARDS. Students receive ROARWARDS by demonstrating Being Respectful, Being a Learner or Being Safe. Staff handed out 267 ROARWARD cards from F-12 last week. At each assembly, all the students that have received a ROARWARD in the past week, will be placed in a draw to win a milkshake voucher in the secondary side and a prize in the primary side. Students are randomly drawn by using an electronic spinning wheel. The weekly winners were:

Secondary Section: Anikhan and Isaac

Primary Section: Jack, Lisa, Violet, Corey and Brighty

Primary Assembly

Primary assembly hosts this week were Andrew and Izaha

Just a reminder that there will be no primary assembly on Monday the 16th September.

Healthy Relationship Awards

The Healthy Relationship Value focus for the eighth week of Term 3 was Purposefulness. The weekly winners of this value were – F/1 Kerber - Ryan, 1/2 Smith – Lenny , 3 McDonald - Georgia, 4/5/6 Jones - Violet and 4/5/6 Crouch - Neveah

The winner of the weekly canteen voucher was Alissa

Congratulations to all students who were nominated.

Reading Awards

Students in Mrs Kerber’s Foundation and Year One class were recognised for their excellent progress in reading this week. Students are able to recognise by sight and read the Magic Coloured Words. After the students have completed their coloured words, they then progress onto FRY words to further increase their word recognition and knowledge. Congratulations to Ryan, Paige, Zahra, Lah June, Zali and Sam for their great progress in reading.

Library News

Thank you to everyone who supported the very successful bookfair last week. We have added many new books for student use at the library with the commission from Scholastic Books. Come and check them out!

Thanks also to the students who entered our competions. The winners were -

Colouring - Zahra, Lenny, Katie, Rachel, Izaha and Alexis. (Runner-ups - Tori, Amelia, Casey, Georgia and Sienna)

Dinosaur - Alissa.

Congratulations.

Primary Little Desert Zone Athletics

Seventeen students from the primary section competed at the Little Desert Zone Athletics at Dudley Cornell Park in Horsham on Thursday. Four students have qualified to compete at the Greater Western Region Athletics at Ballarat on Friday October 11th. Students who finished first or second in their individual events qualified for the regional athletics.

Georgia won the 9/10 girls long jump, Dah Bu Shwe won the 11 boys shot put and Riley came second in the 9/10 boys shot put. Corey finished second in the 11 boys hurdles to also qualify.

All students put in a good effort to make it to this level and we wish the best for those four athletes that will be competing in Ballarat next term.

Results:

9/10 girls

Georgia: Long jump 1st, 100m – 4th

Saskia: Triple jump – 5th

Rachel: 1500m -4th

Lara: 1500m – 3rd, 800m – 4th

Lacy: Discus- 3rd

Messi: Hurdles – 4th

11 girls

Alissa; 1500m – 4th

12 girls

Bailee: Shot Put – 3rd, Discus – 6th

Hope, Violet, Bailee, Alexis: Relay – 6th

9/10 boys

Andrew: 200m – 4th

Riley: Shot Put – 2nd, Discus – 8th

11 boys

Corey: Hurdles – 2nd

Dah Bu Shwe: Shot Put – 1st

Rylan: 1500m – 3rd

12 boys

Brodie: Shot Put – 3rd

Mr P. McDonald

Year 8 Rubicon ~ pics below full report next week

YEAR 10 WORK EXPERIENCE 16-20 SEPTEMBER

Our Year 10 students will be out on Work Experience next week. We wish them all the best and look forward to hearing about their placements when we return to school. We hope all students enjoy their placement, but please remember that even if the placement does not work out to be a long term career plan it is still a valuable experience. Ask questions, learn as much as you can and make the most of this excellent opportunity. Last, but not least, students are reminded – no mobile phones or social media while on the job! Good luck to everyone involved.

Mrs Sampson

Work Experience co-ordinator

The ATAR Notes lectures are back for September/October 2019 with our biggest series yet! We have 50 lectures on offer across 31 subjects. Each is delivered by our team of stellar past students. And best of all, they're completely free. You can book as many lectures as you like, but places are limited by capacity, so book your tickets ASAP! RMIT Melbourne

MONASH UNIVERSITY – Monash Guarantee is an entry scheme that guarantees students a place in a Monash degree at a lower ATAR. To apply, students put their preferred Monash University course in their preferences and then submit through VTAC SEAS. There are also numerous scholarship opportunities available. Our school is considered an under-represented school at Monash University. For further information check the brochure in the Pathways Room or go to the University website.

NEW for 2020 - Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Advanced Honours) Scholars Program

Monash University have announced a new pharmaceutical science course offering for very high-achieving students - the Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Advanced Honours) Scholars Program. This program follows the structure of the four-year Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (Advanced Honours) course, and includes exclusive invitations to the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences seminar series, and a Dean's function. Domestic students are also eligible for a $6,000 per year scholarship.

The indicative ATAR for the course for 2020 is 98.

Find out more about the Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science go to: www.monash.edu/pharm/future/courses/pharmaceutical-science

Applications for the 2020 Charles Hawker Scholarships open on Monday December 9th and close on January 8th 2020. An application form and further information about C.A.S. Hawker and the scholarship are available from www.hawkerscholarship.org or by contacting the secretary to the Trustees in Adelaide on 08 8127 1654.Hawker Scholarships are valued at up to $60,000.00 over three years and are amongst the most generous, privately funded, residential scholarships available to Australian undergraduate and postgraduate students. Joint Australian of the Year Dr. Richard Harris SC OAM recently presented 2019 C.A.S. Hawker Scholarships to four recipients at a function at St Mark's College in Adelaide.

There are a number of scholarships awarded each year. The Trustees offer them to capable students of principle and character who have demonstrated a commitment to the wider community. Selection is based on personal qualities as well as academic ability

Rural Chances Vocational Scholarship

Do you know young people that want to train but need help getting there? Youthrive Rural Chances offers young people the chance to support their vocational training with scholarships for TAFE study or apprenticeships. Rural Chances scholarships can assist young people that:

have to travel long distances or move away from home to gain qualifications
struggle with the many expenses associated with training or building skills
can see a skills gap in rural Victoria they can fill
and would enjoy mentoring and networking opportunities.

There are 14 scholarships valued at $5000 to assist with long distance travel or moving out from home. Additionally there are 15 more scholarships for up to $2000, to cover specific items to support training. Rural Chances Scholarship applications are NOW OPEN and CLOSE 18th October 2019. Applications can be submitted as either an easy online form or video. We encourage aspiring young people in our community to apply! Nhill College students have successfully obtained this scholarship in the past. For more details visit www.ruralchances.org.au or email info@youthrivevic.org.au

Feel free to talk with Mrs. Cole, Mrs. Hedt or Mrs. Sampson if you need any assistance.

Secondary Parent/Teacher Interviews

Secondary Parent/Teacher interview bookings can be completed using Compass and will open from Monday, 16th September at 9am.

7-12 interviews are on Monday, 14th October.

If parents login to Compass using a computer, you can click on the Community (people) icon and select Conferences. If you are logged in via the app, press the menu up the top left, select Conferences, and then follow the prompts. In both cases, you should see a list of teachers, as well as their available times.

If you have difficulty making a booking, please contact the College for assistance.

Staff Room Allocations for Secondary Parent/Teacher Interviews

Room H1 Mrs J. Kube

Room H2 Mrs. R. Clark

Room H3 Miss C. Foulds Mrs K. Winkler

Room H4 Miss B. Roantree

Room H5 Miss V. Bonnell

Room H6 Miss C. Bates

Room H8 Miss L. Tink

Room H10 Mrs L. Coughlan

Room H11 Mr W. Pilgrim

Room H12 Mr A. Jokantas

Room H13 Mr F. Cunningham

Room H15 Mrs C. Trenery

Front Office Mrs A. Cole

Front Office Mr J. Shrive

Front Office Mrs S. Hedt

Front Office Mr P. Hedt

Principal’s Office Mr M. Zimmermann

A.P. Office Mrs K. Magrath

Please be aware that Mrs Toet, Miss Schneider, Miss King, Mrs Dufty are unavailable.

Student Absences

Regular attendance at school is extremely important to the social and academic development of all children. It is a Department requirement that parents contact the school each day their child is absent. Any unauthorised absences currently trigger an SMS via Compass at 9.45am each morning to notify parents that their child is not at school. If a parent receives such an SMS, it is requested that they contact the school as soon as possible to provide a reason for their child’s absence. This can be done by entering an explanation directly onto Compass via the app installed on your phone, or by calling the College on 53912111. (Please note that the Skoolbag app is no longer being used by the school to communicate messages.) In an effort to further reduce the rate of unauthorised absences being recorded at Nhill College, office staff will follow up with a phone call if a response to the SMS has not been received by 10.45am on the day of each absence.

Nhill College supports Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child

This year we are doing the Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child boxes again. It would be greatly appreciated if as many people as possible could make a difference to a child by buying a shoe box and filling it with joy. Many of the children have NEVER EVER received a gift before in their life – can you imagine that?!

If you’re interested get a brochure from your form/class teacher.

Return your money in a named envelope, or pay online (preferred option). If you play online you can access the Follow Your Box option and track the box to its destination.

-$10.50 if you want a printed box

-$10.00 if you have your own shoebox to use – feel free to decorate it!

When you fill the box, it needs to be comfortably full (when you press the lid down it pops back up slightly). Please make sure you check what is and what is not allowed in the boxes. A special idea is to also include a photo and a short note about you/your family – this makes the box a little more personal.

It has been great to hear that some classes have already started bringing in items to make a group box.

Money and boxes can be traded with Mrs. Cole, or Charlotte and Sebastion from the VCAL class ASAP -

All the boxes filled with gifts need to be returned to us by end of term Friday 20th Sept (or the first week of Term 4 if necessary).

https://www.samaritanspurse.org.au/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/

Canteen Menu Term 3 2019

Term 3 Canteen Menu

Download

BYODs

A list of latest model computers available from Nhill Bi-Rite and Wimmera Office Equipment has been included in this week’s newsletter for the consideration of families interested in a BYOD. These lists contain a range of devices that will be able to support student learning – at home and at school – over the next few years. A reminder that all students have free access to Microsoft Office, as well as some Adobe programs through their school subscription. For families considering a BYOD, it is worth noting that electronic resources are being used more and more frequently in classes, with the College subsidising Edrolo subscriptions for all VCE students, while Maths Pathways and Education Perfect resources are also being used more extensively across Years 7-10 this year. If you have any questions related to the College’s BYOD program, feel free to contact Mr Shrive. The BYOD product lists can be downloaded from the link below, as well as being available from the College website. Printed copies can be obtained from Mr Shrive on request.

Compass Parent Fact Sheet and FAQs

Download

Secondary Basketball

It's that time of the year again. Secondary basketball will start on Monday 14th October and registration night will be held on Monday 7th October at the stadium after school. If you would like a basketball note please go to the front office or ask Jayson Brown, Ebony Rintoule, Adam Zimmermann or Dylan Cole for one. Basketball notes need to be handed into the office or handed to Jayson, Ebony, Adam or Dylan by Friday 20th September 2019 (last day of school).

Junior Pool Lifeguards Wanted

Minimum age 16 years

Preference given to applicants available for up to 2 shifts per week between November and March

Must be able to attend the Pool Lifeguard Course on the 2nd/3rd of November at Kaniva Swimming Pool - Cost $290 or have already qualified

To apply please email a 2 page resume to alainemcfarlane@gmail.com

Applications close Sept 21

Nhill Lawn Tennis Club

The Nhill Lawn Tennis Club are seeking player interest for the upcoming 2019-20 season.

The senior calendar starts October 11th, with the Grand Final set for February 28th. We hope to follow the same format as last season, with games starting at 6pm on a Friday evening. A BBQ will again be on offer each week for tea.

In regards to the Secondary comp (with senior primary students included), the idea was pitched at our AGM on Wednesday evening to move it from a Wednesday afternoon to a Friday afternoon. Matches would commence promptly at 3.45pm and finish by/around 5.45pm.

The NLTC would appreciate your RSVP by WEDNESDAY 11th September, so that the committee can discuss teams the following evening during their general meeting.

Please contact Helen Cannell or Erin Dufty directly, otherwise contact can be directed through the NLTC email address on the flyer or our Facebook page.