SGHS NEWSLETTER

Week 9 - Term 1, 29 March 2019

From the Principal's Desk

Parent Teacher Evening (4:00pm to 6:00pm)

I am looking forward to catching up with as many parents as possible next Tuesday evening in the school hall when they come along to meet with our teachers. This is an excellent opportunity for us to get to know each other better and to discuss the progress our students are making towards achieving the outcomes of the courses they are studying. The P and C will be selling tickets in their Easter raffle and the SRC will have a sausage sizzle, so don’t forget to book an interview time via Sentral or through the front office.

Anti- Discrimination

At SGHS we actively promote a respectful and tolerant school culture. This means that we value the cultural, linguistic and religious backgrounds of all students and encourage them to take pride in their heritage. Our school community draws strength from this diversity and we are adamant that all students have the right to learn in a safe and supportive environment.

In line with our focus this year that ‘every student is known, valued and cared for’, I would like to introduce you to our Anti-Racism Contact Officers (ARCO’s). They are Mrs Taylor in English, Mrs Carle in HSIE, Mr Jenkins in Maths and Mrs Wauchope, Mrs Bradshaw and Ms Thurgood in the support Unit. If you, or your child have concerns relating to discrimination, please contact the school and one of these people will help you.

Toilet Upgrades

At last the boys' and girls' toilets are being upgraded. Work will begin on the boys’ toilet on Friday next week (last day of term). It is anticipated that the boys’ toilet will be out of action for most of Term 2. During this time the students are asked to use both of the toilets in the library foyer. There will be new signage indicating that both sets of toilets are for male use only. During Term 3 the process will be repeated and the girls’ toilet will be upgraded.

Diary Dates


Monday 8 April

  • Peer Training in hall


Tuesday 9 April

  • Parent Teacher Evening
     4.00 to 6.00pm in the hall

  • Charles Sturt Uni Excursion Port

     Macquarie

  • Yr 10 Police talks in the library
  • Science and Engineering Challenge

     Woolgoolga High School


Wednesday 10 April

  • Clarence Valley Youth Forum at

      New School of Arts

  • Deb Ball practice 5.30 to 7.30pm


Thursday 11 April

  • Mid North Coast touch gala day
  • MERIT AWARDS ASSEMBLY

      10.00 to 11.00am


Friday 12 April

  • LAST DAY OF TERM 1

Monday 29 April

Staff Development Day


Tuesday 30 April

STUDENTS RETURN FOR TERM 2


Wednesday 1 May

  • Deb Ball Practice


Friday 3 May

  • SGHS Cross Country


Sunday 5 May

  • Deb Ball Practice


Monday 6 May

  • P&C Meeting in library @ 5.30pm


Wednesday 8 May

  • Deb Ball practice


Friday 10 May

  • Julie Hutchings art work shop
  • UNE Open day


Canteen roster

Monday 8 April - Julie Ann Brett

Tuesday 9 April - Wendy Rogers

Wednesday 10 April - Jessica Horstman

Thursday 11 April - Wendy Rogers

Friday 12 April - Rae Ann Finlay and Tracey Wood

STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY - Monday 29 April - Wendy Rogers, Julie Ann Brett

Parent Teacher Night

Parent Teacher Night is being held on Tuesday 9 April 2019 between 4.00 pm and 6.00 pm in the South Grafton High School Hall.

Appointments will be available via Sentral from Friday 15 March 2019 onwards.

Alternatively, appointments can be made through the front office by calling 66421466.

Year 7 Stellar Workshops

The Recipe for success workshops were held at SGHS on Tuesday and Thursday. The workshops provided students with the opportunity to explore their potential as the hero and decision maker in their own career journey. The focus of the workshop was to introduce students to skills they will use throughout their high school years as they set themselves up for life beyond school.         

Opening of the Aboriginal Cultural Centre

On Tuesday we held an opening of the school's Aboriginal Cultural Centre. Staff, students, parents and carers attended the opening and morning tea. This was a great opportunity to formally showcase the new space for our indigenous students and to further build connections with parents and the community.             

Year 8/9 Alcohol Awareness Theatre in Schools Program

The program was held at our school on Monday and the students were totally engaged by the Smashed theatre performance and workshop. The program has been sponsored by Diageo Australia as part of a  commitment to reduce underage drinking and alcohol-related harm, to bring this highly acclaimed global program to schools across Australia.         

Service Medal

This week Mr Bruce was recognised by The Department and South Grafton High School for his service to teaching. Mr Bruce has been teaching since 1981, and has been at SGHS since the early 1990s, but his connection to the school goes back much further than that. You see, Mr Bruce attended the school as student before heading off to teaching college. With this long connection comes a great amount of knowledge of the history of the school which Mr Bruce has been trying to impart on his colleagues for the past few years. Mr Bruce will retire at the end of the school year. We wish him all the best.

School Photos

School photos are being given out in MATHEMATICS classes Thursday and Friday. All photos not collected will be at the front office from Monday 8 April.

MSP photography have been great to work with, very accommodating and efficient. We thank them for their fast, reliable and professional service. We hope you are pleased too.

Naplan Numeracy & Literacy Practice

All students have been set  NAPLAN NUMERACY, READING & WRITING PRACTICE on our Education Perfect platform. Each student has a login: "sghsfirstnamelastname" and a password. These practice assessments have been set as holiday homework and are optional.​​

Mathematics Tutoring

Some parent s have made enquires about outside Mathematics Tutoring for their students.

We have a number of senior students who are keen to offer this service at reasonable rates. This is an outside of school service that SGHS supports.

Benefits of Mathematics Tutoring:

*building confidence

*extra explanation of content not understood in class

*greater speed and accuracy in answering question

*focussed learning time

*setting goals and managing due dates

Feel free to phone Mrs O’Connor (Head Teacher Mathematics) for a Senior Student Tutors’ contact details if you are interested.

Closing the Gap Day 2019

Students from South Grafton High School attended the Closing the Gap day at Wherrett Park, Maclean on Thursday. This was a fantastic opportunity for students to learn about the Closing the Gap program and to learn more about our local providers such as Ab Care, Nungera Youth Group, Social Futures, Head Space etc. The students participated in Yarning circles, Aboriginal dance and footy. The students were also lucky to meet many NRL stars including Cody Walker, Blake Ferguson, Braiden Burns, Damion Cook, Wil Smith and Alex Johnstone.         

SCU Young Engineers School Holiday Program

When

April 18, 2019 9:00 AM to April 18, 2019 3:00 PM

Where

A Block (Enginering), Southern Cross University, Lismore Campus

More information

Each year in Term 1 school holidays, engineering at SCU offer high school students in Years 10 to 12 a one-day program to learn more about engineering and careers in this exciting field.

This day of hands-on experience will provide a taste of engineering where you can check out our world class laboratory facilities, perform experiments, work with technical equipment, develop an understanding of the importance of engineering in our world, and meet our friendly and supportive staff. 

Participants must register their attendance before Friday, 5 April 2019.  Numbers are limited.

Time:         9am to 3.00pm - Please arrive on time to ensure we adhere to the program of activities scheduled for the day. Parents/guardians are responsible for the student’s travel arrangements to and from Campus.

Cost:  There is no charge for attendance

Bring:  Long pants, covered shoes, hat, sunscreen, food, water, hair tie, pen and paper

Age group: Year 10 - 12 students      RSVP:  Thursday 5 April 2019

Registration:

Please complete the online SCU Young Engineers Registration Form, signed by the student’s parent/guardian, and return it to engineering@scu.edu.au before 5 April 2019.

Contact:  engineering@scu.edu.au or 02 6626 9714.

State of Origin 2019 Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) Excursion

South Grafton High School has been privileged to secure 50 Silver class tickets to this year’s State of Origin Game 1. The game will be held on the 5th June at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane. Students that are consistently following our school’s PBL core values of being respectful, responsible and safe, and achieving their personal best will be eligible to go into the draw for a ticket. The cost to attend will be subsidised to $100 including travel and ticket. The list of eligible students is now on display at the front office. If your name is on the list you may collect a note from the front office. GOOD LUCK!

Sand Sculptures and Painted Persons Art Day at Minnie Water Beach

Years 7 and 8 enjoyed sculpting their architectural forms and sea creatures last Friday on Minnie Water main beach. Year 9-12 students worked in groups, photographing people in the landscape while observing the differences colour makes to an identity. The weather started overcast but as soon as the buses arrived the sun shone gloriously. All students enjoyed the day and thanked Ms Ryan and Mr Neill for organising such a hands on art practice day.

University Open Days

Year 11 & 12 students are invited to attend the Charles Sturt University, Port Macquarie Open Day on the 9th April and the University of New England Open Day on 10th May. These excursions will provide an opportunity for students to get a feel for the University campus and investigate possible course and career options. Students that wish to attend need to see Mrs Dewberry for a permission note.

Schools Spectacular Auditions

South Grafton High School's dance group have been working hard during sport time to put a dance together for the School's Spectacular Combined Dance Ensemble audition process. The audition will be sent away this week and we will be notified in May if our school has been successful. Our school's Aboriginal Dance Ensemble have also submitted a dance audition to be part of the 2019 School's Spectacular.

Good luck to both groups.

Tell Them From Me Survey

 We are delighted that this term, our school, like many other public schools in the state, will participate in a Department of Education initiative: the Tell Them From Me student feedback survey. The survey measures factors that are known to affect academic achievement and other student outcomes. The focus of the NSW-wide survey is on student wellbeing, engagement and effective teaching practices.

More information about the survey is available by clicking on the below link.

The survey is a great opportunity for our students to provide us with valuable and quick feedback on what they think about school life, how engaged they are with school and the different ways that teachers interact with them. More than 6,300 schools in Australia and around the world have used Tell Them From Me to survey 5.4 million students. Capturing the voices of our students will help improve how we do things at our school.

I want to assure you that the survey is confidential. The survey is conducted online and will typically take less than 30 minutes to complete. It will be administered during school hours between 21 March and 12 April. Participating in the survey is entirely voluntary.

A consent form and FAQs for parents/carers about the survey is being sent home with students. If you do not want your child or children to participate, please return the form to school by 21/03/2019. Copies of the form and FAQs are available by clicking on the below link.

Tell Them From Me Survey - more information

Tell Them From Me Survey frequently asked questions

Community News

Clarence Valley Youth Forum 2019, 10th April 9:30-11:30am. The New School of Arts, South Grafton

The aim of the youth forum is to have a diverse representation of young people aged 12-24 years from across the Clarence Valley to be a voice for young people within our community.

Our Youth Interagency needs youth input to into programs, policies and practices that affect young people directly.

We want to know what kind of community young people want to live in and why it matters to them. We want to hear their aspirations, ideas, challenges and the key issues and barriers to progress that affect young people from their perspective.

The forum is developed on a Harwood Community Conversation Model and takes approximately 90 minutes. Free morning tea will be provided to all participants.

If interested in participating in the forum please see Mrs Dewberry ASAP to register.

The Big Picnic

Experience a day in the life of a park! Sample the activities that are suited to our local park including free fitness and Thai Chi sessions, circus play space, interactive Aboriginal arts and craft workshops, interactive art installation, make your own smoothie, live music, food and community services information stalls.

All day activities include a pop up café in the Market Square boxes, community services information stalls and have fun taking your picture with friends in the giant Instaframe and other brightly-painted Big Picnic props.

The Big Picnic

Market Square Saturday 13 April

South Grafton High School

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