Cootamundra High School Newsletter

Welcome back to a new school year! Same great school, a few new faces in various roles.

As announced at the end of the year in 2022, I will be taking on the position of Relieving Principal for all of 2023 while Leesa Daly is on a well-deserved year of leave. I am looking forward to the challenges and responsibilities this will bring and hope to continue building on the positive and productive relationships I have formed with students and parents over the past few years as Deputy Principal, as well as the preceding 20-odd years as Head of English here.

I also welcome the appointment of Alasdair Sides as the Relieving Deputy Principal for all of 2023. Alasdair has been the Head Teacher of Science, and more recently Maths/Science, for a number of years and knows the school and community well. Alasdair is Cootamundra-bred and attended Cootamundra High School as a student, not too long ago! Alasdair and I have worked well together in the Executive team at the school, and I expect this working relationship to develop further in our respective new roles.

The Head Teacher of Maths/Science will, for the first semester, be Di Lonnen. Di is a Maths teacher with many years' experience and has risen to the role with passion and enthusiasm. I look forward to working effectively with Di, as well as the remainder of the great Executive team we have here at Cootamundra High School.

The start of the year has been fantastic in many ways! The weather for starters has been much milder (even cold at one point!) than the usual 40 degree plus days we are used to at the start the school year. Our staffing has remained stable from 2022, though we have lost our Music teacher, Clint Perry, who has moved to Crookwell.

The most visual change this year so far has been the new junior shirts and sport shirts! They look absolutely superb, and the visual impact of students standing on Assembly on the first day was incredible! It just looked like a big team of people, which is sort of what we are!

A significant part of that visual impression was formed by the new Year 7 cohort. I welcome you and your families to the Cootamundra High School community, though many have siblings in the school already. Briana Fritsch as Year Advisor for Year 7 has hit the ground running (though she is PDHPE trained so is used to that!) with organising and dealing with day-to-day questions from our new students.

Our wellbeing team has several new members also. Jacob Longmore has taken over as Year Advisor for Year 8 and Kate Anderson (nee Jenkins) has taken on the roll as Year Advisor for Year 9. I wish them both a long and rewarding association with their year groups and highly commend them to parents and the community as outstanding teachers with the wellbeing of our students at the forefront of their thoughts and actions.

Although the term is still new, the P&C has already conducted their first fund raising event for the year, a very successful bingo night held at the Ex-Services Club last weekend. The night was great fun and well attended by the community as well as our school captains, Kyle Collins and Jen Newing, who drew the raffle at the break. Thanks to Adam Randall and Logan Collins for their organisation of the evening and congratulate them on raising a significant amount of money to put towards the good work the P&C continues to do for the school and our students.

We have also conducted our annual swimming carnival, on an unseasonably drizzly morning which turned into a mild afternoon, in the second week of term. This was as usual a fun event, enjoyed by students and staff. Staff and parents all commented on the great ‘vibe’ on the day, with high levels of participation from students, a great positive attitude displayed throughout the day with ongoing House-based support for those swimming in races, as well as a relaxed ‘carnival’ atmosphere with dress ups, house colours and music playing! Well done to Briana Fritsch again, as Sports Coordinator this time, for her efforts in creating such a successful day for students and staff, and to all staff involved on the day.

The vast majority of school days pass with a flurry of student movements between classes, with the happy release of energy as students move to the next class, where things quickly settle again as we move into the next lesson. Likewise, the break times are a mix of students sitting having a catch-up chat, eating lunch, playing handball, or running around burning off yet more energy.

From time to time, though, you might in passing notice emergency services vehicles parked outside the school during the day. This should not be cause for alarm to parents or the general community. Accidents happen, unfortunately. We have a responsibility that we take very seriously in looking out for the wellbeing of all our students and staff while they are on site. If an ambulance is required, or even might be, it will be called. Every time. Usually, our great local ambos are here quickly, though sometimes we need to wait for those from surrounding towns to attend. Regardless, rest assured we are doing what we need to do for the wellbeing of all. If your child is affected at all you will certainly be contacted at the first opportunity. Be aware, though, that in an emergency situation the ambulance call will have priority. It’s the safest way to go.

You will also see police vehicles at the front of the school regularly. Again, there is no cause for panic or alarm. Violent incidents of the type that we see from time to time on the Australian and international media have, thankfully, not happened here. We have a very positive and constructive relationship with our local police fortunately, and it is reinforced by Department of Education policy and state legislation. Our local police are actively involved and interested in the wellbeing of the children in this town, and this role often extends to visiting the school to seek or provide context for students they are working with in the community. In the interests of the smooth operation of the school and our ability to support our students, I value and welcome the support of our local police. Don’t be alarmed with the sight of a police car out the front: again, it is the safest way to go.

In the same vein, you might have noticed our lovely new fence that went up last year. We have commenced this year following Department protocols of ensuring that gates are locked while students and staff are on site, again in an abundance of caution towards the safety and wellbeing of the whole school. All visitors to the school must come through the Front Office and sign in and out during school hours.

Finally, after nearly two decades of daily use our old school sign is about give way to the technological age as we await the installation of an electronic sign. Thanks to all students and staff who have contributed to the messages over the years!

I hope you all have a great Term 1 2023!

Chris Payne

Rel. Principal

Dates for your Diary...

Don't forget Everyday Counts...

You can use the Sentral Parent Portal, email, the Skoolbag App, writing a note or phoning the front office to let us know when your child is absent from school.

Our Youth Outreach Worker (Student Support Officer) Alex is back with us for 2023. Alex is involved in a range of school-wide wellbeing initiatives in which he brings lots of experience and fun energy into. He can also provide confidential support to students and families who might want a bit more support during the school year.

Students and parents/carers can contact Alex directly at the school for a confidential chat or reach out to their Year Advisor.

To find out more about his role please click on the link below ...

https://education.nsw.gov.au/student-wellbeing/counselling-and-psychology-services/student-support-officers

Congratulations to Jack Miller, Grace Derrick, Kristian Miller and our under 16s boys relay team who have progressed through to the Riverina Swimming Championship in Leeton next month. 

Year 7 and 8 are having a great start to the year with the Cootamundra High literacy program embracing library studies this year.

So far students have become familiar with the layout of the library, the different collections of books within it, as well as a chance to browse our wonderful fiction and non-fiction sections and pick a book to read and borrow. 

The students are enjoying the atmosphere of the library, its layout and recreational reading areas. 

The lessons will be ongoing fortnightly throughout the year and parents and carers are encouraged show some interest in recreational reading. 

Smart start Breakfast club has kicked off again for 2023. It’s a little different this year with Mrs Lonnen stepping aside to focus on her Head Teacher Duties and myself (Sam O’Loughlin aka Crazy O), Miss Cifferson and Mrs Lewis stepping in. So far, we have had a variety of cereal and toast with all the favourite spreads along with pancakes, omelettes and cheesy bacon scrambled eggs and juice being offered. From next week the very popular sausage and egg wrap will make a comeback. Blueberry and choc chip muffins will also be making an appearance. We are strictly nut free and can add gluten free options if asked.

We’ve had a bit of a setback with the cool room being on the fritz and fridge space being limited but we are making it work.

We are open from 8.30am until 8.55am every day at the school canteen.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the kind and generous support of our sponsor the William Ruebensohn Foundation, and the volunteer efforts of our community members and canteen staff.  Breakfast Club aims to help our students to start the day with a good breakfast.

We were able to put on a community breakfast last year and are hoping we can have another one or two of these as they were a great way to bring the community into our school to see a bit of what we do.