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iCano
Canowindra High School
Browns Ave Canowindra NSW 2804 T 6344 1305 F 6344 1085
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.canowindra-h.schools.nsw.gov.au
Term 4 Week 9 Tuesday, 10 December 2019
Contact List Principal Neryle Smurthwaite Deputy Principal Darryl Ball Head Teacher English / HSIE Lee-Anne Jones Head Teacher Maths / PDHPE / Comp Rod Jones Head Teacher Science / CAPA Peta McKenzie Head Teacher TAS Karen Pickering Year 7 Adviser Steven Wilson Year 8 Adviser Warren McKenzie Year 9 Adviser Gillian Halstead Year 10 Adviser Kath Balcombe Year 11 Adviser Bronwyn Porter Year 12 Adviser Louise Gregson Teacher Librarian Lisa McCallum Sports Coordinators Warren McKenzie Zachary Rue Student Welfare Teacher Baden Bogdanovs LAST (Rlg) Bronwyn Porter Careers Advisor Josh Conliffe School Chaplain Samara Geier
Year 10 Narrabeen Excursion What an amazing week we had with an awesome group of young people! Our intrepid bunch of adventurers set off on Sunday, bound for the big smoke (we didn’t realise how literal this would be by the end of the week!). After our long rail journey and bus trip to the Sydney Academy of Sport, we settled in with a hearty dinner, a session on the exercise equipment, a refreshing swim and pool volleyball and a session of shooting hoops in the gym. Monday was full of challenges with the high ropes (in high wind) and abseiling testing students’ abilities to overcome their fear of heights and learning to trust in their instructors, their equipment and their friends. Some looked like they had been scaling tall buildings all their life while others found the activities a personally religious experience. Adrenaline exhaustion set in but again many found the energy to visit the pool again or settled in for a movie. Tuesday started early for some with our personal fitness group up and jogging. Additionally, with the Manly football team in residence there were several opportunities for interaction, photos, videos and even short training sessions (or just viewing!). With the weather, the wind and the tide behind us we kayaked our way to North Narrabeen beach for a dip and a picnic lunch. Some decided to make the trip more challenging by allowing water into their kayaks or by zigzagging the entire way, simply to travel greater distances. Miss Dunk was so keen to build her muscles that she offered to tow students all the way back. Again the weather, wind and tide gods were with us and we made record time back enabling us to have a quieter afternoon to recover our strength and energy. Crazy games that night with our instructor saw the cooperation, competitive spirit and a sheer desire to be the king or queen come out in many of our students. Our fishing team also had their first catch this evening. Wednesday dawned sunny and boot camp were off again improving their times from the day before. It was beach day and Manly delivered. The water was fantastic and many managed to master the surfboard and looked good doing it!. The rest of us got close and enjoyed the body boarding. Life was really tough that day! An afternoon of hitting the shops in Manly left us all exhausted but we still managed a night of beach volleyball, an aggressive game of spoons and more fishing catches.
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Tuesday, 10 December 2019
It was a little harder to get up on Thursday (but the runners and fishermen were up and racing!) and tiredness started to weigh us down along with the thick smoke and heat. Despite this the kids rallied and tackled archery with Caitlyn and Noah hitting the bullseye more than most. The weariness continued but we still managed to scale the rock wall with speed and agility. An afternoon in the water was called for to cool down and the energy and sense of adventure returned with sailing and stand up paddle boarding. Some sailing teams raced effortlessly around the lagoon while others found themselves vertical and then submarining. Paddle boarding had similar outcomes with many of us in the water rather than on! A night at the movies allowed us time to recover, reflect on the week and slam a giant popcorn down. A few hours in Darling Harbour the next morning for an explore, some Christmas shopping and a chill-out, finished everything off nicely before the long trip home. Congratulations to all the students on their behaviour, their willingness to try everything, to push boundaries and move out of their comfort zones and to support each other as they went. It was an absolute pleasure to travel away with them and I thank them for being so cooperative and such great company. I would also like to thank Mr Jones, Miss Dunk and our two gold Duke of Ed students, Ashlee and Julia, for their help and support in making the excursion such a great success. Thankyou everyone for a great time. I look forward to returning with them in Year 11 (but I may have a little sleep first). Mrs Balcombe
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Tuesday, 10 December 2019
Principal’s News
Yes another big water leak! Thank you for your understanding with the disruption to school yesterday. Unfortunately the extent of the leak was not known until the plumber was able to find the leak and determine if it could be isolated. The leak, at the front of the hall, was quite significant and caused damage to the surrounding area including the lifting of bitumen. Further work will be required over the holidays to rectify this damage. Congratulations to all our Year 10 students and staff who attended the year excursion to Narrabeen. It was great to see all the pictures and hear of the great time everyone had getting involved in the many different activities. This week it will be Year 8 and 9 who have their turn travelling to Wollongong and Canberra respectively. Tomorrow is super Wednesday for our school with Years 7, 8, 9 and 11 all out of school involved in year excursions and extra-curricular activities. A big thank you to the teachers involved in organising these fantastic opportunities for our students. Have a great time everyone! Next Tuesday is our Presentation Night and I would like to invite everyone to come along and help celebrate the achievements of many of our students. The evening begins at 6pm in the school hall.
Neryle Smurthwaite
Principal
PRESENTATION NIGHT
Tuesday 17th December
starting at 6:00pm
in the Jack Sherwin Memorial Hall
All welcome!
NSW School Term Dates for 2020
1
11 weeks
Staff return – Tuesday 28th January Y7, 11 & 12 return – Wednesday 29th January
Y8, 9 & 10 return – Thursday 30th January Last day of term 1 – Thursday 9th April
2
10 weeks
Staff return – Monday 27th April All students return – Tuesday 28th April
Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday – Monday 8th June
Last day of term 2 – Friday 3rd July
3
10 weeks
Staff return – Monday 20th July All students return – Tuesday 21st July
Last day of term 3 – Friday 25th September
4
10 weeks
All staff and students return – Monday 12th October
Last day of term 4 for students – Wednesday 16th December
Last day of term 4 for staff – Friday 18th December
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Tuesday, 10 December 2019
Term 4 Assembly Congratulations to those students who received awards at the Term 4 Assembly this morning.
Year 7 Merit Awards
Year 10 Merit Awards
Year 8 Merit Awards
Year 9 Merit Awards
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Tuesday, 10 December 2019
Duke of Edinburgh Excursion Last Thursday and Friday, our Bronze Level Award Duke of Edinburgh students, along with Mrs Coutanche and Mr Roberts, travelled to Sydney to complete their Adventurous Journey - an “Urban Hike”. This was a qualifying hike needed to complete their Bronze Level Award requirements which also included undertaking some Voluntary Service, Physical Recreation and learning a new Skill. This was a great experience for our students who spent the night camping on Cockatoo Island.
Year 11 Merit Awards
Andrew Street receiving a School Service Award
Cows Create Careers Certificates
Louise Hailstone receiving her certificate for attending every school day this year.
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Tuesday, 10 December 2019
Building Resilience in Children
Practical, Powerful Strategies (Backed by Science) by [email protected]
1. Resilience needs relationships, not uncompromising independence. Research tells us that it’s not rugged self-reliance, determination or inner strength that leads kids through adversity, but
the reliable presence of at least one supportive relationship. In the context of a loving relationship with a caring adult,
children have the opportunity to develop vital coping skills. The presence of a responsive adult can also help to
reverse the physiological changes that are activated by stress. This will ensure that the developing brain, body and
immune system are protected from the damaging effects of these physiological changes. Anyone in the life of a child can
make a difference – family, teachers, coaches – anyone.
2. Increase their exposure to people who care about them. Social support is associated with higher positive emotions, a sense of personal control and predictability, self-esteem,
motivation, optimism, a resilience. Kids won’t always notice the people who are in their corner cheering them on, so when
you can, let them know about the people in their fan club. Anything you can do to build their connection with the people
who love them will strengthen them.
‘I told Grandma how brave you were. She’s so proud of you.’
3. Let them know that it’s okay to ask for help. Children will often have the idea that being brave is about dealing with things by
themselves. Let them know that being brave and strong means knowing when to
ask for help. If there is anything they can do themselves, guide them towards that
but resist carrying them there.
4. Build their executive functioning. Strengthening their executive functioning will strengthen the prefrontal cortex. This will help them manage their own
behaviour and feelings, and increase their capacity to develop coping strategies. Some powerful ways to build their
executive functioning are:
• establishing routines;
• modelling healthy social behaviour;
• creating and maintaining supportive reliable relationships around them;
• providing opportunities for their own social connections;
• creative play;
• board games (good for impulse control (taking turns), planning, working memory, and mental flexibility (the ability to
shift thoughts to an alternative, better pattern of thought if the situation requires);
games that involve memory (e.g. the shopping game – ‘I went shopping and I bought a [puppy]’; the next person says, ‘I
went shopping and I bought a [puppy and a bike for my t-rex]’; next person … ‘I went shopping and I bought [a puppy, a
bike for my t-rex and a hot air balloon] – the winner is the last one standing who doesn’t forget something on the
shopping list;
• exercise;
• giving them opportunities to think and act independently (if they disagree with you and tell you why you’re wrong,
there’s a plus side – their executive functioning is flourishing!);
• providing opportunities for them to make their own decisions.
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Tuesday, 10 December 2019
5. Encourage a regular mindfulness practice. Mindfulness creates structural and functional changes in the brain that support a healthy response to stress. It strengthens the calming, rational prefrontal cortex and reduces activity in the instinctive, impulsive amygdala. It also strengthens the connections between the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. When this connection is strong, the calming prefrontal cortex will have more of a hand in decisions and behavior.
6. Exercise. Exercise strengthens and reorganises the brain to make it more resilient to stress. One of the ways it does this is by increasing the neurochemicals that can calm the brain in times of stress. Anything that gets kids moving is stellar, but of course, if you can make it fun that pretty much grants you hero status. Here are some ideas, but get them thinking and they’ll have plenty of their own: • throw a frisbee; • kick a ball; • give a hula-hoop a spin; • dance stars; • walk the dog; • superhero tag (the tagged one stands in the middle of a circle on the ground, a superhero saves them by using their superhero powers to fly with running feet through the circle); • detective (in the park or backyard … first one to find five things that are green; or five things starting with ‘s’; or seven things that could be used for dress-ups; or ten things that smell gorgeous – ready, set, go!).
7. Build feelings of competence and a sense of mastery. Nurture that feeling in them – that one that reminds them they can do hard things. You’ll be doing this every time you acknowledge their strengths, the brave things they do, their effort when they do something difficult; and when you encourage them to make their own decisions. When they have a sense of mastery, they are less likely to be reactive to future stress and more likely to handle future challenges. You’re a superstar when it comes to trying hard things. You’ve got what it takes. Keep going. You’ll get there.’
8. Nurture optimism. Optimism has been found to be one of the key characteristics of resilient people. The brain can be rewired to be more optimistic through the experiences it is exposed to. If you have a small human who tends to look at the glass as being half empty, show them a different view. This doesn’t mean invalidating how they feel. Acknowledge their view of the world, and introduce them to a different one. ‘It’s disappointing when it rains on a sports day isn’t it. Let’s make the most of this. What’s something we can do on a rainy day that we probably wouldn’t do if it was sunny?’ The idea is to focus on what is left, rather than what has been lost.
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Tuesday, 10 December 2019
9. Teach them how to reframe. The ability to reframe challenges in ways that feel less threatening is linked to resilience. Reframing is such a valuable skill to have. In times of difficulty or disappointment, it will help them to focus on what they have, rather than what they’ve lost. To build this skill, acknowledge their disappointment, then gently steer them away from looking at what the problem has cost them, towards the opportunities it might have brought them. For example, if a rainy day has meant sport has been cancelled, ‘I understand how disappointed you are about not playing today. I’d be disappointed too. What can we do because of the rain that we might not have been able to do otherwise?’ (If they’re really disappointed they might need your help.) ‘You could snuggle up and read a book, watch a movie, play a game inside, walk in the rain, we could cook and throw a pretend party or have a fancy afternoon tea with very fancy clothes of course, and jewels and fancy shoes and china plates and fancy glasses and maybe even … a tablecloth – but no forks – we are not eating cake with forks, no way – that’s just too far.’ Let there be ridiculous ideas too. This will let them push past the obvious and come up with something that is beautifully unique. It will also encourage them to question any limits or ideas about how things ‘should’ be done. ‘Maybe we could have a picnic in the rain, or a beach party. Maybe we could paint ourselves with mud, or wash the dog in the rain, or make a bubble bath out there and wash ourselves!’ Are there ways they can turn this into interesting ideas.
10. Model resiliency. Imitation is such a powerful way to learn. The small humans in your life will want to be just like you, and they’ll be watching everything. Without pitching it above what they can cope with, let them see how you deal with disappointment. Bringing them into your emotional world at appropriate times will help them to see that sadness, stuckness, disappointment are all very normal human experiences. When experiences are normalised, there will be a safety and security that will open the way for them to explore what those experiences mean for them, and experiment with ways to respond. ‘I’m disappointed that I didn’t get the job, but that’s because it was important to me. It’s nice to have things that are important to you, even if they don’t end the way you want them to. I did my very best in the interview and I know I’ll be okay. That one wasn’t the job for me, but I know there is going to be one that is perfect. I just have to keep trying and be patient. Next week we will look at the final 10 strategies.
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Tuesday, 10 December 2019
What’s On
Week 10B Term 4
Monday 16 DEC RAP Pd2
Tuesday 17 DEC Presentation Night 6pm JSMH
Wednesday 18 DEC Last day of school for students
Thursday 19 DEC SDD
Friday 20 DEC SDD
Assessments Due
Week 9A Term 4
Y12: Ag (1), Legal Studies (1)
Week 10B Term 4
Y12: Maths Advanced, Standard, Numeracy (1), SLR (1)
Week 9A Term 4
Monday 9 DEC
Tuesday 10 DEC Term 4 Assembly 10am JSMH
Wednesday 11 DEC Y8 Wollongong Excursion Y9 Canberra Excursion Y7 Wellbeing Day, Orange Y11 Teambuilding Day
Thursday 12 DEC Y8 Wollongong Excursion Y9 Canberra Excursion
Friday 13 DEC Y8 Wollongong Excursion Y9 Canberra Excursion
Delicious fruit butters and marmalade now available from the Hospitality Department!
Lemon Butter $5 Orange Butter $5
Marmalade $8
All proceeds go towards the CHS Hospitality
Department
