Jumbunna

Visit our Website: www.warren-c.schools.nsw.edu.au for more news and the school calendar

Delivering Opportunity and Quality Learning

Find us at: Chester Street Warren 2824 T: 0268474438 F: 0268474419 E: warren-c.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Issue 1 Term 3 Week 2 25 July 2012

From the Principal Visiting Canadian Principal This year, as part of the “Leading Educators Around the Planet” program, we welcomed Mrs Connie Bray from North Middlesex District High School in the Thames Valley School Board of Ontario, Canada. Mrs Bray attended the School Development Day on Monday based on “Raising Cognitive

Awareness through Challenging Learning” and had the opportunity to work with many staff throughout the day. On Tuesday, Mrs Bray addressed both the secondary and primary morning assemblies and visited classrooms across the school. She had the honour of lunching with 13 students including the school and primary captains as well as the SRC Executive Liaison Committee and their invited guests. Mrs Bray was very impressed by the pride the students had in the school and the local community. Mrs Bray along with Ms Anne Kerr a recently retired superintendent from Toronto and exchange partner of our School Education Director Mrs Ann-Marie Furney, attended the local communities‟ NAIDOC Week celebrations on Wednesday. They were overwhelmed by the warmth of the welcome extended to them by the Warren community. Mrs Bray and Ms Kerr met the Warren Shire Council General Manager Mr Ashley Wielinga and other council officers. Many thanks to Mr Alan Shepherd and Mr Rikki Powell for their organisation of the event from the school perspective. Everyone had a great day and our Canadian friends left with wonderful memories of their time in Warren. o

Education Week Next week is Education Week and there will be some important events occurring from Monday 30 July to Friday 3 August. On Tuesday there will the launch of two new initiatives at Warren Central School. At 9:00am in the Library I will be running the first of the school‟s “Positive Parent Partnership to Advance Learning” for any parent or caregiver to learn simple fun games to reinforce learning that happens in classrooms across the school. Each session is only 30 minutes long and in the first session you will learn a simple numeracy and literacy game which can be played with children aged 5 to 15. The session will be repeated twice during the day at 12:30pm and 5:30pm. Also on Tuesday, Ms Reeves‟ 5/6 class and Mrs Richardson‟s Year 3 class will be introducing three way conferencing as an alternative to the traditional parent-teacher meeting. Notes have gone home from the teachers involved outlining the structure and benefits of this method of conferencing. Miss Oriel‟s 4/5 class will be conferencing on Wednesday. To culminate Education Week activities on Friday the secondary will be holding “open classrooms” during Period 3 (11:20 am – 1:20pm) and Period 5 (2:00pm – 3:00pm) to demonstrate some of the teaching strategies being used as part of our “Thinking Skills” program. Students in K-6 will be involved in a “Mini Olympics” throughout the day. There will be a picnic lunch for all families from 1:20pm to 2:00pm. All parents and caregivers are invited to join our celebration.

Issue 1 – Term 3 – Week 2 25 July 2012

2

Updating Information It is important for parents and carers to update their contact phone numbers and addresses with the school. This allows us to contact you if there is an emergency or other matter that requires prompt attention. Incorrect information can also affect the payment of Back to School allowances. Parents and caregivers must also notify the school of any medical conditions so that if illness or accidents occur your child can receive the best medical treatment available. Please contact the school during school hours to amend your details.

From the Deputy’s Desk The term has begun in a very pleasant way from my point of view. Yes there are still the very few students whose behaviour keeps me busy, but more to the point there is that 95% of wonderful hard working, well behaved students that makes me feel like coming back to teach each day, term etc. Wouldn‟t it be good if we could judge schools, towns, cities or countries on the 95%? But us being human as we are look at the 5% (or in the case of motorcycle riders – the 1%) and make decisions, recommendations, and judgements on these. Well here are a few of the wonderful things that I have enjoyed hearing about or being involved with recently: NAIDOC Celebrations Students, staff and our Canadian visitors enjoyed a wonderful day of celebration. It was great to see the students playing netball and touch football, listening to exhibitions of music and being involved in dance workshops. The only comment I had was “What a lovely day and the kids are so well behaved”. I am just sorry that I had to miss some of the day and especially Shane McEwan performing his dancing. Shane has his own dance company “Koomuria” which performs all around the world. I must say that I did have the privilege of working with Shane at the end of the celebrations at Victoria Oval – we packed up the marquees, chairs, tables – boy was he a hard worker!!!! Another session I really enjoyed was the singing by Michael Donovan and Ricky Powell at the TAFE. Ricky

had some very thought provoking songs which were well worth listening to, while Michael sang some lovely songs. One that I reminisced over was “Bear‟s now asleep” as I watched the little pre-schoolers and kindies + adults doing all the actions. Later Michael even had the older students up “dancing”. Well done to all those involved in the organisation of the event, especially Alan Shepherd and Ricky Powell who both put a great deal of effort into the day.

Netball Champions The last two days of Term 2 saw our netball teams travel to Dubbo for a district netball competition. Mr Hinton relayed to us that we had won the Junior competition and had come third in the Senior. Well done to all the students who did our school proud and represented the school so well. The Junior team – Katina Darcy-Hutchinson, Mableah Fuller, Tinesha Darcy-Hutchinson, Amber McClenahan, Brittany Peachey, Paige Shepherd, Olivia Shepherd, Rachael Smith and Isabella Gordon will go on to represent the Western Region at the next level – wouldn‟t that be a great achievement to win at that level – and of course you can do it!!! Snake Tales Students from Year K–8 as well as Year 11/12 Bio were entertained by the herpetologist with his display of reptiles. I was rather pleased that this was a cool day and the snakes and lizards – being endothermic- were very placid and docile. Red belly black, blue-tongue, fierce snake, shingle back (or bog eye – yes they look like a shearing handpiece) took front stage while the speaker told stories and relayed facts about these creatures. The students enjoyed the display and the talks very much. Thanks Mrs Hamilton for organising the event and CAP for the funding. Hope to see as many parents as possible at the Assembly and Parent Teacher interviews Wednesday afternoon, as well as the three way conferences next week. Mr I. Thompson – Deputy Principal

Dates for your Diary

30.7-3.8.12 Education Week

4 August Blue Light Disco

6-9 August Life Education Van

14 August ICAS Maths Test

17 August Gobondery/NARRAF Athletics Narromine

20.8-24.8.12 Book Week

21 August Industrial Tech HSC Marking

24 August Ridley/Trudgett Shield Netball Gala Day

26 August TOM finals - Orange

31 August Western Region Athletics

7 September Gobondery/NARRAF Soccer Gala Day

20 September Year 12 Farewell

20-21.9.12 Moorambilla Festival

21 September Last Day of Term

Issue 1 – Term 3 – Week 2 25 July 2012

3

K-6 NEWS Recognising Great Students in K-6:

Term 3 – Week 1

Core Value: Respect yourself, others and your surroundings Prize box winners for Week 1: Saranna Fisk, Jocelyn Gray and Ieisha Darcy. Special Award - STUDENTS OF THE WEEK – 1 Congratulations to Taylor Rolfe-Coppin (Kinder Chickpeas), Thomas Graham (1Sunflowers), Benjamin Barnett (2/3 Cotton), Jocelyn Gray (4/5 Canola) and Reigham Peckham (5/6 Wheat) for your very fine efforts in class. Attendance All absences must be explained. Please remember to send in those notes if your student misses a day of school. If students are late to school, this is recorded as a partial absence. A number of students are missing critical learning time due to lateness. The K-6 day commences at 9:00am so students should be in the playground by this time. K-6 Assembly Our next K-6 assembly will be held in Book Week on Thursday 23/8/2012 in the JB Renshaw Hall. All parents and Carers are welcome. Teacher Professional Learning K-6 teachers are currently studying a program, „Focus on Reading‟. The strategies include: Making connections; Predicting; Questioning; Monitoring; Visualising and Summarising. This Jumbunna we will find out about: Visualising Learners create a mental image from a text read/viewed/heard. Visualizing brings the text to life, engages the imagination and uses all the senses. Bullying A useful website for information and strategies to help your child deal with bullying behaviours is www.friendlyschools.com.au This is the site for the program K-6 use in the classrooms to address bullying behaviours. NAIDOC Celebrations Our students had the opportunity to attend NAIDOC Celebrations held at Victoria Oval last Wednesday. Thank you, to Ricky Powell, Alan Shepherd and our Community Members for putting together a wonderful day of fun-filled activities.

Snakes Alive We were very fortunate to have a visit from „Bob, the Snake Man‟ last week. We are grateful to the Country Area Program for funding this visit. Puppet Show K-3 students were entertained in an informative lesson with Mrs Rachel Mills, a Hearing Support Teacher, last week. They learned about the importance of nose blowing to help keep the Eustachian tubes clear in order to prevent ear infections. Each student took home a booklet and information sheet. Hearing Screening Did you know that you can book through the Warren Multi-Purpose Health Service for hearing screening tests? The school refers students but you can also access this service by ringing and making an appointment. TOURNAMENT OF MINDS Tournament of Minds is an enrichment program designed to give students an opportunity to work as a team and learn by discovery in a challenging way and is an integral part of our Gifted and Talented Program at Warren Central School. Congratulations to Abigail Irving, Emily Smith, Savannah Nielsen, Max Irving, Felix Weston, Shakira Sunderland and Ruth Cant for being selected in

Issue 1 – Term 3 – Week 2 25 July 2012

4

the 2012 team. Thank you everyone who tried out. Well Done! The team will spend the next 5 weeks working on their Social Science Challenge and will compete in the Regional final at Orange High School on Sunday 26 August 2012. BOOK WEEK – Week 6 Term 3 Once again Book Week is just around the corner…this year the theme is „Champions Read‟ so, get reading and get those costumes ready! 3 WAY CONFERENCING This Semester Years 3 – 6 will be trialling „3 Way Conferencing‟. This includes a 10 minute consultation between the student, parent and teacher. We look forward to as many parents/carers as possible to join us in this process. These conferences are being held during Education Week, next week. MINI OLYMPICS Next Friday 3/8/12 K-6 will be holding a Mini Olympics and Picnic Lunch for the students, parents and carers as part of our Education Week activities. So put that date in your diaries!

Mrs McArdle - Assistant Principal A Block & Ms Reeves - Assistant Principal B Block

SNAKE TAILS Bob Withey of Australian Reptile Displays visited Warren Central School recently to impart his knowledge about all things reptile. In three very enthusiastic and engaging workshops for K–6, Years 7/8 and Years 11/12 Biology, he outlined the distinguishing features, habitats, and adaptations to the environment of the reptile family and individual reptiles. He also debunked a number of myths about snakes and explained how important it is that Mother Nature‟s natural balance is maintained. According to Mr Withey, the massive increase in the number of the dangerous Eastern Brown Snakes is partly attributable to people killing their predator the Red Belly Black Snake whose bites in fact are rare as they are a fairly docile snake. Throughout the performances students enjoyed the chance to get up close and personal with a number of his more harmless „friends‟ such as the Olive Python and Bearded Dragon. A few though, such as the world‟s most poisonous snake, the Fierce Snake, remained firmly in their boxes! The show was brought to the school by the Country Areas Program.

4/5 Canola 4/5 Canola have begun another busy term with excitement and enthusiasm. The class is looking forward to undergoing their Olympic Unit in HSIE and are showing eagerness towards the Olympic Games. In Literacy we have started Recount Writing and a few of our class members were kind enough to share their first Recount Writing of the year. My Trip to Junee Nan, Pa, Tyler and I woke up on Saturday morning and quickly ate our breakfast with excitement. After breakfast we all piled in to the Ute and drove the hour long drive to Dubbo. When we arrived in Dubbo we decided to hire a car for the remainder of the trip to Junee because it would be more comfortable. We finally made our way out of Dubbo and began the rest of our journey. We passed many towns along the way and some of them have very funny names. When we arrived in Junee we were all exhausted so we ordered Chinese for dinner and went

Issue 1 – Term 3 – Week 2 25 July 2012

5

straight to bed when we finished eating. The next morning we woke up even more excited because Nan and Pa were taking Tyler and I to the chocolate factory. There were so many chocolates in there; I thought I was in heaven. My trip to Junee was fantastic and I can‟t wait to visit again. Kayne Pratt My Weekend On the weekend my friend and I were riding motorbikes around the paddock and racing each other. We were both very competitive as we both wanted to win. I approached a huge jump and I almost fell off my bike, but luckily I kept my balance and didn‟t fall. Unfortunately my friend beat me that time. After our race we realised that we needed to stop for fuel. We filled them up and we were off again racing each other and going over big jumps. We rode for most of the afternoon and as it began to get dark we loaded the bikes carefully on to the trailer and tied them down. We had a great day and I can‟t wait to do it all again next weekend. Russell Thompson

Rebecca and Chelsea attend Leadership Day in Sydney As Captain and Vice-Captain of Warren Central School we participated in a School Captains' Leadership day at Parliament House, Sydney, at the end of last term. We received valuable leadership advice from some politicians and learnt about their role in society. Our first adventure was waking up at 3.30am to catch our flight to Sydney – this was our first ever flight and was an exciting experience! Once we were in Sydney, we went to visit the set of the television show "Sunrise", obtaining autographs from presenters David Koche (Kochie) and Natalie Barr, (Nat), as well as photos of them and the rest of the crew.

After that, we made our way to Parliament House, where about twenty other country schools participated in the day. We then made our way to Government House and met her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC, CVO Governor of NSW.

and listened to her speak about her role, as a very important lady and leader in our society.

The overall day was a great opportunity and we received a lot of advice about future leadership roles. We would like to thank Mrs Steele for accompanying us on the trip. Rebecca and Chelsea

News from the Careers Advisor Important information for Year 12 and parents/guardians:

UAC admissions open 8 August 2012.

UAC applications (on-time) close 28 September 2012.

UAC books with information on course and ATAR‟s

are available from Mrs Taylor.

The processing charge for on-time applications is $27

for Year 12 students. You will need a credit card to

complete this application. Those students applying for

university admission will be able to do so whilst still at

school this term under Mrs Taylor‟s guidance.

Education Access Scheme (EAS) applications open

on 8 August. Two new types of disadvantage have

been introduced for parents or guardians in receipt of

Family Tax Benefit Part A and for students attending

rural schools. Further information for eligibility is

available from Mrs Taylor or at -

www.uac.edu.au/undergraduate/eas/

Applications close 28 September 2012.

Issue 1 – Term 3 – Week 2 25 July 2012

6

Remember also:

Update your resume

Investigate/inquire about scholarships

Explore GAP year options; volunteer abroad

Consider an apprenticeship or traineeship

Get qualified! Statistics reveal that those with higher

qualifications are less likely to be unemployed

Early entry schemes are also available for Charles

Sturt University, University of New England and

Southern Cross University (Lismore). These schemes

are based on Principal‟s recommendation. Further

information and application forms are available from

Mrs Taylor.

Useful information regarding university admission can

be found by visiting www.uac.edu.au

Open days for universities available from university

websites

Support and information for students and parents can

also be accessed from Mrs Taylor at any time.

Mrs R. Taylor – Careers Advisor

Secondary Sport Report On the last Thursday and Friday of Term 2, Warren Central School had two netball sides play in the Western Central Schools Netball Gala Day held in Dubbo. On Thursday the under 16‟s team went through their pool games undefeated and came up against a strong Molong team in the final. The girls played a brilliant game and went on to win by a handy margin. The girls will now contest the State Central Schools Netball Championships in Dubbo later this term. Congratulations Mableah Fuller, Katina Darcy-Hutchinson, Rachael Smith, Paige Shepherd, Isabella Gordon, Olivia Shepherd, Amber McClenahan, Tinesha Darcy-Hutchinson, Brittany Peachey.

On the Friday the open side won their first 2 games before narrowly losing their last pool game. In their finals match the girls met a very well drilled Dunedoo side who eventually won a very close game. Congratulations to Bree Lomas, Taylor McCloskey, Prue Murray, Annabelle

Taylor, Isabell Hamblin, Molly Gough, Erin Murphy, Laura Job, Mableah Fuller, Katina Darcy-Hutchinson.

Thank you to Megan Darcy for coaching and to all the parents who help transport the girls into Dubbo. Well done to the following boys who have competed in representative rugby league games during the school holidays. Tom and Craig Field and Will Day in the NSW Country under 16‟s Rugby League side and Donald Kennedy, Mark Kilpatrick and Matt Woolnough in Group 11 Rugby League side. Mr I. Hinton – PDHPE Teacher

Issue 1 – Term 3 – Week 2 25 July 2012

7

Remember to present

entries in an interesting

and attractive way

CHAMPIONS READ

BOOK WEEK 2012

Dear Parents / Caregivers

This year we will celebrate BOOK WEEK from 20 to 24 August (Week 6). The

theme this year is “CHAMPIONS READ”.

We have many activities and competitions for the students to enjoy.

Each competition will cost 20 cents to enter with prizes to be awarded in Years

K – 2, 3 - 6 and 7 - 12.

All entries are due in to the Library on Tuesday morning 9.00am 14 August at

the latest. Great prizes!

Competitions

1. BOOKMARK: Years K – 12. Design and decorate a colourful bookmark.

2. COLOURING STENCIL: Years K–12. Class teachers will distribute the

colouring stencils for completion in class. Prizes awarded for each year K –

12.

3. POEM: Years K – 12. Write a poem using the theme Champions Read.

4. BOOK COVER: Years K – 12. Design a book cover using the theme Champions

Read. A4 only

5. CLOZE QUIZ?: Years K-2

6. CHAMPIONS READ QUIZ?: Years 3-4

7. CHAMPIONS READ QUIZ: Years 5-12

Issue 1 – Term 3 – Week 2 25 July 2012

8

8. MAKE A MODEL USING THE THEME: Years K-12. Using recycled materials.

Activities

1. BOOK CHARACTER PARADE: K-6 children are asked to dress up as their

favourite book character and bring their book with them for the parade.

Any child whose costume is suitable may come to school dressed in

character for the day. Other children may get dressed during lunch time.

The Book Character Parade is NOT a competition and children are

encouraged to make their costumes from materials kept at home and with

as little expense as possible. Secondary students are also invited to

participate and join in the parade.

Everyone is invited to come and watch the parade, which will be held in the

School Hall on Thursday 23 August at 1.30pm.

Please join us for afternoon tea in the Library after the parade.

2. BOOK FAIR: We will be holding a Scholastic BOOK FAIR from Monday 20

August to Friday 24 August between the hours of 8.30am and 3.15pm in the

School Library. During the BOOK FAIR your children can purchase quality-

reading material. We urge you to visit the BOOK FAIR. You’ll be sharing in

the magic of choosing new books and encouraging your children to read.

Our school will benefit from sales and obtain extra resources for your

children.

So join in the fun. Mark the dates on your calendar and help our school

enjoy this wonderful event.

Looking forward to seeing you during BOOK WEEK!

From the Library Staff

Issue 1 – Term 3 – Week 2 25 July 2012

9

Issue 1 – Term 3 – Week 2 25 July 2012

10