DATE/EVENTS

Homework Centre Mondays 3.30pm to 5.00pm Weeks A & B Thursdays Week A ONLY

Senior Study Evening 7.00pm to 9.00pm Wednesdays

Wednesday 12th February to Friday 14th February, 2020 - Burrendong Excursion Year 7 and Year 10 Peer Support

Wednesday 19th February 2020 - Nyngan High School Swimming Carnival , Town Pool

Monday 17th February - AECG Meeting Aboriginal Lands Council 4.30pm

Friday 28th February & Monday 2nd March 2020 - MID TERM BREAK

I N N O V A T I O N , E X C E L L E N C E , O P P O R T U N I T I E S & S U C C E S S

T H U R S D A Y 1 3 T H F E B R U A R Y , 2 0 2 0 T E R M 1 W E E K 3

N Y N G A N H I G H S C H O O L

PO Box 156 Cobar Street NYNGAN NSW 2825

Phone: 02 68321004 Fax: 02 68321769

Email: nyngan-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Website: www.nyngan-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

NYNGAN HIGH SCHOOL

Nyngan High School staff and students would like to welcome our two newest staff members

to Nyngan High and the community.

They are:

Mr David Arnull - in Science after relieving last term.

Ms Shannon Mason - commenced as TRS and to work on developing Literacy and Numeracy

skills of students.

A big welcome to Nyngan High School, and if you see them around in the community stop and

say hello!

Principals Report

Dear School Community,

I am exceptionally proud to welcome all students, staff and families back to Nyngan High School for 2020. Our school commu-

nity is extremely fortunate to have such an outstanding school which is situated on remarkable grounds; possesses well-

resourced and ever improving teaching facilities; staffed by professionals who strive to improve their practice to benefit stu-

dents.

We have had a wonderful start to 2020. The rain has been a fantastic welcoming, let’s hope we see it more regularly in 2020.

Our student numbers are on par with the anticipated enrolments for this year, which will all-but ensure we can deliver the cur-

riculum which was set-up in 2019. Our school staff have returned with an engrossing and informative Connecting to Country

workshop on Monday, followed by a Staff Development Day on Tuesday. Students returned on Wednesday and we have thor-

oughly enjoyed getting started with our learning for the year.

On the first days of the school year I spoke with the student body and staff about our common goals as a school. We have a

whole school focus on our processes and teaching practises this year, students will see consistency in our approach and this will

continue to improve learning patterns across the year. I speak with the students about honesty and integrity regularly. Actions

speak much louder than words so my challenge to all students is to be honest when you need help, be honest when something

goes wrong but also be honest when you are proud and honest when something is good. This approach makes life more enjoya-

ble for all of us.

Staffing Changes

We have welcomed two new staff members:

Mr David Arnull has started in a permanent capacity in Science after relieving last term.

Ms Shannon Mason has come in as TRS and to work on developing Literacy and Numeracy skills of students.

Finally, we have some new positions being taken on by some of our teachers:

Year 7 Advisor- Ms Stafford

Year 8 Advisor- Ms Rixon

Student Voice Coordinator- Mr Casley

Year 7 & Year 10 Lake Burrendong Camp During this week our Year 7 students and Year 10 Peer Support leaders are heading to camp to build on the Middle School Transition program, into high school. The students have undertaken team building and support activities, getting to know each other well and strengthen positive relationships. It is also a great opportunity for staff to get to know the students a little better. We hope they have a fantastic time and return feeling a great part of Nyngan High School and ready to face the challenges ahead. Voluntary Contributions & Course Fees

In Week 3, we will be sending home invoices asking for voluntary contributions to assist in the education of our students. As

such I would like to highlight and encourage the payment of course fees.

Course fees relate to the Elective courses students elect to undertake from Year 9 onwards. These fees cover the materials

used in the construction of projects, the creation of food items or for learning materials. These fees must be paid to ensure your

child can participate in the learning of skills and knowledge which will benefit their future. Payments for course fees can be

made to the school front office during school hours and are due by the end of Term 1. These are also courses which parents

have supported their child undertaking. If these fees are unable to be paid please contact the Principal to make an alternative

payment schedule.

Voluntary contributions are payments which support the school to operate. These payments are greatly appreciated and will

help to ensure students are provided with a continued supply of learning resources, complimented by funds from the school’s

budget. I would encourage all families to contribute, but would also like to reiterate any contribution of this type is clearly un-

derstood to be voluntary and that you can contact me for advice and assistance as necessary.

Mobile Phone Policy

To start off with, thank you all, I am deeply appreciative of the time and thought that was put into our consultation of the Mo-

bile Phone Policy. After consideration, we are phasing phone usage at Nyngan High out over the course of Term 1. Students

will be educated on the new policy and we will have roll out days beginning in Week 6 for the usage of Yondr pouches to be-

come our common practice. More information will come out across the term. We know it is change, so if you are unsure on

something please feel free to contact us so we can explain actions as we move along.

Wearing School Uniform Matters

The wearing of school uniform is a necessity at Nyngan High School. The uniform has been selected and endorsed by the

school community in consultation with parents, students, staff and our community partners: Nyngan High School P&C Associ-

ation and Nyngan Local AECG.

It is a proven fact that school uniform provides equality and equity in a school environment, reducing the perception of socio-

economic hardship and for all students to have the opportunity to wear the same attire with their peers. This builds school pride

and helps students feel accepted.

The wearing of black leather shoes is a Workplace, Health & Safety requirement. This is to ensure students can enter practical

areas of the school. The school must abide by this legislation and if your child is in our workshop, science, cooking or agricul-

tural areas, they must have leather footwear on to complete practical work.

Final thoughts for the start of 2020

I encourage all parents and community members to join either the P&C or the AECG so your opinion and voice is heard and

you can engage in debate and conversations about decisions being made at Nyngan High School. Mrs Bush and I are always at

these meetings and we raise a substantial amount of items we are considering, funding, implementing and/or changing at these

meetings. We consult regularly. So I implore you to be in this conversation. This is the best outlet to be heard to continue to

steer the direction we are taking Nyngan High School.

On a personal note, thank you all for being so welcoming to my family and I, we have had the best experience living here and

look forward to all that continues to come along in the future.

B Wright

Principal

Nyngan High School

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

P and C News

I hope you all had a happy and relaxing break and welcome to 2020.

We had our first meeting on Monday. Thank you to the parents who attended, I am hoping more parents/carers may attend

future meetings. Our meetings are very informative and very open – if you wish to discuss a matter you are always welcome to

do so. Mr Wright and Mrs Bush attend our meetings and are very supportive of the P and C and I wish to thank them for their

ongoing time and support.

At the meeting we discussed our fundraising for the year. It looks as though we will be once again manning the Nyngan Show

gate on Sunday 17h May and the Nyngan Senior Rugby League footy gates, usually on various Sundays throughout the footy

season. We will soon be calling for volunteers to assist with these fundraising activities, please consider giving up an hour or

two of your time to help fulfil these rosters.

Our next meeting is Monday 16th March at 5:00 pm. It is our AGM (please bring $2 with you to be able to vote) and then we

will have a general meeting after it. Hope to see you there.

‘Those who can do, those who can do more, volunteer’

Thank you

Neralie Quarmby - President

Deputy Principal News

Welcome back to 2020. It is an exciting time starting the new school year with enthusiasm and motivation. I am so humbled to

work with the staff, students and families of Nyngan High and today as I was walking around the school during the week I of-

ten found myself thinking “I love my job”. What a great feeling to have, as I know some people are not this lucky.

We are starting a whole school focus on consistency in classrooms at Nyngan High School. This requires staff to be well pre-

pared and consistent in all their lessons including a structured start and finish and review of previous lessons. These were the

focus areas which students identified as enhancing their learning over the last three years. As a team we have had valuable pro-

fessional conversations and it is rewarding to work with such a motivated and constructive staff who are always trying to im-

prove.

Week 1 saw a focus on the positives and we hope to continue this throughout the year and beyond. 118 students received mer-

its, while only 4 found themselves doing the wrong thing. What an outstanding achievement for staff and students. I will be

keeping an eye on these stats over the coming weeks. Some parents were lucky enough to receive positive parent calls or texts

and these will also continue over the year. As both a parent and teacher, I love these calls.

Last week the Year 7 students participated in an anti-bullying workshop to learn about the process that is utilised to deal with

bullying at Nyngan High School. We use a strategy called Stop, Walk, Talk, Report, which empowers students to stop the bul-

lying in the first instance. They can then walk away from the situation and if it is on social media they have the power to block

someone. If the behaviour continues, the student can go to a peer support leader, SRC coordinator or see their Year Adviser for

help and if needed, it will be taken to the report stage. Unfortunately, past experience has taught us that social media is the

number one place that bullying occurs. With a very high percentage of our students having access to some form of social me-

dia, parents are encouraged to have open conversations with their children and know what they are posting online, as this is

where we see most of the problems occurring.

This may be helped in the future by the new mobile phone policy which will be introduced at Nyngan High School in Term 2.

More information will follow in the coming weeks, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many parents who

contributed to discussions and surveys. The response was overwhelming for the banning of mobile phones. We thank you for

your support and look forward to a successful introduction.

The first newsletter is also a timely reminder of the high expectations that are held at Nyngan High School. We are very proud

of our school and wish to produce well rounded and respectful students who will be valuable citizens in our community. Our

students are reminded that the uniform includes black leather shoes. Our black leather shoes are mandated by the department

and students can not complete a practical subject without them. This morning the students looked outstanding in their uniform.

Please contact us if you need help in securing any items of uniform.

Our Positive Education focus for this week is building social connections. We started our week by sharing positive thoughts

from our first school days of the year. By believing and showing that other people matter in face to face interactions, we are

inviting them to connect with us. The happiest and healthiest people have strong social connections to family, friends and oth-

ers. When you feel a sense of belonging and acceptance, feel good brain chemicals, oxytocin and serotonin are released filling

you with gratitude and kindness. This can reduce feeling of anxiety, improve your health and boost your academic growth.

What better reasons to connect with someone else, by giving a compliment or a helping hand; something we are aiming to do

this week at Nyngan High School.

I look forward to another awesome year at Nyngan High School as we

continue on our path of excellence.

Angie Bush Deputy Principal

English/HSIE News

The English/HSIE faculty begins the year in earnest, despite losing crowd favourites Mr Arnull and Miss Scott to the Science

Faculty for 2020. We welcome the inimitable Mr Matheson to the faculty, from whom everyone expects big things. Miss Ma-

son also joins the team as a Stage 4 English teacher and is already injecting some great enthusiasm. Miss Boyden takes over

from Miss Scott as NHS’s drama teacher and is busily programming for a big year. Our most experienced teachers, Mr Par-

tridge and Miss Rixon, have returned from the break with some great ideas they look forward to implementing.

Here’s what’s happening in our classes this term:

Stage 4 English are beginning a novel study on ‘Then’ by Morris Gleitzman as a part of the unit ‘Children of World War 2’.

Our teachers are well equipped to deal with this sensitive topic, as a number of them have visited Nazi concentration camps

recently and are able to share these stories.

Stage 4 History have begun a unit on the Ancient Egyptians, which promises to be an engaging and valuable introduc-

tion to concepts of history for our Year 7 students.

Aboriginal Language classes are looking at some pronunciation of the local Ngiyampaa language to ensure when the

language is passed on it is done so effectively.

Stage 5 English has begun a unit on the exper iences of migrants. The focus of this unit is a study of Anh Do’s memoir

‘The Happiest Refugee’, which our students always love.

Stage 5 Geography is getting stuck into a topic around environmental management. This is a great oppor tunity to local-

ise some geographical content as we address some environmental change we’re witnessing.

Stage 5 Drama are building plays that are based on the exper iences of Stage 4 enter ing high school. We look forward to

some great performances from the class under Miss Boyden’s tutelage this year.

Stage 5 Aboriginal Studies are getting going with Mrs Hamblyn; she is excited by the great little class she has to work

with this year and I can’t wait to see what they come up with.

Society and Culture are working solidly on their Personal Interest Projects, with topics ranging from conspiracy theo-

ries to helicopter parents. Modern History continue their core topic of Power and Authority in the Modern World and Drama

with Verbatim Theatre. All Senior English classes have started well and we are all looking forward to a productive year.

T Miles

Head Teacher English/HSIE

Maths/CAPA News

2020 has presented a little change and shuffle of staff in the Mathematics/CAPA faculty. Mr Matheson decided he enjoyed

teaching English more than Maths but is still teaching one of the best classes in the school, Year 12 Mathematics Standard 1.

Mr Anull has reinvested himself in 2020 and is teaching mainly Science but he does come over and visit us and teach Year 11

Mathematics Standard. We welcome Miss Shannon Mason to our school as Nyngan High School’s TRS. She has settled in to

our friendly and diverse faculty and is sure to be a wonderful asset to our school and community. Thank you for accepting this

position at Nyngan High School and we know you will enjoy your time here. Make sure when you see her ‘up the street’ you

stop and say hello! The rest of Maths/CAPA faculty has remained unchanged with Miss Collier teaching predominantly Music,

Miss Hughan teaching Photography and Visual Arts, Miss Stafford teaching Dance and Mr Lennon and Mrs Buchanan teach-

ing Maths.

Year 12 Advanced have already star ted assessments in Mathematics and are working on tr igonometr ic functions. Year

12 Standard 2 are explor ing the topic of statistics where they are analysing data associated with bell curves. Year 12

Standard 1 are working on the networks topic and Mr Matheson is so excited at how well they are excelling at this top-

ic. All Year 12 are to be commended on the positive and efficient work ethic they display in their Maths classes every day.

Year 11 have settled well into Stage 6 Maths and are studying algebra in all classes. Presently this is a revision/

consolidation time for these students.

Stage 5E, O and A Mathematics are studying Proper ties of Geometr ical figures and have been learning how to find un-

known angles but most importantly providing reasoning for their answers. Stage 5V have been working with directed numbers,

focusing particularly on how some students will use directed numbers when they leave school. Stage 4 Mathematics are study-

ing Beginnings in Number where they have learned about ancient number systems, place value, the four operations and order

of operations. A shout out to Raylene Weldon who assisted us in learning some numbers in Ngiyampaa.

Stage 5 Visual Arts spent their fir st lesson making their own paintbrushes from native mater ials. They painted abstract backgrounds with these. For their second lesson they used oil pastels to draw magpies over the top. They had some fantastic results and should be very proud of themselves. Please enjoy their wonderful artworks.

In Music all stages are learning about pitch. Miss Collier explained this as students can hear Mr Lennon’s voice through a wall as opposed to her voice because his voice is deeper (not because he is crankier!).

In the holidays I found I love doing ‘alfakodos’! What! I hear you yell, so here is the explanation on how to complete them.

Letters A to Z have a number value.

Some are shown in the cells below.

Create remaining values using clues in centre cells.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to give me a call.

Have a fantastic fortnight and GO CANONBA!

Tanya Buchanan

Head Teacher Maths/CAPA

Best Start Year 7 Assessment

Dear parents and carers,

Year 7 students will participate in the Best Start Year 7 Assessment on Monday 24th February 2020.

Best Start Year 7 is an online literacy and numeracy assessment available to secondary schools that assesses key literacy and

numeracy skills of Year 7 students. It is designed to assist teachers to identify students who may require additional support in

developing their literacy and numeracy skills. The assessment is undertaken within the first five weeks of the school year.

The purpose of the Best Start Year 7 assessment is to provide feedback to teachers to help identify student needs. Feedback will

be provided to teachers who may choose to share this with students, parents and carers during teacher interview processes.

Best Start Year 7 is just one of a range of assessments the school uses to assess students.

Please inform the school if your child has special needs requiring support to complete an online assessment.

Optional advice:

Students will be asked to bring headphones or earbuds that plug into a computer to enable them to hear audio during the assess-

ment. Earbuds used for mobile phones or other portable devices may be suitable for use during the assessment. The type of

computer connection needed is a jack or USB.

If your child needs earbuds provided by the school, please contact the front office and a message will be passed on.

Tanya Buchanan

Stage 5

Visual Arts

TAS report

Welcome back to 2020. It is already looking like a great year and very busy as usual. The recent rain has put bigger smiles on

faces which is awesome to see.

I am currently at Burrendong on the Year 7 and Year 10 Peer Support excursion. We arrived today and everyone is keen to get

active and have a great time. I look forward to sharing photos and more news when I return.

Next week, Wednesday 19th February, is our Swimming Carnival and I urge everyone not just to attend but to get involved. It

is one of the best days of the year. You not only get to cool off in the water but encourage your friends and team members to

have a go. If you have a spare moment on Wednesday I encourage you to pop into the pool and see the great event for yourself.

Congratulations to our Year 11 students who have made a great start to their senior years of study. They look so grown up in

their uniform. I would also like to express my gratitude to Year 12 who have made a great start to the year with a positive atti-

tude. With only 3 terms left of their schooling it is time to take advantage of all the opportunities provided to maximise your

marks.

A big thank you to Tim Tulenew for filling in for Kiero. Our chooks survived the very hot weather and I am grateful for your

support.

Wishing everyone a great 2020.

Mrs Noelene Walsh

Head Teacher TAS

Burrendong Camp 2020

Science/Special Education Welcome to 2020! A new year, new beginnings, welcome to our new students and to our new Science teacher, Mr David Arnull, who we were lucky enough to have with us at the end of last year doing some casual work, but I would now like to offi-cially welcome as a permanent member of the team. It has been pleasing to see our new students settling in well and our returning students fitting back into routine with ease, mak-ing for a very positive start to the year. The MC rooms have made a great start with two new students who have come to us from the Primary School, it was lovely to be in a PDHPE lesson with these boys, learning about what they are good at, I look forward to seeing the strengths develop further in their time at Nyngan High School. Stage 4 has also welcomed a new cohort from the pr imary schools. In Science they have been enjoying learning their way around the laboratories, how to follow a scientific method and very importantly, the safety rules of a science lab. In doing so, these students have been designing some awesome safety posters to decorate our labs with. Stage 5 have hit the ground running, and are learning to calculate how fast while they are at it! They have star ted a physics topic on speed and motion, which have included lots of practicals to collect data for calculating speed, distance and time. Year 11 Chemistry and Biology have star ted their new courses very focused. Biology are learning about cells and their structure and function, which is requiring lots of microscope work. While Chemistry is looking at the properties and structure of matter. Year 12 are already well into their course, both Chemistry and Biology have star ted module 6. Year 12 Biology are learning about mutations and mutagens and how these genetic changes affect the human body, which gives rise to lots over very interesting questions and discussions. Year 12 Chemistry on the other hand are very busy in the lab discovering the prop-erties of acids and bases. Best wishes to all our students for a great year! Emma Partridge Head Teacher Science/Special Ed

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

There are no more monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught.

With doting parents and a best friend named Redemption, Jam has grown up with this lesson

all her life. But when she meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colours and claws, who

emerges from one of her mother’s paintings and a drop of Jam’s blood, she must reconsider

what she has been told.

Pet has come to hunt a monster, and the shadow

of something grim lurks in Redemption’s house.

Jam must fight not only to protect her best

friend, but also to uncover the truth

Yr 9 up

A New Kind of Everything by Richard Yaxley.

After their father’s reckless death in a car crash,

fourteen-year-old Dinny watches his mother and

brother moving towards a new and different life.

Once a promising student, Dinny is now in danger

of repeating his father’s behaviour, while his older

brother Carl sees an opportunity for independence.

But when Carl becomes involved in the aggressive

agenda of an anti-immigration group, a different

crisis develops—leading the family to tragedy,

insight, and rebirth.

Yr 9 and up

19 Love Songs by David

Levithan

In this collection of old and new short sto-

ries, David Levithan explores the different

kinds of love we experience in our lifetime:

romantic, familial, and platonic.

Structured like a playlist of music, readers

are encouraged to feel the changing seasons

of love and consider how we learn to love

ourselves, others, and the world.

Yr 9 and up

The Girl in the Gold Bikini by Lisa Walker

‘Whenever I see a girl with a gold bikini, I think of Princess Leia. Here on the

Gold Coast, gold bikinis are common, so I think of Princess Leia a lot’

Olivia Grace has deferred her law degree and ducked out of her friends’ gap-year

tour os Asia. Instead, she’s fulfilling her childhood dream of becoming a private

investigator.

Playing Watson to the Sherlock of her childhood friend, detective agency owner

Rosco (once the Han Solo to her Princess Leia), Olivia pursues a routine cheating

-husband case from the glitzy Gold Coast to Insta-perfect Byron Bay, where she

faces yoga wars, dirty whale activism and a guru who is kind of a creep.

Yr 9 and up

Shadow Skye Book 1: The Good Hawk by Joseph Elliott

If everything was taken from you, what would you do to get it back?

Agatha patrols the sea wall with pride, despite those in her clan who ques-

tion her right to be there because of the condition she was born with.

Jaime is a reluctant Angler, full of self-doubt and afraid of the sea. What

disaster strikes, the pair must embark on a terrifying journey to a land where

forgotten magic and dark secrets lurk in every shadow.

All years

Tiger Heart by Penny Chrimes

One magical friendship.

One roaring adventure.

Fly never meant to end up in a cage with a man-eating tiger. But even

though she’s sure she’s no princess, when the tiger addresses her as ‘your

majesty’, she can’t help but vow to free him and return him home.

But the bird-filled jungles and cloud-topped mountains of the tiger’s home-

land are an ocean away, and dark and dangerous forces are working against

them.

Will Fly be able to fulfil her promise and become the queen her tiger knows

her to be.

All years.

We have been gifted with almost the whole series of Assasins’s Creed

books, based on the popular historical game. If you are a lover of the

game, get yourself down to the library and continue the adventures

with Ezio, Connor, Sofia, and Altair. All the excitement and mayhem

of the game with the added advantage of your imagination.

Remember, readers

are leaders. Get

your nose in a book

and grow your

brain.