September 2011

23rd

Yr12 Graduation Last day of Term 3

October 2011 10

th Term 4 commences

17th - 11

th Nov HSC Examinations

31st - 4

th Nov Capers

November 2011 7

th -11

th School Certificate Examinations

11th

Yr12 Formal 16

th -18

th Yr7/8 - Great Aussie Bush Camp

December 2011 6

th Presentation Evening, 7pm in the School Hall

13th

Finance Committee Meeting, 5:30 in the Meeting Room 16

th Last day of term for all students

19th - 20

th Staff Development Days

20th

Last day of term for all staff

Date Issued : 22/09/2011

Tamworth High School

THE BUZZ Willis Street, Tamworth NSW 2340

Telephone: 6765 7888

Fax: 6762 1264

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

Website: http://www.tamworth-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

THS Wins State Hockey Title Last Thursday the Tamworth High School Open Boys Hockey team took out the

NSW Combined High Schools State Title. The Telstra Cup has come back to

Tamworth High for the third time, after wins in 1986 and 2004. (Story continued inside)

Tamworth High School P & C Association Inc.

L.Courtney Secretary ( thsp_and_c@yahoo.com.au)

The Tamworth High School P&C would like to wish everyone a good and safe

holiday. All the best to the Graduating Year 12 students and make the most of the

holiday break for study leading up to the HSC.

THS Presentation Night Our Presentation Night will be on Tuesday 6th

December at 7pm. Parents will be notified of students receiving awards. Please

help us celebrate their successes by being there.

2012 Prefects Congratulations to the young men & women who have been elected

to lead the student body from Term 4 this year. We extend an invitation to you &

your parents, & look forward to meeting you at our October P&C meeting

Tuesday 18th October to outline your goals and aspirations whilst in office.

Mum is on the frontline Volunteering is all in a day‟s work for

Tamworth woman Annette Seagrave. Mrs

Seagrave was recently acknowledged for

her work with an award for Excellent

Contribution to Education. She has been

associated with public schools since 1993,

volunteering at Tamworth West Public

School and Tamworth High School. Mrs Seagrave said it was important for her

to be involved with her children and their education. She has three daughters,

Kelly, Danielle and current Tamworth High School Captain Madeline. Mrs

Seagrave, who has lived in Tamworth for 28 years, said she was surprised to

receive the award. “There are a lot of people who do a lot of things for the

school,” Mrs Seagrave said. Over the years she has organised Tamworth High

fundraising balls, helped with the Mothers‟ Club, worked on canteen, been an

active P&C member, and has been a classroom helper. Mrs Seagrave has also

been heavily involved in school and community sport, coordinating and

coaching Tamworth High School Hockey teams and helping out with Water

Polo. “I‟ve met lifelong friends over the years,” she said. “Being involved

means you also get to know your children‟s friends and have a great network

there. “I appreciate all the opportunities Public Education has given my

children, so it‟s about giving back a little bit.” (Story and photo compliments of the Northern Daily Leader)

NAPLAN Parent Reports 2011

Students in Yrs 7 & 9 were given their parent reports to take home on Tuesday

September 13th 2011. Students completed five NAPLAN tests during May. These

were Reading, Grammar and Punctuation, Writing, Numeracy (calculator) &

Numeracy (non-calculator). The NAPLAN is a nation-wide test & our School

results are used on the „My School‟ website. The School receives a very

comprehensive report on how our students performed in all aspects of the tests.

Our School results are provided electronically and this enables us to examine the

data in lots of different ways. Our challenge now is to analyse our results and use

them to maximise the learning outcomes for all students.

Please contact Mrs Joan O‟Sullivan or Miss Karen Coombes at the School if you

have any questions regarding the NAPLAN or your child‟s report.

CHS Athletics In Wk 8 three THS athletes travelled to Homebush in Sydney for the NSW CHS

Athletics Championships. Luke Blackler competed in the 100m, Long Jump &

Triple Jump in the 17 yrs age group. He made the final of both the 100m & the

Long Jump, thus placing him in the top 8 of the state in both events. Sheydin

Thompson ran in the 12 yrs 800 metres & put in a very strong performance

against some talented opposition. Nick Price competed in the 12 yrs discus &

placed sixth in the state, a great result that has encouraged him to work & train

harder next year to improve on this. Well done to these young athletes.

Exchange Student Returns

Saori Shiraki attended Tamworth HS in 2004 as an AFS Exchange Student. Since

leaving THS she returned to Japan, completing a Degree at a Tokyo University,

then travelled to the US to complete a Masters Degree at a University in Los

Angeles. Saori now works with a foreign exchange company in Tokyo. While at

Tamworth High she visited some teachers and spoke to current exchange student

Yuka. Saori is having a brief holiday in Australia and said she just had to return

to Tamworth, a place which played a significant part in her life experiences.

9 Pass—The Ultimate Sports Unit This term Yr9 Physical Activity & Sports Science (PASS) class has been

participating in an Ultimate Sports Unit focusing on the sports of Ultimate

Frisbee, Table Tennis & Tenpin. The PASS students have been learning about the

specific rules & how to correctly score these sports. They have also been given

the opportunity to practice the specific skills for each sport in preparation of the

9PASS Table Tennis Championships & the Tenpin Challenge. The Table Tennis

Championships identified some „up & coming‟ talent in James Psarakis, Thomas

Smith & Chris Coulton. In the Tenpin challenge students were competing for the

highest score, a pre-determined score on their first bowl in the sixth frame & a

predetermined mystery score. Our weekly winners are listed below. A special

thanks to Susan at the Tamworth Tenpin Centre for creating an electric bowling

atmosphere by turning out the lights and elevating the music, to a level only

students appreciate!

6th Frame Specific Score Highest Score Mystery Score

X 4 7

Wk 1 Dulkara

Pearce

Ryan Higgins

Chris Coulton

Chris Coulton

Wk 2 Maddison

Cameron-

Walker

(93) Ryan

McCann

(138) Lauren

Nicholls

Wk 3 Ryan

McCann

Harry

Webster

George

Craswell

(96) Daniel Pyne

(113)Rhiannon

Bradburn

Open Boys

Netball Semi Finalists For the 6th year in succession THS

qualified for the 2011 Open Boys

NSW CHS Netball finals in Miranda.

THS drew Pool A with our

opposition being Northlakes HS,

Kirrawee HS & Leeton HS. Our pool

was reduced to 4 teams with the

Western Region withdrawing from

the competition. In game 1: THS came up against Northlakes HS (Sydney

North), the team we defeated in the semi-finals by one goal last year, in a nail-

biting finish. Sam Wall was strong in attack while Tony Fisk was sensational in

defense, however a slow start by our boys proved the difference, unable to

bridge the gap, losing 25-24. In game 2: THS met Kirrawee HS (Sydney East)

in a closely contested encounter which again saw THS commence slowly and

trail by 5 goals after the first quarter. THS gained momentum in the second

quarter by some well executed moves from Adam Sipple, Ryan Martin, Brandan

Horner & Sam Wall. Once ahead the boys maintained their lead, winning the

game 27-25. In game 3: THS played Leeton HS (Riverina) in a must-win game

to progress to the semi-finals. THS were always the stronger which enabled a

full rotation of the bench, winning 38-31. The boys used the afternoon to

recover with a swim at Cronulla beach & a game of touch football/soccer on the

sand.

The semi-final saw THS meet Bulli HS who finished first in Pool B. The other

semi-final saw Northlakes (winner of Pool A) play Merewether HS (runner up

of Pool B). The boys played this game like it was their final & tried valiantly to

progress to their second final in succession. Bulli had a player sent off &

unfortunately THS were unable to convert & take advantage of the extra player.

Adam Sipple, Tony Fisk & Stephen Gardiner were defensively strong against an

impressive Bulli offensive outfit. Ryan Martin continued to work hard &

intercept passes however we were unable to bridge the 2 goal margin that Bulli

maintained throughout the game, losing 24-22. In the other semi-final,

Northlakes went down to Merewether, with THS ironically having a rematch

against Northlakes High for the 3rd & 4th playoff. With a number of players

injured the team were given the option to play out of position & enjoy their final

game. THS would eventually go down 34-19 & finish fourth in the NSW CHS

State titles. It was a fantastic effort by all players & support crew. Six

consecutive years as State Finalists highlights the success of this team &

unfortunately the boy‟s competition has been abandoned for 2012. So

congratulations go out to all players present & past that were a part of this

successful sporting culture at THS.

Jordan in Touch with Gold at

National Youth Championships THS‟s talented touch player Jordan

Bath last week represented

NSWCHS at the National Youth

Championships in Caloundra.

Jordan, earlier in the year, was

selected in the State Side which was

one of 21 teams from across the

country that competed at this

carnival. Her team met with outstanding success at this event coming away

with an unbeaten record to be crowned Number One in Australia. In the round

games NSWCHS defeated :

South West Queensland Swans 15-3

ACT 11-1

Northern Territory 19-1

Sydney Scorpions 17-2

South Queensland Sharks 8-3

These were all fantastic results. Jordan then competed in the final series with

strong wins over South Queensland Sharks 11-1 in the quarter final &

Combined Catholic Colleges 8-3 in the semi- final. This saw them reach the

final against Queensland Secondary School Touch, always the arch rival to

NSWCHS in Australian touch. This was a hard fought contest with Jordan &

NSW coming out on top 6-5 allowing them to take the gold medal. Reports

from the carnival all suggest that Jordan was one of the stars for the NSW team

with her also being crowned top try scorer from all teams competing with a

magnificent total of 23 tries. Jordan was also favoured to win the sprint but

was unable to compete as she was preparing for the final. This caps an

outstanding year for Jordan, a magnificently gifted touch player & wonderful

sportswoman in every respect. Congratulations Jordy!

Purple Bee

Winners!

Congratulations to

Yr12 who have won

the second Purple Bee

Competition!

Oztag Gala Day

During Wk7 of this term THS entered

12 teams (approximately 130 junior

school students) to compete in the

North West Oztag Gala Day. THS had

a very successful day with many teams

winning matches & three teams

making the final playoffs. THS was

sure to come away with one

championship trophy as THS Titans played THS Blues in the Junior division

final. This was a great game which showed the depth of skill & talent in

Oztag in our junior school. It was a very close encounter with THS Titans

winning 3-2. THS also had a team reach the final of the Junior Girls

division. They were undefeated throughout the competition but when it came

to the final there were some weary legs & a couple of injuries which had an

impact on the result with Oxley HS defeating our girls 4-3. Congratulations

to all the students who participated in the gala day, they all represented THS

to the highest of standards & showed great sportsmanship throughout the day.

THS 14yrs North West Netball Knockout

THS has had a very successful start to the 14yrs Netball Knockout. After

convincingly winning Round One & Two against Oxley HS & Quirindi HS

respectively, THS faced local rivals Peel HS in what was supposed to be a

tough encounter. THS started the game very strongly putting a lot of pressure

on Peel‟s dominate players & were leading the first quarter 13 - 2. THS never

relented throughout the entire match & all team members played strongly to

convincingly win 51- 20. Round Four saw THS take on Glen Innes HS at the

Sports Dome. This was by far our most challenging match with Glen Innes

adopting the 'never say die' attitude. THS started the game slowly with our

passes not going to the targets & our shooting accuracy failing us, however, it

wasn't long before the girls pulled it together & finished off the first quarter to

lead 11- 5. The next quarter saw THS dominate across the court with

Madeleine Park putting Glen Innes under pressure all the way down the court

& Grace Endacott finishing off with some lovely goals. THS went on to win

the game 43-22 in what was a

tougher game than the score may

indicate. THS are now through to

the Regional Final & the opposition

is unknown at this stage, however,

the game is likely to be played early

next term.

2011 Northern NSW State Futsal Championships THS‟s U19 & U15 Boys Futsal teams both travelled to Newcastle for the

Northern NSW Futsal Titles. Both teams competed against Newcastle, Hunter

Valley, Lake Macquarie, Mid North Coast, Far North Coast & the North Coast.

The U19‟s team had a number of players backing up from the Open Boys Netball

State titles in Sydney while the U15 boys travelled from Tamworth the day before.

The U15‟s boys had one win, a draw and two losses & with a majority of the boys

in Yr 8 they will have the opportunity to compete again next year. The U19‟s

team commenced the tournament slowly against Taree High trailing 2-0 early in

the first half. The boys clicked into gear with a strike from Jackson Neal that

catapulted the confidence of all players, drawing even & eventually winning the

game 4-2. The boys met Rutherford HS in their next encounter & this game was

cut short due to a suspected injury, stopping our game, with THS leading 3-1.

Once cleared, this stoppage resulted in all games being reduced to 5 minutes each

way. THS then met St Phillips in their last game, only requiring a draw to qualify

for the semi-finals. THS dominated the early proceedings leading 2-1 at half time.

The half time break saw a resurgence by St Phillips scoring 2 quick goals in

succession in the second half, winning 3-2. THS required Taree HS to either beat

Rutherford or prevent them from scoring 5 goals. If Rutherford were to score

more than 4 goals THS would be relegated to third place & miss a place in the

semi-finals. Fortunately, Taree limited Rutherford to 4 goals allowing THS to

progress into the semi-finals to meet Duval HS (Winner of Pool A).

THS played their best futsal against Duval with an excellent display of passing &

shooting skills leading 3-1 at the end of the first half. Despite the dominance of

THS, Duval rallied late & managed to score 2 late

goals & finish the game the stronger. The game then

went to a penalty shoot-out & Matthew Lysaght

managed to save two strikes while THS didn‟t miss

a shot, winning the penalty shoot-out 4-2. THS had

a rematch against St Phillips, Newcastle in the final.

THS played well in a game that St Phillips

controlled. THS displayed some very tired legs &

had played their best futsal in the semi-finals. THS

lost the final 5-0 & finished second in the Northern

NSW Futsal State titles. Player of the series for

THS was shared between Matthew Lysaght and

Jackson Neal, with Matthew saving some excellent

strikes & Jackson for mesmerising the oppositions

defence. A special thanks must go out to Mrs

Lysaght, Mr Lysaght and Miss Bricknell for

transporting the U15‟s team down to Newcastle &

Mr Porter for driving the bus.

Primary Partnerships

Stage 3 work with Sheep Tamworth South Public School have commenced an Agriculture program at

Tamworth High School Agricultural area with Ms Peggy Maxwell. This week

students were learning about rounding up sheep, care of sheep, sheep behaviour

and sheep on farms. Students will also be learning about chickens, gardening,

farm machinery and living and working on a farm.

Water Polo

The Tuesday night comp for the season 2011/12 will commence on the

18/10/2011 at 6pm. There will be a 14's, 16's and an Open School boys/B

grade men's competition. Interested players who do not have a team, will be

placed within a team.

Any queries please contact Ross White on 0408 614 182

Friday 4th and Saturday 5th November 2011

Tickets on sale at Tamworth Information Centre

Phone 6755 4300

www.visittamworth.com

2011 QANTAS WALLA Rugby Week Last Tuesday 13th of September, THS Girls Rugby Union side participated in

the North West Rugby Union Gala Day. The Gala day was a 10 a side

competition to encourage greater numbers into playing the game of rugby union

& to coincide with the beginning of the Rugby World Cup. THS Girls

combined with Peel HS to form a side for the day. We played a best out of

three round robin against a combined Warialda/Binaway side. The Warialda/

Binaway side had a lot of North West Reps in their team so we knew we were

in for a tough day. It was a stifling hot spring day, & the key to winning the

event was to spread the ball quickly & make plenty of subs. We were confident

in our attack & knew we could score points if we could tighten up our defence

& come away with the win. Our first game didn‟t go according to plan losing

by a try, 5-0. The second game was a tightly drawn out affair with play see

sawing throughout the game ending in a 5 all draw. The third game we had to

win by more than 7 points in order to take out the trophy. It went down to the

wire & with seconds only to go we managed to score & with a successful

conversion by Whitney Livermore, we were now North West Girls U17

champions! All the girls played well on the day, & we even had a few who

had never played before strap on the boots! The Tamworth High girls were,

Melanie Doring, Renee Cutmore, Taneeka Chisholm, Kayla Jefferies-Tapper,

Kayla McGrath, Kyesha Brown, Whitney Livermore.

Northern Excursion 2012 Attention all Yr9 Students! If you are already nominated for

this fantastic excursion you will know that you are in for the

trip of a life-time. If you would still like to nominate to come

on board & be part of this incredible experience, PLEASE let me know at

school by Friday 14th October. This will be the final closing date for numbers.

This is an opportunity to experience different cultures, visit parts of our country

& is also an opportunity to bond as a group for your future transition into the

senior years at THS. A deposit of $250 needs to be paid to the front office &

the receipt & permission note needs to be handed in to Mrs Murray in the Food

Tech staffroom. Mrs J Murray

Everingham Solomons Law Bursary

Each year, Everingham Solomons offers a Tamworth,

Gunnedah, Manilla or Quirindi Yr12 student wishing to

undertake university study in law the opportunity to receive a

Bursary funded by this firm. The Sir Adrian Solomons

Memorial Law Bursary was first granted in 1998. It provides

financial assistance for the successful applicant during their

first year as well as an opportunity to gain valuable work

experience in our offices periodically throughout the duration

of their studies. In September each year the Principals of local high schools are

contacted and advised of the details. Interested students can then liaise with the

principal or careers advisor, who will assist them in making a formal application

for this Bursary. The selection process does not depend solely on academic

merit. We appreciate that students come from a variety of backgrounds and

accordingly the selection process concentrates on the attributes of the student as

a whole rather than merely academic achievement.

Recipient of the Bursary will receive:

Two weeks per year paid work experience in the offices of Everingham

Solomons

$1000 to go towards tuition fees or books

Prerequisites

You must be intending to enrol in a Bachelor of Law Degree and

subsequently commence study.

How to apply?

Contact your Principal or Careers Advisor who will assist you in making

an application or email our Office Manager at mbrooks@eversol.com.au

enclosing a letter of application and a copy of your resume (noting contact

details including mobile phone number and email address). Applications

close end of November.

Previous recipients

Daniel Daley (Oxley High School)

Laura Daley (Oxley High School)

Sheree Cadman (McCarthy Catholic College)

Kate Biffin (Calrossy School)

Rebecca Greenland (Calrossy School)

Kasey McLoughlin (Calrossy School)

Jarrad Smith (Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School)

Clint Coles (Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School)

Tahlia Stewart (Quirindi High School)

Miriam Hicks (Quirindi High School)

Emma Greenland (Calrossy School)

THS Wins State

Hockey Title After winning the Regional Final

against Oxley HS 5-3, & then

defeating Leumeah HS 15-1, the

team travelled to Moorebank in

Sydney to contest the final 8

playoffs. Their first opponent was Taree HS in a quarter-final. The result was a 7

-2 win to THS with goals scored by Brandan Horner (3), Thomas Smith (2), Ryan

Martin & James Psarakis. Although this was a strong win, & the team were never

in danger of losing, there was still room for improvement. This certainly

happened in the second game. Playing just an hour after their quarter-final, their

semi-final opponent was Murwillumbah HS who had defeated Albury earlier in

the day. This game also resulted in a clear cut win 6-2. The boys played a very

spirited & constructive game that highlighted their skills. Their accurate passing,

strong tackling & accurate shooting ensured their progression to the final. The

goal scorers were Thomas Smith & Brandan Horner (5).

The final was played against Parkes HS who had won their earlier games in

similar emphatic style. The game was delayed for two hours after some early

games went to extra time, & the decision to play the boys final after the girls final

on the preferred water based surface. When the game finally began it was

apparent that it would be a tight game, with both teams marking each other tightly

& trying to gain some ascendancy. THS pressed strongly in the first ten minutes

& earned a few short corners, but strong defence from Parkes kept them out.

Parkes then scored a breakaway goal against the run of play & THS were down

nil-1. They soon hit back though with a field goal scored by Thomas Smith after

some good passing saw the ball sweep downfield. Another goal soon after to

Ryan Martin saw THS go 2-1 up. Then just before half-time Parkes hit back with

another goal to have the half-time score locked at 2 all. The second half saw THS

lift their game & they soon scored again through Dylan McClelland.

Unfortunately Parkes yet again caught up & levelled at 3 all. From then on THS

exerted their authority & scored three more goals through Ryan Martin, Brandan

Horner and Kieran Betts. The most pleasing aspect of this performance was that

the team‟s goals came from the field & were the result of clever passing &

teamwork. Strong committed defence was needed throughout the game & the

boys certainly threw themselves into it. The 6-3 final score reflected the tenacity

& skill of the team as they rightfully lifted the trophy.

The team was made up of Co-Captains Brandan Horner & Ryan Martin, who

along with Joshua Worpel & Jake Corney (goalkeeper) literally formed the

backbone of the team. Josh, Ryan & Brandan filled the positions down the centre

of the field & cleverly alternated with each other throughout the games. Their

ability to combine strong defence & penetrating attack had the other teams

constantly under pressure. Jake was aggressive & safe in goals & was invaluable

in directing play from the back. They were more than ably supported by Matthew

Carter at back, whose defence continued to improve over the three games &

break down many opposition attacks. The halves, James Psarakis & Jack

Penfold, played key roles in providing the link between attack & defence. They

were frequently called upon to cover large areas of the field as they sought to

cover the Parkes strikers. Jimmy‟s talk & encouragement of others was

particularly valuable. Matthew Sing, even though only in Yr 7, was able cover

for the halves, bringing off some great tackles, as well providing invaluable

sideline commentary. Inside forwards Nathan Mann & David Willis were tireless

in all games. Playing in these demanding roles they did everything that was

asked of them and showed maturity & determination beyond their years. The

strikers Thomas Smith, Dylan McClelland & Kieran Betts were constant thorns in

the sides of the opposition, putting pressure on the Parkes backs & working back

to cut off passes. Brock Smith in his first season of hockey did everything asked

of him when he took the field & his assistance this season has been invaluable.

Cameron Murray & Jason Simmons were also key team members who were

unable to travel to Sydney, but their help along the way was invaluable.

Tamworth High can be rightfully proud of this great team, comprising boys from

Years 12 to 7, whose on-field heroics were matched by their sportsmanship.

They never questioned decisions & supported each other positively at all times.

As coach I can say it was a pleasure to take them away & they fully deserve this

title. Thanks also go to Mr Pett, the bus driver, & the supportive parents who

came down to Sydney.