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- From the Principal, Carol Thorsby
- 2021 Broome Tour Fundraiser
- GRIP Leadership
- Hi From the School Nurse
- Positive Behaviour Support, a new approach!
- NAPLAN ONLINE 2021 UPDATE
- Country Week trials and team selection commences
- Manjimup Repertory Club Presents....................
- MUSICAL ‘JAM’ SESSIONS IN BRIDGETOWN
- Free SW Parenting Workshops
- UWA Camps
- Grow Greenbushes wants to hear from you!
- Open Day
- Transition Bridgetown
- What's happening at school next term?
From the Principal, Carol Thorsby
I would like to share with you some good news regarding one of our students. We are very proud of Alyx Bermingham who applied for and has been awarded a prestigious James and Rose Coombe Scholarship. These scholarships are offered to students who attend a public school situated outside a radius of 65 kilometres from Perth. The scholarships are awarded to help promising country public schools scholars and scholarship holders are awarded a substantial bursary to assist with their education. Congratulations to Alyx on being awarded this honour.
The next two weeks will see our students in Years 7 and 9 participate in NAPLAN testing. Your support is important at this time as for some students, these tests can be quite an anxious time. You can assist by reassuring your child that NAPLAN is just another step along their education journey, by ensuring your child has plenty of rest and are eating well and that they attend regularly during this time. Please feel free to contact the school and speak with Mrs Hardey on 9761 0100 if you have any concerns or would like more information.
Planning is well underway for both the 2021 Broome Tour and Country Week, which will both take place in Term 3. These events are by invitation and preference will be given to those students who have good attendance and attitude, and who have paid all outstanding monies to the school. The Broome Tour invitation list has been finalised and Country Week teams will be finalised in the coming weeks.
Staff at the school continue to look at ways that we can improve our practise. We have been working on a “Moral Purpose” statement which aims to encapsulate why we do what we do as a school. Developing this statement is an important step towards making sure all we do is focussed and has real purpose. It is an important step along our Fogarty Edvance journey. A draft of this statement will be presented to the School Council for comment and input when they meet tomorrow afternoon at 4:00pm in the school library. Please feel free to come along to the meeting and be involved. P and C members will also have the opportunity to comment at their next meeting.
Our Positive Behaviour in Schools (PBS) Committee have also been working hard on developing a set of values to guide student behaviour within the school. I know the group is keen to have parent input so look out for this communication.
It was wonderful to meet a number of Year 6 students from Bridgetown PS, St Bridget’s PS, Greenbushes PS and Balingup PS this morning, when they attended the first of our Transition to Year 7 sessions that we offer throughout the year. The Transition program is a wonderful experience for students as it gives them a “taste” of what high school and our school in particular has to offer. This invitation is open to all Year 6 students from the above schools and I would encourage parents to take up this opportunity and see what a wonderful school Bridgetown High School is and what we have on offer.
Until next time
Mrs C. A Thorsby
Principal
When: Saturday 15th May, 2021
Where: Shire Kiosk next to the Pharmacy
What: Wood raffle and produce stall
All proceeds go to the Broome Tour
Throughout the day, we had many opportunities to mix with other schools and hear about their fun events and interesting new ideas. After every break, we had elective options, with the first one being how to involve more students in our school events, and how to create ideas for our school – which may not be events. Our choice was for half of us to go to one elective and the other half to go to the other. This way we would all get the information needed. Over the rest of the day, we had many opportunities to get up on stage for everyone’s favourite segment ‘Loud Noises’. Eva got to show off her knowledge of Celebrity Heads and Smith got up on stage to show off his not-so-specky dance moves. Emily also got to compete in a paper plane competition, which of course she won!
Every year, Edith Cowan University runs a competition to win a Teen’s Gift Card. Luck must run in the Bridgetown High School veins because last year, Sophie Boswell won it and this year, Eva took out top prize!
At the end of the day, we made our annual stop at McDonald’s. Some of us may have bought more than others, but no one bought anywhere near as much as Smith! Almost $50 was spent on his food, with a mixture of burgers and ice creams. All his eating ended up making him very sleepy though. With a quick car shuffle and everyone back on the road, we set off back for Bridgetown. Smith, with a belly full of food, had a sleep before we finally made it back home.
On behalf of the Student Forum, we would like to say a huge thank you to Mrs Alice Karafilis for her amazing driving and song choices, and Mr Pantou for being the teacher in charge for the day and listening to a lot of footy talk throughout the day.
Top Ten Tips for Parents of Teenagers
1. Be the kind of adult you want your kids to become. Actively decide to lead by example. Really think about what you do and say (and how you say it) every day.
2. Save your energy for important issues. Try to avoid knee-jerk or instinctive reactions, especially if you often disagree. Rather than react immediately, pause to think about whether the issue is important in the long term, and about other ways to respond.
3. Remember their brains are easily switched to ‘high alert’. Avoid triggering your teenager’s automatic ‘fight or flight’ response when you want to talk to them. Ask them if it’s a good time to talk; sit down; use a calm, gentle voice; find out more about their feelings.
4. Timing is everything. Only talk about problem issues when everyone’s calm and relaxed, not busy, stressed or in a hurry. Schedule a meeting, and agree beforehand that as a family, you will calmly explore issues so you can all get along better.
5. Learn a new language. Break the habit of speaking to your teenager as you did when they were younger. Try chatting with them more like you would with a work colleague or acquaintance. Share ideas, offer choices, negotiate; value their contribution.
6. Teach risk-evaluation skills. Prompt your teenager to think about potentially risky situations ahead of time, and to consider the likely outcomes of various choices. Rather than lay down the law, ask ‘what if…’ questions and help them to come up with possible options and action plans.
7. Stay in touch. Have regular positive conversations about day-to-day activities so you know what your teenager is doing, and keep up to date with new technology. Ask them to show you what they’re interested in and how it works.
8. Involve them in making decisions. Allow for change as they become older. Help them take on new responsibilities. Be flexible and let them have a say wherever possible. Hold family meetings so they can contribute ideas and have their opinions heard and valued.
9. Turn the ‘need for novelty’ and peer group acceptance into a positive. Help your teenager find supervised group activities they enjoy. Regular activity – even if it’s not sport – and good eating and sleep patterns are vital for physical and mental health. Limit screen time appropriately.
10. Be a safe sounding board. Teenagers’ emotions are often intense, and they’re struggling to find their place in the world. Encourage them to discuss new ideas and values at home, without rejection or ridicule. Help them figure out problems and possibilities.
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As a reminder, all Year 7 and 9 students will sit the NAPLAN tests in weeks four and five. You may recall that an information sheet was sent home at the end of term one, outlining the NAPLAN online format and the best ways to help prepare your child.
The testing window will kick off on Tuesday 11th May, with our students tackling the 65 minute Reading test. This will be followed up by the Writing test on Wednesday 12th May, with writing catch-up tests being scheduled for absent students on Thursday 13th May. The following week, students will sit the Conventions of Language test on Monday 17th May, followed by the Numeracy test on Tuesday 18th May. For the remainder of that week, catch-up tests will be scheduled for any students who were absent during the Reading, Conventions of Language and Numeracy tests.
Our Year 7 and 9 English and Mathematics teachers have been busily preparing our students by giving them access to the online practice tests, and by focusing on specific skills and concepts in their classes that may need to be demonstrated during the testing.
If you have not yet done so, please take the time to look at the NAPLAN online information that is available at: https://nap.edu.au/
Here, you will find all the information relevant to the testing including reporting of results and individual test parameters.
If you have any questions about NAPLAN online, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Hardey by phone on 9761 0100 or via email on Rebecca.Hardey@education.wa.edu.au
Country Week trials and team selection commences
Country Week trials and team selections are underway and almost finalised! The District High School's Country Week will be held from the 19th - 24th September (Week 10 Term 3). Trials were held for basketball, volleyball and netball across the end of term 1 during break times with year 9's and 10's and some invited year 8's to make the Bridgetown High School Country Week squad for 2021. There was a lot of talent to see across the multiple sports, and with only limited places available it was great to see the students’ drive and tenacity when trialling.
Once teams have been selected and announced, we will be holding a meeting with the Country Week Squad of 2021 to explain that each member must uphold the following agreement if they wish to attend:
- Students must have at least 80% school attendance
- Students must have their Good Standing in place
- Students must have all schoolwork up to date and completed
- Students must actively participate in all classes
Parents and carers will be informed if their child/ren have made the Country Week Squad for 2021 and will be required to sign an agreement along with their child/ren and have their child/ren bring it back to the school.
If you have any questions about Country Week, please contact Miss McDonald or Miss Cicchini during school hours on 9761 0100.
MUSICAL ‘JAM’ SESSIONS IN BRIDGETOWN
Blackwood Youth Action (BYA) will be running a weekly music workshop, or jam session, for young people aged 12-25 years in the Warren Blackwood region. These sessions will be run on Thursday afternoons from 4.00pm-6.00pm at the old Bridgetown Courthouse, near the Police Station. The first jam session will be held on Thursday, May 13th.
It is BYA's hope that the jam session will be a space where young people can come and feel supported and comfortable enough to express themselves, work on their musical skills, and enjoy playing as part of a group. We plan to incorporate some song writing as well with the end goal being an album creation. We do encourage young people to bring their own instruments along however, BYA does have a selection of instruments for those who do not own one or are unable to bring one with them.
We look forward to seeing you JAM!
View the link for more FREE South West Parenting Workshops
What's happening at school next term?
School Calendar
Public Holiday - Good Friday
All day |
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School Holidays
30 Mar 2024 - 14 Apr 2024 |
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School Development Day - Pupil Free Day
All day |
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Students Return for Term 2
All day |
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OLNA Year 10
22 Apr 2024 - 03 May 2024 |
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Public Holiday - Anzac Day
All day |