Court Street GILGANDRA NSW 2827

Phone: 6847 2276 Fax: 6847 1288

Principal Mr Neal Reed

Deputy

Mr Joshua Webb

Head Teachers: English/HSIE Mrs Fiona Lambell Mathematics Mr Steven Schier Science Miss Sheryn West TAS Mr Russell Woollams Support Mrs Di Irvin

Year Advisors: Year 7 Miss Nicola Murphy Year 8 Mr Andrew McCutcheon Year 9 Mrs Laura Jordan and Mrs Di Irvin Year 10 Miss Kristy Smith Year 11 Mrs Jessica Reed Year 12 Mrs Stacey O’Neill P & C President Mr Paul Alchin AECG President Ms Deidrie Naden ARCO Mrs Meredith Schier

Principals Report Schools must be places where we are intentional about developing student leadership. I was very pleased to see the number, and the calibre, of the young people represented on stage Wednesday morning at our Leadership Induction Assembly. The roles of young leaders is incredibly important, not least because of the place they have in being role models for others, and their future impact. At Gilgandra High School we punch well above our weight when it comes to student achievement and it is true to say that the impact of former students within and beyond Gilgandra is significant. I am proud to welcome our new leaders to the fore and I wish them well for their service and dedication to our school and community. It’s important, too, to acknowledge the effort staff put in to curating experiences for students. Miss Nicola Murphy, Year 7 Year Advisor, and Mrs Reed, Year 11 Year Advisor, collaborated on a project to reinvigorate the annual Year 7 camp, this time to include Year 11. This collaboration resulted in stronger connections between our Year 7 students and it helped to give voice to our Year 11 students as they enter their first year of senior schooling. Schools are built on connections and I look forward to seeing the continued growth of these year groups, as they progress throughout the year. Lastly, I am proud of the way our students represent our school. We are well in to the throes of the sporting events calendar and the sportsmanship shown on the field by our students is incredibly important. It’s important because it’s a highly visible representation of our culture – who we are as a school and a community. The kindness, and grace, shown to others in victory or defeat is a good measure of our character and the efforts our students go to when representing us is an excellent reminder of the calibre of students we have here at Gilgandra High School. Neal Reed Principal

Email: gilgandra-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au www.gilgandra-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

NEWSLETTER 5TH MARCH 2020

GILGANDRA HIGH SCHOOL

Leadership Induction Assembly

Deputy Principal’s Report Welcome to Week 6 of Term 1. Over the next few there will be a number of sporting events taking place; please check with your teacher and become involved, even if it is a sport you are not normally involved in. These sports include Soccer, Cricket, Rugby League and Tennis. Year 7 and 11 went to Taronga Western Plains Zoo for a highly successful orientation camp, as part of the ‘You Can Do It’ program. Special thanks to Miss Murphy and Mrs Reed for their organisation. Congratulations to all SRC, AECG, and captains of various natures as you received your badges. Now that you are representatives of the school, you must meet the requirements of being a leader, and I am sure you will all rise to the occasion. The HSC half yearly examinations will occur in the last week of term. To all HSC students, make sure you are maintaining a consistent work ethic and utilising your teacher mentor for advice on study techniques and dealing with pressure. If there is an issue you would like to discuss regarding your child, please contact the school. Josh Webb Deputy Principal

From the Mathematics Faculty Mathematics is in our everyday lives. Whether you are buying something, making sure you are on time, how long until your birthday, am I taller than my mum or making a cake. Numbers play a part of our lives throughout the whole day. The Year 9 students recently made sherbets as part of the ratio unit and realised how important it is to get the ratio right. Bad ratios taste terrible but the perfect one is simply…..perfect, yum! The senior classes have been looking at spreadsheets in their assessment tasks. Most businesses use spreadsheets, or programs with them hidden in them (think accounting software) and workers are more than ever called upon to enter data or perform calculations with them. For our students who continue to university or TAFE, they will be asked to use them in their courses; they save time and are very powerful when setup as our seniors are finding out. Year 7 have quickly settled in being assessed a number of ways to make sure we have them in the correct classes and are allocating resources to help catch-up those who haven’t got there yet! Year 8 have been enjoying the wonders of Pythagoras, the name rings a bell, so many adults use this especially anyone who is forming a 90o angle like for construction such as house frames, boxing for concrete or engineering. The strong structure of the problems and the well-known formula c2 = a2 + b2 mean that people will recall it for their entire life! Year 10 have been involved with complex algebra some solving quadratic equations and learning another famous formula:

The Quadratic Formula 𝑥𝑥 = −𝑏𝑏±�𝑏𝑏2−4𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎2𝑎𝑎

Now this formula has caused fear for many high school students, but once they get the hang of where to put the numbers it is nothing but joy in finding the solutions. I bet though not many adults use this beauty, however, it is hidden in its usage, anyone entering the military would know it when using it in projectile motion! So maths is everywhere for everyone, some use more than others just make sure you are positive with your negatives when doing number work! Steve Schier Head Teacher Maths

Miss Pattons Year 9 Mathematics class have been studying the Number and Measurement topic. Earlier on in the term, they experimented with ratios by creating their own sherbet and

adjusting a recipe with 15 servings to one that had only enough for their group. Last week, they investigated absolute error by completing a range of different tasks using different measuring

instruments.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• 8th March Online orders for school and sibling photos due.

• 9th March

School Photos

• 10th March GHS Open Day And P & C Meeting 7pm in Library

• 11th March Junior Boys T20 Cricket Day

• 18th March Junior Girls T20 Cricket Day

• 19th March HEAR Hearing Bus

Around the school……. Shearing & Wool Handling Day

On Tuesday 18th February, the Agriculture and Primary Industries students in Years 10, 11 and 12, were fortunate enough to spend the day at the Ag Plot, gaining shearing and wool handling skills. The students gained valuable experience and knowledge from shearer Wayne Hosie, who is a NSW shearing champion and works for TAFE Western and Andrew Newstead, who is a local wool classer and works for AWI (Australian Wool Institute). Wayne and Andrew instructed the students on the fundamentals of the sheep and wool industry. Each student had a chance to shear the sheep, throw the fleece and skirt the wool. Students also used the new scanning wand which was purchased through money raised by Nathan Whiteman. They scanned each sheep and then recorded the fleece weight. Samples of fleeces were taken and labelled to be processed for micron testing and data collection. The school would like to thank Wayne and Andrew for taking the time to demonstrate and educate our students on the many skills that are involved with the shearing and wool industry. Teresa Standing Agriculture and Primary Industries

Year 10 Agriculture Day

On Wednesday 19th February, Year 10 Agriculture students spent time with local scanning technician, Tim Spora at ‘Thistledown’, with assistance from Andrew Newstead. The students learnt how to scan ewes for single, multiple or absent pregnancies. Tim took the students through the process of identifying the embryos and how the equipment operated. The students gained valuable insight and hands on experience. The school would like to thank Tim and Andrew for providing the students with this opportunity.

School Uniform The uniform shop has new junior polo shirts in stock. Sizes are 14, XS and Small. These are from a new supplier and the XS will replace size 16. Please try the shirts on at school to ensure the best fit with the new shirts.