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PO Box 3268 West Kempsey NSW 2440 Phone 65 626166 Fax 65628570 Email kempsey-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Website: www.kempsey-h.schools.nsw.edu.au Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KempseyHigh/

Commonwealth Games Baton comes to KHS

On Friday 2nd February, Kempsey High School was very privileged to have the Commonwealth Games Baton carried through the school grounds, by one of our ex-students Drew Walsh. Staff and students lined the temporary route to welcome the Baton and cheer on Drew. The Queen's Baton Relay is a Commonwealth Games tradition that celebrates the Commonwealth's diversity, inspires community pride and excites people about the world-class festival of sports and culture to come. The Baton carries a message from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II that calls the Commonwealth's athletes to come together in peaceful and friendly competition. For more information on the Commonwealth Games Baton go to https://www.gc2018.com/qbr

Kempsey High School Newsletter Issue 1, Term 1 2018

I nside this Issue

School Calendar P2 Faculty Spotlight P3 Swimming Carnival P4 Highway to Hell P5/6 Creative Arts P6 Girls Academy P7 Clontarf P7 Anzac Centenary P8 Zone Swimming P8

HOMEWORK CENTRE

3.30pm to 5pm Tuesdays and

Thursdays In the library.

Tuesdays: Transport to Bellbrook. Thursdays: Transport to Collombatti & Clybucca.

Limited town transport available.

Book in at the canteen by Recess 2 so food and transport can be organised.

Excursions in March Barrington Tops 12-13th

Cross Country 15th Yr 11 Study Camp 21st-22nd

Yr 10 Careers Showcase 22nd

Yr 7 Camp, Forster 26th-27th

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March/April Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat/Sun

12 PASS Snorkeling

Yr 10

Barrington Tops Ex

13 Barrington Tops Ex

14 15 16 Photo catch up day

17/18

19 PASS Snorkeling

Yr 10

Agriculture team to

Sydney Royal Easter

Show

20 North Coast Rugby

Trials

21 Study Camp—Yr 11

Agriculture team to

Sydney Royal Easter

Show

22 Study Camp—Yr 11

Agriculture team to

Sydney Royal Easter

Show

23 Agriculture team to

Sydney Royal Easter

Show

24/25 Agriculture Team to Sydney Royal Easter Show

26 PASS Snorkeling

Yr 10

Adventure Land Camp—Yr 7

27 Adventure Land

Camp—Yr 7

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30 Good Friday

Public Holiday

31/01

2 Easter Monday Public Holiday

3 School Resumes

Whole School

4 Creative Arts

Excursion

to Sydney

5 Creative Arts

Excursion

Sydney

6 Creative Arts

Excursion

Sydney

Agriculture Team to Wauchope Show

7/8 Agriculture

Team to Wauchope

Show

9 PASS Snorkeling

Yr 10

Literature Excursion

10 Anzac Ceremony

Agriculture team to Kempsey Show

11 Biology Field Trip Yr 11

SLR Bellbrook Camp

Yr 12

Agriculture team to Kempsey Show

12 SLR Bellbrook Camp Yr 12

13 Agriculture team to

Macksville Show

Last day of term 1. School resumes Tuesday 1st May

14/15 Agriculture

team to Macksville

Show

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P&C Meeting

Thursday 22nd March, 7:15 pm in the Library

Parents, do you have a couple of hours to help out in our canteen? Our wonderful canteen is in need of some volunteers to help out, especially on a Thursday, but any day would be great. Come and talk to our friendly canteen staff about what is involved. Call 6562 4811.

W E E K

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Faculty Spotlight—English

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s), Welcome to Kempsey High School, English. My name is Mrs. Rix and I have been teaching English at Kempsey High School for 26 years. I have been working as the Head Teacher of English for two and a half years. I look forward to helping your child excel and reach his/her potential. My goal as an educator is to guide your child toward academic success and to help build critical thinking skills that will help them blossom into adulthood. I will do my part to inform you when your child isn't working to his/ her potential and/or involvement in disruptive class behaviour. I am dedicated to the well-being of your child and I need your cooperation in helping him/ her reach his /her potential. Please feel free to contact me at the school number 0265626166 or by email sharyn.rix@det.nsw.edu.au with any concerns regarding your child's academic success.

Parental involvement is a crucial ingredient in the success of all children. Teachers know the saying all

too well that it takes more than a village to raise a child, for one - it takes parental involvement. Please

feel free to contact myself or your child’s teacher to discuss any issues.

Students in all years have an Assessment Schedule that outlines what students are working on in all subjects and indicates dates when Assessments are due. This information is available on the Kempsey High School Website: http://www.kempsey-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/home There are things parents can do at home to support their child’s educational journey. Consider the following ideas:

Demonstrate a positive attitude about education to your children. Showing our children that we both value education and use it in our daily lives provides them with powerful models and contributes greatly to their success in school.

Monitor your child's television, video game, and Internet use. Children on average spend far more time watching TV, playing video games and using the Internet than they do completing homework or other school-related activities.

Encourage your child to read. Helping your child become a reader is the single most important thing that you can do to help your child to succeed in school-and in life. The importance of reading simply can't be overstated. Reading helps children in all school subjects. More important, it is the key to lifelong learning.

Encourage your child to be responsible and work independently. Taking responsibility and working independently are important qualities for school success.

Talk to your child about what they are learning at school. If your child is able to tell you what they are learning, they show an understanding of the concepts involved. Don’t ask them, ‘What did you do at school today?’ instead ask them open ended questions and chat casually about their day.

Encourage active learning. Children need active learning as well as quiet learning such as reading and doing homework. Active learning involves asking and answering questions, solving problems and exploring interests.

Including some of these practices with your children to improve your relationship and open up communication.

Thank You

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Barrie House won the 2018 Kempsey High School Swimming Carnival with a huge 797 points on Thursday, 1st February. Lawson House came in second (645 points), followed by Kipling (393 points) and Masefield (361 points). It was a day of great participation and fun with some good times recorded for a host of students who then competed in the Lower North Coast Carnival held at Macksville on 21st February 2018.

The day also saw the re-emergence of the House War Cries which have been dormant for years. The elected House Captains were presented with their badges at the start of the carnival: Barrie House: Brooke Bruce-Smith and Sean Bruce Smith; Kipling House: Jasmin Jones and Jackson Korn; Lawson House: Emma Mitchell and Darm Phakphai; and Masefield House: Jack Saveall and Chloe Surma.

The Age Champions are: 12 Years Hayley Putan and Lincoln Poschalk 13 Years Maeve Patten and Matthew Powick 14 Years Demi Perrin and Glen Batterson 15 Years Areerat Brooks and Joel Crockford 16 Years Maddison Sydenham and Trent Fernando Open Alex McIntyre and Justin Crockford

Thank you to the organisers, Ms Hoffman and her team and the staff and students who made it such a great day. As usual the pool was in excellent shape and we thank Heather and Tony Hudson and their crew for their great service and hospitality.

For more information please go to our website: www.kempsey-h.schools.nsw.edu.au or our Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/KempseyHigh/

Barrie House Wins 2018 Swimming Carnival

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Kempsey High School presented a school Drama production called Highway to Hell,

towards the end of Term 4, 2017. The play was essentially ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’ by

William Shakespeare….with the music of AC/DC….and some tinkering of the script.

Essentially the script had been converted into a more modern adaptation of the classic

play. About 100 students, ranging from Years 7 to 12 were involved in the event, including

the Sound and Lighting crew, the TAS department who produced the props and the Red

Onion Café who catered.

A matinée performance was held on Wednesday 29th November, for students from

Kempsey High, Melville and St Paul’s. Performances open to the public occurred on Friday

1st of December and Saturday 2nd of December, with Friday’s show offering finger food

provided by The Red Onion Café.

A special mention should be given to Chris Austin who was heavily involved in the

production and who made the students step up and provide an outstanding show.

Congratulations to everyone involved.

Highway to Hell

Preparing for the Wauchope Show

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This is our annual excursion to Sydney for students studying one or more of the Creative Arts – Art, Photography, Drama and Music. Students have the opportunity to view top scoring HSC artworks, experience live theatre, participate in workshops led by experts in particular fields of Art, Photography, Drama and Music and visit galleries, theatres, cinemas and music venues. Theatre tickets this year include Mama Mia at the Capitol Theatre and Silent Disco at the New Theatre in Newtown. The Biennale of Sydney will also be on this year. Travel by coach to and from Sydney and to and from venues in Sydney.

2 night’s accommodation Continental breakfast of cereal, fruit, toast, juice, water Theatre tickets X 2, galleries, workshops and exhibitions.

Students will be required to pay for their, lunch, dinner and snacks-(provision to purchase cheap eats is made) alterna-tively students can bring their own snacks. NOTE: Student assistance program may be available please contact school Principal, Mr Eller Fundraising opportunities will also be made available for interested students. The balance of money owing MUST be paid by Friday 14th March.

Try mountain bike racing—Sunday 18th March, Nambucca State Forest

Wanted – fit young women with a taste for adventure and a love of the outdoors! You’re invited to compete at the Nambucca Valley Cycle Club’s “Jills at Jacks” mountain bike race for girls and women, to be held at the Nambucca State Forest on Sunday 18 March. There are categories for all skill levels including those who have never raced, and if you’re under 19 years of age you race for free! You must be able to ride a bike with confidence and have access to a mountain bike in good working order. Practice rides are being held weekly up to the event.

For more info, visit www.jacksridge.com.au search for Jills at Jacks on Facebook or call

Alison on 0413896724.

Creative Arts Excursion 2018 Art, Drama, Photography & Music

Term 1 -Week 10

Wednesday 4th April – Friday 6th

Enquiries to: Mrs Marsh

At school: 65 626 166

At home: 65 626 524

Mobile: 0429 626 524

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Girls Academy Awards

Fifty-five girls are involved in the programs aimed at increasing school attendance, advancing academic

and personal achievement, improving Year 12 graduation rates and transitioning into jobs and further

training.

In the final week of 2017, the Girls Academy held their award ceremony to recog-nise the efforts and achieve-ments of Aboriginal girls involved in the Girls Acade-my programs.

The night which included a dinner and disco was well attended by parents and community members.

The awards night was attended by the NSW Re-gional Manager for the Girls Academy, Mr James Madi-gan and hosted by the Girls Academy staff: Aunty Juli Morris and Jodie Fowler.

REMINDER TO PARENTS

If your student is leaving school during school hours, please provide your student with a note before he/she leaves home for school. When your student arrives at school, he/she is to present the note at the front office, so a leave pass can be processed. Thank You.

PCYC Kempsey is starting the safer driver course on the 17th March this aims at people aged

between 16-25yrs of age with minimum 50hours actual on road driving for more info on

how to book please contact the club on 6562 8399.

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School Leaders Dion Thompson-Stewart, Katie Barnett, Tom Reed and Anna Thornton joined the Hon. David Elliott MP, NSW Minister for Veterans Affairs and Sub Branch members on 16th. February 2018 at the Kempsey-Macleay RSL Sub Branch Memorial. A sample of soil was collected so that it could be included in an artwork at Sydney’s Hyde Park Memorial alongside soil samples from 1,698 other NSW localities. The soil was collected to recognise First World War enlistees from Kempsey at the new extension of the Sydney Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park.

Centenary of Anzac

Z one Swimming Carnival The 2018 Zone Swimming Carnival was held at Macksville Swimming Pool on Wednesday

Feb 21. Kempsey High School students competed including Joel Crockford, Justin Crockford, Connor Crockford, Maddison Sydenham, Helen Ward, Maeve Patten, Paige Molloy, Lincoln Poschalk, Matthew Powick and Raven Baker. 4 Students successfully qualified for the regional carnival, held in Murwillumbah in Week 6. These students are Maddison Sydenham, Joel Crockford, Justin Crockford and Lincoln Poschalk.