2nd Dec,

2016

Term 4

Week 8

SCHOOL

INFORMATION

Address:

Belmore Street,

Gulgong, 2852

Phone: 6374 1201

Fax: 6374 2360

Website:

http://www.gulgong-

h.schools.nsw.edu.au/

Principal:

Linda Macleod

Deputy Principal:

David Tooney

Head Teachers:

Sharelle Fellows (English/

HSIE/LOTE)

Winston Hughes (CAPA/

Welfare/Careers)

Kathryn Lane

(Mathematics/Library/

Sport)

Darryl Newton

(Administration)

Graham Wilson (Science/

TAS)

Stage Advisers:

Sophia Tooney (Stage 4)

Carly Sewell (Stage 5)

Matthew Stanley (Stage 6)

Support Staff:

Gail Ratcliffe (Aboriginal

Education Officer)

Justine MacLennan

(Learning and Support

Teacher)

Melanie Freudenstein

(Counsellor)

Cheryl Seis (School

Administrative Manager)

Week 9: All Week — Year 10 Work Experience

Wednesday—PBL Recognition Day

Friday—Luna Park Excursion

Week 10: Monday to Thursday — Year 9 Camp

Thursday—HSC Results Released

Friday — Presentation Day

Congratulations to all Year 10 students who have participated so well

in the Transition Program that has been organised for the last four

weeks of 2016. The program has seen the students’ complete activities

such as: a Police Safety seminar, CPR training, Mock interviews and a

transition day working with Year 6 students at Gulgong Primary School.

They have sampled senior lessons in preparation for the HSC years.

Next week TaFE and University representatives will provide them with

information about future options and they will complete the Literacy

and Numeracy assessments for the RoSA. Students have also had an

excursion to Wet’N’Wild. Again thank you to Year 10 for the

enthusiasm you have shown towards this program. Thank you to Ms

Sewell for all the organisation which provides these students with such

wonderful opportunities to prepare them for the years ahead.

The U15’s Girls Netball team recently competed in a Gala Day in Dubbo. The girls did extremely well,

going through undefeated and beating teams from much larger high schools. Congratulations to these

students and best of luck at the Regional Finals!

Our PBL Recognition excursions will be held on Wednesday, 7 December. Well done to the PBL

committee and staff, the list of activities is outstanding. They include: FLIPOUT, a Sports World Bundle,

Tenpin Bowling, Reading Cinema or a School Mash Up Day. The staff have done a lot of work to ensure

that this day is a success. Students are encouraged to get involved, participate and have an enjoyable

day.

In week 10, Year 9 will be on an excursion to the Great Aussie Bush Camp. The excursion is over four

days and students will be involved in a number of adventure activities and team building exercises.

Activities include: the high ropes, kayaking, abseiling, giant swing and indoor rock climbing. This is a

great excursion and I hope all Year 9 are taking the opportunity to attend and have a good time.

Preparation for 2017 has been underway for a considerable amount of time now. All students in Years 8,

9 and 10 have made elective selections for 2017. The timetable for next year is progressing well. I am

pleased to report that due to the dedication of staff we have been able to modify our curriculum

structure and increase our elective options for 2017 by 25% from 2016. Years 9 and 10, will have 14

choices over the 3 elective lines: Year 11 now have 4 choices per line. This is outstanding for a school of

our size and student numbers.

A reminder to parents and carers, please be careful and considerate when dropping off your child at

school. It is prohibited to drop off in the bus zone. Doing so could result in a $320 fine.

David Tooney

Relieving Principal

Music News

Gulgong High School’s second Gala Concert for 2016 will be held in the school hall on Thursday 1st December commencing at 7.00pm. The concert showcases the wonderful array of musical talent that we have at Gulgong High School.

Ticket prices are: Adults - $8.00, Students and Pensioners $4.00 and family $20.00.

Tickets are available from the front office only and can be purchased up until 1.30pm on the 1st December. No tickets will be sold after this time.

I. MacLennan Music Teacher

Gulgong Junior Bowls On Friday 18th November Year 7 Student, Olivia Lanser, was invited by the ladies at Gulgong Women’s Bowls to join them to celebrate their recent win of the State Pennant. As part of the celebrations the NSW State Womens Bowling President, Maryann Parcell, came to Gulgong to unfurl the WBNSW No.3 State Pennant with the Gulgong winners for 2016. Olivia enjoyed the festivities with the Gulgong team and their supporters which included unfurling the State Pennant, a game of bowls and lunch. Olivia appreciated the opportunity as a Gulgong Junior Bowler to be invited to share such a special day. Photo: Oliva with the NSW State Womens Bowling President, Maryann Parcell.

Gulgong High School now has a Facebook

page for regular school updates.

Search for ‘Gulgong High School’ and hit

‘Like’.

Don’t forget to subscribe to

the school app!

Available on Apple and An-droid phones and tablets.

Search the App Store or Play Store for “Gulgong High” or

“2852”.

Term Dates for 2016

2016

*School development days occur at the begin-ning of Terms 1, 2 and 3 and the last two days of

Term 1 Thursday, 28 January to Friday, 08 April

Term 2 Wednesday, 27 April to Friday, 1 July

Term 3 Tuesday, 19 July to Friday, 23 September

Term 4 Monday, 10 October to Friday, 16 December

Student Absences:

Schools are required to keep important attendance data and it is essential to maintain accurate records.

In the event that your child/ward is absent, please contact the school and provide an explanation.

Students may still bring in notes to ex-plain their absence, but parents and caregivers are now encouraged to use our new electronic system.

In the event of a student’s absence you can now notify

the school by SMS on

0418 131 099.

See more photos of recent activities on our Facebook page!

This is busy time for our faculty, reporting on student achievements throughout the year, and preparing for next year by

revising teaching programs and assessment tasks. Our faculty has also taken a leadership role in introducing literacy

strategies such as ALARM (A Learning and Responding Matrix) across all key learning areas in the school. This strategy is

designed to help students think critically and structure detailed written responses. Progress so far indicates that written

responses are improving; with Year 10 students in particular achieving marked success in tasks. Miss Bowen has assumed

responsibility for the continued whole school implementation of ALARM in 2017.

Mrs Grech and Mr Bennett have also successfully delivered a Study Skills Package to our Year 11 students; providing

strategies to assist students in meeting the increased demands of their HSC studies. They presented innovative ways to

summarise, take notes and organise information for maximum success. These teachers volunteered their time over several

weeks to provide students with these invaluable skills, and are now involved in delivering a similar package to Year 10

students in preparation for Year 11 next year.

Year 10 are currently preparing to sit their Literacy and Numeracy tests this week. One of the most important ways to support

the development of sound literacy skills at home is to encourage your child to read widely. Studies have found that students

who read regularly have greatly improved reading and writing skills. We are very pleased with the success of The Premier’s

Reading Challenge this year with several students being presented with certificates acknowledging their outstanding

participation. Special congratulations must go to Trista Gurney, Olivia Lanser, Summer McPhail Emily Riley, and Logan

Scrivener who received the Premier’s Gold Awards for Outstanding Participation at our recent assembly.

Year 7 LOTE are currently working in small groups making movies about daily

school life in Gulgong to send to their French pen-pals. They are looking forward

to receiving the French movies very soon to appreciate the lives of students in

France. Special thanks to Mrs Hollow for organising such engaging learning

activities.

Planning is also underway for next year to ensure that our senior students have the opportunity to experience performances

of drama texts that are set for senior study, and bookings are already being made. Our junior school students may also have

the exciting opportunity to participate in a Shakespeare Festival initiated by the Sport For Jove Theatre Company. This

invitation is a first for our school.

I would like to thank the faculty staff: Mr Bennett, Ms Bowen, Mrs

Grech, Ms Field, Mrs Hollow and Ms Turner for their hard work and

dedication in providing quality learning for our students this year. As

2016 draws to a close there is much to look forward to in 2017.

Sharelle Fellows

Head Teacher English / HSIE / LOTE