Email: coolah-c.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Phone 02 6377 1101 Fax 02 6377 1004

Newsletter - Monday 29th May 2017

Week 6 Term 2

Year 12 Macquarie Marshes Excursion

The excursion The Marshes was a muddy good time.

As a part of our Ecosystems At Risk topic, five Year

12 Geography students accompanied by Miss

McDonald and Mr McLeod, travelled several hours

to the Macquarie Marshes for an overnight trip.

On the Wednesday, we stopped at Warren for a peek

at the Tiger Bay Wetlands, a warm-up for the sludgy

bird haven that awaited us over an hour away. After

meeting the lovely Myra at Willie Retreat we were

also greeted by some of her feathered friends. The

highlight of the trip was the kayaking expedition

through the South Marsh that opened our eyes to the

downside of Burrendong Dam and its impact upon

the ecosystem and wetland structure. Being stuck in

the mud as Miss McDonald fails to pull you free and

constantly getting stuck in typha and any corner we

came across really saw Kristen and I in some sticky

situations. Note to future senior geographers: when

Don says bring shoes you don’t mind sacrificing that

means bring shoes that are so wrecked that your foot

ends up going through the sole halfway through the

first mud walk.

The next day we walked through the North Marsh

and saw the differences between a nature reserve

(North Marsh) and private property (South Marsh).

Overall, we had a really great time and are grateful

for this opportunity that allowed us to experience

some of our course work in a hands on way because

reading slides upon slides about soil types and bird

colonies isn’t as exciting as it sounds.

A big thank you also, to Mr McLeod for driving the

bus

Rosie Brodie

Deputy News with Mr Winston Hughes

Last week all students in Years 7 to 10 took part in Study Skills workshops to help students prepare for their examinations next week. Students will have received their examination timetable today and will be working with their teachers this week in reviewing their learning this year in preparation for these

exams. The article below on motivation is from the Study Skills Handbook. All students in Years 7 – 12 have access to this website which has many modules and activities to support students in their learning and development. Login details are at the end of the article.

As always you can contact me at the school should you have any concerns.

CARROT OR STICK? Are you a ‘carrot’ or a ‘stick’ person?

Knowing whether you are motivated by avoiding pain and the pressure of consequences or by achieving pleasure and rewards can help you (and your parents) work out the best way for you to be motivated to do your work for school. The concept comes from the idea that to make a donkey move forward you can either tempt it with a carrot (a reward) or threaten it with a stick (a punishment). Now we are not saying that you are a donkey! But we are saying that different things motivate different people.

You are likely to be more of a ‘carrot’ person if you: - tend to be focused on achieving goals - make lots of plans and lists for yourself - find the concepts of rewards and prizes very motivating - often have a clear picture of what you want to achieve

You are likely to be more of a ‘stick’ person if you: - tend to leave things to the last minute - put off unpleasant tasks - prefer to do things when you ‘feel’ like it rather than when you plan it - like the idea of rewards but aren’t keen on doing the work to achieve them

If you are a ‘carrot’ person, you can get yourself motivated to do the work by breaking down the task, setting targets and goals and making plans.

The thought of getting a good mark or achieving a prize is very motivating for you. Your parents can motivate you further by offering rewards for achievements!

If you are a ‘stick’ person, you find it harder to get yourself motivated to do the work. You are more likely to work when you focus on the consequences of NOT working. When you are putting things off, spend a minute or so brainstorming all of the outcomes if you do not get started on the work. Then decide the first 3 most important things for you to do. Don’t worry about the rest at this stage, just focus on the top 3.

For parents of ‘stick’ children, these students may often require more micromanagement.

Students may need help in determining what they are going to work on, and parents may need to then check in every half hour or so to ensure students are staying on task. These students will be more motivated by negative consequences such as removal of technology or other privileges if outlined working conditions are not met. However it is a good idea to always balance the introduction of consequences for not doing the work with rewards for doing it! This may not be the driving force for their motivation, but positive reinforcement for doing the right thing can lead to really good outcomes.

For students who get frustrated with themselves being ‘stick’ people and leaving things until the last minute, you can start to move towards becoming more of a ‘carrot’ person. Identify some of your ‘carrot’ friends, and start to model their behaviour. Ask if you can plan the work together and check in regularly with each so you stay on track. It is possible to switch from one modality to another! However no one can make you do it, you need to want to change and then you need to work towards switching your mindset.

You can learn more about how to get motivated at www.studyskillshandbook.com.au by logging in with the details below and working through some of the units, particularly the unit on MOTIVATION. On the “Things to Print” page are some useful handouts for parents and students about how to build motivation.

Username: coolahcs Password: 28results

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Trial of online tests for HSC minimum standard

This year’s NAPLAN tests have focused attention on the new requirements for students to meet a minimum literacy and numeracy standard for the HSC from 2020. Many students and parents are worried their NAPLAN results will preclude them

receiving an HSC. This is not the case.

NAPLAN is only one opportunity for students to demonstrate they meet the minimum standard. Students will receive their results in August. For those who need to demonstrate the minimum standard, NESA is designing new, short online tests in reading, writing and numeracy that will be a different experience to sitting NAPLAN tests.

The tests will be available from next year for Year 10 students, and NESA will trial the test in November to

ensure its validity and reliability. The trial is also an opportunity for schools and students to experience the new online tests, and schools are invited to participate in the trial to be held from Monday 13 to Friday 24 November 2017.

Benefits of taking part

Opportunity to get an early, practical understanding of the online tests and contribute to their development.

Access to NESA-registered professional development activities designed to support schools and teachers in preparing students for the minimum standard.

Opportunity for schools to receive feedback on their students’ performance, including an analysis of their strengths and areas requiring further development.

Provide students with experience in sitting this form of online tests, which is different to their previous experiences with NAPLAN.

Principal News with Mr George Frangos

Our class captains for this week are Emily and Fletcher.

Homework/Class Work/News Our Homework unit is Unit 13. Our new sight words are out, was, play, away and where and our new sounds for this week are “oa” and “ie” Home reading will continue, but as the readers are becoming a little trickier, we will now only change our readers each Wednesday and Friday so that the students can start to utilise their new reading skills and not read from memory.

This week will be an assessment week and in Literacy the students will be assessed on a variety of things such as their recognition of sight words and sounds, their oral reading and their understanding of what they have read and also on their storywriting skills.

In Maths we will also be completing an assessment booklet based on all of the concepts we have learnt so far this year.

In Writing, History and Geography we will continue looking at the Aboriginal culture in terms of their dreamtime stories and we will be undertaking some Aboriginal painting as well. In Science we will begin

looking at different materials and determine whether they are soft or hard.

Awards/Achievements Congratulations go to the following students who have all completed levels in their Home Reading books: Darcy and Amelia (50 nights), Fletcher (75 nights) and Georgie (100 nights).

Please send in a drink of water and some fruit each day for our sip and crunch. Wednesday- Library

Our Solid State Circus performance last week was very entertaining and most enjoyable. All of the students gained a lot from this very worthwhile show.

Today we had a visit from the local Fire Brigade who spoke to us about fire safety and what to do in the event of a fire. We all learnt a lot and we really enjoyed looking at the fire engine and all of the equipment that is used to fight the fires. A very big thankyou to our firemen who came and visited us.

Today we also ate our jelly which we made last week. It was delicious!

Kindergarten News with Mrs Simmons

Thank you to all parents for paying the admission fee to the Solid State Circus performance last Friday. It was an excellent show with all participants enjoying themselves.

Literacy: Literacy groups will continue this week with reading at the L. Soundwaves Unit 13, Grammar Unit 13 and the letter ‘Hh’ as our Handwriting Unit. In Modelled Writing we will be recounting a children’s narrative.

Year 1 Maths: This week we will complete Unit 8 in our Maths Plus Text books. This unit looks at Addition Combinations to 10 and Halving as well as Describing chance and Measuring Length.

Homework: Please complete contract 12 in your Homework Book. You may have noticed a change to the way students are to practise their spelling words. Please check they understand what each task is asking and assist your child if need be. A reminder that Homework is due on Fridays for marking.

With the Athletics Carnival next Friday week, Kindy and Year 1/2 students will continue learning the athletics Field events.

Have a great week.

Mr R

Year 1/2 News with Mr Rowlands

Miss Fahey’s Class

Welcome to week 6! Week 6 already! Literacy and Numeracy: Our literacy and numeracy rotations will run as usual. Science: We will be planting beans and

documenting their growth by taking photos, using a measuring tape and completing our ‘Bean Growth Journals’. PDHPE: We will be looking at the amount of sugar in

the foods that we eat by investigating the labels on our foods. Using kitchen scales we will measure the amount of sugar and compare each food we have.

Homework: Contract 12 is due on Friday. Don’t forget to read.

A look back at our week: We were lucky enough to be apart of the Solid State Circus performance on Friday. It was a lot of fun and everyone really enjoyed themselves.

Well done on another wonderful week everyone.

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Welcome to Week 6!

Our 2/3 thought for the week this week is; ‘It is okay not to know, it is not okay to not try’. I am encouraging the students to raise their hand in the classroom when they are unsure of tasks. If we don’t make mistakes, we don't learn, so continue to seek advice and assistance from your teachers for help at school.

A big thumbs up for all Year 2/3 students who continue to do their best every week in all tasks given to them. I am so proud of your efforts and your learning and hope that you are too!

Homework this week is Contract 14 for Year 2 and 3. Books went home today with the spelling words inside. This week our Sound Waves books focus on the sound ‘ay, ai and a’ for example ‘pay’, ‘afraid’ and ‘mane’. I encourage all students to write their words out daily as this effort will see you reap the rewards in your spelling and writing.

Well done to Matilda Dunbier and Claudia Dunlop on achieving more reading milestones! Brilliant effort with your daily reading and keep it up!

A reminder to all students to bring in their daily reading logs regularly and to continue the fantastic effort you have been putting into your reading! Remember

reading the newsletter one night is a great idea if you would like a change from story books.

Maths: - In Year 2 Maths we learn new concepts on Tuesday—Friday and test these on a Monday. Monday testing is great to see the student’s ability to retain and apply their new knowledge.

Year Three - Please see Mrs Burgess’ news.

Spelling—I have seen some great improvements in spelling across the whole class this week. It is pleasing to see so many people enjoying our new spelling activities also! Great spelling improvements this week go to; Dawson Packham, Izaih Fuller, Libby Nolan, Kade Bennetts, Claudia Dunlop, Sophia Bradley, Jessi Edwards, Chloe Hanson, Zoe Richard, Matilda Dunbier, Elke Cox, Ebony Harkin and Evan O’Neill! As I said, our class has really been improving, you can see this with so many names listed!

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Year 2/3 students enjoying the Solid State Circus on Friday and wanted to thank all parents for their support with making this happen!

Well I am sure all of the students would agree that the Solid State Circus was a hit. The students all enjoyed the performance and took some new found tricks away from it. What a great experience for our school, thank you to Mrs. Ferguson and Miss Frazer for organising that for us.

Next Wednesday 31st will see the ladies from Moorambilla visit our school.

SPELLING: This term we are trying a new approach to Spelling and Vocabulary, with a greater link to the Focus on Reading initiative. The students look more closely at the base of a word and how those words are built on to, also we look at alternative words for our list words and what affixes may have been used and what those affixes might mean or do to the meaning of a word.

I have noticed over the last few weeks a decline in the number of students practicing some form of spelling at home. Some ideas for activities they can do with their spelling words are writing them in sentences, verbally reciting the list, testing the list or another great trick is writing the list word in their dominant hand first and then in their less dominant hand – this will actually make them think about the letters they are forming and the order they need to be written in.

This week’s spelling focus is based around the sound ‘l’ as in lizard, and ‘ll’ as in bell. Spelling lists went out today and the weekly test will be on Friday. Super

spellers for last week were – Ben, Alice, Indie, Josie, Olivia, Maddie, Geoffrey, Bonnii, Tia and Clare.

LITERACY: We will move on to Information Reports for writing for the rest of this term. This unit will lend itself well to the Focus on Reading lessons where we are looking more deeply into ‘Natural Disasters’ in both fiction and non-fiction form and the causes and effects surrounding them.

YEAR THREE MATHS: This week we will finalise our unit on Time. Students should still, at home, continue revising their known and new times tables as this will aid their learning in this area greatly. They need to know and remember 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x, 10x and 11x tables. The next unit to be covered will be Addition and Subtraction and the strategies needed to perform these operations correctly and successfully.

SCIENCE: We continue on with our unit on ‘Weathering’ this week in Science. We are currently looking at physical, chemical and biological weathering and will complete an experiment that displays these effects this week.

HISTORY: Our unit for this term is ‘Early World Exploration’. Students are discovering the effects that early exploration had on the world and also the importance of some of these explorers. Christopher Columbus has been a favourite of most students.

HOMEWORK: Homework went home today, Unit 14 is to be completed and brought back in on Friday.

Year 3/4 News with Mrs Burgess

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Year 2/3 News with Mrs Ferguson & Miss Frazer

I’m sure everyone loved the visiting performance on Friday. The Solid State Circus is always entertaining and bring a lot of new talent each time they visit. What’s on this week (and who is involved

from Year 5/6):

Monday - Zone Softball and Netball

Wednesday - Moorambilla Workshops in the morning.

SPELLING: Spelling focus for this week will be ’l’ as in ’lizard’. Take time out everyday to revise your words and use them in interesting sentences. If you

don’t know what a word means look it up in the dictionary. Due to a number of students who were at sport on Friday we did not have our weekly spelling test.

HISTORY: We began a new topic last week ‘The Australian Colonies’.

HOMEWORK: Contract 13 needs to be completed and brought back in on Friday or earlier.

A very Happy Birthday to Bella who celebrates on Wednesday. We all wish you a fabulous day.

Have a great week everyone and keep working hard.

Year 5/6 News with Mrs Wesley

Week 6 and we are past the half way mark for Term 2.

What a great performance we were able to be part of on Friday with the Solid State Circus. It was very entertaining and I know all Year 4/5 enjoyed themselves.

Today some students will be participating in Zone Softball and Netball and on Wednesday morning Moorambilla Workshops will be held. Also this week we celebrate some birthdays. A big Happy Birthday to Bonnie who celebrated her birthday on Sunday and to Wyatt who celebrates his birthday on Tuesday. We hope you both have a great day!

SPELLING: Spelling focus for this week will be ’l’ as in ‘lizard’. In the last few weeks we have changed our approach to our Spelling. Using the Focus on Reading initiative we are looking more closely at our spelling words. This requires us to find the base words and consider how these words are built on to for example using prefixes (at the beginning of the base words) and suffixes (and the end of the base words). By doing this we are encouraging a deeper focus on the meaning of our words in order to try and develop and improve our spelling and vocabulary abilities.

YEAR FOUR MATHS: Last week we commenced our unit on written strategies. For the first few lessons in this unit last we worked in groups, using

concrete materials such as our ones, tens and hundreds blocks ,to recreate and solve some addition and subtraction problems. Using the blocks has helped students to understand what it actually means when we ‘carry a ten’ in addition or ‘borrow a ten’ in subtraction and this has hopefully given students a better understanding of how we complete written strategies.

SCIENCE: Our unit on extreme weather, with a particular focus on cyclones, has sparked a lot of interest in our class. This week we will be completing an experiment where we will be creating a ’cyclone in a bottle’. If anyone has any spare 1.5L or 2L plastic soft drink bottles with lids that they can send in, that would be greatly appreciated.

ART: “Autumn is a second Spring when every flower is a leaf”. Last week we used this quote to inspire our Autumn leaf artworks. These artworks are displayed in our classroom and look amazing.

HOMEWORK: Students are to complete both pages of Unit 13 and this is due back in on Friday this week. Well done to everyone who hands in their homework every week. Remember completed homework is worth x2 PBL’s.

Have a great week and keep up the hard work!

Year 4/5 News with Mrs O’Neill

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Autumn Leaves with Year 4/5

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On Wednesday the 24th of March at 11am students from Kindergarten and Year 1 participated in the National Simultaneous Storytime.

Kindergarten and Year 1 students, along with over 500 000 participants nation wide had the opportunity to read the book The Cow Tripped over the Moon written by Tony Wilson.

Students at Coolah Central had the book read to them by actor Eddie Perfect. They enjoyed the book so much; they then had it read to them by the author Tony Wilson. This was then followed by activities in the library.

The National Simultaneous Story Times is an annual event aimed to encourage young children to read and enjoy books.

“ROLL UP ROLL UP”

Solid State Circus Comes

to Coolah Central School

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PH: 02 6377 1101 Fax: 02 6377 1004 Email: coolah-c.school@det.nsw.edu.au

SECONDARY SCHOOL ASSESSMENT/ASSIGNMENTS

Year 7 English—Spelling Weekly

PDHPE—Brochure 14th June

Year 8 English—Poetry Questions

Year 9 English—Coraline Book Review

English—Spelling: Weekly

Ag – Half Yearly Exam Revision

Year 10 History—All bookwork up-to-date

Geography—Presentations in class

Ag– Half Yearly Exam Revision

Year 11 Advanced English—Read Othello

Geography—Group Interactions Task: Ongoing

Year 12 Ancient History– Agrippina notes

Yr 12 Major Project & Folio ongoing (Due Date Thursday 10th August 2017)

Standard English Viewing and Representing Task (Due end Week 7)

Can parents and guardians please check students diaries as there may be additional homework or teacher correspondence

Years 7—10

Exam Revision

(Exams Wk7)

7-12 Maths Tutoring

3.15pm—4.15pm

Each Thursday

In the Library

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CCS Calendar of Events

Week 6

May 29 Pri Zone Softball Pri Zone Netball

May 30th Sec Moorambilla

Auditions ICAS Science

May 31st

Pri Moorambilla Auditions

Yr 12 Bio HSC Day Dubbo

June 2nd Pri NW Soccer

CCS Calendar of Events

Week 7

June 5th Sec NW Lawn Bowls

June 4th-6th Yr 11 Woolgoolga Excursion

June 5th—June 9th

Year 7-10 Half Yearly Exams

June 8th HSC Enrichment Seminars Dubbo

June 9th School Athletics Carnival

URGENTLY NEEDED

Volunteers

for Check Points for

N W Cross Country

PLEASE!

Tune into

95.3fm Coolah & 96.1fm Dunedoo

Coolah Black Stump Kids Radio Program

Hosted by Coolah Central School Students

Monday Mornings 8am - 8:30am

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Athletics Training

K-12 If interested please see

Miss McDonald

Whole School Sport with Mrs Staniforth

Don’t forget North West Cross Country is fast approaching—Friday 16th June. Remember this is a great day for our school to obtain extra fundraising for our P&C which inturn all goes back to help our students. For this day we need a few more volunteers for check points and workers in the canteen and on the BBQ. Please call the front office if you are available. The School Athletics Carnival is fast approaching also. This Carnival is on Friday 9th June. All students are encouraged to wear House Colours for this day and to participate in all events. Primary and Secondary students and any Year 2 student who turns 8 this year, will come straight to Bowen Oval and rolls will be marked there. Remember to send your child with plenty of water, sunscreen and warm clothing (if cold).

Secondary Sport with Mrs Staniforth

Well done to all the boys and girls who went and played in the CHS Central Schools Knockout in Dubbo.

Notes for Cross Country need to come back in.

Careers with Mrs Staniforth

Just a reminder there are still some Year 10 students who haven’t returned their Work Experience notes. These must be in before their work experience will be organised. Year 12 - Reminder that UNE early entry is open, if you are thinking about this please apply.

CCS Secondary PBL

Logan Pike (Merit for Mathematics)

&

Gwyndolyn Webb (Merit for Ag)

Both students receive a $10 voucher to spend at the School Canteen.

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Try-A-Trade Excursion - Years 9 & 10

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My Experience at Try-A-Trade by Joe Furley On the 23/5/2017 we travelled to Mudgee to try some trades. I decided to go because I'm still unsure of what I want to do when I’m older. My experience at Try-A-Trade was alright and the people there were nice and interesting. At Try-A-Trade there was a lot of people to get knowledge from like sparkies, hairdressers, baristas and bricklayers. I learnt what brick layers and baristas did. I went to Try-A-Trade to learn what sparkies did. I learnt that the electricians that were there work at a mine and how to link a circuit. This was very useful to me because I don't know much about what electricians do. The conclusion of this text is that Try-A-Trade was very educational and fun! Try-A-Trade by Korina On Tuesday the 22nd Year 9 & 10 students travelled to The Mudgee High School to participate in the Try-A-Trade day. Before we went to the high school we got a meal at Maccas, after a rather long time at Maccas we went to the high school. When we arrived we made our way to the building which it was set up. We got given a safety talk then told to move into pairs and grab an apron and safety glasses. Once we entered the area we had a choice of a variety of different stations to go to. The stations ranged from paramedics, hair/beauty, carpentry, mechanics, early child care, horticulture, bricklaying, painting, and so much more.

After attempting a variety of different trades such as plumbing, horticulture/being a florist, brick laying , and many more we had to leave to be able to get back to Coolah in time for the buses. After a slightly delayed stop we man-aged to leave Mudgee and arrive back to Coolah just in time. Try-A-Trade was a great experience which I would enjoy going to again as it was really informative and interesting. Thanks to Mr Jones and Ms Watson for dealing with us cra-zy 9 &10 students for the day ( especially for tolerating the music choices).

Careers with Mrs Staniforth

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Samples of 9/10 Art

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PH: 02 6377 1101 Fax: 02 6377 1004 Email: coolah-c.school@det.nsw.edu.au

PH: 02 6377 1101 Fax: 02 6377 1004 Email: coolah-c.school@det.nsw.edu.au