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BBHS Newsletter tERM 4 wEEK 6 | 2021

OUR VISION

Byron Bay High School delivers a collaborative learning environment where students achieve excellence through our connection with community and land, creating holistic leaders of the future.

Dates for your diary

November

  • Tue 9 Nov to Fri 3 Dec | HSC Examination period
  • Tue 16 Nov | P&C Meeting
  • Tue 23 Nov | Year 11 Presentation Assembly
  • Tue 23 Nov | White Card Training
  • Mon 29 Nov | Boat Licence Year 11 Marine Studies
  • Tue 30 Nov | Orientation Day for Year 7 2022

December

  • Mon 6 Dec | Year 12 Formal
  • Thu 9 Dec | Years 7 to 10 Presentation Assemblies
  • Fri 17 Dec | Staff Development Day

Payments now overdue

  • School Fees | see Student Statement of Account email sent 21 July - it contains a payment link

Principal's message

Dear Parents and Carers,

A wonderful, settled feeling in the school playground with students and staff returning to school routines with outdoor assemblies, iRest, Jali Groups and limited excursions. Our Year 12 2021 students have begun the HSC exams, and we look forward to celebrating with them on the evening of Monday 6 December.

As we farewell Year 12 of 2021, we will also welcome Year 7 of 2022 with our Orientation Day on Tuesday 30 November. There are several occasions to mark the transition and growth of our students in the following weeks.

Byron Bay High School staff are such brilliant practitioners that even during such uncertain and disrupted times we are producing excellent educational outcomes. In our last staff meetings, we are evaluating our upward trend in NAPLAN results, teachers are working towards Higher Levels of Accreditation as professional development and celebrating our release of Byron Bay High School's ATSI Education and Empowerment Policy and Implementation document. You can find the document on the Rules and Policies page on our website here.

In the photo below you can see the smiling faces of: Teachers being awarded their Accreditation in Proficiency - Sam Price, Claire McEwin, alongside staff who have been peer nominated to received Public Education Awards - Caroline Hutchings, Charlotte Connell (and not in the photo) Leanne Croft and Janette O'Keefe.

Left to right: Sam Price, Claire McEwin, Caroline Hutchings and Charlotte Connel

I look forward to seeing some of you in person or online in the upcoming P&C meeting. Please support our students with P&C raffle and trivia night.

Ms Janine Marcus - Principal

Byron Bay High School students lead Australia In Share Market game

Year 9 student Kianah O’Neill came first in NSW and second in Australia in the ASX Schools Sharemarket Game

First in NSW and second in Australia as a share trader is a position that Byron Bay High School student Kianah O’Neill never imagined she would find herself. A nine hundred dollar cash prize and the publishing of Kianah’s share trading strategy on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) website added further to Kianah’s excitement at this impressive achievement.

Kianah was one of seventy two Mathematics and Commerce students at Byron Bay High School who traded shares during the recent ASX Schools Sharemarket Game. A total of 14,038 student syndicates and many more individual students across Australia participated in the Game that ended on 28 October.

A number of other Byron Bay High School students also led the nation as share traders. Dembe Ryan in Year 10 ranked third in NSW and sixth in Australia, while other students ranked 33rd, 41st and 72nd in Australia.

Mr Dale Stevenson and Miss Claire McEwen jointly coordinated the running of the Game at Byron Bay High School. Mr Stevenson, a former securities dealer, provided classes for students to educate them about the share market and share trading strategies. From these classes, Kianah developed her own share trading strategy that proved to be a winning approach.

‘I selected stocks that would perform solidly during the global Covid shutdown environment. The importance of online platforms for business and IT services during this period was behind my choice of Wisetech, a global provider of logistics management platforms for businesses. It also led to my selection of Rea, which has a strong online real estate and finance presence in Australia and the Asian region. I purchased Qantas as it had been impacted by the travel shutdowns domestically and globally and would benefit from the reopening of travel. Finally I selected Woolworths as a solid staple stock. I chose to hold the same four shares for the entirety of the game due to their solid performance’.

Mr Stevenson stated that next year Byron Bay High School planned to significantly expand the participation of students in the ASX Schools Sharemarket Game. He affirmed that the school strongly believes that educating students about the financial markets and share trading is extremely important for their success in the modern world.

Agriculture news

During lockdown and learning from home Year 7 Agriculture students competently completed their Container Planting Projects. They grew edible plant foods in containers made of recycled materials.

On return to school the students are now using their skills for various activities on the Ag Farm including propagating rosemary and creatively learning about seed germination growing grass heads!

Mrs Jennifer Woodward - Science and Agriculture Teacher

Year 8 RAD Awards

Congratulations to Tess Kennedy and Max Hochgrebe who are this week RAD award recipients. Both awarded for outstanding application and effort in Science. Well done and keep up the good work!

Mrs Kelley Caoyonan - Year 8 Year Adviser

English news

Byron Bay Writers Festival 2021 short story WINNERS!

Although it was with great sadness that the Byron Writers Festival was cancelled this year, several students from Byron Bay High School entered their short stories in the Susie Warrick Short Story Competition.

We announce with great pride and happiness that two Byron Bay High School students won first place in their age categories! Congratulations to Luisa Santucci (Year 12) and Floyd Whitaker (Year 9)!

The pieces were originally produced as class tasks. The English Faculty is feeling very pleased as we strongly believe in facilitating and supporting the creative talents of students so it is fantastic to see them recognised and rewarded.

If you would like to read Luisa or Floyd's short stories just scroll to the end of this newsletter.

See below what the judges had to say

Luisa won first place in Category 1 with 'Nipotino'

Nipotino, impressed our judges with its descriptive, clever, sweet and endearing story, vividly told in a way that evoked dynamic and credible scenes. While it was a short piece, it was engaging and had a fun, unexpected ending. Very well done.

Floyd won first place in Category 2 with 'The Hunter'

‘The Hunter’ impressed our judges with its advanced story idea and structure. There was fantastic world building and characterisation through action. With a great orientation and few grammatical errors you wrote a very strong piece. Well done!

Year 7 Japanese

Year 7 Japanese Manga drawing

Year 7 Japanese students have been busy in Term 4 learning hiragana characters and how to introduce themselves.

They have also been learning about elements of Japanese culture, including Manga drawings, seen above.

Mr Harry Humphreys - Japanese and PDHPE Teacher

Parents and carers on site

From 8 November, all schools will operate on updated Level 3 settings for the remainder of Term 4.

Fully vaccinated parents and carers will be allowed on site to support the following only:

  • curriculum delivery
  • vulnerable students
  • students with disability
  • student wellbeing activities and school operations (for example reading support, canteens).

Permitted parents and carers must check in using the school check-in, show proof of vaccination on entry to the school site and follow mask-wearing requirements.

Parents and carers must follow their school’s advice regarding student drop-off and pick-up, which will usually require parents to remain off school sites at these times. This includes staying in the car when dropping off and picking up children if it is safe to do so.

If you have questions about COVID-19, call the National Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080. If you require translating or interpreting services, call 131 450.

For other enquiries, including self-isolation requirements in NSW, visit Service NSW or call 13 77 88.

Thank you for your cooperation with the above changes and helping us to navigate these tricky times.

The office ladies

Library news

Covered footwear

A reminder to all families that students must wear COVERED FOOTWEAR at school at all times.

Sport news

Volunteers are amazing!!

Our students who helped out at the Primary School District Athletics Carnival this week received their certificate of appreciation from PSSA.

Students play a valuable role in helping these carnivals run and we appreciate your efforts. You were great ambassadors for Byron Bay High School.

Year 9 PASS Tennis

Year 9 PASS had the chance to get out of the school finally for some tennis fun! Plenty of hot shots out there on a hot afternoon.

Big thanks to the ongoing support from community venues who allow our students to experience sports outside of what we can offer in our school facilities.

Mrs Kelley Caoyonan - Sport Coordinator and Year 8 Year Adviser

When your child needs to leave early

Students MUST bring a note from you to the front office prior to 9 am to enable them to leave early

It is really important that if your child has an appointment or needs to be collected for any reason prior to the end of day, they MUST bring a note from you to the front office prior to 9 am. This allows your child to be met by you outside the front gate.

After the note has been signed by a Deputy Principal, our office staff will give your child a Leave Pass to show their class teacher at their departure time (or to show the teacher at the front gate as they leave).

This process is important as it is prevents interrupting all student's learning during class time and allows your child to meet you outside the gate at the required time.

When your child is unwell at school

Students who are feeling at all unwell at school must advise a teacher and go immediately to sick bay

Students should not attend school if unwell, even with mild symptoms of COVID-19. Any person with any COVID-19 symptoms should be sent home and should not return until they have received a negative test result and are symptom-free.

It is crucial at all times but especially now during the COVID19 pandemic that students who are feeling at all unwell at school advise a teacher and go immediately to sick bay.

Our first aid officer will monitor your child and notify you if it is necessary for your child to go home. You are contacted by our first aid officer and can meet your child outside the electronic gate to avoid the need for close contact and QR Code check-ins.

Students messaging home

Students messaging their parents directly when they are sick and staying in class is not our procedure and endangers the health of others.

Please discourage your child from contacting you via text message regarding illness. It is vital that the correct procedure is followed so that your sick child can be monitored in sick bay by our first aid officer and preventing infection of other children.

Please do not arrive unannounced, as we are on Level 3 restrictions and parents and visitors are not permitted onsite without an appointment. If you have been contacted by the school to collect your child and you are out the front please call and we will send them out to you.

BBHS P&C Trivia Fundraiser

Thursday 2 December

USE BUTTON BELOW TO PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE

Winning Writers Festival short stories

NIPOTINO | by Luisa Santucci Story - Year 11

The front door is made of strong straight grained chestnut lumber and carries the characters ‘1726 FC’ etched deep into the gray stone lintel. Nipotino is only small. Too small to read and write. He wouldn’t know until decades later that ‘FC’ betokened Franco Croce, his grandfather and brothers’ name. Nonna kisses each cheek, she talks loud and fast, her harsh dialectal cadence, breathes hot into Nipotino’s cold ears.

Someone is sick. That’s why they’ve come. From home on their farm, onto the plane, onto the bus, to arrive here. This is the first time they have met. The first of only three. Thirty-two years later, Nipotino will have a new born daughter and it will be her first time meeting Nonna. The only time.

Later, Nipotino is gifted a bright tangerine tricycle. He has never ridden one before. Drunk with glee, he pedals through every room in the house and at the ankles of every zio and zia he can find.

Nonno is sick. He lays in bed all day, in a room upstairs. Nipotino lies by his side. Listening. Talking. Being told stories: of a greedy piglet who refused to listen to his mother and ate so much salami that he grew as fat as his shed; of a chicken who laid golden eggs; of the family who hid their sheep in the roof to avoid town taxes. Sometimes Nipotino climbs down from the bed to ride around in circles. Nonno laughs weakly at him as he grumbles softly like the engine of a moped, tracing an invisible road, swerving from invisible pedestrians. When Nonna climbs the stairs bringing with her the sweet aromas from the kitchen, she berates Nipotino cruelly for riding inside. Her rough scratchy hands hoist him up off the tricycle by his arms and onto the icy terrazzo floor. Her firm footsteps mask Nipotino’s complaints, as she lugs the tricycle downstairs, away from Nonno’s gentle reassurances that there was no harm done. Across the cobblestone kitchen floor, past the table where women bicker noisily whilst making yolk-yellow pasta, and out the narrow back door, Nonna marches far into the yard, gleaming tricycle in hand. Nipotino cries angrily trailing behind, his scrunched little fists beating against the back of her legs. Abruptly she stops outside the cellar door and Nipotino tumbles into her, leaving a sodden tear stamp on her dark handwoven cotton dress. Furious, Nonna drops the tricycle to the ground. Clunk. She wrenches the iron latch upwards, and the door swings silently open. Inside, prosciuttos hang claret and curing from the roof, apples rest red and saccharine on shelves next to bottled tomatoes and sweet fermenting wine. Trembling with anger Nipotino shoves Nonna from behind and she stumbles into the cellar. He slams shut the heavy timber door and lets the latch fall. Silence. Then the terrifying thumping from within begins, rattling the door in its hinges. Hastily Nipotino mounts his tangerine tricycle and pedals away.

Later that day, when Mama can’t find Nonna, Nipotino says he will help look and rides ahead of her calling out for Nonna. Soon the whole family is searching for Nonna.

When finally she is found, her incensed barking can be heard from anywhere in the house and makes Nipotino quiver like a bug tangled in the delicate filaments of a spider's web. Nipotino pedals arduously through the hall, out the open front door and down the cobblestones of the quant main street. His chest pounding knowing the beating he’s bound to get from more than just Nonna. Glancing over his shoulder he sees a raging Nonna chasing after him and he wonders how someone so old can run so fast. Helplessly, knowing he’ll be punished, he lowers his head, squints his eyes and flies down the street, a smile plastered to his face.

The Hunter | by Floyd Whittaker - Year 9

Is it really seven o’clock already? Slowly opening my eyes, I look around my dark bedroom. The sun won't be up for hours.

I smile at the StarBucks girl when ordering my coffee, she always gives me a little extra. I sit down in a booth, in the corner, facing the window. I watch the cars hover by, generating low buzzes that subtly rattle the cafe. Rain begins to fall from the sky onto the street as the girl delivers me my beverage. She's drawn my name with a heart next to it. I check my phone, the numbers at the top tell me I have 20 minutes left until I need to clock in.

I get up to leave and smile at the girl as I walk out the door. Newspapers and magazines litter the city streets, signs advertising the 2042 SuperBowl hang askew from street lamps and bus stops. It's always raining in the city, something to do with the pollution, the scientists say. The buildings grow taller as I round a bend and start along 33rd street.

I cross the road and enter the building. I step into the elevator and press the button for the 56th floor. The elevator launches up and reaches the floor in seconds.

‘We’ve found one,’ says my boss, as I walk into his office. ‘What, really?’

‘Yes.’

‘I thought we found the last of them years ago?’ ‘We missed one.’

I move my head up and down to show that I understand the situation as he gives me orders.

My job consists of tracking down and exterminating the last of the androids - artificial humans used for manual labor, who decided that they didn't want to work anymore. In 2039 they went awol, developed their own ideas and opinions. When they tried to

overthrow the congress, that was when we knew that they had to be stopped. Our goal is to find them and deactivate them, by any means necessary. We are known as ‘Hunters’.

The company issued patrol cruiser hovers out of the underground lot and onto the street. The android’s address appears on the display and I floor it down the quiet streets. The screen tells me they won't be home for hours.

I pull up at a dilapidated highrise apartment building, 5 districts across the city. The whole thing seems awfully still, too still. I wait in the cruiser. A taxi pulls over, a hooded girl in a rain jacket steps out. She pays the driver and makes a beeline for the building. My radar scanner reads that she's an android, and she matches the description issued. I grab my trench coat, open the cruiser door and walk behind her as it begins to snow, trying not to look obvious. I enter the building as the elevator door shuts and I hear the motors grind as it launches up. I enter the second elevator and exit onto her floor, just in time to see her enter the apartment.

With my hand on my holster I bang on the door with my fist five times. I hear the metal chain rattle and come loose and then the electronic lock rotates open. She opens the door ajar. In awe I drop my firearm onto the ground and pull the door shut. I let out a long deep sigh and bury my face in my hands. ‘No, no, no. Why her?’ I whisper. She opens the door again and looks at me.

‘Hi?’ she says.

I say nothing. A car goes by in the distance followed by the low rumble of thunder. ‘Come in, come in,’ she says and I follow her inside.

I sit down on a couch as she brings me a coffee.

‘So what brings you here?’ She asks. I fake a smile.

‘Well…’ I start. ‘Well I thought I might as well drop by while I happened to be in the area.’

‘How did you get my address more importantly,’ she says sheepishly. I gulp as she puts her hand behind her back as if to retrieve something.

‘You’re a Hunter, aren’t you,’ she says.

I say nothing. Her arm snaps forward revealing a six-shooter and fires a bullet towards me. I jump backwards and fall into a heap behind the couch. Bullets fly past me. They stop after 6 shots. She wasn't counting her bullets. I leap up from behind the couch and send two shots into her face. Feathers and smoke fill the air as the android falls to the ground. I mark something on my wrist display and stare down at the StarBucks girl. Her fingers twitch in small spasms as her systems shut down.

StarBucks tastes different after yesterday. Maybe it was the lack of friendliness from the staff, or maybe it was the smaller portion of coffee. Despite my thoughts, deep down I know what was done had to be done.

Created By
Ange McDermott
Appreciate

Credits:

Created with images by Paige Delacour - "Byron Bay" • Unknown - "Royalty-Free photo: Girl wearing backpack while walking on ..." • Counselling - "woman desperate sad"