18 Dec 2023
Dear Parents and Carers,
As 2023 comes to a close, I would like to thank you for your wonderful support. The year has had so many successes and celebrations for our school community but also presented us with some very challenging times. Our students continue to achieve outstanding results across a wide range of academic, sporting, cultural and community endeavours at a school, regional, state, national and international level. It has been a privilege to acknowledge and congratulate students at our Semester Two formal assemblies last week.
At A Glance
Much has been happening in the past five weeks in addition to great teaching and learning across the school every day. The highlights include: Warners Bay NBA Competition, Term 4 MAD Night, Year 6 Orientation Day, Year 6 Transition Events including the WBHS Year 6 Academic Challenge, Year 6 Transition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students and Year 6 Leadership Day lead by SRC students, Year 12 Hospitality work placement, Year 9 and 10 students attending the YES program at TAFE, Under 14 Boys and Under 14 Girls Futsal Teams placing 3rd and 2nd respectively at the National All Schools Futsal Competition in Queensland, Year 8 VLE, Year 10 QLE, Year 7 and Year 8 EEE major project presentations, Year 12 Geography trip to Port Macquarie, Year 9 student presentation by 3 time Olympian Matt Gray, Open Girls Cricket Team being crowned Hunter Champions, Year 7 Focus Day mousetrap and movie activities, Year 8 Focus Day at Central Coast Aqua Park, Year 9 Focus Day at Treetops and Year 10 Focus Day at The Forum. Our school website and Facebook have some great photos and good news stories.
Term 4 Presentation Assemblies
Congratulations to all WBHS students for a very successful year. Success comes in many forms and we are proud of each and every student. Many thanks go to the students who officiated, presented and performed at these assemblies. The following students received awards for the most commendations for 2023: Isabel B. (Year 7), Olivia H. (Year 8), Grace N. (Year 9), Madison T. (Year 10) and Madeline C. (Year 11). Well done!
HSC Success
Congratulations to our Year 12 cohort for their outstanding HSC results. Our students achieved 30 Band 6/E4 results and 205 Band 5/E3 results. Special mention goes to the following students who made the Distinguished Achievers list: Ben B. (Modern History), Noah B. (Mathematics Extension 1), Sarah C. (Music 1), Mia C. (CAFS, English Advanced, Visual Arts), Sophie C. (Visual Arts), Sam C. (Mathematics Standard 2), Hannah E. (Visual Arts), Lara F. (CAFS), Chiara F. (Music 1), Amelia H. (Mathematics Standard 2), Raiden I. (Visual Arts), Dakota K. B. (English Extension 2, PDHPE), Jacob L. (Mathematics Advanced), Brianna M. (Legal Studies, Music 1), Adia M. (CAFS), Mackenzie M. (Modern History, History Extension), Tereza N. (Visual Arts), Rose P. (Biology, English Extension 2, Mathematics Standard 2), Jayden P. (Visual Arts), Georgia P. (Visual Arts), Luca S. (Industrial Technology), Grace T. (CAFS), Kate T. (CAFS).
Further success includes Lachlan B. and Jayden P. having their artworks selected to be showcased at ARTEXPRESS at Tamworth regional Gallery and Art Gallery of New South Wales, Airlie B., Archie B., Lachlan B., Tylah B., Sophie C. and Jayden P. being selected to exhibit their artwork at the First Class exhibition at the Museum of Art and Culture, and Luke B. Michael N. and Luca S. having their Industrial Technology major projects selected for consideration for the SHAPE exhibition.
Well done Year 12!
Kili Biin Biin Awards
The inaugural Kili Biin Biin Awards supported by our Kumaridha Local AECG were held on Monday 27 November at Biddabah Public School. We were very proud to celebrate the many successes of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students including Simone J. receiving the Pride in Culture award, Jaiden J. receiving the Academic Achievement award, Millie F. receiving the Sporting Achievement award and Nate W. receiving the Strong and Deadly award. Particular mention and congratulations goes to Madison T. who received the Kili Biin Biin award prize and scholarship. More information about these awards and all of the wonderful experiences students have been involved in during Semester Two 2023 can be found in the Aboriginal Education 2023 Semester 2 Newsletter.
Warners Bay COS logo
Samantha Martin, WBHS Visual Arts teacher, worked with the design ideas provided by our WBHS and partner primary students from Semester One, with feedback from our CoS Principals, to create our new Warners Bay Community of Schools Logo. This logo will feature on our new student and staff polo shirts which are currently starting the production phase and should be available in early 2024. We will keep you updated.
Staffing Update
We farewell a number of staff as we close 2023. Thank you to the following staff for their wonderful contributions to WBHS: Bronwyn Tier, Katie Abbott, Mark Niddrie, Sharon Regan, Lisa Kier, Will Ferguson, Lachlan Blaikie, Rhonda Callister, Suellen North, Brian Medlock, Annette Busch, Emma Carr and Hayley Arden. Additionally, Kendall Dieleman and Kim Fekonja will be on leave in 2024 and we wish them well.
2024 Year Advisers
Year 7 Luke Rosser and Thea Crowe
Year 8 April Wilk and Jeremy Lloyd
Year 9 Jessica Somerville and Ashley Forbes
Year 10 Renae Lewis and Teegan Ling
Year 11 Haylee Cummins and Kai Bruce
Year 12 Steve Burton and Emma Husband
Head Teacher Welfare
Years 7, 8, 9 Haylee Cummins
Years 10, 11, 12 Joanne Riley
ARCO
Jason Moore
Powered Gates
Work has almost finished on the installation of two powered gates to replace Gate 3 (nearest the Myles Ave/King St lights), one for vehicles and one for pedestrians. Starting in 2024, access to the school during school hours will be via an intercom system at this gate. Many thanks to Ms Cupitt (Business Manager) and Mr Ball (General Assistant) for their great work in helping facilitate this major upgrade.
PISA Highlights
A sample of WBHS students participated in Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 testing. Reports for this testing have recently become available. This testing is triennial, focusing on the core school subjects of reading, mathematics and science. The objective is to enable participating countries to monitor their progress in meeting key learning objectives. Results highlighted that WBHS students had a larger percentage of high performing students in Scientific Literacy and Reading Literacy than that of all schools and similar schools across Australia.
Situational Analysis
We are currently engaging in a situational analysis to inform the new School Improvement Plan 2024 - 2027 to be developed in the new year. Students and staff have been giving us valuable feedback during Term 4 and we will be seeking feedback from Parents and Carers early in 2024. Literacy, numeracy, student attendance and pathways will be mandated by the department for inclusion. You may like to read about the department's new Plan for NSW Public Education here.
Year 7 2024
Year 7 2024 start on Thursday 1 February. Students will meet in the MPC at 9am. Students will be participating in introductory workshops and peer support activities for the day and will not require books or their laptop for this day only.
2024 Return To School
Thursday 1 February – Years 7, 11, 12 return plus any Year 10 students who are Peer Support Leaders.
Friday 2 February – Year 8, 9, 10 return.
Student timetables will be available via the portal prior to their return date. Week 1 will be a Week A.
All current students should ensure they have their Yondr pouch with them at school on their first day back. Students will be returning 2023 pouches to the school on this day and will be issued with a new 2024 Yondr pouch.
Thank you
Thank you to all WBHS staff for their amazing efforts in 2023.
Thank you to Mel Aurisch and P & C for their hard work and support in 2023. The P & C Meetings are held on the 4th Tuesday of every month and they would love to see as many new members as possible in 2024.
Thank you to the Uniform Shop staff for all of their hard work this year. During the holidays, the Uniform Shop will open 8am – 2pm, January 17 – 29 (excluding weekends and public holidays).
Thank you to Joanne and the canteen team for all of their wonderful efforts in the canteen.
Finally, thank you again to all families of WBHS for their ongoing support to make 2023 a very successful year. I wish all families a very Merry Christmas and a restful and safe holiday break. We look forward to working with you in 2024.
Regards,
Megan Fletcher
Principal (Rel.)