23 Aug 2024
Dear Parents and Carers,
In my address at the whole school assembly this week, I proudly mentioned just some of the many outstanding things that have been happening around our school during the first five weeks of this term. Great students, great staff, great parent/carer community, great school! Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership in our determination to deliver a quality education that empowers all students to live rewarding and productive lives.
New Design Polo Shirts Have Arrived
The school's new uniform polo shirt featuring a stunning Aboriginal design by former WBHS student Kyah Stewart and current WBHS students is now available from the Uniform Shop. This shirt can be worn by all students as part of the regular school uniform. Please see here for more information.
HSC Update
The recent HSC Trial Exams went very well, and students are now focused on finishing course work, revising topics and preparing for the written HSC exams in Term 4. The next five weeks are critical regarding attendance and engagement in order to help maximise HSC results. HSC major projects (Industrial Technology, Visual Arts, Textiles Technology) have been completed and are ready for marking by external HSC examiners. Well done to all students and their teachers. Year 12 Drama students presented a very enjoyable HSC Drama Showcase - well done performers and their teacher Ms Monk. We wish all our Drama and Music students the very best for their upcoming practical exams. Please refer to a recent email from Ms Lawler to Year 12 families about the Formal, Graduation, HSC exams, the final week of Term 3 and other important HSC matters. Invitations to the Year 12 Formal were sent to parents/carers earlier this term.
Staff Service Recognition
WBHS has outstanding teachers and several were recognised by the Department of Education for their dedicated service of 20 plus years. Well done Ms Pfister, Ms Crowe, Ms Grujevski, Ms Kennedy, Mr Glazebrook and Ms Jones. Thank you for making such a positive difference to so many students.
Great Things At A Glance
In addition great teaching and learning, excursions, incursions, showcases and rehearsals, other highlights from the first five weeks of Term 3 include:
School captains win Minister’s Award - Logan and Jaz received a Minister's Award for Excellence in Student Achievement at the Sydney Town Hall with NSW Deputy Premier Prue Car, DoE Secretary Murat Dizdar and other dignitaries. Ms Lawler and I were very pleased to to attend this premier event (referred as "the Education Logies" by the Secretary). The award recognises outstanding Year 12 students who have excelled in their secondary years across academic excellence, sports, cultural, community and/or leadership. They were also chosen to deliver the students' address - they were outstanding ambassadors for WBHS and public education.
Our "Feel Good Friday Cafe" has been operating successfully on Friday mornings with barista-trained Year 10 students and Mr Greive making great coffees, teas and hot chocolates! (sorry, Year 12 students and staff only at this stage).
Sophie E (Year 10) represented WBHS at the Youth Parliament Residential Camp with a focus on leadership, advocacy, civic leadership, policy development and democratic parliamentary debate. She was an excellent ambassador for WBHS.
2025 Senior Student Executive Team - many Year 10 and 11 students applied again this year. Interviews were held this week and voting for captains will take place next week. Watch this space!
Our WBHS chess team are NSW Region JCL Chess champions - the team will now compete in the Grand Finals later in the year against the winning teams from the other five NSW regions. Well done to Daniel, Matthew, Claudia and Logan.
Sister School Visit - WBHS hosted 20 students and teachers from Suginami Gakuin High School, our sister school in Japan. This is a long-standing relationship and very worthwhile for both schools. Thank you to all host students and families, and organising teacher Ms Cotton.
UON High Performing Students Program - congrats to Year 10 students Jessica, Aarron, Simone and Nicholas who completed a first-year university subject in Semester One through the University of Newcastle. Ms Fletcher and I were very proud to attend the graduation ceremony.
WBHS rock band Industry Plant performed at the Youth Rock competition in Sydney and wowed the audience and judges.
Year 9 Game Changer Challenge - well done Hayley, Bella, Toscana, Elysia and Arlo for your great teamwork and semifinal success.
NAIDOC Celebrations – an outstanding assembly and suite of activities were held to recognise the achievements of our Indigenous students and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
The Year 7 Project Based Learning initiative ran very successfully over three days earlier this term for all Year 7 students. Students gave very positive feedback which will help inform future plans.
WBHS hosted four Education Support Staff as part of the statewide School Experience Program where non-school based staff attend school and experience day-to-day operations and gain a better understanding of the processes and procedures that occur daily within the school environment. Our guests were so impressed with WBHS students and staff that they let the DoE Secretary know!
Year 7 and 8 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students attended a Numeracy Gala Day at McDonald Jones Stadium where they explored numeracy as a key part of playing and coaching rugby league. They also met some of the Knights players.
The Year 8-10 Parent Teacher Night and Year 7 & 8 Elective Information Night were very well attended by students, families and staff.
2024 AMC Maths Competition - 40 students participated in this difficult competition.
Our Boccia team came fourth in the state at a competition in Sydney. Congrats to Joel, Liam and Cooper.
Our WBHS Col Whitney Cup team played their first two games in this very competitive Under 16 football competition with one draw and a comprehensive victory.
Our Year 7 boys and girls five-a-side football teams played very strongly in the HSSA tournament, demonstrating incredible skill and determination. Both teams made the grand final winning every game. The girls were unlucky to lose their grand final in a penalty shootout. The boys were dominant in their grand final win.
NSW CHS All School Cross Country - congratulations to Erika, Kirra, Bonnie, Cambell, Grace, Joey, Zach and Lachlan who represented WBHS with great distinction.
Khaliah R: National Youth Championships - Kahliah (Year 10) was selected as one of the goal keepers in the 2024 National Youth Championships representing Northern NSW U16 team. An incredible achievement.
Molly G: All Australian Softball team - Molly (Year 12) travelled to the Gold Coast to represent WBHS the Hunter and NSW in the All Schools Australian National Championships in Softball. The NSW team won gold in a tie breaker against QLD. And Molly was also selected into the All Australian Team.
Hunter Athletics Carnival – all WBHS competitors did our school and region proud with numerous personal bests and many qualifying to represent the Hunter at the upcoming NSW State Carnival.
Our Open Boys soccer team competed in the Puma Cup Round of 16 and progressed to the quarter finals.
Our U14’s Boys Buckley Shield Rugby League team progressed through to the semifinals in NSW state schools, making this team top 4 in the state.
Our WBHS Col Whitney Cup team played their first two games in this very competitive Under 16 men's football competition with one draw and a comprehensive victory.
Our Lauren Colthorp Cup team played their first two games in this very competitive Under 16 women's football competition with one draw and a comprehensive victory.
Our U15's Girls Hunter AFL team played fantastic AFL on the day (some the first time on an AFL field) and made the semifinals. Special mention to Grace M (Year 8) who was named WBHS MVP.
Hunter Let's Play Bowls KO - one team, captained by Ami, and consisting of Mia B and Ava B qualified No 1 overall. The girls won all three matches 27-0, 5-4 and 14-0. They will now participate in the Let's Play Bowls Regional Final in Term 4. Our second side, captained by Ned H and consisting of Alby G and Jake L finished equal first in their pool, missing out on the final on a count back.
Please see the school's website or Facebook page for pics.
Uniform
WBHS is a proud uniform school with a clear uniform policy - please contact the office if support is needed to purchase the correct school uniform.
NAPLAN Results
Year 7 and 9 NAPLAN results were very pleasing in several areas. Results will be used to strengthen teaching and learning programs and provide additional support to identified students. Please contact the school with any questions or if you did not receive your child's results (posted home earlier this term).
Check In Assessments
Conducted over the past two weeks with all Year 7, 8 and 9 students, these State-wide tests support the identification of students’ performance in literacy and numeracy and help inform next steps in teaching and learning. Schools receive test results much sooner than NAPLAN results and help inform teaching and learning programs.
WBHS - what a great school.
Kind regards,
Marcus Neale
Proud Principal