Rose Bay Secondary College eNewsletter

Executive Report

A Full Week of Celebration, Competition and Connection

As Term 1 draws to a close, it has been a week packed with activity and celebration here at RBSC.

On Tuesday, each year group gathered for their Celebration Assemblies, where we recognised and applauded the many achievements of our students across Term 1. These assemblies are always a powerful reminder of the commitment, growth and community spirit that define our school.

Tomorrow, our Year 7 students will represent RBSC at the much-anticipated Gala Day, competing in a range of sports against other schools in the zone region. It promises to be a day filled with teamwork, energy and school pride. Then, on Friday, students will lace up their runners for the annual Cross Country event at Queens Park. It’s sure to be a fun and active end to a vibrant term.

This week has also been an opportunity to reflect on the immense value of extracurricular life at RBSC. Whether it’s in the creative buzz of musical rehearsals for We Will Rock You, the passion and talent of students participating across a range of Music Ensemble programs. the determination on the sports fields in football, cricket, touch football, volleyball and swimming, or the leadership and critical thinking on display in the SRC, Debating or Pride Alliance—our students have shown what it means to be part of something greater than themselves.

Participation in these programs builds more than just skills—it builds community. It teaches students to connect, to support each other, and to grow both personally and collectively. Research, and the lived experience of many of our own students, shows us the long-term benefits: confidence, belonging, resilience, and often, life-changing direction.

We are reminded of Australians like Hugh Jackman, whose journey began in his school musical, or Julia Gillard, who credits her debating experience with giving her a voice and sense of leadership. Ellyse Perry and Johnathan Thurston both speak about how school sport helped shape their identities and gave them a supportive community to belong to—proving just how powerful school involvement can be.

So we congratulate every student who turned up—whether for trials, training, rehearsals, performances, meetings or matches—and to the parents and carers who supported their children to participate and be prepared to do their best. You’ve contributed to our community in a way that matters.

A reminder that the last day of Term 1 is this Friday, April 11. We look forward to welcoming students back for Term 2 on Wednesday, April 30.

RBSC Socials

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Student Survey

In Term 2, we are offering our students the opportunity to participate in the NSW Public Schools Student Survey. The survey gives students the chance to share their thoughts and feelings about life at school, including questions about their engagement, learning experiences and wellbeing at school.

Hearing directly from our students will help us understand what’s working well and where improvements can be made to our school. The survey is confidential, takes around 10 to 15 minutes to complete, and will be conducted online during school hours.

Participation is voluntary. If you prefer your child not to participate, please complete the opt-out consent form, which will be sent home, and return it to the school. Further information about the survey is available at https://education.nsw.gov.au/npss

IEF News

Our Year 7 IEF students joined their Year 7 peers for an unforgettable experience at the Great Aussie Bush Camp in Lake Macquarie. Over the course of the camp, students took on exciting challenges like archery, canoeing, zip-lining, the flying fox, and pioneering problem-solving. They also embraced adventure with nighttime quiz games and commando exploring by torchlight. Mealtimes were a great opportunity to connect, and the IEF students were fully included in all activities, fostering a sense of belonging and shared achievement. It was a fantastic few days of teamwork, resilience, and making lasting memories!

Year 7 Camp

Year 7 Great Aussie Bush Camp, Lake Macquarie- 26^th -28^th March
Bright and early on a Wednesday morning, we arrived at the school gates eager and excited for our first secondary school camp. For some of us, it was our first school camp ever with bags packed and ready to embark on a social and physical adventure with 145 other students. We climbed high ropes courses, 'bombed' instructor canoes, explored team building and soared through the trees on the flying foxes with certainly got a little less sleep than we're normally used to.
We built some new friendships, laughed at some new jokes and got to know our teachers and support staff in a new light to continue our strong start of Year 7 at Rose Bay Secondary College. Our high school experiences are not contained within the four walls of the classroom and we will remember our Year 7 camp experiences for many years to come!
We'd like to thank the staff who volunteered to attend the camp for their dedication and drive, support and sensitive responses to the students and we look forward to our next adventures together!

RBSC SRC In The Community

Allegra Spender Forum for Youth Leadership:
Wentworth's own local MP Allegra Spender invited 2 members from our school to go and speak at a local forum throughout the week, being a great opportunity to get the voice of Rose Bay heard and advocated for, with an open panel for questions, along with opportunities to collaborate with other schools about issues within our own schools. It also involved Ms Spender asking how she could get youth to advocate more and engage with her, in order to get youth voices represented in Parliament. It was extremely insightful for lots of the private schools to engage with the local public schools more, and we look forward to collaborating with those schools and their youth leaders in future.

By Doug K

Grip Leadership:
The Grip Leadership conference was held at Chatswood throughout the week, and was a great opportunity to learn about techniques to engage all members of the school community in SRC projects, through the empowering message of student voice. It went through the modules of making school a great place for others, tips for time management relating to leadership responsibilities, the responsibilities of a student leader, creating events that everyone can connect with, creative ideas for your school that aren't events, being a leader who supports others, and tackling impossible challenges at school. It was very engaging and was a great opportunity to meet people from other schools, being a great day out to prepare us for being leaders in school.

Women in Construction - Site Tour

Today a group of enthusiastic Year 9 and 11 STEM interested students attended the Women in Construction site visit at the new Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick.

They explored the inner workings of how the hospital is being built, and participated in a site induction and tour. The girls observed the new oncology and emergency care wards, the world class laboratory systems and spoke with key construction workers including project managers, foreman, plumbers, carpenters, painters and electricians.

The girls concluded their tour with a seminar about pathways into construction and left feeling inspired about the importance and value of women in the construction industry.

Duke of Ed

P&C Social Events

Year 9 Resume Writing

Across weeks 9, 10 & 11 Year 9 have been participating in resume writing workshops where students explore the art of a great resume. Students have explored how resumes are 'first impressions', and how a resume is the first official meeting with a potential employer.

Students have enjoyed exploring the strengths and areas for improvement of a range of different resumes, and have applied these learnings to the creation and refinement of their own. Looking and applying for a job is a milestone step in preparing for the world of work, and it is fantastic to so many students engaged and involved in this 'forever' skill.

Careers News

* Please find the School Leavers Handbook here

* Please click here for the latest Careers Bulletin

Careers Bites Program

Would you or someone else you know in our local community like to be a part of the RBSC Careers Bites Program in 2025?

This is a great program which aims to bridge the gap between external industry and our internal school community, providing RBSC students the opportunity to hear first hand experiences from local community members about life post school, the inner workings of different industries and the world of work.

Perhaps you, a family member, family friend or another connection you have are small business owners, an apprentice or tradesperson, lawyer, doctor, nurse, psychologist, pilot, community liaison officer etc., (the list is endless!) and would like the opportunity to speak with students in our school community. All career fields are valued and we welcome any level of experience, profession and area of expertise.

Sessions run for 30 minutes each (including question time) and offer valuable insight for students into different fields of work.

If you would like more information or would like to be involved, please email Miss Georgia Bowd: georgia.bowd4@det.nsw.edu.au

Careers - Support for Parents

Support Indicator Quiz - is your child thinking of pursuing an apprenticeship or traineeship and want to test your literacy and numeracy skills? Ask them to complete practice literary and numeracy tests here to find their strengths and areas for improvement
Open Days 2025 - find all information about tertiary open days for 2025 here
Work Experience Toolkit - download the electronic toolkit to read more about work experience and to support your child to find a host employer
My Future - Parent Portal - access parent friendly career resources, including Career Bullseyes and creating a Career profile, to support career conversations around the home
What is the ATAR? Everything you need to know in just over 2 minutes
Year 12 Parents - A month - month support guide
University of Sydney - Year 10 Subject Selection Evening
Interested in Sport? Consider these Careers

Careers - Support and Events for Students

Library News

Anzac Day

This significant day is being commemorated in the library by a special display at the entrance to the library of novels and reference books from our collection linked to Australia’s contribution to World War 1 and other global conflicts.

The display chronicles the intricacy of military planning resulting in failures and triumphs while the poetry inspired by the bravery and suffering of those in the armed forces, on the front line, is captured powerfully by poets such as Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. Two poems by Owen have been selected for display. His words penetrate with searing honesty from a poet, 25 years old, who died on one of the last days of war in 1918:

“What passing-bells for these who day as cattle?

Only the monstrous and ger of the guns…” (Anthem for Doomed Youth)

Year 7

Our Year 7 students have had special reading classes each cycle in the library. They have been introduced to “Oliver”, the technology platform supporting all Department primary and secondary school libraries across the State. They have learned how to locate physical items in the library and also how to borrow e-books for reading over the coming holidays.

All students have been registered on the Premiers Reading Challenge (PRC) and will be busy until September when the Challenge finishes reading twenty books – ten books from the PRC reading list and ten books of their own choice.

We have discussed the many reasons why reading is important, and students have suggested:

· it helps us imagine things

· it improves our spelling, grammar and punctuation

· we can see how to write with sophisticated language and

· it enables us to have a quiet activity at the end of the day when we can “unwind” before bed.

Holiday Reading

A reminder that apart from books in our physical collection students are also able to borrow from the Wheelers e-books which the school has a subscription each year.

· The Wheelers link can be found on ” My School Library” on the student portal age.

· Click on the hyperlink, in blue, at the bottom of the page.

· Select and then borrow the book which can be read on any device.

Fast Track

Homework Centre

Homework Centre is Back 2025

We’re pleased to announce that the Homework Centre is running again every Monday and Wednesday in the library from 3:00pm to 4:40 PM. This is a great opportunity for students to receive extra support with homework and assessments, with tutors available to provide guidance across various subjects.

We encourage all students to take advantage of this valuable resource to stay on top of their studies in a supportive environment.

We look forward to seeing you there!

School Photos

Don't forget you are still able to order school photos if you haven't already.

Waverley Council Youth Week

Waverley Council Youth week is running from 9th - 17th April. There are many events happening across the two weeks.
Look out for the Bondi Beach Bash held at the Pavillion on the 12^th April. If you would like to book tickets, use the QR code on the flyer below.

Youth Week in the City

The City of Sydney is excited to invite young people to this year’s Youth Week in the City – an annual program celebrating creativity, energy, and youth voices. All events are designed and coordinated by young people from our Youth Opportunities program, for young people in our local area. These events are a fantastic opportunity for students to connect, express themselves, and have fun during the April school holidays.

An intimate event featuring raw talent and live acoustic performances from local young emerging artists.

16 April | 5:30-8:30PM Canva Space, Surry Hills

Inspired by escape rooms and the Amazing Race, this high-energy scavenger hunt challenges participants to strategise, solve clues, and use their individual strengths in a race for their share of a sizeable prize pool.

15 April | 2:30-5:30PM St Mary’s Cathedral Square

🎮 Game On: inclusive Youth Week gaming event

A celebration of gaming culture for all skill levels. Participants can connect, compete, and enjoy a fun, inclusive space dedicated to gaming.

17 April | 6:00-8:00PM Customs House (Lower Level)

Free Teen Programs at Woollahra Library

International Friends in Bondi

International Friends in Bondi is an initiative for young people who have recently moved to Australia.

Events are organised throughout the year and include a mix of recreational activities and important local information with partner organisations. All the events promoted are free. Participants don’t need to be living in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney.

BJE News

Why Choose Public Education?

For 175 years, NSW public schools have been at the heart of education, preparing today’s children to succeed and build better communities for tomorrow

NSW public schools offer high-quality, well-rounded education that provides a strong foundation for lifelong learning and success.

So for the best education money can't buy, choose Rose Bay Secondary College.

30 Apr	Homework Centre 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM Recurring event

7 May	Homework Centre 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM Recurring event

14 May	Homework Centre 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM Recurring event

21 May	Homework Centre 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM Recurring event

Newsletter Term 1 Week 10