Newsletter Term 1 Week 3

This year the Principal Ms Bright will shave her head if the College's World's Greatest Shave team gets to $20 000 raised!

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From the Senior Executive

Valentine's Day is a favourite day on the school calendar and we are very proud of our 2023 Year 12 SRC students' hard work and dedication in making the day a huge success at RBSC. 

 The students raised money by offering serenade songs, chocolates, baked goods, and sausages to their fellow students. Additionally, the bands provided brilliant music during break times in the plaza, adding to the festive atmosphere of the day. 

All the money raised during the event will be donated to the White Ribbon charity. This charity is dedicated to preventing violence against women by engaging with men and boys to promote respectful relationships and gender equality. 

We are grateful to our students for organising such a successful event and for their commitment to making a difference in the community. We hope that events like this will continue to inspire our students to make a positive impact on the world around them. 

At the Tuesday School Assembly, students were reminded of the importance of ensuring that they display excellent behaviour both at school and in public. As you are aware, we have high expectations that our students are respectful and responsible learners at school, and this also extends to them being responsible for their actions in the community. Students were reminded in the assembly that we live in the age of CCTV, which means that many public places are under surveillance. If the school receives footage of students engaging in inappropriate behaviour, whether it is on or off school grounds, we are legally required to act on that information. We take responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of our students very seriously, and we appreciate your support in reinforcing this message to your children. 

Finally, we wanted to share some insights from educational leadership expert Lyn Sharratt's book, Clarity. Sharratt suggests that parents can ask their children five key questions about their learning to gain a deeper understanding of their experiences and progress. We would encourage you to try these questions out with your child, as they go beyond the typical "How was school today?" conversation: 

What did you learn today? 

How did you learn it? 

How do you know you learned it? 

How can you apply what you learned? 

What further questions do you have about what you learned? 

These questions can help your child reflect on their learning and develop a deeper understanding of the material. We believe that this kind of conversation can be invaluable to your child's academic success and overall well-being. More information about Clarity in a short four minute video.  

SRC NEWS

"On Tuesday the 14th, the Student Representative Council (SRC) ran a whole-school Valentine's Day celebration. In the weeks leading up to the day, students were encouraged to walk up to a Valentine’s stall run by the SRC and buy gifts for their friends and people they care about. On the day, these gifts were hand delivered by Year 12 SRC students who dressed up in Pink, Red and White, and serenaded students whilst handing out chocolate hearts and love notes. During break times, a number of student-run bands played love songs in the Plaza. The SRC also ran a bake sale and a sausage sizzle, from which hundreds of students bought sweet treats and snags. Overall, the day was a massive success, and a great way to welcome in the New Year!"

Year 7 Meet and Greet + Teams Workshop

We are very pleased to announce that the Year 7 Meet and Greet will return to being on site, face to face in 2023.
The date for this event will be Tuesday 21st February with parents arriving at 3:45 p.m. ready to be seated in their child's class grouping for the 4 p.m. meeting of their child's teachers. The event will conclude at 5 p.m. This will be a free ticketed event. 

Registration for Meet and Greet

As part of supporting Year 7 transition to high school, the RBSC Transition Team would like to extend the opportunity to you to attend a face-to-face workshop focusing on navigating Microsoft teams. We understand that commencing high school is a huge step for both student and parent alike, and we want to ensure that we are doing our best to support you, as you support your child at home.

The formal seated section of Meet the Teacher concludes in the classrooms at 4:45 p.m. with parents and teachers then mingling in class groups and enjoying food and juice kindly supplied by the P&C in the Canteen Area. 

Meet the Teacher will officially conclude at 5 p.m. Parents and carers attending the Teams Meeting are to make their way to the Hall for a 5:10 p.m. start. Parents and carers not attending are to kindly exit the school by 5:10 p.m. Parents and carers attending the Teams Meeting are advised to bring their own device and wifi hotspot so that you can join a mock team.

 Registration for the Teams Workshop 

A word from our generous sponsor - Please note that the P&C meetings are Tuesdays 7pm Week 3 & 8 each term in the Hall with the next meeting/AGM on 14^th March. 

Fortnightly Star Awards

Students receive Star Awards for their positive behaviour, academic achievements, community involement, and contributions across a range of other areas that form part of each day at Rose Bay Secondary College. As a school community, we are committed to recognising the great number of Rose Bay students that achieve excellence on a daily basis. We would like to congratulate the following students on receiving a significant number of star awards this fortnight:

English Studies

Parent volunteer request –  mock-interview panel for Year 11 English Studies students 

The Year 11 English Studies class will participate in a job interview for their Term 1 assessment task. The English Faculty is looking for an enthusiastic local community member to help us facilitate a mock interview panel, replicating a real-world environment. 

We are looking for an interested parent-volunteer, who would be willing to give up approximately two hours of their time on Wednesday, March 22^nd. The college will facilitate the Working with Children Check screening. For more information, or to express your interest, please contact peter.wallis17@det.nsw.edu.au or Christine.godby@det.nsw.edu.au 

School Tours

Rose Bay Secondary College is scheduling school tours for interested prospective parent/carer and child/ren.

Tours will be held Tuesday and Thursday at 10am – beginning Tuesday 21 February 2023.

The tours will run for approx. 1 hour.  Tour numbers are limited. Contact the school on 9301-0300 to book

Careers News

This has been a busy week for Ms Lockton, the Careers teacher, with students starting a range of Vocational Education & Training (VET) courses. Students at RBSC are learning across a wide range of areas including: Design (Fundamentals, Fashion & Interior); Allied Health Services; Nursing Aged Care; Aviation - Drone Operator; Construction pathways; Engineering pathways; Electrotechnology; Baking; Hospitality; Business Services; Real Estate; CyberSecurity and Automotive-Mechanical to name just some of the options. Some of the courses are being studied in the traditional 'face to face' setting at TAFE; Ultimo, Enmore and Randwick, however, students are also learning in the e-world with a blend of direct instruction on MS Teams coupled with intensive practical workshops and Work Placements later in the year. TVET offers young people qualifications at Certificate III and helps them develop skills and understandings to move into the Workplace whilst they still study towards their HSC and for many the ATAR. Several students have also signed up for School Based Apprenticeships/Traineeships (SBAT) this week too, which is a learning pathway where students combine HSC and an Apprenticeship/Traineeship. After year 12 some of the students move fulltime into the second year of their apprenticeship or they head off to tertiary study at University (but with Cert III qualifications and experience to support themselves with a great job whilst at uni). Students can arrange times to meet with Ms Lockton to start discussions around their early career planning. Ms Lockton's contact details are on her door (on level A5)

NAPLAN online 2023

Years 7 and 9 students will be completing the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) Online tests in Weeks 8 and 9 of Term, 2023.

NAPLAN online is a nationwide measure through which parents, teachers, schools, education authorities, governments and the broader community can determine whether or not young Australians are developing the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning and for their productive and rewarding participation in the community.

The tests provide an important contribution to monitoring and evaluating the performance of schools and school systems in these fundamental capabilities. They also provide schools, states and territories with information about how education approaches are working, the areas to be prioritised for improvement, and those schools requiring support in the teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy.

The results can assist teachers by providing additional information to support their professional judgement about students’ levels of literacy and numeracy attainment and progress.

Students in Years 7 & 9 will complete the following four NAPLAN tests:

● Reading

● Writing

● Conventions of Language (spelling, grammar and punctuation)

● Numeracy

All NAPLAN tests will be conducted on a device. All students taking part in NAPLAN Online tests must install a locked down browser app suitable for their device. This also applies when schools have a ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD) policy. Locked down browser applications are available for devices that meet the minimum device requirements.

More information about NAPLAN will be emailed to parents of Year 7 and Year 9 students in the coming weeks.

Homework Centre

The Homework Centre provides a quiet, secure environment where students can get help, support and guidance from specialist tutors with their research, homework and assignments after school. It takes place in the library. The tutors, all ex- RBSC students give current students the opportunity to ask questions and get assistance with all subjects. The Homework Centre runs on:

 Monday 3.30pm-5pm  

 Wednesday 3.30pm-5pm  

Every student is a member of the Homework Centre Teams page.  Information and notices regarding the Homework Centre will be posted on Teams.  We have two tutors each afternoon and four different tutors altogether. Please check the Homework TEAMS to see which days the tutors come so that you can receive the specialist help that you need. 

 If you have any questions, please contact either Ms. Sara Debono or Ms. Henrietta Hawke.  

WORLD'S GREATEST SHAVE

World's Greatest Shave is back at RBSC and better than ever. The World's Greatest Shave is a campaign led by the Leukaemia Foundation, an Australian charity dedicated to supporting people living with blood cancer by providing information, treatment, and care. Last year, with the promise of our principal Melinda Bight dying her hair, we were able to raise over $12,000 dollars for this fantastic charity, smashing our goal of $10,000.This year however, we have raised the stakes, upping our goal to a whopping 20,000 DOLLARS. The event will be held at the school, available for the whole student and teacher body to watch. Applications are open to all students and teachers, who want to either shave, cut or dye their hair. If you are interested please sign up at the following link;  http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/RBSCShavers2023 or scan the QR code in the posters. We hope to see all of you either joining or donating the event, and supporting this amazing cause. For any questions feel free to email me at Zachary.villa@education.nsw.gov.au

 Thanks to all of you,

Sincerely Zac

RBSC WGS Team leader

High Potential and Gifted Education

Thriving Minds is an internationally recognised organisation that provides challenging and engaging thinking days for senior students. This year's event is called More Able and Ambitious and is targeted at improving students' critical thinking skills. It will take place at Ascham Senior School on Monday, 5 June 2023 and costs $50. More information can be found in the attached brochure. Interested students can register their interest by completing the attached form by 24 February 2023. Please come and see Ms Beiglari and Mr Weavers in the A-Block staffroom if you have any further questions.

https://forms.office.com/r/Y9YgjCp95E

GREASE THE MUSICAL!

Auditions have been begun and will continue over the next week. Students must check the notices if they have registered to audition via the Audition Registration form on Sentral and on Teams cohorts pages.
There will be a dance audition 3:30pm - 5:30pm in the hall after school. This is for all potential cast members. Please bring clothes that you can move in and plenty of water and food.

Free Workshops for Parents

The Kidman Centre UTS is a youth mental health treatment and research centre based at the Prince of wales Hospital in Randwick. These workshops are designed to equip parents / caregivers and teens with practical, evidence based psychological strategies to help them navigate a range of lifes challenges. For more informtion please click here

Department of Education: Parent webinars and resources

The NSW Department of Education has a collection of webinars and resources from the eSafety Commissioner and their trusted partners to aid families in setting up good digital habits.

These webinars are aimed at supporting young people to have safe, positive experiences online as well as providing resources for young people living with a disability. To access these valuable resources please follow this link.

Library News

We've recently welcomed our Year 7 cohort into the library. They've had a lesson exploring the different spaces and their uses, locating charging points and meeting the library staff who are there to support them when locating and organising information for assignments or when choosing books for wide reading. A new member of the team is Lisha Marsden-Hader, our new library assistant who has met many of our students and already provided them with great support. Please let us know if your child would like assistance getting organised with tasks. We've introduced students to the physical resources in the library - books, graphic novels devices etc. and explained the pathway to our digital resources located in "My School Library" on the student portal. Also, if you scroll down on the student portal page we have bookmarked "e-platform". Click on this and it opens to thousands of current and classic e-books and audio files enabling students to read at school or at home.

The Booker Prize is a famous literary prize awarded to books written in English and published in the UK or Ireland. The winner receives international publicity which usually results in a sales boost.We were especially alerted to the competition below by the Teacher Librarian at Burwood Girls High School as they are changing the name of the prize. Her daughter is one of six finalists to rename it!  She chose BERNIE because of Bernadine Evaristo, the first black woman to win the prize. You may find it interesting to open the  link to read more about the final suggestions and if you feel inclined, you may want to add your support to "The Bernie"! I didn't realise how many nominations Iris Murdoch had received. What a great writer!

ANU Open Day

ANU is holding their Open Day on Saturday 18 March 2023. This is your chance to learn about life after Year 12 – what it’s like to live, study and play at university. ANU direct applications are open from March to May, so you might even score an early offer – and take some of the stress out of your final year. Don’t miss it – take the whole family!