Newsletter Term 4 Week 3

From the Senior Executive

View from the Principal’s Desk

This week we celebrated the Badging of our 2024 student representatives. The Captain’s presented their vision statement to the College.

• MISSION STATEMENT
• We believe in fostering a sense of real school pride in our Rose Bay Secondary College community. We want everyone to see, appreciate and celebrate the amazing talent and dedication that students at our school are achieving.
• We believe in promoting good vibes and a sense of connection between all students, by involving all of you in our events. We're the only public school in the immediate area, and we want to embrace the unique character of our setting by encouraging you to be yourself.

World Teachers Day

Friday was World Teachers Day and it was marked by chocolates and a card of appreciation on teacher’s desk. Hand written cards from the students to teachers acknowledging their help and expertise.

HSC Exams

I want to express my appreciation to the supervisors of our HSC exams. In a large College (we have 195 candidates) this is a huge effort. Our supervisors go out of their way to ensure a calm and supportive environment to ensure our students can achieve their best. Thank you.

Mobile Phones

I want to thank our whole community for embracing the removal of phones from the College day.

I am proud to share that we are 98.7% phone free with only a small number of students finding the change challenging. The majority of infractions are one off’s with a very small number of repeated offences.

Infrastructure

Students will have noticed a range of work occurring on the campus. The following work is scheduled for Term 4 and the holidays. This will deliver an improved environment for our student body.

Halloween

The College is awash with pirates and other spooky characters today. Check out the students socials to experience a flavour of the students centred activities planned and delivered by our student leaders.

All Years - New School Bytes attendance system

Rose Bay Secondary College is moving to a new system through School Bytes to record explained student absences. This applies to early leavers, late arrivals and whole day absences. This new system will come into effect at the start of Term 4.

The link to the School Bytes Form for Early Leavers / Late Arrivals and Whole Day Absences can be found on the Rose Bay Secondary College's website (School Forms) and through the parents/carers School Bytes portal.

If you have any questions, please email the school at rosebay-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

IEF News

The IEF have fully embraced the Halloween dress up day that was promoted using the IEF captain's poster design.

SRC News

On Thursday, 19th October, Huai, Emma, Ashleigh, Hamish, Elise, Olivia, Doug and Isla went on an excursion to Taronga zoo for a leadership conference about leading climate justice in the Observatory Hill Environmental Education Centre. We listened to a range of keynote speakers, talk about their journeys of climate justice and activism, learning how we can get involved in standing up for the environment, and notable previous campaigns and anecdotes to draw inspiration and learn from. It was very inspiring and there were lots of techniques and knowledge for us to use in our own lives to make a difference. We spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about workshop ideas for primary school students at next month’s Sustainability Expo, and finally came up with the innovative idea of constructing an operation turtle project to help them gain a better understanding of the current environmental impacts that are not also being taken as seriously as they should be. Our design allows the students to categorise the rubbish and plastics from the papier mâché turtle, into its correct sections such as the right colour bins. We will be making our turtle with paper mache and out of recycled materials such as old newspapers, and using old rubbish (plastics and netting) for the primary students to sort out, in order to continue the recycling process. After the day we had the opportunity to look around the zoo and visit some of the amazing animals, before we headed back.  

Y12 - English HSC Student Event

The English Teachers Association are running an online event to support students in starting the HSC English course and specifically, the Common Module. This event is relevant to all 2 unit English courses and can be accessed anytime between now and December 15. If you or your child are interested, they can register using the link below.

Introducing the Common Module: Texts and Human Experiences

A wonderful way to motivate, inspire and energise your new HSC class.

• English for the 2024 HSC: what you need to know, where you need to go.
• Unpacking the Common Module: Texts and Human Experiences
• Insights to assessment including related texts, multi-modal tips
• Unpacking the Common Module for EAL/D
• 14 presentations on Common Module Prescribed Texts
• EAL/D texts
• Downloadable notes
• Students who have registered can have access through their own email address

Year 9 Olympics Unleashed - Steven Solomon Visit

Steve Solomon will be connecting with Year 9 students on 7/11/2023 as part of Olympics Unleashed.

 The students will learn from Steve Solomon's Olympic journey how to build resilience, the importance of setting goals and how to find what you are passionate about.

 Students will hear firsthand from Steve Solomon about how he overcame challenges to compete in his chosen sport at the very highest level, and how some lessons he's learned in sport can help students to be the best they can be – whether that’s in school, at home, on the sporting field or with friends.

Years 7-10 Chess Competition - RBSC

The inaugural Chess Competition will take place Tuesday 14 November in the Hall between   9 AM - 1 PM.  

Cost: $20 

All students in years 7-10 at all levels are welcome.  

Please register by filling in your name and year in the form: https://forms.office.com/r/ECYZQeu00w 

Registration closes: Friday 3 November 

For more information please contact Mr Magal on boaz.magal@det.nsw.edu.au

All Years - Student support

Additional resources to assist our community.

The school is continuing to provide support to our students and staff who may be affected by the ongoing situation in Israel and Gaza. Please contact our Wellbeing staff or students can self-refer to the Counsellors.

Please find below additional resources that you may find useful.

Helpful contacts if anyone needs support beyond JewishCare and Jewish House.

https://jewishcare.com.au/israel-support-resources/

Resources currently available:

Ways that you can support those that are affected

https://jewishcare.com.au/israel-support-resources/inclusion-and-diversity-duplicate/

Talking with Children About the War in Israel

https://jewishcare.com.au/israel-support-resources/mental-health-duplicate/

Practising self-care during these troubling times

https://jewishcare.com.au/israel-support-resources/talking-with-children-about-the-war-in-israel-duplicate/

All Years - Bus behaviour

I have had concerns raised with me by members of the public about the disrespectful behaviour of a number of students who are catching the bus from the Shuk bus stop.

The College policy is that students should be catching the buses from school, where there is full supervision and processes to ensure students can safely catch their buses home.

The College also expects all our students to show exemplary respect and responsibility in the community. If any student is behaving disrespectfully and can be identified as a member of the College then disciplinary action can be taken.

I am aware the majority of our students behave with great pride and respect in the community, and I am disappointed that the actions of a few are tarnishing the reputation of the majority of our students.

Library News

Term 4 in Full Swing

Term 4 is well under way with the Library being a popular space during breaks and at other key times throughout the day. So far, staff have been overwhelmingly impressed by students’ compliance with the new mobile phone ban and we have noticed a significant increase in interaction over board games, drawing and general social chatter in the space. The atmosphere has been different this term for the better. It’s great to see!

With a large number of students accessing the Library, Library staff would like to remind students that the Library is a learning space like any classroom and the usual classroom expectations apply. We are asking students to remember to store their bags in the bag room upon entry, keep food and drink outside of the Library and keep noise to a reasonable level. Following these simple standards will help ensure the Library remains a clean, safe and enjoyable space for all who access it for leisure or study.

Senior Students

Term 4 sees Year 11 transition into beginning their Year 12 HSC studies and with that, many students have opted to withdraw from one of their HSC courses. This week many seniors began to access the Library during the gaps in their timetable created by this withdrawal allocated as study periods in the Library. Library staff would like to remind senior students that study periods are intended for study and academic work only. Off-task behaviour such as board games or digital games, excessive noise or watching movies will not be tolerated. Again, we ask you to observe the basic expectations mentioned above to ensure a harmonious space for those working and studying in the space. If you need a quieter space, there is a senior study space at the rear of the Library for Year 12 student use only.

Returning Overdue Resources

The Library Assistants have been hard at work issuing overdue notices to a large number of students with overdue resources, mainly books, laptops and laptop chargers. Most of these items are textbooks or English set texts (novels) used in classes. Please, if you have received an overdue notice, do your best to try to locate the item and return it as soon as possible. There will be no penalty for returned items, regardless of how long overdue they might be. We have recently audited our resource collections and know what is in stock. Help us help you and have the resources ready to go for the next round of learners. Invoices may need to be issued for items that simply do not come back and we’d prefer to avoid such a situation.

With the Year 12 class of 2023 signing out into the wider world next week, now is the time for those students to ensure they have returned all their loaned materials so they can be officially signed out. So please check!

Homework Club

Remember, Homework Club runs on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30-5:00pm. Come along, bring something to work on, eat biscuits and say hello to Miss Hawke.

RBSC Presents...

RBSC P&C

RBSC P&C Secondhand School Uniforms Buy, Sell & Swap

The P&C has a Facebook group for Rose Bay Secondary College families to buy, sell or giveaway secondhand uniforms, textbooks, musical instruments, music books or school shoes.
Here's a link to the page on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/935017760501970

Please become a member and use the page to sell or give away your old uniform items, or buy secondhand items.

TO SELL: Post with details of the item you have for sale. It's a good idea to include a photo.When you sell something, please delete it from the group so the page stays up-to-date.

TO BUY: Contact a seller via Direct Message if they have an item listed that you would like to buy

OR:  Create a post with details of the item that you would like to buy. We ask that all items on the page are related to school, and in good reusable condition.

Thanks and please start buying & selling! 

Effective parenting - free seminar

WAYS Youth & Family have a free seminar for parents looking for some advice and practical education to understand and communicate with their teens. It also provides great information for managing difficult and risk taking behaviours.

At the Effective Parenting for Teens and Family Wellbeing seminar parents and carers of young people aged 10 – 17 years can gain practical tips for communication, managing conflict and difficult conversations with adolescents assisting the development of healthy and resilient relationships

'Body Image Talk' for parents, hosted by Allegra Spender and experts

Wednesday 1 November, at Church in the Marketplace, Bondi Junction from 6pm-7.30pm. Scan the QR code below to RSVP and find out further information

How to Listen so Kids will Talk

Waverley library is running a talk "Education: How to Listen so Kids will Talk" on 8 November at 6.30pm by Mohan Dhall, renowned expert in child psychology and communication strategies, where he will delve into the secrets of "How to listen so kids will talk" - an essential skill for parents, educators, and caregivers alike.

Tickets may be purchased here