11 May 2023

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Address

Principal’s Message

Kaya /Welcome back for Term 2.

Term 2 is traditionally very busy in schools and this year will be no exception.

“We Will Remember Them.” On the morning of Thursday 6th April, we paid our respects to everyone who has served and is currently serving Australia in war, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations. Our focus of our ANZAC Assembly this year was to remember the forgotten Aboriginal soldiers. At our 2023 service we had two amazing speakers, Mr Terry Barker and Ms Tracey Cross. A special thank you to the Mayor of Bunbury, Jaysen Miguel, and to the school board members, parents, and special guests who attended this event.

Congratulations need to go to two outstanding young women: Jasmine Batrick for her exceptional contribution as the day’s Master of Ceremonies, and La’Sharne who provided us with an extraordinary Acknowledgement of Country in Noongar language. Thank you also to the staff and students who put so much time into making this an event one to be proud of.

I continue to thank those staff who go above and beyond to organise exceptional high-school experiences for our students in terms of activities and events at break times and after school. For those families and students who may be looking for ways to support their child’s learning or to encourage their involvement in an extracurricular activity, I would encourage you to look at the vast array of after-school supports offered by our dedicated staff, including the breakfast club, homework club, basketball competitions, sporting competitions and even a knitting club.

Punctuality and attendance continue to be a priority. We continue to provide parents and carers with phone calls or SMS messages regarding some students arriving late to school. While there are good reasons why some students will be late to school on the odd occasion, it is a school expectation that all students are on time to commence the school day. This is extremely important for students’ education. Students need to be here on time and prepared for class by 8.40am each day. Many thanks to our parents and carers for supporting our focus by ensuring their children are punctual and that they attend school each and every day.

Due to some extenuating circumstances, we have had a few staff and timetable changes in Term 2. You may find that your child comes home and lets you know about these changes. Please ring the school if you have any questions regarding them.

Also, a special mention to Sayge Boden, one of our very talented Year 7 students who is in a choir that has been selected to sing at the Kings Coronation. Wow!

I look forward to a very industrious term with lots of learning and educational activities.

Boorda/ Goodbye

Susan Kerr M.Ed.Admin, B.Ed,Dip.Teach
PRINCIPAL
Newton Moore SHS

Finance

Contributions and Charges

A big thank you goes out to all parents and caregivers who have paid contributions and charges in full. We really appreciate your commitment to our school.

It is government policy that parents should contribute towards the cost of educating their children. As all students benefit from the pool of collected subject costs, it is fair to expect that all parents should pay the balance of contributions and charges.

Contributions and charges (C&C’s) form a large part of the school’s income for learning and teaching programs in the school, and supports the school in its focus to provide a quality education for all students.

There is some misunderstanding in the community as to the requirement to pay the ‘charges’ component of a student’s C&C’s. Charges are the compulsory component of your child’s education program and must be paid in full to ensure the resources that are required to meet the outcomes for that subject are available to your child. The Department of Education does not provide funding for this purpose and so the school needs to reallocate funds from other priorities to cover any charges that remain unpaid by parents or caregivers.

Contributions, although voluntary, do make a huge difference to the school’s ability to deliver the programs at Newton Moore, and the school greatly appreciates those parents who provide ongoing support in this way.

We understand some families experience financial hardship so we accept payment plans to pay off your costs in small amounts over the year. Parents and caregivers decide on the amount they wish to pay and the frequency of payments to suit the family budget requirements.

Please contact our Accounts Department to make payment plan arrangements. Michele will be happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have:

Our payment options are listed below. These can be used for payment in full or for instalment payments:

Country Week

If your child is participating in Country Week, please note the payment schedule below for the remaining instalments. All payments are to be received by Friday, 9th June, 2023.

12th May 2023
26th May 2023
9th June 2023

Please note that these instalments are $80.00 each and can be paid by the usual payment options: bank transfer, BPay, in person or by phone.

Senior School Deputy Principals’ Update

Year 10 subject selection – time to start thinking!

HOLA’s and specialist teachers will be visiting classes over the coming weeks to talk to students about the options and pathways available at our school in Year 11. Finding out which subjects support them to achieve their future goals is vitally important, so please encourage your child to research and discuss career and further education opportunities both at school and at home.

Year 10 Examinations

The Year 10 exams will be held in Week 6, from Monday 29th May to Friday 2nd November. In preparation for these important exams, it is essential that your child spends time revising the Semester 1 content as advised by their teacher. The grades achieved in these exams will be used to support the upcoming subject selection process, where students will be picking their subjects for Year 11. Personalised exam timetables have been given out to all students. If your child has not received a timetable, please ask them to come to the Admin Office to get their copy. Please take time to read the information contained on the timetable with your child, to ensure that they have the knowledge and understanding of the conditions and equipment required for the week.

Year 11 examinations

The Year 11 ATAR exams will begin at the end of Week 6, commencing on Monday 29th May through to Friday 2nd June.

Students can collect their personalised examination timetable from Michelle Moore in Administration from Monday 15th May. This timetable must be presented to supervisors at every examination. Students are not required to attend school during the examination period – see below for more details.

If you have any questions about the 2023 Semester One Examinations, please contact Kate Nightingale, Deputy Principal, by phone, 9722 2400 or email kate.nightingale@education.wa.edu.au

Study Skills

Resolving Conflict Around Homework

Some of the most common schoolwork arguments at home lead to statements like this:

If these are common refrains in your household there are some simple steps that can be taken to deal with this.

Log into www.studyskillshandbook.com.au with these details -

Newton Moore Stars

Congratulations to Charlotte Mills and Hannah McNaughton (Year 12) who were a part of a four-person team to win the BWA WABL 3x3 Under 18 Girls Championship over the holidays!

We are super proud of your achievements!

Congratulations to Kiya Gray on your appointment to the National Student Voice

At the recent WA Council Camp, Kiya was recognised by the Department of Education. They were thoroughly impressed by Kiya’s passion to stand up for others and represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Kiya demonstrated courage, kindness and compassion throughout the camp. The Department is extremely excited about this new initiative and look forward to supporting Kiya as she continues to shine in this new role.

Kiya was shortlisted for this initiative through her involvement in the WA Student Council and was personally selected by the Minister for Education to be a representative for students in Western Australia. Kiya will be one of four students representing WA as part of the National Student Voice. One other student has been selected from the WA Student Council, while the two other students come from independent schools.

What is the National Student Voice?

The National Student Voice is intended to be a mechanism for empowering student voice and placing students’ perspectives on the national education policy agenda to inform the work of Education Ministers. The National Student Voice will meet with Education Minister’s twice yearly, in person in the first half of the year, and virtually in the second half of the year to coincide with the Education Minister’s Meeting.

Congratulations Kiya, you are an amazing ambassador for Newton Moore Senior High School and our community.

Congratulations Year 7 Newton Moore SHS student Sayge Boden on singing for the King.

WA public school students played a starring role in the historic King’s coronation. Some of our regional students, who are members of Bunbury's Vocal Fusion Youth Choir, featured in the BBC's official Coronation Concert the day after the Coronation Ceremony on Saturday 6 May.

The concert was held at Windsor Castle the day after His Majesty King Charles III was crowned, and featured a range of live performances, including Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Andrea Bocelli.

A 300-strong Coronation Choir, made up of singers from diverse backgrounds, will be joined by a virtual choir made up of voices around the Commonwealth. The Bunbury choir were the only Australian singers to feature in a virtual performance, singing Higher Love by Steve Winwood.

Newton Moore High School Year 7 student Sayge Boden was ecstatic to find out the choir would be part of the global event.

“I felt really excited to be singing to the King,” Sayge said. “I was proud to do a Coronation for the King.”

The choir filmed the performance at Koombana Bay in Bunbury and had just two weeks to prepare. The performance was displayed on a screen at the concert and mashed up with other singers.

Choir director Danielle Bond said it was a huge moment for the choir.

"It's just such an amazing opportunity for these kids to go down in history," she told the ABC.

Student Services Update

Welcome back to Term 2. I’m Paul Dyson, the Student Services Manager for Term 2.

In Student Services, we are regularly asked questions such as, “What can I do with my teenager that will bring us closer together and help with communication?” Here are a few suggestions that might work for you….

Go on a road trip – teenagers are more inclined to discuss issues and how they are feeling when they are in a car and are facing forward and not making eye contact. This can be when the best conversations happen. A road trip gives everyone time to talk, listen, share and laugh while experiencing something new together. Another activity that helps teenagers to open up and communicate more is hiking, so don’t be afraid to tackle something like Bluff Knoll with your child or children.

Take family photos – it doesn’t matter if you have them professionally done or just use your iPhone to snap a few candid and casual shots. Grab these pictures and memories while you can and place them around the home.

Teach them to cook some healthy meals – most teenagers are wizards on anything computer based but put them into the kitchen and many of them struggle. Cooking with your teenager is a task that not only educates, but brings people together, and in many cultures, it is an essential part of the family dynamics. When you send your children out into the world, it’s also an essential skill that many take for granted, so enjoy the journey as much as the product and plan, shop and cook together – then enjoy the meal.

At Newton Moore SHS, the focus this Term is on students wearing the correct uniform. Please support us by ensuring your child leaves home appropriately dressed in the correct school uniform. Hoodies are not part of the school uniform.

At Student Services, we are here to help you, and we welcome Emma Hollins to our team, who will be working with us every Friday.

Always remember – No matter what your current circumstances are, if you can imagine something better for yourself, you can create it.

Student Services Team

School Nurse

Learning Areas

VET

Athletics Carnival - Pizza and Cookies

Year 10, 11 and 12 students worked tirelessly to prepare freshly made cookies, pizzas and coffees at the Athletics Carnival last term.

Their fantastic teamwork, cooking and coffee making skills came together to provide delicious treats to the staff during recess and lunch.

Thank you to the staff who supported the day, and Ms Read-Smith, Ms Potter, Ms Rogers, Ms Chew and Ms Joloya for organising and working with the students.

The biggest thank you goes to the students, who were exhausted at the end of the day, but still had smiles on their faces.

A successful day all round!!

HPE

Congratulations to all students who participated in the Interschool Athletics Carnival on Wednesday 3rd May. We placed 6th overall out of 9 schools, and placed 3rd in the Meritorious Shield. An awesome effort for our team of 43 students!

Well done to:

We also had another 10 students in the Top 20 overall point scorers—a great effort!

Rugby WA Visit NMSHS

On Wednesday 3rd May Newton Moore HPE department had Rugby WA hold clinics throughout the day to promote Rugby union to our students.

Year 8, 9, 10 and 12 Physical Education students were treated to expert coaching and skill development for Rugby union. Students participated well and enjoyed having Rugby WA coaches in the school.

Technologies

Metalwork is Back!

After a long absence, our metalwork workshop is back in action with Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 Design and Technologies classes starting their metalwork journey this term.

One of the best things about Newton Moore is the quality of our equipment and facilities. As a Design and Technologies teacher, I am truly blown away with how good this workshop is. We are incredibly lucky to have such a high-quality learning space!

More good news is that next term we will be joined by a second metalwork teacher, who will bring a wealth of experience to the program.

Do you want to learn a lot of hands-on skills to set you up to do any job around the home or workplace? If so, I strongly encourage you to choose Design and Technology as your preferred elective because you get to learn so many skills on a wide range of materials, tools and machinery.

Jack Hunter
Design and Technologies Teacher

Aboriginal Education

Stars

Term 2 has started with some exciting events. During Week 1, our Year 8 students attended their Engagement excursion. The day started at Pelican Point where students learnt about culture, cultural strengths, communication, leadership, and teamwork with Ernie Hill from Maaladjiny. Our Stars then had the opportunity to put some of these skills into play at the Yallingup Maze where they broke into teams to complete the maze. It was a fantastic day, and everyone enjoyed the experience and each other’s company.

Clontarf

Term 2 is always a busy one for Clontarf with footy back on, and we also have a couple of our major events for the year. In Week 4, we have our Regional Employment Forum in Bunbury, where our senior students get the opportunity to meet with local Clontarf Partners and discuss employment opportunities for them post-school. In Week 8, we also have the Bunbury Basketball Carnival where we host other Academies from WA South for the day as our Year 7-9 age groups battle it out. We are hoping this year will see us go back-to-back so we can keep the trophy at Newton Moore.

We are also very excited to announce that Leon Kickett (Year 11) and Nehemiah Brown (Year10) have been selected to represent the WA South region later this term after their performances at this year’s Clontarf Cup. This is the first of a possible 3 games, with the final team travelling to Melbourne in Term 4 to represent WA against the other states. We wish the boys all the best in these games, and we’ll hopefully get to see them go all the way through.

Specialist Programs

Engineering

F1 and Subs in Schools National Competition

Newton Moore SHS Year 10 and 11 student teams, Neptune and NOVA, competed at the highest level in Sydney in the F1 and Subs in Schools National Competition from 27th March to 31st March.

Congratulations to the students who were all wonderful ambassadors for Western Australia.

Neptune Team – Declan Garrett, James Ison, Riley De Vries-Turner, Kyan Young, and Ashton Chinnery

NOVA Team- Charlie Scott, Olivia Ashworth, Dylan Atkins, Jonathan Davis, Harry Nankivell

Thank you to the team’s major sponsor, Australian Government Department of Industry, Innovations and Science.

News from Parent Bodies

Canteen News

Volunteers Welcome

Message to Parents, Carers, Grandparents and the wider School Community: We are keen to welcome volunteers to the canteen. Volunteer help greatly assists the canteen to operate successfully and is a great way to be part of the school too! If you can spare some time, even as little as 30-45 minutes once or twice a week or month, it would be of great help. Your time will really make a difference and be greatly appreciated.

If you can assist in the canteen, please contact the school to speak with the Canteen Team or email us at nmshs-canteen@bigpond.com

School Board

Throughout the year, the Newton Moore SHS Board continues to meet to discuss and contribute to the development of the School Business Plan, and to assess the school’s performance against the existing Plan.

At each meeting, we have the opportunity to learn about different programs and celebrate the success of a number of programs and initiatives provided by the school.

These have included the PBS initiative, our Aboriginal education programs, and VET programs. At our upcoming school board meetings, we will be having presentations on the MASH (Moore Academy for Sport and Health) Program and Science Specialist Program. These programs are designed to support and build on students’ strengths and areas of interest.

Being a member of the Board is not a huge commitment as there are only five meetings a year. We would really love to hear from any parents or community members who might like to be part of our 2023 school board.