1 June 2023

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Address

Principal’s Message

Kaya

Welcome to Term 2. In what seems like no time at all, we are already more than halfway through the term.

A focus for our school as a Positive Behaviour school is to teach expected behaviours and to reward and recognise student who are doing the right thing. To support us with this initiative, I am encouraging all parents, guardians, and community members to send us student success stories. We have some extremely talented and conscientious students at our school, and we would love the chance to highlight their successes, including volunteer work they may do, through our newsletter and at our assemblies.

Another focus for us this term has been teachers developing a series of lesson plans that focus on recognising the contributions of Aboriginal peoples’ culture and history. These plans will be delivered to our students throughout the year. The purpose of this is so all students better understand and respect Aboriginal peoples’ histories and their contributions to society.

Students in Years 8-11 will soon start to select their subjects for 2023. Handbooks are in the process of being finalised and will be available soon on our school website and on Connect. As in previous years, selections will be made online. To assist with this process, we will allow students to do online selections at school in class time. Information on how this works will be provided to parents and students over the coming weeks.

Exams are coming up shortly for Year 11 and 12 ATAR students. These will take place from 31st of May to 9th of June. Please do not book holidays during this time, as these will form an important part of your child’s final assessment grade.

Recently, our staff and some of our students have been out visiting the local primary schools and providing the Year 6 students and their families with information about the wonderful programs we provide for students at this school. We look forward to lots of Year 6 students enrolling.

We also have a School Development Day on Tuesday 6th June following the long weekend. Students do not attend school on this day.

Finally, I am proud to say our Annual Report for 2023 is available on our school website.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

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

From the Finance Team

Country Week

Country Week is approaching fast. Please check that you are up to date with the payment schedule. The full cost of country week, being $650, needs to be paid by Friday 9th June 2023.

If you are experiencing payment difficulties, please contact the Accounts Office today.

newtonmoore.shs.accounts@education.wa.edu.au

Phone: 9722 2419

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.

If you need an up-to-date account, please contact the Accounts Office on the email or phone number below and it will be emailed to you.

Specialist Programs:

If your child is in a specialist program, including MASH, Science Engineering or Science Horizons, please be aware that this attracts a compulsory charge. This charge provides the extra resources required for the specialist program, which gives your child the best opportunity in this specialised area of learning. Please ensure you make payment for this program during this term to ensure all resources are available to your child.

Do you need more time to pay? No problem, we accept payment plans to pay off your costs in small amounts over the year. Parents/caregivers decide on the amount they wish to pay and the frequency of payments to suit the family budget requirements.

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

newtonmoore.shs.accounts@education.wa.edu.au

Phone: 9722 2419

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

Lower School Deputy Principals’ Update

Lower School Attendance Winners at NMSHS

At NMSHS we have an established 90’s Club, celebrating those students who consistently attend 90% of the time. We celebrate these students at year assemblies and award certificates at the end of each term for those achieving above 95%. Given we are midway through Term 2, I would like to make mention of the lower school superstars listed below who are still above 95% attendance for the entire year.

Senior School Deputy Principals’ Update

Subject selections 2022

By now, all Year 10 and 11 students should have finalised subject selections for 2022. This is always a challenging time for students who may not be 100% sure of what they want to study or even if they have made the right decisions.

If you or your child have any questions about upper school programs and expectations, please contact Kate Nightingale, (Deputy Principal) or Jaqueline Read-Smith (Vet Coordinator) at school.

Year 10 and 11 exams.

A reminder that the Year 10 exams and Year 11 ATAR exams begin in Week 6. Please encourage your child to commit to a study plan so that they can achieve their best results.

Study Skills Tip - Making The Most Of Classtime

There are many advantages apart from deeper learning and improved results to making the most of class time. By completing more work in class you will have less to do at home, your teacher will be pleased with your application and so will your parents when they read your report, and of course, you will learn more! And if you don’t use class time efficiently? Well you will have to do more work at home, you will find you don’t always understand the work, your teachers will have to be continually disciplining you and you may even make it harder for other people in your class to learn. It’s a no-brainer!

What does working effectively in class mean?

1. Sit next to someone who will help you stay on task rather than someone who distracts you.
2. Ask questions whenever you are unsure, unclear or do not understand something.
3. Be polite and respectful of your teacher and your classmates at all times.
4. Come prepared to the lesson with all the books, technology and equipment you will need.
5. Contribute your thoughts and ideas at the appropriate times.
6. If you find yourself day-dreaming, ask yourself questions about what is going on or take notes about what is being discussed so you regain your focus.
7. Try at all times to stay on task and be engaged in the work you are doing.

Learn more this year about how to work effectively at home and at school by working through the units at the link below. Our school’s access details are:

Admin Report

Review to Inform a Better and Fairer Education System Consultation

The Review to Inform a Better and Fairer Education System (the Review) will make recommendations for Education Ministers to inform the next agreement to improve education outcomes in Australia and meet the current and future needs of students

The Expert Panel will deliver a final report to all Education Ministers by 31 October 2023.

Throughout the Review process, the Expert Panel will engage extensively across the schools sector with stakeholders including students, teachers, school leaders and support staff, education unions, national education agencies, non-government sector school stakeholders, parents, carers, youth and student bodies, and governments to examine a range of issues.

The Expert Panel encourages you to engage in the consultation process to ensure the voices of all people and organisations affected by the National School Reform Agreement are heard and considered.

Review to Inform a Better and Fairer Education System Consultation - Department of Education, Australian Government

Student Services Update

National Reconciliation Week

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for students at Newton Moore Senior High School to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2023, Be a Voice for Generations, encourages all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in our everyday lives – where we live, work and socialise. NMSHS sent a strong representation of students to the local Sorry Day Walk to commence our Reconciliation Week. Lessons sharing the reconciliation message have been taught across the week and activities held within our Academies and across the school at lunchtimes.

Zero Bullying and Vaping Information Sessions

Student Services has been hosting both “Zero Bullying” and “Vaping Information” sessions over the last few weeks.

Students have been participating in these on Thursday mornings in various year groups.

Learning Areas

Technologies

Students in Year 10 Fashion Design have been completing their Quillo this term. A Quillo, or Quillow, is a quilt with a reversible pocket that enables the blanket part to be folded up to form a pillow. Students were given the task to embellish squares and create a theme for their quilts. They used a range of techniques like tye-dying, hand embroidery, machine embroidery or applique.

Aboriginal Education

Stars

Stars has commenced Tuesday morning training with Mel, which will continue for the remainder of Term 2. We are privileged to be involved in the West Coast Eagles Soar program for adolescent girls. Our aim is to promote healthy attitudes and practices that will lead young women to take responsibility for their own wellbeing and the benefits of having a healthy lifestyle. We believe AFLW players and West Coast Eagles female role models will inspire them to continue to be physically active

Clontarf

Last Thursday, students from the Clontarf Southern Region had the opportunity to meet with local businesses and Clontarf Partners and speak at our Annual Employment Forum. The Newton Moore Year 11 & 12 students were joined by over 60 other senior students from Academies all across Southern WA. They had the opportunity to speak with representatives from a range of different industries and organisations, putting their best foot forward and leaving a great impression on the Clontarf Partners.

The Newton Moore students all handled themselves remarkably well, having great conversations with the different representatives and hopefully opening the door for future employment.

Specialist Programs

Science Horizons

Year 7 Science Horizons and Engineering students have joined a Lego challenge! They each get to develop a Lego board which represents their take on this year’s National Science Week theme of ‘Innovation, powering future industry’. There are four prize categories, and entries will be judged at the NMSHS STEM Fair on Wednesday, 16th August. Students are all invited to the Community Lego event at South West Sports centre on Sunday, 17th September – more to come!

News from Parent Bodies

School Board

The Newton Moore SHS School Board is composed of dedicated individuals from our local community and our staff. We also have student representatives who attend school board meetings and provide a student report.

At the next school board meeting we will be receiving an update on the MASH program, reviewing our school finances and budget, and will look at and review our upper school student programs and data.

It is important to remember the members of the School Board act as a crucial link between our school and the community. The School Board is responsible for making important decisions that shape the school’s directions and policies.

Our school is truly fortunate to have a passionate and committed School Board that selflessly dedicate their time and expertise to serve our school community.

We encourage you to support and engage with our school board members as they work diligently to shape the future of education at our school. Should you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to reach out to our School Board or Administration as we would be happy to bring your agenda items to our meetings

Together, we can continue to progress and provide an exceptional education for our students.

Community Notices