Mr Stephen Harris, Principal

Every day I seek to spend time out and about, walking around the campus and engaging in the different learning activities. Last week was no exception, with some extremely interesting activities occurring in many locations. I’ve been in the Zone and Stage 1, as well as visiting a number of the on-site Secondary Student Opportunity Week groups. All were inspirational – and I love seeing students fully immersed in activities.

One specific activity caught my attention and I’d love to share that as it captures so much of the future of learning, as well as the excellence evident in the present. Most days there are Year 8 French classes occurring in the SCIL Building. In past years, I would not have guaranteed that learning a second language would engage all students. These days, Year 8 French is a highly absorbing immersive experience, with some highly innovative approaches including the continued use of a Canadian-created kinaesthetic approach that links physical movement to the acquisition of vocabulary.

Supporting this work are a range of other activities – but it was Caitlin Air’s home learning that caught my attention. Caitlin, along with other Year 8 students, had applied the use of QR codes to her exercise. For a long time now I have been pondering where technology such as QR codes fits in – and finally I saw it. So simple, but so powerful! Caitlyn had handwritten a short statement in her exercise book that stated that ‘this QR code will take you to a recording of me speaking in French’. The QR code was a neatly presented paper cut-out glued onto her page. All I had to do was use my QR code reader on my mobile phone ‘et voila’ – there was a recorded file that I could quickly and easily listen to, with Caitlin speaking in French. Well done Caitlin and others who have pioneered the applied use of the technology in such simple but powerful ways. I hope one day your Year 8 French language endeavours will see you using them in a visit to a French speaking country.

I am reminded that it sometimes takes a while for the applied use of a particular technology to mature. It is not so much a question of using technology for the sake of using technology, rather, it needs to be like the air we breathe – just available and used invisibly. As a learning community, we need to be ready for many more moments of revelation such as this. There are multiple new drifts in technology that we cannot yet appreciate. We should expect increased use of wearable technology, mobile devices will be pervasive and interactive surfaces will proliferate. It is an exciting new world of learning – and I am sure we will all be in for a prolonged learning phase as we see this world become embedded into our collective everyday practices.

Week 9 was a busy week all round, with Student Opportunity Week in full-swing from Wednesday to Friday for Secondary students. The broad range of programs included Duke of Edinburgh, Outdoor Adventure, SWAT, Masterchef, PBL+ Design/IT, PBL+ Media, PBL+ Fashion, PBL+ Art, Music, Musical Theatre, Marine Environment, Urban Challenge, Horse Riding, Cricket, Tennis, Mountain biking, Touch Football and Visual Art. More photos can be seen on the Student Opportunities website.

Earlier in the week Year 12 students completed the majority of their Half-Yearly exams, with only a few remaining assessments in the coming weeks. Congratulations to all student for successfully navigating this time so well. We hope that the upcoming school holidays will be a chance for Year 12 to re-charge and focus for Term 2 and beyond.

On Wednesday, the finale for the ‘GO Sing! GO Play!’ competition in Primary was held, with world famous jazz musician, Mr Don Burrows, as special guest. Enthusiastic singers and musicians from across Primary showcased their talents throughout the auditions and in the final performances last week. The event also raised $469 for the GO program. Congratulations to everyone who took part.

On Thursday and Friday, the SCIL team hosted a Professional Development workshop in the SCIL Building called ‘Making it Mobile’. 35 teachers and leaders from a range of both local and interstate schools took part, with the main focus on the Learning Matrix, personalised learning, and Project-Based Learning. It was a fantastic time with tremendous feedback from all who participated.

The Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) aims to encourage a love of reading in students for leisure and pleasure, and to enable students to experience quality literature. It is not a competition, but a challenge to each student to read, to read more and to read more widely.

The booklists, Challenge rules, FAQs and tips can be accessed via the PRC website.
 

Years 7-9

In Secondary, the Challenge is open to students from Years 7 to 9. Students are reminded that they can read above their age but not below it.

If students wish to join or continue with the PRC they must let their English teacher know so that they can be issued with a login and password.

Students who participated in the Challenge in previous years are able to continue working towards their gold certificate.
 

Kindergarten - Year 6

In Primary, the Challenge is available to all students, Kindergarten to Year 6. All students who enter and successfully complete the Challenge will receive a Premier's Reading Challenge certificate for 2014 and their name will be published on an Honour Roll. Receiving a certificate and appearing on the Honour Roll are conditions of entry in the Challenge.  Students who complete the Challenge for four years receive a gold certificate.

The Dreamtime and Narnia Libraries have a special display of Premier’s Reading Challenge books. During your child’s library time, they may borrow up to 2 PRC books, which are labelled accordingly. Don’t forget to make use of your local library too.

This year continues with last year’s system, recording and validating your child’s reading experience online. Next week, your child will be given a username and password.  The username and password will be placed in your child’s Student Diary for them to refer to each time they go online to record the books they have read.  Student reading records can be entered online between April and August, at home or a public library, using these usernames and passwords. It is best to encourage your child to enter their own books as they read them. Parents can help younger students enter their books from home if this is appropriate. We would encourage your child to keep a paper copy of their reading record too, using the Reading Log found on the PRC website.

After your child has read the prescribed number of PRC books and entered them into their reading record online, it is most important that this is written in your child’s record book. NBCS needs to validate your child’s Student Diary so they can receive an award.

Happy reading!

With the 2014 Snow Season fast approaching it is time to call for all budding Skiers and Snowboarders who would like to be part of the NBCS Ski and Snowboard Team and compete at the Northern NSW Interschools Championships.

Dates: Wednesday 2 July to Saturday 5 July
For the full race schedule download the NSW Interschools Event Dates & Schedule.

What is Interschools?
The Interschools Snowsports Championships is a series of snowsports competitions where students compete for their school as part of a team or as an individual, in any of the seven discipline events. Thousands of students have been introduced to competitive ski and snowboard competitions through the Interschools Championships. Many athletes have gone from competing for their school to competing for Australia, and we have seen at least 20 Olympians begin their competition days in NSW & ACT Interschools Snowsports Championships.

Who Can Compete?
School students from Kindergarten to Year 12 can compete. Students can compete as either an individual or part of a team in the Regional Championships to qualify for the NSW State Championships and/or Australian Championships.

What Skill Level are the Competitions Suitable For?
School students from all ability levels are encouraged to enter, with an emphasis on fun and participation in the initial Regional Championships. As the competitions move into the NSW State and Australian event, the level of competition and the degree of difficulty increases.

The NBCS team will have a School Coordinator who is a parent volunteer but all parents are responsible for their own children for the duration of the Championships. Please note that NBCS will not be sending a staff member to supervise students.

Booking of accommodation and lift tickets is the responsibility of each individual family that attends.

For further details download the 2014 Interschools Handbook.
 

INFORMATION SESSION

An information session will be held at NBCS on Thursday 3 April from 7:30-8:00am. To confirm your attendance at this session please register here: Information Session RSVP

If you are unable to attend the information session and are interested in your children being part of the team, please email Tracy Dowling to receive more information: tdowling@nbcs.nsw.edu.au

Wednesday 9 April  is the final day that the NBCS Uniform Shop will be open in Term 1.

The Uniform Shop will re-open on Monday 28 April, 8:30-11:00am.

The usual opening hours during term are Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 8:30-10:30am. The Uniform Shop is located in the Terrey Hills Shopping Centre, Shop 4, Cnr Booralie and Yulong Ave, Terrey Hills.

Please note that the school is currently unable to receive faxes in the School Office. Forms can be mailed or sent via email at any time, or dropped in at Reception.

Parents may be interested in a list of holiday clinics and local clubs that has been published on the Sport website: sport.nbcs.nsw.edu.au/secondary/local-clubs-and-holiday-camps