30 March 2023

Newsletter Articles

From the Admin Team

It has been a fantastic start to 2023 for Boyup Brook District High School, your children have started the year so well, working extremely hard within their classrooms, participating in a variety of events, all with huge smiles. It has been a pleasure to see all your children from Kindergarten through to Year 10 practicing and embedding our PBS values of Respect, Resilience and Striving for success. We hope that you have seen many celebrations from this year so far on our Facebook page. Keep an eye on the page for regular updates.

For our staff, it has been a very busy start to the year. Our new teaching staff, Lisa Drewett, Grace Walsh, Neil Alexander and Carolyn Harvey, have done a great job at finding their feet in our school and becoming part of our great team. You may have also seen new faces in the Front Office across both school sites. We are thrilled to have three new school officers join our administration team, Julie Nixon-Smith, Catherine Grochowski and Felicity Ridley, who have learned the ropes of our administration in the absence of Mrs Susan Fairbrass and Mrs Sarah Ruffino. We would also like to congratulate Mrs Sarah Ruffino and her family on the birth of beautiful Antonio.

Our primary school staff have been busy implementing PLD (Promoting Literacy Development) Literacy program for Kindergarten to Year 6 children. PLD is a whole-school, evidence-based, synthetic phonics program that aligns our school with the Department of Education’s newly introduced Phonics Initiative. We are proud to be working towards providing your children in the early years with planned and structured teaching of phonics, using evidence-based instructional practices, and assessment tools to monitor, assess and support early intervention.

Unfortunately, keeping with Department of Education regulations where public school funds are to only be directed toward students currently enrolled at our school, we are not able to offer Play Café from Term 2 this year. We have tried other avenues of getting a similar program running however they have been unsuccessful. We will continue to source ways of making this happen at Boyup Brook District High School in the future. A transition to kindergarten program will run from Term 3 for children who turn four by 30 June 2023 and are enrolled at Boyup Brook District High School. More details of this will be provided toward the end of Term 2.

Our primary school science room upgrade is almost complete. We are now just waiting on furniture and equipment to arrive, and the room will be ready for use. We are planning for students to be in there from the beginning of Term 2.

The Careers program for Year 9 and 10 students at Boyup Brook District High School has undergone a ‘makeover’ with our Year 9 students having already completed the Early Career Discovery program as part of the Career Taster Program, and are now working on a Cert I in Skills for Vocational Pathways through SIDE RTO. The Year 10 students are working toward a Cert II in Skills for Work and Vocational Pathways. These courses will assist our students with gaining employability skills such as communication, team work, problem solving and planning and organising, which are beneficial regardless of students choosing to seek a VET or ATAR pathways. In addition to these courses, we are committed to providing our students with the opportunity to attend a Careers Camp to Perth in Term 2 where they will attend the Careers Expo, Construction Futures Centre, a university, and TAFE experiences; up to date and reliable career information; opportunities for students to explore careers in and out of the classroom; and engagement in local community.

On Friday each week the Year 7 to 9 students have a double PBS / Community period where students have been split into three multi-aged groups and they work on our school’s PBS values – respect, resilience and striving for success. This period provides our students with the opportunity to apply these values in our community and give back to our community. So far this term, students have participated in sessions about racism - what it looks like and how we all have a responsibility to address it; walks around the community where students pick up rubbish to help keep our town beautiful; and visits to the St John’s sub centre where they explore the ambulances and assist our valued ambulance volunteers in cleaning the ambulances and shed. We have a number of exciting future projects in the pipeline but are always looking for more, if you have any suggestions, please contact Melissa Reimers or Braydon Ridley.

We would like to wish you all a wonderful school holiday break and a very happy Easter. We look forward to seeing your children back at school on Wednesday 26 April, ready for an exciting Term 2!

Whole School News

The Importance of Regular Attendance

Going to school every day is vitally important for each child so that they do not miss out on important ideas, concepts, knowledge and skills for future learning. At Boyup Brook District High School, we want your children to do their very best.

To get the best education, students need to go to school every day. Research from the Western Australian Telethon Kids Institute shows that every day at school counts towards a student’s learning. Students who attend more, generally do better at school and in life.

Section 23 of the School Education Act 1999 requires for every year of the student’s compulsory education period (Pre-primary onwards) that the student attend the school at which they are enrolled, or participate in an educational program of the school, on the days on which it is open for instruction.

A student may be excused if they are prevented from attending due to temporary physical or mental incapacity, or other reasonable cause, cultural or religious observance or suspension.

When a student’s attendance falls below 90% or is identified as a concern, the Student Attendance in Public Schools policy and procedures requires the school to investigate the reasons for a student’s absence, discuss with parents and implement strategies for improvement that are linked to the causes of absence.

As a school, we are dedicated to supporting you and your child to attend regularly, and have a variety of support services and strategies for you and your child if required. Ideally, we would like all of our students to be attending school at the regular rate of 90% or above.

Currently BBDHS is sitting at 72.8% regular attendance which is of concern for all. This means that nearly 30% of our students are not attending school on a regular basis and are missing out on those vital concepts and skills being taught within their classrooms.

As indicated in this table, many of the lower attendance rates are within the younger or older year groups. Both of which are when students are developing new skills for either future education or to be successful members of our society.

As a school we encourage all parents to understand the importance and recognise the impact that non-attendance will have on their child’s education.

If you require any support in maintaining or encouraging your child to attend school regularly, please do not hesitate to contact the school on 97650000.

Inhouse and Interschool swimming carnivals

Interhouse Swimming Carnival

In perfect weather conditions our Annual Swimming Carnival was held at the Town Swimming Pool on Thursday March 2nd, 2023.

Our students competed in 112 events from Year 1 to Year 10. They fiercely gave all they could in the pool against students from their class group.

The quality of swimming was excellent. All students who competed on the day were winners, regardless of the place they achieved. A strong swimming club has greatly contributed to the ability of our students.

Many thanks to the parent volunteers and the Boyup Brook Swimming Club for providing timekeepers, the starting device and the use of the lane ropes.

Mr Steve Franklyn

Snap shots of BBDHS 2023 Swimming Carnival

School Councillors and House Captains

Congratulations to the students who were elected for School Councillors and House Captains for 2023. Thank you to Mr Todd Carroll and Mrs Janelle Haydn-Smith for their efforts in organising and co ordinating elections.

High School Student Councillors 2023

High School House Captains 2023

High School News

Year 9/10 Girls PPEP Talk

In Week 7 the Year 9/10 girls participated in the Pelvic, Pain and Endometritis program. This program aims at educating and providing students with strategies and factual information on the menstrual cycle, what is happening inside their bodies and how to help themselves and their friends during these times.

The students participated in wholesome discussions and exercises that can help with pain management and presenter Julia McShane quoted “Thank you so much for hosting PPEP Talk® at Boyup Brook recently! Your students were so amazing and an absolute pleasure to engage with”.

Students are now invited to engage with the free PPEP Talk Next steps online session who have identified as having a more complex pain concern or would like their caregivers to understand more. Students attend with a caregiver, and there is a chance to ask questions of their Gynaecologist and Pain Specialist, Associate Professor Susan Evans. Please see flyer attached.

Car Wash Fundraising

The Year 10's undertook the challenge of doing their own fundraising. Their goal was to raise as much money as possible to go towards their 2023 Leavers Jumpers.

The Year 10's decided to complete a staff car wash to get things going. While there wasn’t much water going on cars, they did a fantastic job and left cars nice and clean.

The Year 10's would like to thank all staff who booked their cars in to be washed and most importantly, the Boyup Brook Co-op and Koji Bus Services for donating the car washing equipment that was needed.

Mr Todd Carroll

Students hard at work

Science News

This term in Science students have been exploring the world of biology. The Year 7 students have been conducting different experiments to understand science inquiry skills along with looking at food chains and invasive species. The first experiment conducted was looking at how different liquids effect the weight of eggs. As you see from the images the students loved doing the experiment even though the eggs created quite the smell! In Years 8 and 9, students have been learning all about the human body and the different body systems. Year 8 students have looked at the digestion system and completed a cool experiment which simulated the process of digestion. In Week 8, Year 8 students will experience their first dissection as they dissect a cow’s heart while the Year 9 students will be dissecting a kidney. The Year 10 students have been working extremely hard on various tasks about genetics as well as, completing an assessment where they had to give a speech on different gene technologies. Next term students will move on to Earth and Space Science.

Mr Braydon Ridley

World Maths Day

This years’ annual World Maths Day, which involves students answering 200 mental Maths problems over a range of difficulties, against other students of their age, was held on the 8th March. (Unfortunately, the same day as the Interschool Swimming Carnival).

Once again, our students had some great successes, with some notable achievements being;

Year 7 class; Ranked 6th in Australia; Eva L 92nd, Owen L 95th.
Year 8 class; Ranked 2nd in Australia (79th in the World); Aston H 4th , Samantha W 45th.
Year 9 class; Ranked 4th in Australia; Duncan T 5th, Boston W 26th.
(Year 10’s did not compete as they were all at the swimming carnival.)

Successful student will be awarded certificates in the coming weeks.

Mr Geordie Wells

HASS News

This Term in HASS, students have spent their time exploring the wonderful world of Geography. Students have engaged in a range of topics and had the opportunity to learn, explore and discover while completing tasks individually, with partners or in small groups, producing work in ways which have allowed them to showcase their knowledge and understanding. In Year 7, students have learnt all our about how liveable Boyup Brook is and explored ways which our town can be improved for everyone. Our Year 8 students have uncovered the reasons why people migrate all around the world and developed an understanding of the ways different landforms and landscapes are formed. Year 9 students have dived into the world of Biomes and explored how they help us produce food for our ever growing population. Our class of 2023, the Year 10 students have conducted research and studies into the issues around Climate Change and the factors which determine the level of wellbeing to experienced by people in different countries. Term 1 has seen students settle well into HASS and it has been pleasing to see so many students continuing to reach high levels. I am excited to see what lies ahead in 2023 and look forward to seeing students reach their goals. In Term 2, our focus will be Economics and Business.

Mr Todd Carroll

GRIP Conference - High School

On Friday, our ten fabulous high school student leaders attended the GRIP Leadership Conference in Bunbury. Throughout the day, students had the opportunity to learn new skills that will help them achieve their goals for 2023, while growing as leaders and role models. In addition, it was a fantastic chance to speak directly to other leaders from south west schools and share ideas with each other.

Our Student Council had such a fun day and are excited to help make the rest of this year amazing for their peers and school community. We would like to thank the GRIP Leadership Team and Edith Cowan University (ECU) for making the day possible. We are also very grateful for Mrs Renee Knapp and Mrs Janis Beadle for giving up their days to help transport students

Mr Todd Carroll

Primary School News

Harmony Week

To celebrate Harmony Week, students across the whole school have been completing a variety of different activities and discussions. We have been learning about Australia as a multicultural society and how to promote antidiscrimination. Harmony Week is a time to reflect on the many cultures within our society and how it helps forms our Australian identity.

On Friday, 24th of March, students and staff wore orange and the primary students performed dances from around the world at their weekly assembly. Thank you to all the parents who attended and helped to celebrate Harmony Week. It was great to have parents back in the school and joining in.

Miss Katryna Barbetti

Classes joining together in activities for Harmony Week

YR 2/3 Projects

The Year 2/3 students have been working on their robots. Please click the link to see our newsletter.

Miss Lesley McWhirter

GRIP Conference - Primary School

On Thursday 23rd March, the Primary Student Councillors went to Bunbury to attend the GRIP Leadership Conference. Attending a student leadership conference can be a very valuable experience for any student. Our 6 students represented our school beautifully and learnt new skills throughout the day. They had the opportunity to network and connect with student councillors from around the Southwest. They met and interacted with students who shared their passion for leadership and making a difference in our communities.

They participated in a variety of fun activities to promote leadership, communication, organisation, and other important skills. These workshops helped them gain new insights and approaches to solving problems and handling situations, as well as to further develop their ability to become an ‘others first’ leader and do the little things that make a difference.

The Primary Student Councillors had a great day and are now even more motivated to make our school an even better place, for all students.

Mrs Janelle Haydn-Smith

PBS News

Positive Behaviour System at Boyup Brook District High school allows us to be proactive and teach our children specific behavioural expectations. The purpose of PBS is to create a safe, supportive and sustainable learning environment for all students who attend BBDHS. PBS is a whole school approach where we as a school explicitly teach positive behaviour, have common language around our values, have high expectations on our children and allow students to achieve strong academic, social and emotional outcomes. BBDHS has three main values Respect, Resilience and Striving for Success. These values are easily understood and accepted by students, parents and staff.

PBS has a Behaviour Matrix which identifies and displays positive behaviours across all school contexts and settings. It is a reference that helps the school community consistently reinforce our set of key behavioural expectations during our student’s daily routines. Throughout the term as a school, we focus on one core value and use the behaviour matrix to teach specific behaviours. In Term 1 students have focused on RESPECT-Being Polite, Kind and Friendly. Term 2’s focus is STRIVING FOR SUCCESS - Be Organised & Prepared

Mr Braydon Ridley

Art News

UPCOMING EVENTS

P&C News

Term 1 has been a big one for P&C. It began with the Country Music weekend in which BBDHS High School oval had over 100 camp sites for many to enjoy. A huge thank you to Chris Mead and Rick Twigg for the wonderful marking of the oval for campers. The weekend was very successful due to the amazing time given by a bunch of ladies who injected fun and hours of work into settling campers over Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Thank you to Sally Larkin, Lauren Imrie, Kelly Kay, Kelly Mader, you are superstars. Also,a special thank you to the Mader and Imrie Children for their hard work and patience over the hot weekend. Thanks to Sally Larkin's Dad for bringing the fire unit and Bobby Miller for giving us her time and knowledge of camping booking on Thursday. To Jann Mead who went to great lengths as she always does to help us with all the details, paperwork, signs and a lot of support, you are a Gem!. Many campers were impressed with the friendly nature of our BBDHS team and it made us shine and sparkle as a school in the wider community. THANK YOU!

The AGM was held on the 15th March, excitingly it was well attended and very successful as we filled all the positions for 2023 P&C. YAY!

President - Lizzie Twigg
Vice President- Kelly Kay
Secretary - Sally Larkin
Treasurer - Lauren Imrie

Executive team members also

Jenelle Hayden- Smith
Kelly Mader
Carol McMekian - Scholastic Book coordinator

With many on the general committee and welcome anyone else who pays the $1 to join the voting when it comes to decision making in the P&C.

We have a few fundraising events to finish off the term.

On Sunday 2nd April the P&C is catering for the performance of 'A Fortunate Life' with grazing boxes for sale and refreshments. A schoolzine message went out and the response was incredibly exciting that so many are happy to donate food and time to this. As president I couldn't be prouder of the BBDHS community. If anyone else is able to help or donate, please text me on 0428316516. A list of finalised donations will be sent out early next week.

An Easter Raffle for the students and staff at BBDHS is being held and drawn on Thursday 30th March for the Kindy and Friday the 31st March. This has been a fabulous way in the past to get everyone in the Easter spirit and add to our P&C funds to put straight into wish lists for the teachers for students. Please support with donations.

A catalogue to order cookie dough will be sent home over the holidays and if you can order and bring back in the first week of school we can send off and get the cookie dough back to you for lunch boxes and afternoon teas. Thank you to Sally Larkin for sorting out the Easter raffle and the cookie dough, what a brilliant secretary.

Finally, the country week fundraising will need to begin in Term 2 and Term 3, so the costs are kept very affordable for all students. We need people in a sub- committee for this so if you are interested, please send me a message. Many hands make Country Week work!

Have a lovely Easter and first term holidays and look forward to seeing you at the next meeting on the second week back Monday the 1st of May 3.30 -4.30pm in the High school library. This will be a budget allocation meeting for 2023.

Lizzie Twigg

School Nurse News

Community News