Round Square

Schools in the Round Square program join a vibrant community in over 50 countries. The experience encourages collaboration and connections through domestic or local exchanges and internationally through the ideals of Internationalism, Democracy, Environmentalism, Service, Leadership and Adventure. Year 9 student Nitish has just completed a domestic exchange in Cairns and shared his story at our secondary assembly. A summary of his experience can be read here. We also have three students from Tasmania in Year 8 joining us at the moment for their Round Square experience. At the end of this term, senior students will attend the 2022 International Round Square Conference at the University of Oxford in the UK, this will be an outstanding experience. Please contact Mrs Karina Rothacker krothacker@bdc.nsw.edu.au if you would like more information about this amazing program.

Inter School Sport in Term 3

Interschool sport and CIS or NCIS competitions have been a big part of Term 3. The Bill Turners Cup women’s side has reached quarter-finals, NCIS Athletics, CIS Netball, Rugby 7’s and Futsal are recent examples. There is also an enormous range of students who have been successful in various sports that we have seen on our socials. Congratulations to all of our individuals and teams and their coaches for your dedication to training and commitment to your sport. Please contact Mrs Beth Hilton if you have questions for inter-school sport.

Year 12 Term 3 and last week of Term 3

Please refer to more detail in the letter that was emailed late this week and the snapshot below to help you plan when you can attend Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd September events.

Class of 2022 and our Graduation Week

Year 11 Term 3

Our new Captains have been busy running assemblies, attending leadership meetings, and presenting at secondary assemblies. Year 11 will also commence their end-of-course examinations on Monday 5th September. Please refer to our college exam guidelines and information from Mr Verbruggen. Students should arrive at least 30 minutes before scheduled exams and allow extra time for travel. We encourage study during this exam block at the college or at home with parents' permission.

Ultimate House 2022

Congratulations to all of our Heads of House, House Leaders, Tutor Staff, and each student for the friendly competitiveness across the year. Last week the 2022 Ultimate House was announced as Cottee House. We hope you enjoy your celebration together.

Phone Use and Uniform Reset on the Secondary Campus

Last week our staff discussed a concerning rise in students having their phones and or using them in conflict with our code and guidelines. We understand the many benefits of mobile technology and have a set of guidelines and a code of use that was developed in consultation with students. Unfortunately, from time to time we do need to remind or reset and reflect on the code and guidelines. Most students across the campus support our community code and follow this every day. However, there has been a noticeable change and we wish to reflect on the main guidelines. Our reset was the focus of the secondary assembly and we also ask that you discuss the code and guidelines at home to support our community. The main areas that we as a staff have focused on this week include:

• Year Coordinators will focus on phone and uniform guidelines at year assemblies this week and next week.
• Heads of Faculty will discuss this with their teams this week. Clarify the KLA approach eg staff may have a “phone box” or bag at the start of every class and remind students of expectations.
• Tutor and teaching staff should discuss this as well and remind students of the code and rules. The main code of behaviour includes no phone use in classes, phones can only be used until the first bell in the morning and after the end of day bell for Year 7 to 9. Seniors have some extra privileges in their senior area. We should not see phones during recess and lunchtime.
• As per our Behaviour Management Guidelines, failure to follow the phone or uniform code would usually be a Level 1 and Level 2 behaviour and consequences. However, concerns/repetitive problems will be logged into Wellbeing or if students challenge staff or are rude or defiant and consequences.
• Aggressive or defiant behaviours are not acceptable and Heads of Faculty will follow this up if it is in class or Year Coordinators if a pattern of behaviour.
• Uniform focus is the correct shoes, socks and a reminder that nose rings are not acceptable. The correct uniform should be worn each day or a note explaining why it is not from parents/carers.
• Summer uniform commenced this week.

Last Friday at recess and lunchtime, it appeared that there was an immediate improvement in the yard in regards to our community code and phone use was not evident. This was a very positive start to the reset and we hope that this continues over the coming weeks. Thank you for your follow-up and discussion at home.

Simon Doyle
Assistant Principal (Head of Secondary)

Kaizen Excursion

On Thursday morning the Semester 1 Scrapbooking & Gift Cards Kaizen class visited the Cancer Council Head Office to meet the volunteers and hear their stories. We were able to deliver the gift cards and paper flowers the class made throughout the course. These special gifts will be given to people currently receiving Cancer treatment at the Coffs Harbour Base Hospital. It was a lovely morning tea, where the class enjoyed some delicious baked treats that were kindly made for us by the Cancer Council volunteers.

Kaizen course - World of Wearable Art

The Kaizen course of World of Wearable Art is well underway. The students each completed a survey to determine their top Character Strengths. They then choose whether to use this as their inspiration, or another Character Strength of choice.

Their first design task was to design and create a hat, mask, or fascinator that represented their chosen Character Strength, using recycled materials. It has been lots of fun watching each of the students create fabulous headpieces which will compliment their final garment creation. Here are a few of the completed pieces.

We were fortunate to have a lovely member of the Sawtell community donate metres of fabric and fabric scraps so we have been able to use these to create recycled constructions.

LRC Volunteers 

Students with disabilities who are sitting the HSC exams are able to access support known as Disability Provisions. Disability provisions are a practical arrangement that helps a student access the exams on the same level as those without disabilities. For example, a student with dyslexia who struggles with reading and writing may be able to access support through a reader or writer. This support removes the reading and writing barriers to ensure the student is able to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding in that subject area.

The Learning Resource Centre is looking for volunteers to act as readers and writers to support students during their HSC exams. The role of the reader and writer is to sit with the student during their HSC exam and read the test paper to the student and/or write their answers. If you are interested in this role and would like to find out more information please contact Pam Moran K - 12 LRC Coordinator via email pmoran@bdc.nsw.edu.au.