Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Proverbs 16:3

Welcome to our first newsletter of the year. There is much to celebrate in our community at present including welcoming back families new and old. In my section this fortnight, I outline some of our student achievements over the holiday break, officially launch our new website and newsletter format, welcome the new Rector of St John’s Anglican Church, remind our community of our exciting Scholarships program, announce our new boarding facility plans, place a date claimer for the official opening of the Wellbeing Hub, and present our 2020 School Improvement Plan.

Welcome 2020
Welcome to 2020 and to another exciting year at BDC. Our community welcomed over 160 new students this last week and I wish to thank our ‘old’ students and staff for making the ‘newbies’ feel part of the BDC family. I had the chance to visit most of our classes this fortnight and am impressed with their positive attitude and willingness to get down to the business (and fun) of learning. 

A quick safety message: please use our car park safely and ensure that the designated drop off zones are used. When the upper car park or bus lanes are used for drop off zones, regardless of the hour, it creates some unsafe practices. I have also had a request from our neighbours in Highlands Estate and am asking our community not to use this estate as an overflow drop off zone. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter.

Student Achievements - Australia Day Awards, Cambodian Service and Music Camps
Current and immediate past BDC students featured in local Australia Day Awards. Emma Serisier was named Coffs Harbour's Young Citizen of the Year. Heather Orme was recognised in the Coffs Young Achievers of the Year list. Lily Powell received the Bellingen Council Australia Day Sportsperson of the Year Award. I wish to congratulate Emma, Heather, and Lily for being recognised for their hard work and community spirit.

I had the opportunity to join 17 Year 12 students as part of our annual Cambodia Service Learning Tour during December. I wish to express to my community how proud I was of our students throughout the entire experience. They were open, caring, willing to learn, willing to share and had a generous and compassionate spirit. We really do produce some outstanding young citizens at BDC. Thank you to Mr Klipin and to Mrs Murphy who were outstanding student role models (as usual). I encourage our current Year 11s to make this trip a priority and start saving now.

One of our High Performance Program students, Felix Hughes-Chivers, participated in the Australian Youth Orchestra National Music Camp over the holidays. The AYO camp is open to students age 14-25 however acceptance is based upon an audition and participants must be a minimum grade 6 AMEB level on their instrument. There are also limited places for each instrument and so only the top Australian music students in their instrument are selected.

Felix was one of the youngest students to attend the camp. Congratulations Felix. One of our BDC Alumni, Julia Magri (Class of 2018), was also selected again this year. Julia is now studying at Sydney University.

New Website - Beta Launch
As part of our 2019 School Improvement Plan we set the ambitious target of rewriting, redesigning and then launching a new website. I am proud to announce and official launch our new website.

The new site has a wealth of high quality and exciting new content concerning our professional personnel, innovative programs and first-class facilities. I encourage you to visit our site and share with your friends and family using social media.

Information in the new website is organised into two general areas of interest. The homepage and associated menu links provide an overview of life at BDC for members of the public who may be interested in becoming BDC community members. The myBDC area provides information most relevant to current parents and students. Any pages contained in the general information section that may also be of interest to current BDC parents are linked into the myBDC area as well.

In order to set a continuous improvement cycle for our website, we are keen to hear feedback regarding content in particular. If you encounter anything on the new website that needs attention please email Mr Colless with the feedback - mcolless@bdc.nsw.edu.au. I also wish to thank Mr Colless and Mrs Heather for their hard work in spearheading this project for a start of 2020 launch. 

International House (BDCs very own residential boarding home)
It’s official! The college has purchased the house on the hill - 83 North Boambee Rd. 

This property will be utilised for the following purposes in the short to medium term:

a) to ensure that continued growth and development can occur on the college site without potential planning restrictions and objections from potential new neighbours (e.g. our draft master plan has a performing arts centre adjacent to the house).

b) to attract short-term and longer-term boarders from the regional areas and to support our growing international student population - therefore the property will be renamed ‘International House’.

c) to allow for further development of the block that borders our car park to improve our parking, drainage and traffic flow.

International House will be revamped over the next six months and is planned to be officially opened by July. As you can imagine creating a boarding house requires some upgrading of the facility mainly to meet strict fire/evacuation regulations.

I wish to thank Mrs Pilati and her family for being generous and caring neighbours for our 25 year history. They build 83 North Boambee Road in 1986 and so they have been witnesses to the growth of our college and have always been strong supporters of our college events. They are also excited that the house will have children in it again.

Bus Information
All students that do not have a bus pass from last year are required to apply through the Transport NSW website - www.transportnsw.info/school-students. Transport NSW advises that students will not be able to travel without a pass after 28th February.

We are also experiencing higher than expected demand on the BDC Northern Beaches Bus. Please contact BDC Reception - bdcreception@bdc.nsw.edu.au - if you no longer require this bus service.  

Wellbeing Hub - Official Opening 
Our new Wellbeing Hub is operational a few weeks ahead of schedule. I wish to thank Mr Oxley, Mr Ryan, Mr McIntyre, contractors of X-Corp Building Services, and our Wellbeing Director Mrs O’Connor. This team has produced a facility that will support our students across the campus in a variety of ways from student counselling through to spiritual development. The Honorable Mr Pat Conaghan will officially open the Wellbeing Hub on 9 March. I wish to thank the Member for Cowper for his support of this important project with a Commonwealth Grant of $10000. 

New Rector of St John’s
After a two and half year search St John’s Anglican Church has a new Rector. I am excited to welcome Reverend Daryl McCullough to the Anglican community and to our college. You will see Rev Daryl around the campus quite often as his children (Katie, Will and Tom) will be attending our college. He will also be our newest addition to the College Council. I also wish to welcome Rev Daryl’s wife, Mrs Diane McCullough to our community. Bishop Druitt College also wishes to recognise Rev Richard Temby, who moves to the Sawtell Parish, and Rev Anne Goode who is the new priest in the Bellinger Parish.

Academic Scholarships for 2021 (Entry to Years 7-11)
Applications for 2021 Academic Scholarships for students entering Years 7-11 are now open and will close on 10 February 2020. The scholarships are awarded on the basis of a competitive examination conducted by ACER, which will take place on 29 February 2020 at Bishop Druitt College. Scholarships are awarded by the Principal. 

Please see our website for further details.

School Improvement Plan (SIP2020)
The Strategic Plan (2018-2025) is implemented through a set of annual School Improvement Plans. These documents utilise all the feedback from the strategic planning process, regular survey and performance data, educational research, and college leadership planning  to create a sequenced timetable for improvement.

The document in the link below is our School Improvement Plan for 2020. This document will remain a ‘live’ document so that progress can be tracked throughout the year. It will be shared regularly in our newsletter and a link will also be placed on our new website.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yaTI4tVbQtXQssTGaR00X9-s2zZ7yLhp9tAzEl_e5wE/edit?usp=sharing

CVAS and BDC Partnership Continues to Grow
In December last year, our college chair read out a joint statement from the Councils of both Bishop Druitt College and Clarence Valley Anglican School. The statement noted that the schools were endeavouring to strengthen our ties and create greater opportunities for the children in our care.  Mr Ford noted that we had already worked well in developing Farnworth Farm throughout 2019 and were now looking for ways to implement partnerships in curriculum, music, sport and international student tours as soon as term 2, 2020. I am particularly excited about this proposition and thank Mr Oates, the Principal at CVAS, for always been welcome to innovate ideas and opportunities for students in both schools. I look forward to an exciting future for both schools.

Nick Johnstone

Principal

Our music teachers and students are amazing and have won 2 tickets to see Elton John live in concert. They are giving these away to raise funds for the Primary Music and the Seabin projects.

This is your chance to win! Simply donate and register to go in the draw via this link https://www.trybooking.com/BHXJM
You can donate as little as $5 or as much as you like!

The winner will be drawn at random on Wednesday Feb 19 after 9am.
Good luck!

P.S follow this link and check out the awesome video, or view the video below that won the BDC music department the tickets.

Come and be part of the muddiest event this year and run in the mud! 

Friday 14 February

Kindy - Year 2 @ 11:50am - 12:20pm
Year 3 - 6 @ 12:25pm - 12:55pm
Parents, staff and Year 12s run @ 1:00pm - 1:30pm
Year 7 - 8 @ 1:40pm - 2:10pm
Year 9 - 11 @ 2:20pm - 2:50pm

All money raised goes towards the Parents & Friends, Seabin and Soup Kitchen projects. 

Register here.

We welcome Rev Nicole Hagon ('Rev Nic') to BDC this year. She is teaching Year 5-6 REP on Thursdays. Rev Nic is an Anglican priest who has spent many years in ministry in diocesan churches and Chaplain in the diocesan schools. 

In exciting news for Coffs Harbour, the parish of St John’s Anglican Church has welcomed a new rector, The Rev’d Daryl McCullough. Daryl and his family have moved to Coffs Harbour from West Wyalong. We welcome Daryl’s wife Dianne and their children, Katie (yr 8), Will (yr 6) and Tom (yr 4) to our school community.

Some of you have heard about the amazing pilgrimage to the Holy Lands which I was sponsored to attend along with two other Chaplains from the Grafton Diocesan schools, Emmanuel Anglican College (Ballina) and St Columba Anglican School (Port Macquarie). I’d like to acknowledge the generosity of our Chair of School Council, Mr David Ford with his wife Rev Carol Ford; Mr and Mrs Gary and Carol Evans in their support of the FXBC Fuji Xerox Teacher Professional Learning Scholarship; and Mr Bill Adler, Deputy Chair of Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School (Tweed Heads). The pilgrimage was a life changing experience for me – to walk around in the places that Jesus lived and the early church grew will forever change my perspective on the bible. My report from this journey has been combined with the other Chaplains in this video.

The thoughts and prayers of Australia have been with communities around the country during the recent fires. A number of our own families have had close connections to the areas impacted by fires, with many involved in fire fighting and aid organisations at various locations. Children and young people can have various responses to these events, including unease over environmental concerns. There is helpful information about 'eco-anxiety' by the child and adolescent psychologist Michael Carr Gregg in this episode of school tv: https://bdc.nsw.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/eco-anxiety

In particular we keep in mind St Peter’s Anglican College at Broulee on the NSW South Coast which was impacted by fire, losing many buildings, playgrounds and vegetation, with the families of thirty students. The Anglican Schools Australia network has encouraged Anglican schools around Australia to consider supporting St Peter’s Anglican College Broulee with prayer and donations towards rebuilding and revegetation projects and to consider visiting Broulee as a tourist later this year. 

Our school community will be remembering those impacted by fires in our chapel services at the beginning of term. The Anglican Primate of Australia, Archbishop Philip Freier, has shared the following prayer:

Almighty God and heavenly Father, we pray for this world that you love so much
that you sent your Son Jesus to be born as the child of Bethlehem:
We pray for the safety of those sheltering from fires and those fighting fires,
for livestock, native animals, paddocks, bushlands and sacred places.
We remember our own loved ones and those who are dear to us facing this crisis.
We pray for those tending to the injured, the frightened and the broken-hearted,
for emergency services, emergency broadcasters, chaplains and counsellors.
We ask for your forgiveness for our own failures in safeguarding your good creation,
and pray for political and community leaders, and all those responding
to the current crisis in our nation.
Above all, we pray the peace that passes all understanding,
in our nation and state, in our homes and in our hearts.
This we ask in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

(written by Dean Andreas Loewe)

What’s happening in Chaplaincy:

• JAM (Jesus and Me) Club games and bible study on Monday lunchtimes for Primary students. 
• Godly Play 8.15am-8.40am is now on Thursday mornings in the Chapel. Students, parents and staff are welcome to join the circle weekly for a Godly Play story and prayer. 
• BDCJAM fellowship and bible study is on Wednesday lunchtimes for Secondary students
• Sundays 5.30pm St John’s Anglican hosts a family service during term time that is informal and child-friendly. All welcome.

Our Parents and Staff prayer group will resume soon. Please contact me if you’d like to be involved to pray together for our school one morning per week.

Reverend Naomi Cooke

Chaplain
ncooke@bdc.nsw.edu.au

Dara Whitelegge
During the school holidays Dara Whitelegge took part in a 1 week Camp Creative Music Workshop in Bellingen.

She played her clarinet in the Walton's Wizards Advanced Woodwind.  57 Musicians were participating, playing a variety of instruments ranging from the bassoon, oboe saxophones, clarinets, etc. Some of them were excellent musicians. The youngest participant was 11 the oldest 80 years of age.

This is a course for experienced musicians to gain skills on their instrument, playing an exciting variety of music, as well as increasing confidence for performing. 

In the afternoon she joined the ensemble group.

At the end of the camp the conductor Mark Walton chose Dara as the most improved clarinet player. He commented on how dedicated she was and how delightful her presence was.

Not only does she play the clarinet, but she was also spotted in a kilt playing the bagpipe.

A very warm welcome to all our new families to Bishop Druitt College Primary! There are over 80 new enrolments this year, so you are not alone!  I am sure your children have already settled in, our students are well known for welcoming new children and including them from the start.

And a big welcome back to all our other students and families, it is lovely to hear the laughter and chatter of our children outside my window again, and many students have told me how glad they are to be back at school (I can see some of you nodding!)

We have some exciting events happening this year, our school is going from strength to strength and our key message of ‘Students first’ is resonating across the campus. Some physical changes have occurred during the Christmas break, we have opened our K-12 Wellbeing Hub to all students and many have been on a tour of this exciting new facility. Our Primary Office has closed and we now have a centralised Student Services area at the front of the school. This is where children can sign in and out, and where sickbay is located.

On Tuesday 11 February is our Senior Primary Swimming Carnival held at the Coffs Memorial Pool. Of course families are very welcome, it should be a fun day for even the non-competitive. Students can wear House coloured t-shirts or sports uniforms on the day and we encourage everyone to apply sunscreen liberally. I ask you to ensure all students have a hat for the day. Please refer to Beth Hilton’s emails for further details.

If your child has been elected to a leadership position for this year, either as an SRC leader or Sports Captain, they will need to be at school on Thursday 13 February by 8am for Leaders Photos. Please ensure they arrive on time as it is a very tight schedule and if they are late they may not be included in these photos.

Our Stage 1 assembly will be held next Thursday 13 February at 2.20pm in the Branson Centre. All parents are welcome to attend, but students must return to class and get their bags before leaving school. Kindergarten is the only exception to this rule.

On Friday 14 February is our Mud Run that was postponed from last year. It will be such a fun day, please remember to pack some old clothes for your children to run in as they cannot wear their uniforms for the fun run. If you attend, you may take them home after the run, or the children will need to get changed at school into clean uniforms for the afternoon.

On Monday and Tuesday 17 and 18 February any Year 5 and 6 students can attend the Music camp. You will have received a letter with the details through Parent Lounge, but if not, please contact Sandra Smith for details. It is always such a fabulous opportunity for budding musicians and prepares the students for many of our performances this term.

On Tuesday 18 February the annual NCIS Football competition will be held at BDC. We wish all competitors the best of luck on the day.

Wishing you all the best for the coming weeks. If you would like to see me at any time please make an appointment through Student Services, I am always happy to discuss any of your concerns.

Karin Lisle

Assistant Principal (Head of Primary)

World Read Aloud Day celebrates the pure joy of oral reading with children of all ages.

“One of the greatest gifts adults can give to their offspring and to their society is to read to children.”– Carl Sagan

World Read Aloud Day is an excellent time to remind ourselves about the importance of reading to children.    

Here are just some of the benefits of reading aloud with children:

1. Develops stronger vocabulary. Children acquire language primarily through listening. Reading aloud lets children regularly hear new words in new contexts, which builds their vocabulary and helps develop their communication and writing skills. 

2. Builds connections between the spoken and written word. When young children hear words read aloud, they begin seeing how printed words are closely connected to spoken words. Hearing pronunciations, decoding words in context, fluent expressive reading and experiencing the development of a well-plotted story help improve their own reading and writing.

3. Provides enjoyment. Children generally enjoy being read to, which encourages them to see and experience reading as something fun and positive. Reading aloud makes them more likely to become interested in learning to read, which is likely to then spark a lifelong love of reading.

4. Increases attention span. Unlike watching television, reading or being read to promotes a slower unfolding of events and ideas. This encourages children to listen, pay attention and concentrate, which after a while can increase their overall attention span.

5. Strengthens cognition. A well written book exposes children to sophisticated language, which can strengthen their cognitive abilities. When children are regularly exposed to quality literature, They learn how to apply their cognitive abilities to understand and comprehend the text. 

“Research puts children almost a year ahead of those who do not receive daily read-alouds regardless of parental income, education level or cultural background.”

6. Provides a safe way of exploring strong emotions. Reading a story aloud that explores particular emotions helps some children to accept their own feelings and understand how others feel, and can help children feel more comfortable discussing their emotions with others.

7. Promotes empathy and understanding.  Hearing how different characters react to different situations helps us develop empathy.  Having empathy has many life advantages including being able to connect with others, communicate, and understanding of different people, cultures, and situations.

8. Can lend to more challenging texts and deeper discussions. Exposing children to more challenging books and introducing them to different genres and authors will expand their knowledge and appreciation of literature and help promote a love of reading.  

9. Promotes bonding. Reading aloud with children provides benefits for adults too. The quality time spent together promotes bonding and strengthens relationships, making it easier for children to develop their social, communication and interpersonal skills.

The Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report: 7th Edition™ showed that more than 80% of both kids and parents love or like read-aloud time because they consider it a special time together.

10. There is no more powerful way to develop a love of reading than being read to. 

"READ-ALOUD IS A PRESCRIPTION FOR LIFELONG SUCCESS FOR THE CHILD AND A DOSE OF DEEP WELL-BEING FOR THE FAMILY"

Everyday is Read Aloud Day at BDC

Welcome back! I hope you have all had a well deserved break and are all looking forward to another busy year in the Performing Arts.

There have been some staffing changes within the faculty this year. We warmly welcome the following staff into the faculty:

Ms Nadene Flick - Performing Arts (music and drama) classroom teacher in Primary - 2 days per week

Ms Shelley Daniels - Performing Arts (drama) classroom teacher in Primary - 2 days per week

Ms Annabelle Swainston - Upper strings teacher

Ms Charlotte Wilkins - Cello teacher

Most instrumental lessons for the year have now begun. If you have submitted an online enrolment form for your child to learn an instrument and have not yet been allocated a lesson time, please do not hesitate to contact me to follow up with our tutors. Most of our tutors’ timetables are now filling up fast, with some teachers now starting a waiting list, which is wonderful. If you would like to sign your child up for lessons, please complete the online enrolment form on the college website.

Ensembles have also resumed rehearsals. For a list of our ensembles at BDC, please visit the College website or contact me. Ensembles are free of charge for our students to attend and new students are warmly welcome to attend.

Ensemble photos will be held this year during the school photo time frame, which saves the photographers returning to the College later in the year. The photos will be held on Thursday 13th February in the Greenroom from 9am. Please see the attached schedule for when each group will be photographed. As per school photos, students are expected to be neatly attired with all correct uniform items. This year, we encourage students to bring their instruments to the photos as well. All photos can be purchased online through the school photo website.

MUSIC PHOTO SCHEDULE

Congratulations to Felix Hughes-Chivers who attending the Australian Youth Orchestra (AYO) summer camp in the holidays. The camp is open for students aged 14 to 25 years with a Grade 6 AMEB minimum to apply and there are limited places for each instrument in the orchestra. Felix had a great time learning some challenging repertoire and participating in an orchestra with older students. He was one of the youngest to participate. Ex-BDC student, Julia Magri, also attended the camp on her double bass. Well done Felix!

Nominations for the Australian Honours Ensemble Program at Griffith University are now open. If you are a minimum Grade 6 student on an orchestral instrument or voice, and you are interested in attending, please talk to me in the music department for further information. We have had great attendance at the program in previous years with all students who have participated really enjoying the experience. Applications close on 20th February.

The Coffs Harbour Music Society have released their Concert Series for 2020 and it looks amazing. There are some brochures of all concerts in the music foyer or you can visit their website for further details including how to buy tickets. Each concert this year also includes a masterclass which will be fantastic opportunities for our students. 

Wanted - musical instruments. If you have a musical instrument sitting at home that you no longer use, please let me know. This includes pianos! Please contact me if you would like more information regarding this.

Performing opportunities this year once again include our weekly primary and secondary assemblies as well as lunchtime concerts. So far the rosters are fairly blank. If you would like to perform at any of these events, please come to the music department to sign up.

Friends of Music meeting Term 1. We usually meet during Week 2 of this term, however there are many events occurring this week which has meant the meeting has had to be postponed to Week 3. This year, we will meet on Monday afternoons from 5pm in M1. All new and interested parents are welcome to attend!

Rebecca Day

Head of Performing Arts

Congratulations to the 160 new students who have joined our community in 2020. Year 7 has an extra class this year, with most of our own Year 6 students coming across into Year 7 at BDC. We have new members across Years 8 to 11 and 4 new staff. They are Mrs Janine Mackie in our Office, Mr Peter Barron in HSIE, Ms Kristy McDermid on Science/Maths/Technology and Ms Natalie Ticume in PDHPE, sport and the Talented Athlete Development Program. We also thank Mr Klipin, Mrs Murphy, Mr Johnstone and Ms Moran who lead groups to Cambodia or Japan over Christmas.

In 2020 we have a number of opportunities that we have invited our students to consider already: These include visiting New Caledonia as a French immersion, joining our Debating teams, competing for or representing the college for swimming. Only one week in, these opportunities are very different, but just part of opportunities beyond the classroom at BDC. Information for these activities are on Daily Notices for students and our newsletter. 

Learning and Teaching have been celebrating a variety of successes from the Class of 2019. Some of these were shared in my letter in recent weeks and more results are in this newsletter. On Friday during assembly I also outlined the importance of service and even random acts of kindness. Our college is known for our generosity in helping others and the Class of 2019 were very strong in this area and their ability to work together in study groups to improve results was very strong. The assembly outlined many key areas Year 12 were successful in and the legacy they have left as valedictorians. I then invited all students to consider what steps they can take towards in service and for the Class of 2020, what will their legacy look like? Is it the Anglican Op Shop, Harmony Day, different clubs like the Environment Club or sport or just helping new students around the playground.

2019 HSC and Year 12 Success

BDC is meeting the challenges of the curriculum today and also developing with our parents and community, the ability to meet future learning and career needs. This has taken further big steps this year. Mathematics Pathways will be embedded in Years 5, 6 and 7 this year, Kaizen continues in Years 5 to 8 and our World Options in Year 9. The innovative teaching practice across these areas aims to use our professional staff and their expertise with a future minded approach to learning. We are excited by these developments and look forward to reporting back through 2020 on their progress. In addition, we believe the Wellbeing Hub will help focus our resources and accessibility for student wellbeing at the college.

In the first few weeks we have a number of major calendar events, these include 2020 college photographs, swimming carnival, Mud Run and the Year 7 Camp. Please keep these on your calendar, as they have very different needs for students and have information already sent out in emails.

Communication with the college is through a variety of mediums. Email is the most common form, if you are connected through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, please follow us. There are many quick updates or information on events especially through Facebook each week. Daily Notices should be read by students each morning in the Student Lounge.

Throughout the year, there are times where there may be a question or a concern about a task/field trip or wellbeing item. Please make contact early, direct your initial questions to the teacher in charge of the event or area eg class teacher or Tutor Teacher. Talking early usually results in quick progress for help or information.

At the start of every year, we always have some items we need to update or seems to have started differently to what is expected. Unfortunately last week, we had a number of time table problems that were not expected and this has caused many questions and some worry. It has been a case of working through multiple software questions to fix different errors. Thank you for your patience and we apologise for this at the start of the year. If there are still any time table questions please refer these to Mr Craig Verbruggen Director of Learning and Teaching or subject teacher if it is course specific.

Uniform guidelines have been updated with some refinement additions. This was commenced some 18 months ago through student voice and leadership. It followed a similar model of discussions on the IT and phone policy that we launched in 2019. The student leaders from 2019 set the platform and our current leadership team completed the discussion. Thank you to Blake, Jonah, Angus and Kaitlyn on presenting the main points from both policies at assembly last week. While our uniform last week has been very good, please read the guidelines with your son or daughter that is included in this newsletter and our website. Two areas to please check are that school shoes are polished (not suede) and nose rings are not permitted. Students were reminded of this at the end of last year as well.

UNIFORM POLICY 2020

Our invitation continues to attend our secondary assembly that is held each Friday at 8.50am in the Branson Centre. Please congratulate your children on the start of the school year on their uniform, positive energy and their willingness to help our new students. I look forward to the year with an amazing group of students and staff in the secondary campus.

Simon Doyle

Assistant Principal (Head of Secondary)

Want to spend a week in beautiful New Caledonia learning about the language, history and culture of this unique island nation just on our doorstep?

The Languages Faculty is organising a French study tour to Noumea, New Caledonia, during the first week of the September holidays.

Applications are open to any student in Year 7 to Year 11 who is currently studying or is interested in studying French next year.

An information night will be held on Tuesday 11 February (Week 3) at 5:30 p.m. in the Secondary Library. Please email kwyndham@bdc.nsw.edu.au to register your interest and advise of your attendance at the information night.

Swimming Carnivals
Nominations have now closed for both the Primary and Secondary Swimming carnivals. Students who are not in competitive races are welcome to go in novelty events to gain a valuable house point.

Please remember, if your child has nominated for the 200IM, they must be at the pool by 8am for a warm-up for Primary and 7:45am for a warm-up for Secondary.

Cricket
The cricket development officers will be running a Woolworths Cricket Blast program after school at BDC, 3.30-4.30 on the ovals. 

View the Cricket Australia flyer for more information 

Basketball

At this stage, I have received lots of nominations for the U8’s through to the U16’s. Sadly, very few teams have coaches and will not be entered into the competition until they have one. If you would like to be a part of your child’s chosen sport, but feel you don’t have the skills to do so, please let me know. There will be coaching courses run throughout the year to upskill current and any new parents that would like to coach their child’s team. 

Natalie Titcume will be taking over BDC Barracudas basketball this year as part of her role in the college. I will be assisting Natalie in the transition during Term 1.

General Sport
Primary Rugby and Basketball are still taking nominations at the following links

Basketball noms- https://cutt.ly/krxvCnA

Rugby noms - https://cutt.ly/Mrxv0Ey

As you can see by the calendar below, there are lots of sporting opportunities coming up for your child to be a part of.

Permission for sporting events is done via Parent Lounge. Parents will receive an email when their child has been invited to participate in an event.  

Attached to the invitation is a note, you must open the note to agree to the terms and conditions before permission can be given. The note contains all relevant information, time, cost, travel, what to bring or to wear and venue etc.

This can vary between events, please check these details carefully before giving your child permission to attend.

If your child will not be attending please decline the invitation, this will save you receiving reminder emails and give staff a clear indication of who is definitely attending.

If you require any more information regarding sporting events please call the Sport Admin office on 66515644 ext 295 or email bhilton@bdc.nsw.edu.au 

Beth Hilton

Sport and Outdoor Education Coordinator K-12

Year 7 camp is fast approaching.  Letters have been emailed home and permission is slowly coming in via Parent Lounge.  Please remember when in Parent Lounge to update your child’s medical, dietary and swimming abilities. This information is vital to ensure your child has the best experience whilst on camp.

Beth Hilton

Sport and Outdoor Education Coordinator K-12

SPECIAL REPORT: Talking About Bushfires

The recent bushfire season in Australia has been catastrophic. It left in its wake a tragic loss of human life, native animals, livestock as well as many homes. Families have been either exposed or affected directly or indirectly, leaving many feeling overwhelmed and devastated. During such a traumatic event, children and teenagers are the most vulnerable. It is important to understand that they may not fully comprehend what they have seen either first-hand or in the media coverage. It can make them feel sad, anxious and even stressed.

Whilst most will recover and resume normal functioning, there will be some young people that will be deeply affected and require psychological support. The University of Melbourne’s ‘Beyond Bushfire Project’ found that mental health problems doubled in recovering communities up to 3 or 4 years after a bushfire.

In order to support our young people during this time, it is also important for adults to manage their own shock, grief, anxiety and anger before talking to kids about this tragedy.

In this Special Report, parents and caregivers will be given some key strategies that can be implemented to support kids who feel scared or worried as a result of this traumatic event. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this Special Report, and as always, we welcome your feedback.

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to your special report.

SPECIAL REPORT: Moving To A New School

Moving to a new school is a big deal! Your child is going to meet lots of new people and be thrown into new situations. That’s bound to make them feel lots of different emotions. They may feel worried and anxious, but also excited and happy – all at the same time!

It is considered to be one of the most important transition periods of a student’s life and can present some significant psychological challenges for both students and parents.

Making new friends, learning new routines, discovering new environments, accepting new cultures and adjusting to new learning practices is all part of the process. Some children will sail through this period of change, whilst others may need a bit more guidance. It is important to give your child the chance to feel comfortable in their new space. This may take a few months, but ensure you keep the lines of communication open and check in regularly with your child to see how they are settling in.

In this Special Report, parents and care givers will be presented with a number of strategies that can be deployed to help ensure a smooth transition. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this Special Report, and as always, we welcome your feedback.

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to your special report.

Welcome to 2020!

Careers have some great activities coming up this year for our kids.

Vocational Tuesdays Careers Info Sessions
Every Term on Tuesday of week 2,4 and 6, we will be hosting information sessions at lunchtimes with people from our region, who are working across a range of different careers.  Starting this Tuesday, our session will be about Primary and Secondary teaching featuring our own award winning teachers, Sue O’Connor and Ty Gillon. Students can come along, bring their lunch and get tips and advice about careers they are interested in exploring. Coming up later this term, we will have sessions with people from the medical and construction fields. 

Year 12 will attend the University Roadshow at BDC on 19th Feb. This is a fabulous information session on life at university, presented by 4 student ambassadors from our regional universities who will be on hand to answer any questions - not just about their particular uni's, but uni in general. 

Expressions of interests from Students from Years 7 to 11 are invited to attend the Botany Garden Week Careers Day. This one-off event is for students who may be interested in plants, food production or conservation to consider a career in Agriculture, Botany, Horticulture, Ecology or Floristry.

DATE: Thursday 5th March 2020

TIME: 10.00 am – 2.00 pm 

VENUE: North Coast Regional Botanical Garden

COST: FREE

TRANSPORT: Interested families must transport their own children to/from the day

Presentations on the day include:

10.00am -11.30am  Presentations by professionals in the Botanical Field.

11.30am - 12.15pm Lunch - Bring your own plus drinks, sun protection and insect spray

12.15pm - 2.00pm Hands On Activities including

·       Planting in a section of the Botanic Garden

·       Practical Gardening at home & plant propagation

·       Seed Balls

·       Flower arrangement

·       Planning a garden bed

2.00pm  finish

If you would like your child to participate in this program please email Gina Driscoll gdriscoll@bdc.nsw.edu.au asap - Please note - Places are limited.

SAVE THE DATE! 9th March 2020

Years 10, 11 and 12 are invited to a free careers event right here at BDC. More information to follow soon…..

Year 12 Individual Careers Appointments
Appointments will start with Year 12 in weeks 3,4 and 5. An appointment booking sheet will be emailed out to all Year 12’s, who are encouraged to grab a spot around their free periods to discuss their career path planning with Mrs Driscoll. Appointments are 20 mins and the class of 2019 found them very useful for finding information about uni courses / Traineeships/ jobs.  

Gina Driscoll

Career Pathways Coach

For news on our Alumni, check out the BDC News or our Facebook page Bishop Druitt College Alumni.

All parents need to please log into Parent Lounge and update any changes of details including email addresses to ensure the college can communicate with you as needed.

In their first fireside chat of the year Cameron will share insight on the future of content creation, new emerging platforms like #tiktok and how to monetise your passion. In the next day workshop interested participants will learn how-to: Picking a niche, Building an audience, Format, Marketing, Getting paid, Premium subscriptions vs Advertising, The technical setup, The Equipment (Hardware and software). So come along and learn new skills and insights, connect with likeminded people and enjoy the company in a casual atmosphere.

Hosted at the Bishop Druitt College theatre in Coffs Harbour.

Click here for more information.

Performing Arts Centre Discussion Paper Out for Consultation
An interim Issues and Options discussion paper on indoor and outdoor performance spaces is out for public feedback until February 28 2020.

Investigations into a performing arts space have been ongoing since 2015. In February 2017, Council agreed the next step to be an independently developed Issues and Options paper to seek clarity on the purpose, type and size of the proposed facility. In 2018, the scope of this stage was further expanded to include outdoor performing arts spaces.

Hawkridge Entertainment Services, a specialist entertainment industry consultancy, drew up the interim Issues and Options document after consultation with around 30 organisations and individuals that hire venues across the Coffs Harbour area for performing arts activities. These included schools and education institutions, community theatre groups, community music performance groups, eisteddfod groups, dance schools, local and national promoters and national producers.

The interim findings regarding an indoor performing arts space were that: 

as a growing Regional City, the needs identified are for a theatre of approximately 600 to 1,000 seat capacity and at the same time to retain the Jetty Memorial Theatre as a secondary theatre;
there is an immediate need for approximately 15% to 20% of hirers for a venue with a larger stage to cater for dance and eisteddfod performances, an unquantified need for a venue suitable for small to medium-sized touring productions and events and a need to plan for a Performing Arts Centre in Coffs Harbour.
Hawkridge also concluded that a new, fit-for-purpose centre would take approximately six years and cost between $50m to $60m in 2019 figures. The centre would cost between $850,000 and $2,000,000 to operate per year but would provide significant economic, social and cultural benefits to the region.

The discussion paper also says that any performing arts centre should be in the Coffs Harbour CBD, which chimes with the City Centre Masterplan adopted in 2013, sound fundamental planning principles and industry best practice – which recommends the location of any new major performing arts space to be in central locations with easy access to restaurants, café, retail outlets and other entertainment activity.

The paper also concludes that the availability and facilities at outdoor performing arts spaces in the Coffs Harbour area is good and extra resources such as available fencing would complement outdoor performance sites.

The full interim Issues and Options for Performing Arts Spaces report can be viewed and submissions made on Council’s Have your Say website from December 18 2019.

Public consultation and information sessions will also be held during February 2020. Details will be advertised and will also be placed on the  Have your Say website .

A further report on the outcomes of the consultation is expected to be brought back to Council for consideration by May 2020.

View the issues and options paper here.

View the Council report here.

Solitary Island Surf School flyer Sawtell and Northern Beaches. 

Click here to view the Circle of Security flyer.

Click here to view the Technology Club for kids flyer.

Click here to view the Active Kids flyer.

New Flexischools app launched

APPLE APP STORE

GOOGLE PLAY STORE

Click here to view the Coffs Coast Bodyboarding Association flyer.

The simplest way to pack a healthy lunch box.

Our college partnerships are collaborative relationships with businesses and organisations aimed at enhancing the educational journey of our students and contributing to making them world prepared.

Click here to view our partnerships.