This is our last newsletter for 2020 and with that comes our season’s greetings. I wish all of our college families a wonderful Christmas and summer break. Our Christmas Services held on Thursday this week were fantastic and the cute factor was on high with the Kindy nativity play. Thank you to Rev Naomi and all the staff and students involved in these events. We have the primary presentations tomorrow (Friday 4 December) and the secondary presentations on Monday (7 December). While these events cannot be attended by parents in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions we will be live steaming them. Please find the links below:

Stage 1 & 2 - https://bit.ly/3qlctQc

Stage 3 - https://bit.ly/33FbuR4

Years 7 & 8 - https://bit.ly/2VqPqVW

Years 9 & 11 - https://bit.ly/3mKLJpW

There is much to celebrate and be grateful for this fortnight with some student and staff achievements:

Texstyle and Shape 

Congratulations to Sarah Fahey, her major Textiles project and supporting documentation has been nominated for Texstyle and Shape 2020. This is the annual exhibition of outstanding major Textiles projects developed by HSC Textiles and Design students. Congratulations also to Mrs Ruthforth for her work with the class of 2020.

Australian Youth Orchestra Selection

Congratulations to High Performance Program student Felix Hughes Chivers who has recently been selected for the Australian Youth Orchestra’s Spring Music Camp in Sydney in 2021. This is a huge honour and opportunity for Felix. Felix has already been selected in a three-day workshop with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. The ACO Chamber Music Weekend will be held at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music from Friday 11 – Sunday 13 December. Felix will be coached by an ACO musician and the program will conclude with a recorded performance. I will share the link on our social media pages when it becomes available. 

National Bell Shakespeare Selection

Congratulations to Mrs Amy Dal Pozzo, our Head of Faculty for English, who has been selected in the Bell Shakespeare program. Each year Bell Shakespeare selects 30 teachers from regional and remote schools across Australia to participate in a four day workshop at Bell Shakespeare headquarters in Sydney. The four intensive training days include practical sessions filled with dynamic and innovative Shakespeare strategies suitable for all ages and levels of literacy; roundtable discussions about the unique challenges teachers face when teaching Shakespeare; curriculum development as well as unit planning using new skills and activities. The workshop closes with each teacher presenting what changes could be made in their approach to teaching Shakespeare, and what they will implement when they return to their school. Mrs Dal Pozzo will bring these experiences back to BDC to share with her colleagues and students and we look forward to hearing about them.

Rugby News

This week I met with Paul Butcher, Coffs Crusaders Junior Rugby President and Bruce Worboys, the Executive Officer of Mid North Coast Rugby, about the future of BDC Rugby. At this meeting Paul and Bruce noted their willingness for Bishop Druitt College’s Rugby Barracudas to become a club in our own right and also join the under 14s and under 16s competitions in 2021. We will be calling for nominations to be involved in this exciting sport in the first week of school next year. Ms Natalie Titcume will be meeting with me prior to the end of the school year to discuss the logistics of this exciting endeavour. I also wish to thank all the 2020 junior players, coaches, managers and referees for their involvement and invite them to return in 2021 as we endeavour to grow this sport in both our school and our region.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the BDC Barracuda Rugby Club please email your interest to Natalie Titcume ntitcume@bdc.nsw.edu.au

Mountain Biking News 

After registering the school as a Mountain Bike Club earlier in the year it was time to run our first Mountain Biking experience day. Congratulations to all the students who took part and a special thank you to our supporters who attended on the day. Thanks to Mark Carpenter for planning out this day, Sandy Carpenter for his demonstration skills and mentoring of the boys, and to both Karen and Tina for their exceptional guiding and teaching throughout the day. I also want to thank Mrs Alison Hollier as the support teacher.

Dance Studio News

Last Tuesday night the College Council approved the Dance Studio plans and tender process. I wish to thank Mr Oxley, Mr Ryan, Mrs Johnson and Mr Doyle for their input as well as the dedication of our council’s Sustainability and Finance Committees.

International Student Video - Kodai’s BDC years

Our new international student video features our recent graduate Kodai. This video showcases a day in the life of an international student and Kodai, one of our 2020 Valedictorians, offers some really great advice for international students. 

Academic Scholarships for 2022 (Entry to Years 7-11)

Applications for 2022 Academic Scholarships for students entering Years 7-11 are now open and will close on 8 February 2021. The scholarships are awarded on the basis of a competitive examination conducted by ACER, which will take place on 27 February 2021. Scholarships are awarded by the Principal. 

Please see our website for further details: https://www.bdc.nsw.edu.au/joi...

Other Scholarships with a Special Focus for 2022

Applications for Bishop Druitt College Scholarships with a Special Focus will open in Term 1 2021.

Please see our website for further details:  https://www.bdc.nsw.edu.au/joi...

Christmas Appeal

Thank you to all staff and students for your support of this year's Christmas Appeal for the Coffs Harbour Uniting Church Soup Kitchen and Warrina Women's and Children's Refuge.The generosity of the college community will make a huge difference to the lives of many people in Coffs Harbour who struggle daily to find some kind of normality in their lives. 

Return Dates and Letter from the Principal

I will write to all 2021 families in mid-January next year to outline the events of early Term 1, any COVID-19 changes, and to share with you any staffing changes, the HSC 2020 results as well as your 2021 calendar magnet. 

I wish all of our families a safe and happy holiday and we look forward to welcoming you all back here in the new year. 

Nick Johnstone
Principal

As an Anglican school, our faith is shown through these actions of reaching out to those in need in our own community. Jesus’ teaching about our call to reach out to others is seen in the above bible verse.

Thank you to all families who have contributed to the Christmas Appeal for the Uniting Church Soup Kitchen and Warrina Women’s and Children’s Shelter. Miles Hamilton in KF was one such student, arriving with bags of groceries for the appeal. His mum waited patiently at the school gate as Miles and friends transferred the bags to the classroom, saying that they filled up a whole trolley to donate to the appeal. This is just one example of our incredibly generous community, with many staff and families bringing in full grocery bags.

BDC Parent and Human Rights Lawyer, Kimberly Randle, is the executive director and principal lawyer of Fair Supply, a law firm dedicated to human rights issues within businesses such as modern slavery. Kimberly is an expert in the field of modern slavery, and has contributed to Parliamentary Inquiries into Human Trafficking. Kimberly has brought this wealth of knowledge and skill to our Human Rights Group, generously offering advocacy training for our students who are passionate about social justice. At these workshops, Kimberly has not only educated our students on up to date issues of justice, she has walked students through realistic steps for how to effect change on a local and international level. We look forward to continuing our partnership next year with this world leading expert, who happens to be a BDC parent also.  

Yesterday our school gathered for our end of year Christmas Services, with the youngest kindy students presenting the nativity play of the story of Jesus, the newborn King and Prince of Peace. Please take a look at the photos from this service on our BDC Facebook page. All our local Anglican churches are offering Christmas Services in their churches, with many also offering online services. I pray that peace might be with us all this Christmas and holiday season, with rest and love abounding in our families. 

Reverend Naomi Cooke
Chaplain
ncooke@bdc.nsw.edu.au

In 2019, with a review of school building usage, a central space in our school was made available to be visioned and transformed into a Student Wellbeing HUB. For the first time this meant that all the specialist wellbeing staff team would be housed together in a collective one-stop-shop for staff, students and families to access. 

Led by the Director of Student Wellbeing K-12, in consultation with the wellbeing team, a design for the Wellbeing HUB evolved to include offices and counselling rooms for two part-time school counsellors, two chaplains and a Director of Student Wellbeing K-12. Specifically, the rooms developed included:

• Small group or counselling room suitable for primary students
• Small group or counselling room suitable for high school students
• Private discreet seating area for students to wait, take time out, or self-regulate away from the crowd,
• Oasis room: A multi-purpose space for student clubs, such as Breakfast club, LGBTQ, Human Rights, Goori Language, Teacher Wellbeing meetings, Debating groups, and other student groups.

So, one year on, what’s working well?

Our first year in the Wellbeing HUB was spent developing the space and prioritising it to be student-friendly.

Student voice

Groups of students have helped design and create the space to ensure that it is welcoming, inclusive and student-friendly. Students have painted walls and created mosaics enhancing the message that the Wellbeing HUB is a one stop shop for all things wellbeing.

This year our Year 11’s Society and Culture class undertook research exploring student wellbeing from student perspectives, holding student focus groups across the school allowing students to have a say in things that impact them. The ideas from this research were presented to the College Leadership Team.

Inclusion

The Wellbeing HUB is a haven for those needing a sensory break from the busy pace of school, or those needing a relaxed meeting space for student groups and clubs.

Support

Wellbeing staff are available to chat to students or provide specific support such as appointments with counsellors. The hub provides information on community services and local supports. Our school wellbeing pocket sized support card is also available, identifying useful phone help-lines for students to access support out-of-school hours.

What’s next? 

1. To further develop further Wellbeing Hub programmes in the Oasis room to include explicit teaching of social and emotional skills, and to increase awareness of Mental Health so as to enhance wellbeing through resilience, coping, and help-seeking skills.
2. To further develop a sensory supportive space to help students with opportunities for self-regulation. It is envisioned that this will be developed and designed with students at the school in partnership with local Occupational Therapy students.

Sue O'Connor
Director of Student Wellbeing K-12

With the impending festive season and end of school celebrations, some teenagers may be feeling ready to party, wanting to put the disruptions, frustrations and disappointments of this past year, behind them.

To ensure our young people stay safe during this time, parents and carers are encouraged to have the alcohol discussion - no matter how difficult or overwhelming it may be. It is important to outline the rules and boundaries around age-appropriate alcohol consumption and what the legal implications may be.

Young people are at greater risk of alcohol-related harm than adults because their brains continue to develop until their mid-twenties. The safest level of alcohol consumption for teenagers, is no alcohol at all, but this may be difficult to enforce and may not prevent them from experimenting. However, parents and carers can influence sensible drinking habits and help minimise the risks.

In this Special Report, a series of discussion points are offered to help make the conversation about alcohol consumption a little easier. 

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 https://bdc.nsw.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-having-alcohol-discussion-au

Round Square demystified

Bishop Druitt College is one of the newest members of Round Square global association of over 200 schools from 50 countries.

Round Square provides opportunities for Bishop Druitt College students to exchange with other schools in Australia and overseas, participate in regional and international service projects and selected students may attend student conferences.

In 2021 we are planning virtual overseas exchange experiences along with local, physical exchanges within Australia and Covid safe areas.

This is an exciting time as we move into the international space using the latest technologies to connect overseas.

The philosophy of Round Square was developed by Kurt Hahn (1886-1974), who founded the idea of experiential education through such initiatives as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, Outward Bound and Round Square.

Round Square is student-led and I know our students have all the qualities and resources needed to plan adventures in 2021 that will make sure our students are world prepared.

Recently, BDC’s agility and willingness to try new technologies has enabled participation in a number of virtual world events.

International Youth Day - Round Square Global Conference

Imogen Grebert in Year 10, spent from 4:30pm till 10:30pm on Sunday evening in a zoom conference discussing a range of topics associated with the mental health of young people around the world. 

Imogen was a tremendous ambassador for BDC and Australia being the only student representative from Australia among the over 500 participants. Great work Imogen for fully embracing this rare opportunity.

Zoom Around the World - Round Square

Well done Year 5 and 6 students who participated in the Round Square Zoom Around the World from Radford College Canberra, exploring the theme of Adventure.

The call brought together more than 100 participants, connecting students and teachers from 14 RS schools in Australia, Germany, India, Rwanda, the USA, South Africa and China. 

BDC students reported that it was really interesting talking with students from other countries and to see first-hand that some of their beliefs and everyday experiences are very different from their own.

Cross-cultural exchange with Japan

In place of their planned 2020 study tour to BDC, the Akebi School in Noboribetsu Japan zoomed across the globe to interact with BDC’s Year 9 HSIE class with Tiffany Easman. In this cross-cultural exchange program, the full class is comparing management strategies in natural environments and making friends in Japan. We look forward to welcoming students from the Akebi High School again to visit BDC as soon as our borders reopen.

Round Square Mural

To celebrate our inclusion in the Round Square world family, the Arts Leadership Group, Round Square leaders and primary students from EYE Week are producing a mural showing the Round Square emblem, the IDEALS of Internationalism, Democracy, Environmentalism, Adventure, Leadership and Service. It will feature an image of the world from space, the BDC yarning circle and the footsteps of our new generation weaving the messages together. We hope the mural will inspire students. To quote Kurt Hahn, the Round Square founder, 'There is more to us than we know. If we can be made to see it. Perhaps for the rest of our lives, we will be unwilling to settle for less.'

2020 Timetable rollover

On the 8th of December, Bishop Druitt College will be ending their 2020 Timetable and rolling over to 2021. This will result in records for students who no longer attend BDC to go into archive in accordance with NSW regulations.

All students in Year 12 will be placed into archives and you will no longer be able to access their details through Parent Lounge. This includes all their school reports.

We ask that over the coming weeks that you log into Parent Lounge and start to download all reports and save to your personal devices. We are finding that past students are requiring reports dating back as far as Year 10 for their university applications and so forth.

Once students are archived there is a delay in retrieving reports and we would hate for your child to miss out due to this process.

Parent Lounge can be accessed through BDC Website. If you are having trouble accessing parent lounge please email parentlounge@bdc.nsw.edu.au.

BDC Bus Update

Applications for the BDC Bus 1 & 2 are now open via our BDC website. The BDC Northern Beaches Bus was originally created for our younger students, especially Years K-3, to save them having to navigate the Korora Interchange using Transport NSW free student travel pass via Forest Coaches. We do however welcome all students from the northern beaches to apply.

If your child travelled on the buses this year you will now need to reapply online.

If you are reapplying or joining our BDC community in 2021 applications can be found at https://www.bdc.nsw.edu.au/mybdc/general/northern-beaches-buses                                  

Fill in the form according to your address choosing either Bus 1 or 2. There are pickup times and routes on the site to help you.

We would also appreciate an idea of when your child will travel on the am/pm run daily or random days or weeks as this will help us to ensure all spots can be filled safely with students who may only need the service on certain days.

Once you have submitted your form you will receive an email from BDC Reception asking you to call the school to make the payment which is still $20 per student for the full year. We accept credit cards over the phone or after you receive your confirmation email you may send cash via your child to reception for payment. You can also request a receipt of payment.

Please note that an online application without secured payment does not ensure your child’s place on the buses and once they are filled your application will go on the waiting list.

Reception will be closing on Friday 11th December and will reopen Monday 11th January 2021. All applications will be processed as received.

For all information and questions please feel free to call 66515644.

When we look back on the year, there are many things that haven’t gone to plan but there are also many things that we have learned from 2020. The idea of online learning was very foreign to many people and it highlighted some real challenges. For most of us, it highlighted what was most important to us. The need for relationships and connection is the greatest thing we can take from 2020.

As I look forward to next year, I hope we are able to have some more stability. But I also hope we can continue to move forward and challenge the way we see modern education.  

Transition to 2021

This week our students and all of our new friends who will join us next year, got to meet their future teacher and visit the class they will work in for 2021. This is always an exciting time for our students as they get to make new goals for the coming year.  

Thank you

It is always sad at the end of the year when we say goodbye to friends and colleagues. This year we say goodbye to Mrs Cassie Jackson, and Miss Shelly Daniel. We thank them for their contributions in their time at Bishop Druitt College and wish them luck in their future endeavours.  

I wish you all a safe and happy holiday and a very merry Christmas. I look forward to seeing you all next year as we jump into 2021.

Richard Smith
Assistant Principal (Head of Primary)

This term in sport, kindergarten have been learning new tennis skills with Vanessa from Pollack’s Tennis Coaching. 

Over the past couple of weeks, the students have practiced their throwing, catching, and striking skills in a range of activities. It has been great to see their eager participation in this new sport activity and some of the boys and girls have expressed an interest in continuing to practice their tennis skills outside of school. 

Gillian Fisher
Teacher

2020 is drawing to a close and our staff would like to thank all families for your support throughout 2020 in a sometimes difficult environment and one that was often changing. As a community we have demonstrated our care for each other across the year in many different ways and we can be proud of the efforts we have seen in our students across Year 7 to Year 12. The world as we know of has changed dramatically and is still changing. This will continue to bring challenges across 2021 and at this time of year we give thanks for the community we are part of on the Coffs Coast and at Bishop Druitt College.

The college is proudly sharing our news that the Class of 2020 have already received 5 apprentices and traineeships and that the incredible rate close to 80% of HSC students are in university already. This accomplishment is just unheard of at this time of year. The college works diligently to provide the best educational outcomes each year and this year we should celebrate loudly. University offers are actually before the first round that will happen in December. This is a fantastic legacy for the Class of 2020 to demonstrate. Significantly this is a whole college success, families who guide and advocate a good education for their children, our primary teachers in their foundation years and the whole campus wellbeing approach across secondary schooling. The expertise of HSC teachers at BDC is second to none and this combined with our Careers Pathways guidance creates a very clear advantage for our young adults.

Unfortunately at this time of term we are preparing for students and staff only at the awards presentation and Christmas service events. 

We would like to thank and wish the following staff well in 2021: Mrs Alison Hollier (Science) who is retiring, Mr Troy Sodeau (Science) and Mrs Rosey Lang (HSIE) on leave for 2021. Recent announcements include welcoming Mrs Meegan Bruggerman into the Year 7 Coordinator position, Mrs Nicole Matthews as acting Year 9 Coordinator and Ms Kate Butcherine as acting Cottee Head of House. Thank you to the following staff who are completing contracts this year or semester: Mrs Kristy McDermid, Mrs Nadene Flick, Rachelle Daniel and Mr Adam Newman.

Please refer to our website for the uniform guidelines when you are shopping for the new year. We ask that you re-check the polishable shoe guidelines and hairstyles guidelines. Nose rings are not permitted and jewellery has specific requirements as general reminders. https://digistorm-websites.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/bdc-au-nsw-333-website/documents/Policies/Uniform-Policy.pdf?mtime=20191122035350 

Thank you for your support throughout 2021. On behalf of the secondary campus, we wish everyone a holy and family filled Christmas season.

VERENIKI STORY_nov_2020

Year 9 Rites of Passage Speech_2020

Please find the key dates below:

Simon Doyle
Assistant Principal (Head of Secondary)

Congratulations to Megan Ussher who won 2nd prize ($250) in the Earth and Environmental (Year 11-12) Category in the Young Scientist Awards. This is a wonderful result for Megan and is a fabulous reward for her efforts in completing her research project for HSC Science Extension. A well-deserved win.

Congratulations to Amy Dal Pozzo, Head of English, who has been offered a Bell Shakespeare Regional Teacher Mentorship in 2021. This prestigious program offers 30 teachers from regional and remote Australian schools a fully-funded, year-long mentorship with Bell Shakespeare. 

Amy’s goal is to help bring Shakespeare’s scripts to life, to help students inhabit the bard’s characters because it’s through the physicality of Shakespeare’s plays that meaning is made. She believes that students need to move around in the space, walking in the characters’ shoes, to truly understand the rhythm of the stories. 

The mentorship includes a four day intensive training at Bell Shakespeare HQ where Amy will design new curriculum content, network with other teachers from across Australia, challenge herself and strengthen her teaching arsenal. She will also receive mentoring and ongoing support from Bell Shakespeare staff and teaching artists for the duration of 2021. She hopes to use this professional development experience to enhance the compulsory study of Shakespeare at BDC and to establish some new and exciting opportunities across K to Year 12. 

Whether it be representing the fragility of young love in a corrupt world, the tension between fate and free will, exploring the themes of identity, justice or the celebration of the power of language to manipulate, seduce, elucidate and redeem, Shakespeare’s plays are a joy to study, to teach, to perform and to savour. It is their ability to hold a 'mirror up to nature', to show us the complexity of life, the ambiguous storytelling and the startling words and wordplay that makes these stories so universally and enduringly fascinating. 

This is an amazing opportunity for both Amy and the college. 

We have had a very busy last two weeks preparing for the Carol Service, Primary and Secondary Presentation Assemblies. Unfortunately because of covid rules we are unable to have our carol evening this year.

Our ensembles have been practicing really well and its great to be able to have our regular rehearsals again.

We have also been able to hold lunchtime concerts outside the PPS where there is a small amphitheater. The students have really enjoyed being able to perform again.

I would like to thank all our wonderful teaching staff that gives so much to our students. I see a lot of happy faces around the department.

At the end of this term we are saying goodbye to Rachelle Daniel who has a new job teaching English at Bellingen High School. Thank you for all your hard work and for inspiring so many students. We wish you well in your new position.

I would also like to thank Nadene Flick for stepping into her new role at the beginning of Term 3 as a classroom teacher in secondary Drama and Music. Nadene has continued to give voice lessons during this time and in 2021 will be also covering for Cathyrn Burgess who is taking a year's leave.

Thank you Cathyrn for all your teaching with our wonderful voice students we wish you a wonderful year in Brisbane.

We received news that Felix Hughes-Chivers has had a first-round offer for the Australian Youth Orchestra. This is for the spring camp which is held in Sydney in 2021. Next week he will be heading down to Sydney to participate in a three-day workshop with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. They will be put into chamber groups and coached by members of the orchestra.

Congratulations Felix. We wish you well and look forward to hearing about it on your return.

Thank you to all the parents who help maintain the practice routines at home. This enables our students to progress throughout the year and be part of our wonderful ensembles, which perform at all our different assemblies and special events.

We are looking forward to having our new dance teacher Hannah Johnson join our team in 2021.

This Friday we have the auditions for our next Musical, which is the School Of Rock. We wish the Drama team all the best for the auditions and all the students who are auditioning.

Have a wonderful holiday and a big thank you for your continuing support.

Sandra Smith
Acting Head of Performing Arts

Sport administration phone number – 0417859252 or 66515644 ext 295.
Please do not use any other mobile number you may have to contact the sport administrator.

Important Information

2021 swimming carnival dates:

• Secondary Monday 8 Feb  
• Primary Tuesday 9 Feb
• NCIS swimming Wednesday 24 Feb
• CIS primary Thursday 18 March / secondary Monday 26 & Tuesday 27 April

General Sport

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas and we all look forward to seeing you out and about on the sporting fields in 2021.

Futsal

It was a big week of Futsal in Port Macquarie. It was great to see so many players back on the courts.

Tuesday saw our 13 boys and 14 girls and boys hit the courts. The 13 boys had a shaky start but then found their rhythm to come away with the runners up trophy.

The 14 boys came out firing with 2 wins, albeit close, however the confidence got the better of them and they lost their next game to Bellingen. Once they realised it is a team sport they won their semi over Bellingen to face SCAS again in the final. After a hard-fought 20 minutes, the game went into extra time and BDC eventually bought the trophy home with a 1-0 win.

The girls had some ups and downs over the day, but did make the semi-final. Unfortunately for this newly formed team that was as far as they progressed for the day.

On Wednesday it was the open boys turn, I think the hardest part of the day for them was being at school by 6:45am, but they were. After losing their first 2 games, then having a draw and eventually a win, it ensured a place in the semi final. Unfortunately the boys went down 2-1 in the semi.

15 boys, 16 boys and the 16 girls turn on Thursday. Some very hard-fought games were played in the 15 boys, it has always been a tough age division in this area, unfortunately BDC was on the wrong side of the scoreboard for the majority of their games. 

The 16 boys came up against some tough competition too. They saved their best until the last game to come away with a draw against SCAS.

A lack of putting in the work at training showed with the 16 girls and they took a couple of games to warm up. They finished the day with two close losses and a draw.

Primary were so excited to be involved in the competition this year. The girls were up first and took a while to find the feet, but today was about having fun with your teammates (especially for the girls, the boys were a bit more serious). The girls finished with 2 losses and a 10-0 win.  The boys had a long wait for their first game but came out firing. They won all their pool games and went into the finals against unknown opposition from the other pool. They went into the final with the confidence only to finish as runners up.

All teams can hold their heads high with their attitude and sportsmanship over the week. 

Thank you to Martin Kelleher, Mick Klipin, Terry Close, Curtis Heywood, Ty Gillon and Joel Davis for coaching the teams.

Junior Primary Swimming Carnival

Thank you to Stage 1 staff and support staff for making the 2021 swimming carnival a huge success. All the students had a great time. Below are some of the words the ELC used to describe the event.

Touch 

BDC V Boambee Public School 

Last Friday 10 year fives and 10-year sixes played touch on the oval against Boambee. The first game we played we had to play against the mixed team of Boambee. We had a big crowd that cheered us on. They were tough and sneaky but we were substandard and they beat us 6-4. After that, we got split into boys and girls and played the Boambee boys and girls teams. The girls put up a fight against Boambee and by half time both teams had managed to score one tri. In the second half we were a bit tired but still played as hard as we could and managed to sneak in one more try but unfortunately so did Boambee so that made the final score 2-2. Which was very close. The boys played as well as they could, but Boambee were just too good, at half time Boambee were beating us by 4 tries, but after a quick drink, the boys were ready to play again. They played well and defended their try line and even managed to get a few sneaky tries, but unfortunately, Boambee were just too good and they got a couple more tries.

We would like to thank Mrs Hilton and also Mr Reedy and Mrs Jackson our excellent coaches without you this would not have happened. 

Phoebe Oliver

Coming to the end of the afternoon we had two big touch games against Boambee. Our first game was mixed with boys and girls. It was a tough game as we were down 4-1 with 10 minutes to go and then Quinn Evans scored 3 tries to make it a 4-4 end game. 

In the second game we played boys vs boys it was a very tough game as Boambee had a great team, they were ahead 6-3 at halftime. When we came back onto the field Boambee ran away with it and beat us 15-3. We all had a great afternoon and we had lots of fun. Thank you Stage 3 for watching Mrs Hilton, Mr Ready, Mrs Jackson and Mr McNeil for organising this amazing afternoon 

Max Neal and Quinn Evans 

Values League Tag

On Friday the 27th November over 55 students participated in a League Tag Gala Day hosted by the local NRL development officers.

Bishop Druitt had 6 teams compete in the U14 & U16 boys & girls age divisions.

A beautiful hot and sunny day greeted the players as they competed against many other schools in the local area. It was evident students relished playing against their friends from other schools and representing Bishop Druitt College.

All players and teams had a great day whether they were trying the sport of league tag for the first time or were well experienced.

Thanks to Ms Butcherine, Mrs Erin Powell, Mr Martin Kelleher and Mr Daniel Bartlett for coaching the teams and to Mrs Hilton for organising the day.

A big shout out to all the Year 11 students that helped run the day. The NRL Development team were extremely appreciative of their efforts because without them the day would likely not have gone ahead. Thank you Ellie Spain, Michael Spinoglio, Franklin Antony-Samburuma, Koelby Welch, Sydney Stroud, Montana Wall & Ronan Singleton.

MTB Day at Jacks Ridge

Last Monday 30th November, twenty seven (27) students from BDC travelled down to Nambucca to ride at Jack’s Ridge MTB track. There were a lot of enthusiastic riders ready to test themselves against what the track would offer.

After a quick introduction from Mr Peter Barron, Mark Carpenter (parent and program organiser) got the boys moving, working on skills of braking and balancing. With the help of Karen Masson and Tina McDonnell (parents and qualified instructors) everyone began to put these skills into practice as we ventured out to tackle sections of the track.

All the boys were challenged by the many jumps and berns (raised turning banks) on offer. 

Fine tuning our riding skills with many more laps of the course completed, we eventually finished the day in the main car park where we shared our riding stories and headed home with huge smiles on our faces. 

I would like to thank Mark Carpenter for planning out this day, Sandy Carpenter for his demonstration skills and mentoring of the boys, and to both Karen and Tina for their exceptional guiding and teaching throughout the day. Also want to thank Mrs Alison Hollier as the support teacher.

Lastly, I’d like to thank the many parents who supported our day and drove the boys down.

It was a great day and a great start for the BDC MTB club. We are already looking forward to the next day out in 2021.

Mr Peter Barron

MTB

Some of the BDC MTB club riders competed on Sunday in the Taree (Kiwarrak) Stage 5 of the NSW North Coast Enduro series. 

It was extremely hot and the trails quite testing, with long steep hard climbs between each stage. The boys rode brilliantly. We all had a fun weekend together. 

Kiri Biggs - Mum and rider

Sailing

Well done to Connor McMillian who has taken on the task of teaching Mr Doyle how to sail. Both are doing well.

Beth Hilton
Sport and Outdoor Education Coordinator K-12

Beth Hilton
Sport and Outdoor Education Coordinator K-12

Despite the upheavals to student learning caused by Covid, I’ve had career sessions and activities with all Year Groups from Years 7-12  and had many career appointments with individual students.  

The Class of 2020 have had great outcomes in their post-school endeavours. 77% of those who applied for university entry have already received one or more offers to study at uni next year and several have received university scholarships. At last count 5 students have secured apprenticeships or traineeships straight out of school.

School-based apprenticeships and traineeships congratulations to Kaleb Ryan, who completed his SBAT in commercial cookery and now progresses to complete his apprenticeship full time with JBN Cafe. Congratulations also to Robbie Sullivan who will be transitioning from an SBAT to a full-time apprenticeship with his employer, Tom Williams Plumbing. 

Year 12’s Ronan, Will, Niki and Blake will continue with their SBAT’s next year, while they complete their HSC.  

Big news…..congratulations to Year 10’s Nick Gough, Jonah Blackburn, Jackson Hibbard and Year 9’s Alex Mann, who have all been offered SBAT’s commencing 2021 after completing work experience, work trials, or interviews with potential employers. Watch this space for photos of them as they are signed up and get working on the job. 

Year 10 have recently been out on work experience week. Most secured a face-to-face placement in Coffs and some travelled to Brisbane, Sydney and Newcastle for their placements.  Some students opted to undertake a virtual work experience placement and completed projects that they could not access locally in areas such as Journalism, Interior Design, Cyber Security, Artificial Intelligence, Sports Performance Analysis, Fashion Design, Mental Health and Neuro Rehab and Veterinary Technology. Check out some of the projects our students submitted on our BDC Careers Facebook page here.

A huge thank you to all our host employers for giving our kids the opportunity for workplace learning. The feedback received from employers has been fantastic so far and is a valuable tool for our kids to develop employability skills for their future.

Here are some photos of our Year 10’s out at their work placements

Gina Driscoll 
Career Pathways Coach

TRY League Coffs Harbour

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. 

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