There is much to be grateful for at Bishop Druitt College. Last week, our strong sense of community and our willingness to stand up for justice was on show. All students participated in a celebration of our natural world and asked our leaders to be proactive in protecting our environment with our participation in the Sacred People Sacred Earth Global Day of Action. Our students were respectful of this process and recognised the importance of people expressing their concern. The college also welcomed Bishop Murray to participate in this event. He encouraged our students to have a voice for climate justice. 

Congratulations to BDC Alumni, Emma Serisier (class of 2019) who was presented with the Coffs Harbour Zonta Young Women in Public Affairs award at the International Women’s Day breakfast last week.  Emma is an inspirational young scientist who has received recognition globally with her student research projects. She is formalising a women's mentoring program, through assistance from the ABC, whereby she plans to give women in STEM a voice, particularly rural women. Emma is currently studying a dual degree in Medicine and Mathematics. 

Congratulations also to Juliette Oliver, BDC Service Captain, who received an honourable mention at this event. Juliette has a record of amazing leadership and community activities and is a role model for her peers.

Welcome Back event - save the date: Monday 26 April 

The college and the P&F Association are working together to set up a “welcome back parents” event on Monday 26 April in the evening. Obviously the easing in COVID-19 restrictions have allowed us to start planning for these type of events again and I wish to thank every parent and carer for their patience and understanding during this time. During the event we will still need to have some COVID-19 protocols in place but I am confident that we can have a near-normal event.

Open Day - 25 May, plus Kindy pop-in on 22 May

Our Open Day is always a highlight in our calendar and if you missed it last year I would encourage you to find the time to visit and maybe bring a friend as well. We will be showcasing our signature teaching and learning programs as a key part of the program for 2021.

We have also opened up a Kindy Pop in Session on 22 May, an opportunity for new Kindergarten students and parents to meet our Stage 1 teachers and learn about our innovative programs. 

Bookings essential. Phone 02 6651 5644 ext 208 to secure your place. 

NCIS Swimming Carnival Success 

Building on the second place our primary swim team gained a fortnight ago, our secondary swim team beat all comers at the NCIS event last week. Congratulations to all student-athletes, including our two record-breaking students, Lily and Eva (pictured). There were 5 age champions and 5 runner-ups but it was the spirit of our team that was the standout according to parents and team managers.

You can find more photos on the NCIS Swimming Carnival in the Sports and Outdoor Education report in this newsletter. 

Clarence Coffs Independent Schools Careers Hub Launch Event - 28 April

Are you a business owner or an employer who would like to learn more about the economic potential and trends in regional Australia? Are you interested in supporting the college as a professional through:

• Industry site tours
• Guest speaking
• Mentoring
• Work experience opportunities
• Internships
• School-based apprenticeships or traineeships

You may wish to attend our Careers Hub Launch event with guest speaker Mark McCrindle. Mark McCrindle, a demographer, futurist, social researcher, TEDx speaker, author and Principal at internationally recognised McCrindle, will be our guest speaker. Mark will present on the future of the labour market in regional Australia and how schools and career educators can work with the local business community.  

This event is free, but registrations essential - via bit.ly/2MERuZC

School Improvement Plan 2021

The School Improvement Plan for this school year has been updated and is now available for viewing. I wish to thank parents who contributed to the AISNSW Perspectives survey last year as feedback from this survey appears as target areas in the new plan. Educational trends focussing on student wellbeing, literacy and numeracy development, soft skills development and links to future pathways are all included in our vision for 2021. View the School Improvement Plan here. 

Lastly, I would like to thank all parents and carers for being patient and supportive of the difficult weather conditions over the last 2 days and for your prompt and calm response during our resulting evacuations.

Nick Johnstone 
Principal 

Equality and equity for humanity are ideals we should all strive for in our lives. It is the central message of living the Gospel that Jesus taught. We read in the Gospel according to John that Jesus was sent to show and teach everyone how to live in the right way. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending Jesus into the world to tell the world how bad it was. Jesus came as a light to help everyone live the right way, and to put the world right again. 

The season of lent is good time to reflect on our outlook of the world and endeavor to stand up for justice. 

In the words of Oscar Romero: “Let us observe our Lent thus, giving our sufferings, our bloodshed, our sorrow the same value that Christ gave to his own condition of poverty, oppression, abandonment, and injustice.”                                

History shows there has been many people who have dedicated their lives as advocates for justice and the liberation of the oppressed. Over the next two weeks in chapel, we will be reflecting on the life Oscar Romero who was a South American Archbishop in the Catholic Church and an advocate for the poor and oppressed. Sadly, Oscar’s stand cost him his life.

During his three years as Archbishop of San Salvador, Oscar Romero became known as a fearless defender of the poor. His work on behalf of the oppressed earned him the admiration and love of the peasants he served and, finally, an assassin's bullet.

Pope Francis speaking of Romero said, "His ministry was distinguished by his particular attention to the most poor and marginalised."  Romero became an outspoken social activist.

In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 24 March as the "International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims" in recognition of the role of Romero in defence of human rights. Romero actively denounced violations of the human rights of the most vulnerable people and defended the principles of protecting lives, promoting human dignity and opposing all forms of violence.

Like Oscar Romero, God sent Jesus into our world to show and teach everyone how to live in the right way.

Rev David Morgan, 
Chaplain

Year 9 can sometimes be a very tricky year group to understand – they are not little juniors anymore but they also are not quiet seniors – they know people who take risks and they can find it hard to navigate through what is safe and what is unsafe.

You’ve possibly heard the name Paul Dillon in the past – he’s considered to be Australia’s foremost expert on teenagers and drug use. Here’s a bit of his bio:

"Paul Dillon has been working in the area of drug education for more than 25 years. Through his own business, Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia (DARTA) he has been contracted by many organisations to give regular updates on current drug trends. He continues to work with many school communities across the country to ensure that they have access to good quality information and best practice drug education."

So, in other words - Paul Dillon knows what he’s talking about. And when he gives parents advice? We should LISTEN. Recently he wrote a column for parents of year 9 students about what to expect with parties, sleepovers and alcohol. 

If you have a child aged 13 - 16, you can read the full article here. 

Sue O'Connor 
Director of Student Wellbeing 

Gillon’s + 1 

I am pleased to announce that Mr and Mrs Gillon are expecting a new addition to their family later in the year. Both Brooke and Ty could not be happier for their little bundle to enter their family and as a college, we wish them all the best at this special time.   At this stage, Mrs Gillon will be on leave for the second semester.  We will announce who will be teaching 1G for the second half of the year, when a staff member has been appointed in Term 2.

Parent Pick up 

Just a  quick reminder to parents to please have your visor name in your car when you visit parent pick up at the end of the day.  The car park seems to be moving a lot smoother now and we would like to continue this for the end of the term and for the rest of the year.  If you have misplaced your visor strip, or you need another one for a multiple pick up arrangement, please contact our Admin team on adminhub@bdc.nsw.edu.au 

Easter Hat Parade

Our Easter Hat Parade is just around the corner.  We are pleased to be able to have parents back for the event and look forward to sharing in the fun of the event.  Please see the college Facebook page for details and feel free to wear your own hat on the day.

Richard Smith
Assistant Principal (Head of Primary) 

Making fairy bread to learn about procedures 

In Week 7, ELC, Year 1 and 2 students made fairy bread to begin their new Talk 4 Write unit on procedures.

Year Six Rotations

Throughout this year every student in Year 6 will rotate through a series of courses.  These include Rock and Water, Drama, Robotics and STEM.  The courses run for a term and are run weekly.

In Rock and Water, students are exploring the relationship between the physicality of martial arts training and the development of social skills, self-confidence and resilience.

In Robotics the students have been learning to use block code and program robots, called Ozobots. Students engage with computer science as a medium for creativity, communication, problem solving, and fun! 

The STEM course has involved students investigating refugees. They have explored refugee camps and the lives of refugees who walk kilometres daily. The students brainstormed and identified what materials would be available in a refugee camp and have designed shoes using these materials. Students will create the shoes and spend an afternoon, ‘walking in a refugee’s shoes’. 

In Drama, students have been working on developing crazy characterisation, and inspiring improvisations. This group is now using these skills to work on their own version of "Cinderella". 

Glenn McNeil, 
Stage 3 Coordinator

Junior Primary Football Workshop 

All students K- 2 were involved in a Football Workshop in week 7 run by Nat Titcume and the Football Academy students in the Secondary school. Students had fun playing football, learning the skills and strategies of the game. 

Classrooms and Flexible Furniture

Last week English, HSIE and PDHPE received some new furniture which formed part of the refurbishment of six rooms and two break out areas. The range of furniture will allow more types of learning zones to be created with flexible furniture, assist with collaborative activities and provide more white board areas for sharing and problem solving. The recent update is approximately a $50K investment. We look forward to seeing their use throughout the year.

Wet weather and uniform

It has been a blessing to receive regular rain across the start of 2021, although we would like to share this with others at the moment. Having been out west recently near Lightning Ridge, Moree and Mungindi, many areas have received rain at the start of the year. So much so that there is a mice plague in western NSW, something I am glad we do not have here. Thank you to our families who have consistently managed to have the correct uniform throughout the week with the wet weather. Where it may become an issue mid week when clothes are drying, please ensure a note comes to school for the Tutor Teacher if there is an item unavailable for the day such as wet socks.

At this time of term, a reminder for students: 

• Wear correct shoes, sports joggers for sport/PE and black polishable shoes for other school days.
• Nose rings are not permitted.
• Please be aware of other jewellery guidelines eg size of earrings.
• As mornings get colder, only school jumpers/tracksuit tops, soft shell jackets and blazers are permitted. 

Vocation Tuesday

Mrs Gina Driscoll our Careers Pathways Leader has commenced these lunchtime presentations. We have had a focus on health and this week we were fortunate for BDC parent Kylie Cameron shared her experience as a construction manager to a full house. This initiative of for all students Years 5 to 12 to attend.

Optus Digital Thumbprint workshops

Years 7 to 12 have attended workshops covering the important digital citizenship skills such as cyber security, cyberbullying and digital identity. Safety online will continue to be an area that we will need to work with as parents, students and the college for the years ahead. Please continue to discuss what your children are using to communicate with, have they secure passwords (that they update regularly) and do they know what to do or who to talk with if approached by strangers online? Hopefully they will have talked with you about their workshop this week.

Parent Teacher Meetings (PTM)

Even with the easing of restrictions it is still a time to be aware of and practice good health and hygiene consistently. Please only attend if you are well, sign in, use a QR code, masks are optional, sanitise hands on arrival and to practice social distancing etc. There will also be a support table as you enter if you wish to ask for assistance.

The Branson Centre is a large internal space and it is an after school activity and this works well with the current health guidelines.

Each Wednesday night:

• Week 8 (17 March) - Year 8 and Year 12
• Week 9 (24 March) - Year 10 and Year 9
• Week 10 (31 March) -  Year 11 and Year 7 

PTM Details

• Your child should attend PTM where possible.
• 3.40pm to 7.30pm.
• 5 minute time intervals (you can always do a follow up call).
• Please supply your own water.
• QR check in and assistance available for parents and carers.
• Please sanitise hands on arrival.
• Teachers may ask if families would prefer a phone call beforehand.
• There are no PTM for kaizen or REP classes due to their short duration with the teachers.

Enrolments surge, applications for Year 7 2023 encouraged

The college has been overwhelmed with enrolment applications in recent weeks. In particular for Year 7 in 2022. Please let any friends or families know that if they are considering enrolment at the college they should apply ASAP. Many applicants are unfortunately most likely on waiting lists for 2022, especially for Year 7. 

If you know of families considering Year 7 in 2023, they should be applying now. The best advice we can give prospective families is to join our community at the earliest opportunity in the primary years, preferably as Foundation Students. 

To see the number of applications and wonderful families applying across Kindy and Year 7 is a reflection on the wonderful young people and families who are at the college now and make it a wonderful school community K to 12.

End of term details 

The end of Term 1 is Thursday the 1st of April. This is where we will complete the term with our Easter service. The college re-opens on Tuesday 20th April (when Year 12 go on retreat).

Simon Doyle, 
Assistant Principal (Head of Secondary)

Every day, another 47 Australians are diagnosed with a blood cancer. That’s one Aussie every 31 minutes!! 

Although research is improving survival rates, sadly one Australian loses their life to blood cancer every two hours.

Will you help by sponsoring us?

Year 12 Students and teacher Mr Ben Dal Pozzo are shaving to help stop blood cancer as part of the World's Greatest Shave. Fourteen brave individuals are shedding their hair in an effort to raise much needed funds for the Leukaemia Foundation.

Congratulations Sureyya Brennan: Sureyya composed a piece called 2021 and is being flown down to Hobart to perform it at Festival of Voices alongside 400 young singers. Sureyya is also a member of the Valla singers.

We are looking forward to hearing Sureyya perform it in Assembly for us.

CVAS trip: We are currently planning our trip to CVAS for the day to join their musical ensembles for a workshop and then end the day with a concert.

Details will be confirmed at the beginning of term 2.

Primary Music Camp: Primary Music Camp is back on and will happen in term 4. At the beginning of 2022 we are planning a Secondary Music Camp.

Thank you: Thank you to Marisol for performing for our guests last week. It was much appreciated by all those who were there.

Best Wishes for all those who are auditioning for RYO.

World Harmony Day: This week we will be celebrating World Harmony Day on Thursday for Primary and Friday for Secondary. Our Performance Choir will get to perform their program that they normally sing at World Harmony Day in the Botanical Gardens.

Drama workshop: We have a Drama workshop in term two as part of the Writers Festival. The workshop will be hosted by playwright, Alana Valentine. Click here to find out more. 

Junior Orchestra: The short video is our wonderful Junior Orchestra performing a short piece.

Have a great week.

Regards, 

Performing Arts Team

The Bellingen Improvised Music Collective Inc is inviting all local young musicians to participate in the excellent opportunities which form part of the inaugural Bellingen Improvised Music Festival. BIMF! is a weekend of original and improvised music features workshops for youth on the Saturday and performances on the Sunday, all held in the Bellingen Showground Main Pavilion on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 July 2021.

Saturday workshops for youth aged 12-25 from regional NSW
• Rhythm – run by Greg Sheehan – 10:30 am
• Harmony – run by Oscar Eager – 12:00 noon
• Improvisation – run by Sandy Evans – 2:45 pm

Saturday evening Jam Circle – free for all participants
All youth musicians and close family and friends are invited to the jam arranged in the round in an informal atmosphere so that the less experienced musicians feel more confident to participate.

Sunday morning mentoring sessions – free for all workshop participants
Youth ensembles, both experienced and newly formed, are encouraged to play for
Sandy Evans as an opportunity to gain feedback and mentoring to improve their
performance skills.

Sunday afternoon concert – free for all youth under 25 years old - $20 for adults
The Sandy Evans quartet will be featuring local musicians Greg Sheehan and Bobby Singh, joined by Brett Hirst from Sydney. They will be supported by Oscar Eager's band of students from the jazz program at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Oscar grew up in Bellingen and formed his first band there in 2013.

We particularly wish to encourage young people who are already on their improvisation journey. We will be ensuring there is a supportive environment for them to explore their musicality and creativity. 

For more information please email bellojazzbima@gmail.com

Register here or find out more at the BIMF Facebook page. 

The Bellingen Improvised Music Collective Inc was incorporated as a revitalisation of the former Bellingen Jazz Society, to support the creation and performance of original and improvised music in the Bellingen Shire and surrounds. This project is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW. 

Barracudas 

Please contact Natalie Titcume for any BDC Barracudas sports. (rugby, basketball and mini roos football) ntitcume@bdc.nsw.edu.au

Parent attendance at events

It is great to have parents back attending our sporting events. Please remember to follow all COVID-19 guidelines so we can continue to have spectators cheering our teams on.

NCIS Secondary Swimming

Congratulations to the 35 students who represented BDC at the NCIS Secondary Swimming Carnival last Thursday in Alstonville.

BDC won the overall day with an outstanding 1003 points 83 points clear of EAC.

Age Champions

13 yr girls - Aria Matthews

14 yr girls - Piper Rieth

14 yr boys - Flynn Hall

15 yr girls - Lilly Geddes

15 yr boys - Hunter Bellamy

Runners up 

12 yr girls – Eva Zuvela

12 yr boys – Mitchell Rieth

16 yr boys – Nick Alford

17 yr girls – Imogen Grebert

18 yr girls- Tayla Hall

Record breakers 

NCIS Primary Football

On Tuesday 9 March, the BDC boys competed in the NCIS Football Gala Day on the oval. In the first game we played Kempsey and won 3 - 1, with Eli Friel scoring a double. In the second game we played CVAS, the school Mrs Lisle moved to, and we beat them 4 to 1. Then we played The Living School and won 6 - 1. The fourth game was the Semi-Final against Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School. They scored two early goals in the first half. In the second half, we scored one back against their great goalkeeper but could not manage to score a second one before the whistle. Overall we came third on the day so well done to the boys. 

We had a lot of fun and thank you Mr Gillon, Mrs Hilton and Mr Kelleher.

Congratulations to Aaron White, Sam White and Daniel Ruiner who were selected to represent NCIS at the NSWCIS trials day.

By Blair Herford (Football Captain) 

On Tuesday, some girls from primary participated in the soccer gala day at school. There were five other teams that were all pretty strong. Our first game was against Kempsey who were a good team but we overpowered them and won 5-0. Our second game was against another very strong team but we won again 5-0. At this point we were feeling pretty happy because we had won all our games but we were also very tired and hot. We were now in the semi finals and were stoked. Our next match was up against one of the hardest teams who were the runners up last year. But yet again we came through and won 3-0. 

At this point we were just really happy to go to the finals and try and keep the shield. But we were very hot and luckily we had a good break to cool us down and get us going. In the final we were up against the winning team who had some really good players on it. We played our hardest and at half time it was 2-4 to the other team. From a quick pep talk by our coach Lee Jenkins we were ready to go on and play harder. 

Unfortunately the other team was just as ready and at full time it was 6-3 to them. We were happy and sad but we all knew we played our best but their team was just too strong. 

We would like to thank Mrs Hilton, Mr Keleher and our coach Lee for letting this day happen. We hope that next we will bring the shield home.

By Phoebe Oliver and Tayla Foldes

Girls MTB Day 

Unfortunately had to be postponed due to the wet conditions and safety concerns. There will be a day for the girls in term 2.

Outside of School Sporting Congratulations

Alex McMillan (12) competed in the NSW SSAA State Centrefire Benchrest Score Championships on the weekend. He is now the state champion for Benchrest Heavy Centrefire Score. His achievements include:

Adult comp

• 3rd 100m Heavy Centrefire  - score 250 with 22 centrals (3 centrals short of a perfect score)
• 2nd 200m Heavy Centrefire – score 250 with 12 centrals
• 1st 100m/200m Aggregate – score 500 with 34 centrals

Junior comp

• 1st 100m Heavy Centrefire
• 1st 200m Heavy Centrefire
• 1st 100m/200m Aggregate

During the competition he beat 2 National Record holders (one of the records held being a perfect score). He also beat 5 National Title holders. Alex was only 4 centrals short of a National Record. In layman’s terms a central is a “bullseye”. The 250 scores indicate that he shot in the centre ring of the target for each detail and the centrals indicate the very centre of the middle ring. The centre ring is only 1/2in diameter for 100m and 1in for 200m. The central is only 1mm wide.

Lilly Geddes (9) competed in the 5km Open Water Swim at the Australian titles over the weekend - Lilly placed 15th nationally. Conditions were tough with a crazy field of 60 girls at the start line.  It was a tough first 500m with her getting pommelled, whacked, grabbed, scratched, pulled under and kicked. Even with all this her dream lives on to be part of the Australian team for open water competitions

Tayla Hall (12) swam at the 2021 Gold Coast Championships and she place 2nd in 100 freestyle and is ranked in the top 10 of QLD.

Daniel Williams (8) ran a 6 second PB in the 1500m boys under 15 at the Athletics NSW Junior Championship, to finish 5th in his race. Today Daniel won silver in the 3000m finishing with another PB. 

2021 Camp Dates 

Beth Hilton
Sport and Outdoor Education Coordinator K-12

The cross countries for secondary, senior primary and junior primary will all happen on Tuesday 30 March.

Secondary 12,13, 14 & 15yrs will run in P1 & 2 and the 16, 17 & 18+ years will run in P 3& 4.

Primary will run in P5 & 6 including JP modified cross country obstacle course.

You'll find the course maps here: 

- Primary course 

- Secondary course 

Further information to follow. 

Beth Hilton
K-12 Sport and Outdoor Education Coordinator

The BDC Barracudas Sporting Club was incorporated this year as a seperate Incorporated Association from Bishop Druitt College to support students participation in sport where schools are not eligible to enter teams or players.

Moving forward those sports that require membership of a Club to enter into competitions will be considered for inclusion within the BDC Barracudas Sporting Club structure. I’m excited to announce that the BDC Barracudas Sporting Club has entered teams in the Mid North Coast Rugby competitions and Junior Football (Soccer) competitions for 2021. The Club is responsible for its own funding and is able to attract sponsorship and host fundraising events to support its annual costs which include the usual costs of running a sporting club. Funds generated will be used specifically to support the opportunities for BDC Barracudas Sporting Club teams within club based competitions and associated activities. 

Player registrations are growing by the day in the two sports the club has been accepted into and I am very excited about the opportunities the club structure will offer students. 

Nick Johnstone 
President BDC Barracudas Sporting Club

Football (Soccer)

In early March we were approved as an official club by North Coast Football and their governing bodies. 

In 2021, we will be offering students born in 2014, 2015 and 2016 the opportunity to join either our U6 or U7 teams.

This opportunity will allow students to play with their friends from school, train on site and allow BDC families to meet one another.

REGISTER HERE

Registration Support

We are aware of some issues with the registration portal, specifically the use of the active kids voucher. At the time of writing this (14:45, Tuesday 16th March) we are awaiting a response from the Play Football support team to resolve this issue.

Those who have registered their interest in coaching or managing teams have been contacted. Once positions have been filled & training days determined we will communicate this via email & social media.

Rugby

The local competition has decided to go to club based (rather than school based) teams, allowing Barracudas to enter teams from U8-U17 in a range of divisions.

The U8, U10 & U12’s are mixed divisions and will be fielding teams with training having begun this week. More players are always welcome and it isn’t too late to register.

Barracudas are searching for players in all divisions but in particular:

• U12 (Mixed)
• U14 (Boys) 
• U15 & U17 (Girls)

The girls competition will be 7 aside and is welcoming players of all skill levels.

REGISTER HERE

Basketball

Local basketball is still a school run competition and doesn’t fall under the Barracudas banner as yet.

The season is well underway with approximately 120 players participating in semester 1.

A reminder for players to please pay the resource fee by accessing your parent lounge. Non BDC players can arrange to call accounts on 66515644 ext 111.

Year 12 Career appointments 

A big congratulations to the many Year 12 who have made career appointments with me this term.  I was delighted to find that many of the students had continued to explore their options following on from  the career activities we did together when they were in Year 10.  Many had used the profiling, careers websites and course seeker tools and had some firm plans or ideas of careers of interest to them. 

I will be doing some further careers workshops with Year 12  this year and of course will be available for individual help right through to after they have left BDC into 2022. 

Careers @ Lunchtime Vocational Tuesdays 

These sessions  are really taking off!  There was standing room only in our last session focused on Veterinary Science with Dr Duan March, who talked about the research, rescue and rehabilitation of marine life he has been involved with.  Students stayed behind at the end to ask all sorts of questions and got the lowdown on where to study Vet Science and how to get into a specialised area of interest. 

This week’s session focus is the Construction Industry and features Kylie Cameron, who has a successful career as a construction manager with the NSW Government.  It is particularly beneficial for our female students to hear about Kylie’s journey and smash those gender stereotypes, but anyone interested in a trade, job or professional career in the construction industry should not miss this one - to learn about potential pathways in one of Australia’s fastest growing employment sectors.

BDC Students quick to grab opportunities!

We are fortunate to live and work in  a community that is dedicated to the career development of young people in our region.  I am often contacted by local business, training organisations or industry bodies with opportunities for our students.  There are often casual jobs, apprenticeships and traineeships and I post these regularly  on the relevant Year group’s  Careers Google Classroom.  Our students always respond quickly to snap up the opportunities.

A recent example was Year 12’s Aquilas and Yafet, who responded to an employment opportunity with a Cartoon Camp held recently in Coffs.  The lads had a busy weekend organising primary students at the workshop and both made a pretty penny.

Another example was 10 of our Year 12 students spending a weekend getting their RSA/RCG qualification, kindly provided free by our friends at Novaskill. One student has already used this qualification to get a casual job - well done AJ!

Congratulations also to Mia Benson, who jumped straight on an employment opportunity and got herself a job as Sales Receptionist at Coffs Harbour Toyota. 

These types of opportunities, work experience and qualifications are what help our kids to become 'World Prepared'. Thank you to our local business for offering these opportunities to our students. 

NSW Training Awards 2021

Congratulations to Year 12’s Will Mackie, who has been nominated in the category of School Based Apprentice of the Year in the 2021 NSW Training Awards. Will is following his passion and artistic talents by completing Cert III in Timber machining at TAFE as part of his HSC. He also works for Coffs Harbour Hardwoods and is learning specialist wood machining from a master craftsman.  Good Luck in the Awards Will  - we already think you are a winner!

Coffs Clarence Independent Schools Career Hub 

In a new initiative by Association of Independent Schools, BDC is now part of the Clarence-Coffs Career Hub, aimed at promoting (and strengthening our existing) partnerships with business and other organisations to promote career development for our regional youth.  If you are a business or organisation and would like to be involved, please contact me gdriscoll@bdc.nsw.edu.au

Gina Driscoll, 

Career Pathways Coach

Four Primary leaders of Environment and Adventure, and Round Square participated in a Virtual Round Square Conference hosted by the International School of Kenya. 300 students from around the world aged 11-13 participated. 

The theme was 'Kustawi Alkebulan' - Thriving in Africa. 

“Mental challenges we face are not unique to Africa or any one continent, but they are similar around the world. We hope to learn more about how we can speak out, raise awareness, fight stigma, and learn strategies to stay balanced.”

Great work Year 6 leaders. Well done for trying East African food from Mana Chita and stepping up to the challenge of attending a virtual world conference.

Year 10 students zoomed together to discuss the current circumstances of women and the evolving situation of gender inequality around the world.

The Zoom session brought together more than 100 students from 27 schools in Australia, Armenia, India, USA, Oman, South Africa, New Zealand, Tanzania, Germany, Pakistan, Japan and the United Arab Emirates.

Round Square Facts: Round Square is an organisation incorporating a worldwide association of over 200 schools. Students in Round Square schools are empowered to be leaders through community service, work projects, conferences, exchange programmes and adventure. Bishop Druitt College became a Round Square School in June 2019. 

On Thursday 4 February, six Year 9 students - Rataj, Katie, Hargun, Mahi and myself, Sureyya, - got the amazing opportunity to represent BDC in a Round Square zoom meeting, hosted by an international school in Columbia, Colegio Gran Bretaña. 

This zoom meeting brought together over 90 students and teachers from countries all over the world to discuss and share our different experiences from the COVID-19 lockdown and our adventures at home. 

The meeting started with some upbeat cumbia (traditional Columbian music), a welcome and a video introducing the host school and their experiences of the covid-19 lockdown. We then split into groups to play a fun game of charades, discuss our adventures at home during isolation, new skills we learnt or tried, our different experiences, thoughts and opinions. It was very interesting to hear the different perspectives and experiences. We rejoined as a big group to say farewell and the host’s in each group chose the ‘best speaker’ in the groups. Indi and I were chosen for our group, which was a nice surprise and the icing on the cake. 

Overall, it was a wonderful experience to meet and chat with people our age from different countries, different walks of life, with different experiences and beliefs. We all enjoyed it thoroughly and are grateful for the opportunity. Thank you to the host school, Colegio Gran Bretaña, Columbia and Mrs Rothacker for making it possible.

Sureyya Brennan, Year 9

Newcombes bus service will be issuing new contactless Student Travel Passes to students called OllyCard. 

This operation will be available to all students to allow ‘tapping on’ and off, to help ensure that you are on the right bus. Smartphone notifications will be available to notify parents that you’re safely on the bus, 

How to use your OllyCard

1.        Tap the card when boarding the bus

2.        Tap the card when leaving the bus

3.        Also the cards can’t have a hole punched into the card or they will not work.

For younger children we suggest using a luggage tag to securely hold the OllyCard. Cards will be issued to students in the coming days on the BDC Bus 1 and 2.  

For any queries, please contact BDC Reception on 02 6651 5644 or email bdcreception@bdc.nsw.edu.au

Bishop Druitt College Uniform shop will close for the school holidays on Thursday 1 April at 4pm. 

The Uniform Shop will return to normal hours on Tuesday 20 April. 

Throughout the school term our opening hours are: 

You are welcome to purchase from the online uniform shop at your convenience, and your order will be filled when the store is next open. 

Phone 02 6651 5644 (ext 238) 
Email bishop.druitt@midford.com.au

Tetrathlon winners

High Performance Program student Indigo Harris (8) and horse Calypso along with fellow BDC student Peyton Lee (6) and horse Milo travelled to Merriwa in early March for the Pony Club NSW State Tetrathlon Championships and Formal Gymkhana Championships.

A Tetrathlon event consists of a swim, cross-country run, shooting phase and derby style show jumping course. 

At the end of the event Indigo was awarded the NSW State Tetrathlon Sub Junior Novice Champion and Peyton placed 4th in the sub junior Championship section. 

Peyton went on to further compete in the Formal Gymkhana championships and performed extremely well in all her events that consisted of hack events, sporting and a show jumping round.

To compete at a Pony Club state event is a huge achievement. Congratulations Indigo and Peyton on your wonderful accomplishments.

Tehani competes for the TIA International One Day Event 

Year 6 student, Tehani Badke travelled to Tamworth for the TIA International One Day Event recently. Tehani and her pony, Mary the Magnificent. They were placed 13th going into Showjumping, but with an unfortunate rail down, they slipped to 16th spot before an outstanding Cross Country round bumped them back up to finish 7th overall in a class of 21. 

Such a fantastic result for a young rider, well done Tehani and Mary. 

The Barney Miller Surf Classic is on again next weekend (26 – 28 March 2021) at Sawtell Main Beach, initially designed to raise money for a local Coffs man who had a tragic surfing accident in 2019 breaking his C3/4 vertebrae. Now, 21 years later, this fundraiser is going strong, and a weekend festival of activities. 

This this year, five awesome kids from four different schools are performing in their rock band – Sidetrack’t - on the Sunday afternoon. Band members include BDC Year 8 student, Cooper Lane, plus students from Toormina High, John Paul College and Sawtell Public School. 

You can check out the band's most recent performance earlier this year here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiZxZR1Ywd4

We encourage you to come along to the event at Sawtell Main Beach on Sunday afternoon to watch the band, and see the Surf Competition Presentation. 

The weekend fundraising includes Friday night Mexican Night, Saturday Night RSL Trivia, Garage sale all weekend, and a board swap. 

For more information, visit Barney Miller Surf Classic on Facebook and Instagram.

North Coast Football is staging April school holiday clinics this year for children aged 8 to 11 in Coffs and Grafton. The clinic is focused on mastering the FA Four Core Skills. The clinic commences with technique training in the morning, progressing to a small-sided games tournament to apply the skills participants have learned in the morning program in a series of matches. 

Read more here: 2021 April school holiday clinics in Coffs and Grafton | North Coast Football

This is a free event - registrations essential. REGISTER HERE  

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

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