We have really hit the ground running in term 2. Welcome back! There is much to share in this fortnight’s newsletter.

Firstly, I wish to congratulate year 12 student Will Mackie for being selected as a Finalist for the 2021 NSW Training Awards Mid-North Coast region. Will moves to the finals in June and will hopefully represent this region at the state finals. In our first Round Square student exchange, BDC year 10 student Sadie Williams is currently being hosted at St Philip’s College in Alice Springs. 

In further positive news, we received news from two recent graduates last week. A video of support was received from 2018 College Captain Jack Winchester who, deferring his law degree, has become a Super Rugby Union player with the Western Force. Jack, in his video message, wished all the Barracudas a positive season and reminded the students that only a few years before he was a BDC Barracuda himself. 

Emma Serisier, class of 2019, featured online on the ABC News website (link) and a few weeks before was a joint national winner of the Heywire TrailBlazer Competition with her rural mentoring program (link)

Careers Hub Launch 

This week, BDC together with AISNSW, Clarence Valley Anglican School and St Andrew’s in Grafton launched the Clarence-Coffs Independent Schools Careers Hubs. The event was hosted in the Branson Centre with over 120 guests that included employers, business owners, careers advisors, principals, and local and state dignitaries. The aim of the Careers Hub is to link employers and business owners with schools to:

• improve career education
• Create mentoring opportunities
• Increase available work experience opportunities
• Build meaningful internships; and
• Provide a skilled workforce through traineeships and apprenticeships

The resources shared on Wednesday night will soon be available on our website but if you are interested in being involved in the Careers Hub or providing opportunities for our youth please contact our Careers Pathways Coach and Careers Hub representative Gina Driscoll - gdriscoll@bdc.nsw.edu.au 

Consent Education

Consent Education has been discussed widely with the media in recent weeks. Bishop Druitt College continues to be active in this area and has recently provided respectful relationships training to our year 9 and year 10 students through two directed sessions. The first is through our local connections with a police funded program called Love Bites. This is the second year we have been involved with this program. More recently, however, we also engaged Dr Arne Rubinstein (founder of the Rites of Passage Institute) and Dr Catriona Wallace (Learning Consent) to conduct a presentation and session. 

ANZAC Day Service 

The College recognised ANZAC Day with a K-12 service with the addition of two pipers this year. The event was thoughtful, respectful and very professional. Our positive student behaviour at this event was mentioned by staff and visitors alike. A host of college families then represented our community across the region including Coffs Harbour, Sawtell, Bellingen, and Macksville. It was my honour to attend the Coffs Harbour, Urunga and Woolgoolga service that was held at the International Stadium and as principal I could not have been more proud of our students who represented the college in the pipe band, cadets, air league and navy cadets. 

Sunset Festival 

This week we had our first college gathering since the COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020. Thank you to the Parents and Friends Association for organising the barbeque for the children, a key P&F fundraiser. A special thank you to Michelle Gruber from Homemade Goodness who put smiles on everyone’s faces with her delicious cakes and treats.  Thank you to the BDC staff and the students who hosted the event for our community. We were blessed with the weather on Monday evening. Thank you also to our Performing Arts Faculty for providing the entertainment on Monday evening. 

Mothers’ Day Stall and Breakfast

Our Parents and Friends Association are set up for pre-purchases for the Mothers’ Day Stall (7 May) already. Choose from a range of local hand-selected gifts for mum for only $10 each. Pre-purchase your gifts online by Wednesday 5 May - www.trybooking.com/BPZAE 

Our annual Mother's Day Breakfast (6 May) is also fast approaching, and places are filling fast. This event is free but registrations are essential and places are limited - please register via https://www.trybooking.com/BPUPG

Breakfast will be provided, and funds raised will be donated to the Warrina Domestic and Family Violence Specialist Services and to BDC Round Square service projects. I look forward to seeing you there. Hopefully my mum can also join us this year. 

Open Day 

The college has our annual Open Day on Tuesday 25 May and a special Kindy pop-in session on Saturday 22 May. Please share this information with your friends and family if they are thinking about joining our community. More information about this event will be shared with our community in the coming weeks.

Performing Arts Meeting

There have been some exciting changes in our Performing Arts Faculty over the past few months. We have some new music tutors who have joined the community, with Bridget Bolliger and Peter Morgan joining the group.

We now have:

• Bridget Bolliger - Teacher of flute
• Cathryn Burgess - Teacher of voice (on leave this year)
• Pablo Blitzer - Teacher of piano and woodwind
• Santo Cimino - Teacher of guitar 
• Georgie Chorley - Teacher of brass
• Tim Gibb - Teacher of voice
• Liz Jamison - Teacher of piano and music theory
• Sahryn Messner - Teacher of piano
• Peter Morgan - Teacher of woodwind (flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon and saxophone)
• Bonnie Nilsson - Teacher of piano
• Tony Rowley - Teacher of guitar, ukulele and song writing
• Sandra Smith - Teacher of strings
• Pete Skelton - Teacher of drums
• Annabelle Swainston - Teacher of violin and viola
• Danny Stitt - Teacher of bass guitar and double bass
• Charlotte Wilkins - Teacher of cello

We offer instrumental lessons across all instruments and have ensembles in the following performance areas: Orchestra, Concert Band, Percussion ensemble, Jazz band, Primary and Intermediate Woodwind ensembles, Flute ensemble, Saxophone ensemble, Ukulele ensemble, String ensemble, Staff band, and Choirs. This year of course we will also be hosting our annual stage 3 musical and our biannual school production, “School of Rock”.

The dance studio is also progressing nicely now that the weather is being a little kinder. We will share open dates for this new facility in the coming weeks.

Scholarship Opportunities

Thank you to the families who have submitted a scholarship application at the end of April. We had over 140 applications both internally and externally. I will be in contact over the next two weeks regarding these decisions.

Enrolments 2022

Due to an overwhelming amount of applications, year 7 2022 has now closed. However if you are looking at year 7 2023 and beyond please submit an application form as soon as possible. Obviously current primary students receive automatic selection into year 7 from year 6.

Nick Johnstone
Principal

One of the spiritual practices common to many religions is that of taking time away from the busyness of life for the purpose of stillness and spiritual refreshment. Hopefully the school holidays gave our families a chance for rest and a refocus on family relationships. 

Year 12 have just reached the halfway point of their final year’s journey, and last week they paused for two days of retreat. This was an opportunity to look back at the view from halfway – how much they have achieved so far in the midst of a tricky time worldwide. It was a time to look forward to the hopes and goals surrounding their final six months of schooling ahead and beyond. It was an opportunity to focus on their relationships in the tutor group and in the whole year group community.

One of the mindfulness practices they had the opportunity to explore was walking a candle lit beach labyrinth at sunset. Labyrinth walking is an ancient practice that is used by many for the purpose of prayer or meditation. It can be a way to still the soul while moving the body. Gathering on the beach at sunset as a year group was a beautiful opportunity for reflection and connection with others, as can be seen in this photo. 

My prayer for the months ahead for Year 12 and all our students is for opportunities to be still in the midst of busyness, and awareness of support people and practices that keep us all healthy in mind and body. And may the peace of God which transcends all understanding be with us all. Blessings to all our families for the term ahead.

Reverend Naomi Cooke
Chaplain 

What’s happening in Chaplaincy in Term 2:

JAM (Jesus and Me) Club games and bible study on Monday for Primary students. 

Godly Play 8.15am-8.40am on Wednesday mornings in the Chapel. Students and staff are welcome to join the circle weekly for a Godly Play story, prayer and mindfulness response time. 

BDCJAM fellowship and bible study is on Monday lunchtimes in Week B for Secondary students

On Tuesday this week all Years 9 and 10 participated in an interactive workshop presented by Dr Arne Rubenstein from The Rites of Passage Institute and Dr Catriona Wallace from Learning Consent.

Discussions were based on self-image, gender expectations, respect, communication, healthy relationships and learning consent.

The outline of the program was:
Sharing stories: what’s behind the mask?
The opening process will focus on holding space for the students to identify the pressures that they experience to look, act and be a certain way. The intention behind this workshop is to break down the ‘facade’ that they may be trying to maintain which is fuelled by social media and unhealthy cultural influences and which drives much of the problematic and challenging behaviour.

Beliefs, Behaviour & Role Models
The second session will explore how the students actually want to be. We will look into the people in their life that they see as role models and leaders and explore a set of values they want to create around healthy relationships and consent.

The Way We Treat Each Other
This workshop explores the way we treat each other and respect those around us, ultimately highlighting the Golden Rule - ‘treat others in the way you want to be treated’. Students will explore together what they see as Healthy Relationships and leave with a clear understanding of what consent means and how it is implemented.

Student feedback was very positive and our intention now is to continue the conversations about healthy and respectful relationships.

A huge welcome back to all of our families.  I hope the Easter break was a peaceful one and you were all able to spend some quality time together.  We welcome our new families to the college and look forward to meeting them all a little more as the term progresses.

ANZAC Day

This term, we have already seen some exciting events occur within the college.  We celebrated our ANZAC Day service, both at the college and at the C.Ex Stadium in Coffs Harbour.  ANZAC Day is always a special one in our Australian calendar and for our youngest students who may be too young to discuss war as a concept, it can be a reminder about gratitude.  It is important that we continue to educate our young people about the sacrifices that were made, and continue to be made, at both a local and global level.  If you haven’t done so already, a trip to the War Memorial in Canberra should be on every family's bucket list.  

The FUSE Cup (eSports)

The FUSE Cup is another great initiative that has begun this year at BDC.  Unlike other competitive sports that needed to be cancelled due to COVID-19, eSports has taken off around the world.  Our BDC team has already competed in an online event in Term 1 and we are excited to be sending our team off to Ballina to compete in Week 3.  They have been practicing hard for their event, and have really been gelling as a group.  I’m sure they will do us proud when they compete.

Kindy Pop Ins (Saturday 22 May)

This year we will be hosting a kindergarten specific open morning to share all of the wonderful things we have to offer at BDC.  Whilst our teachers will do a wonderful job at explaining the outstanding teaching and learning we have to offer, it is often word of mouth that refers families to our great school.  If you do know of any families looking to enrol their special little person into Kindergarten for 2022, please ask them to get in touch with the college.

Throughout the term we have many wonderful events that will be occurring in the primary.  More information will be released throughout the term as the events draw nearer.  However, if you would like to forward plan, please check the college calendar.  

Richard Smith
Assistant Principal (Head of Primary)

As children progress through their school years, it is very important that checks are made along the way to see how well they are learning the essential skills of reading, writing and mathematics.

NAPLAN is a point-in-time assessment that allows parents to see how their child is progressing in literacy and numeracy against the national standard and compared with their peers throughout Australia. At the classroom level, NAPLAN provides additional information to support teachers’ professional judgement about student progress. At a school level, NAPLAN data is used to information change to curriculum, refocus and improve instruction and address individual students' needs. NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process. It does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance.

NAPLAN tests are constructed to give students an opportunity to demonstrate skills they have learnt over time through the school curriculum, and NAPLAN test days should be treated as just another routine event on the school calendar. Teachers will ensure students are familiar with the types of questions in the tests and will provide appropriate support and guidance. The best way you can help your child prepare for NAPLAN is to reassure them that NAPLAN tests are just one part of their school program, and to advise them to simply do the best they can on the day.

Every student in Years 3 and 5 will sit the NAPLAN paper tests in 2021 on the following dates:

• Tuesday 11th May – Language Convention / Writing
• Wednesday 12th May – Reading
• Thursday 13th May – Numeracy
• Friday 14th May - Catch up assessments

Sarah Stokes

Primary Curriculum Coordinator

The aim of Mathematics in the K–10 syllabus is for students to be confident, creative users and communicators of mathematics and develop an increasingly sophisticated understanding of mathematical concepts and fluency with mathematical processes. Research supports this aim “Mathematics is a very broad and multidimensional subject that requires reasoning, creativity, connection making, and interpretation of methods; it is a set of ideas that helps illuminate the world; and it is constantly changing.” Jo Boaler, Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students' Potential through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching 

In Years 5 and 6 at Bishop Druitt College the aim of mathematics is achieved through Maths Pathway, an individualised learning and teaching model for Mathematics that is tailored to cater for differing student needs. Students work on a range of individual learning activities, revisiting material they didn’t previously understand and filling gaps in their prior learning. They may be working close to or at their own year level, working on extension activities or working on Mathematics that they’ve never seen before. The key thing to remember is that everything your child has access to will be exactly what is right for them, right now. Within a fortnightly cycle of Mathematics lessons students will be working on modules on devices, having mini lessons with their teacher in small groups, exploring rich tasks, mathematics investigations and problem solving activities, consolidating number facts through maths games and energisers, testing their understanding of the modules they have been working on, reflecting on their learning and receiving feedback from their teacher about their progress. 

A well rounded approach to the study of mathematics is really important for students as it enables students to develop a positive self-concept as learners of mathematics as well as obtain enjoyment from mathematics. 

On Monday afternoon Junior Primary participated in Cross Country. It was great to see everyone have a go and earn points for their houses. 

The Primary School Book Fair will be held on Thursday 6 May. 

Students will preview the Book Fair and complete a wish list to take home. They will be able to purchase books and stationery at the Book Fair in Week 3, on Thursday 6th May.  Parents will also be able to purchase books online and send the completed wish list with their child on Thursday.  If the books are available they will take them home on Thursday or we will order the books.  You can find a copy of the wish list and ordering information on this link, Scholastic Book Fair  and I will be sharing a document with all the books for sale, once they arrive. 

ANZAC Day 2021 

ANZAC Day 2021 where we remembered our past and present service personnel was in a K to 12 assembly. Thank you to our bugler Will Hodgson, pipers Dara Whitelegge and Will Mackie and our student leaders for conducting the service. The college was represented at Cex Stadium with the community service and parade and we were fortunate that there were representations at Urunga, Bellingen and Sawtell as well. Thank you to the many students and families who attended your local service and we hope to attend as a college at various venues in 2022 for this important national day.

Healthy and Positive Relationships 

We spend our life in relationships and at times we know as adults how much joy and excitement our different relationships bring and also this can be difficult moments in our life. Teenagers can find this even more challenging to articulate with parents and guardians. Relationships is a large part of the wellbeing programs at the college and that we work in partnership with families and are within many curriculum courses as well such as PDHPE. As parents there will be many ongoing and at times difficult conversations, but conversations that keep an open and supportive dialogue will help also build our own relationship with our children. To complement our wellbeing and PDHPE programs for healthy relationships and to discuss society views and expectations on males and females and the concept of consent, we had a focus workshop for our Year 9 and Year 10 students this week.

Dr Arne Rubinstein and Dr Catriona Wallace from The Rite of Passage Institute delivered this interactive workshop. Students in Years 9 and 10 spent half a day engaging in an interactive workshop designed to create challenges, responsible decision making and thoughtful conversation. The definition of consent was clarified for our young adults early in the discussion: consent is when both parties actively and willingly say ‘yes’, plus have the choice and ability to say no at any time and have that no heard and respected.

The workshop continued through themes such as Sharing stories: what’s behind the mask? This was aimed at holding space for the students to identify the pressures that they experience to look, act and be a certain way. The intention behind this workshop is to break down the ‘facade’ that they may be trying to maintain which is fuelled by social media and unhealthy cultural influences and which drives much of the problematic and challenging behaviour. 

Beliefs, Behaviour & Role Models explored how the students actually want to be seen or heard and values they want to create around healthy relationships and consent. 

The Way We Treat Each Other challenges the way we treat each other and respect those around us, ultimately highlighting the Golden Rule - ‘treat others in the way you want to be treated’, what consent means and healthy relationships across life. We would encourage families to discuss healthy relationships, how important they are for you and the importance you place on this for your children growing up. We also encourage Year 9-10 parents to ask about the workshop and their understanding of consent and why this is a focus across Australia at the moment. 

This is a conversation to be had for all parents with senior students including Year 11 and Year 12. If you would like more information about the presenters you can visit: www.ritesofpassageinstitute.org or for further wellbeing support please contact your Year Coordinator or our Director of Student Wellbeing, mrs Sue O’Connor.

Student achievements and congratulations  

Congratulations to 

• BDC alumni Emma Serisier for being one of the winners in the 2021 Trail Blazer Awards 
• Year 12 student Will Mackie who is one of the finalists in the 2021 NSW Training Awards School Based Apprentice/Trainee of the Year
• Heather Nivison/Molly Williams and Sadie Williams at the CIS U16 hockey state championships
• Sandy Carpenter who has just been announced as a recipient of the 2021Hoys Allied Health & Wellness Young Athlete Scholarship
• Year 8 student Daniel Williams who competed in the 1500m and 3000m at the Australian track and field championships in Sydney. In his best result at a national level he finished 5th in Australia in the 3000m, students at the CIS Swimming Championships in Sydney
• Year 10 student, Felix Hughes is thrilled to have been accepted into the Australian Chamber Orchestra Academy for 2021, 
• Open girls football team on winning the NCIS trophy in Armidale, 
• HICES Debating
• Cross country achievers and participants 
• Congratulations to the many students also at the Science and Engineering Challenge, Oz Tag and soccer this week. 

All this, and we are only just two weeks into Term 2.

Healthy Conversations and Decision Making -Electronic Cigarettes and Vaping

In many of our parents and guardians' time at school (not too long ago), there were significant campaigns and information at school, TV, news and law changes around the dangers of tobacco smoking. This extensive campaign and education has resulted in a significant drop in cigarette smoking and the rates of harmful effects associated with tobacco use. In recent years another form of cigarettes (e cigarettes or vaping) has evolved and is becoming more prevalent especially among young people. Almost in contrast to cigarettes, it can be common for young people to see people using vapes online, streaming services, and short clips (depending on what they watch). Rarely do they see that vaping is not a healthy choice, as the media often portrays this as a very normal choice (often overseas programs and clips). At this stage there has not been a large education campaign in Australia compared to the anti cigarette campaigns in the past. Therefore we encourage families to have the conversations at home around good choices to include what do our children know about vaping or what have they seen online or are they aware of it at all?

Vapes can be very easily purchased online (although illegal to sell to under 18 year olds), can produce minimal smell/vape and come in a variety of shapes/sizes and colours. Many young people would not know that they are not healthy to use or illegal under 18 years of age.

Government research and medical advice is that there is not enough evidence to support e-cigarettes as a product to assist smokers to quit. Smokers who would like to quit should consult their doctors or call the Quitline. E-cigarettes may also expose users to chemicals and toxins that are harmful to health. Health authorities should act to minimise harm to users and bystanders until evidence of safety, quality and efficacy can be produced. We would hope that the government commences a health promotion campaign in the future.

Most NSW high schools would be well aware of the concerns and possibilities of vaping in the community and the potential on school grounds. Unfortunately our children are likely to be exposed to vaping at sometime in the virtual or physical environment. We encourage families to discuss healthy decision making in a range of contexts and include a discussion about healthy choices and the use of cigarettes/vapes. At Bishop Druitt College we recognise that like cigarettes, vaping is a health concern and in addition to education and wellbeing discussions, students cannot possess or use vapes at school and if on college premises this would usually be considered at a Level 3 behaviours and possible suspension. 

To assist you with your conversations at home, please refer to the websites below or your local GP who will give further information.

NSW Health information https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/tobacco/Pages/e-cigarettes.aspx 

Health Direct https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/e-cigarettes-vaping 

Class of 2021

Year 12 and our accelerated HSC students are now well into HSC mode. Every HSC student should now be able to talk at home about their study needs, assessment dates and use of the college library or attending the college to complete major works. These timelines are now short and there will be an increased workload. It could be the time to cut back on shifts at work and some of those busy schedules. Keeping in conversations with our young adults at this time is essential to assist with planning, meeting deadlines and wellbeing priorities. Helping them plan time away from the books, social media and being active is also a good idea to remind them that while working hard, that their mental and physical health is part of their plans as well. Mr Close and his Tutor team completed a wonderful retreat at Yarrahapinni last week. The setting was magnificent, our Year 12 built their community and relationships and spent some time on their own wellbeing before coming back to home and the business of life. Thank you to our staff for their successful two days and completing this rite of passage with Year 12.

Year 12 should also be creating accounts with the University Admission Centre (UAC) https://www.uac.edu.au/ and similar organisations in other states where needed for university entrance in 2022. 

Curriculum for Year 8 and Year 10

Throughout Term 2 there are different meetings and information sessions as we start to build towards Year 8 elective choices in Term 3 for 2022 called World Options. Year 10 will also begin to focus more directly on careers, pathways and courses for Year 11 in 2022. Year 8 and Year 10 will complete workshops at the end of Term 2 and receive handbooks with the detailed curriculum information. At the start of Term 3, there will be information nights. If you are aware of friends who are considering BDC for 2022 in Year 9 or Year 11 specifically, they should contact enrolments as usual to receive an invitation to these events in Term 3.

Winter Uniform Years 7 to 12

Autumn has brought about some of our cooler mornings already. Our uniform options include a number of items for the cooler months including trousers, soft shell jacket for K to 9, jumper for any year group and the blazer for Year 10-11-12. Year 12 may also wear their jacket. Students cannot wear non uniform items to or from the college. We encourage you to visit the uniform shop well before it turns cold to purchase a blazer for Year 10 or 11 or a new soft shell for Years 7 to 9. A reminder that long sleeve shirts under college shirts are not permitted.

Uniform Guidelines can be found here

Winter Uniform

Commences this term. From Week 6 Tuesday 25th May, full winter uniform is to be worn 7 to 12.

Year 10-11-12 Winter Uniform

College blazer (or Year 12 jacket) and college jumper (optional). College senior shirt tucked in and college tie, black lace up polishable shoes, college hat. Navy or skin or black coloured stockings may be worn in winter. 

Year 7-8-9 Winter Uniform

College unisex shirt, college soft shell jacket or blazer, college navy skirt, shorts or trousers, college tie, college jumper, navy or skin or black coloured stockings or college socks, black leather lace up polishable shoes, college hat.

Term 2 Reports

Year 11 Reports should be published at the end of next week in our portal. Year 7-8-9 and 10 are published in the last week of Term 2. NAPLAN also occurs in the next few weeks for Years 7 and 9.

Thank you to our students for the first two weeks of Term 2 and the many events that have already occurred at this time. Term 2 has a busy academic focus and we encourage the use of the library after school and using a calendar at home to plot the busy assessment times. We are looking forward to Mothers Day returning onsite this year as well and it was wonderful to see the many families at the Sunseeker event last week, a mild evening, jumping castle, face painting, music, dancing, BBQ and lots of fun. 

Welcome Back to term 2. The Performing Arts Faculty has a very busy term ahead. 

First of all I would like to welcome Bridget Bolliger, Peter Morgan and Sharyn Messman to our team. Peter will be teaching clarinet and saxophone. Bridget will be teaching flute and Sharyn piano.

Hazel Buchanan resigned at the end of term one and we wish her well for her future.

It is always hard when a teacher has been in the school for a long length of time and leaves. This makes it hard for those new teachers coming in as well as we need to get to know them and feel comfortable with them.

Thank you to all those who came for their first lessons this week. Primary and Middle School Bands are on a Wednesday, same as last term. Peter Morgan will be taking these. No Strings Attached is on Thursdays at recess.

Orchestra is at 8am on Thursdays and Jazz Band is at lunchtime on Thursdays. 

Pete Skelton is starting up a Percussion Ensemble on Mondays at lunchtime and very soon we will be starting a Brass Band. Concert Band is on Tuesday mornings at 8am in M1.

Last Sunday I went to a wonderful concert at Bellingen High School. The ACO performed a wonderful program and did two items with the Bellingen Youth Orchestra Strings. It was wonderful to see Marisol Taylor in the orchestra. What an amazing opportunity for young string players.

This Monday we have the Sundowner Evening. Thanks to all the performers that can make it. It is always difficult for our students to come after school as you all do so many wonderful activities at this time.

We have the Eisteddfods this term for Dance, Drama and Music. 

Our Dance studio is taking shape and we can’t wait to get in there for all our Dance lessons. A big thank you to Hannah for arranging alternative venues for our Dance students in term one and for the first few weeks of term 2.

Last Sunday Ben, Daniel and Felix played in the Botanic Gardens with Coffs City Orchestra.

Thank you to all who played in the Sunset Festival event on Monday night. There was a great atmosphere and it was wonderful to see all our students in Primary and Secondary back up on stage performing.

You were all wonderful.

Kindest Regards

Performing Arts Team.

A busy start to Term 2 in the sports world. Lots of NCIS gala days, knockout competitions and CIS level events being held this term so keep an eye out for any sign up sheets or trials coming up by listening to the daily notices.

Cross Country

Take 3 ! A beautiful sunny day greeted our K-12 students on Monday as every student in the school participated in some form of cross country. Our Junior Primary students ran laps of oval 1 before completing a fun but challenging obstacle course. 

Students aged 8-18 completed anywhere from 2-6 laps of our 1km track that covered the ovals, carpark and grass hill.

The winning houses will be announced at the next assembly for each campus.

Congratulations to the following students who have qualified for the NCIS Cross Country in Lennox Head next Tuesday 4th May.

NSWCIS Secondary Swimming

Congratulations to the 14 students who competed at the NSWCIS Secondary Swimming Championships on Monday and Tuesday at SOPAC.

There were some great results from our students and those from across the NCIS schools.

Football

Well done to our Secondary football teams who travelled to Armidale on Wednesday of Week to compete in the NCIS Football Gala Day.

Our Open girls team were victorious while our U15 Boys were runners up on the day. A great effort given many of the U15’s were playing in the Opens team while our Year 12’s were on retreat.

Thank you to coaches Mr Andrews, Mr Klipin, Mr Norberry & Mr Heywood.

Congratulations to the following students selected in the Open NCIS team. 

Girls

Keeley Gardner

Layla Oliver

Prue Burnet

Boys

Campbell Brear

Jesse Cameron

CIS Football Cup

Our Open boys travelled to Port Macquarie to take on St Columba in their first game of the competition. It was a tough game which went all the way to a penalty shootout before our boys held their nerve to prevail 4-1 in the shootout.

Our next match is against Waverley College at BDC, date TBC.

Bill Turner Cup & Trophy

Our girls Bill Turner Cup team were scheduled to play against Toormina this Friday however Toormina forfeited so we await the announcement of our next opponents.

The boys take on Christian Community next Wednesday at CCS.

NSWCIS Girls Hockey

Heather Nivison, Molly Williams and Sadie Williams were all part of the NCIS 16&U girls hockey team that competed at the NSWCIS championships in sydney last week. Congratulations to all the girls and to Molly who made the possibles and probables playoff.

Outside BDC Achievements

Sam Elder (12) was called into the U19 NSW Country/ACT team after there was an injury. Sam scored 22  runs (involved in 71 run partnership)

Hannah Crews (10) Off the back of a successful, but limited competition year in 2020. Hannah has kicked off the 2021 year with a bang. Earlier this year, Hannah was selected as part of the Area 3 Pony Club Sporting Team, which stretches from Taree to Murwillumbah and west to Moree to compete at the Royal Easter Show. During the 2nd week of the Easter holidays Hannah made the long trip to Sydney with her horse. With 10 events to compete in, the team worked together across all events to place 3rd overall.  

Daniel Williams (8) competed in the 1500m and 3000m at the Australian track and field championships in Sydney on 12th and 13th April. In his best result at a national level he finished 5th in Australia in the 3000m in a PB of 9 min 23. The day before he finished 12th in Australia in the 1500m  in 4 min 23 just one second off his PB. 

The holidays saw the winter hockey season kick off with a bang for Matt Kramer (11). Matt started with a goal on debut for the Jetty Jets, Coffs Harbour's premier open men's hockey team, in a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Barbarians HC in the top flight of the Grafton men's hockey competition, then backed up with a win with Urunga Thunda in Hockey Coffs Coast Men's 1st Division against southern rivals Bellingen. He then spent the final weekend representing North Coast Academy of Sport at the Academy Games tournament on the Central Coast (as did Heather Nivison (10)). In May, Matt will represent Hockey Coffs Coast at the NSW Hockey U18 Men's Field State Championship in Wollongong, before making it five teams and five cities in five weeks when he turns out for NCIS at NSWCIS Open Boys in Sydney.

Netball

Both our Primary (5th May) & Secondary (7th May) netball players take to the court next week to contest the first round of the statewide competition at Coffs Harbour Netball Courts.

Upcoming Events

• Friday 30th April - League Tag
• Monday 3rd May - Overnight trip for those attending NCIS Cross Country with the college
• Tuesday 4th May - NCIS Cross Country
• Wednesday 5th May - Primary Netball Gala Day
• Wednesday 5th May - Bill Turner Cup (Boys) @ Christian Community
• Friday 7th May - Secondary Netball Gala Day
• Tuesday 18th May - NCIS Secondary Touch 
• Wednesday & Thursday 26/27th May - Coffs Coast Futsal
• Friday 4th June - Primary Athletics Carnival
• Monday 7th June - NCIS Primary Touch
• Thursday 10th June - CIS Cross Country (Primary & Secondary)
• Tuesday 15th June - Secondary Athletics

Cochlear Autumn Engineering School

In the Easter school holidays, four  of our Year 12 students took the opportunity to travel and stay in Sydney to attend an Engineering industry immersion organised by Engineers Australia. 

Lauren, Madi, Zac and Xanthe explored aspects of different Engineering careers and were exposed to the life of uni students. They visited ANSTO, the only nuclear power plant in Australia, and Bluescope steel, the biggest steel manufacturing plant in Australia. They  also visited USYD, UTS, UNSW, Macquarie uni and Western Sydney uni where they were able to chat to current students and staff about courses on offer.  

2021 NSW Training Award Finalist

Congratulations to Year 12’s  Will Mackie who is a finalist for North Coast Region in the Category of School Based Apprentice of the Year!  If Will is successful in this round, he will represent this region in the NSW Awards in Sydney later in the Year.  We wish you the best of luck Will!  We already know you’re a winner.

National Careers Week (NCW) 17-21 May 2021

BDC is celebrating National  Careers Week (NCW) this year with some great activities across our Primary and Secondary campuses. During  NCW we would like to showcase our fabulous Essential Services careers.  We know that in times of trouble in our community, the people that work in these careers are our heroes.   We will have visits throughout the week from Fire and Rescue NSW, SES, Ambulance NSW, Mid North Coast Local Health Nurses.  Students from Primary to Secondary will be welcome to come along to check out the trucks and equipment and ask questions of our essential workers.  

If any parent out there would like to be involved in National Careers Week, please contact me as soon as possible. 

Gina Driscoll
Career Pathways Coach

Long serving and well known BDC staff member, Stuart McIntyre, retired from his position at BDC in February 2021 after 28 years of service to the school.

His career started here in 1993 as a part-time volunteer which became a part-time paid position in 1994. In 1995 he was one of two maintenance staff; the other being Debbie Smith (now Loads) the cleaner. From 2005 to 2007 his title was Senior Groundsman, 1998 Grounds Manager, 2009 Head of Maintenance Staff, and since 2010 Property Services Manager.

During this time, Stu undertook study for an Advanced Diploma in Horticulture, a Certificate Course in Business and a course in leadership and management (FLM). His previous knowledge of gardening and ability to perceive the future of the grounds, saw wonderful displays of mass plantings all around the school grounds. The tall eucalyptus trees at the top of the oval embankment, the masses of agapanthus at the front of the school and the row of evergreens down the access road give testament to his foresight.

Regardless of title, Stu was there for everybody, staff, students and parents. As a parent himself of his two children at BDC, he spent many hours labouring at weekends, sometimes at Parents and Friends Association working bees to make the school grounds the envy of many a headmaster from city schools.

Early mornings and late evenings in all sorts of weather conditions, he would be setting up for sporting carnivals, archaeological digs, putting up tennis nets on the hard courts, removing stones from the newly graded oval, hoisting House banners, mowing, gurneying footpaths, building bridges across Newports Creek, setting up and packing up after events in the Branson Centre, making the 5-metre cross in Assisi Garden, the three Rosewood and Pine podiums that grace the BC stage nowadays and the list goes on. 

As his team of staff grew, he earned the respect from each of them as a mentor. Stu knew how to harness the best in them and enlighten them in all aspects of maintaining the grounds of a school. He taught them the finer points of caring for plants, the best way to tackle different jobs, teaching them the finer points of lock and blind repairs and patiently giving them enough time to be confident in making decisions themselves as he slowly realised he could not cover the ever growing list of tasks as the school grew to the dynamic, large operation it is today. 

As a tribute to Stu’s service over the past 28 years, the access road to the west of the school has been signposted as Stuart Street.

Here are some of the many comments from staff to support this testament:

With you, any request for assistance is immediately met with the answer ‘yes’ then you work out the details and make it happen. The school grounds always look like a showpiece and you have always gone above and beyond, working tirelessly to help make BDC a success.

Another crucial element of BDC's identity in which Stu was instrumental, was the development of Etcetera magazine. As his first career was in the pre-press area of printing, he was a great help when the magazine team had to grapple with wet photography and bromides. This was pre-digital cameras and desktop publishing. Many weekend hours of cutting and pasting were necessary.

Thank you for all you have given to make this school what it is today. As you were heard to comment more than once ‘the only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.’

You have succeeded in your mission; it is park-like and you have been faithful in service.

After what feels like an eternity in the making, the foundation Barracuda Sports Club (BSC) players took the field over the past couple of weeks. 

To stay up to date with the latest information and results search & ‘like’ BDC Barracudas Sporting Club on Facebook.

Sponsorship

Thank you to McGrath Real Estate & Hoys Allied Health who became foundation sponsors and helped kit out our players in some fantastic playing & training attire. Take a look at the photos to see how good the kids & coaches look!

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of the Barracudas please contact ntitcume@bdc.nsw.edu.au

Football (Soccer)

The U6 & U7 football (soccer) players kicked off the season with games against Woolgoolga in the last weekend of the holidays. A massive thank you to the coaches Donovan Olinoski, Damien Atkins & Aaron Park who train the players each Wednesday after school on the College ovals and all the parents that step in and assist on game day.

Rugby

The BSC Rugby players consisting of teams from U8-14 played their first game last weekend at Bayrange Rugby Park. Our rugby players have been training for a month thanks to the following coaches for giving up their time to help our players develop and enjoy their rugby.

U8 - Murray Benton

U10 - Toby Martin

U12 - Darren Jameson

U14 Nick Johnstone & Aaron Cowling.

BSC also wishes to thank the large range of helpers that assist our coaches with managing game day procedures and training sessions.

Upcoming Fixtures

How do schools and parents get on the same page about the important stuff? 

How do we build a partnership around building fantastic young people for today and tomorrow? 

How can our teachers AND parents use the same strategies to manage behaviour, encourage responsibility and improve the chances of success? 

They seem like outrageously big questions, but they do have answers. Unfortunately, too often parents and schools are not on the same page when it comes to answering them. 

Bishop Druitt College wants to do something about that, and has commenced a partnership with Real Schools to make it happen. But we can't do it alone. We need you to know everything involved, and to have your say. 

That's why we need you at this critical event. During the session we will: 

Tell you all about the Restorative Practices Partnership that the school is embarking on 
Ask for your input 
Provide you with strategies to use immediately in your parenting - and they're the same strategies your teachers are using now 
Learn how to respond, rather than react, to your child's behaviour 
Share the best ways to build a meaningful partnership with your school. 

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

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.