END OF TERM. I cannot believe we have come to the end of another term and that our school year is half over, where does the time go? I would once again like to thank everyone for their ongoing support of our students and school in so many different ways. It has been a short term but one filled with lots of opportunities which have been only made available and achievable through the efforts and contribution of our parents and community working in partnership with our staff.
WHAT A DAY! The weather was fantastic, the competition exciting and the sportsmanship outstanding. Congratulations to each and every student and staff member that helped make our last round of the 2014 Rural Cup a true success despite going down by only five points to Oberon High School. Oberon goes on to play Molong this week so the final outcome remains to be determined but irrespective of this result our students can be proud of the consistent effort and commitment they displayed on and off the field throughout both rounds. I would also like to publicly acknowledge Ms Bronwyn Troy for her outstanding organisation of this event for our school and the passion she shows in ensuring this opportunity continues for our students.
CAPTAINS TO SYDNEY. This week our captains, Lucy and Luke will travel to Sydney as part of the Secondary School Leadership Program for school captains to recognise their leadership role within the school. Members of Parliament make themselves available to address students on leadership and to meet informally with their student constituents. Students also meet with the Governor of NSW at Government House. STUDENT REPORTS. Over the past week I have had the great pleasure of reading our student’s semester one reports and it is pleasing to see their many achievements whether academic, sporting or cultural and the important advice teachers have offered to support further success. The reports will be distributed this week and I encourage parents if you have any concerns to make contact with the school or classroom teacher to discuss the issue.
END OF TERM ASSEMBLY. This Tuesday we will be holding our end of term assembly to present awards to students in sport and lifesaving and to acknowledge their achievement in our positive recognition system. In
addition representatives of the Teachers Mutual Bank will be in attendance to present a cheque for the Environmental grant we were successful in receiving earlier this year. All parents and community members are invited to attend.
SEXTING AND SELFIES. Last week we had to speak to our students about the impact of a digital footprint and, in particular, the issue of sexting and distributing “selfies”. This is a serious matter and one we believe parents need to be mindful of and, if possible speak to their children about. The following is an excerpt from the federal governments Cybersmart website (http://www.cybersmart.gov.au) and we encourage parents to read the rest of this article:
“Sexting refers to the sending of provocative or sexual photos, messages or videos, generally using a mobile phone. It can also include posting this type of material online. While sharing suggestive images or text messages may seem like innocent flirting or be amusing for many young people, sexting can have serious social and legal consequences. Young people sometimes willingly share images of themselves, naked. However, sexting can also happen in response to peer pressure. Sexting can have unforeseen consequences. For example, a 15 year old girl takes a topless photo of herself and sends it to her boyfriend’s mobile phone, at his request. After their relationship ends, the boy posts the photo with unflattering comments on a social networking site for friends to see. Images taken without the person’s knowledge or consent and forwarded on to others can also be considered sexting…Sexting has legal implications which should be taken seriously. Under Australian law, young people may be committing a crime when taking, receiving or forwarding sexual images of themselves or friends who are minors. This applies even if all participants are willing.”
CONGRATULATIONS to Hannah Johnson on being last week’s Canteen voucher winner.
Neryle Smurthwaite Principal