NEWSLETTER ISSUE 7 I NOVEMBER 2017
FROM THE PRINCIPAL Olivia O’Neill with Katie Schleyer who, along with Sam Chalmers, James Liang and Olivia Byrnes, assisted as student volunteers at the recent International Astronautical Congress held at the Adelaide Convention Centre)
IN THIS ISSUE Diary Dates & Congratulations......2 Youth Citizenship Award................3 Knockout Table Tennis...................3 Kokoda 2017....................................4 F1 in Schools....................................6 Citizens For Humanity....................7 New Caledonia Trip.........................8 Drama News.................................. 10 Music News................................... 11 Q and A Event................................ 15 Visual Arts News.......................... 16 Career Development News......... 17 Volleyball News............................. 18 Japanese News............................ 20
305 Brighton Road, North Brighton SA 5048 P:+61 8 8375 8200 E: admin@brighton.sa.edu.au brightonss.sa.edu.au
Term 4 is a period when stress is accelerated across the school’s community, especially during exam time. If students are well prepared for their exams, it can be a great feeling like fireworks going off in their heads when they sit the exam. The more concentrated focus on studying, the better they will do. At the same time there needs to be a balance of exercise, eating properly, getting enough sleep and having a growth mindset. Managing social media throughout Term 4 should be a priority. Parents can be most helpful in this regard, more so from your habits throughout the year and not just in Term 4: no mobile phones at the dinner table and no checking texts or emails whilst talking to your child, for instance. We were immensely proud of the F1 in Schools Team with their 2nd place in the World finals (see full story within). F1 is but one of the STEM programs offered at Brighton. The special entry to STEM and to the Think Bright Programs in Year 8 set students up for success in STEM subjects in the following years. We are going to link with Cube Rider, a company which facilitates students’ science experiments being sent to Space stations to collect results. We will be the first Public School in Australia to be a part of this exciting initiative.
Dylan Rankine, James Gurney, Olivia O’Neill, Uri Hauben, Finn Galindo with the trophies won by the “Aurora” F1 in Schools team at the World championships
Recently there has been conversation amongst staff reflecting on whether we have a House system or a Year Level system. A random list of parents were phoned to seek parent opinion about how students may best be organised to deliver an inclusive and innovative pastoral care program. Currently we have a House system where each House has a quarter of the students in each of Years 8, 9, 10, 11. Each House has a House Leader, a member of the Principal Team and an Assistant Teacher to lead the team of Homegroup teachers and students. Students remain with the same Homegroup teacher from Year 8 to Year 12. The House system has links to the school’s past history (the Houses have been in place since the school’s inception in 1952) – over the years there have been House or Year Level
CURIOSITY I COURAGE I CITIZENSHIP
structures even though the students always compete against each other in Houses on Sports Day. Students have also been canvassed for their preference. If you were not phoned but you have an opinion for us to consider, please email me on olivia.oneill@brighton.sa.edu.au Olivia O’Neill Principal
STOP PRESS:
STUDENT SAFETY: The safety of students at Brighton Secondary School is paramount. Parents are reminded that it is illegal to stop to drop off your children on Brighton Road where the bike lanes are. Some parents have put children’s lives and others in danger.
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