100 Days Smarter

Well done, Early Stage 1 Sloths! We've hit the big 100 days of school milestone! Our little scholars are shining 100 times brighter, 100 times sharper, and 100 times more clever! Hooray for our kindergarten champs who rocked their first 100 days at Guyra Central School with style. They've embraced school life, soaking up new knowledge every single day. To mark this special occasion, the Early Stage 1 Sloths threw a fabulous bash, dressing up as wise 100-year-olds and digging into scrumptious cake whipped up by the amazing Miss Lindeman. Each kindergartener proudly received a "100 Days Smarter" certificate to honor their dedication and accomplishments in their first 100 days of school. Let the celebrations continue!

DPI Tamworth Agriculture Institute Excursion

On Thursday 1 of August 2024, seven of our year 9 and 10 students joined other schools in the area on a visit to the DPI Tamworth Agricultural Institute for the Technology and Innovation Careers Day. During the tour, students explored the chickpea breeding program, featuring a cutting-edge robotic seed counter and dispenser for distributing trial plots of various varieties nationwide. They also learned about the breeding program and the advanced technologies used by the Tamworth DPI, such as drones and specialised headers. Throughout the day, students engaged in workshops on feral pest management, eID biosecurity, and traceability. We extend our gratitude to the Tamworth DPI Agricultural Institute for a fantastic and enlightening experience.

CHSSA NSW Gymnastics Championships

During week 3, Rose Kliendienst, a Year 9 student, journeyed to Hunter Sports Centre to participate in the NSW CHSSA Gymnastics Championships. Rose excelled in the competition and was honored with a bronze medal in division D for vault. Congratulations to Rose on this remarkable achievement!

Public Education Week

Public Education Week is when we celebrate and acknowledge all those who contribute to our children and young people’s educational journey. School staff, parents and carers, community leaders and P&C associations all play an important role in our students' education.

The theme for this year, "Proud to Belong," encourages us all to embrace a sense of pride in being part of NSW public education, celebrating the accomplishments of our students and staff.

Guyra Central School hosted Public Education Week Celebrations on Thursday, 8 August 2024, starting with a formal assembly featuring student performances and the presentation of our official Public Education Week Awards.

The award recipients from Guyra Central School are as listed below:

Hayley Jones (Stage 3) was presented with an award for her dedication to assisting others. She is a compassionate student who consistently upholds our core values of Pride, Respect, and Responsibility.

Max Raper (Year 12), Max is the recipient for his commitment to his leadership role as one of Guyra Central School Captains. Max has stepped up time and time again at numerous school events.

This year, Mr Tim Lloyd was honored with a Staff Public Education Week Award for his unwavering dedication and hard work at Guyra Central School. Mr Lloyd consistently goes above and beyond, and his contributions are valued by both the staff and students.

Mrs Ellie Auld was honored with a Public Education Award for her dedicated support of the staff and students at Guyra Central School, fostering positive connections with others.

Our community's Public Education award recipient is Mrs Jane Weier (ALACT) for her ongoing dedication to enhancing the students' well-being at Guyra Central School. Mrs Weier has successfully implemented the Love Bites and Teen Mental Health First Aid programs this year, in addition to organising sexual health and healthy relationships presentations for all high school students. She continuously seeks out opportunities to support our youth.

Annabelle Collins, a Year 10 student, delivered a mesmerizing piano rendition of 'Imagine' by John Lennon. Additionally, our primary public speakers, Charlotte Auld from Year 6 and Elsie Post from Year 4, showcased their speeches from the Multi-Cultural Public Speaking Competition.

After our Public Education Week Assembly, Guyra Central School held the annual ‘Guyra Gift’. Initially introduced in 1996 as an Assessment Task for the Year 11 Sport and Recreation class, the Guyra Gift has evolved into a cherished tradition at the school. This 100m handicapped race involves K-12 students, staff, and community members. This year, James Hassett (Year 1) clinched the victory, followed by Harrison Tooth (Year 3) in second place, and Ivy-Rose Brazier (Year 4) in third place. To wrap up the Public Education Week celebrations, parents and carers enjoyed a morning tea in our secondary kitchen.

STEMpunks

On Wednesday 7 August 204, students from Guyra Central did a STEM program run by STEMpunks. The first activity that they did was with Lego. So, in this activity, they were in groups of 2’s and 3’s. Each group got a little bag of Lego. The students were asked to analyze what pieces we had without opening the bag. They told the students that the lego from the bags were from 3 in 1 set. So, there were 3 different options for the students to build but they didn’t know what the set was. Hence, they had to guess which set they had. They had a time limit of about 5 minutes to create what they thought the set was. Then when the time was up one of the group's members went up to the front and compared the set that they made to the actual set.

The next thing they got to do was some coding with this thing called a micro bit. After coding the micro bit, they plugged it into a thing that could test the quality of water, the CO2 levels in the room and it had a microphone. Sadly, they didn’t get to test the microphone or the CO2 level but they did test the quality of water and they got to sample the Guyra tap water, filtered water, students’ drinking bottles and some water from a creek from where the STEMpunks facilitators live. Before they got to test the quality of water they had to code the micro bit. So, when they put a cord with two tiny little metal rods in the water and pressed a button, they got the results on this small little screen on the micro bit. We really thank STEMpunks for coming to our school and letting us do some cool stuff with the Micro bit.

Year 11 PDHPE First Aid

Guyra Central School's Year 11 PDHPE students have been focusing on First Aid, an elective unit in the PDHPE preliminary course. Throughout their studies, they have been honing various bandaging techniques, such as arm sling methods, immobilisation with compression bandages, as well as dealing with head trauma and penetrating injuries. Through hands-on practice, the students are putting their knowledge into action in real first aid scenarios, enhancing their learning outcomes in the course. The students have found these practical sessions to be very enjoyable.

The Wardrobe Project

Guyra Evening CWA collaborated with Guyra Central School earlier this term, following a generous donation of formal dresses from Sorbet & Co (Tash Archibald) in Glen Innes. The Guyra CWA Evening Branch decided to utilise this donation for a community project. This initiative offered Guyra Central School senior students the chance to choose beautiful formal gowns at no expense.

On Friday 23 August 2024, 'The Wardrobe Project' was initiated as Ms. Mary Hillingworth and Mrs. Christine Gellies from the Guyra CWA Evening Branch visited Guyra Central School. The senior girls were able to try on the elegant gowns and select their favorites to take home, all free of charge. The event was a tremendous success and was enjoyed by all who attended. 'The Wardrobe Project' will now become a permanent feature at Guyra Central School, allowing girls to pick outfits for various occasions. Additional donations received by the Guyra CWA Evening Branch will be delivered to the school on Wednesday, August 28, 2024.

The Wardrobe Project event marked the beginning of a positive relationship between the Guyra CSW Evening Branch and Guyra Central School. There are discussions about the potential establishment of a junior CWA at the school and the provision of other essentials such as Dignity Bags.

A special thank you to Guyra CSW Evening Branch and Sorbet & Co (Glen Innes) for offering this incredible opportunity to our students. We are excited about continuing 'The Wardrobe Project' as an ongoing service at our school.

NAIDOC Week

During Week 8, Guyra Central School celebrated NAIDOC Week. This year's theme, “Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud,” honors not only the survival but also the indomitable spirit of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. It recognises the enduring strength and vitality of First Nations culture. Throughout the week, Guyra Central School engaged in traditional arts and crafts, cooking, and various other NAIDOC activities. We also held our official NAIDOC Week Assembly, where preschool students from the Armidale Regional Council Long Day Care Centre performed an Acknowledgement to Country. A heartfelt thank you to the preschool team for connecting with us.

To conclude the week, Guyra Central School welcomed our Elders and community members for a YARN up in our nearly completed Yarning Circle. The aim of this gathering was to gather knowledge and community input for finalising our Yarning Circle and selecting traditional plants for the area. Guyra Central School eagerly anticipates presenting this space to our community once it is completed.

A special thank you to Miss Eunice Blair and Mr Tremane Patterson for co-ordinating all of our NAIDOC activities making the week a huge success.

Table Tennis Gala Day

On May 10, 2024, four of our students from Guyra Central School journeyed to Armidale Secondary College to participate in a friendly tournament against Farrer MAHS, Tamworth High School, Coonabarabran High School, and Armidale Secondary College.

Seth Bennett, Jake Beard, Tyler Beard, and Adaiah Galindo showcased their talents and represented Guyra Central School with pride, finishing in 3rd place in the competition.

Great job, boys!

Young Drivers Expo

On Wednesday 28 August 2024, Year 11 attended the Young Drivers' Expo in Tamworth. Overall, I found it enjoyable; they organised a great event. I was slightly let down by the lack of free giveaways, but we did gain some valuable insights, such as the effects of drugs and alcohol on drivers. We wore goggles that distorted our vision and had to attempt walking along a straight line, which proved challenging for most of us.

The highlight of the day was when Mr Kelly awkwardly serenaded Lincoln in front of everyone, and I also loved having my picture taken with a motorbike.

written by Gabrielle Hartas-Berry

2024/2025 Leadership Team

Guyra Central School announced our 2024-2025 School Captains at our Secondary PBL Assembly on Wednesday 25 September 2024. Treigh Bonser-Karhu (Captain), Annabelle Collins (Captain), Aukustino Alefosio (Vice Captain), Lillianna Eddy (Vice Captain) and Ingrid Chilcott-Geere (Vice) were each inducted into the Guyra Central School leadership team. Guyra Central School would like to acknowledge and thank our outgoing Year 12 student leaders, Jada Alefosio, Brooke Grills, Max Raper and Trisha Mae Varley for their dedication and leadership they provided to our students and our school during 2023/2024.

Year 9 Lightening Ridge Excursion

After loading all our camping gear and 12 Year 9 students onto the bus and trailer, Mrs Smith, Gwyn Pearson, and Mr Richardson set off on a four-day adventure to Lightning Ridge.

We made a brief stop in Moree for a quick break before arriving at the Big 4 Opal Caravan and Camping Park. The receptionist provided us with a map and a drill to help drive our tent pegs into the rock-hard ground. Once we set up our tents and gear, we enjoyed a hilarious performance by two comedians in the camp pavilion, where four of our students were transformed into a spider, a shearer, a spieler, and a sheila.

After a delicious dinner at the Lightning Ridge Bowling Club, we headed out for our first of many dips in the bore bath.

Our first full day in Lightning Ridge involved visiting an underground opal mine, where we learned about the elusive Black opal. The students had fun fossicking in the potch heap outside the mine and found some success!

Next, we explored Bevan’s Black Opal & Cactus Nursery and John Murray’s impressive art gallery, as well as the bottle house. The students enjoyed a labyrinth walk, marvelled at the house made of beer cans, and watched a beautiful sunset from the highest point in Lightning Ridge. Dinner was skillfully prepared by our students, and we wrapped up the day with another dip in the bore bath!

The following day, our students visited the Chambers of the Black Hand, an underground mine transformed into a hand-carved sculpture museum. They were truly amazed by the incredible sculptures carved directly into the ceilings and walls of the mine.

We were fortunate to also visit an opal cutter who welcomed our students into his workshop to see how he turns rough opals into stunning gems. We all caught the opal fever and rushed to the nearest potch heap in search of our own treasures.

On our last evening, we drove to the Spark Outdoor Cinema to watch the story of Lightning Ridge under a beautiful starlit sky, concluding the day once more with a dip in the bore bath.

On our final day, we packed up our campsite, said our goodbyes, and headed back to Guyra.

This excursion wouldn't have been possible without the support and dedication of our wonderful staff. A heartfelt thank you goes to Mrs Rebecca Smith, Mrs Gwyneth Pearson, and Mr David Richardson for their time and effort in making this memorable experience possible for our amazing students.

NSW Legislative Council Regional Roadshow

Guyra Central School were invited to take part in the NSW Legislative Council Regional Roadshow that visited Armidale. This roadshow included a public speaking competition with the topic being "actions speak louder than words". Eli Wood took up the challenge and presented a thoughtful speech to a packed auditorium at the UNE to students from all around the region.

Eli was an excellent ambassador for Guyra Central School and continued to show his excellence in the public speaking domain.

Strategic School Support program