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Shred Kellys - Our Kings of Mountain Bike Racing!

by Mr Parker

On Friday 28 August,  Connor H, Dearl A, and Taj G from our Year 6 cohort travelled to Mount Stromlo, in A.C.T. to compete at the ACT School MTB Championships. This was the first time NCS had sent a primary team to this event, so it was with some trepidation as well as excitement that the boys travelled over to compete. 

The team, ‘Shred Kellys’, were ably assisted by two of the boys’ parents, Mr A. and Mr. H. Thanks to both dads for giving their time and expertise to transport and advise the boys as they competed against hundreds of other students from NSW and ACT schools.

During this endurance race, one rider from each team had to be on the 6 km course for a duration of 4 hours. The three boys from our team each completed 3 laps, so a total of 18km per rider. The course was over rough terrain with about 4 km uphill and 2 km downhill, and included various jumps and obstacles that riders were required to negotiate.

"On the bike excursion we had lots of fun biking up and down the hill, hitting jumps and doing wheelies .The track was tiring as it was 4 ks uphill and 2 km downhill we had to do 3 laps of it. After the comp we went on the 2 km downhill track called Trebeschoue. That track was fun because it had loads of big jumps." Connor

"In the ACT bike comp it was very hard since 4 kilometres of it was uphill. We also saw a lot of expensive bikes. We had to wait for our teammate to finish and then he would have to find us in a bunch of packed riders, then high five us. Then we ran to the starting point and could go on our bike. The first 400 metres was road and then the rest of it was the trail. We also had a lot of fun hitting all the different trails like the pump track before the race started. Since I went the day before everyone else, I had a lot of practice." Dearl

"The bike excursion was very fun. We got to go up hills, hit jumps, go downhill and do some wheelies/ The course was very tiring and it took a lot strength to pedal about 4ks up, but was worth it once we went downhill. It was a big day up in Canberra, but definitely worth it." Taj

Kindy's First Excursion

The first Kindy excursion of the year is always fun as many children experience the excitement of their first ever trip in a bus. Students loved pointing our familiar landmarks, and the way to their own house or the house of someone they knew.

After the bus trip, our day started at Nowra Library, where Librarian Jackie interviewed Farmer Jenny about her experiences growing up in the 1950's and 1960's on a local dairy farm. We were amazing that she didn't have a TV, a computer, or an ipad! What did they do all day? They ran around, played lots of games, and helped out on the farm! One of Jenny's favourite jobs was to teach the baby cows to drink milk from a bucket. They did this by scooping milk up in the hands and letting the cows drink from them. They especially loved it in winter when their hands were cold, because the calves mouths were warm. Jenny also recalled running behind the potato plough picking up all the potatoes that their family would sell. They never bought fruit and vegetables because between her household and her grandparents, they grew everything.

After the library, we walked to the Nowra Post Office. We each had a self-addressed enveloped with a letter inside that we'd written in class. Each student approached the counter with coins in their hand, asked politely to buy a stamp for their letter, pushed the stamp into the wet sponge and stuck it in the right place on our envelopes. Outside, we posted our letter and now we're just waiting to see how many days it'll take before the postie delivers them to us!

On the walk from the post office to Harry Sawkins Park, we put into practice all the pedestrian safety skills we've been learning. We walked along the footpath, waited at traffic lights, and crossed at a pedestrian crossing. We were very hungry by the time we reached the park and enjoyed eating in the shade before playing and exploring the park.

We are so thankful for the staff at Nowra Library and the Nowra Post Office for supporting a day of learning and adventure.

Write a Book in a Day

On Monday 7 September, six teams of high schoolers arrived at school at 7am to launch into a day of creative collaboration. Before the day, each team had raised money for Kids Cancer Project and now they were ready to write books that would be given to children in hospital for cancer treatment.

The teams are given certain parameters that they have to include. These could be particular characters like a gardener or a pot plant, while some are specific words that must be included like "crisp" and "elastic".  The teams plan the whole story then begin writing.

The Year 9 and 10 teams write for a full 12 hours!

It was so lovely to see teams discussing, getting excited by ideas, navigating differences of opinion, encouraging and supporting each other.

Congratulations to all the teams for showing a combination of creativity and persistence to support this great cause.

Year 8 Ratios Assignment

by Keida Rose King (Year 8)

In Year 8 Maths for the past 3 weeks, students have been asked to create a 3D model of an everyday item, but not in the usual way. They were asked to make it larger or smaller by a ratio of their choice. Some people made tiny tissue boxes, while another made a huge box of crayons.

I, myself, made a large loaf of bread out of some foam at home (we named it Derek). I spent 3 days making and preparing it until it was ready for presentation.

I gathered some students in Year 8 and got their opinions about the project. Here are a few:

“I enjoyed the sound of my dad cutting the wood.”

“I learnt how to use ratios in real life.”

“I enjoyed making the model.”

“I enjoyed getting to actually create something, rather than doing a test.”

“I liked the creating part, and the crafting. I’m more of a three-way learner (visual, physical and audible).”

“I loved painting and colour matching my project, and I learnt how to better measure an object and accurately make it bigger or smaller.”

It seems like everyone in Year 8 enjoyed the fact that we could create something memorable.

Shoalhaven Girls League Tag Gala Day Success!

Our school pride was on full display recently as a team of Year 7 and 8 students took to the field at the Shoalhaven Girls Blues (League) Tag Gala Day. 

Facing off against strong competition, the team delivered a fantastic day of sport centred on teamwork, continuous improvement, and great camaraderie.

The girls showed true grit and determination across three exciting matches against opponents from Ulladulla High (win), Bomaderry High (a narrow loss), and Kiama High (loss).

Beyond the competition, our students thoroughly enjoyed the chance to play alongside friends from neighbouring schools, bringing a wonderful sense of community spirit and sportsmanship to the event.

A huge thank you to Mrs Robinson and Mr Nicholls for all their dedication and hard work training the team leading up to the event, and to Mr Nicholls for stepping in to coach the girls on the day. 

Congratulations to all players for representing our school so brilliantly!

Year 9 Tree Top Adventure

Last Thursday, Year 9 traded the classroom for the great outdoors, tackling a challenging bushwalk to Drawing Room Rocks before taking on the high-ropes courses at Treetops Adventures, Nowra.

Equipped with practical gear and positive attitudes, students set off on what quickly turned out to be a rigorous uphill hike. The hour-long trek to the summit tested everyone’s stamina, but the perseverance was well worth it—rewarding the group with spectacular panoramic views perfect for photo opportunities. At the lookout, students enjoyed some inspiring words of wisdom from Mr. Cowley before carefully navigating the trail back down.

After working up a substantial appetite, the group headed into Berry village for a well-earned snack break, with many students making a bee-line for the local sweet shop. Re-energised, the cohort moved on to Treetops Adventures. Despite windy conditions closing a few higher courses, the year group embraced the challenge, zipping across the canopy and navigating the obstacle courses with enthusiasm. The afternoon wrapped up with a well-deserved snack break at the cafe before everyone loaded onto the bus for the short journey home.

Asked what the biggest highlight of the day was, students replied:

“Making it to the top of the mountain!”

“Hanging out with friends outside of school!”

“Going on the big zipline at the red course!”

“Getting ice cream in Berry!”

“Going to Treetops for the first time!”

“Best excursion ever!”

The excursion was a fantastic success, filled with teamwork, personal achievements, and plenty of laughs. Year 9 would like to extend a sincere thank you to Mrs Jolliffe, Mr Nicholls and Mr Cowley for supervising the trip, to Mr Asher for enabling it, and to Charlie and Pip for coming up with the wonderful initial idea for the day!

NCS Shines at Inaugural Shellharbour Schools Futsal Titles

Recently, we sent three teams to represent NCS at the inaugural Shellharbour Schools Futsal Titles at Shellharbour Stadium, competing against schools from across the region.

Our boys' teams put in strong efforts on the court:

14s Boys: Finished with a commendable 2 wins and 1 loss.

16s Boys: Showed great persistence, wrapping up the day with 1 win and 2 losses.

Our Girls Futsal team had an outstanding day of competition. After quickly adapting to the unique rules of futsal compared to traditional field soccer, the girls gelled as a team, mastering their positions within just a couple of games. Their strong teamwork earned them enough victories to progress to the finals. In an exciting climax to the day, the girls won the final match to be crowned Tournament Champions and successfully qualify for the next round!

It was a wonderful day of active learning, competition, and sportsmanship. Congratulations to all students who participated, and a special well done to our championship girls' team!

Pedal Power: Our Riders Tackle the 2026 ACT Schools MTB Championships!

by Miss Bignell

On Friday, 28 August, eleven of our dedicated student cyclists took on the ultimate test of endurance and teamwork at the 2026 CORC ACT Schools Mountain Bike Championships.

It was a massive day on the trails, bringing together 505 riders across 149 teams representing 47 schools. Competition was fierce, with participants traveling from the South Coast, Central Coast, Orange, Forbes, and even as far as Brisbane! Across the entire event, riders clocked up an incredible 1,490 laps - covering 8,940 kilometres and 608 collective hours of riding at an impressive average speed of 14.7 km/h.

Our school was represented by three outstanding teams, all demonstrating incredible grit and determination:

• Junior Boys (Year 6) – Shred Kellys (Dearl A, Taj G & Connor H): Finished a strong 51st place in their division.
• Junior Boys (Year 7) – Mountain Goats (Beau C, Bronson T, Lucas M & James B): Pushed hard to secure 36th place
• Senior Boys (Year 9) – Gully Gremlins (Archie B, Archer S, Noah M & Will S): Fought through a tough field to rank 34th place

A huge congratulations goes to all of our riders for their fantastic sportsmanship and effort on the track.

Events like this can't happen without a great support network. A warm thank you to all the parents and carers who cheered the teams on, and a special shoutout to Mr Broadbent for serving as our NCS parent representative for the day.

Well done, team!

Cameron Conquers CIS Athletics

On Friday 3 September, I went to Primary CIS Athletics at Sydney Olympic Park and ran the 100m and the 200m with all my might to represent NCS and the CSSA. 

I was nervous, but ran very well to get times of 13.22s and 27.94s respectively. These times got me 6th in the 100m and 7th in the 200m (the ultimate 6-7!). This is where I stop running and look to prepare for the next year to get another shot at making it through to the next level. 

I was pleased with my efforts in making it this far, as I've never made it to CIS level for sport before. With training, I hope to get better and better and make it past CIS to get to PSSA. This is the best result I've achieved in primary.

By Cameron C. from class 6P

Well done Cameron!