NCS Celebrates NAIDOC Week

Last Friday, our NAIDOC Assembly was a wonderful community event with students, staff and special guests coming together to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. We enjoyed singing, dancing and a time of prayer together.

Pastor Brendon Gartlett from Shoalhaven Aboriginal Community Church shared a message about the beauty of God’s creation and he also shared his series of Aboriginal artworks depicting God’s seven days of creation.

Thank you to Uncle Tom Moore, Garindja Dancers from St John the Evangelist Catholic High School and all those who joined us for this special time of sharing together. A big thank you to Mrs Stewart for organising the event.

To see the full picture gallery visit:

Dance and Circus Skills Combine at Danceworks South Coast

Introducing a new addition to our Sport & Rec offerings for Term 3: Aerial Hoop, also known as Lyra. Our students are participating in lessons at Danceworks South Coast, where they are learning to combine the art of dance with circus skills. Our students will develop flexibility, strength and grace as they learn the fundamentals of aerial training. The students are looking forward to mastering this sport throughout Term 3.

Team Spirit and Athletic Excellence

On Monday 5 August, 47 secondary students participated in the CSSA South Coast Zone Secondary Athletics Carnival at Beaton Park, Wollongong.

It was a fantastic day full of enthusiasm, teamwork and athletic skill, with 26 students qualifying for the State competition later this month. Nearly every event featured an NCS student, contributing to our team’s impressive 3rd place finish. Many students set new records, and everyone enjoyed the event.

A big thank you to our amazing parents and carers for their support, with special appreciation to Mr and Mrs McLaren for their help with officiating and photography.

Record breakers:

Emily McL

16 Girls 800m Run: 2:33.5316
Girls 1500m Run: 5:24.1516
Girls Discus Throw: 24.70m

Hamish Mc

L17 Boys Discus Throw: 40.25m
17 Boys Javelin Throw: 43.56m

Congratulations to Emily McL for being named the overall Age Champion for the 16 Girls category based on her outstanding performances at the carnival.

Metro Cup Football - Stage 3 - CSSA State Finals

at Kellyville - August 2024

After a great day out at Kiama topping the South Coast Zone, we made the trip to Kellyville for the CSSA state finals against all the other zones in NSW.

A chilly start but by the time we kicked off our first game, it was a beautiful winters day.

Most of our players had not played on a full size pitch before and most also hadn’t played on a synthetic pitch, so it was very new territory. And it really showed in the first match against Charlton Christian College from the Hunter zone.

In spite of us not playing anywhere near what we were capable of, it was a pretty even game with us having a few chances to score but not taking them, and them taking their chances well. Some good individual performances from our team, but not the teamwork I’d seen at Kiama. A little disappointing to get beaten 2-0. Not the best start to the day for us.

A quick break and then into game #2 against Oran Park Anglican College. They were a pretty strong outfit and thankfully we were much improved on our last outing, quickly adjusting to playing on the larger, quicker pitch.

We took an early lead which surprised them, but unfortunately this spurred the opposition into action and they hit back with a couple of quick goals to lead 3-1. We both scored again with the final score ending in a 4-2 defeat.

In spite of the score, this was a much better performance from us. It did however leave us at the bottom of our group and facing a mountain to climb if we were to be any chance of making the semi finals.

Last pool game was against Mamre Anglican College who had swept everyone else away and were looking very strong. With a few injuries starting to take their toll on us, we switched Will P into goals and Toby into a more defensive role. This proved somewhat of a master stroke with Will saving us from conceding a number of certain goals with a string of incredible saves.

All this was proving a little frustrating for Mamre, and to rub salt further into the wound we really surprised them when Liam Macca showed great pace and clinical finishing to score an excellent goal giving us a 1-0 lead. Mamre showed their class, didn’t panic and scored twice in spite of our stoic defence and Will’s heroics in goal. A 2-1 loss to the eventual winners was a pretty good result.

So we finished winless on the bottom of our group, beaten but certainly not disgraced.

To end the day we played a 4th (last) place playoff against the 4th placed team in the other group. We played some good football against a spirited opposition who were pretty happy to get a 1-1 draw against us.

All in all, we (coach, manager and parents) were really proud of the team.Toby G, Jimmy T, Callum B, Will P, Theo S, Patrick W, Liam Mc, Jethro S, Levi H, Lucas T, Josh T, Liam C, Alex W, Joey L, Amaya W, Addison G. They played some great football, showed excellent sportsmanship, no complaining, abiding by the referee’s decisions and no dummy spits. Well done.

Big shout out and thanks to Mr Parker who did a lot of the leg work and organising for the event. Thanks to Mrs Powell and Mrs Huisman for a lot of organising behind the scenes and on the day. Huge thanks to all the parents who came and supported, encouraged, fed, watered, cared for, the team at various times during the day. Your support is much appreciated. A pretty exhausting day, thankfully we only do it once a year.

Thanks, Mr Tasker.

HSIE Rocks!

HSIE (Human Society in it’s Environment) includes subjects that continue to provide engaging opportunities for our students to learn about our world and our place within it.

Our subjects include History, Geography, Commerce, Elective History, Senior Ancient and Modern History, Business Studies and Society and Culture.

Here are just a few of the things happening.

Years 7 and 8 have switched between History and Geography for Semester 2.
Year 7 History finished off their topic on Ancient China by recreating some of the Terracotta Warriors in the Art room.
Year 8 History have their Medieval Day coming up fast. All of Year 8 will have a day of being absorbed in Medieval experiences including a presentation from James Adams on Wednesday 30th October. It would be great to prepare your costumes now for the costume competition.
Year 9 History recently were enriched by the World War 1 presentation from WWI Living History. Students had the opportunity to interact with authentic artefacts primarily used by Australian and German troops from 1916-1918.
Year 10 will have a presentation on Vietnam here at school on Monday 28 October where they will gain some unique and valuable insights.

A Fourth Ride For Charity

Dr Michael Davey, ex-ADF, recently completed a two-wheel, unsupported lap of the country on Highway 1. On the whirlwind odyssey, he raised money for Soldier On in support of suicide prevention in the defence and veterans’ communities.

Dr Davey left Nowra on June 26. With four rest days, the 14,500-kilometre journey took twenty-eight days to complete, an average of a bit over 500 kilometres per day. The furthest distance in the one day was the leg from Norseman in WA to Border village, some 738 kilometres.

This was the fourth time Dr Davey has ridden around Australia for charity, with almost $200,000 raised for people in desperate need. Dr Davey’s first trip on a pushbike took five months to complete and resulted in $51,000 raised for children suffering cancer. The next three journeys, all in a Where’s Wally costume, raised $140,000 for Soldier On. The first on a postie bike, took forty-six days. The second, on an ebike, took eighty days. On all three journeys, Mrs Davey, at teacher in junior school at NCS, drove support.

With a bestselling autobiography which deals with mental health issues, Dr Davey works tirelessly in the Mental Health space. “I put myself out there in a Where’s Wally costume because I want people who suffer a mental illness to ‘put themselves out there’ and seek professional help, the pathway to recovery.”

On this particular ride, Dr Davey was sponsored with a Suzuki V-STROM 1050 cc motorcycle by Great Southern Motorcycles. “I’m getting quicker,” Dr Davey quipped, “but seriously, the V-STROM was a dream to ride. It handled superbly.”

Dr Davey rode north from Nowra, completing an anti-clockwise lap which had numerous challenges. “Early on in the ride, I pulled into a rest area south of Normanton in far-north Queensland,” Dr Davey said. “The ground sloped to the right. The bike pulled up unsteadily and lurched to the right. I put my foot down, but it slipped in the loose gravel. I reefed the bike back upright but strained my wrist in the process.” For the rest of the journey, Dr Davey’s injury remained problematic. “With all my gear, the bike weighs more than 300 kilograms,” Dr Davey said, “and so to manoeuvre it off its stand and into motion meant my wrist never had time to heal.”

Dr Davey rode up the east coast to Cairns, onto Normanton under the Gulf of Carpentaria. From there he headed west to Katherine then Broome, followed by the lonely odyssey down the west coast of WA to Perth. Then it was Albany, Norseman, Port Augusta, Adelaide, Melbourne and back to Nowra via the Gippsland in the northeast of Vic.

“Riding long distances most days meant the trip was a bit-of-blur,” Dr Davey said, “unlike on my pushbike.”

Remarkably, Dr Davey only hit a couple of small potholes on his quest, despite the thousands that laid in wait for any unsuspecting traveller. “I never struck any roadkill despite the numerous dead animals on the asphalt.”

One of the many challenges for any motorcyclist with tubeless tyres is the prospect of a puncture. “On last year’s ride we had eight punctures,” Dr Davey said. “Four in the support vehicle and trailer and four on my ebike, but on this trip despite my concerns, I never had a puncture.”

Dr Davey dropped his bike in the remote section of the Eyre Highway. “No matter how many times I tried to pick it up, I was unable to do so,” Dr Davey said. “I tried to wave down passing motorists, but to no avail. I then unloaded all my gear and tried twice more to pick it up. No joy. I then said a prayer, ‘Lord, give the strength of Samson’. I then picked up the bike, tall, skinny me.”

When asked what his next adventure might be, Dr Davey smiled and replied, “I’m in discussions with a supplier for a small adventure dirt bike to ride from Byron Bay to Steep Point in WA, to link the most easterly point on the continent with the most westerly point, all through the deserts of inland Australia. This will be followed by a ride down to Adelaide to follow Burke and Wills odyssey from the Spencer Gulf to the Gulf of Carpentaria, ending at Normanton, then Karumba.”

Dr Davey will continue to raise funds. “Mrs Davey and I have a rich history of ADF service in our families,” Dr Davey said, “and this is part of the reason we want to help raise funds for Soldier On. Mrs Davey’s great uncle, a sailor in the navy, was sunk in WW l and again in WW ll. Five other members of her family served in the ADF, while eight in my family have done so, including our son, a medical officer, Dr Joseph Davey, a former student of NCS.

To see Dr Davey’s bestselling memoir or view videos and photographs of his adventures, visit www.jmichaeldavey.com.au

To make a tax-deductible donation in support of Dr Davey’s quest to reach $250,000 raised for Soldier On, visit www.apostieride4ptsd.com.au

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There are several NCS students in this production

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