News From Around The School 

Mrs Wallington Receives the Rural & Remote Sport Award For NSW

The NSW Government School Sport Unit has awarded WWHS Sports Coordinator, Mrs Penni Wallington the Rural and Remote Award for NSW. The award, given to only one teacher in rural NSW, acknowledges them for their commitment and for going above and beyond in providing sporting opportunities for students in their school, despite the more remote location. 

An extensive review of nominations by an independent panel was conducted and Penni was selected as a successful recipient.  Ms Neil said 'Penni has played a significant role in providing sport and physical activity opportunities for student at WWHS.  Penni really is outstanding in her commitment and her delivery and I am pleased her efforts have been acknowledged in such a momentous way'. 

New Student Leadership Team Announced 

Our new students leaders have quickly settled into their roles and are already making a valuable contribution. This year we updated the selection process and rules so that the four students with the highest votes became our four student leaders. To all, this seemed a fairer system.

Please join us in congratulating;

• Megan Crutcher - School Captain
• Jackson Humphries - School captain
• Lacey Evans - Vice Captain
• Chelsea Humphries - Vice Captain 

WWHS Farewells Two Talented Staff Members

By Ms Jacki Neil

We have two members of our teaching staff leaving the school at the end of the term;

Mr Scott Hogden and Mr Andy Kiely.

Scott Hodgen – Scott has been with us from the start of 2023 as part of the DoE Rural and Remote program, where teachers apply to relocate to a rural school for a 12-month period.

Scott came to us from Ballina Coast High and settled-in immediately to our school. One of the first differences he noticed was the a 'slight' change in the number of students he had in his classes. 

Scott, I cannot thank you enough for your dedication to the students in our MC class. You have taken the students under your wings and provided them with so many amazing experiences. From the many and varied excursions, coaching and driving the MC Ten Pin Bowling team to Sydney for the state finals, to the high quality, individually tailored lessons you delivered for each student. You have been amazing. I know that the students are going to miss you. I wish you and your family all the best for your move back home, and I am truly grateful for all your efforts and hope the friendships you have formed at WWHS will last well into the future.

Andy Kiely – Andy came to us from Gunnedah High School and has been bouncing around full of enthusiasm, energy and causing (positive) havoc ever since. 

Ms Neil said of Andy 'You have been so dedicated to our students and your commitment to making maths interesting is endless. You are a champion for WWHS students. Since your arrival you have gone into bat for your year group and have been a Year Adviser twice in your time here. The staff will miss your antics, your strong sense of team, and I personally will miss you bouncing into my office – with a question or an outlandish request for the benefit of your students'.

We wish Andy and your family all the best for the move to Kandos. 

Scott and Andy, thank you and please know that you are always welcome here at 

Wee Waa High School.

Year 7 - 2024 - Transition 

Year 7 2024 transition days were a great success this term with a lot of smiles and well behaved students eager to participate in the great activities Year Adviser, Miss Conomos and her colleagues had carefully planned to give students a taste of high school.

The transition program was rounded off last week with a Year 7 2024 family BBQ at the school that was cooked by some members of our School Representative Council.

New Canteen Coordinator

We were pleased to welcome to our team this term Tamara Hartas as our Canteen Coordinator. Tamara has a background in cafes and catering which makes her ideal for this role. Our students and staff are loving her freshly made, nutritious meal options available for breakfast, recess and lunch. 

Our canteen does not sell confectionary, packets of potato crisps and the like, rather we have a focus on freshly prepared food and only offer a limited range of low calorie fruit infused soft drinks and some icy pole options. This is not only in line with the department of Education's healthy canteen food policy, it is important to us that we encourage healthier food choices for the benefit of our student's health and learning outcomes. 

Growing The Next Generation Of Our Health Workforce 

Wee Waa High School continues to make a strong contribution to the future of local health services with the commencement earlier this year of Year 11 student, Emily Hartnett in the TVET Health Services Assistance course.

A component of Emily’s Cert III course is a week-long practicum placement each semester with last week being her second placement.

With a long-held interest in pursuing a career in the health sector, Emily said; ‘The strong career opportunities available, including being able to specialise were other appealing aspects of a nursing career. I find everything about nursing interesting, and having the chance to put theory into practice during my pracs is really rewarding’.

‘The staff at Narrabri Hospital are really encouraging and that makes my prac weeks even more enjoyable. This week I have been doing patient obs (observations) checking things like blood pressure, temperature, heart rate and respiratory function’.

Commerce Students' Entrepreneurial Spirit Alive & Well 

Our Year 9 and 10 Commerce students got to put their business planning into action recently. During Term 3 they developed a business plan that would address a gap they saw in the school canteen market and decided on a pop-up confectionary and snow cone retail business given that our canteen does not sell confectionary. 

From there they worked collaboratively to project their sales, inventory requirements and costs which then informed their budget. The students secured a no interest loan, courtesy of their teacher, Ms Roscoe. Once repaid, they finalised their reporting and voted that the profits were donated to the funds to Down Syndrome Australian and to the Wee Waa Lions Club. 

MC Class Competes In State Ten Pin Bowling Championships 

Our MC State Bowling team have had an incredibly successful Term 4 that saw them compete in Inverell in the regional Ten Pin Bowls competition. They played well and were selected to compete in the state championships in Sydney. The team were so excited to have this opportunity and the great adventure with Mr Hogden and Ms Gavan. 

To make the opportunity possible, WTC Group and Schwager Civil came on board as team sponsors. Mr Hogden said the students were very focused and gave it their best shot however they didn't make it through to the finals. 

We'd like to sincerely thank WTC Group, Schwager Civil, WWHS P&C and the NSW Dept Education’s Inclusive Sports Unit for sharing in the excitement and for making this opportunity possible for each student. 

FREE NBN Broadband For Families Not Already Connected

The Australian Government has established the School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI) to provide free home internet for one year.

To be eligible, a family must have a child living at home that is enrolled in an Australian school, have no active broadband service over the nbn network, and live in a premises where they can access a standard nbn service. Families must not have had an active nbn connection during the previous 14 days.

For More Information;

Contact the National Referral Centre on 1800 954 610 (Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm AEDT), or go to www.anglicarevic.org.au/student-internet