Fantastic start to Kindergarten's Learning Journey

What a fantastic start to the year for the Kindergarten students at Guyra Central School as they embark on their educational journey! Our students have thrived in adjusting to the routines of "Big School," successfully completing their Best Start assessment and engaging in various school activities, learning something new each day. They dedicated time to creating their 'Class 85 Infants Mural' for the Guyra Show, and their efforts were rewarded with a first-place victory. Congratulations to all our Kindergarten students for their smooth transition into this new phase. Guyra Central School eagerly anticipates sharing more of Kindergarten's journey with our community throughout the year.

The Armidale and District Annual Commemeration Service

The Armidale and District National Servicemen’s Association hosted its Annual Commemoration Service at the National Servicemen’s Monument in Central Park, Armidale, on Sunday 16 February 2025. Each year, our school is honoured to be invited to read the Lord’s Prayer at this service, which pays tribute to the service and sacrifice of National Servicemen who lost their lives during World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War, as well as those who have passed during or after fulfilling their military duties since 1911.

Our secondary school captain, Annabelle Collins, represented Guyra Central School by delivering the Lord’s Prayer on behalf of our students. We extend our gratitude to the Armidale and District National Servicemen’s Association for inviting us to attend and honour those who have served.

Primary Show Excursion

The Guyra Show is an exhilarating time of year for our students, where our infants and primary students proudly display their talents through entries in art, crafts, cooking, and fresh produce. Our students achieved remarkable results across the board. K-6 students attended the show to view their accomplishments and explore the exciting entries created by neighboring schools and community members. Additionally, our students had the chance to observe our secondary students participating in Junior Judging across various competitions. This event is a wonderful opportunity for our students to engage with community activities, while also allowing the community to witness the incredible talent of the young people at Guyra Central School.

Secondary Agriculture students showcase talent at Shows around the region

Our secondary students once again showcased their talents at the Guyra Show this year, with many achieving outstanding results. In Junior Wool Judging, Rachael Jackson secured 1st place, while Katie Campion came in 3rd and Charlotte Auld finished 5th. In Junior Meat Judging, Abbey Grills took 1st place, followed by Charlotte Auld in 2nd and Rachael Jackson in 5th. Rachael Jackson also excelled in Cattle Judging, finishing in 2nd place, and Clee Beechey claimed 3rd place. Congratulations to all our students who participated in the various events at the Guyra Show this year!

Despite the terrible weather, Mrs Smith and interested secondary students competed in the Armidale Show. Our students had an amazing experience participating in various events as part of our Agriculture program, gaining valuable knowledge along the way. A standout performance came from Year 7 student Tessa Roberson, who achieved first place in the Junior Sheep Meat Judging at the Armidale Show. Congratulations, Tessa! A big thank you to Mrs Smith and Mrs Pearson for providing our students with this wonderful opportunity.

Welcome BBQ

Guyra Central School hosted our Welcome BBQ during Week 4, inviting parents, carers, and students to engage with teachers and year advisors in developing Personalised Learning Plans for each student. We experienced a wonderful turnout, with parents sharing insights on their children's school experiences, identifying areas for improvement, and collaborating on setting two learning goals for 2025.

Additionally, the Welcome BBQ provided a fantastic opportunity to kick off the year, bringing together parents, teachers, and students in a relaxed social setting. We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who attended the BBQ. It was truly wonderful to connect with our families and celebrate the start of an exciting year ahead.

Eli’s Trip to Sydney for a UN Youth Program

Eli Wood has applied for an opportunity to be involved in a UN Youth Program in Sydney on the 14-16 March 2025. Eli is in Stage 5 Big Picture and is working towards his International Big Picture Learning Credential which is the equivalent to the HSC in Big Picture. Some things involved will be discussions on politics and economy, guest speakers from universities, Model UN Debates and team building activities through a workshop.

Eli is hoping to hear about political philosophy and economics, to engage with the topics and expand his knowledge. He is looking to build his leadership skills with many other students as almost 200 students sign up each year that could have the same interests or similar skills. This UN Youth Program is a great opportunity for Eli to learn more about his interests and gain skills in leadership while representing Guyra Central School with our core values.

Written by: Lilli Eddy (Year 12)

Clean-up Australia Day

Every year, Guyra Central School proudly supports cleanup.org.au by taking part in Clean Up Australia Day around our school. Students from Kindergarten to Year 6 slid on their gloves and dedicated their time to improving our school environment. Participating in this initiative fosters a sense of pride among students while encouraging them to consider waste management, the different types of waste, and the importance of proper waste sorting. It also helps connect our students with nature. Our students did an outstanding job of cleaning up the school grounds.

Highlands Science and Engineering Challenge

Mr Goodwin-Hill and his enthusiastic science students participated in the Highlands Science and Engineering Challenge held at the Armidale Ex Services Memorial Club. This event is designed to engage aspiring scientists through enjoyable, hands-on activities that challenge their creativity with an engineering focus. The ultimate goal is to secure a top position.

Our students consistently have a wonderful experience at the Science and Engineering Challenges, collaborating in teams to create the best designs. Points are awarded based on their performance, and the team with the highest score at the end of the day is declared the winner. Congratulations to our participating students for their positive contributions and teamwork in planning and executing each challenge. A big thank you to Mr Goodwin-Hill for accompanying our students to the Highlands Science and Engineering Challenge.

Primary Mid Term Reward Session

Celebrating a wonderful start to 2025, our primary students participated in the PBL Mid-Term Reward Session filled with a variety of enjoyable activities on Thursday 6 March 2025. This year, the activities are tiered (Bronze, Silver, Gold) based on the number of Snow Bursts each student has earned for positive behaviour throughout the term. Those who collected the most Snow Bursts were treated to a movie along with hot chips and nuggets, while other groups engaged in basketball or played their favourite educational computer games during the session.

Congratulations to all our primary students for representing our core values of Pride, Respect, and Responsibility so far this term!

Primary & Secondary Swimming Carnivals

Another year of swimming carnivals for the students of Guyra Central School is nearly finished. We enjoyed two wonderful days filled with fun during both our primary and secondary carnivals. Students cheered each other on as they took part in various events. It’s heartwarming to witness our students exhibiting pride and sportsmanship throughout these activities.

2025 Secondary Champions

12 year girl - Jessica Fletcher

13 year girl - Rose Gordon & Taearliegh Torrens

14 year girl - Abbey Grills

15 year girl - Makayla Galindo

16 year girl - Lacey Cruickshank

17+ year girl - Charlie Ward

13 year boy - Sam Torrens

14 year boy - Max Lockyer

15 year boy - Noah Brennan

16 year boy - Adaiah Galindo

17 year boy - Darcey Heagney

2025 Primary Champions

Junior boys - Johnny Lockyer & William Stevens

Junior girls - Ariella Galindo

11 year girls - Elsie Post & Airlie Vidler

11 year boys - Zion Torrens

Senior girls - Aoife Collins

Senior boys - Hamish Brown

Our primary students who qualified for the Armidale zone carnival showcased remarkable spirit as they fully committed to the events they took part in. While none of our students qualified for the PSSA North West Carnival, it was a valuable experience for everyone who attended. Congratulations to all our students for representing our school with pride and demonstrating excellent sportsmanship.

We are proud to announce that three of our secondary students have qualified for the CHSSA North West Swimming trial. We would like to congratulate Adaiah Galindo, Makayla Galindo, and Brooke Grills for a successful swimming season.

North West School Sport

Gwenisha Landsborough participated in the Greater Region Girls Rugby League Trial representing the North West team. If chosen, this trial offers students the chance to join the Greater Region Rugby League team and compete in the NSW State Championships in Fig Tree during Term 2. This has been an incredible opportunity for Gwenisha, and we eagerly anticipate following her Rugby League journey in the future.

Congratulations to Eli McGinty (Year 9) on his successful selection for the North West Touch Football under 16s team! Eli and his family made the trip to Tomaree to take part in the NSW State Championships during Week 9. What an incredible experience for Eli!

In addition to Eli's achievements with CHSSA sports for 2025, he has earned a position on the North West Football team as the goalkeeper. Eli and his family will be traveling to West Sydney to compete in the state championships for this event during term 2.

Noah Brennan (Year 9) and Kayne Brennan (Year 7) participated in the North West Bowls trial on Monday March 31 2025, and both have been selected to attend the Bowls CHSSA Championship, taking place at Blacktown Workers Bowling Club during Term 2. Congratulations to Noah and Kayne on this outstanding achievement! We wish you both the very best in the upcoming competition.

Harmony Day

Each year, Guyra Central School celebrates Harmony Week and engages in activities on the official Harmony Day (March 21). Harmony Week celebrates our diversity and unites Australians from various backgrounds. This week emphasises inclusiveness, respect, and a shared sense of belonging for everyone.

This year, our staff and students took part in a variety of Harmony Day activities. Stage 3 spent the morning preparing a delicious Indian dish, Butter Chicken. They learned about the dish's origins while cooking their feast. Additionally, Stage 3 engaged in Harmony Day crafts before savouring the delightful flavours of their Indian meal. A big thank you to Mr Alletsee and Miss Fletcher for organizing this enriching experience for Stage 3.

Our students were invited to wear orange on Friday March 21, in support of Harmony Day. It was wonderful to see some of them wearing traditional attire representing their cultural heritage. Coming from diverse backgrounds, this was a great opportunity for our students to proudly showcase their origins.

A fantastic start for year 7........

Transitioning into Year 7 and adapting to secondary routines can be both thrilling and a bit overwhelming. Our Year 7 students have quickly adjusted to this new phase of their education, mastering the use of timetables and locating their classrooms while embracing the exciting experiences that secondary school brings.

In the Science Lab, Year 7 has been enjoying engaging lessons with Mr Hill and Mr Uvi. They have not only participated in theoretical discussions but also participated in their first science experiments in the lab.

Congratulations to our Year 7 cohort! We eagerly anticipate sharing your ongoing secondary learning journey with our school community.

Year 11/12 Study Day

Our Year 11 and 12 students had the chance to participate in a study day at the Guyra Bowling Club. The aim of this day was to equip students with the skills necessary to work efficiently and effectively throughout the year. They were fortunate to have Elevate Education from Melbourne guide them through strategies for note-taking, conceptual learning, independent learning skills, time management, student elevation, enhancing memory recall for exams, and managing stress while maintaining well-being.

In the second session, Year 11 and 12 students could choose between two options. They could either attend a session focused on developing skills for writing extended HSC responses or a session dedicated to providing information about VET courses.

After both sessions, teachers and students enjoyed a lunch provided by the Guyra Cafe before returning to school for the afternoon.

We hope our senior students gained valuable skills from our Senior Study Day that will help them achieve their best educational outcomes in the HSC.

Letters home - Year 7 Lake Ainsworth excursion

Dear Year 7 Parents and Guardians

We had a wonderful camp at Lake Ainsworth in Week 9. The Year 7’s showed great resilience and problem-solving skills over the 3 days and 2 nights we were there. Many of the activities were new to them and they all had a go and tackled unseen challenges with energy and enthusiasm. We started the camp with a gentle beach walk which the students loved – picking up shells, paddling and popping dead blue bottles on the sand. Activities got more vigorous after that – archery the first night (the arrows had rubber balls on the tips, you’ll be pleased to know!) and the next day we took to the stand-up paddle boards. Will, our program leader from the camp (who came from Inverell), set the students a challenge where they had to build a raft from milk crates, pool floaties and empty milk cartons plus get two people on the raft down to the end of the swimming pool. This was a genuinely exciting race and our teams demonstrated determination and persistence. The students loved the afternoon’s sailing where they had to go round buoys on the lake, in a small Hobie Cat sailing boat. Our final day saw us rock-climbing on a climbing wall in the gym and again, students were terrific about harnessing themselves up and pushing themselves beyond their limits.

The Year 7’s were very positive, got themselves organised quickly for activities and didn’t complain about the food (which was delicious anyway). I cannot imagine going away with a better group of children. They were such fun and so good humoured.

Grateful thanks to Ms Annette Callister, Tremaine Patterson and Adrian Cameron for their unstinting energy, help and positivity. And thanks to you, our Year 7 parents and Guardians, for trusting us with your precious children for two nights and three days. I hope we can repeat the whole exercise.

Warm regards

Debra Kelliher

Easter Hat Parade

Easter is just around the corner, and to mark the occasion, students from Kindergarten to Year 6 have been exploring the significance of Easter while participating in various craft activities. They have also been busy crafting amazing Easter hats for the Easter Hat Parade, where parents were invited to join in the festive fun and admire the students' remarkable creations.

After the parade, the Student Representative Council (SRC) organised an Easter Egg hunt for students from Kindergarten to Year 6. The Easter eggs for this event were generously donated by Kmart in Armidale. Our students had a blast running around and collecting the eggs using baskets they had made during Easter activities.

Lilli Eddy - Big Picture Senior Project