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GUMARAA Aboriginal Incursion - Stages 2 and 3

Stages 2 and 3 each enjoyed a full day incursion thanks to the visiting experts from Gumaraa, a local Aboriginal organisation based in Albion Park. The events, booked through Ranger Jamie Tours' website, were a real hit with students and staff from both stages. Last Thursday, Stage 2 had their incursion, followed by Stage 3 on Friday. Each day began by students and staff meeting our three presenters in a 'welcome to country' smoking ceremony. Instruments were played and the smoking leaves passed around the outside of our gathering. This was followed by the application of ochre, a natural clay pigment, to our faces for those who wished to do so. We were told that this served two purposes. Firstly, so that Aboriginal ancestors could see us on the land, and also, as a natural sunscreen. We then got to have a lesson and try our hand at throwing boomerangs on the Northern Oval. A few low flying birds and even the odd helicopter or plane may have been in danger! The classic joke was even told about how to tell if a boomerang is a proper one and not just decorative. Throw it and see if it comes back. If it doesn't, it's a stick!

After recess there was dancing, with various animals being imitated, including the emu and lyre bird. Much fun was had, whilst students respectfully participated with great enthusiasm. Other groups discovered the various uses of native plants and animals as medicines, hunting aids, bush tucker and tools. Who knew that whistling into a grass stem would mimic a wounded bird and bring nearby snakes to investigate, before being caught and killed themselves by the cunning hunters? We do now!

After lunch, groups tried their hands at painting, or building gunyahs (temporary shelters). Others looked at artifacts such as tools, weapons, storage bowls and instruments. We especially enjoyed the stories that went with them.

Lots of interest was given and fun was had, as our students were completely engaged by the Gumaraa leaders and with the content they presented to us.

Thank you Gumaraa. We look forward to your return to NCS in future years.

 Stage 1 - Compassion Fundraising for Christmas

This year, several Year 2 boys were making a Minion money box from Lego Construx blocks with Mrs Parsons. This took a number of weeks to complete. Toby G and Josh T were the two main boys working on this project while Will Ar, Rylan T, Will P and Chase C also helped. On completion, the children wanted to use the money box and try to save some money. It was decided to raise some money for gifts for Compassion for Christmas. 

Stage 1 worked together on the fundraising. Year 1 made and sold chocolate chip biscuits with Mrs Hefferan and her amazing team of helpers. Year 2 decorated some wooden owl craft boxes and ice-cream photo frames with gel pens.

Many children were very keen and quite a few children brought extra money from their own savings to add to the money box. Overall we raised $251.  We bought two lots of clean water to help families to have access to safe water, a goat, three bibles and seeds for planting.

Plane Simple

On Tuesday December 1, 8 students from Years 7, 8 & 9 were involved in the 2020 Plane Simple paper plane competition. The students practiced making and throwing paper planes,  leading up to the competition. On the day, teams competed in either the ‘Time in the Air’ category or the ‘Furthest Distance’ category.

The competition was run by sponsors, Regional Development Australia, the Nowra Show Society, Sikorsky Australia, Global Defence Solutions and the University of Wollongong Industry 4.0 Hub.

We had four teams of two students compete in the two categories. Darien M flew a plane designed by teammate John M the length of the MPC. Toby Mc flew a plane (designed by teammate Linkin P) that stayed in the air for 4.40 seconds. The times and distances were recorded by two research engineers from University of Wollongong.

It is the second year that this competition has been run. This year, six local high schools have been involved. Due to COVID restrictions, students competed at their individual schools, with the results being collated and winners to be announced later in the year.

The Plane Simple Competition is an initiative of the Nowra Show Society. It is aimed at developing skills in design, communication and teamwork and helps students to develop an interest in aerodynamics in a simple way.

The competition was facilitated by Regional Development Australia, Far South Coast and generously supported by Global Defence Solutions, Sikorsky Australia and the UoW Shoalhaven Industry 4.0 Hub.

La Bûche de Noël

Once again, Year 8 French have created their annual "Bûche de Noël" (Yule Log), which is a French Christmas tradition dating back to the 19th century. We would wish everyone "Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année 2021".

ICAS Science Competition

International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) Science Competition 2020 – Secondary Students

Congratulations to all the students who participated in the annual ICAS Science Competition organised by the University of NSW (UNSW) Global. The following students received outstanding results:

Distinction

Micah E - Year 9

Eli H - Year 7

Eli also received the Principal's award for achieving the highest result in our school.

Credit

Ned G – Year 7

Erik K - Year 7

Hayley E - Year 7

Jasmine H - Year 9

Bryce C - Year 10

Merit

Darcy T - Year 8

Noah T - Year 8

Alana HS - Year 8

Congratulations to these students on their great results.

Supporting our community's most vulnerable

This year, the NCS food drive targeted non perishable food items which would be donated to our community's most vulnerable - people who experience homelessness and everyday living financial stress. Two organisations have received the fruit of the generosity of NCS's student, family and staff body . 

The Homeless Hub in Nowra offers vital services for people in both short and long-term homeless situations. Safe Waters Community Care in Ulladulla is a new service which provides short-term accommodation for the homeless in the south of the Shoalhaven. Both organisations rely on donations from the community to supplement any government funding.

Last Wednesday, 3 students - Emelia P, Matthew McL and Ollie E were accompanied by Mr Parker and Mrs Donald to deliver the seven Wetty Bins and half dozen shopping bags of food to The Homeless Hub. 

Julie Bugden, the Hub's manager was astounded by the generosity of NCS and asked for their deepest gratitude to be conveyed. Christmas is a hard time of year for many people, so these kinds of donations really help keep people's spirits up. 

The remaining boxes and wetty bins of food was delivered to Safe Waters on Friday by Mrs Donald. Thank you to all students, families and staff who donated to the drive. 

Have a satisfying Christmas Season!

Wildlife Warriors Fundraising

On the last day of school, many Secondary students brought in a gold coin donation and wore animal socks in support of Wildlife Warriors. The total amount raised was $107. This money will go towards protecting our wildlife and wild places. 

Secondary have been hands-on

There have been lots of exciting hands-on activities happening this year.

Year 8 Geography has been exploring slavery in the modern context and finished up their unit by looking at the fair trade movement and how it helps us to be responsible consumers. We had a fair trade chocolate taste test - a lot of the students were not impressed with the 85% cocoa chocolate!

Linkin had the following to say:  

"A few things I have found startling is that of the 10-30 million slaves today, 50% of them are CHILDREN. Also, approximately 95% of the chocolate is not certified free from the use of force, child or trafficked labor.

Year 9 Geography has investigated food security and population growth and were challenged to investigate if eating insects is a viable solution. We tried mealworms and crickets from an insect supplier. Some of the students thought they were delicious and some were not at all convinced!

Year 7 Science has ended the year by building solar ovens - students had to maximise radiation and convection, utilise insulation and minimise heat loss. They aimed to melt chocolate and far exceeded this, with some temperatures reaching 80 degrees! To show the extent to which cars heat up, we even made use of Mrs. Arthur's very messy car. A good reminder not to leave children in the car, with the temperature reaching a whopping 75 degrees!

Year 8 Gardening Mandatory Technology have rounded out their term with a range of "lessons for life" with Mrs. Arthur. We have learnt how to make spinach pie, mushroom pinwheels and beetroot and chocolate cake to increase our vegetable intake. The students are also now very committed to seed saving and have learnt how to pick, dry, harvest and store their vegetable seeds for the following years. Well done year 8!