The Weekly Bulli-tin

CONGRATULATIONS

This past week has been full of congratulations!

Firstly, congratulations to the year 12 class of 2024 for completing their HSC Examinations. We are so very proud of every single student and excited for their future.

Congratulations to Elke Baum in year 11. Elke's artwork Stacks On was selected as the prize-winner by the judging panel for this year’s Every Artist Was First An Amateur exhibition.

Congratulations to year 12 students Indigo Badger, Emma Dillon, Katherine Martin and Mackenzie Moon who have been nominated for ArtExpress. ArtExpress is an annual series of exhibitions of exemplary artworks created by NSW visual arts students for the HSC examination.

Finally, congratulations to Robyn Lang on her retirement. Robyn was deputy principal at Bulli HS but has been working for the Department and NESA over the past three years. Robyn was a great support to me when I first began at Bulli HS in 2021 and has made a significant contribution to the school over her 18 years, as well as to public education more broadly. We thank Robyn for her service and wish her all the very best.

REMEMBRANCE

Monday marked Remembrance Day and our HSIE faculty organised our school assembly at 11am with help from our senior leadership team. Thanks to ex-servicemen Will Lee and Stephen Dennis for their attendance and thoughtful words.

THANK YOU

Thanks to the P&C for the Spring Working Bee. A special thanks to Steve Dillon for organising the plants and educating us on how to best take care of them.

TRANSITION

Next year, all students will be starting school on Thursday 6 February, following 4 school development days. These school development days provide our teachers time to be best prepared individually and collectively to implement curriculum. School development days will operate the way they always have. Students do not attend on these days as there are no timetabled lessons so staff can engage in professional development and planning. An updated and public list of school development days for the next 3 years can be found on the department website.

COLLABORATION

Last week I attended the Secondary Principals Council (SPC) meeting which is held each term. The President of SPC reminded us that "a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor". As students navigate the complexities of assessment and the upcoming transition to a different learning year or stage, I would like to take this opportunity to remind them that feeling challenged in learning allows us to grow. With a range of wellbeing programs organised throughout this term, we also hope that students are growing in their prosocial skills and behaviours to act as citizens with respect, responsibility and integrity.

Denise James

Principal

We would like to acknowledge country and the traditional custodians of this land who are the Wodi Wodi people of the Five Islands Dreaming, Dharawal Country and the Yuin nation.

We would like to acknowledge the country on which we meet and gather, near Sandon Point, the declared Aboriginal land rich in Aboriginal history and culture.

We thank the ancestors and Elders for passing down their knowledge of country and traditions which is the reason that Aboriginal culture thrives today.

At Bulli High School, it is our responsibility to preserve and respect the integrity of this significant site for future generations.

Friday 15th November

Hospitality Work Placement

National Recycling Week

Transition Day – All my own work

18th - 21st November

Year 11 Aboriginal Studies-Armidale Trip

18th - 22nd November

Year 7 Combat Robotics

18th - 29th November

Year 10 Work Experience

Wednesday 20th November

Sport Assembly in Hall

21st - 22nd November

Duke of Edinburgh – Bronze

Monday 25th November

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against women

Wednesday 27th November

P & C Meeting @ 6:00pm

Being the final HSIE contribution to the newsletter for the year, I was searching far and wide for an inspiring analogy that would encapsulate 2024. There were many huge moments that seemed to have gone somewhat under the radar that could have provided a nice comparison, including:

-The discovery of an ancient lost city in eastern Ecuador

-The first private spacecraft landing on the moon

-Ol’ Swifty becoming a billionaire

-India setting the record for the largest general election with 642 million people voting

-The Olympics

-Aston Villa dominating the Champions League for the first time since 1982.

All are massive moments in their own right but I wanted something that demonstrated the ups and downs, ebbs and flows, lefts and rights, latitudes and longitudes….you get the point. Finally, I settled on a simpler yet no less effective parable. Maybe it's the History teacher in me but I sometimes liken the HSIE faculty and the school year to a close knit group of soldiers heading off to battle. It might seem a bit dramatic but bare with me for a moment…

Term 1 (The landing)

This sees us in the trenches, getting ready for the campaign ahead. Morale is high and we are filled with a positive naivety. “We will win this by Christmas” we exclaim confidently with brand new resources (whiteboard markers, pens, Blu Tack). We have conquered K-Mart and Officeworks and are locked and loaded. We are getting to know the enem…students…. and figuring out our tactics and strategies before we engage. We develop carefully constructed plans to navigate the risky terrain of no man's land, aka Rooms 7 - 12 (and all the random outposts. Sorry Mr Ansen and Mr Tighe). We also do a fair bit of reconnaissance from the previous campaign way back in 2023.

Term 2 (Over the top and into No Man’s land)

By now we know what we are up against. We are up and out of the trenches and taking fire. We realise that not every plan or strategy works and we have to adjust on the run but that’s ok because it is what we are good at. We have successes and gain ground but as soon as we get too confident a shell drops nearby and out of nowhere. Still, we stumble back to our feet and push forward. I am fairly certain I saw a flag in the enemy trenches or a completed piece of homework.

Term 3 (Shellshock)

As the stress of no man’s land hits us, we occasionally run into a bit of friendly fire. We meet our first major objective as Year 12 graduates and evacuates. We wave them off as they depart for newer pastures. Some of our recent graduates realise early that High School was not in fact the war to end all wars and some even re-enlist through an education degree and early entry.

Term 4 (The Treaty of Versiiighhhh)

We have a vague recollection of some sort of plans being drawn up at the start of the year. They are a distant memory as we walk around in circles with a distant look in our eyes mumbling almost incoherent sentences such as “I’ve given you 10 copies already” or “it’s on Google Classroom” or “this is the 300th and last pen I am giving you”.

Our bodies are battered and our minds are tired but we have heard rumours of a ceasefire in the distance.

Despite the exhaustion we know that we wouldn’t have it any other way. When the laptop keys fall silent and the gum under the tables dries and solidifies, we will already be planning for 2025.

In the meantime please enjoy some of our more recent events, achievements and news.

Late nights and intravenous coffee are on the agenda for a number of HSIE staff over the next month or so. Congratulations and good luck to the HSIE staff involved in HSC Marking this year. It is widely considered to be some of the best professional development for teachers and is always of great benefit for future HSC classes.

Our markers in 2024 are:

Mrs Wilkinson - Ancient History

Mrs Dal Molin - Society and Culture

Mr Dixon - Legal Studies

Legal studies

A big CONGRATULATIONS to the Yr 12 Wilko Legal Eagles for completing their exams and giving 100%. An outstanding effort with 8 students gaining early entry to either Law or Criminology Psychology degrees. Our future society is in safe legal brains.

History Extension

A MASSIVE congratulations to our four History Extension students. It appeared to be a very accessible paper so hopefully you were able to dust off your Von Ranke’s and load up your Olusoga’s.

Modern History

With the US presidential election results looming at the time of writing, we are reminded of the lively banter and inspired impersonations of past US presidents in the Year 12 Modern History class. From Woodrow Wilson to Lyndon Johnson, we’ve studied multiple presidents and their attempts to secure peace and prosperity. It has been an absolute pleasure thinking about the recent past with the class. Well done on a massive year and best wishes on your future endeavours! – Mrs Dal Molin and Mrs McCann

"Do your best, history will do the rest" - Harry S Truman

A huge thank you to our Senior Leadership Team, Will Lee and Steve Dennis from Austinmer/Thirroul RSL, Mr Brady, Mr Macnab and Mr Ansen for their contributions to our 2024 Remembrance Day ceremony.

As always, our Remembrance Day ceremony is a great source of pride where our students demonstrate their respect for those that have fought in a variety of campaigns for Australia. Our students’ behaviour is always exemplary and adds to the solemn nature of the occasion.

Both Will Lee and Steve Dennis attended our Ceremony for the 7th year and their dedication and generosity is greatly appreciated.

Mr Brady utilised his technical wizardry to allow us to run a polished ceremony, while Mr Macnab added another level of quality by playing the Last Post and the Rouse live. Their help is always greatly appreciated, particularly when there is no obligation for them to assist and they are both incredibly busy.

Mr Ansen also stepped into some massive shoes by taking on an organisational roll this year. He ensured the foundation for our ceremony was set and all aspects of the organisation were covered. A truly ‘bunderful’ effort.

Finally, our Senior Leadership Team showed exactly why they were chosen in their respective roles. They conducted the ceremony with confidence and respect and ensured Remembrance Day was observed exactly how it should be.

Lest We Forget.

Mr Marshall arrived at Bulli High School bright and early on Monday morning of Week 4. He walked into a buzzing HSIE faculty and slotted in seamlessly among the chaos.

Being a Prac student is daunting, exciting and exhausting. It is also a unique perspective on teaching. This is why I have asked Mr Marshall to give us a few brief thoughts on his first two weeks at BHS and education in general.

1/ Why did you want to become a HSIE teacher?

Becoming a teacher is a big career change for me. For the last 10 years I have worked in the nonprofit sector, including with the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience. While I loved this work, I have always been drawn to teaching. This could be because I come from a family of teachers! My Dad was a principal and my Mum was an art teacher, not to mention all my aunties and cousins who are teachers. I am excited to start teaching HSIE subjects, which have always been of interest to me. I believe these subjects help students to understand the world around them in a very practical way.

2/ What is your favourite subject to teach and why?

My favourite subject when I was at school and at university was Economics and not much has changed! As I begin my teaching experience, the Commerce syllabus so far has been really enjoyable to engage with. I love that it touches on so many of the senior HSIE subjects and that it provides scope for project based learning.

3/ How have you found your Prac experience so far?

I feel very lucky to be doing my teaching placement in the Bulli High School HSIE department, where I have been supported to enter the classroom as a teacher. It has been rewarding to implement lessons I have planned for the first time. In observing how others teach and work, I have witnessed the broad role teachers play at school and the deep responsibility they hold in the lives of students. It has definitely reaffirmed my intentions to become a teacher.

It is especially nice to be doing my placement within my own community, where I am bringing up my young family.

4/ What does education mean to you?

Like many, I believe public education is the foundation of our society. A strong educational experience at high school can lead to lifelong interests and skills that can shape the course of one’s life. But more than that, education gives people the ability to choose the direction of their life, no matter who they are or where they come from.

I want to be part of that. In my short time at Bulli High School, I have seen how teachers build confidence in students and help them explore what direction their life might take, arming them with the skills they’ll need to reach their potential.

Usually at the start of Term 4 the clay and glitter hit the fan (unfortunately this isn’t entirely a metaphor). This signals the beginning of the Year 7 final assessment task which is an Ancient World Model/Artefact building extravaganza. Inspired by a greater commitment to STEM and Arts, this task requires students to pick an ancient society and then select a related artefact or building to base a model on. Please see below for some of the examples across a very talented Year 7 cohort. Please note that this incredible shield quickly became a favourite among our prac teachers. What an incredible model.

Additionally, the HSIE faculty wanted to create greater visibility for the Bulli 5 which appears on all students' reports. Below is a sample marking rubric that we have used in combination with the Year 7 project. This project allows us to identify many of the relevant ‘soft’ skills embedded in the Bulli 5, so we created this rubric to help inform some of our decision making. It was created to bring a little more clarity to what the Bulli 5 might look like in the classroom during any given lesson.

Last week 8HSIE Y spent the last period of the day conducting their Geography fieldwork as part of the Wharton Creek study. This is one example of how our amazing environment provides so many opportunities to compliment our HSIE curriculum.

Right Until the End - A Few More Excursions

Year 9 and 10 International Studies classes will be ending 2024 on an exciting note by taking part in a number of excursions. Year 9 will be attending ChinaTown as they explore different foods and culture, while Year 10 will be travelling into Bondi cinemas to see Moana 2 as a part of their film and culture unit.

Ms Hicks also has a number of incredible initiatives and trips underway but I won’t steal her thunder. Pay close attention to upcoming issues of the newsletter to see where some of our Aboriginal Studies students are heading to.

Wrapping up

As always thank you for your support of HSIE at Bulli High School. It has been an action packed year with so many opportunities and challenges for staff and students.

HT HSIE

Mr S Dixon

Our Year 10 PDHPE road safety unit was today enhanced with support from NSW Fire and Rescue. The Rescue Ed program was delivered to promote the key message of safe driving whilst also providing a live demonstration of the dangers associated with road accidents.

On November 12, sixty-one Year 10 students attended a careers excursion to Sydney University specifically tailored for students from regional and rural backgrounds. As with their previous excursion to UOW early this year, our students represented themselves and their school with great pride, (even when facing a 40-minute train delay and platform changes on our return trip to Thirroul). Having disembarked the train around 10 am the students walked from central station to Sydney University along Broadway and past various tertiary other tertiary institutions including the University of Technology in Sydney and the University of Notre Dame's Broadway campus.

Upon arrival we were greeted by the universities’ student ambassadors who were themselves from regional and rural backgrounds. We were given a quick tour around the historic quadrangle while they explained the derivation of the superb gothic buildings and some interesting historical facts. Students then attended an excellent lecture which provided a detailed overview of entry pathways for regional students as well as scholarship and accommodation options.

Our lecture was followed by a tour of one of the on-campus accommodation options where the cost for a single room ranged from around $300 to $420 per week. This accommodation at ‘the Regiment’ was well planned and appointed with many convenient features. While the students had single rooms, they shared facilities such as kitchens which allowed them to safely store their personal belongings through lockers and even locked facilities in communal fridges. There also appeared to be ample cooking and recreational facilities including a roof top communal area. While this type of self-catered accommodation provided a cheaper alternative to the residential colleges however it was observed that if students were fortunate enough to gain a scholarship or bursary at these colleges (available at some colleges for regional students at around $10,000 per year), then this might be the preferable option. This was based upon a cost benefit analysis for a first-year student who is required to cook and clean for themselves while settling into the demands of tertiary study versus the fact that meals and cleaning were inclusive in the college fees.

Having completed a brief tour we then had lunch at a nearby food court which presented a range of options for the students before departing via a short walk to nearby Redfern Station thanks to the excellent navigation skills of Ms. Markulic. I would like to acknowledge Sydney university for providing excellent student ambassadors who made us feel welcome and helped to explain some of the extra considerations facing regional students. I would especially like to pay tribute to Mr Croft who joined us on the excursion at Helensburgh and took it upon himself to look after these students which was very important due to the train delays. Thanks also to Ms. Markulic for her significant contributions to making it such a successful day.

Mr Harding

Careers Adviser

We celebrated the career and service to public education of Deputy Principal, Robyn Lang. Robyn is seen here (centre) with Bulli HS principals (right to left) Bruce Sander (2006-2012), Chris Gregory (2014-2021), Lou Tome (2013-2014) and Denise James (2021-current). Robyn has been on leave from Bulli HS for the past three years working for the Department and NESA. We thank her for her contribution to the school in a range of roles over the past 18 years and wish her every happiness in her retirement.

A book was returned to the school library on Monday after last being borrowed in 1967. We are not quite sure how much the fine should be!

Please find link for Year 12 Visual Arts Graduating Exhibition.

https://fb.watch/vMUYg9wDHW/

The Creative Arts faculty is excited to announce our four Artexpress nominations for 2024.

Indigo Badger

Emma Dillon

Katherine Martin

Mackenzie Moon

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! This is a fantastic achievement and reflective of the hard work and raw talent of these artists.

Thanks to our P&C and students for planting, weeding and watering our Wodi Wodi garden during the Spring Working Bee.

Attendance matters at Bulli HS. Regular attendance helps students to develop a sense of belonging, develop and maintain friendships, be more engaged at school and also progress with their learning.

Last week we recognised students with a sweet reward if they achieved 90% or greater attendance in term 3 or showed significant improvements in their pattern of attendance.

We are so proud of all students who have now completed their HSC exams! Wishing you the best of luck on your next journey.

All past and present Bulli High surfers are reminded that we welcome you back to school on Thursday, 12 December between 3.30pm and 5.00pm to celebrate your contribution to the School.

We are staging a brief reunion for our alumni surfers and the unveiling of the much-awaited commemorative gold-leafed surfboard.

There will be a couple of short speeches at 4pm and the sale of our very own surf magazine, Barrells — a professional publication made with ARE Media on sale for $35. You might find your name in there!

All enquires to David at multiverse@gmail.com

We continue to provide additional support for all students with their learning. Students can access The Hub for additional HSC study skills support, through to help with Year 7 homework.

Student exchange organisation, World Education Program (WEP) is currently looking for a family from the Bulli High School community to volunteer to host our French exchange student from November this year! C. from France attends Bulli High School.

By hosting an exchange student, you're not only providing them with a place to stay; you're welcoming them into your family, sharing cultural experiences, and building lifelong connections. You will experience Bulli through the eyes of an overseas visitor, re-discovering your own backyard in the process!

If you would like more information and to view C’s student’s profile, please contact Donna from WEP at donnalack@wep.org.au or on 03 9598 4733.

A big thank you to Netflix director and rising Australian star Luke Shanahan for mentoring Year 9 students Luke Towner, Jack Rumery and Kaelan Connor yesterday. With Multiverse only two weeks away, our Artist in Residence filmmakers received some expert advice about how to tweak their short films.

At the conclusion of this year’s Multiverse on 2 December, a new round of Artist in Residence students will be selected for 2025. Around 6-7 in all.

There is no formal application process.

The School will assess a student’s ability to do the program based on the quality of their Multiverse entries this year. Essentially the students will receive professional support to complete a major work they will present in time for 2025 Multiverse Day. There may be a term-based charge incurred depending on the quality of mentors we can provide. We rely on donations and sponsorships to continue this program.

Please remember to bring along some coins or else a debit card for the ice cream and donut vans at Multiverse Day. These will be positioned behind the Hall.

Please remember to tell us ahead of time if you plan to submit an entry this year at multiversebhs@gmail.com

Mr Strange and Mr Brankovic

Uniform Shop closes 12th December 2024.

Re-opens 3rd February 2025 for purchases, exchanges, new enrolments.

3rd February: 10:00am - 2:00pm

4th February: 10:00am - 2:00pm

5th February: 10:00am - 2:00pm

6th February: 1:00pm - 3:30pm

Pick up dates for Year 7 & 11 2025:

30th January 2025 & 31st January 2025

ONLY FOR PRE-ORDERED UNIFORMS, NO EXCHANGES OR EXTRA UNIFORMS ON THESE DATES.

Please pick up your Year 11 uniforms from the Uniform Shop before 12th December.

Penny & Maree

Address: Dharawal Country, 17 Ursula Road, Bulli NSW 2516

Phone: 4284 8266

Email: bulli-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Website: https://bulli-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/