The Weekly Bulli-tin

TERM 4 - Week 9

Principal's Report

Yearly Reports

Yearly Reports for years 7 to 10 will be published to the parent portal tomorrow. The reports provide an important opportunity to understand how your child has performed throughout the year. The Common Grade Scale is used from primary school through to Year 10. This scale uses A-E grades to explain a child’s learning progress.

Understanding Report Grades

A – Extensive knowledge and understanding of content. This means your child is exceeding their curriculum learning goals and may benefit from extension activities to maintain engagement in learning.

B – Thorough knowledge and understanding of content and can apply these skills in most situations.

C – Sound knowledge and understanding of key content areas. This means your child has met their curriculum learning goals and is performing at their expected grade level – something to celebrate! Continued practice will help your child deepen their understanding and enable them to apply their skills in different situations.

D – Basic knowledge and understanding of key content areas. This means your child has not met all their curriculum goals and may benefit from additional support to target specific knowledge gaps. Speak with your child’s teacher about learning support options at the school..

E – Elementary knowledge and understanding of few content areas. This means your child is having significant and consistent difficulties in some aspects of their learning and may benefit from further investigation. Your child’s teacher may recommend an educational assessment with a psychologist, which can help to understand your child’s specific strengths and support needs.

Activity to Help You Understand Your Child’s School Report

Here is a great exercise from Learning Links for parents to demystify and better understand what the end of year school report actually means.

Take a piece of paper and fold it into four and label each quadrant with the following headings. “The good”, “The not so good”, “Effort” and “Where to next?” and re-read your child’s report to identify where the main changes need to occur.

The Good

Read your child’s school report and ask yourself these questions to help you identify and understand what they are doing well.

Where are your child’s strengths?
What areas were stand outs?
Where can you celebrate?

The Not So Good

Once you have identified your child’s strengths, it’s time to identify their challenges or barriers. Read your child’s report again and ask yourself these questions.

Where were the main difficulties? Look for a pattern here.
Is it content your child doesn’t know?
Is your child struggling to follow and participate in class discussions?

Effort

What type of effort was applied? You may have a different view from your child’s teacher and now is the time to be honest.

If effort is the main concern here then creating time for improvements to be possible is the number one priority.

Where to Next?

Do we need more time at home for work to get done?
Do we need to incentivise learning?
Is the help for our child working?
Do we need more or different help?
Do we know why our child is struggling to learn?

There is not one straight answer to understanding school reports and it will be different for each child and family. But this exercise is helpful to provide you with the confidence to seek the support your child will need next year. It may be an assessment to find out more, or changes at home to create more time or prioritise/incentivise learning. January is a great time to think about what to change in the next year for more success for your child. Take another look at the school report, talk with your child and make a plan for the year ahead.

HSC Results

HSC results will be released on Wednesday 18 December and will be delivered to students via email and text message. Students will also be able to access their results by logging in to their Students Online account.

HSC results contain a detailed package of information about each student's achievements in each course. They are not a single number like an ATAR. The mark in each course is a 50:50 combination of students HSC exam mark and their school-based assessment mark.

School assessment mark

School-based assessment tasks measure a wider range of skills and knowledge than an external exam can. Students complete a number of school assessment tasks for each of their courses and schools submit a HSC assessment mark for every student in most courses. The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) then puts the marks through a moderation process, to allow a fair comparison of marks in each course across different schools.

Examination mark

The examination mark for a course shows the student's performance in the HSC exam set and marked by NESA. Each student's exam is marked, and then their achievement is reported using a set standard of performance for each course.

Judging is a process that matches a student’s raw exam marks to the standards. The standards describe what a student knows and can do. Student achievement is related to the standards, not other students. This means a student gets the mark they earn for their performance, regardless of the performance levels of other students.

Performance bands

Student performance in each HSC course is measured against defined standards. The performance band descriptions give meaning to the HSC mark. Each band represents a particular range of marks:

Band 6 = 90 - 100 marks
Band 5 = 80 - 89 marks
Band 4 = 70 - 79 marks
Band 3 = 60 - 69 marks
Band 2 = 50 - 59 marks
Band 1 = 0 - 49 marks.

Each band is aligned to what a student at that level of performance typically knows, understands and can do. These descriptions give meaning to the HSC marks.

For a 2 unit course:

Band 6 indicates the highest level of performance
The 'average' performance in most courses is usually a mark in the mid-70s (Band 4)
The minimum standard expected is 50 (Band 2)
Band 1 (0 to 49) indicates a student has not demonstrated the minimum standard expected.

For an Extension course, the bands are E4 (highest level of performance) to E1.

Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR)

The Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) uses the HSC results to calculate the ATAR. This is not a mark or a summary of the HSC. It is a ranking system used to allocate university placements.

UAC calculates the university admission ranks each year using students’:

moderated assessment marks (before alignment with the standards)
total exam marks (before alignment with the standards).

Getting an ATAR is optional. Students who do not wish to enter university the following year may choose not to request an ATAR.

Mentors

We encourage year 12 students to make contact with their teacher mentors on Wednesday as we would love to learn of their ATAR’s and hear of their plans for next year. We understand that the release of results can look and feel different for each individual student and remind them that staff will be available for any questions on Wednesday. We are proud of all of our students in the class of 2024!

Thank You

As this will be the last newsletter for 2025, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to our wonderful students, supportive parents and dedicated staff. There really is no place like Bulli High. This is due to the commitment of the Bulli HS community to ensure that our school provides the best learning experience and opportunities for all students.

Some of the highlights from this year:

Student excursions to Cairns, Tasmania and Bulli Beach!
Duke of Edinburgh hike in New Zealand
Student achievements across our merit system demonstrating their strengths in the high potential domains
The creation of a senior playground area complete with murals
Collaboration with Woonona, Corrimal and Keira High Schools, as well as our Seacliff Community of Schools
Student nominations and selection for the ArtExpress exhibition
Student nominations for Encore
The amazing performance of Bohemian Rhapsody!
The launch of the elite surf team
Student participation in the Multiverse challenge
Student dedication to upholding our values of respect, responsibility and integrity

Farewells

I would like to thank some long-term temporary teachers who will be leaving us at the end of the year and wish them all the very best:

Mr Nick Standen
Ms Nikki Donald
Mr Kerim Karasu

We are grateful to have the commitment from teachers in these positions to enable our school to continue to flourish.

2025

All students (Years 7 to 12) return to school on Thursday 6th February 2025 which will be Week 2B.

Wishing you all a wonderful festive break and holiday. We look forward to seeing you in 2025!

Denise James

Principal

Acknowledgement of Country

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.

Upcoming Events

Monday 16th December

Presentation Evening

Wednesday 18th December

Students last day of Term 4

Thursday 6th February 2025

Students first day of Term 1 2025

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY HOLIDAY

PDHPE

On Wednesday 27th November, Miss Fraser and Miss Gibbs took 33 junior students to compete in the bi-annual beach touch tournament in Maroubra. After a few cancelled tournaments due to inclement weather, students were ready to play. The junior boys looked strong in their pool games, winning all 4 quite convincingly. Unfortunately, the semi-finals were a different story with the boys narrowly going down, they are commended on their impeccable sportsmanship!

The junior girls were just as fierce, both teams progressing through their pool games to the semi finals. Unfortunately, Bulli 1 couldn't quite get across the line but Bulli 2 fought back in their semi to win and make it to the gold medal match (which they won!!). Congratulations to all students and thanks to parents for their support in transporting students to Maroubra for what is always a fantastic day.

Languages

Classe 8

What a year it has been! Year 8 finished the year learning about directions, shops and shopkeepers. Such a useful skill to have for those who will travel abroad in the future! Their final assessment was a speaking task, and it is always so rewarding to see how much they have learned from day one where many knew a few random words from the French language. We wish year 8 all the best and are looking forward to working with those who have chosen to continue with French in stage 5!

Classe 9

This term year 9 has been learning about shopping for food and clothes. What a combo! Oh là là! Their assessment required them to dress up and participate in the classy ‘salle 16’ inaugural fashion show. Students took turns at modelling and commentating on outfits (en français bien sûr!). In addition, this term year 9 have met with Katy, our native French speaker to really work on their confidence in communicating in French. It has been a great year, halfway through stage 5 and working hard to progress and continue into year 10.

Classe 10

This term students have been reflecting on their younger years and looking ahead to their wishes and desires for the future! This requires students to use the imperfect and conditional tenses which can be a little tricky, but they have done an amazing job. They are all working really hard right up to the end which is most pleasing. As the end approaches, it has me reflecting on the last two years with this class. They have been such a bright light in my day, and I can’t believe it is almost over. To those who have chosen other paths for their HSC, I wish you all the very best and for those who are continuing, I know that you are going to continue to work as hard as you can!

Cultural Experience

To tie in with the theme of Food and the Francophone ( incl. Canada) world we carved pumpkins before Halloween. Year 10 got to join in because they missed out last year due to low supply of pumpkins. The students all loved pulling the “guts” out of the pumpkin and I was pleased to see how different every pumpkin was. After a vote went out to the public Georgia, Alara, Gwenna and Hanan in year 11 were the winning team! We also roasted the seeds with some salt and olive oil for students to try. Some took seconds and others wished the first handful they took was smaller!

Classe 12

This group has hit the ground running this term and are ready to learn and master every new grammar element or verb tense I throw their way. This term we are looking at food and celebrations in the Francophone world. If only we were able to have all the amazing French cheeses that we read about! The first assessment is a speaking task where they will have a conversation with myself. We have been using Katy, our native speaker, speed dating and question sticks to help them prepare and settle the nerves! I hope they all have a restful and relaxing holiday and are ready and eager to learn in 2025!

Class of 2024

Au revoir to our beautiful class of 2024. These students worked so hard and well together that we all ended up forming a beautiful little famille française. In term 3 we went to the Alliance Française to do writing workshops in preparation for their HSC exams. We had such a lovely day of learning and lunch together, it was really worthwhile, a unanimous success. In their final week we had a family lunch of boeuf bourguignon, purée et gateau au chocolat with our class, current and those who had already flown the coup to mark the end of our wonderful journey together. Je vous aime mes grands amours. Courage pour la suite!!

Aspire Award Recipients

Congratulations to our top 20 Year 7 2024 Aspire Award recipients:

~Rafa ~Layla ~Harlan ~Parker ~Nevaeh ~Owen ~Charlie ~Leyla ~Oliver ~Herbie ~Aidan ~Sarah ~Sophie ~Hazel ~Hailey ~Evie ~Elara ~Dylan ~Nell ~Ellie

Marine Studies Excursion

Year 10 Marine Studies students spent 4 amazing days in Cairns. Snorkelling off Fitzroy Island and on the outer reef. They were lucky to see turtles, sharks, stingrays and a huge variety of fish and corals. Students visited the aquarium, participated in aboriginal cultural presentations and learnt about the turtle rehabilitation process. A memorable experience!

Aboriginal Education

It is hard to believe that we are about to end the 2024 school year. We do so, knowing that we have achieved many goals and had amazing experiences. From welcoming the Year 7 students, Reconciliation Week, the NAIDOC assembly, the NIAECG Deadly Awards, Year 12 Deadly graduation, Mind Matters with Woolyungah at UOW through to two incredible camps in the last month, culture has been embraced.

In addition to this, staff have had the opportunity to attend Connecting to Country hosted by the NIAECG at Stanwell Tops and I have engaged in professional learning to assist my role at the school.

Congratulations to the following students that received recognition at the NIAECG Deadly Awards:

Phoebe Freedman

Riley Broadhead

Connecting to Country

Last month the school held it inaugural Connecting to Country Camp at Stanwell Tops. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students had the opportunity to invite a non-Indigenous person to share in two days of learning about culture on country.

Students were privileged to share time with Aunty May Button learning about bush medicines, Uncle Peter Button performed a smoking ceremony, Uncle Kevin Butler did an art workshop and Sharon Hanlon did a weaving workshop with the girls.

The students learnt local stories and knowledge from the elders.

On the second day the students from Bulli Primary School joined us and participated in the art workshop with Uncle Kev.

One of the highlights was the campfire at night listening to Uncle Peter playing the guitar and toasting marshmallows.

I want to say thankyou to Ms Chazaretta, Mr Van Elsland and Mr Dixon for attending the camp and helping to make it a memorable experience.

I hope you enjoy some of the photos that were taken.

HSIE - Aboriginal Studies Trip to Tingha

In HSIE, the current Year 11 into Year 12 class was given the opportunity to attend a week in outback Tingha which is approximately 620 km north west of Bulli. The excursion was to compliment the syllabus outcomes and topics studies in Stage 6 Aboriginal Studies. A number of the schools junior Aboriginal students were given the chance to join the group. Students stayed at Green Valley Farm and learnt quickly to adjust without social media as reception in camp was non existant.

Much to the surprise of some students, they made new acquaintances in the form of sheep, cows, alpacas, peacocks, emus and camels which roam freely.

The trip covered many kilometres and saw the group visit Tamworth, Myall Creek, Inverell and Armidale. Students engaged in cultural activities that enhanced their understanding of the curriculum and built upon cultural knowledge.

Places visited on the first day included the University of New England Aboriginal Centre “Oorala” where students met Uncle Colin the on-country resident and the Armidale Cultural and Keeping Place with Uncle Bob where they had the chance to learn about spear throwing, woomeras, art, cultural items and the Yidakki often referred to as the didgeridoo.

During the trip there was a visit to the Myall Creek Massacre site which was a sombre occasion for all. Students had the privilege of being spoken to by Aunty Sue Blacklock, a direct descendant of a survivor and the traditional custodian of this sad place.

Students were also given a tour of the town of Tingha by former NRL player Nathan Blacklock. They learnt local knowledge, visited waterholes and learnt about the totems of the area. Nathan spent a few days with the group which was exciting for the boys that love their footy.

The students were very fortunate to have Julie Street Smith the Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer of Student Wellbeing and Support join us on this trip. It was an absolute pleasure sharing the week with Julie and I know that she was very grateful for the opportunity as she loves being out on Country. I cannot thank her enough.

The Aboriginal Studies class were able to engage with other elders that provided knowledge on Social Justice issues faced by Aboriginal people in general and in that area. The students were able to ask questions that related to their Major Projects which are due next year.

I wish to thank Mr Ken MacKenzie for volunteering to attend this trip with us.

I would like to conclude this edition with a sincere thankyou to all our local elders, Julie Street Smith and the NIAECG for their support of what we do at Bulli High School. Without their trust, dedication and willingness to share their knowledge we would not be able to provide such amazing experiences.

Wishing all families a safe and happy holiday!

I look forward to sharing more in 2025.

Leanne Hicks

Aboriginal Education Co-Ordinator, Year 10 Advisor and HSIE Teacher

Library

Will Lee paid his fine of a shilling (using original currency) at the suggestion of the NSW Department of Education after returning a library book from 1967.

Well done Year 7!

Festive Friday

SRC Giving Tree

Thank you to all those that have placed a gift under the tree! Let's make Christmas special for all in our community.

The Hub

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.

School Student Travel

Exchange Student

International Exchange - A Unique Opportunity!

We currently have a French exchange student here at BHS. She arrived in August and due to several unforeseen events, we are on the hunt for a family to take her in as one of their own and host her until June 2025.

If you (or someone within your own personal community) would be interested in taking up this fantastic opportunity, please contact our front office.

The student could join your family as soon as the organisation is in place or if necessary, they could join you before school starts back mid-January.

Sport

Basketball

Australian Schools National Championships Day 3 Recap

Today was a great day! Our U17s D1 boys came out winners over the #1 ranked QLD team, King's Christian College our U20s First Team capped off the day grinding out a do or die win against Salesian College to advance to the finals. & Murph & Lach were featured on the Basketball Australia socials with this interview... you've gotta love it!

https://fb.watch/wlRFsYQykj/

Australian Schools National Championships Report

Congratulations to our 25 man squad representing our school at the championships last week. Whilst we didn’t come home with a national title, we again proved that we belong on the biggest stage in the country. Amongst the countless colleges, basketball academies & sports schools, Bulli High matched it with the uber elite finishing the championships with BOTH of our U20s teams making the quarter finals & our U17s team (playing in division 1 - the top 12 teams in the country) coming away with 2 wins & very respectable performances.

Our U17s started with a heartbreaking 1pt overtime loss to start the tournament, followed by 2 more single digit losses before securing their first win against the #1 ranked school in QLD, King's Christian College. We follwed this up with a tremendous effort against the National Champions, Berwick College going down 39-59. (Berwick went on to win the grand final by 37 points!) Our final game pitted us against the U16 NSWCHS silver medalists, Endeavour Sports High & we took this one out in a thriller, winning 60-57.

Our U20s first team, playing in D2 as the top ranked public school in NSW, certainly held their own too. After starting 1 & 3 the lads lifted (spurred on by our super squad support from the sidelines) to defeat Salesian College in our final pool game to earn a place in the finals & whilst we ran out of gas late falling to the highly fancied Barker College, securing a quarter final birth in our second year at the tournament is another step forward for our program.

Our U20s second team started their campaign 2 & 0, before dropping some tight games to some highly fancied opponents, including both grand finalists, St Augustines College & The Scots College. These boys can certainly hold their heads up high with our team featuring players from Year 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12, all working seamlessly together. So qualifying for the quarter finals in U20s was a fantastic achievement.

To our graduating Year 12 Bulli Ballers (Maurice, Murphy, JT, Liam, Lach, Cade, Jacob & Hen3) thank you for your contributions to our program over the years & the many wins, Sharks Shields, Regional Championships & 2024 State Championship title. Bringing our first ever banner to the school will be an effort immortalised in time. Your legacy will live on & your spirit no doubt passed through to our next generation of Bulli Ballers. Maurice also earns a special shout out here (& not just because of his 27 point state championship winning game) as sadly out injured for the tournament, he STILL led our sides from the sidelines with his energy & inspiration. We were still good without you on the floor, but one can only imagine what could have been if we had the Vu too.

U20s First Team Highlights

Well, Scotty the dunk machine would have to be right up there & that streak of 3 straight dunks in our must win match v Salesian College will long last, etched in the memories of our entire squad. Finishing #8 in the tournament in points per game was also a very fine achievement. Sweet Stroke (Jacob) led our team in 3s made & even had the crowd cheering his name, whilst Milwaukee came up huge in the clutch v Salesian College. Lach & JT were constant defensice menaces, & consistently locked down the opposition's go to weapons, whilst Liam was a great 2 way contributor doing a little bit of everything & constantly coming up with winning 1% plays. Murph led us well from the point & Riley was our 2 way glue, setting the tone on D at one end & being our most consistent distributor at the other. Though our collective highlight was definitely pushing the undefeated champions, Brisbane State, to the limit, before going down by 11... Brisbane State went on to win the grand final by 20!

U20s Second Team Highlights

The leadership from some of our Year 12s leading our second team was also very heartwarming. Cade staunched up our defence around the rim, whilst Jacob (Saliba) & Hen3 led our scoring, finishing #5 & #12 in the D5 competition. Hen3 was also #3 in the league in 3s made, with our UK import, Ben West, not far behind at #8. Dunkin' DameO may not have thrown many down, but he was a defensive & rebounding machine, whilst our youngest ballers, Kai & Max always gave us a spark & revelled in the experience of representing at this level.

U17s Division 1 Highlights

Some of our best games were against the best teams. & after 5 games, boasting the 2nd best defence in the competition was certainly something to hang our hat on. Though going toe to toe with the undefeated champions, Berwick College, was certainly a highlight, so to taking down the top ranked private school in QLD! Wrapping up the tournament taking down our northern neighbours, Endeavour Sports High, certainly felt good too. Cooper was an amazing leader as he led our team is points, assists & steals & also finished #10 in the competition in scoring. Alec proved to be one of the best defensive players of the tournament but also ended up #9 in the league in 3s made too. Ice wasn't too far behind at #10 & also claimed the #12 spot in scoring to complement his split D & rebounding efforts. Jax Pad was a similar force in the paint & on the boards, but also led our team in 3pt % shooting at 50% for the tournament! & whilst Jesse Buckets didn’t knock any down from downtown, his efforts to sprint, run, win lose balls AND lock down a 6'7" Australian player will go down in the stories of Bulli Baller folklore. Hendrix & Blocky both bookended our big spots on the floor & were always flirting with double doubles, whilst our youngest gun (at 14 years old), Caleb, mixed it up in the 3, 4 & 5 with some very respectable performances.

So now it's time for a little bit of school basketball downtime, before we commence our assault on the 2025 competitions & with 17 of our squad returning & a red hot bunch of Year 7 rookies, we'll get to work on even greater achievements in '25.

Lastly, I'd like to thank our community for the continued support. From the staff back at school covering classes to the office staff for all the admin work. Our parents, are like no other. Our community is the best! From those that provide financial or resource support, to the many parents assisting with travel, cheering, cooking, washing & other organisational type duties. Whilst we may not have had the SEVEN team coaching & support staff per team that some of the elite colleges had, I believe we probably led the league in number of parent supporters. Thanks also go to our additional coaches & managers, Tim, Mr Colquhuon, Dannielle & Claire. So to, to our graduating player parents, thank you for your years of support, we will certainly miss you too! Finally, I have to thank our players. For our guys, committing to early morning 7am gym & training sessions, after school training & the plethora of bball games throughout the year. Bulli Ballers are built different. & we 'build better ballers'. So thank you for your unwavering commitment & efforts & I can't wait to see what we can achieve next year!