The previous two weeks have provided a range of opportunities for our students including NCIS Touch, CIS Hockey, Round Square student visits to Sydney, many teams in various events that include our HICES Debating at Grafton, Netball Academy in Coffs Harbour, The Fuse Cup (esports) at Ballina, Ethics Olympiad at the college and our NSWCIS Open Boys Football Cup to name a few. Congratulations to all competing teams. We have only heard glowing reports of your efforts, sportspersonship and helping each other. This is part of the BDC Way, but always a pleasure to hear from other people.
2021 HSC process continues to evolve. There are weekly updates now from our Careers Pathways Leader, the college and NESA to join the University Admissions Centre or emails about early entry, the School Recommendations Scheme and scholarships for example. It is timely that HSC students also check their details and HSC examination timetable on Schools online. The HSC examination timetable for 2021 can be found here.
Most HSC students will be busy preparing for HSC tasks this term. Many will have one a week before the end of Term 2. It could be time to pause part time work and consider using the library more to prepare for the tasks ahead. We encourage conversations with class teachers well before due dates to assist with this preparation time.
During this time of Term 2, we encourage all students in Years 7 to 12 to check the assessment calendars and organisation on the Library Services web page for assessment details.
During our previous assembly I presented the challenges for our students to continue to make healthy decisions and the importance of discussing these choices at home. In particular I mentioned respectful relationships and decision making to not smoke cigarettes or vape. I mentioned in the last newsletter how vaping is a reasonably new concern compared to tobacco smoking. However, the health concerns are recognised by NSW and Federal Health agencies and we hope these discussions will also occur at home and are especially timely for Years 7 to 10 students.
NAPLAN 2021 has been completed and we thank students in Years 7 and 9 for their approach to the assessments and staff for their support in managing the exams each day.
Champion House for the 2021 Cross Country has been announced. Congratulations to Kngwarreye, Ms Reinhold and Will Joice (House Leader) on leading their house to victory for this event. We now look forward to the next competition on Foundation Day and the Athletics Carnival.
Potential secondary leaders for 2022 have commenced the process with Mr Blythe and Mrs O’Connor. The timeline and process culminates in announcing our new leaders from Year 11 on Foundation Day. Thank you to all Year 11 students who have applied to be considered for our sport leaders and college captains.
Winter Uniform has commenced this week and we remind all students that the winter uniform is to be worn to and from the college.
Please note that the last week of Term 2 is very busy and also is NAIDOC week. The week includes:
Monday 14th June: Public Holiday
Tuesday 15th June: Secondary Athletics Carnival (students attend in house coloured shirt or school sports uniform).
Wednesday 16th June: NAIDOC canteen items.
Thursday 17th June: NAIDOC assembly.
Friday 18th June: Last day of Term 2 and Foundation Day. Students attend the service and assembly in their normal college winter uniform. After the assembly they may change into the theme for their house:
Cottee - 50’s
Hollows - 60’s
Kngwarreye - 70’s
Murray - 80’s
O’Shane - 90’s
Sutherland - 2000’
After the assembly, students may change into their theme above or house shirt/sports uniform. Foundation Day also includes fair-like activities, purchasing some food items and some competition between house groups. Year 12 coordinates the day after our assembly.
2022 Courses Year 8 and Year 10
The conversations have already commenced with Year 10 for Year 11. Year 10 or the Class of 2023 will receive course outlines in the last week of Term 2, career days and taster days in Term 3 and a HSC Information and Curriculum Expo and careers counselling for their future self at the start of Term 3. This is an exciting time for our senior students.
Year 8 will also commence their next steps towards course choice through our World Options program for 2022. Year 8 will receive a handbook in the last week of Term 2 and information sessions in early Term 3.
We enjoyed a Senior Spotlight by Charles Verguizas recently on success and change. I have included this below for your information. Charles is also a House Leader and his speech last week was entertaining with some wonderful messages, thanks Charles.
Senior Spotlight - Charles
Ahh yes, here we are, the senior spotlight!
4745 days of being enrolled here at BDC, every decision I have ever made has led me to this exact moment in time where I speak to everyone in this room about something.
Something what? Something I’m passionate about? something inspiring? something radical? I hear you ask? But how am I supposed to do that, when I don’t even know what you guys want to hear?
As a House Captain, I’m up here and I’ve got to think of a way to get you all motivated. I’m not going to give you 3 easy steps to becoming the next stock market king, Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk, I’m going to talk about the things the human world runs off of, change and success. For school students, success includes getting high grades, completing your HSC, and taking your next step into uni and finding your job. But what about when you’re out of the school world? Success becomes much harder to define, when are you truly successful? When there is there nothing left to do? When do you put your feet up, and call yourself successful?
In just a few months, it’s unreal to think my year group will be entering the real world. Putting 13 years of learning into practice, will be the ultimate test of how “World Prepared” we are. Armed with all the knowledge 13 years has prepared us for, like reciting Shakespeare poetry, analysing polynomials and playing mary had a little lamb on the recorder - y’know, things adults do all the time in their daily lives.
In a year’s time from now, each one of us in Year 12 will be going through changes in our own little worlds. No kids, not those kinds of changes again - thankfully. Most of us will be on our own for the first time. We’ll be attending new classes, travelling the world (okay maybe not that). But we’ll be working new jobs, exploring courses, or working the graveyard shift and wishing we didn’t get hungover the night before at a party. When living alone, we'll have to make our own decisions like who do I want to be, what do I support this week, what am I supposed to watch on Netflix? Am I supposed to call my mum? Is that a thing? Like whaaat?
What I mean is each one of us will be experiencing change in our daily lives of some kind and while that's scary, it's also exciting and it's something that we're gonna need to get used to because all things change. Today is different from yesterday, Thanos could click his fingers and everything vanishes, right? For all I know guys, a UFO could land on the oval someday. And that’s what my favourite thing about change is. We just don’t know what tomorrow brings. Some questions will never be answered, like why are buildings called buildings if they’ve already been built, or why is a boxing ring a square? Things that make you go hmmm.
Whether we like it or not, change is always happening. Remember in Year 4 how we were told to never talk to people on the internet or get into strangers' cars? Well isn’t it funny now we all have an app to summon an internet stranger specifically so we can get in their car. My point is, we will have to recognise these changes and embrace them, like receiving a gift you don’t like from an auntie at Christmas, when you receive just a T-Shirt and no $50. Not because you want to, but because it’s pretty much required. Change, while not always comfortable, is certainly necessary to success. Every success in this life, world, whatever you want to call it, has been a result of change.
Now guys, as my mans Drake says, “You know, life is what we make it.” Now let’s fast forward to me in 30 years on my private yacht in the Bahamas, sun baking sipping my mojito, posting on the gram, will I truly feel I’ve succeeded? Let me ask you guys, what will make you fully content with your success? At what point have you completed life? What do you want to be remembered for? Because I’m just saying, whilst getting a job and cash in hand is important, if you’re not using your full potential, you’re wasting your time. You can always earn back more money, you can never earn back your happiness and potential.
Regardless of who or what you are, giving everything your full potential, putting your hand up and saying, I'll do that is time well spent. Welcoming change, and trying new things, can show you how powerful your potential is.
If there’s one thing you guys take away from this today, it’s to welcome the change, to find your success.
And remember guys, you win or you learn, you never lose.
Take care guys,
Thankyou!