Issue 2 - 24 February 2017

The Falcon Bulletin

From the Head Teachers Summary of Calendar Events in Term 1, 2017

Wed 15 Mar Auxiliary Meeting - 9:30am
Week 8
English Sat 18 Mar Year 7 Welcome Afternoon Tea
Week 9 Tue 21 Mar P&C Meeting - 7:30pm
It has been a great start to 2017 in the English Week 9-10 25-28 Mar Crawford Shield
faculty. I would like to welcome new students
and their parents/carers to our school
community with a brief introduction to our Summary of Calendar Events in Term 2, 2017
School Development Day (No
facultys rationale for our scope and sequence Mon 24 Apr
Students)
of teaching and learning activities. We view
Week 1 Tue 25 Apr ANZAC Day
English as the subject that teaches students
Wed 26 Apr Students Return
about human experiences and how to
Fri 28 Apr School Cross Country
communicate their ideas and understanding
Week 2 2-5 May Year 8 Camp
to others. We aim to develop students critical
thinking skills by creating engaging and 9-11 May NAPLAN
Week 3
thought-provoking units consisting of both Fri 12 May School Athletics Carnival

modern and classic pieces of literature and 15-16 May School Photos
film. We wish to see students confidence grow Tue 16 May P&C Meeting - 7:30pm
Week 4
in writing imaginative pieces by exploring Wed 17 May Auxiliary Meeting - 9:30am
challenging texts and encouraging students to Thu 18 May Yr 7 & 12 Parent Teacher Night
write in a variety of styles. Week 8 Mon 12 Jun Queens Birthday
Tue 20 Jun P&C Meeting - 7:30pm
Based on evaluations from students and Week 9
Wed 21 Jun Auxiliary Meeting - 9:30am
teachers, we have developed new programs
Week 10 Tue 27 Jun Yr 9 & 11 Parent Teacher Night
this year, better suited to meet the needs of
our students. Our first units in Years 7-10 aim to
strengthen students analytical, interpretive
and creative skills through the lens of a concept
or genre study. Year 7 are focusing on Historical
Fiction; Year 8, either Gothic or Crime Fiction;
Year 9 Moral Choices and Consequences
and Year 10 Dystopian Fiction. Students will
study a novel in depth as well as supporting texts
such as films to enhance their knowledge and
understanding of their topic. At the conclusion
of these units, students will submit an original
piece of creative writing that demonstrates
their knowledge and their ability to write in a
 Page 2
sustained manner. For the first year, we are
running a joint assessment with the HSIE faculty
with Year 7 and I look forward to showcasing
the best responses to our school community.
Our junior school program also includes
scheduled lessons that aim to improve
our students engagement with texts and
knowledge of global issues. In Years 7 and 8,
students will undertake a wide reading program
where students can read texts beyond those
studied in class. Students who read widely are
generally more articulate in their expression
and have more sophisticated ideas about
texts. In Years 9 and 10, building on their studies
in class, students have one lesson on social
literacy per fortnight in which students learn
about global issues and have exposure to a
range of perspectives about current events.
These lessons are student directed and focus
on refining research skills, which are vital for
students to excel in future years.
In the senior school, Year 11 have made a good
transition into the more challenging ideas and
texts explored in both Preliminary courses. Their
first assessment in English Advanced will be
an examination where students respond to a
series of unseen texts. This is modelled on one of
the sections of the HSC paper so students can
hone their skills before their final school year.
Extension students are learning about the texts,
contexts and ideas of the Modernism period in
literature and their first task will be to compose
a narrative that reflects the ways of thinking of
this era.
Year 12 are nearly halfway through their final
year and this term they are examining the
comparative study of Machiavellis The Prince
and Shakespeares Julius Caesar. The boys are
enjoying their close analysis of Renaissance
and Elizabethan perspectives on leadership
and morality. Extension 1 students are
studying Le Guins 1969 novel The Left Hand
of Darkness which is a landmark text for new
wave science fiction. It is important to remind
students that creative writing is worth half of
their mark in the Extension 1 HSC examination
and this is a craft that needs constant practice.
Our Extension 2 students are working steadily
on their own projects and we look forward to
seeing these pieces in a well-developed and
sustained form soon.
2017 has seen a great turnout in numbers for
the English Workshops. The boys have been
working hard on enhancing their literacy skills
in the first few weeks and, in Week 6, we will
begin to look at their creative skills.
Staff changes in 2017 means that we welcome
Ms Fowler, who will teach in the English Faculty
as well as undertaking her role as Head
Teacher Teaching and Learning, and Ms Itzstein
who is multi-talented as an English, History,
Geography and TAS teacher. They have fitted
into our energetic and collaborative staffroom
with ease.
A reminder that the English faculty encourages
all students to participate in writing
competitions. Ms Fowler supervises the entries
so please contact her to find out how to enter
so students can win great prizes, including
money and technology. She will place all
competition details on a bulletin board near
B1. We would love to see more entries into
these competitions this year.
Our Debating and Public Speaking workshops
began this week and it was great to see
so many eager students ready to improve
their oral communication skills. Mr Baiton
continues to supervise our Debating program,
run by Masters Academy. Debating refines
skills such as building a sustained argument,
working effectively in teams and developing
knowledge of the world around us. Debating is
on Wednesday mornings before school and we
look forward to enrolling boys in the interschool
competitions. Masters Academy also runs our
public speaking program. Public speaking can
be a terrifying experience for many students so
this group is a great way for students to gain
more confidence in speaking to an audience.
Boys can also compete in competitions for
public speaking throughout the year.
Ms Rose coordinates our schools Peer Support
Program and she is also the Assistant Year
7 Adviser. Ms Ibbotson is the Assistant Year
Adviser for Year 8. Mr Baiton continues to be
Year 9 Adviser, and after Mr Griffiths attained
a permanent position at another school, Ms
Bradley is now the Assistant Year Adviser for this
grade. Please contact these staff members
if you would like more information about the
school and how your son is progressing.
 Page 3
This year we will be developing new programs
for the just released new Stage 6 syllabus, ready
for implementation in 2017 for both Preliminary
courses. Our staff will seek professional
development in the syllabus and prescribed
texts when they become available to enhance
our knowledge and understanding of these
new curriculums.
Finally, the graduating class of 2016 achieved
strong HSC results in English Advanced. In
this course, they handled the challenging
academic demands by working together in
study groups, listening to their teachers and
preparing well. They respected and valued
the hard work and effort of the English staff.
Congratulations to the Class of 2016; you are
deserving of your achievements.
To conclude, the English Faculty looks forward
to an exciting year ahead working with our
students and school community. If you have
any concerns about your sons progress in
English, do not hesitate to contact me.
Kate Richards
Head Teacher English
Mathematics
Information for Year 7 Parents
Welcome to mathematics at North Sydney
Boys. I hope you have had the opportunity to
look through the Year 7 Mathematics Student
Handbook (a large green booklet) which was
given to your son at the start of the year. The
student handbook provides information on
the Year 7 teaching program, the enrichment
activities, assessment information and some
general advice on studying mathematics.
With the support of the parent community
through the Year 7 Mathematics Enrichment
contribution, Im very pleased to announce
we have been able to significantly increase
the amount of mathematics enrichment
activities in the Year 7 program. All Year 7
students will participate this term in two major
mathematics enrichment activities: the first
stage of the Mathematics Challenge for Young
Australians (MCYA) and the Computational
and Algorithmic Thinking (CAT) competition.
Next week teachers will be providing students
information sheets and competition booklets,
and preparing special lessons to help support
them as they prepare for these challenging
activities. Parents are encouraged to read the
note Parent Information: 2017 MCYA Junior
Challenge which will be given to students
with the competition materials. Year 7 parents
should also be aware that the second stage
of the MCYA is optional. Enrolment forms will
be handed to students in about two weeks.
Please see below for more information on the
enrichment programs, including the due dates
for submitting completed work and enrolling in
the second stage of the MCYA.
Information for Year 8 Parents
Year 8 students have spent the last few weeks
consolidating Year 7 content, but very soon
the pace and difficulty level of mathematics
will significantly increase. All Year 8 students
at NSBHS are accelerated in mathematics,
and in early Term 2, will be learning algebra
typically taught in Year 9 and Year 10 in most
schools. With the increased level of difficulty,
we find some students benefit from additional
time with our Year 8 mathematics teachers, so
we are continuing with the highly successful
before-school Year 8 Algebra Workshops.
Students attending the Algebra Workshop
also receive a weekly workbook of take-home
exercises to continue practicing their algebra
skills throughout the week. These workbooks
are available for any student, even if they are
not attending the workshop. Please contact
the faculty if you would like more information
on this program there are a few places left in
the Wednesday morning session.
Important Information for Year 9 and Year
10 Parents
As you may have read in the press, the NSW
Education Authority has released details of a
major change to the senior courses in English,
Mathematics, Science and History, with the
new courses commencing for Year 11 in 2018.
At this stage, the details of the Mathematics
syllabus are still being finalised, and no
information on the HSC assessment content
or policy is currently available, meaning there
are many details of the course still unknown.
 Page 4
No-one, including teachers, book publishers or
tutoring companies, knows the final details of
the course content or how it will be examined.
For this reason, parents and students should
exercise great caution in using tutoring
services offering preparation for Year 11 2018
or beyond. Our faculty is confident we will be
able to design effective teaching programs for
the new courses, and we expect our students
will continue to excel at senior mathematics.
Year 7 to Year 10 Mathematics Enrichment
during Term 1 & Term 2
A major part of our Year 7 10 enrichment
program is the Mathematics Challenge
for Young Australians, a national program
of problem solving activities conducted
by the Australian Mathematics Trust. The
Challenge Stage (entries have just closed)
is an introduction to the program, which
gives students an opportunity to see if they
enjoy these types of activities. Students will
be receiving the resources materials for the
Challenge in the next two weeks. Parents
should be aware students will find some of the
problems difficult, and their son will need time
and effort to solve them. It is very important for
your sons development that you allow them to
struggle with these harder problems. Solutions
for the Challenge Stage are due by Thursday
23rd March.
The second phase of the program is the
Enrichment Stage, a three month sequence
commencing during Term 2. In the Enrichment
Stage, students receive a comprehensive set of
theory and problem books designed to extend
their mathematical knowledge and provide
opportunities to work at more advanced
problems. Students will need to apply for the
Enrichment Stage by Thursday 23rd March (the
same day the Challenge work is due).
A very positive feature of this program is that
students can explore mathematical challenges
without the time pressure so often associated
with mathematics tasks providing a very
different way for our students to demonstrate
their talents. Students who continue with the
program throughout junior school and perform
at a high level will be invited to participate
in the Australian Intermediate Mathematics
Olympiad, a precursor to the Australian
Mathematics Olympiad program.
Important information for Year 10
Mathematics students
During Term 3, students will make their
mathematics subject selections for Year 11.
There are two choices: Mathematics Advanced
or Mathematics Extension 1. Due to resource
and timetable constraints, there are a limited
number of places in the Extension 1 course,
and therefore entry is competitive. In fairness to
all students, entry into the Extension 1 classes is
based on demonstrated student performance
in Year 10 mathematics. It is therefore essential
students work to their full capability throughout
Year 10.
Important information for Year 11
Mathematics Extension 1 students
Later in the year, applications will open for
entry into the Year 12 Mathematics Extension 2
classes. There are a limited number of places,
and thus entry into these classes is competitive,
based on Year 11 results. Given the challenging
and time intensive nature of the Extension 2
course, students wishing to apply for this course
are strongly advised to discuss their choices
with their class teacher.
Nordin Zuber
Head Teacher Mathematics
Science
Welcome back to an exciting year of Science
at North Sydney Boys High School. In an exciting
beginning to the year, an Old Boy Professor
Alan Mackay-Sim (Class of 1969) won the 2017
Australian of the Year award for his scientific
research and work on spinal cord injuries. We
are pursuing opportunities to reconnect with
Professor Mackay-Sim to further inspire our
current students in their scientific endeavours.
Recent student achievements
Our HSC class of 2016 received outstanding
HSC Physics, Chemistry and Biology results,
increasing the percentage of Band 6 results
from 2015 across all subject areas. My
 Page 5
congratulations to our Science students and
their hard-working teachers.
We had a number of students attend the
Science Olympiad summer camp during the
January school holidays: Joshua Park, Toby
Wong and Chen Zhou attended the Earth
and Environmental camp and Justin Brown
attended the Physics camp. The camps
form part of the process for selecting the
Australian team for the International Olympiad
competition to be held in France this year and
we wish the boys every success.
In other Olympiad news, the following high
distinction achieving students have been
invited to apply to join the Australian Delegation
for the Asian Olympiad competition to be held
in Kuala Lumpur in August: Justin Brown, Rohit
Parthasarathy, Divyansh Sharma, Toby Wong
and Chen Zhou (Year 12); Joshua Park and
Aaron Huang (Year 11).
The Flying Falcons robotics team: Kristian
Nolev, Richard Jin, Chen Zhou, Toby Wong, Ben
Wang and Justin Brown (pictured below, 2nd
and 3rd from left) won 2nd place in the world
in the Zero Robotics international robotics
competition. What an amazing achievement!
The team successfully programmed a robot
that competed with others in zero-gravity on
the International Space Station! Read more
about their success in a media release from
the University of Sydney
https://tinyurl.com/nsb2nd
Congratulations to the team, Mr Francis who
supported them, and their Old Boy mentor
Jeremy Cox (pictured below left).
Enrichment activities
Our school is continuing to offer a fantastic
robotics program organised by Mr Francis and
Ms Gondek. This year has seen a large number
of Year 7 students joining the after-school
program and they are currently developing
their project ideas for 2017.
The Science faculty will be providing a multitude
of enrichment activities for our students in the
upcoming terms. Students should check the
Science Enrichment noticeboard next to Lab
2 which is updated with current enrichment
opportunities. Some current opportunities
include the International Science School and
the National Youth Science Forum. We will
also be starting up some student groups for
the Librarys Exploratorium and this years
National Science week. Interested students
should also look out for information about the
2017 Science and Engineering Challenge and
the 2017/18 Science Olympiad.
Stile learning platform
Our faculty will be increasing its use of online
learning platforms in Science lessons and
homework. Currently the faculty is integrating
the use of the fantastic Stile platform which
has been developed with the Australian Chief
Scientist, to engage and develop our students
scientific understanding and skills. In it students
engage deeply with key syllabus content
integrated with current scientific discoveries
and news. The platform also allows teachers to
effectively monitor and provide constructive
feedback on a range of student responses.
If parents and caregivers have any questions
about the learning platform, I encourage you
to contact your childs teacher.
Curriculum Developments
This week new Stage 6 Science syllabuses
were released to be implemented for Year
11 students starting in 2018. The change has
seen a new subject developed: Investigating
Science as well as heavily revamped Biology,
Chemistry and Physics syllabuses. This year the
Science faculty team will be working very hard
to create programs, assessments and resources
for the new courses starting next year. Watch
this space for more developments.
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Thanks to the Auxiliary
Finally, the end of last year saw the delivery of
our much anticipated Periodic Table Sample
Box which includes a physical sample of all the
(safe to handle in a container) elements that
make up our universe. Special thanks to the
Auxiliary for their generous donation of such an
awe-inspiring teaching resource.
Nigel Kuan
Head Teacher Science
HSIE
The beginning of this year has seen the faculty
very busy implementing the new Geography
Curriculum for Years 7 and 9. We have
prepared lessons and assessments and created
engaging co-curricular activities to ensure our
boys develop a deep connection to the world
around them. The end of 2016 was huge for
HSIE, with our boys achieving outstanding HSC
results and of course, the combined Ancient
History/Latin excursion to Greece and Italy. It
is a very exciting time in HSIE and it continues
to be a pleasure to see our boys excel in their
studies and in a range of co-curricular activities.
Combined Ancient History/Latin Excursion
to Greece and Italy
Last December Ancient History and Latin
students had the opportunity of a lifetime,
participating in a two week tour to Greece
and Italy. This was a fantastic trip and the boys
visited many exciting and interesting historical
sites such as Delphi, Olympia, Sparta, Pompeii,
Herculaneum and Rome. This trip enabled
the boys to develop a greater connection
and engagement with Ancient History class
work and provided them with memories that
they will have for a lifetime. A truly sensational
experience.
Competitions
Over the next few months our students will
be involved in the National Geographic
Geography Competition and Economics and
Business Studies students will take part in the
UNSW Economics and Business Competitions on
11 May. Commerce, Economics and Business
Studies students will all have the opportunity to
take part in the ever popular ASX Share Market
Game run three times over the course of the
year.
Excursions
We are looking forward to quite a few excursions
in the next few months. Year 10 Geography will
be visiting Collaroy Beach on 4 April as part of
the mandatory fieldwork component of the
syllabus. The boys will be given the opportunity
to investigate the physical and human forces
that shape Collaroy Beach.
In May Year 10 History students will be taking
part in a cross-curricular excursion with the
English Faculty to the Sydney Jewish Museum in
Darlinghurst. Students will have the opportunity
to speak with a holocaust survivor and will
hopefully develop a greater sense of empathy
and understanding in relation to the tragedies
of the time.
History Club
Every Friday afternoon our keen historians get
together with Ms Kapetas to learn from each
other by sharing knowledge and research
about historical events and figures. This
year the boys are focusing on the theme of
commemorating centenary events such as
the Russian Revolution and the Third Battle of
Ypres. The boys are also busy preparing for the
ANZAC Day Assembly.
New Curriculum
This year the Australian Curriculum has been
introduced for Years 7 and 9 Geography with
Years 8 and 10 to follow in 2018, completing
the implementation of the Stage 4 and 5
Geography Australian Curriculum. Teachers
and students are excited about the changes
which allow for a greater emphasis on the
 Page 7
interrelationship between physical and human
forces shaping the environment at a local,
national and global level.
HSC
HSIE students produced amazing results in
the 2016 HSC. I am very proud of all the boys
who worked extra hard to build on areas of
weakness to achieve their desired results.
Special mention to Eric Chen who placed 3rd
in the state for Economics and Joshua Ning
who placed 16th in the state for Legal Studies.
Congratulations to all the HSIE boys for their
efforts!
Congratulations to our Head Teacher Adrian
Shipp who is currently on parental leave after
the arrival, early in February, of his twin girls.
Melissa Bowering
Relieving Head Teacher HSIE
LOTE
Welcome back to another exciting year at
NSBHS it is hard to believe that we are almost
halfway through Term 1 already. The year is off
to a good start in the Languages Faculty and we
are looking forward to another fabulous year of
learning and new experiences. The teachers
efforts throughout 2016 were reflected in the
many excellent results achieved in the HSC
by the Year 12 Languages classes and the
teachers are to be thanked for their hard work
in assisting the students to reach their potential.
In particular we would like to congratulate
Daniel Liu for coming third in NSW in Latin
Continuers. It is interesting to note that 8 of the
top 20 students at NSBHS in 2016, including the
top 3, all studied a language.
It is also particularly encouraging to us that we
continue to have a much higher percentage
(18.1%) of Year 12 students studying a language
compared to the national average (about
8%). In addition 48% of our students studied
the relevant Extension Course for their chosen
language. Overall nearly 94% of our students
scored either a Band 5 or 6 an outstanding
achievement!
The 2017 Year 12 classes will continue to benefit
from the Literacy Program which is funded
from family contributions made to the school.
Outside tutors will be provided for the French,
German, Japanese and Latin classes. These
tutors will work with individuals and small groups
to further develop the skills required to excel at
the HSC. Both the students and teachers are
most appreciative of this support.
Senior students will be given opportunities
to attend study days and workshops with
students from other schools and it is highly
recommended that they attend all these
days. It is a good opportunity to check out the
competition and get tips from other teachers!
There will also be combined activities with the
classes at the Girls school.
Year 8 will again take part in what is now the
annual NSBHS Celebration of Languages Day.
This year it will be held on Friday 9 June. The Year
8 Latin Camp will take place over a weekend
in September.
We are constantly searching for opportunities
to practise the language being learnt in the
classroom and consequently excursions to
language institutes, restaurants and activity
days will also be offered to the junior classes.
We will continue to maintain the links with the
Language Faculties at Sydney University which
Mr Miller established last year.
Competitions provide another useful tool for
teachers and students to extend and monitor
the success of the work in the classroom.
Modern Language competitions will be
undertaken later in the year. The National Latin
Exam for students in Years 9 12 will take place
in week 7 this term during Latin lessons. Latin
students will also be able to take part in the
Kevin Lee Quiz. This event honours the life and
work of the late Professor Kevin Lee, Head of
the Department of Classics at the University of
Sydney. The quiz is organised by the Classical
Languages Teachers Association (CLTA).
Student participation in competitions
organised by Languages institutes, such as
essay competitions or producing short movies,
will continue to be encouraged.
 Page 8
Scholarships and Overseas Exchange
Opportunities
Spending time in a country where you can
immerse yourself in what you have been
learning in the classroom is obviously something
for all languages students to strive for. There
are many ways that this may be achieved. A
number of scholarship programs, specific to
the languages taught at NSBHS, are offered
throughout the year and this information is
passed on to the relevant classes as it becomes
available as well as placed on the noticeboards
outside the Languages staffroom.
Over summer two of our Year 12 German
students, Hal Whitehead and Joshua Wang,
spent 2 months living with families in Germany
as part of a scholarship program sponsored by
the SAGSE, which consists of many sponsorships
and connections to large German companies.
Short reports from the 2 boys follow this report.
Overseas Trips have become regular events for
the NSBHS Languages students. Every second
year 20 Year 10 and 11 students of Japanese
can take part in the exchange with our sister
school Tokyo Metropolitan Kokusai High
School. This involves homestays, visits to the
schools for a week and for the NSBHS students
a week touring in Japan. This exchange has
been going for nearly 25 years!
The History and Classics (Latin) Trip to Italy and
Greece at the end of 2016 was a resounding
success and the plan is to also make it a biennial
event for Latin and History students. During the
15 day tour to Italy and Greece places such as
Athens, Delphi, Olympia, Sparta, Pompeii and
Rome were visited. A full report of the trip will
appear in the next Principals report.
For those studying French we offer the Noumea,
New Caledonia trip. Following the success of
the 2015 trip to New Caledonia planning is now
underway for another trip in September 2017.
The group will leave on Friday 22 September
2017 and return on Friday 29 September 2017
ie. the last day of Term 3 and the first six days
of Term 3 holidays. Students will spend five
nights with a French host family in pairs and will
attend the CREIPAC (Government endorsed
Language School) for three hours per day over
four days. Destinations in Noumea will include a
scenic railway tour of the town centre, a cruise
to the Amde Lighthouse island, and visits
to the famous Tjibaou Cultural Museum, the
National Maritime Museum, the Aquarium des
Lagons and the shopping district. A meeting
for participating students and their parents will
be held on Monday 1 May.
NEW GERMAN LEARNING CENTRE IN THE
LIBRARY
The Goethe Institute (German Cultural Institute
based in Woollahra, Sydney) in cooperation
with our German teacher Ms Marion Reiter, will
establish a GERMAN LEARNING CENTRE in the
schools library during 2017. Initially this means
that NSBHS will gain about 100 new German
books, videos, games, etc. for students of all
different age groups and at various levels of
difficulty, all sponsored by the Goethe Institute
and without any cost to the school. While these
materials will mainly be used by the students
of NSBHS, they will also be made available to
all other German-teaching schools in the area
who might be interested in borrowing them
or using them for extension purposes. This will
be a great opportunity for more interaction
between the schools. The support of our
librarian, Ms Henderson, for this project is also
most appreciated.
Year 7 Languages
We are very fortunate to be one of the few
schools in NSW offering 5 Language options to
the students.
Our smorgasbord approach to Languages in
Year 7 continues to be very popular with the
boys so we are continuing with this approach
in 2017. To enable Year 7 students to make an
informed choice as to which language(s) to
continue with in Year 8 (at least 1 language
must be studied to meet NESA requirements)
they will complete an intensive 8 week course
in each of the following languages: French,
German, Indonesian, Japanese and Latin. The
order of languages and change over dates for
each class are as follows:
 Page 9

LAT JAP IND GER FRE Ends School too was a massive effort at first especially
1st 7H 7R 7T 7N 7S 31/3 considering it was deep winter when I arrived
2nd 7S 7H 7N 7R 7T 16/6
and school hours were from 7.30am to 3.00pm.
3rd 7T 7S 7R 7H 7N 25/8
That meant getting up two hours before
sunrise and going home at sundown. School in
4th 7N 7T 7H 7S 7R 27/10
Germany is also different with a much greater
5th 7R 7N 7S 7T 7H ---
emphasis on independent learning. Over
time my German language ability developed
quickly, much faster than I had expected, and
Workbooks and Textbooks by the end, I could pick up most of what was
Thank you to all the families who have been being said.
prompt in paying for workbooks. It makes it a As part of the scholarship I was given one week
much smoother start to the year for both the in Berlin and one week to travel with a small
teachers and boys if they have the books. group of other scholarship winners. During
Last years textbooks should have been that time I made many friendships which I
returned by now. We need to issue texts to am sure will last a lifetime. We were given the
classes for 2017 and the boys will not receive freedom to organise our own transport and
their new text if they have books outstanding. accommodation! This is really something that
Look under the bed and in the cupboards!! not many exchanges offer and this unique
Students who have lost their textbook will need experience helped me develop not only my
to pay for a replacement. language skills but also my knowledge of how
to travel affordably as a young person.
Wishing everyone a happy, enjoyable and
successful year. Overall, it was a wonderful experience, one
which would not have been possible without the
support of SAGSE and my sponsor Audi, whom
Id like to thank. People say that an exchange
Dot Commons
will change you and I had never really thought
Head Teacher Languages about what that meant until I returned home.
Meeting so many new and wonderful people
in a foreign country and being given so much
German Exchange Reports time to explore it independently has opened
I recently returned from a 10-week exchange up my world and boosted my confidence in
in Germany, where I was assigned to stay with general.
a host family and attend school with a host
brother for five of the ten weeks I was there. I
spent the majority of my stay in the city of Halle Joshua Wang
an der Saale where my host family lives. This is Year 12
about 90 minutes south of Berlin by Inter-City-
Express.
Over a few weeks of Term 4 and the summer
Initially it was a struggle to adapt to the holidays, my fellow German classmate Josh and
German way of life, the main reason being I took part in a language exchange through
the language barrier. My surroundings were the company SAGSE, which consists of many
completely foreign and having to absorb so sponsorships and connections to large German
much new information at once rendered me companies, Volkswagen, Bayer and Alliance
incapable of even formulating basic sentences to name a few. Needless to say the exchange
upon greeting my host family for the first time. was one of the highlights of my life and a life
My host family was very nice to me and gave changing experience for me. I had to be a lot
me the freedom to explore the city in my free more independent and I experienced the real
time. world while trying to adapt and assimilate to
another culture.
 Page 10
Some of the individual highlights included trying
various different foods (which werent all a hit
with my tastebuds), exploring the cities with
fellow Australian friends who were also part of
the program and most importantly, getting to
know my host brother and his family. I will never
forget waking up on Christmas morning at 6am
to deliver newspapers for 4 hours with my host
brother!
Learning a language is so much more than a
subject for the HSC, it is a pathway to doing
something different with your entire life. For
example, German universities are more or less
free, providing a very nice incentive to further
your skills in the language whilst gaining friends
and experiences to last a lifetime. Furthermore
languages are some of the most interesting
subjects as they change the way you think.
They are often taught in small classes which
really lets you bond with your classmates as
you discover the language.
Hal Whitehead
Year 12
TAS
Last years HSC saw another swathe of high
achievement in Engineering Studies. From the
class of 17 students, 13 attained Band 6s and
the others achieved a Band 5. Congratulations
go to Harvey McGeorge and Michael Brereton
who achieved 2nd and 3rd rankings in the
State. The school also had its first senior Design
and Technology course graduate. This course
asks a lot of students completion of a major
work and a written exam.
We wish these young men success in their
chosen courses and careers and hope that
some of them will find the time to visit their high
school in the future.
Over the first few weeks of 2017 the TAS faculty
has been extremely busy ensuring that all our
new Stage 4 programs challenge our students
and bring out the best in them. One of the
changes has been replacing the very popular
Year 7 Plastic Key Tag project with a Plastic-
Handled Bottle Opener project.
In this time of change it is very important to
get feedback from all the parties involved and
a student focused survey will be conducted
at the end of each unit. This will assist us in
improving our programs and we encourage
honest and constructive feedback from the
students.
For the first time at NSBHS we have three Year
11 classes (two Engineering Studies and one
Design and Technology). This has brought
great joy and enthusiasm to the faculty.
Also this term we welcome new staff members
Ms Leonie White and Miss Kate Itzstein. Leonie
is an experienced Technology and IPT teacher
while Kate is an enthusiastic teacher who offers
great insight to our new Stage 4 projects.
The TAS faculty strives to continuously extend
and develop new, innovative and engaging
projects and lessons for our students. The
current focus is on the upcoming Stage 4
syllabus updates and how we as teachers
deliver the content that best suits the needs of
our students.
Maxwell Burgess
Relieving Head Teacher TAS
CAPA
Our creative and performing arts students
are thriving in Music, Drama and Visual Arts
with ensembles and co-curricular programs
supplementing the course work done in class.
Thank you in advance to Ms Jenny Grimley who
has taken on the busy role of Head Teacher
CAPA in 2017 while Linda Moulton is on leave.
MUSIC
Music Ensembles
Chamber ensembles, which provide
opportunities for boys to extend and refine their
ensemble skills, have begun this term along
with the orchestra, concert band, symphonic
winds, stage band, NSGB combined vocal
ensemble and the junior choir rehearsals. The
students are preparing for their first concert
at Chatswood RSL on 2 April. This concert is a
great way for parents and students, particularly
those who are new to our school community, to
 Page 11

see and hear some of our wonderfully talented

students and ensembles. We will also have
solos and ensembles presented by our Year 12
Music 1, Music 2 and Music Extension students.
The quality of this concert is always impressive.
Proceeds from ticket sales are donated to our
school music program, so please come along
and support our talented musicians.
Musical Production
This years musical production will take place
at NSGHS in August. The show is Funny Girl
based on a 1963 musical. Congratulations to
the boys who have already auditioned for
solos and dances. There will be an opportunity
for instrumentalists and back-stage crews to
sign up in the near future.
Library Friday Lunchtime Concert Series
These concerts, held in the school library, give
an opportunity for senior students to perform
their repertoires in front of a wider audience,
within a supportive environment. Thanks to
Joy Henderson for her support in hosting these
concerts.
DRAMA
Theatre Sports
Spain and Portugal Music Tour - December
2017 Our Threatresports program was a huge in
success in 2016 and it returns this year. Three
We have 50 very excited students from Years
teams will be participating in the annual
7-12 who will be travelling to Spain and Portugal
ImproAustralia Theatresports Challenge, junior,
in December this year. These musicians will
intermediate and senior divisions. Ms Ibbotson
be performing in public places, in schools,
has done a fantastic job in building up this
participating in combined workshops and
program at the school. Training has already
master classes with like-minded students from
started as the boys gear up for the upcoming
local schools.
heats. Teams comprise students from Years 7-11
Music Excursion Year 11 and 12 and they compete against other teams from
both public and private schools. We wish them
Elective music students will go on an excursion well in their endeavours. To join the program
to Encore on 20 March. Encore is an event come along at lunchtimes on either Thursday
where outstanding performers and composers (Years 7-8) or Friday (Years 9-12) in the Drama
from the previous years HSC are showcased in Room (B block).
the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House.
Nigel Lin from the class of 2016 will be one of VISUAL ARTS
the performers.
Hazelhurst Gallery Artexpress
Special thanks
Congratulations to Leo Guo whose 2016 HSC
Thank you to Mr Paul Beylerian, father of Raffy artwork is currently being exhibited in Artexpress
in Year 9, who has been repairing and restoring 2017 at the Hazelhurst Gallery in Gymea from
the NSBHS electric guitar collection. The music 10 February to 26 March. Thank you to Luke
staff are very grateful. Starling and Robyn Hughes for attending the
official opening.
 Page 12

PDHPE
Swimming Carnival
The school Swimming Carnival was held on
Monday 20 February (Week 5) at the beautiful
North Sydney Olympic Pool. As you can see
from the picture, those boys racing 100m
events had the Luna Park Ferris Wheel to spur
them on, while at the other end of the pool,
those competing in 50m events had the Sydney
Harbour Bridge as a backdrop for their finishing
line.

Luke Starling, Leo Guos brother, Leo Guo

and his mum at the opening of Artexpress,
Hazelhurst Gallery on 10 February
On 24 February senior students were able to
view firsthand exemplary artworks from the
2016 HSC Body of Works at the Art Gallery of
New South Wales. The excursion also gave
the students the opportunity to view the
gallerys permanent collection and to visit the
contemporary galleries.
Creative and Performing Arts dates for the The carnival ran smoothly and even finished
diary: slightly ahead of schedule. Richard Croan, the
NSB Sports Co-ordinator, did an amazing job
Sunday 2 April 3pm NSBHS concert at ensuring all events were on schedule and staff
Chatswood RSL Club (as part of the North and students knew where they should be at all
Shore Schools Spectacular) times.
Saturday 20 May Finals of the North Shore Congratulations to all participants and to the
Schools Spectacular Killara High School. following boys for being recognised as age
24-26 July Creative and Performing Arts Expo swimming champions and runners-up in 2017:
Presented in the NSBHS Library, featuring a
visual arts exhibition and drama and music Age Champion Age Runner-up
performances from all CAPA classes from years 12 yrs Bhavi Chauhan (Yr 7) Leo Lu (Yr 7)
7 to 11 13 yrs Jin Lim (Yr 7) Sky Lam (Yr 7)
14 yrs Alfred Tran (Yr 8) Samuel Yan (Yr 8)
9-12 August Musical Production: Funny Girl
NSGHS 15 yrs Leslie Cheung (Yr 10) Benjamin Tran (Yr 10)
16 yrs Stephen Park (Yr 10) Jack Chen (Yr 11)
Friday 25 August - Annual Musicale in the AF 17+ yrs Yves Yao (Yr 12) Marco Kall (Yr 12)
Henry Hall

The NSB swim team will represent the school at

Shivaun Adamson the North West Metropolitan Zone Carnival in
Relieving Head Teacher Week 6.
Creative and Performing Arts
 Page 13
Other important sports carnival dates include:
School Cross Country Carnival:
Friday 28 April 2017
School Athletics Carnival: Listening to real life incidents and stories from
Friday 12 May 2017
P.A.R.T.Y Excursion
On 23 February, 30 Year 11 students attended
the Prevention of Alcohol and Risk-Related
Trauma in Youth (P.A.R.T.Y) Program at Royal
North Shore Hospital. The program allows
students to see the first-hand consequences
of risk-taking behaviours in everyday life whilst
learning how to recognise and mitigate risk. Its
goal is to reduce the over representation of
young adults in injury and trauma statistics.
Throughout the day, students heard from a
range of guest speakers, including: nurses,
doctors, emergency service personnel,
physiotherapists, occupational therapists
and survivors of trauma accidents on the
harsh reality of poor choices. The program
also included interactive sessions in the
Emergency Department and Intensive Care
Unit to understand how it would feel to be a
trauma patient and live with a service injury or
permanent disability.
The students who attended the excursion
should be congratulated on their mature and
respectful approach to the program content
throughout the day. Heres what they had to
say about the excursion:
It was interesting having people who have
suffered life changing injuries talk about their
situation and how one small decision can have
lifelong consequences. - Jason Liu
the emergency service officers and the hospital
staff showed me how harsh the consequences
of your decisions are for yourself, family and
friends. Being in the emergency department
was one of the highlights of the day as you
are given the opportunity to see how these
situations are dealt with behind the scenes. -
Kane Qian
The PARTY program excursion has definitely
been the most rewarding investment of my time
this year. It was amazing to hear the stories and
experiences of those who have been through
so much more than the pressures of daily
life that we are so used to. I would definitely
recommend this experience for future year
groups. - Nathan Haurissa
Kayla Newton
Year 11 PDHPE Teacher
Computing & IT
Thank you to the IT staff for their support and
help with the Year 7 Cyber Day. All students
now have their logon details and are enjoying
working with their devices in class.
Year 10 IPT are busy preparing for their
upcoming IPT Half Yearly examination on
Monday 6 March.
Computing Studies are happy to announce
the new NSBHS Programming Club. It is open
to students from all year groups and caters
to all ability levels from beginning through to
advanced students. The club aims to develop
students programming skills and challenge
them with the options of National Programming
Competitions. The NSBHS Programming Club
runs each Monday afternoon from 3:15pm
4:30pm in B4 with Mr Shirlaw.
Special mention must go to the excellent results
achieved by our IPT and SDD students in the
2016 HSC and thanks to their teacher Mr Pillay.
 Page 14
Particularly noteworthy were the following
students who placed within the top ten of the
state for IPT:
Joshua Park 2nd in the State
Lachlan Siu 4th in the State
William Hou 7th in the State
Shane Wang 10th in the State
Kathy Coady
Relieving Head Teacher Computing & IT
Teaching & Learning
Id like to begin by introducing myself. My
name is Alison Fowler and I am the new Head
Teacher of Teaching and Learning at North
Sydney Boys. I am looking forward to working
with staff, parents and students to ensure the
teaching learning experiences at North Sydney
Boys continue to reflect the unique needs of
our school community.
Teaching and Learning activities for the start of
2017 have focused on developing an Induction
Program for teachers new to the school
and the profession. This program had its first
session in Week 4 and there will be fortnightly
sessions for the rest of the term. The purpose
of the program is to welcome new staff to
the school and integrate them into school
culture, structures and relationships within the
school community. It acts as a forum for staff
to ask questions about what it means to be a
teacher at North Sydney Boys, allowing them
to develop an understanding of the specific
needs of students at an academically rigorous,
selective boys high school.
The induction program acknowledges the
importance of the teacher and the central
role they play in the learning of the students. It
responds to the identified needs of the teacher,
the school and the system. As such the program
is a collective responsibility that is designed to
foster collegiality and collaboration between
new and experienced teachers, a commitment
to public education, student wellbeing and
quality teaching practices.
I have also been working with the Professional
Learning Team to develop a professional
learning plan for 2017. The team had a very
productive meeting in Week 4 and is currently in
the process of designing a series of after school
professional development workshops for staff.
The first session will take place in Week 7 and
have a technology focus, providing teachers
with skills and experience to effectively utilise
technology as a teaching and learning tool.
We are very lucky to have a group of talented
and diverse staff at North Sydney Boys, and the
workshops will be run by staff and designed
to reflect the specific needs of the schools
student body.
In preparation for the schools development
of the 2018 2020 School Plan, North Sydney
Boys will be running a series of workshops
and information sessions for parents and
community members. These sessions will give
the wider North Sydney Boys community an
opportunity to work together to identify ideas
and ways to build on the current successes of
the school and forward plan to ensure that we
continue to achieve the schools vision, mission
and values. Please keep your eye out for more
information about these workshops, which will
be taking place towards the end of Term 2.
Alison Fowler
Head Teacher Teaching & Learning
Wellbeing
Student wellbeing and belonging is one of the
key strategic priorities for North Sydney Boys
High School. To foster this priority, we have an
active Wellbeing Team who lead programs
and practices to support the wellbeing of our
students and provide them with opportunities
to develop and succeed.
The 2017 Wellbeing Team comprises:
Year Advisers (first point of contact for Parents/
Caregivers):
 Page 15

Year Year Adviser Assistant Year Adviser Year 7 has had a busy start to the year
7 Mrs Elise Kovacs (Science) Ms Karen Rose (English) transitioning into high school life, and they
8 Ms Melissa Bowering (HSIE) Ms Alex Ibbotson (CAPA)
have done an exceptional job at settling
9 Mr Rob Baiton (English) Ms Kiralee Bradley (English)
into their new environment. This began with
a successful peer support program led by our
10 Ms Joy Henderson (Library) Mr Chris Murphy (PDHPE)
Year 10 students which focused on building
11 Mr Eric Lin (Maths) Ms Tiffany Huang (Science)
relationships and developing resilience. They
12 Mr Chris Berry (Maths) Ms Kira Bolton (HSIE)
were then welcomed by the whole school in a
And other key roles: welcome assembly and attended an outdoor
education camp to assist them in forming new
friendships.
Position Name
Principal Ms Robyn Hughes This year we also introduced a new initiative
Deputy Principal (7, 9, 11) Mr Yugen Pillay (Relieving) into the transition program called Year 7
Deputy Principal (8, 10, Mr Matthew Dopierala Cyber Day. The day consisted of IT essentials,
12) a discussion about DoE and school policies
Head Teacher Wellbeing Ms Tania Linnertson around device use, a presentation by Senior
Learning and Support Ms Kathy Coady Constable Darren Cairnes about online risks
Teacher and cyberbullying, and a presentation by The
Counsellor (Mon, Wed, Fri) Ms Glynis Sanders Sleep Connection about the impact of device
Counsellor (Tues) Ms Naomi Conaty
use on sleep. It was a highly successful day that
we look forward to running again in 2018.
Counsellor (Thurs) Mr Geoff Glassborow

We also have a wellbeing team led by

students: the Student Wellbeing Action
Team (SWAT). SWAT raises awareness about
positive wellbeing, mental health and safety
for students. They are an integral part of our
program and assist in driving effective student
wellbeing campaigns.

Year 7 transition

Coming up in the transition program Year 7

will also participate in the study skills program
Elevate, the citizenship and leadership
program High Resolves, and a theatre
production by Bamboo Theatre called
#change.
 Page 16

Year 12 Mentoring Sleep solutions:

In Term 4 last year, the 2017 Year 12 cohort were Establish a sleep routine and enforce it, with
given the opportunity to choose a teacher minimal variation on the weekend
mentor to help guide them in the year to
come through the Year 12 mentoring program. Keep his bedroom cool, quiet and dark
Mentoring is particularly important during a during sleep time
students HSC year as it can be a time of stress Keep any naps to a maximum of 20 minutes
and uncertainty. During the year students will
have scheduled meetings with their mentors to Let in bright light in the morning to signal his
discuss concerns and strategies, and can also body to naturally wake up
approach their mentor at any time for extra
Limit the use of technology at least an hour
support. A big thank you to the teachers who
before bedtime
are volunteering their time for the program.
Discourage eating or exercise within a few
An emphasis on sleep hours of bedtime
Healthy sleep habits are essential to developing
Assist them with time management to avoid
successful, healthy, and happy teenagers.
any late nights doing school work.
Currently in Australia over 70% of teenagers
are sleep deprived (The Sleep Connection). For more information, please attend our parent
This term it has been a priority for the wellbeing presentation on Monday 27 of February at
team to address this issue, particularly with 6:30pm. Details are contained at the end of
Years 7 and 11. Both groups have participated this bulletin.
in a program run by The Sleep Connection and
have learnt about the functions of sleep and Please feel free to contact myself or your
preventing deprivation. They are now in the sons Year Adviser if you have any concerns or
process of completing sleep logbooks and will queries.
assess their findings in Week 7.
So why is sleep so important? Ms Tania Linnertson
Students should be sleeping for at least 8 hours Head Teacher Wellbeing
per night. According to The Sleep Connection,
good quality sleep helps:
Learning, memory and concentration at
school
Support emotional health and wellbeing
Positive behaviour and decision making
Improve energy levels, healthy growth, and
the immune system.
Simple signs your son is not receiving enough
sleep:
Poor memory retention
Difficulty concentrating
Headaches
Mood swings
Difficulty waking up in the morning
 Page 17
Auxiliary
North Sydney Boys High School is a great school
and our sons are very fortunate to be here. The
school also has a wonderful parent community.
The Auxiliary meets from 9:30 11:30am on the
3rd Wednesday of each month during term
time. This provides an opportunity for parents
to meet over morning tea and for them to hear
from the Principal about what is happening at
the school. All parents are welcome to come
along, regardless of whether you can only
attend meetings or whether you want to have
a greater involvement in Auxiliary events.
The first meeting for the year was held on 15
February and it was wonderful to see many
new faces (Year 7 mums & dads) as well as
many returning parents too. I do hope to see
you all joining our meetings on a regular basis.
Apart from providing a regular forum for building
friendships with other parents the Auxiliary
assists the school in many ways throughout the
year. The Auxiliary helps with book covering,
managing the uniform shop, organizing social
events and fundraising. Our first book covering
session was held in the library on 8 February
and we covered 60 books for the Languages
faculty. Besides helping the school, the social
aspects of the day were also very enjoyable.
Our next event will be the Welcome Year 7
Afternoon Tea. This is a great annual tradition
and current Year 8 parents will organise this
with the assistance of the Auxiliary. Our aim is to
provide a warm welcome to Year 7 boys and
their families parents, siblings, grandparents
and other family members are welcome to
attend. This will be a great opportunity to meet
other parents with sons in the same class as
yours and you will be entertained by a slide
show of the fun had at the recent Year 7
camp. The afternoon tea will be held at school
on Saturday 18 Mar from 3pm 5pm. All year 7
families will receive an invitation email shortly.
An RSVP to the Year 8 parents co-ordinator
would be much appreciated.
In Term 3 the Auxiliary will organise a major
fund-raising activity the annual dinner for
parents & school staff. Please stay tuned for
future communication regarding this event.
As you can see there are many ways to help
out, whether it is just once a year or more
regularly; it is all greatly appreciated by both
our boys and the school. If you would like to
be involved in any of the Auxiliary groups or
cannot make it to meetings but would like to
receive our emails, please contact us at
nsbhs.auxiliary@gmail.com
It is an honour for me to be the Auxiliary
President and to have such wonderful support
from the parent community. A special thank
you to the current Year 12 parents Sharon
Warner, Karthika Viknarasah, Phyllis Webber,
Alison Robson, Sophonia Cheung, Cissy Lau,
Sonika Kohli, Ginny Fisher, Asintha Ratnayake,
Teresa Li and Wei Yan for their tireless efforts
in the past and their ongoing support of the
current committee.
I look forward to seeing you at the next Auxiliary
meeting on 15 March.
Help the School = Help your boys
Amy Cheng
Auxiliary President
 Page 18

Bus safety: Informal bus stops

In NSW there are thousands of informal school bus stops, particularly in rural and regional
areas. These informal school bus stops are locations along a bus route, either on private
property or alongside public roads, where a bus can pick up or drop off students.

Informal school bus stops arent sign posted or developed as formal bus stops. Unlike formal
bus stops, informal school bus stops are often agreed between bus operators and families.

Following a student fatality Transport for NSW has developed advice for selecting and
reviewing informal bus stops. This advice can be useful for parents and carers of students
who use these informal bus stops.

Schools are asked to remind and reinforce safe road user behaviours in and around buses
with their students. A key bus safety message for all students is to:

Wait till the bus has gone and then use a safe place to cross the road.

Visit Safety Town for quality teaching and learning activities for K-6 students around bus
safety.

Information to educate parents and carers about bus safety is also available from Safety
Town,

Explore the Bus safety resource for Stage 3 and Stage 4 students.

Visit On the Move for quality teaching and learning activities for high school students.

Your local Department Road Safety Education Officer is also available to provide support
about safe bus travel for students.

Or visit the Departments Road Safety Education website for further information.

6/02/2017

Password Tips
Keeping your personal information private
Passwords can be an
effective mechanism
against unauthorised
access to your personal
information on the
Departments network.
They are used to keep your information
protected just as a combination lock on
a safe or a key lock on a door.
Here are ten tips that might help you
ensure that your password and your
information remain secure.
1. Never disclose your password to
anyone
It doesnt get any simpler than that!
If you suspect that your password has
been compromised, change it
immediately and notify your team leader
or manager.
The best solution is to never write down
your password, especially not in a fax,
email or note.
2. Never respond to an email that
asks you for your password
NSW DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND COMMUNITIES
Page 19
The use of hoax emails, or spam, for At least 8 characters
the purpose of stealing user IDs,
passwords or other personal
information, is a serious problem.
A mix of upper and lower case letters
Includes numbers and special
Providing your password in response to
those sorts of emails may compromise
charters, such as: !, *, $, %, #
your DEC email or network account. Is not a simple word or your name
The Department will never send you an
Using these simple rules an, example of
email that asks you to reveal your
a strong password is: Au$tr4L1a
password.
4. Always change your DEC
3. Use strong passwords to protect
password in the DEC Portal
your sensitive information
You DEC UserID and Password
We will all acquire a number of
provides secure access to a range of
passwords, from banking PINs to
information and services on the DEC
website logins. Some of these
network, including your online file
passwords will protect more private or
storage, email, payroll and leave
sensitive information to others.
services.
You are expected to comply with the
Always change your password using the
DEC Password Standard for your
Change Password tab at the top right
selection of a password to protect
hand corner of the DEC Portal. This is
access to your Departmental
the safest and easiest way of keeping
information and accounts, as a
your password synchronised for most
minimum.
DEC network services.
For teachers and other staff this will
require the creation of a strong
password with the following
characteristics:
V2 6/05/2014 WWW.DEC.NSW.GOV.AU

5. Change your passwords
regularly
The longer you use a password, the
more chance there is that it will become
known to others. For your most
sensitive information, you should use
more security and change your
password more frequently at least
every 45 60 days.
6. Do not reuse your password
You should not retain parts of your old
password or resuse during any 12
month period.
Also use different passwords for your
home or personal online activities to
that of your work ones. That way if one
gets compromised, it wont affect the
others.
7. Do not save your passwords
Some applications, such as web
browsers, allow you to save your
passwords so that you do not have to
type them in next time you open up the
application. Do not enable this option
enter your passwords manually every
time.
8. Set secure secret question and
answer combinations
The DEC Portal uses a set of three
secret question and answer
combinations through which you can
automatically reset your DEC password
if it is forgotten. You should be aware
that the question part of any
combination is not secret it is
displayed when anybody enters your
DEC User ID.
To prevent inadvertently providing easy
access to your account details, your
secret question and answer
combinations should be at least as
secure and complex as your password.
Here are some tips for keeping your
secret question and answer
combinations secure.
a) Set all three secret Q&A
combinations. It is much harder for
someone to guess all three answers
correctly than to guess only one.
NSW DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND COMMUNITIES
Page 20
b) Pick secret questions to which An unauthorised user does not need
only you know the answers. Some physical access to a computer to attack
security advisers recommend using it and, through it, your information.
non-related question and answer
combinations that only make sense to Logging off and shutting down your
you. computer is the best way to prevent
others from gaining access to your
For example, if your daughter was born personal information.
during Sydneys 1998 drinking water
contamination incident, you might set The desktop support staff
the following question and answer at your workplace can help
combination:
you with these simple
Question: What happened when Emily strategies to keep your
was born?
access and information as
Answer: Crypt0sp0ridium secure as possible.
c) Your secret answers should be:
something only you will know;
unrelated to your password in any
way;
unlikely to change over time;
extremely difficult for others to guess
or discover, even when they see
your secret question
9. Lock your computer when you
leave your desk
Your personal access to corporate
applications and systems and your
personal information are most at risk
when you leave your computer while it
is still logged on to the DEC network.
When leaving your desk, you should
lock your computer or activate a
password-protected screensaver or
sleep mode to prevent anyone else
from using it while you are away.
Simply click Windows-Key + L.
10. Log off or shut down at the end
of the day
Further information
Unless otherwise advised, you should
Information Security Unit
log off your computer at the end of each
Information Technology Directorate
day.
8/8 Central Avenue
Even though your computer may be in a Eveleigh NSW 2015
locked office, it is still vulnerable to T 02 9302 7115
unauthorised users while it remains E information.security@det.nsw.edu.au
logged on.
May 2014
NSW Department of Education and Communities
V2 6/05/2014 WWW.DEC.NSW.GOV.AU
 Page 21

North Sydney Boys High School presents an information evening on:

Term 1 is a great chance to start your son on the right track to academic success and a healthy
mind and body. North Sydney Boys High School is committed to equipping parents and caregivers
with the knowledge to provide this at home.

Sleep deprivation and excessive technology use are having noticeable impacts on teenage
boys across Australia. Does your son display any of the behaviours associated with these?

Staying up late
Becoming distracted by his computer/phone
Underachieving in his school work
Arriving late to school/frequently being absent
Withdrawing socially
Isolating himself from the family
Display disengagement with school or life in general?

If any of these are the case (or you would like to help prevent these from happening), please join
us for the following information sessions:

The Sleep Connection: (Lisa Maltman) Digital Nutrition: (Jocelyn Brewer)

Focusing on sleep health is vital as we
become increasingly aware of the
relationship between sleep deprivation and
poor academic outcomes, psychological
problems, reduced school attendance and
increased risk-taking behaviours.
Digital Nutrition explores the range of social,
emotional and cognitive impacts of our
technology use (and overuse!) and provides
solutions to help maximise the benefits of
technology devices and also avoid the
pitfalls.

Details:

When: Monday 27th February, 6:30pm-8:30pm

Where: North Sydney Boys High School, AF Henry Hall
Who: Parents/caregivers of NSBHS students. Students are welcome too.
Cost: $10 per family (to be paid by cash on the night)

Please register your interest here: https://form.jotform.co/70427054462856

For more information please contact Tania Linnertson (Head Teacher Wellbeing) on 9955 4748.
 Page 22

Parent public lecture series

UNSW Matraville Education Partnership

Never Stand Still Arts Social Sciences School of Education

An initiative of the UNSW Matraville

Education Partnership, the Parent
public lecture series will be offered
for the first time in 2017. Covering a
Want to find out more?
wide range of topics, from motivation &
Contact us: engagement, parenting a gifted child,
E: mep@unsw.edu.au surviving the adolescent years as well
P: (02) 9661 0583 as understanding all things to do with
assessments, find out what the latest
Visit the website:
research says and take away practical
https://education.arts.unsw.
edu/matraville/parent suggestions to support your child at
home and at school.

Free and open to the Relevant to parents

public, no matter of both primary and
where your children high school children
attend school (unless otherwise noted)
 Page 23

2017 Parent Public Lecture

Series - Schedule of events
Motivation, Engagement and Success
at School

Date: Tuesday, 28 February, 2017

Presenter: Dr Paul Evans
Dr. Evans will discuss ways to support your
child to stay motivated and engaged in
their learning to achieve better schooling
outcomes. Youll learn about autonomy
Surviving Your Childs Adolescence
support in parenting and teaching ways to
help your child self-regulate their learning.
Date: Thursday, 8 June, 2017
Presenter: A/Prof Terry Cumming
Parenting a Gifted Child: What Supports
Not recognising your child or yourself now
or Hinders Talent Development?
that adolescence has hit? Dr Cumming will
discuss dealing with challenging behaviours
Date: Wednesday, 22 March, 2017
and how to support your child through their
Presenter: Dr Susen Smith
adolescent years keeping both of you sane.
How can you find out the areas of your
childs gifts and talents? And how can you
How to Boost Boys Motivation at School
support them to develop those areas fully?
Dr Smith will discuss ways parents can
Date: Wednesday, 23 August, 2017
support their gifted children to reach their
Presenter: Scientia Professor Andrew
full potential.
Martin
Looking for ways to keep your child focused
Assessment A-Z: What does it all mean?
and supporting them to succeed at school?
Professor Martin will discuss the Motivation
Date: Monday, 8 May, 2017
and Engagement Wheel, with a particular
Presenter: Professor Chris Davison
focus on research into boys motivation and
Do your childs assessments, reports and
engagement.
NAPLAN results make your head spin?
Professor Davison will discuss how and
Separating the Wheat from the Chaff:
why schools assess student learning and
Identifying and Using Online Resources
how you can use the results to support your
to Support Gifted Learners and Families
childs further development.
(Part II)

Lecture details
Date: Wednesday, 25 October, 2017
Presenter: Dr Jennifer Jolly
Overwhelmed by what is -- or isnt -- out
Time: 5.30 - 7.00pm there online to help you support your gifted
child? Dr Jolly will discuss recommended
Venue: Matraville Sports High School, resources and ways to connect with existing
groups and organisations. New local and
UNSW Building
Australian-based resources have been
Cost: Free added since her previous talk in 2015.

Register online:
https://education.arts.unsw.edu/matraville/parent
 Page 24

EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT PARENTING

5 SESSION PARENTING COURSE FOR PARENTS OF TEENS

Would you like to learn how to:

Communicate effectively with your teenager?
Understand your teenager?
Help your teenager with emotional intelligence and managing emotions?
Prevent some teenager behaviour problems?
Teach your teenager to deal with conflict?

VENUE: Chatswood Community Health Centre

57 Hercules St, Chatswood
DATES: Wednesdays 1st March 29th March 2017 (5 sessions)
TIME: 7.00pm 9.30pm
COST: $150pp
REFRESHMENTS PROVIDED

BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL:
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/tuning-in-to-teens-emotionally-intelligent-parenting-tickets-31276930140
PH: 8021 3668

The 5 session course will be facilitated by a qualified Parent Educator from

Child and Adolescent Parenting, Northern Sydney Local Health District