"Happy the peacemakers; they shall be called the sons and daughters of God."
Matthew 5:9
From The Principal
Last call for tickets! A Grand Affair looks set to be an incredible evening of glamour, fun, food, friendship and fundraising. Tickets have been selling fast and we only have a few spaces remaining for this very exciting and special occasion. The cocktail style function includes gourmet food, a roaring 20’s style bar, live music, games, auction and great company. All funds raised will support the installation of the media, sound and lighting equipment for the soon to be opened Multi Purpose Centre. Please join us for what promises to be a memorable evening to be held in one of Ballina's greatest kept secrets – Fenwick House. Tickets are available here. It is going to be a wonderful evening and I am looking forward to seeing you there!
Thank you all our families who joined us for the Stage 5 Creative Showcase last Tuesday evening. The evening showcased work from our Year 9 and 10 Visual Art, Photography and Digital Media, Drama and Music students. It was wonderful to see the variety of talent spread across a range of mediums including short film, still photography, painting as well as instrumental and drama performance. It was a fantastic evening and an excellent way to celebrate the culmination of a semester’s work. Congratulation to all of the students involved and to the Creative Arts teaching team for all their efforts to support our creative students.
Finally, on behalf of the Secondary students and families I wish to say thank you to Mrs Rebecca Campbell for all her wonderful work as she will finish her time at EAC on the last day of this term. Mrs Campbell is moving to another school to take on a leadership role relating to student learning and innovation. When announcing it to the students at the assembly today there was a collective sigh followed by rousing applause to thank and congratulate her for all she has done at EAC. She is a warm, compassionate, tireless and inspirational teacher who has made a broad contribution to the areas of English, music performance and the Creative and Performing Arts. We are very grateful for all she has given to EAC and wish her well with this new endeavour. Mrs Kelly Twyford has been appointed Acting Curriculum Leader of English and Creative Arts and I hope to introduce to our community a new member of the English teaching team in the coming days.
Mr Robert Tobias
Principal
Off the Deputy's Desk
Last week Nathan Buckley, coach of the Collingwood Football Club announced his resignation as coach. Buckley was a highly decorated player who won 6 Collingwood Best and Fairest Awards, the Norm Smith Medal for Best on the Ground in a Grand Final (one of only three players in history who have won it whilst playing on the losing team). His was an iconic career. As a coach he coached Collingwood to the finals 5 times and to the runner up position in 2018 when they lost in the last seconds.
For all of his decorated career Buckley was never seen as a winner, which was such a shame for such an icon of the game. What struck me about his speech last week was his sense of gratitude to the Collingwood Club for everything that the club had done for him, for the incredible profile that it gave him and for all the learning that he gained from his career as a player and coach. Gratitude is a sign of character and Buckley demonstrated great character when he delivered his speech. We aim to instill gratitude in our students for their opportunities that they receive here at EAC and for their lives.
In a world where we always seem to want more Buckley walked away as technically a loser but very much the winner in the eyes of many observers including the Collingwood faithful. He is seen as a class act regardless of his sporting pedigree.
For our students, gratitude can be demonstrated in the little things that they say and do for one another along with an attitude of kindness and respect.
As we move towards the mid-year break our students, staff and members of our community should take the time to reflect upon all the things that we should be grateful for. No doubt if we sat down and listed them there would be a large list. Perhaps try a Gratitude Journal for a month as it makes us reflect upon how lucky we are.
I am presently proofreading reports from K-12 and whilst it is a long and sometimes tedious job, it presents me with great opportunities. Firstly, it allows me to build up a complete picture of each student’s academic progress, the effort that they put into their studies and their general academic habits. Next, it allows me to find out more about each students’ contribution to the extra curricular life of the College in sport, arts, service and competitions. Finally, I am able to learn more about what their teachers are asking them to do in order to improve their results and effort in the future. It is a long job but there is an enormous opportunity for me to learn more about each student in the College.
Mr Darren Parks
Deputy Principal
Term 2 Week 10
Monday 21 June
Athletics Training - 7.30am-8.30am - Cumbalum
Year 10 Wellbeing Day
Hospitality Work Placement
Year 9 PASS Excursion - 9.15am-10.50am - Goonellabah
Tuesday 22 June
Primary Rugby 7’s Trials - 7.30am-8.30am - Saunders Oval
NRCC Touch Football Gala Day - All day - Saunders Oval
10.2 PASS Excursion - 1.30pm-3.00pm - Jetts Gym
Secondary Rock Band Performance - 6.00pm-7.00pm - UCA
Wednesday 23 June
Walker Chapel - 8.48am - Ezzy Centre
Whole College Assembly - 12.10pm-1.00pm - UCA
Thursday 24 June
Purcival Chapel - 8.48am - Ezzy Centre
Year Level Photos 7-11 plus catch up Individual photos-9.08am
10.1 PASS Excursion - 11.20am-12.55pm - Jetts Gym
Year 4 Concert Band Performance - 12.15pm-12.45pm - UCA
Year 3 and Secondary Concert Band Performance - 6.00pm-7.30pm - UCA
Friday 25 June
Athletics Training - 7.30am-8.30am - Cumbalum
Mountain Bike Training - All Day - Duck Creek
Primary Assembly - 11.48am - 2A - Discovery Centre
Primary Peer Support - 12.38pm
Secondary Sport - 1.28pm-3.08pm
Term 2 concludes - 3.08pm
Term 3 Week 1
Monday 12 July
Staff Professional Learning Day
Tuesday 13 July
Term 3 commences K-12
Primary Athletics Carnival - All day - Cavanbah Centre, Byron Bay
Wednesday 14 July
Secondary Athletics Carnival - All day - Cavanbah Centre, Byron Bay
Thursday 15 July
Year 11 Retreat - TBC
Friday 16 July
Primary Assembly - 11.48am - Discovery Centre - 6A
Secondary Sport - 1.28pm-3.08pm
Secondary News
Stop Cyberbullying Day 18th June
All technology these days produces both good results and notable consequences. The internet is increasingly a perfect case study for this idea. While better connecting the world, the internet has also allowed individuals to hide behind masks of anonymity. This “faceless evil” of the internet is a growing threat for teens, specifically when it comes cyberbullying. Despite a recent ramping up of awareness campaigns, the following cyberbullying facts and statistics indicate the problem is not going away anytime soon.
Cyberbullying in Australia
The Office of eSafety statistics show that in the 12 months to June 2017:
- 1 in 5 Australian young people reported being socially excluded, threatened or abused online.
- 55% sought help from their parents, 28% from their friends; 38% blocked the offending social media account; 12% reported it to the website or platform.
- 1 in 5 Australian young people (15% of kids, 24% of teens) admitted behaving in a negative way to a peer online — such as calling them names, deliberately excluding them, or spreading lies or rumours. Of these, more than 90% had had a negative online experience themselves.
What is Cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is the use of technology to bully a person with the intent to hurt or intimidate them.
Cyberbullying behaviour might include:
- abusive texts and emails
- hurtful messages, images or videos
- imitating others online
- excluding others online
- humiliating others online
- spreading nasty online gossip and chat
- creating fake accounts to trick someone or humiliate them
Around the world, research shows that one-fifth of all bullying occurs through social media. Bullying occurs through social media sites and apps, text messages and online gaming.
Google Trends data indicates much more attention is focused on cyberbullying than ever before. The volume of worldwide searches for “cyberbullying” increased threefold since 2004:
There’s an interesting pattern in the search data too. There are steep dropoffs in the number of people searching for “cyberbullying” during the summer and over the Christmas break. This could indicate that cyberbullies are actually at their worst during the school term, and perhaps don’t try to continue their harassment throughout the holidays.
What can parents do?
There are a large number of ways parents can respond to cyberbullying, but it appears the most common response is to talk to children about online safety.
The Office of eSafety provides a number of fact sheets to support parents with these conversations.
Children may not always tell adults about cyberbullying through fear they may overreact and make the situation worse.
Watch for these signs:
- being upset after using the internet or their mobile phone
- changes in personality, becoming more withdrawn, anxious, sad or angry
- appearing more lonely or distressed
- unexpected changes in friendship groups
- a decline in their school work
- changes in their sleep patterns
- avoidance of school or clubs
- a decline in their physical health
- becoming secretive about their online activities and mobile phone use
Reporting Cyberbullying
If you are under 18 (or are reporting on behalf of someone under 18) you can make a complaint about cyberbullying to eSafety. They can take action to get serious cyberbullying material removed, and provide advice, support and assistance. For advice go to the eSafety website.
What the School does
Schools and teachers play a vital role in promoting the social and emotional development and wellbeing of Australian children and young people. This includes protecting students from cyberbullying and giving them the skills to deal with bullying experiences.
During Wellbeing and PDHPE lessons a number of issues are discussed including cyberbullying and online safety. The College also has a number of strategies to support students in reporting cyberbullying. Clear policies and procedures and support services have been developed and these are available in the College planner and the Website.
It is important that every student has a staff member who they feel connected to. The House structure has provided this opportunity through the PC teacher and the Leader of House. Students are regularly encouraged to be ‘upstanders’ by safely speaking up and telling teachers and other adults if they see or hear of cyberbullying.
Stop Cyberbullying Day was discussed during Secondary assembly this week and all students have been encouraged to be an upstander and stop online bullying. I encourage you also to have this conversation with your child. If we all work together we can educate and support those who are impacted by cyberbullying.
Mrs Amanda Middleton
Director of Secondary
National Mountain Bike Junior Champion
Hayley Oakes: National Mountain Bike Junior Champion
Hayley Oakes recently participated in the National Mountain Bike Championships in XCO and XCC events in Tasmania. Hayley rode through rain and extreme cold to win both of these events and is now the National Mountain Bike Junior Champion for both of these events.
Congratulations to Hayley for this achievement and all the hard work that goes into being a National Champion. Hayley has been selected to attend the World Championships in September in Italy but will not be able to attend due to COVID travel restrictions.
Primary Update
The Great EAC Talent Show
Last week, the SRC held the Great EAC Talent Show. Each lunchtime, different year levels strutted their stuff to entertain their peers. By the end of the week, 75 students had performed. Acts ranged from solo singers, pianists, guitarists, gymnastics demonstrations, magic tricks, fishing videos, full band performances and comedy acts. Judging was difficult due to the high caliber of performances, but the SRC reps made the tough decisions and placings were announced at Friday’s Primary Assembly.
It was truly inspiring to witness the students, many for the very first time, perform to an audience. As is the EAC way, the audience were very encouraging bursting into applause after each act. Moments like these can have a profound effect on a student and ignite a lifelong passion for the arts. I thank the SRC, under the guidance of our Primary Captains Sophie and Finley for their enthusiasm and organisation of the event. There is no doubt that EAC has talent.
Bread Bags
Next week is the final week to bring in your bread bags to recycle for the Wonder Bread Bags initiative. Drop off locations are scattered throughout the school in the large pink boxes. In the first week of next term, the SRC will bundle up the bags and send them off to be recycled through the Recycle scheme. This is also the time for the SRC to claim our rewards as part of the initiative.
Mr Wayne Cross
Director of Primary
Peer Support Update
Last week in Peer Support, the students learnt how important it was to take small steps toward achieving a goal. The children developed a range of strategies and different ways to think, to help them stay optimistic.
Ask your child to share their goal and discuss ways you can provide encouragement.
Mr Christensen, Mrs Sculley and Mr Walsh
Friends of EAC
Prize and Auction Sneak Preview
For those who are unable to attend A Grand Affair and would like to contribute, we would like to give the EAC community the opportunity to take part in the evening through our online auction.
The online auction includes the following incredible items:
Ballina Staycation Package valued at $590
- One night's accommodation in a Spa Room at the Ramada
- Dinner at Lola Dining $200
- Lunch at Shelly Beach Cafe $100
Wellness Package valued at over $975
- Nutrition Consultation with Clinical Nutritionist Sonya Cacciotti $200 and Wellness Hamper from Ballina Health Centre.
- 3 x personal sessions and fitness pack with Crossfit Ballina, valued at $315.
- Lennox Yoga 10 class pass valued at $200.
- Exhale Physiotherapy consultation valued at $180.
- 10 pass session with Swim Fit Lotti valued at $80.
Paul Stokell's Lotus Masterclass valued at $380
Where better to learn how to handle a Lotus than at the Paul Stokell Driving School. Paul and his team have over 15 years experience in racing and driver training. Paul has raced Formula Ford as well as Lotus and Lamborghini. Put that expertise to good use as you are instructed through 6 laps driven by you, followed by two blistering 'hot laps' where you will be holding on for dear life in the passenger seat.
Tom Carroll signed surfboard
Surfboard signed by Australian former pro surfer Tom Carroll. Carroll won the 1984 Surfer Poll and was inducted into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame in 1990. He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1992 and voted Number 7 on Surfer Magazine's list of the 'Greatest Surfers of All Time'. The surfboard is shaped by experienced shaper Luke "Howie" Howarth. Yes Tom has actually surfed with this board!!
Thank you to our generous Online Auction prize sponsors!!
On the night we will also have a live auction plus the following games to allow you the opportunity to give...
Grand Wine Grab
Do you have a special occasion coming up? Purchase a ticket in the Grand Wine Grab for the chance to win a bottle of Penfolds Grange valued at over $900. There are 12 bottles of wine to win...only one of them is a Penfolds Grange.
LUKA Jewellery Heist
A limited number of chances to win one of two bespoke statement pieces of handcrafted jewellery from local design team LUKA (value up to $300 each).
Plus some incredible prizes to be won in the Balloon Bust...here's just a sample...
- 2 nights accommodation at Tallaringa Views
- Byutee by Dellis Micro+ Facial Treatment and ASAP Rejuvenate Pack
- 90 minute Relaxation Massage with Living Deeply
- Bottle of Citrus and Sea Gin from Winding Road Distillery
- 10 pass session with Swim Fit Lotti
- Nosh Ballina Dining Voucher
- Quattro Dining Voucher
- Gift Hamper from Priceline
- Dinner for 2 at Shelter
- Millies of Newrybar gift voucher for a celebration cake
Live Auction #1
Cleaning Package
4 hours domestic cleaning with Jim's Cleaning.
$200 window cleaning with Beachside Cleaning.
Total package value $380
Live Auction Item #2
Lovin' Lennox Scenic Flight
A 20 minute scenic helicopter tour for 2 people with Air T&G.
Total value $360
Live Auction Item #3
Whale Watching Adventure
Whale Watching Ballina - Byron Bay Cruise for 4 people with Out of the Blue Adventures.
Total value $476
Donated by Georgie & Gus Clark
Live Auction Item #4
Coco Hanging Chair
Single Coco Hanging Chair from Byron Bay Hanging Chairs.
Total value $599
Music Notes
Canteen
Canteen Menu 2021
The Canteen menu complies with the NSW Healthy School canteen strategy. Further items will be added as the year progresses and the Winter Menu will be available in terms two and three.
Please note that items change in price from time to time.
Emergency Lunch
At times, for various reasons, students may require an emergency meal (basic sandwich), this will be provided with a canteen note sent home requesting payment, please send in the money to the Canteen ASAP.
Online Canteen Ordering
We are excited to be able to offer online Canteen ordering via the 'School Stream' app. Please refer to the recent letter to all families with instructions on how to download the app to your phone, tablet or computer.
Once the app is installed you will be able to view and select from the canteen menu by clicking on Canteen. This will bring up the canteen order form where you will be able to enter the child's details and select desired items from the dropdown lists under the relevant headings and pay. You will be prompted to tick which break you require your selection for.
All online orders must be completed and submitted prior to 8.45am on the day they are required, to enable Canteen staff enough time to prepare and distribute orders.
Manual Canteen Ordering
If you are unable to use the 'School Stream' App please place the money in a paper bag of sufficient size to fit all of the items. If you are ordering a drink with your child’s lunch, please provide two (2) bags. Please write the information on the LOWER half of the bag. If money is short we will substitute items to the value received.
REMEMBER, if ordering at both breaks, you must have a separate bag for each break.
Any change required will be placed in the bag for return with the child’s order.
All orders must be received at the canteen before 9.15am.
Christine Hall - Canteen Supervisor
contact: chall@eac.nsw.edu.au