February Edition - Sydney Secondary College Balmain Campus

A View from the Bridge
It’s feeling now as if we are right back into the swing for 2013:
• Teaching and learning has really begun in earnest and it’s
been a pleasure, especially as I take visitors and new
enrolments around, to see the engagement and activity that
is taking place all over the school. Our numbers have
climbed to 676, an increase of one hundred in the last two
years, and are now testing our capacity.
• Year 7 have just returned from a great time at the Outdoor
Bush Camp. It was the largest number we’ve ever sent
away, 167 out of the 176 students in the year, so I’m truly
appreciative of Mr Pearce’s efforts in organizing the camp
and the support he had from the teachers who went, Ms
Hinchey, Mr Compton and Ms Michael, and the teachers’
aides, Jo Manning and Carol Giles. Every report I’ve had is
that they’re a great bunch of students and had a great time
together.
• The College Swimming Carnival was held at Drummoyne
Pool last Wednesday. Eighty-seven students competed and
forty-four will swim in the Zone Championships so it was a
very successful day, particularly for three of our Year 7
students, Jaya Bond, Cerys O’Hara and Jun Nilsson who all
broke records on the day.
• Trials for the Talented Athletes Program were completed
today and the team will be announced by the end of this
week. I’m told that there were some outstanding
achievements in the ‘beep’ test, with Hal Titmarsh (12.3)
and Matthew Wilkie (11.12) leading the way.
• The Duke of Edinburgh Award has begun already with 19
Year 10 students completing the final leg of the Bronze
Award and 33 new Year 9 students nominating for the
program.
• Auditions for the Instrumental Music Program have now
been completed, tutorials have begun and the selections for
the seven college bands will be announced next week.
• Our kayaking group had their first paddle on the harbour
this morning. The most pleasing aspect was that they were
able to launch from our new pontoon which was installed
during the holidays. There were ten paddlers, meaning that
we can take another six in the group. They don’t have to be
experienced, the aim is to teach students basic skills so that
they can enjoy recreational paddling.
At present we’re involved in organization for the College
Presentation Day this Friday at the Sydney Town Hall. All
students and their parents are invited to attend.
Staffing News
Our
School
Leaders
2013
As well as the new appointments I noted in our
newsletter at the end of last year, we can now also
welcome Mr Shiells, who is replacing Mr Lu in TAS for
this year, Ms Dennis who will be teaching four days a
week in CAPA and TAS, and Mr Adcock who will be
teaching seven days per fortnight in HSIE. The versatile
Mr Felkai will be teaching this year in the Support Unit
and in the Learning Support Teacher role.
Mr Bury conducted two merit selection panels in the
first week of the term and I couldn’t be happier with the
selections - Ms Wolf now has a permanent position on
our staff as a History teacher (although for this year she
will continue in her role in LOTE) and Mr Park, who
began his teaching career with us as a temporary
teacher in 2008-9, will return as our new Geography
teacher. That’s also true of the PDHPE position which
was awarded on the last day of last year – to Ms Tricase.
Now we just have to find a permanent position for our
Sports Co-ordinator and Hawaiian Trip Co-ordinator, Ms
Erlano.
Our new Deputy, Mr Anderson has been teaching
seniors at the Blackwattle Bay Campus for the past
seven years but he’s fitted in right from the start at the
junior campus. Already he has completed the
assessment booklets for Years 8-10 which outline the
assessment tasks and requirements for each subject
throughout the year. These have been distributed to
students and placed on the school website.
Ms Matthews is right back into the groove, too. She’s
working with the P&C to organize the Welcome for Year
7 Parents which (weather permitting) is to be held at the
Boat Shed on Thursday evening from 6 p.m. There’ll be
another opportunity to meet with parents at our first
P&C meeting for the year, which will be held in the Staff
Common Room at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 26 th February.
Page 1
Respect yourself, others and the community/act responsibly/participate productively

Sports Corner
2013 SPORTS CAPTAINS
It is with great pleasure we can announce the following
students who will lead their House for 2013:
SAUVAGE
Caitlin Jeffries
Jinuk Chung
WOODS
Audrey Joseph
Paddy Reynolds
STEWART
Tessa Renwick-Sinclair
Conor Maglis
PEARCE
Michaela Franz
Callan Avery
2012 SSC BALMAIN SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR
Welcome back to another calendar year of sport. We have
already made a splash with the strong 87 students who
competed in the Sydney Secondary College Swimming
Carnival held at Drummoyne Pool. There were strong
performances from the 12 year girls division. A new but
friendly rivalry has been born between Jaya Bond and Cerys
O’Hara. Both girls battled it out all day with 2 points
separating the final College champion results. Sarina Chew
and Wayne Qie started the way they finished the swimming
season last year, both students successfully defended their
champion status.
A special mention to the dominant girls in the 15’s age
group who competed throughout the carnival; there were a
total of 17 competitors in this age group, 16 of whom came
from SSC Balmain.
Sydney Secondary College 2013 Swimming Age
Champions
SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR
Natasha Ricardo (Stewart)
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR
Hyeon Kim (Sauvage)
It was a very busy year for both of these
tremendous and naturally gifted athletes. They swam,
ran, threw and jumped their way to sports
heaven glory in college, zone and regional
competitions. Hyeon Kim is the quiet achiever w ho
dominates in the pool, track and soccer field. Whilst
Natasha’s good fortune in the gene pool continues to
consistently perform in all areas of the sporting grounds.
Your performances over the 2012 season were
absolutely “outstanding”!
GOLD
SILVER
12 yrs Jaya Bond (Pearce) Cerys O’Hara (Sauvage)
Jun Nilsson (Stewart)
13 yrs Sarina Chew (Pearce) Renee Langenheim
(Sauvage)
14 yrs Wayne Qie (Woods) Lauren Baird (Woods)
15 yrs Anna Zoloterava (Woods) Olivia Geehan (Pearce)
Jinuk Chung (Sauvage)
16 yrs Natasha Ricardo (Stewart)
Congratulations to all the competitors and supporters who
came out that day. Good luck to the 44 students who have
made it in to the Bligh Zone Swimming Championships on
Monday February 25!
P&C Welcome to
Year 7 Parents
Thursday 21 February 2013
6 pm – 8 pm
Adults only event
Page 2
Respect yourself, others and the community/act responsibly/participate productively

Year 8 Update
Welcome back all year 8 students and parents, I hope
holidays were safe and relaxing and preparations for
the year ahead are well underway. It is pleasing to see
so many fresh new uniforms and black leather shoes
worn by year; I strongly encourage this uniform
wearing extends into PE and sport lessons, ensuring
correct sport shoes, t-shirt and shorts are all brought on
the days of physical activity. As the weather is still quite
warm it is very important sun safety is followed, an
appropriate hat and sunscreen are encouraged.
The College Swimming Carnival took place on
Wednesday; the enthusiasm and support given by year
8 students was a credit to their year group and a huge
support for all of the competitors. We definitely have a
wide array of talent both in the water and on the
sidelines.
Student Representative Council News
Balmain's Student Representative Council is a group of
about 25 students from all years who dedicate their
lunch every Thursday to organise events, discuss school
related topics and share ideas on how to improve our
school.
Already this year we have organised the selling of
chocolates and serenades to 'spread the love' as part of
the annual Valentine’s Day event. Students especially
enjoyed the serenades that were read out in Tuesday's
assembly. Another upcoming event supported by the
SRC is The World's Greatest Shave which involves School
Captain Myra Holani shaving her hair in front of the
whole school and a bake sale in support for the
Leukaemia Foundation. These are just some of the
events that we have done so far in SRC and there are
more to come.
Tracy Guan
President
Pictured: Mohammed Kowaider, Sarina Chew and Paul
Claughton-Pesche.
There are some exciting events and activities planned
for year 8 this year including hygiene day, Forster camp,
sporting events and knockouts, and leadership
programs. I’m looking forward to a year of success and
achievement, so get busy and start organising
yourselves. Use your calendar to write down important
dates, ensure you bring correct equipment every day
and start signing up to all the extra-curricular activities
offered around the school community, such as SRC, the
ECO team or TAP program, being an active member of
these groups help build your confidence, leadership
skills and relationships within our school. So get active
and start getting involved!
I look forward to another fantastic year!
Anna Bullock
Duke of Edinburgh 2013
The Duke of Edinburgh Award has re-commenced for 2013
and is successfully moving into its second year. Thus far we
have approximately 33 students in Year 9 that are preparing
to start their Bronze award; this number has doubled since
the program started!
We continue with the 19 Year 10 students on the last legs of
their Bronze award. For further information on the Award
please visit our school website or contact the Coordinator.
Ms Tricase (PDHPE Staff).
Page 3
Respect yourself, others and the community/act responsibly/participate productively

Upcoming Events
The Harbour Front (Office)
Thursday 21 February
Friday 22 February
Monday 25 February
Tuesday 26 February
Wednesday 27
February
Thursday 28 February
Friday 29 February
Friday 8 March
Saturday 9 March
Monday 11 March
Wednesday 13 March
Friday 15 March
Year 7 Parents social night
6. 00 pm - 8.00 pm
College Presentation Day
Sydney Town Hall
9.00 am - 12.00 pm
All students are expected to attend.
Zone swimming
P&C Meeting
7.30 pm in the Teachers Common
Room.
All welcome
Bligh Zone Girls Soccer
Bligh Zone Girls Soccer
Bligh Zone Boys Soccer
10Z Japanese Excursion
Open Day
10Y Japanese Excursion
Diversity Day for Year 10 students to
Blackwattle Bay Campus
Trivia Night Fundraiser for the
Hawaii trip
Balmain Campus Girls Hawaii Soccer and
Netball Team’s Fundraiser
Saturday 2 nd March 2013
11am until 4pm
Gelato available while you wait
Support our team by buying a car wash!
Only $10 each
Venue: 25-33 Terry St Rozelle
PAYMENTS
• Accepted by cheque/cash/EFTPOS during Monday
to Friday between 8.00 am – 8.50 am and Recess.
• Office hours are: Monday – Friday 8.00 am – 3.30
pm.
• Please note for security reasons, these are the only
times we can accept money/payments.
LOST PROPERTY
• PLEASE LABEL YOUR CHILD’S PERSONAL
BELONGINGS TO ENSURE THEY ARE RETURNED
Each Term we have several items of lost property
sent to the front office.
• If items are NOT collected by end of each Term
we donate them to charity.
• If the item is labelled with a name we can
endeavour to return it to the rightful owner.
• Please DO NOT BRING VALUABLES TO SCHOOL
CHANGED ADDRESS / PHONE NUMBER
Please advise front office if we need to change your
details.
ARRIVING LATE
Please remind your children they need to sign in at the
front office if they arrive late to school. If they miss
Roll Call and they do not sign in late they are marked
absent for the entire day. They are further required to
provide a note from their parent/carer stating
reason(s) for their lateness. Please note this will avoid
you receiving SMS messages for unexplained absences.
EARLY LEAVERS
Parents are reminded that if your child needs to leave
school early the following procedure must be adhered
to:
• Obtain an Early Leavers Pass from the Deputy
Principal BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS by showing
letter/permission note from parent.
• Upon leaving early, the student is to present the
Early Leavers Pass at the front office to be stamped
before leaving the school grounds.
Sydney Secondary College Balmain Campus
Car Park
Page 4
Respect yourself, others and the community/act responsibly/participate productively