The Heritage Herald

Our School Office will be closed for the first two weeks of the holidays and will open on the third week on Tue 18 July and Fri 21 July.  We look forward to welcoming all of our families on Monday, 24 July for our first day of Term 3.

All K-11 student reports for Semester 1 will be sent out via email to parents in week two of Term 3.

What a success! 😊 Last week, we were blessed with absolutely perfect winter weather to run our School Athletics Carnivals, Junior and Senior Schools. Thank you to all the parents who joined us onsite. You helped make it extra special!

Students participated in both track events (sprint and middle distance) and field events. It was fabulous watching many students finish their track races at the amphitheatre-style grassed area on the oval.

Music, sunshine, dry grass, laughter and fun made both days experiences one that most will remember for years to come. Many students will also savour the memories with 1st, 2nd and 3rd place results.  

Some students ran/jumped/threw for fun, others for places; irrelevant of the motive, it was great to see so many students enjoying the festivities and getting some valuable exercise. Congratulations to the 81 students who qualified for Zone Athletics in Coffs Harbour in Term 3.

A huge thank you to all the staff for their effort in making the sports carnivals so special. Mrs Keast’s Yr 11 SLR students and Mrs Cato’s Yr 12 SLR students were invaluable in running the Junior School carnival- thank you!

It would be remiss of me not to thank all the students for the respectful and joyous nature they exhibited during their carnival. This is an important piece to ensure such successful days.

These days were evidence of how, we at Heritage, ‘do community’…. a firm sense of belonging, learning, believing and responding to God’s blessings. 😊

Mick Baldwin

Heritage has entered 3 teams into the Australian National Virtual Debating Competition. Schools are predominately from the eastern Australian states.

The three teams are:  Junior team – Yr 7/8, the Middle team – Yr 9/10, and the Senior Team Yr 11/12.

It is exciting that Debating has become more popular among students and new members have been added to each team.

Each team is scheduled for 3 virtual debates in the online environment. Topics related to the environment, economy, and lifestyle.

Practices generally occur during the Co-Curricular time on Mondays or other times as needed. students have been practicing speaking publicly, thinking on their feet and pulling apart opposing arguments with little thinking time, and presenting their thoughts without saying ‘stuff, things or um’. Each student has developed their confidence and extended their delivery time by giving further examples and implications of the arguments presented. Speaking on topics with limited preparation time in front of peers is very difficult.

The junior team now has enough students to make 2 teams. Yr 7 students are learning from their more experienced yr 8 peers on the finer points of debating. Students who participate in the Junior team include yr 7: Jed, Bronte, Madeline, Ezekiel, Justin, and Yr 8: Davryn, Tim, Lachlan, and Ben. The junior team has had 2 debates so far: “Australia should lower its carbon emissions by using nuclear power” and “University courses should be free for all students”. We are proud of the way each student collaborated, worked as a member of the team, gave their considered analysis and understanding of the topic, researched further ideas, and were quick to think critically and analyse the argument of the opposing team ready for the rebuttal. Each student has shown growth in their confidence and speaking skills. They have had 2 narrow defeats to their opposition but know that their arguments and skills were strong enough to win.

The Middle team has welcomed 3 new eager students to the 2022 team – Kaden, Asher, and Isaiah. Their confidence and ability to speak publicly for 5 minutes has grown exponentially. Well done boys. This Middle team has only had one debate so far with the topic “That children under 16 should be prevented from using their real names online’ and we were the negative team. It was a very close debate with the win being awarded to the opposing team. As the team progresses, leadership and mentoring are shown by Max, Lillian, and Keira as they assist Kaden, Asher, and Isaiah to quickly hone and refine their skills. Nate and Jared have not wanted to miss out, so they have also joined us during the co-curricular time.

Our Senior team is yet to have a debate. They will be busy in week 1 next term. They practiced speaking on a topic for 6 minutes and extending their responses through rich examples and implications. The girls, Ava, Zoe, Georgia, Niamh, and Mia, are very eager for their first debate, but nervous at the same time. Your time will come girls and your skills will shine through.

New members are always welcome as we will continue to refine our skills on Monday afternoons. 

- Rachel Lilley

On Wednesday 28th June, 14 students from Yrs 10 & 11 spent the morning at the Council Chambers as they were given the opportunity to take part in a Mock Council Meeting. They heard presentations from Mayor Peta Pinson and the CEO of the Council Dr Clare Allen and then participated in discussions on two current local issues: The drainage issues at Tuffins Lane and the proposed Tidal Pool at Oxley Beach. Democracy was the winner as they took part in voting and in fact replicated votes that had taken place in a previous Council Meeting. This was a wonderful chance to see how decisions are made at a Local Government Level. We may have some budding politicians in the making as there were many questions for the Mayor at the conclusion of our time.

As part of our Designing for Deep Learning, Stage 1 have been studying different insects. We have been looking at the Character dimension Learning to deep learn, to keep trying, to have integrity, empathy, and compassion, and to always be a learner. Within that dimension we have focused on Grit, tenacity, perseverance and resilience.  This looks at how students deal with setbacks, feedback and challenging tasks.

Stage 1 students have sketched their insects through many drafts using many references including library books, scientific websites and a 3D modelling program on their iPads.

On Monday Year 1 had a special Year 7 helper, Luke, to help us construct 3D sculptures of our insects using recycled materials. Students had the role of Designer and Builder, Luke was the Hot Glue Contractor, Mrs Partridge was a Shape Consultant and Mrs Cohen was the Sharps Operator. At the end of the day the student's roles changed to specific clean up duties and I was so proud of the way they diligently worked at their roles.

As part of the Port Macquarie NAIDOC Week from 2nd to 9th July 2023, there will be a NAIDOC Family Fun Day on Thursday 6th July. We invite our school community to join in this event and explore the various activities happening during the holidays.