Category: Updates from Rose Bay Secondary College

Schools Spectacular remixed for television

Relive memorable acts and performances from the past four years in a special televised Schools Spectacular event.

The annual Schools Spectacular, cancelled this year due to the pandemic, will entertain audiences with a special television broadcast next week.

The Schools Spectacular 2020 Remixed will air on Channel 7 on Saturday 5 December at 7pm.

The two-hour broadcast will feature memorable acts and spectacular moments from the past four years.

The show will also feature a surprise digital performance from this year’s graduating Class of 2020 with the Year 12 students sharing their passion and talents while celebrating with NSW Education for one last time.

This technical feat aims to inspire audiences as more than 70 dancers, singers, instrumental musicians and signing performers from across NSW assemble virtually for the performance.

Mark Scott, Secretary of the NSW Department of Education, said this event is an opportunity to revisit memories of past performances and celebrate the talents of students in NSW public schools.

“Schools Spectacular 2020 Remixed will be an extraordinary broadcast and a unique opportunity to look back at some of the many achievements of our talented performing arts students and their hard working and committed teachers from the past four years,” he said.

Audiences can also share their own memories and see highlights from past Schools Spectacular performances on the Schools Spectacular Facebook page.

Schools Spectacular Remixed 2020 is produced by the NSW Department of Education and proudly supported by Presenting Partners, Telstra and the NSW Teachers Federation, and Segment Partner, RØDE Microphones.

Celebrate Schools Spectacular 2020 Remixed on Saturday 5 December at 7pm                    on Channel 7.

 

New virtual courses available for NSW students

Is your child interested in learning new skills at school through virtual vocational education and training courses? 

From next year, schools in NSW will be able to offer 20 new virtual vocational courses to Year 11 students. These new industry focused courses will contribute to a student’s HSC and ATAR. They will also give students great in-demand and practical skills for the workplace. 

The courses focus on current skills needs and include: 

  • allied health assistant

  • game design

  • cyber security 

  • robotics 

  • digital supply chain.

The virtual courses are different to ‘online’ learning in that they are delivered via a virtual classroom with a teacher, other students in the class, and an established weekly timetable. This will be complemented with 24/7 access to content, chat rooms and tutorials to connect with other students. 

Each of the new courses is part of an existing NESA Industry Curriculum Framework (ICF) syllabus. 

Expressions of interest (EOI) for the courses are open now but be quick, as they close on 3 September 2021. Students can find out more at Skills at School, and speak to their school’s VET coordinator or careers advisor to discuss the options available to them.

Let the Game Changer Challenge begin

The semifinalist teams for the virtual Game Changer Challenge 2020 have been announced.

From all corners of NSW 420 students will use their design thinking skills to explore tangible solutions for a real world wicked problem in the 2020 Game Changer Challenge.

Hundreds of applications from NSW public schools were received for the Game Changer Challenge, which this year will be delivered as a colossal virtual event with seven semifinals culminating in a grand final.

The 84 primary and secondary student teams will aim to solve the real world problem: “How might we use technology to bring everyone in our community closer together?”

The student applications covered COVID-19 restrictions, including innovative ways to social distance and sanitise, cutting-edge technology like aerial transport systems, and new ways to ease social isolation, combat racism and build community for people with disability.

Department of Education Secretary Mark Scott said today’s students will solve the great challenges of the future.

“To flourish in this world they will need to be deep thinkers, critical and reflective, empathetic and creative,” he said.

“The Game Changer Challenge aims to highlight and develop these future-focused skills.”

The 84 student teams were judged into the semifinals by a panel of Department of Education executives and design thinking and STEM advisers. The judges were looking for the design thinking trifecta of desirability, feasibility and viability in the students’ applications.

Design thinking is a human-centred approach to solving complex problems, with empathy and collaboration at the heart of the process.

The teams selected for the 2020 Game Changer Challenge will attend an intensive workshop in the semifinals from 27 October to 13 November where they will learn and apply the design thinking process to build on their video application.

They will be guided through the process by expert facilitators and a series of videos produced with thought leaders in technology and innovation.

The winners of the seven semi-finals will be judged in a virtual grand final event for the title of 2020 Game Changer Challenge Champion on 1 December.

Visit the Game Changer Challenge webpage for the full list of semifinalists.

New resources to help HSC students stay healthy

With only a month until the first written HSC exams, Year 12 students have an extra place to look for support.

Year 12 and the HSC can be a stressful time, and this year’s students have already overcome bushfires, floods and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The department has brought together new and updated tools to help HSC students stay healthy, active and connected as they finish their final weeks of school.

Stay healthy HSC includes:

  • advice about looking after your own mental health and checking in on friends from ReachOut.com
  • exam tips from the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA)
  • on-demand video lessons, written by teachers, to help with study.

Visit Stay healthy HSC to explore the resources.

Update on religious and ethics activities in NSW schools

Special Religious Education (SRE)/Special Education in Ethics (SEE) is not currently permitted in Greater Sydney, including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour.

Approved providers have modified their authorised curriculum to enable students to learn from home.

Parents/carers may wish to access the SRE and SEE resources through the portal entry points to lesson content below:

For more information or support on these resources, please contact the approved provider.

Refer to the department’s COVID-19 Advice for families page for more information on school operations.

Inner Sydney High School – Catchment

 

The new Inner Sydney High School is scheduled to open Day 1, Term 1 2020 for Year 7 students.

The Principal, Ms Robyn Matthews (previously the Principal of South Sydney High School) has recently been appointed and the project is now ready to announce the catchment area for the new school. You can view the catchment here.

If you have a child in Year 6 in 2019, he/she may be eligible to enrol into the Inner Sydney High School for Year 7 in 2020. A student is able to enrol into the Inner Sydney High School as an in-area student if their permanent and principal place of residence is located in the school’s designated catchment area. Enrolments will be undertaken in accordance with the NSW Department of Education’s guidelines and procedures.

Primary schools will receive enrolment information for Year 6 students in March 2019 as part of the normal high school enrolment process.

You can find out more about this exciting new high school and Ms Matthews at the School Infrastructure website.