News

Coronavirus - Department of Education statement

Tue, 28 Jan 2020 19:39:42 AEDT

The department is working with the Ministry of Health to monitor and respond to the unfolding international novel coronavirus situation.

Get up-to-date information about the department's response to novel coronavirus.

Are you #Ready2020?

Tue, 21 Jan 2020 14:50:04 AEDT

Hints, tips and resources to make a great start to the new school year – whether it’s your first day of high school or you’ve been here a while.

We work hard to make sure every student is known, valued and cared for – even before they walk into the classroom on Day 1, Term 1.

We’ve got great advice and resources for high school, no matter what year you’re heading into...

For families of students starting Year 7:

download our Getting ready for high school booklet
read our top tips for a smooth transition.

For families of returning students:

visit the back to school checklist to make a hassle-free start to the year
download the 2020 calendar to stay organised all year
check out our hints for setting up a study space.

Video – #Ready2020: First day at high school

Duration – 1:00

Join us for your HSC journey

Tue, 21 Jan 2020 15:36:08 AEDT

The HSC can be one of the most exciting moments of high school. Here’s how to be prepared.

We’re committed to supporting every student to do their best – especially during the HSC – and making sure every student is known, valued and cared for.

For HSC students, we’ve got advice on how to make the most of your study, set healthy habits and finish out high school in style.

Check out our HSC resources for hints, tips and checklists to make a great start to the new school year.

Video – #Ready2020: First day of Year 12

Duration – 1:00

Staying healthy into the new school year

Fri, 20 Dec 2019 16:43:17 AEDT

Immunisation is a simple, safe and effective way to protect your family from harmful diseases this holiday season and into 2020. Visit your doctor for general health and vaccination advice.

Immunisation not only protects you and your family but also others in your community, by reducing the spread of preventable diseases.

Children starting school in 2020 must have up-to-date immunisations to enrol.

These vaccinations help protect children from highly infectious and severe diseases including whooping cough and measles.

Travel health

If you’re travelling overseas during the school holidays, you may need vaccinations or medication – both for general health protection and for region specific diseases.

If you’re travelling to the Northern Hemisphere, you may even need a flu shot.

Find out more about staying healthy while travelling.

NSW schools respond to bushfires

Mon, 11 Nov 2019 16:07:43 AEDT

Many schools are responding to the catastrophic fire rating that is affecting communities across the state this week.

We are continuously updating the School safety page with a list of government and non-government schools, as well as TAFE NSW campuses that are currently non-operational.

While some schools are temporarily non-operational due to localised fires, many others in high-risk areas are non-operational as a precautionary measure.

Schools in some areas are being used as emergency evacuation centres at the direction of the Rural Fire Service.

For schools that are currently operational, school pickups and dropoffs will continue as usual. If your school is currently non-operational, it will likely remain so tomorrow.

Large scale distressing events affect our school communities in many ways. Headspace’s mental health support resource (PDF 100.52KB) is available to help students, teachers and school staff respond to the bushfires.

Visit the School safety page for updates. The department’s Facebook and Twitter accounts will also provide updates during this period.

Grab a ticket to Schools Spectacular 2019

Thu, 24 Oct 2019 10:59:43 AEDT

Will you be joining us at Schools Spectacular 2019? Tickets are on sale now. Experience our live show featuring a cast of thousands of public school students from across metropolitan, rural and remote regions of NSW.

Students from different ages, cultures and backgrounds will share the spotlight as they dance, play and sing for you. Choose from one of our four massive performances at Qudos Bank Arena on Friday 22 November and Saturday 23 November.

This year's events will feature:

more than 380 schools
5,500 performers
a 3000-strong choir
2,300 dancers
an 80-piece symphony orchestra
a world-class stage band.

Group bookings

Need to make a group booking for over 10 people? Complete the Schools Preview Order Form 2019 (PDF 110KB) to attend the discounted 11am Friday matinee. The Friday matinee is discounted for school students and accompanying teachers.

If you’d like to grab a spot at one of the other three remaining shows complete the Group Booking Form 2019 (PDF 110KB).

Tickets for you and your family and friends

Save you and your family a spot online or by phone on 132 849.

Video – Schools Spectacular 2019

Duration: 0:26

Book yourself in for Reading Hour

Thu, 12 Sep 2019 12:10:50 AEST

This Australian Reading Hour, encourage your child to discover or rekindle their love of a good book. Take the time to learn, escape and relax on Thursday 19 September and read for one hour.

Reading has been shown to reduce stress by 68% more than listening to music, going for a walk, or having a cup of tea.

Take the Book Swap Challenge

We all have favourite books that we come back to again and again.

To help celebrate Reading Hour take our Book Swap Challenge. We want students, teachers, staff and parents to try reading something new on the day. To get involved, simply pair up with someone and swap your favourite books.

Take a photo and tag it with #ReadingHour so we can see how you got involved.

Video – Ben Law asks students about their favourite author

Duration: 1:18

Author and #ReadingHour ambassador Benjamin Law talks with some of our students about their favourite books.

How to be smart and safe on social media

Thu, 05 Sep 2019 11:25:06 AEST

Use our new Digital Citizenship toolkit to empower your child to understand how their online behaviour affects themselves and others.

You and your child can find information on:

how to ‘be positive’ by understanding online behaviour and its effect
'be smart’ by thinking critically and being digitally aware
'be safe’ by protecting your security, privacy and wellbeing.

A toolkit to empower you and your child

You can find articles and videos to equip and empower your child to minimise the risks and maximise the opportunities in our digital future.

We’ve partnered with leading researchers to produce a curated toolkit – aligned to the curriculum – which teachers and you can share with the young people in your lives.

Guide your child through important concepts such as:

managing privacy settings in social media
collaborating online
avoiding scams and hoaxes
understanding the law when it comes to online speech
Internet banking, shopping online and much more.

Keep your child safe and happy online

Visit and bookmark the Digital Citizenship website. We’ll continue to add articles and resources to ensure the best possible tools are available to help you guide your child to be positive, smart and safe online.

What’s next after high school?

Fri, 30 Aug 2019 11:22:12 AEST

Is your child in Year 9 to 12 curious about their career choices? Now they can use LifeLauncher, a free online tool to explore and simplify their career choices.

Your child can explore courses and careers in-depth, at their own pace, anytime, anywhere and on any device. The tool includes 4,000 careers and 1,500 course options, all in one place.

How does it work?

Encourage your child to jump online and complete the 5-minute personality and subject quizzes to be matched to a range of career options that suit their passions and strengths.

If they take both quizzes, they’ll get more refined suggestions. They can even create free online pinboards to shortlist the courses and jobs that interest them.

When your child creates an account, they can save their searches and build a real understanding of the opportunities and pathways open to them.

What can your child learn about their career options?

Your child can explore the weekly salary of the career options they’re interested in. They’ll also find the employment and growth rates of those careers and the number of workers currently in those fields in Australia.

Each career option shows them the education they need as well as other related careers. They can follow links to other sites to find out more about a course to help them find the best provider for them.

Launch into the future today

Use this tool to chat with your child about their post-school options in a meaningful way.

Inspire your child to find their career match today at LifeLauncher.nsw.gov.au.

Education Week – Every student, every voice

Thu, 01 Aug 2019 12:50:51 AEST

We are celebrating our students and their powerful voices this Education Week Monday 5 August to Friday 9 August. Every year Education Week celebrates the achievements of public schools, our students and the value of public education.

This year, the theme is Every student, every voice.

Join us for #EdWeek19 as we celebrate our students and their power to shape the world.

Video – #EdWeek19 – Every student, every voice

Duration: 0:34

Head lice detected

Thu, 04 Jul 2019 12:52:36 AEST

We have had two incidents of head lice yesterday.

To assist us in the prevention of head lice spreading please ensure you check your child/ren’s hair. If head lice or nits are found please treat immediately. Please click the link below for all head lice management and prevention strategies.

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/headlice/Pages/treatment.aspx

In the case that head lice or nits are detected on inspection it is required that you begin treatment prior to your child returning to school.

Thank you for your help in this matter.

Creative and Active Kids vouchers now available

Fri, 14 Jun 2019 11:26:20 AEST

Creative kids can now put a $100 voucher towards extra-curricular creative activities outside of school.

Together with Active Kids, this program aims to encourage more NSW children to participate in a range of extra-curricular activities such as coding, languages, circus, performing arts and visual arts.

Parents can apply for one $100 voucher for each child enrolled in school on the Creative Kids website and use it towards the cost of registration, participation or tuition. You just redeem the voucher with a registered provider in your area when making your payment.

This is a great opportunity for your child to become involved in a range of activities that will build on their education, growth and development.

Service NSW is working with industry bodies to deliver the program.

For more information, contact Service NSW on 137 788 or creativekids@service.nsw.gov.au.

The Game Changer Challenge is back

Fri, 31 May 2019 11:41:08 AEST

It’s not too late to become a Game Changer with applications for the Education Week challenge due by 7 June.

The Game Changer Challenge brings 16 teams from public schools across NSW – eight from primary and eight from secondary – to Sydney during Education Week in August for a three-day, intensive design-thinking workshop.

The Game Changer workshops, which start on Tuesday 6 August, includes teacher training in the use of design thinking as a teaching methodology and its application for school planning.

It also includes a team competition where schools will work under the guidance of experts from industry and academia to develop a solution to this year’s critical question: How might we humanise technology?

Department of Education Secretary Mark Scott has encouraged students and teachers to get behind the event as it highlights the critical thinking students will need to develop to succeed in the future.

“The Game Changer Challenge is an exciting initiative that helps educate and inform our students and teachers on how to integrate the problem-solving methodology of design thinking into the classroom,” Mr Scott says.

“It embraces the 21^st century skills our students will need to thrive in a globalised world such as collaboration, creative thinking and communication.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students at all levels to be involved in discussing and addressing a real-world issue that will affect their future lives. I encourage every school to get involved.”

The challenge is designed to make strong learning and teaching connections to the NSW syllabus specifically in the area of developing general capabilities such as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, communication and problem-solving.

The challenge also provides teachers with an opportunity to gain exposure to the design thinking process and includes teacher resources to introduce this creative problem-solving methodology into the classroom.

Finalists will be selected based on a 60-second video that showcases your team’s vision around the question of humanising technology.

For more information email edweek@det.nsw.edu.au or visit the Game Changer Challenge page.

Your NAPLAN questions answered

Thu, 09 May 2019 15:54:37 AEST

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. The tests assess the foundational skills in reading, writing, spelling and numeracy that are essential for every child to progress through school and life.

This year NAPLAN takes place between 14 and 16 May for paper tests and between 14 and 24 May for schools participating in NAPLAN Online.

NAPLAN data is used to help monitor student progress over time against a national measure and to identify areas of strength and improvement. It is used in combination with other school assessments to guide and support student learning.

Watch students ask an expert the tough questions about NAPLAN.

Apply now for My Community Project funding

Mon, 29 Apr 2019 15:10:35 AEST

Do you have a great idea to improve your area?

My Community Project is a new NSW Government funding program that is all about local ideas, local projects and local decisions.

You can apply now for grants from $20,000 - $200,000 for projects that will make a difference to your community. Projects could include new playground equipment, sports facilities, paths or ramps to improve access, public art or a community service.

The local community can vote for their favourite projects in July and successful projects will be announced in September.

Project applications close 15 May 2019.

Apply for My Community Project funding

Bring back memories, not measles

Thu, 11 Apr 2019 14:11:34 AEST

With school holidays just around the corner, it’s time to visit your doctor to check that you and your family are fully protected against measles, before you travel overseas.

Measles is a serious, highly contagious, viral illness that is easily spread through the air when an infectious person coughs, sneezes or breathes. If you and your family are not fully vaccinated, or have never been vaccinated, you are at risk of contracting measles.

Not sure if you’re fully protected?

In Australia, the measles vaccine (MMR) consists of 2 doses. If you’re not sure whether you’ve had 2 doses of the measles vaccine, visit your doctor. It’s safe to receive another dose.

Children born in Australia

If your children were born in Australia, they may have received the measles vaccine at 12 months old and the second dose at 18 months, in accordance with the National Immunisation Program.
If you have a baby under 12 months old, consult your doctor about getting their measles vaccination.

Adults born in Australia

Born before 1966 – you were most likely exposed to measles as a child and are generally considered to be immune. If in doubt, ask your GP.
Born between 1966 and 1994 – you may not have received 2 doses. Talk to your doctor about the free vaccine if you’re unsure.
Born after 1994 – the National Immunisation Program offers 2 doses, and you can check your vaccination status using the Australian Immunisation Register.

For more information about the measles vaccination, visit NSW Health or consult your local doctor.

Five students and one teacher lose their locks for Cancer

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 14:56:05 AEDT

On Tuesday, 19th March, five brave students took part in one of Australia's biggest and most loved fundraising event, the World's Greatest Shave.

Dominic Franklin, Year 11, approached Mr Davis with the idea of participating in the Great Shave.

With Mr Denham on board, Dom and four friends Jack Addison, Jack Armstrong, Ben Wall and Hamid Arab received new hair styles in front of their peers during recess and lunch last Tuesday.

Sadly, more 60,000 Australians are currently living with blood cancer or related disorders.

The Leukaemia Foundation is dedicated to helping more Australians living with Leukaemia, Lymphoma, and Myeloma survive their blood cancer and live a better quality of life.

In just four short days the boys managed to raise over $600 to be donated to the Leukaemia Foundation. Congratulations!

Please visit the gallery for more photos.

Follow your heart, not the herd

Mon, 25 Feb 2019 13:24:51 AEDT

We spoke with a group of Kindergarten students to find out what they had to say about going against the herd. They had some wise words for us on how we can care, respect and support each other in our schools.

Let’s start the year off right and prevent student bullying happening in our playgrounds, classrooms and online. If a group of 5-year-olds know the difference between right and wrong, shouldn’t everyone?

Video – Wise at 5

Duration – 1:08

Welcome to the 2019 school year

Tue, 12 Feb 2019 16:25:19 AEDT

Welcome to the 2019 school year.

Everyone within the Orara High School community can look forward to a year of great learning, progress and achievement. Whether you are a student, staff member, parent, carer, or community member, I look forward to our many collaborations throughout this year of development and growth.

A special welcome to all our new students and their families. The Class of 2024 (Year 7 2019) is our largest group for some time, numbering 160 and still growing. This is very exciting, indicating a growth trend for the whole school in coming years. It is great to see Year 7 settling in so well already; my thanks to our Year 10 Great Mates for their terrific assistance and leadership with this important transition. To the many other new students across many year groups, a warm welcome too. You are all joining Orara at a very exciting time in its history.

Over the Summer we had some significant physical improvements made to the school. Construction on our new covered walkway entrance and the new roof above the History/Geography and Support Unit building is well underway. A new wheelchair accessible ramp was also installed at the entrance of our hall during the break. There will be some disruption this term as these projects continue and I look forward to everyone’s patience and flexibility during this process. The finished work will however be another important step in improving our facilities.

My thanks to the great work done over the break by our General Assistant, Scott Rolfe, and Farm Assistant, Glen Sweeney. Many necessary maintenance improvements were carried out so that students returned to the safest and tidiest playground possible. Additional work will be done in the coming weeks to install more covered seating areas and other improvements around the campus. Thanks also of course as always to our great ISS cleaning team who have worked hard to have our school looking clean and tidy prior to students returning.

As important as all these physical improvements are, it is of course people who make a school. As I have already mentioned to students, we all have to bring our best selves each day to this place of learning in order to make it an even better school. We must have high expectations of ourselves and of each other for great things to happen this year. If the first few days of 2019 are any indication, I think we are off to a flying start. My thanks to all students and staff for creating such a positive atmosphere from day one.

Please look forward to our first Newsletter for the year which will be published on all platforms towards the middle of Term 1.

Best regards

Mr Malcolm McFarlane

Principal

Back to school

Fri, 25 Jan 2019 15:20:17 AEDT

The first day of high school and the return to school in the new year are busy times for your child – and for the entire family. To help you and your child get organised and enjoy the experience we've compiled some useful tips for each year group.

We want every student to be known, valued and cared for in our schools.

'Tis the season to be jolly

Fri, 21 Dec 2018 13:02:50 AEDT

Students and teachers shared Christmas cheers with family and friends at Year 12's Christmas carol fundraiser on Tuesday, 11 December.

The crowd was entertained with solo and group performances and other events including face painting, fancy dress competition, market stalls and a sausage sizzle.

Orara High School would like to thank everyone who came along to the carols. Year 12 raised just over $800 which will go towards a nominated charity to be decided by the students at the end 2019.

Please visit the gallery for more photos.

Boys make Northern NSW futsal side

Wed, 19 Dec 2018 12:52:47 AEDT

Cody and Noah have been selected into the Northern NSW futsal side that will compete at the National Championships in January next year.

The boys were selected by scouts who were watching the Orara side play Coffs Harbour High in combined the High Schools Futsal League in October.

Last weekend they travelled to Armidale for a development camp with fellow team members in preparation for the national tournament in January. Goodluck, Northern NSW!

Year 7 outwit, outplay, outSTEM for the WRC

Mon, 19 Nov 2018 10:32:30 AEDT

Year 7 students from Orara HS, Toormina HS, Coffs Harbour HS and Grafton South HS took part in a several STEM challenges as part of rally week at the International Stadium.

The students used their science, technology, engineering and mathematics knowledge, skills and understanding to undertake activities such as coding robots to race around a miniature race track.

The students also had the opportunity to tour rally central and get up close and personal with the rally cars.

Everyone had a great day, despite the heat, and enjoyed working with students from a range of high schools.

Head teacher mathematics, Mrs. Hartmann, organised this unique event in partnership with Rally Australia to bring real world challenges to the students' theoretical learning.

The World Rally Championship concludes this weekend, with the title being decided here in Coffs Harbour.

Please visit our gallery for more photos from this exciting day.

Grand opening of Orara High School Community Garden a huge success

Thu, 22 Nov 2018 19:47:31 AEDT

The grand opening started with the Acknowledgement of Country done by Aboriginal Education Officer Anthony Donovan, who also explained the cultural significance of the various elements of the yarning circle.

Mr. Ferguson provided an explanation, and the didgeridoo, for the traditional dances performed by Indigenous students.

Mr. Rodgers and Mr. McFarlane addressed the crowd, highlighting the importance of the garden in connecting people in the school and the community.

Aunty Sue Hoskins and Director Educational Leadership Jenny Murray cut the ceremonial ribbon together, officially inviting community, staff and students to share in this splendid space.

Community members, parents, staff and students explored the gardens together, enjoying the colour and serenity provided by the natural surrounds.

Over the past 10 months, the garden has been a labour of love for Mr. Rodgers, SLSO Mr. Watson, and students from the Skills for Work and Vocation and Re-Create classes.

The team constructed the garden beds and created a yarning circle and fire pit, designed by student Darnell C and his mum.

The gardens include fresh vegetables, herbs, bush tucker foods, bee-attracting flowers for pollination, and there are Australian natives that will eventually grow to provide privacy and screening around the yarning circle.

We were successful in our application for a $2000 grant from Coffs Harbour City Council to build the on-site water tank and pump.

HQ Concrete generously donated all the concrete for the footings and the concrete pump to support the project.

Total Gardens and Coffs Harbour Landscaping Supplies provided discounts on landscaping supplies and plants.

Lysaght Steel generously donated the tin for the fire pit.

In the future, we aim to provide opportunities for community groups to enjoy the gardens, both for leisure and crop picking.

Our garden opening was featured on NBN News and in the Coffs Coast Advocate.

Please visit the gallery for more pictures from this wonderful grand opening.

Open boys' cricket move to round 4 in Davidson Shield

Wed, 21 Nov 2018 13:49:34 AEDT

Round 3 of the statewide Davidson Shield was played at Jetty Oval last week seeing the Orara HS boys face off against Woolgoolga HS.

Orara HS started off the day winning the toss and electing to bowl first. The boys came out firing with Harry M taking the first wicket in the second over of the day and shaking the top order of Woolgoolga HS' batsmen.

Not long after the first wicket, Tyler A took the next two wickets, looking to cause havoc on the pitch.

After being 3 for 8, Woolgoolga HS found some form, making 61 runs off 11 overs, but the much needed wicket came from Learoy D, tking out one of their openers and bringing a stop to the runs.

Form came back to Tyler A as he took wicket after wicket and finished up the innings with 6 wickets and 18 runs from 7.1 overs. Woolgoolga HS ended up all out for 163.

With a substantial total to run down, the steady build of runs started with the pairing of Tyler A and Harry M, where the duo were on form and unlikely to be leaving the pitch any time soon. The partnership yielded 71 runs - a great effort.

The first wicket came in the 12th over with the dismissal of Tyler A for 40 runs, which brought in Learoy D. Not long after this loss, Harry M was bowled out with 42 off 44 balls - the highest runs of the day.

On 2 for 94 the introduction of Blake T brought a constant run chase and the two boys steered the team to a win. Learoy D was caught out for 27 runs, bringing an end to the partnership, but the grit of Blake T's 35 not out kept the team alive and taking out the day, with a total of 5 for 165 at the end of the innings.

Please visit out gallery for more photos of this exciting game.

Additional needs students enjoy sports day

Wed, 21 Nov 2018 13:42:30 AEDT

Students visited the Youth Hub, at Key Employment, to participate in a range of physical activities as part of their regular Wednesday sport.

The support unit were invited to attend a "come and try" inclusive sports session at the Youth Hub, at Key Employment, on West High St.

The NSW Government funds Ability Links to provide people with disability opportunities to participate in community activities.

Sports included wheelchair basketball, boccia, table tennis and other games students enjoy.

Please visit the gallery for more photos.

Nathan Hindmarsh visits OHS

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 19:37:43 AEDT

Nathan Hindmarsh spoke earnestly about his battle with gambling addiction, its impact on his life, his family and his career.

His honest and candid talk gave students an understanding of the way mental illness doesn't discriminate - anyone can be affected, even professional athletes.

Hindmarsh emphasised the importance of asking for support and seeking help from counsellors, psychologists and other health professionals.

The former league star thoughtfully answered a number of questions from captivated students and teachers.

Hindmarsh played rugbly league for the Parramatta Eels, representing NSW in the State of Origin and Australia internationally as a second row forward. This year he was inducted into the Eels' Hall of Fame.

He can be seen on a number of shows on Fox Sports, in particular The Matty Johns Show.

Please go to our Nathan Hindmarsh gallery for more photos from this great event.

2019 school budget allocations

Mon, 12 Nov 2018 11:59:05 AEDT

Like all NSW public schools, this week we will receive a School Budget Allocation Report with our funding for 2019. The report will help us manage our total budget delivered through the Resource Allocation Model (RAM).

The RAM supports schools through needs-based funding to ensure a fair, efficient and transparent allocation of funds. Our school has the flexibility to make local decisions based on the specific needs of our students.

We will use our 2019 funding to support students and improve educational outcomes. The school executive will continue to work with the school community as we implement the school plan using this needs-based funding.

Learn more about the 2019 RAM funding.

Remembrance Day Centenary commemoration

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 21:04:03 AEDT

The ceremony began with the Catafalque Party beginning their guard.

Year 10 SRC students Rashana W and Madison C spoke earnestly to the student body of the significance of Armistice Day.

Mr. McFarlane gave his address honouring those who have fallen in WWI and subsequent wars.

Danielle B gave a stirring rendition of In Flanders Fields, written during WWI by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McRae.

James B gave a solemn recitation of The Ode of Remembrance, which comes from For the Fallen by English poet and writer Laurence Binyon.

Students and staff observed two minute's silence, reflecting on those who have fallen and the great sacrifice all those who have experienced war have made.

Please visit our Remembrance Day gallery for photos from the ceremony.

Eddie Woo wows Orara HS!

Sun, 04 Nov 2018 18:01:36 AEDT

On Thursday, 18th October, Eddie Woo wowed an enthralled audience of 250 people at Orara HS.

He spoke passionately and enthusiastically about the importance of possessing a love of learning and an endless curiosity about ourselves, others and the world around us, and seeing the mathematics in the ordinary and extraordinary.

Thanks to the Book Warehouse, Coffs Harbour, Eddie Woo entertained OHS staff, parents, students, and visitors from Coffs Harbour and surrounds, thoughtfully and thoroughly answering a range of questions from the audience.

He graciously signed copies of his book, Woo's Wonderful World of Maths, and posed for photos with excited fans.

Eddie Woo was named 2018 Local Hero by the Australia Day Council for the Australian of the Year Awards this year and was featured in an episode of ABC's Australian Story.

Please see our other photos from this fantastic evening.