byron breeze tERM 2 | wEEK 5 2023

This years’ Year 11 Drama production is Australian playwright Debra Oswald’s 'Stories in the Dark', and may be one of our most challenging projects to date. Set in an undisclosed war zone with two children as the protagonists, 16-year-old Anna and 12-year-old Tomas, who are struggling to survive and remain safe as they search for any remnants of their family and past life. As their forced and unlikely friendship develops, Anna tells frightened-of the-dark Tomas folk tales and fairy stories at night, and the play’s setting shifts between the worlds of reality and fantasy in true magical-realist style. It showcases the power of storytelling to provide hope, escape and comfort during a time of loss and survival.

Year 11 students are acting as both cast and crew for this production, taking on acting and technical support roles, whilst working tirelessly both in class and outside of school hours to bring the play to life. Under the direction of Ms Simone Museth and with the stage management and creative support of Pete Walker-Smith, 'Stories in the Dark' is gearing up for public performances in Week 9.

Tickets for Debra Oswald’s 'Stories in the Dark' will go on sale soon. Prices will be as follows:

$15 Adult

$10 Student

$40 Family of 4 (2 adults and 2 students)

NOTE: Please be advised, references to violence and loss in a war context are included in the play’s narrative, and therefore may not be suitable for sensitive younger children.

Ms Simone Museth - Relieving Head Teacher CAPAL

Sport news

Jere Imasuen - Most Valuable Player

A big congratulatons to Jere who recently competed in the North Coast Open Boys Basketball team. The North Coast team finished up 8th overall and Jere was awarded 'Most Valuable Player' on the team. He was also the 5th highest scorer for the tournament! This is a huge achievement considering he is the youngest player in the Opens Boys team. Great Hoopin' Jere!

NSW Schools Canoeing Championship

For the first time in a very long time we had a Byron Bay High School student represent our school at the NSW All Schools Canoeing Championships. A big congratulations to Year 7 student Erin Clarke!

Erin is new to the sport and has been mentored by a couple of ex-Olympians who live in the area and are passionate about growing the sport. Erin regularly completes her training on Lake Ainsworth.

The Championships were recently held on the Mann River. Erin's first event was the slalom, a series of 15 gates, a mixture of downstream and upstream, to negotiate between the rocks and white water. The second event was the sprint, which is basically the same course with no gates, completing the distance as quickly as possible. The final event was the down river wild water trip, which was independently navigating approximately 2km over various white water rapids as quickly as possible.

Erin had an amazing time at the Championships and gained so much in terms of skills and confidence. She also gained a 3rd place in the Under 14’s Women's State Competition and 1st place in the Sub Junior Regionals.

Erin’s family commented on the incredibly positive and supportive environment surrounding this sport. With the 2028 Olympics to be held in Brisbane, it is a great time to get involved in canoeing. They highly recommended it to any other students who love the outdoors and would be keen to give canoeing a go. Weekend camps will recommence in Spring and will be posted on the BRCC website & Facebook pages.

Well done Erin!!

Mrs Kelley Caoyonan - Sports Organiser, PDHPE Teacher and Year 10 Adviser

Year 12 Formal fundraising

Year 12, 2023 have launched their End of Year Celebrations Fundraising Raffle! There are lots of wonderful prizes to be won, all generously donated by our local community. Prizes include:

Splendour in the Grass tickets, a Nagnata jumper, a Motorheads car service, plus vouchers from SPELL, Santos, Trevor Meads Butcher, GAIA Health Retreat, Loft, Balloons Aloft, Go Sea Kayak, Byron Writers Festival, Yuulis, Betty’s Burgers, The Cellar Bottleshop, Byron Bay Herb Nursery, Baylato and the Nail Bar Cafe.

Please support our Year 12 students as they raise money for their End of Year Celebrations. Let's help make their Formal one to remember.

Click on the following link to buy raffle tickets:

What do I do if my child needs to leave school early?

Please do not email or call the school office

• All prearranged appointments require a hand written note from a parent before 9 am
• Students leaving early without a note must be collected by a Parent/Carer in person at the front office

Option 1 - our preferred early leaver process

If you know in advance that your child has to leave school early for any legitimate reason please follow the process below:

• Parents send in a hand written (and signed) note with their child on the morning of the leave request. Your child will present the note to their Deputy Principal before 9 am for approval.
• Once the note is approved by their Deputy Principal, students take their note to the Front Office to receive their Leave Pass.
• At the designated time, students show their Leave Pass to their teacher and are permitted to leave the classroom - they will then meet you at the gate.
• Students who subsequently return to school after their appointment must swipe in at the Front Office with their Student Card before returning to class.
• Parents are reminded that this process should only be used for medical or dental appointments that cannot be made after school, or for other matters of an extremely urgent nature.

** It is extremely important that we follow this process as it is not always possible to get your child from class quickly if you arrive unannounced. Having a pre-arranged Leaver Pass allows students to leave class at the time required, without disruption to the learning of the other class members.

Option 2 - For urgent and last minute leave requests only

If you need to collect your student for an URGENT unforeseen event and have been unable to send them to school with a note, you are required to come to the front office to sign your student out.

This process takes longer so PLEASE ALLOW an extra 15 minutes as we send for your child.

No student should leave the school grounds during the day without approved permission.

Students being collected by someone other than their parent/carer or emergency contact

During school hours students are only allowed to leave with their own parent/carer or a person listed as an “Emergency Contact” as per their enrolment application.

If you require another person to pick up your child for any reason you will need write a note and include the name and phone number of the person collecting your child.

This note will need to be signed and approved by the Deputy Principal before 9 am and a Leave Pass issued by the office.

The person named on the note will be required to come to the office with some identification.

Library news

From our Canteen