High School Notices

Students in Y8 – 11 attended the Writer’s Festival last week. It was an inspiring day in which we heard writers such as Tara June Winch, Clementine Ford, John Marsden, A.C Grayling, Isobelle Carmody and Eddie Woo speak about their new books and life experiences. They discussed issues of race, gender, ethics, culture and politics. Here are some comments from students who attended.

I found the best part of the Writer’s Festival was hearing the writer’s process described. Hearing the challenges they have faced during the time they have been composing and how they journey to achieve their end result.

Thomas Y11

It was a great eye-opening experience, listening to a few writers talking about domestic violence and other gender issues. It opened my eyes to some of the bigger issues happening outside the bubble of my Byron Shire experiences.

Amber Y11

I had the wonderful opportunity of going to the Writer’s Festival over two days. I found each writer extremely inspiring and it was nice to see the bigger picture beyond school. One of my favourites was Marcus Zusak – he is one of my favourite authors ever and he combined humour so seamlessly he was incredible to listen to. I can’t wait for next year!!

Romy Y11

One of our talented English Extension Year 12 students won the main prize at the Byron Bay Writers Festival for the Susie Warrick High School Writer’s prize.

Ella’s piece is described below. We are proud of her efforts. Ella won second prize last year (another CBRSS student, Mackenzie Stephan, came first) and took out first prize this year.

Ella is a very talented writer and I expect to be asking her to sign copies of her books in the future when she becomes a famous writer.

Winner: One Thousand Paper Cranes (Gabrielle Hill-Smith – Cape Byron Rudolf Steiner School)

Judges comments: This is restrained, elegant and layered writing that packs a powerful emotional punch and made at least one judge cry. The writer invokes the emotional heft of Hiroshima, and the looming fear and unknown of climate change, without melodrama or overstatement. The mature and masterful narrative deftly spanned decades and collected histories without feeling abstract or disjointed. We loved how the writer was aware of the tension between hope (as symbolised by the thousands and thousands of paper cranes) and almost certain disappointment, and yet could tap into the very human tendency to grip tenaciously to hope regardless. An accomplished story that left us moved and impressed.

As 1st Prize winner Ella is the recipient of the following;

– $500 cash

– 1 x Byron Writers Festival Pass for Sunday 4 August

– Publication of her winning story in the Spring northerly, the quarterly magazine of the Byron Writers Festival.

– Publication of her winning story in the Susie Warrick Award Anthology to be published later in the year

– A one and a half hour mentoring session with Author Jesse Blackadder.

Ella with judges Jesse Blackadder and Sarah Armstrong

My camp experience was pretty good!! I had lots of fun with our class and loved exploring new places and things. I did not enjoy Gibraltar Range as much as Bingara but it made me appreciate my home and family. Dakota

I thought camp was really fun, although cleaning the trangias was not. Hapi

Camp was really fun I think it was probably the best camp I have been on so far. Some of the best parts about camp were the horse riding – it was super fun and I liked that we got two days to ride so you could get to know your horse a bit better. June

If you were one of the unlucky ones who got a tent that didn’t care about keeping you dry, well then you had to deal with wet clothes and puddles in your tent. Aly

My favourite part of the camp was the spectacular view at the end of our three hour walk to The Needles. My least favourite part was when the farm dogs puppy Rollie was sick on my bag. Jesua

Camp was really fun, what I enjoyed most was horse riding – learning to canter and being free to get to know my horse. I think it was the best camp because even though it was rainy and freezing I still had fun. I also loved spending time with my teachers and my friends. Lhola

Cleaning the trangias wasn’t fun at all and it took me about two hours to clean the burnt rice off the bottom. My tent was leaky and all my stuff got wet, including me in my sleeping bag which wasn’t nice and I got sick of everyone in my class and didn’t ever want to see them ever again (just kidding). Thanks for all the fun though Rachel and Andrew, there was plenty. Leela

Camp was cold, wet but very fun. Our cooking skills were average but luckily the food was still edible. Alekzander

The House Cross Country event was held on Thursday 3rd April and saw a good level of participation from students throughout the high school and the Class 5 and 6 primary students. Students were transported from school to “Brunswick Heads Surf Club” car park and after a spectacular start, they ran, walked and crawled to the finish line at Torakina Beach.

Each student scored points for their house depending on their finishing position overall as well as within their age and gender group. At the end of the day the house scores were very close and a special congratulations to all house captains who encouraged their team members to participate and perform at their best.

The final scores

1st Place Olympia 1684 pts
2nd Place Sparta 1679 pts
3rd Place Athens 1420 pts
4th Place Crete 1406 pts

Some excellent individual performances need to be mentioned. First overall was Thibault Walker year 11, 2nd Tom Pierce year 11, 3rd Sachin Smith year 9. First for the girls was Brianna Hart year 8, 2nd Manon Pouget Year 8, 3rd- Hannah Murray year 9. The three students in each age group were invited to compete at the north coast independent school championships.
The primary class 5 and 6 classes ran a smaller circuit earlier in the morning and showed some excellent form from all participants finishing the course very quickly. The top 5 from each age group and gender were invited to represent the school at the North coast Independent Schools Competition.

Boys top 5,- 1st Kaden Ellyard class 6, 2nd Kade Atkinson, class 6, 3rd Hugh Bishop class 5, 4th Kobi May class 5, 5th Mayshar Lerner class 5.
Girls top 5,- 1st Aoife Gordos class 5, 2nd Jasmine Ruthven class 5, 3rd Edie Mayson class 6, 4th Matilda Hagen class 5, 5th Bayla Kenway class 5.

Thank you to all staff who assisted on the day and to all students who participated with a sense of fun and achievement.

Steve Richards (Ric)

On Thursday 30th May, the High School students spent a sunny winters day at Ewingsdale sports ground participating in the Inter-House Athletics Carnival. A total of ten Track and Field events were on offer for students to test their physical skills in running, jumping and throwing. The carnival is not yet complete as the students are currently competing in the high jump event during lunchtimes and in their PE lessons over the coming weeks, so the final results will not be known for a couple of weeks.
Currently the results have Crete on 770pts, Sparta 766pts, Athens 756pts and Olympia 666pts. There are only 15 points separating three houses and the results of the high jump could easily alter the current positions of the houses.

As usual, there were some outstanding individual performers with 14 school records being broken. However, what was more impressive was the extent of participation of students enjoying the thrill and challenge of doing their best or pushing themselves to achieve a few extra points for their house. Team spirit was strong and defined by the excellent performances and leadership of all the house captains.
New record holders, Jamaii Nelson yr 8 100m, 200m, Isaac Poulson yr 10 100m, 200m, Taj Birrell yr 11 100m, 200m, Shot Put, Josie Huntsman yr 11 100m, 400m, Taylor Tyrrell yr 7 800m, Manon Pouget yr 8 Javelin, Krystal Pierce yr 10 Long Jump, Buzz Walker yr 10 Long Jump, and Crete junior girls relay team.

Students who performed well in their events by coming first or second will be invited to represent the school at the North Coast Sports Association Regional Carnival to be held in Coffs Harbour, next term. These students may be challenged by other Cape Byron students who feel they deserve a place in the team. Challenges may be made up until the week before the Interschool Carnival. So I hope all athletes spend some of their holiday time in training on their special event. There will be training on Tuesdays and Thursday from 3.00pm to 4.00pm next term leading up to the Inter-school Carnival for those students able and willing to attend.

Rudolf Steiner knew how important it was to have students participate in physical activities. It has been proven time and time again how physical movement is directly related to assisting the development of pathways in the brain and therefore assists learning in many academic pursuits. It is also well known that exercise relieves stress and improves self-esteem. It allows social development and encourages students to express themselves in an acceptable and healthy way. Carnivals such as this provide opportunities for students to hone social skills of co-operation, teamwork and to develop a sense of empathy and trust. Skills that are not easily taught in the classroom but are regarded by Cape Byron Rudolf Steiner School, its staff, and its community as important life skills required for any human being to achieve their potential.
A big thank you to all parents who support these events and encourage not only their own children to participate, but also for your encouragement of all students in being involved. You have made a difference to allow these students to realise their potential and be the best they can be.

Steve Richards (Ric)

Year 12 Photography students playing with the new Gimbles. We have added one Pro Ronon S (which is a super impressive piece of gear,) and a DJI Osmo pocket Gimble (perfect size for travel and everyday use), to our CBRSS equipment. Our Major Work students are so excited to be able to have access to this fabulous new gear!

Katie Alleva
Photography Teacher