We would like to acknowledge the original custodians of this land and pay our respect to the elders past present and future for they hold the memories, traditions and hopes for Indigenous Australia. This land is, was and always will be Indigenous soil.
-Lexie
'Wildflower Dreaming' by Emily Kame Kngwarreye
Photos from the week
Lot's of great things happening at Cooks Hill Campus at the moment! From students discovering hidden talents such as lawn bowls and rollerskating to webinars with experts in special effects!
Advisory 4 class photo!
Molly skating up a storm!
Lauren demonstrating CPR for the Work Readiness/First Aid program.ย
Eva and Mila claiming the win for lawn bowls!
We have some skilled bowlers!
Students at Landcare tackling the invasive species bitou bush.
Will and Will enjoying our new skates from Chuffed!
Students enjoying the Industrial Light & Magic webinar.ย
Will preparing the mulch for students to plant a variety of natives at Dixon Park Beach for Landcare.
New students
Name: Halle
Year: 10
ADV: 4
Pronouns:She/her
Who am I focus: Beauty, tattooing, street art
If you were a Youtuber who would you collaborate with: Spanian
If you opened a business what would the business be: A tattoo business
Name: Sunny
Year: 8
ADV: 4
Pronouns: He/him
Who am I focus: Baking and bands (specifically metal)
If you were a Youtuber who would you collaborate with: Scott Cawthon
If you opened a business what would the business be: A bakery
If you were a fictional character who would you be: Mark Grayson
Name: Lexi
Year: 8ย
ADV: 3
Pronouns: Sher/her
Who am I focus: Meteorology (tornados), astrology, insects, reptiles
If you were a Youtuber who would you collaborate with: Flamingo or Caseoh
If you opened a business what would the business be: Exotic pet shopย
If you were a fictional character who would you be: My melody
Social Action Project Group spotlight: STEM
What is your social action?
To help young people open up their minds to use technology at even a basic scale. We are hoping to achieve this by entering in the Robotic Cup and entering a hydrogen remote car that can rescue something by code.ย
What is the main goal for this term?ย
The main goal for this term is to build a robot that can follow simple black lines from coding, and not need any help from the team to do so.
Break down in simple terms what you are doing?
Building a robot from scratch with lego then writing a code that will make the robot move by itself and follow the black lines.ย
The STEM team go through lots of trial and error to acheive the specific results that they want. To win the 2026 Robo Cup the team needs to build the most efficient robot that affectivley uses the code to move by itself, follow the black lines and dodge the obstacles without much or any interference from the team. The race isn't about which robot is the fastest, instead it is marked on how well the robot goes by itself.ย
-Ruby
Wellbeing groups spotlight - Fitnessย
This week we chatted with Millie and Lara who have started running the Wellbeing Group: Fitness! Plus a couple of students who attended the first session.ย
How can fitness help studentโs wellbeing?
Physical health improves mental health and wellbeing.ย
Are you getting more sign-ups than expected?
We expected no one to come, Millie says. While Lara says; we were so shocked when so many people showed up.
What motivated you two to run this wellbeing group?
We want people at our school to be as motivated about fitness as we are.
What skills do you hope to gain from running this fitness wellbeing group?
To be more confident when helping others. We hope this will prepare us for our future as fitness instructors.
ย
***
Do you guys have any fitness goals to accomplish in this fitness wellbeing group?
Well, I don't really have any goals yet but I think it's a good break from class to clear your head.โ - Kalan
I think that Millie and Lara do a good job on helping us achieve our goals because they are doing a course in fitness instructing.โ - Felix
What did you enjoy the most from your session?
I think being active was really fun and being competitive because Iโm a very competitive person.โ - Kalan
I enjoyed the competition too because I donโt get to hang out with other students very often.โ - Felix
-Ivy
The Benefit of Taking Opportunities
This week our writer Lexie chatted with Andy, our wonderful Learning Through Intership Coordinator to hear about the benefit of taking opportunities.ย
Andy says that opportunities are an essential stepping stone to adulthood. Big Picture learning allows students to explore new opportunities that would otherwise be not readily available in mainstream learning. At Big Picture we aim to have students out at an internship or TAFE course at least once a week. Taking these opportunities is not only a great way to develop new skills but it is also a good way to try new career options before graduation. Additionally, post graduation, having these internships and opportunities allow for great experience on a resume and gives an academic edge when applying for employment.ย
Big Picture learning gives students the freedom to explore different work areas. One excellent upcoming chance to explore careers is the senior Careers Expo on the 28th of May from 1-3pm, and the Year 10 information session on the same day at 4-5pm.ย
A special shout out to Alex from the Learning and Support Team for organising the Careers Expo!
For further information on careers, Andy releases a weekly Audiri newsletter about upcoming events and opportunities.ย
We would also like to encourage our school community to check the Canvas LTI page for announcements for upcoming opportunities.ย
-Lexie
A program for Year 9-12 students which aims to inspire and equip candidates with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed on their path to a medical career.
We would like to inform students who are interested in pursuing a career in medicine that spots for The Future Doctors Australia 2026 program are filling up fast.
The Future Doctors Australia program provides a unique, hands-on opportunity for students aged 14-18 who are passionate about a future in medicine. Over the course of 4 days, participants will engage in dynamic sessions led by experienced medical specialists, take part in practical learning activities, and gain valuable insights into the medical admissions process. This program is designed to inspire and equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed on their path to a medical career.
There are limited places, at time of writing there are only 9 spots left for the Sydney session in October.
The Hunter New England Health School-based Traineeship (SBAT) opens for applications this Monday 11th May. I am currently aware of one student who is going to apply. Due to the competitive nature of this opportunity and the complexity of the application, please get in contact with me, so myself and our SBAT Engagement Officer can support with a high quality application.
More information can be found in the attached flyers.
The Apprenticeships Pathways Explorer event is taking place at Maitland Town Hall on Tuesday 19th May between 3:30 and 6:30 with entries each hour. This is an amazing opportunity to talk to employers who are actively recruiting apprentices across a range of industries and roles to start in 2027. The attached flyer includes a QR code to register your attendance.
The Emoji Game
Countries
๐๐ชท๐ง
๐บ๐ฅจ๐ฒ
๐๐๐ฅ
๐ฉฐ๐ช๐ป
๐๐ฅ๐
โฝ๐๏ธโ๏ธ
๐๐ฅ๐ฅ
๐บ๐๏ธ๐ข
๐๐ซ๐๏ธ
Movies
โ๏ธ๐๐ง
๐ฅ๏ธ๐งฅ๐ด๏ธ
โ๐๐งโ๐ฌ
๐จ๐ช๐ญ
๐ค ๐ชข๐ฟ
๐ฐ๐ง๐ฅ
๐๐ฆ๐บ๐๏ธ
๐ฉ๐ผ๏ธ๐
๐๐ง๐บ
Books
๐งโ๐๐๐ฅ๐ด
๐ช๐ฆโ๏ธ๐ฆซโ๏ธ
โ๐๐ฉ๐ณ๏ธ
๐โช๐ข๐
๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ ๐
๐๐ก๐ณ๏ธ๐งบ๐ฅ๐งโ๐พ
๐๐๐๐ฅญ๐๐
๐ข๐ฅโ๐
๐ช๐๐ต๏ธ๐ท
Games
๐ฅธ๐ต๐จ๐ฅพ
1๏ธโฃ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ
โ๏ธ๐๐ค๏ธ
๐ฏ๏ธ๐ง๐ก๏ธ๐๐ฆ
๐๐ฅ๐ช๏ธ
๐ ๐๐ค
๐ต๏ธ๐ฉโโ๏ธ๐งโ๐พ๐ฅท
๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ฒ
๐๐๐ฐโ๏ธ
India
Germany
New Zealand
Russia
Spain
Brazil
Ireland
Egypt
UAE
Lord of the Rings
The Matrix
Back to the Future
The Shining
Indiana Jones
Howls Moving Castle
Mad Max
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Shaun of the Dead
The Martian
Narnia
Alice in Wonderland
Moby Dick
The Cat in the Hat
Peter Rabbit
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Green Eggs and Ham
Murder on the Orient Express
Monopoly
Uno
Minecraft
Cluedo
Spoons
Bananagrams
Mafia
Subway surfers
Chess
-Sammy, Lauren, James and Marlowe