Congratulations to Patricia Xu who was re-elected as the President of the Community of James Ruse on Tuesday night at the AGM. The Executive of the CoJR provide unlimited support and assistance to the school community and we are very appreciative of all they do. Special Mention to Trevor Allison, our previous President and 2012 Vice President, who has aided the COJR in a successful transition time and given so many years of service to the school.

SRC Campfrence: Michael Paulraj (10), Belinda An (10), Tanya Han (10) and George He (10) have had a wonderful time representing the school at the State SRC camp / conference.

Visit from South Grafton High School: Last week we shared a wonderful visit with 16 students and two teachers from South Grafton High School. We asked their students and teachers to provide us with feedback. I have enclosed some comments below:

Positive experiences/comments from SGHS Students and Staff:

• JR Students were described as enthusiastic, polite, happy, fun, friendly, respectful and trustworthy.
• SGHS students were able to attain an indicative knowledge of the workload and study habitats of our students - they know what is required to achieve a high mark in the HSC.
• The school was very clean and calm, no rushing or distractions during class time or lunch.
• Very generous library – SGHS students left with a number of resources, Thank you!! 
• The book marking idea was mentioned a lot, students seemed to view this as a great tool to get students to keep up to date with work. 
• School spirit was very positive and it was very obvious how much the students value and respect each other and the school. No bullying
• Teachers have real respect for students and vice versa, great rapport with each other – loved the You-Tube clips.
• The staff was very welcoming of both students and teachers into their classroom; the sharing of resources was greatly appreciated.

One thing that you didn’t think you would learn:

Our Year 9 and 10 exams have begun and Years 7 and 8 start next week. Preparation of study notes and completion of practice questions form the basis of good study techniques. Please ensure students are still getting enough sleep and exercise and use these junior exams to learn how to manage their time well.

Year 11 Agriculture will sit their HSC examination on Monday afternoon and we wish them well. Year 10 IPT have completed their HSC and Year 10 SD will sit theirs on Wednesday 7 th November. We are very impressed with the maturity these accelerated students have shown in preparing themselves for their HSC examinations.

I have attached an article by Cathy Sherry, Senior Lecturer UNSW Law, that I found interesting to read.

We welcome Ms Treskin back next week. I would like to thank Ms St Louis, Mr Yeo, Mr Low and Mr Shaw for their support and assistance in relieving in higher positions over the last weeks.

Coming Up Next Week:

Week 4A:

7-10 Exams

Thursday 1/11/2012 Year 10 High Resolves attending National Conference at UNSW

                               Thursday and Friday Year 9 Canberra Excursion

Saturday 3/11/2012 Term 4 Cadet Bivouac

Thank you

Megan Connors

Relieving Principal