Don't forget to keep all your receipts from back-to-school expenses so that you can take advantage of the Education Tax Refund. The refund gives eligible parents and caregivers a 50 per cent refund on a range of primary and secondary school education expenses, including school uniforms. For the 2011-2012 financial year you may be eligible for the following: Primary school child You can claim a maximum of $818 for each of your primary school children – that is a refund of up to $409. Secondary school student You can claim a maximum of $1,636... Read more

A suite of resources, including the School A to Z website and the annual back-to-school hotline, is available to help parents prepare for the new school year. School A to Z website The School A to Z website provides you with practical help to get involved and support your children's learning and includes a webcast on the theme of ‘Getting off to a great start at school'. The School A to Z webcast answers commonly asked questions that range from how to motivate children for learning, to tips on how to manage technology use at home, bullying,... Read more

The state's most talented young singers, dancers and musicians displayed their skills during four exciting and extravagant performances at the 2011 Schools Spectacular, held recently at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. If you missed the live shows or if you just want to enjoy it all again, you can catch the highlights on ABC TV. Two telecasts are scheduled (check your local TV guide for confirmation): 7.30pm Sunday, 18 December on ABC1 (1hr version) 7.00pm Saturday, 31 December on ABC2 (2.5hr version). The brilliantly choreographed and... Read more

Now that you've received your HSC results, you may need help with what to do next. A free phone and email careers advisory service is available for students and their families from Thursday 15 December 2011 to Friday 6 January 2012, and is provided by the NSW Department of Education and Communities. Experienced careers advisers will be available on 1300 300 687 or via the Careers Advisory Service website to answer your enquiries and provide advice about career and study options. If you need assistance in clarifying course choices, employment... Read more

Our senior students like to celebrate their major milestones at this time of year, such as finishing exams and leaving school. We encourage parents to work with us to ensure their safety, health and wellbeing during this time. Be assured, our school doesn't allow alcohol at any student function whether held at the school or at student dances, farewells, sports events and barbecues outside the school. Celebration guides for parents and students Time to party Parties are part and parcel of teenage social life and help mark the move... Read more

You can't always trust what you read when researching information for assignments. Here are ways your child can tell a good website from a bad one. With so much information on the web and no-one responsible for fact checking, kids need to look out for: bias and hidden agendas factual errors outdated information information which is country-specific commercially motivated information. Play the detective The ability to question information is a vital tool for all school kids. People can publish something that looks great but is full of factual... Read more

Feeling anxious before exams is perfectly normal and can even help kids do better. The problems arise when the worry gets out of hand and prevents your child from studying effectively. While you obviously can't jump in and do the work for them, parents can help their kids manage the fear and, in the process, learn valuable skills that will be crucial in later life. Child psychologist Kimberley O'Brien says these key areas are where a little parental guidance can make all the difference: Make sure your child is eating a balanced diet with... Read more

Students from Ballina High School who volunteered to assist the Cancer Council sold approximately $5000 worth or mercandise during Daffodil Day. Congratulations!... Read more

A series of seminars, talks and workshops on the steps and skills needed to succeed in getting from school to the workforce were held for Year 9 recently. Mr Crane organised speakers such as Senior Constable Kim Mewing, Glenn Jeffrey from Southern Cross University, Ms Jill McCall School Based Apprenticehips and Traineeships Coordinator, Ms Renee Smith Human Resource Manager from Woolworths and Ms Ros Mayberry former Principal and now businesswoman. They were assisted by Mr Buchanan and Mrs Ferns who gave sessions on communications and... Read more

The VEC construction students installed the Cool Cubby at Wollongbar Pre-school. The cubby was well received by the staff and 26 enthusiastic pre-school children. The water tank and solar panel will be fitted soon. Congratulations to all the boys for the hard work that they put into the project. Maybe in years to come your children will be able to benefit from the cubby. A big thank you to JH Williams Ballina for supplying the material for the cubby at trade price.... Read more

The major works for the HSC Timber have been completed and look fantastic. The excellent standard of design and completion is a tribute to all the students. See our photo gallery to view them.... Read more

Parents can now access quality information to help with their child's homework and assignments while on the go. The School A to Z mobile app, available free for iPhone, iPad and Android devices, is part of a new online parent resource developed by the education department. The app features: plain-English definitions of maths, English and technology terms, including videos and help sheets information and useful links to help with common classroom assignments Maths Monkey times tables learning game Spelling Bee learning game. The Spelling Bee... Read more

An excellent partnership has begun with Year 9 Ballina High School, Volunteer Community Members, Rotary Clubs of Ballina and Connect. Students are paired up with volunteer mentors to discuss future options and how to go about achieving their goals. All participants look forward to the finale dinner at the end of term where they will present the findings.... Read more

Parents can support their child's learning with a new purpose-built resource that includes a website, mobile applications and social media channels. The School A to Z online school community, developed by the education department, provides practical advice about homework, tips on learning, wellbeing, technology and resources to help parents and carers support their child's social, physical and mental development. It includes a free mobile application for iPad and smartphones that features hundreds of definitions about maths and English terms,... Read more

Many students find study a challenge, but you can help make it more rewarding for your child by encouraging them to use some of the following ideas: Keep up with assignments and assessment tasks mark key dates on a calendar make an assignment schedule for each week make daily 'to-do' lists. Review class work each day keep a notepad handy while reading to make notes or reminders create flash cards of main ideas or key points (with details on the back) make up study questions to test learning. Take breaks while studying your child will... Read more

24 June 2011 Encouraging your kids to pick up a few good books during the holidays is a great way to keep their hard-earned reading skills from slipping. Here are some suggestions. Books for young kids For boys and girls in Kindergarten to Year 2: The Terrible Plop - Ursula Dubosarsky Clancy & Millie and the Very Fine House - Libby Gleeson. For boys and girls in Years 3 and 4: Ballroom Bonanza - Nina Rycroft (a fabulous rhyming alphabetical picture book) The Adventures of a Late-Night Swearer - Nette Hilton The Walk Right in Detective... Read more

8 June 2011 With the financial year almost over, now is the time to start collating your receipts from education expenses to take advantage of a federal government tax initiative. The Education Tax Refund (ETR) gives parents and caregivers a 50% refund on a range of primary and secondary school education expenses. For the 2010-2011 financial year you may be eligible for the following: Primary school child You can claim a maximum of $794 for each of your primary school children and receive a maximum refund of $397 per primary school child.... Read more

Can kids really do their homework and multi-task? Parents around the world are divided on this. Half watch their teenagers sitting among a pile of books, earphones in, computer on, TV humming in the background and think, "I wish I could multi-task like that". The others stride across the room, pull the plug on the distractions, and ask the age-old question: "How can you study with that on?" What does the international research reveal about multi-tasking? Here is a summary of the key findings: Teenagers might be regularly multi-tasking, but... Read more

Parents can help with their child's understanding of science and scientific principles. Here are some top tips: Encourage your child to ask questions and help them find the answers. Talk to your child about being a good problem solver. Give them increasingly difficult puzzles to solve as they develop more skills. These could be in the form of games or experiments, questions or puzzles, including those found in newspapers such as Sudoko, or physical problems such as jigsaws or 3D models. Talk to your child about basing their views on evidence... Read more

The Support class have been breeding green tree frogs in the classroom as part of their science course this term. The frogs have been released into the schools native garden. The class will be building a pond in the garden later this year to continue the successful breeding program.... Read more