The competitions are run by the Australian Mathematical Trust and test logical thought and mathematical problem solving. 

Thousands of students enter from across the country, including several participants from Parkes High. 

Tynan Matthews and Chris Cox, both of year 8, achieved a perfect score and received a high distinction placing them in the top 2% of the country. 

Alex Williams achieved a distinction, placing in the top 7%  and credits were obtained by Julia Williams, Madison Bland, Alley Gaut, Calvin Matthews, Trefor Robinson and Georgia Goodrick, placing them in the top 16%.

This is the first time in eight years a student has achieved a perfect score in the Western Region, making this a tremendous achievement for Parkes High.

On Wednesday May, 18 the Year 7 and 8 Girl’s Netball team participated in the Netball NSW Gala day in Parkes.

The girls played seven games throughout the day and were undefeated in all but one.

Parkes High defeated Parkes Christian School 1’s and 2’s, Dubbo Christian College 1’s and 2’s, Condobolin High School 2’s, Grenfell High school and narrowly went down to Condobolin High School 1’s by only 2 goals.

This made them runners up on the day enabling the girls to advance to the next level and compete at the Orange regional day in August.

The team played extremely well with Annalise Maier, Meika Lovett and Gracie Jones exceptional in attack, Jordyn Chapple, Ella Morrissey and Jess Jones strong in defence and Tianna Simpson, Abigail Simpson, Kyah Turbull and Alex Williams solid in mid court.

A big thank you to Calli Miller for coaching on the day and Steve Maier for being the teams umpire.

Last Thursday we were lucky enough to have Craig Semple, who volunteers for the Black Dog Institute, visit our school as guest speaker to students in Years 9, 10 and 12.  

The visit was organised by the MindMatters team - a team of teachers and students who are working on improving both staff and student wellbeing. 

This was an opportunity, put together over the school holidays, to be part of a regional tour by Black Dog to visit schools in regional areas who often don’t have the support available to them in different ways.  

Craig is an ex policemen whose role while in the police force was centred around investigation of major crimes including homicides, bikie wars, and large drug busts. 

Craig spoke about dealing with mental health himself, his personal experience with battling depression and his acceptance of his condition.

Part of Craig’s desire to travel around and speak at schools is to help students break down the stigma that is associated with mental health. 

The students who participated in the hour long presentation where incredibly respectful and engaged with the stories and information that Craig provided.

Craig was joined by Dianne Gill, the Rural Adversity Mental Health Consultant (RAMHP) who is based in Canowindra. 

She provided the students with mental health cards with a 1800 number that is available 24/7 for support.

Posters and information about accessing services have been placed in the school's newsletter and will be distributed around the school as extra support for students.