Mobile Phone Policy
As you would be aware, by the beginning of Term 2 last year, all schools implemented a mobile phone policy that supports the departments policy of “Off and Away, All Day”. The Tasmanian Government announced that all schools in Tasmania will operate under this policy.  The policy states that students shouldn’t bring their phone to school. If they require their phone for after school, it should be handed into the front office at the beginning of each day. If students choose to keep their phone in their bag, staff take no responsibility if the phone goes missing or is damaged. If students are seen with their phone during the school day, the following consequences are put in place.

First offence – Phone collected from student and parent notified

Second offence – Phone collected from student and parent collects phone 

Third offence – Phone collected from student and parent collects phone - Internal Suspension

Fourth offence - Phone collected from student and parent collects phone - External Suspension

HPE Team
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our HPE team for all their work in making sure our Beach Week and Surf Carnival were such a great success. They have put in so much time and effort into ensuring our students receive the best possible learning experiences. I would also like to thank the students for making the most of both events and putting in their “Best Effort”. If your child was absent for any of these days, can you please encourage them to have a growth mindset and make the most of every opportunity available to them.

Congratulations to those students who have been selected in the Interhigh Swimming Team. We are looking at an award system that will help to recognise those students who make the most of their opportunities and participate in the extra-curricular activities that we offer at RHS. We know that there is a strong correlation between participation and wellbeing, so please encourage your child to always give their best and see opportunities as a way to learn, not a way to fail.

School Uniform
It is a privilege to walk around the school and see 100% of our students

wearing their uniform with pride. I would like to thank parents for the effort they have made to make sure students are in full school uniform.  The school uniform builds a sense of connectedness among students and to the school.  When worn well, it enhances the way in which individuals and the school are viewed in the community.  Uniform also means that students can easily be identified as a member of RHS, increasing safety and supervision for all students.  I would like to highlight that black shoes (with black shoelaces) are the required item for footwear in our uniform policy. We thank parents and students for supporting us in making sure everyone is wearing their uniform. 

We would also like to advise that we have a new uniform item:-
Girls Sport Shorts - $40.00 now in stock

Numeracy Skills
As part of Reece High’s focus on increasing numeracy skills, your child will be participating in a program devised by the University of New England.  The data from the test allows us to measure growth in students’ accuracy and speed in basic calculations.  The data from this program is then used to inform the University in its further research programs.  Your child’s anonymous data may be used in this research. 

If you have any concerns about the use of this data, or you would like your child’s data to be excluded from research, please let the school know.

Adult Mentors
Andrew Fuller is a renowned child psychologist who states that there are 3 major factors which have the greatest impact on students at school.

1. The value their parents place on education
2. Support from friends
3. Having an adult outside the family take a positive interest in them.

Point three highlights the need to put in place processes where students can connect with adults. If you are interested in being a mentor once a week for approximately 1hr, to help support a student at school, can you please contact the office on 6420
8100 and request an appointment with our chaplain, Darra Boerma. The once per week session will most likely be focusing on an area of interest for the child. Establishing these relationships can have a significant impact on a person’s life.

Staff Carpark
A number of families have started to use the staff carpark as a drop-off point. This is now causing safety concerns when people are leaving the carpark and staff are driving in. There was a minor accident this week. Can families please park out on the road during pick-up and drop-off? Between the hours of 9am and 2.30pm please feel free to use the turning circle.

Congratulations
We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Kye in Grade 10 on 

his selection in the State Under 18 Basketball Team. The National Championship will be held in Werribee from the 10^th to the 17^th April. Being so young, Kye is also eligible to make the team next year.

Most people would know that Kye is a very talented basketballer, however, wouldn’t realise the commitment he has made to being the best player he can be. Kye works on his basketball skills each day, whether this is individual skill sessions or part of his development and club training. In order to reach his goal of making
the state team, he has worked extremely hard on his strength and fitness. He has been completing extra strength and conditioning sessions with Adam Wiseman at EPT and also extra running sessions.
Congratulations on your achievement Kye!

Wow! This term is flying. I can’t believe that we are nearly halfway through Term One. The Grade 7s have all started their first units of work for English, Maths, Science and HASS.

English – Students have started a persuasive writing unit titled, ‘Convince Me.’ Students are learning about persuasive devices and how to structure a PEE paragraph.

Maths – To start the year in Maths, students have been refreshing their skills on number and will soon start a unit on Measurement.

Science – The first unit for Science this year is on ecosystems. Students have been studying the different ecosystems, food webs and food chains within a given biome. They have started their first assessment task which tests their understanding of the producer, consumer, predator and prey relationships within a specific food web.

HASS – In History, students have started with an introduction to the ancient world. They have been learning about primary and secondary sources and how to read and construct a timeline.

The staff and students are very excited about camp this week. We will be heading to Camp Clayton where students will be working in small groups on activities which aim to improve their relationships with peers, student leaders and teachers.

This week students should have brought home an excursion form for our Grade 8 Big Day out. Please note the change in date to Tuesday 9^th March from what was previously advertised in the newsletter. Please complete these forms and return to principal teachers as soon as possible.

This term in class students have been studying the following: 

In HASS, students have been learning about life in Medieval Europe as part of our “Ancient to the Modern World” overview unit. From grisly medical remedies to revolutionary inventions, students have been uncovering the major turning points of the Middle Ages that shape the modern world. As a conclusion to our unit, students are currently working on an assessment task about the impacts of Galileo Galilei on society.

In Maths, students have been developing their understanding of fractions including how to carry out the four operations. They have also been looking at place value including decimals.

In English students have been focusing on their ability to write cohesive and meaningful paragraphs. We have been pleased to see students able to remember and utilise much of their learning from Grade 7.

The focus for our writing has been through learning about inspirational and motivating personalities who have overcome many challenges and setbacks to achieve great things. We have read about, viewed interviews of, and written about Malala Yousafzai, Kurt Fearnley and a number of past recipients of Australian of the Year awards. Currently students are writing to justify why their chosen past recipient is the most deserving of the award.

Our skills focus in Intervention has been spelling and sentence structure.

In Science, we have started the year with Chemistry and looking at how temperature changes the solubility of Sodium Bicarbonate. This week, students have completed a ‘hook’ lesson on states of matter where they had to put their hands into mystery boxes and describe/make observations about what they felt. In the coming weeks we will build towards an understanding of the difference between chemical and physical changes.

Bull’s Eye Precision

In Grade 9 Biology, students have been learning about dissection. On this week’s menu, bovine-hating-Science-teacher, Miss Officer, served up the freshly removed eyes of some bulls for her students to mutilate and mangle. Students were tasked to use their newfound dissection skills to remove their bull’s sclera, cornea, and optic nerve. The bulls never saw it coming!

This task required bull’s eye scalpel precision - a feat all students achieved with the encouragement and guidance of their mad Science teacher. Notable words of encouragement and wisdom from Miss Officer during this lesson included:

“Whatever you do, make sure you don’t let it pop!”, “Don’t get eyeball juice on the carpet!” and “No, I’m not allowed to let you take parts of dead animals home.”

Students found the dissection highly enjoyable and are eagerly looking forward to cutting up their next victim.

Happenings in Grade 10

Grade 10 students have a very busy couple of weeks ahead. Over two days, students will be participating in Resilience training with the PCYC in Burnie. The first day is held at the PCYC in Burnie with a trip to the Cradle Coast campus of the University of Tasmania. The second day is an obstacle course at Hellyer College.

These days are designed to teach students the importance of working together and utilising each other’s strengths to get their team to their destination. They will be challenged both physically and mentally, and learning new skills that are needed for the work force in a fun a positive environment.

On March 9^th and 10^th, Grade 10 students will also have the opportunity to gain their first aid accreditation. This is a full day course where students will learn how to give CPR, administer EpiPens and deal with other first aid scenarios. This is an invaluable qualification for students to receive.

Over the next few weeks Grade 10 Principal teachers will be making contact with parents about their child’s start to the year. If at any other time you would like to get in contact with teachers, please call the office on 6420 8100 or email at the addresses below:

10A

Sarah Elliott – sarah.j.elliott@education.tas.gov.au

Jesse Connors – jesse.connors@education.tas.gov.au

10B

Stuart Crabtree – stuart.crabtree@education.tas.gov.au

10C

Alison Moore – alison.moore@education.tas.gov.au

10D

Richard Robinson – richard.robinson@education.tas.gov.au

10E

Richard Heathcote – richard.heathcote@education.tas.gov.au

The Grade 9 Hospitality class have started of the year with a 2 week knife skills and safety course. Students have been learning all about the knives that are used within the hospitality industry (commercial cookery), safety when using and handling knives and a series of precision cuts (set sized vegetable cuts). The students will continue to use precision cuts when creating and presenting Aspic Jelly food picture plates within the next week for assessment.

Mr. Singline
Hospitality Teacher

Our Tier 3 program offers our students flexible and inclusive learning opportunities that are tailored to individual needs. Our aim is to maximise student engagement and participation with school, whilst aiming to prepare them for their future endeavours.

We have the benefit of using our sunny large space in the Support Hub and have been focusing on developing positive relationships and our sense of connectedness to school. While engaging in Literacy and Numeracy, we also have been fortunate to learn and develop valuable skills through our cooking, MDT and enterprise activities.

We are looking forward to seeing our furry friends soon, as the Delta Dog program kicks off for 2021.

The TIER 3 team is keen to engage students in a wide range of art and craft activities, so if you hold a current Working with Vulnerable People card and have a skill to share, or some materials that may be of use that you wish to donate, we’d love to hear from you.

Petrina Hardy
TIER 3 Teacher

Our Reece High School Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Resource library is continually evolving and growing.
Our extensive collection includes fiction/non-fiction and picture books, along with flags and teacher curriculum resources.
We have skins, firesticks, weaving and Aboriginal artwork on display throughout our school.
If you have any recommendations, your community input is welcome and be taken into consideration.

Tens Days on the Island - Opening Ceremony - 'mapali' FREE event 
Links below for more information.

https://www.tendays.org.au/program/mapali/

https://tickets.tendays.org.au/WEBPAGES/EntaWebEvent/EventSBAndPrices.aspx

Grade 7 & 10 - Please return immunisation forms to the office as soon as possible please