I would like to welcome everyone to the 2022 school year, especially our 132 new Grade 7 students. We have also enrolled 15 new students in Grades 8-10 over the last two weeks, taking our total enrolment up to beyond 550. Over the past 5 years our total enrolment has increased by approximately 130 students.

We have been fortunate enough to welcome 9 new staff in 2022.

• Josie Emery - Grade 7 AST and 7 English PLT Leader
• Kellie Gossage - Food
• Lucy Withers - 10 Maths and Science
• Isabella Russo - 8 Maths and Science
• Erica Dalle-Nogare - 9 Science
• Courtney Jago - 7 and 8 English Intervention
• Jessie Durose - TA Hub Support
• Jess McCoy - School Psychologist
• Trent Williams - Social Worker

They have added so much experience and knowledge to our teams and we know that their previous schools are missing them.

We have had a great start to the year, with students already fully engaged in their learning. Our vision “Inspire today, to empower tomorrow,” gives us a strong direction and focuses on ensuring we give our students the important skills that require them to be successful in today’s workforce. Our motto, Realising Potential, highlights that active participation in school or community life has a significant positive impact on a person’s wellbeing. We encourage students to keep making the most of their opportunities at school. 

It is important that our whole school community aligns their actions towards our values. The values highlight the behaviours we expect to see from students, staff and our community. We keep each other accountable to these values and understand that our work in this area has helped us build a strong culture, based on high expectations.

Respect – Respecting ourselves, others, our past and the environment

Responsibility – Taking positive ownership of our actions and making the most of opportunities

Best Effort – Greatest possible effort even when it’s difficult or challenging

Inclusiveness – Treating all people fairly, equitably and with empathy

The focus value for this term is “Responsibility”

COMMUNICATION

Your child’s teachers and TAs have been working tirelessly to plan a learning program that caters for your child. If you have any questions or need to give teachers information in relation to your child’s education, please organise a meeting with your child’s teacher. Teachers can be contacted via email or by booking an appointment through the front office.  Principal teachers will also be contacting each family during Term 1 to introduce themselves and discuss how your child has settled in.  

Communication will also take place via our School App – Schoolzine and our School Facebook Page. Later on in our newsletter, there is an explanation on how to download our school App.

2022 Staffing

Our leadership team will be as follows this year

Principal – Mr Grant Armitstead

Assistant Principal – Mr Franks (Senior School)

Assistant Principal – Mr Murray (Junior School)

Pedagogical Coach – Mrs Thomas

Grade 7 AST – Mrs Hawkes and Mrs Emery

Grade 8 AST – Mrs Hess

Grade 9 AST – Mrs Moore

Grade 10 AST – Mrs Elliott

HPE Leader – Mrs Rataj

11/12 AST – Miss Loone

Grade 9 English PLT Leader – Mr Beechey

RP Leader – Miss Lutwyche

School Business Manager  – Mrs Hicks

2022 Principal Teachers

2022 Prefects

During the second half of last year our current Grade 10s worked through a leadership process to nominate for Prefect in 2022. These students stepped out of their comfort zone and put themselves through an application, speech and voting process. I would like to thank all students for embracing this opportunity and giving it their “Best Effort”. Below are the elected prefects for 2022. The company that we order our prefect jackets from have apologised that they will be unable to deliver our jackets until early March  as COVID-19 has affected their supply chain. Therefore, our Prefects won’t be formally inducted into their roles until after they receive their jackets.

Grade 7, 8 and 9 Camps

Building positive relationships with students and staff are a key to educational success. In previous years we have run camps during Term 1 to help foster these relationships. We were hoping that COVID restrictions would ease, and we would be able to return to dorm accommodation at Payton Park for our Grade 7s and Camp Banksia for our Grade 8s; however, the Department of Education have communicated with all schools that Public Health are continuing with their policy of no camps in Term 1. Due to this, our grade teams will plan day trips that will continue to focus on building relationships and working as a team.

2022 Ski Trip

At present, the Department of Education are not willing to approve any interstate trips until COVID restrictions start to be reduced. We will hopefully have a definite answer by the end of this term. Can families continue to put aside money for the trip, and we will let you know if we can start taking deposits. Thanks for your understanding.

COVID Communication

If your child must isolate due to contracting COVID or being a close contact, can you please inform the school straight away. This helps us to monitor COVID cases within the school and enables us to provide online learning support for your child.

If we receive advice of a staff or student positive COVID case at Reece High School, the following communication will take place;

• If the positive case has been in your child’s class you will receive a personal email asking you to monitor your child’s symptoms and test if required (example below).
• Make individual contact with families of medically vulnerable students or students with mask exemptions in that group
• All RHS families will be notified via our School App and via email that there is a positive case in the school.

We want all families to be aware of the communication process, not to raise concern, but to build confidence in the processes that we have to keep our community safe. I know that you will respect the sensitivity and trust the processes that we will use as a school to ensure that we are doing our best to make the 2022 school year as smooth as possible for our learners.

Example:

Dear Parent/Guardian

Re: COVID-19 at Reece High School

Dear parents/carers of students in Grade XXX or identified class XXX

Today we were advised of positive COVID-19 results for people related to your child’s class.  They are now isolating away from the school. 

Under the current Public Health advice, school exposure where COVID-safe practices are in place are not deemed as close contact. 

However, it is important that you monitor your child for symptoms.  If they develop symptoms stay away from school and do a RAT (Rapid Antigen Test). 

If the RAT returns a positive result, please:

• Keep your child at home and follow the instructions on the Tasmanian Government COVID-19 website.
• Register the RAT result with Public Health using their online declaration form or phone the Public Health Hotline 1800 671 738
• Let the school know for attendance records and learning support

We are continuing to monitor the COVID-19 situation at our school and will keep you informed of any more cases.

If you have any questions or concerns, please phone the Department of Education’s COVID-19 Support Hotline on 1800 816 057 or email COVID19support@education.tas.gov.au

Yours sincerely

Grant Armitstead
Principal

School newsletter article

Your go-to guide to rapid antigen tests

This guide has been developed to support families using rapid antigen tests (RATs).

How to access more RATs

All students now have two RATs as part of their COVID-19 care pack. As you use your supply of RATs, parents and carers must ask for more RATs at school <Insert localised process here>. Each student has access to two RATs per week if requested.

It’s important to note that if you have run out of school issued RATs, and your child has symptoms, please don’t attend school to collect a RAT. Instead, we encourage you to reach out to the Tasmanian Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738 to obtain a RAT. Thank you for your cooperation on this.

How to use a RAT

Your child only needs to use a RAT if they have COVID-19 symptoms. If your child has COVID-19 symptoms, they must stay at home and use a RAT.

Please refer to Public Health’s easy-to-follow instructions on how to use a RAT. In the information pamphlet contained in your rapid antigen test, under section 6.0 there is an instruction stating ‘you must take a laboratory PCR test immediately’ if your RAT tests positive. Public Health assures us that school staff and students do not need to do a PCR test if their RAT tests positive.

What to do with your test result

If a negative result is returned, and your child is feeling well, they can attend school.

If your child tests COVID-19 positive, you must immediately let us know, and complete the Public Health form. You must follow Public Health advice. During your child’s isolation period, if they feel well they can access learning via the Virtual Learning Centre.

If someone in your household tests COVID-19 positive, you must immediately let us know that your child is a close contact and follow Public Health instructions. Your child can access learning via the Virtual Learning Centre during this time.

If you have any questions, please contact the school office. For more information, please visit the Tasmanian Government Coronavirus website or contact the Tasmanian Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738, or Department of Education COVID Support Hotline at COVID19support@education.tas.gov.au or on 1800 816 057.

Year seven students have made a great start to the year at Reece High School. On Wednesday the 9^th of February, students arrived looking very smart in their school uniform and a little nervous about their first day of high school. However, it didn’t take long for students to settle in and find their way around the school. In English, students are learning how to build an argument and communicate their thinking on a topic through their “Convince Me’ unit of work.  In Maths, students are reviewing ‘number’, focusing on factors, multiples and BIDMAS.  In Science, students are learning about different biomes and ecosystems within the world and how animals and humans impact these. In HASS, students have started a unit of work that is designed to give them an overview of the ancient world. They have been learning about the methods historians and archaeologists use to collect evidence about the past.

This week, Grade 7 students spent a day at Splash learning how to:

• be safe around water
• kayak
• use a surfboard

We are looking forward to spending a day at the beach on Monday to apply our learning and participate in beach activities.

Over the next few weeks Grade 7 Principal Teachers will be contacting you to introduce themselves. However, below is a list with the names of your child’s Principal Teacher and their email addresses if you wish to contact them at any stage.

Class	Name	Email address
7A	Miss Josie Emery	josie.emery@educaion.tas.gov.au
	Miss Sara Hooper	sara.hooper@education.tas.gov.au
7B	Miss Casey Frimley	casey.frimley@education.tas.gov.au
7C	Mrs Hannah Rabe	hannah.rabe@education.tas.gov.au
7D	Mrs Bernadetta Hawkes	bernadette.hawkes@education.tas.gov.au
	Mr Richard Heathcote	richard.heathcote@education.tas.gov.au
7E	Mr Claye Symmons	claye.symmons@education.tas.gov.au
7F	Mr Ryan Kelly	ryan.kelly@education.tas.gov.au

Welcome to Grade 8 in 2022!

It’s hard to believe that we are already into Week 2 and that our Grade 8s are the leaders of the Junior School. I would like to start by introducing the Grade 8 Team which consists of Nik Hizartzidis, Alastair Yeates, Anne Thomas, Isabella Russo, Alex Stubbs and myself. Over the first few days of school, students have been working on getting to know the routines of Grade 8 and their new teachers. As a team we have been really impressed with the way in which students have come to school ready to learn and are demonstrating our school values of Best Effort, Respect, Responsibility and Inclusiveness. The Grade 8 team have launched a team point challenge where students have been sorted into  Harry Potter Houses. Students can earn points for their house and the winning team will be rewarded with a prize in Week 10 this term. We look forward to seeing who the winner of the House Cup is.

I would like to extend a special welcome to our new Grade 8 students and I look forward to seeing students making the most of their opportunities throughout 2022.

Danika Hess
Grade 8 Team Leader

Grade 10 Report

The Grade 10 teaching team would like to extend a warm welcome to our Grade 10s and their families. We have included a short teacher profile, as well as our email addresses. Please feel free to email and/or call if you have any questions or concerns. We are looking forward to working together to achieve great things this year.

The 2022 Grade 10 Team

Mrs Sarah Elliott – Grade Leader/10A and C English (sarah.j.elliott@education.tas.gov.au)

My name is Sarah Elliott, I am the Grade 10 Team Leader and I teach English. I have been working at Reece High School for 14 years. In my spare time I enjoy being active with my family, travelling and baking. I am really looking forward to working with your child to achieve their full potential.

Mr Richard Robinson – 10A and C Maths and Science (richard.robinson@education.tas.gov.au)

Hello my name is Richard Robinson and I have been teaching Grade 10 Maths and Science for 9 years at Reece High School.  I am really looking forward to working with your child to achieve their potential in their final year of high school. 

Mr Jesse Connors – 10A and C HASS, Maths Intervention and HPE (jesse.connors@education.tas.gov.au)

My name is Jesse Connors, and I teach HASS in Grade 10, as well as PE and Health for several grades. I have been working at Reece High School for 3 years, teaching across all grades. I enjoy keeping active and being outdoors in my spare time. I am looking forward to a year full of challenges and learning.

Mr Stuart Crabtree – 10B and D English and HASS
(stuart.crabtree@education.tas.gov.au)

I’m Stuart Crabtree, the English and HASS teacher for 10B and 10D. I love working at Reece High School because of our commitment to equipping students for a successful future. You may know me from the Grade 10 English/HASS YouTube Channel, in which I “educate” students through song on my ukulele.  

Mrs Lucy Withers – 10B and C Maths and Science (lucy.withers1@education.tas.gov.au)

My name is Lucy Withers, I am teaching year 10 B and D Science and Maths as well as year 8 PE. This is my first year at Reece High School. During my time away from school, I love playing hockey and spending time with my husband and kids. I 

am looking forward to helping your child achieve their potential in Maths and Science.

Mrs Casey Allen – Grade 9 and 10 English Intervention Teacher (casey.allen@education.tas.gov.au)

My name is Casey Allen, I am the Grade 9 and 10 English Intervention Teacher. I have been working at Reece High School for 12 years, teaching across all grades. I enjoy the outdoors and spending time with my family and am really looking forward to working with your child to achieve their full potential.

Mrs Gabby Kneebone- Teacher Assistant and Maths Intervention

(gabrielle.kneebone@education.tas.gov.au) 

My name is Gabby Kneebone, I am the Grade 10 Teacher Assistant

 and I support students across the curriculum.  I have worked at Reece High School for 14 years, working with all grades. I have been part of the Grade 10 Team for the past 3 years. I am really looking forward to supporting your child this year.

School Nurse News – Welcome

Welcome to the start of a new year at Reece High School. My name is Lisa, and I am your School Health Nurse. I am a Registered Nurse of 19 years. I have previously worked in plastic surgery and emergency but for the past 5 years, I have been a School Health Nurse.

My job is to promote good health and wellbeing and to assist students with any health-related concerns, which may be affecting their learning. At Reece High I run drop-in clinics during recess and lunch times every Monday for students to access a health professional while at school.

I look forward to working with you and your children again this year.

Please feel free to contact me at the school if there is anything you think I can help with. Lisa.j.evans@education.tas.gov.au

Lisa Evans, RN

Instructions how to download the Schoolzine App 

FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY

As a result of the outstanding results at the Australian Open Tennis Australia is offering FREE court hire for casual users for the month of February at local tennis clubs. All you need to do is go to https://play.tennis.com.au/court-hire/DevonportTennisClub#courthire and then on check out use the code FREECOURT.

If you have any questions or need help with this, please contact Pip Martin on 0438 687 542.