Dear Parents and Families,

It is hard to believe that we are now into November and the end of the year is rapidly approaching. I would like to commend students on the focus that they are showing towards their work and their commitment to ensuring that they get the most out of this valuable learning time. We also have some other important events and activities coming up on our school calendar and I encourage students to participate actively in these.

Transition is a priority in Term 4. This includes Grade 6 students from our Feeder Primary Schools who are visiting us to support their transition to high school and build relationships with key staff who are supporting transition. Similarly, some of our Grade 10 students are also making extra visits to the Don College to support their pathway planning and a smooth transition to Year 11. I appreciate the extra work that many staff are doing to support students and meet individual needs.

End of Year Events and Celebrations

As the end of the year approaches, I know people will be looking forward to and making plans for end of year events and celebrations. These are wonderful opportunities to recognise achievement and celebrate the learning and growth of our students. 

• The Presentation Assembly will be held on Thursday, 15^th December and invites will be sent to parents and carers of students who are being recognised on this occasion.
• The Celebration Dinner for Gr 10 is on Tuesday, 20^th December . The dinner will follow our usual format for students once they have arrived. We are sure that this will be a very enjoyable and special occasion for students.
• The Grade 10 Assembly where we farewell Grade 10 students will be held on Tuesday, 20^th December. Arrangements for parents to collect students after the event will be communicated by the Grade 10 team.
• On Monday 19^th December we will hold our Activities Day where students opt into an activity for the day. More information will be communicated in the next few weeks.
• Wednesday 21^st December is our final day for students and we will celebrate with our Walkathon/School Picnic at the Bluff. Again, more information will be communicated closer to the date.

We will endeavour to use our social media, SZApp and newsletter to ensure we have lots of details and photos to keep you up to speed and so that you can join in on the celebrations.

In Closing

A reminder that our Athletics Carnival will be held on the Tuesday and Wednesday of Week 7 (29^th and 30^th November). A huge amount of effort goes into preparing for this day and I would like to thank our HPE team for their thorough planning and team work to prepare for this event. Carnivals are an important part of our learning program and therefore we have high expectations with regards to student attendance and respectful and positive participation on these days.

At the time of writing this newsletter, our Gr 7 students have just headed out on camp. Due to COVID restrictions we weren’t able to hold this camp in its traditional timeslot of Term 1. There has been a huge amount of planning and preparation go into bringing this to fruition. I’d like to thank everyone for their efforts and enthusiasm. It promises to be a memorable experience of demonstrating GRIT (Gratitude, Respect, Independence, Teamwork). Enjoy!

Coming live from Payton Park. A couple of snaps of grade 7 students showing "G.R.I.T"

Whodunnit? Crime Fiction unit 2022.

This term, Grade 8 English students were met with a grizzly sight. On October the 28^th, they investigated the horrific, mysterious, oddly sarcastic, and absolutely fictional building 4 murder.

As part of our crime fiction unit, students investigated clues and evidence surrounding the murder of a fictional ‘Mrs Babe’. Walking into room 404, the Grade 8 English teachers presented many pieces of evidence for students to creatively interpret in order to answer the question of ‘Whodunnit?’.

Using their prior knowledge in creative writing, they constructed their own theories about the story of the murder, and who they believe the culprit to be. It was great to see how engaged the students became when granted the chance to play detective; theories grew, debates flared, and frustrations were extreme.

And no, we did not tell them who the culprit was – that’s their job!

The beginning of Term 4 has seen Maths and Science come together. It’s been pretty weird!

In Maths, we learned Scientific Notation – a way to express really large and really small numbers. Finally, we understood just how tiny an atom actually is, and the sheer number of them is mind-blowing. Then we moved on to Trigonometry – investigating the relationships between angles and sides in right-angled triangles. Using the phrase “hit the soccer ball with my toe-a” helped us with the mnemonic SOH- CAH-TOA to remember which ratio to use when.

In Science, our focus has been Earth Science and Ecology. In particular, learning how carbon cycles through the hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere and biosphere. As part of our learning, Mrs D lent her expertise and created a real field investigation in Kelcey Tier. Using the point-quarter method, we sampled the trees in the area, measuring the distance to each sample tree, its circumference, and angle of inclination to the top of the tree. Back in the classroom, we have had a series of calculations to complete. Using averages, we could estimate the tree density of the area. Using Trigonometry and Circular Geometry, we could find the height of tree, and the diameter. With this information, we calculated green weight, and eventually the amount of carbon and carbon dioxide ‘sequestered’ by trees in the Kelcey Tier Belt. Comparing this to residential and industrial areas, will provide us with some very clear data on why it’s so important to protect our natural environment in action against climate change.

It’s been a pretty cool way to see science and maths come together, and see scientific investigations as a way we can really understand the world around us!

Written by 9E

As week 4 draws to close, we reflect on all the learning that has been happening in Grade 10 classrooms. So far, we have been focusing on:

English – Analysing well known speeches. Students will then have a go at writing their own speech, considering their ‘last word’ to their peer group.

Maths – Trigonometry bearings and looking at the application of COS, SIN and TAN ratios to solve real life problems.

Science – Investigating the effects of climate change, particularly the impact of the green house effect on global, national, and local weather patterns.

HASS – Like Science, the focus in HASS has been looking at the social, political, and economic impact of climate change solutions.

Students have been undertaking exam preparation lessons. The end of year exams will be a test of all the content students have been exposed to throughout the year. Students should be doing at least 20 mins of exam revision each day. Research shows that by just doing small amounts each day, retention of information is increased.

Invitations for the Celebration Dinner are beginning to go out. Students are reminded that completing all assignments to the best of their ability, attending school every day (unless sick) and consistently following school values are the expectations in attending the end of year activities. For those who are unaware, the final week for Grade 10 is as follows:

• Monday 19^th of December – Launceston
• Tuesday 20^th of December – Grade 10 Assembly and Celebration Dinner
• Wednesday 21^st of December – Last day for students

Additional information and permission letters will be sent home in the next couple of weeks.

If you have any questions about any of the information above, please don’t hesitate to call me at the school, or contact via email sarah.j.elliott@decyp.tas.gov.au

Sarah Elliott

Grade 10 Team Leader

COMMUNITY FORUM ON UNDERSTANDING TRAUMATIC GRIEF AND THE RECOVERY JOURNEY

The Hillcrest Affected Area Recovery Committee (HAARC) is hosting a community forum with Dr Rob Gordan on understanding traumatic grief and the recovery journey.  This forum is a free community event.

Date:                     24^th November 2022

Time:                    5.00pm – 6.00pm

Location:               Paranaple Centre

Additional information, including ticketing arrangements can be found at:

 Community Forum - Understanding traumatic grief and the recovery journey Tickets, Thu 24/11/2022 at 5:00 pm | Eventbrite

Child Care – Our Grade 7 students visited Roseberry House during their community connections unit. At the childcare centre they read to the younger children, helped with lunch and nap time duties and were involved in play time and physical activity. It was great to see our students involved in these experiences and excited to return to share stories with the little people.  

Karingal -  As part of community connections, Grade 10 students had the opportunity to go to Karingal to meet some of the residents there. This was a wonderful experience for our students who loved being able to talk to the residents about their life experiences. Students left feeling ecstatic about the sessions and should be proud of themselves for their efforts.  

Grade 7 Fairy Door Excursions 

Grade 7 students aimed to increase physical activity for 0-5 year olds. Students created fairy doors in class and then went on an excursion to distribute these during a lesson. The results and comments from people within our community have been really positive. Great work 7s : ) 

Grade 8 MP - During our visits to Miandetta Primary it was great to see our students gain confidence in their knowledge and ability to plan and deliver exciting activities for the younger students to enjoy. Our students all left a lasting impression and the Miandetta students loved “playing with the big kids”.  

Grade 8 Car Wash – During community connections, our Grade 8s had the pleasure of washing cars for the community. Many laughs were had during each session, and so many people from the community were grateful for having their car tidied up!  

Trail building: 

Create connections in our local community by making local MTB trails safe and accessible to all, therefore, promoting healthy communities.  Questions posed to the students included... What ‘beginner’ tracks need our help? How do I maintain a mountain bike trail? How do I move safely to reduce harm to myself and others when using ‘tools’ in an outdoor environment? How can I be an effective group member?  

A reminder to families that end of year reports will be distributed on Thursday 15 December.

The report will show your child’s learning achievement on a 9-point visual scale which replaces A-E ratings for students in Prep to Year 10.

The 9-point scale shows more specifically where your child’s learning achievement is against the expected standard for their year level.

There will be no teacher comments on the report.

For more information about the changes to reports:

• School Reports FAQs
• Understanding the 9-point scale
• Reporting - The Department for Education, Children and Young People Tasmania (decyp.tas.gov.au)

Name Signs

The first letter of a person’s name can be used for a name sign. So, for Hope, signing the first letter H and saying “Hope”.

For example:

“Hello, my name is Hope”