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| June | |
| Tuesday 29th | Realising Potential Evening 6pm to 8.30pm |
| July | |
| Friday 2nd | End of Term 2 |
| Monday 19th | Student Free Day |
| Tuesday 20th | Term 3 Commences for Students |
Reporting
The past few weeks have been busy for teachers with report writing dominating their evenings and weekends. This week we had the opportunity to meet with families to discuss progress across all learning areas. We were impressed by the number of families that took advantage of our 3-way conference sessions on Monday and Tuesday. It was also great to have Don Staff on hand to support grade 10 families with any questions relating to their year 11 and 12 program.
Years 11 & 12 at Reece High School
At Reece High School, our Grade 10 students have started investigating what 2022 will look like for them. Reece High is working closely with Don College to make sure that our students are well informed about the course options available to them, so their transition is as smooth as possible. You are most likely aware of the Tasmanian government‘s plan for extending Grades 11 and 12 into high schools. In 2021, we currently have three students enrolled in Grade 11 at RHS. For some of our students, the change to Grade 11 can be very challenging. It is with these students in mind, that we are working with Don College, Devonport High School, Latrobe High School and Sheffield School to investigate alternative programs for these students. These programs are personalised to the individual student’s needs and may include study at their high school. Work has begun reviewing student data to identify those students who may need additional support in order to complete Grade 12. The aim is to assist all of our students to complete their Tasmanian Certificate of Education.
- Introductory Visit block 3 Tuesday 17th of August
- Wednesday 25 August – All 11/12 offerings across the Devonport, Latrobe, Sheffield and Ulverstone area will be outlined to all students in Grade 10.
- Don Live 10B and C + half of 10E – block 3 Thursday 16th of September
- Don Live 10A and D + half of 10E – block 3 Thursday 23rd of September
- Preliminary Enrolment Visit - block 3 – Tues 12th October
- Preliminary Enrolment due into Web Preferences by the end of Week 2 (22nd October)
- Review and Completion of Enrolment in Web Preferences Week 5 (8th November - 12th November)
- Don transition teams to complete the enrolment process at RHS
- START Day Tuesday 30th November - Students attend Don College from 9:30 am and participate in 3 of their chosen subjects for 2022.
If you feel your child may struggle with the transition to Don College and might benefit from an alternative transition process, please contact Mrs Sarah Elliot (Grade Coordinator) at school on 6420 8100 or alternatively, Mrs Bernadette Hawkes (AST Year 11 and 12) on 6420 8100.
Below are some web based resources that would help with subject selection and give parents and students access to information that will be helpful.
Resources
Don College Website: http://doncollege.education.tas.edu.au
TCE planner: https://www.tasc.tas.gov.au/students/course-planner/
Colours Assembly
On the last Friday of term, we will have our colours assembly. This is a celebration assembly to recognise those students that have performed extremely well inside and outside the classroom. All the students receiving colours will have their own individual story that would involve setbacks, but with perseverance and focusing on our school value of “Best Effort” have excelled in their chosen field.
The colours concept was engineered by a past HPE teacher, Derek Marsh. The idea for his concept came from a teacher exchange in 1987. Mr Marsh’s idea was taken from a high school in England which focused on recognising those students who excelled in different areas in the school and within the wider community. It recognises those students who have excelled in their area of expertise. It is great to see that Mr Marsh’s legacy lives on today.
Congratulations
Molly and Stirling have been selected to represent Tasmania in state under 13 hockey teams. Stirling is one of 7 North West boys selected for the team and will play as goalkeeper for the team.
Molly is the only North West representative selected in the girl’s team and will be a key defence player for the team. The national tournament will be played in Hobart from September 30th until October 6th. Congratulations, Molly and Stirling.
JCP Youth Camps
Will Smith came to RHS last year and ran some leadership sessions with our students. Our students were inspired by his work. His organisation is now offering camps in Tasmania.
Through the delivery of leadership content, along with physical and mental challenges – the JCP team will inspire and empower students to create focus in their life, connect with core values, learn to take responsibility for their actions/ behaviours and start to positively contribute to their own lives and the wider community. The program is for individuals who want to explore their full potential. The program aims to build life skills and a young person’s potential to be a happy, healthy and positive person.
These programs will challenge each participant both physically and mentally. This MUST be a strong consideration for all participants who partake in the program.
They will be running separate camps for girls and boys. If your child is interested in taking part, please follow the links below.
Girls Camp
It has been a very cold and wet end to the term. However, Grade 7 students have continued to display Best Effort in their learning. In Science, students have extended their learning on how to separate mixtures. This week, the focus has been on using chromatography as a method to separate mixtures. The aim of the experiment was to determine which colours are used to create certain coloured markers. Students went to the laboratory to use scientific equipment which helped them to separate the ink through a process known as paper chromatography and test their predictions.
‘Our goal is to turn data into information, and information into insight,’ (Carly Fiorina HP CEO). During Maths, students have had a focus on how data can be represented and how different calculations can give us insights into what the data is telling us. Mr Kelly and Mr Symmons have enjoyed breaking down their recent football kicking data and getting their students to make some inferences about who is the better player. We have also explored how different data is represented in graphs such as stem and leaf plots, bar and column graphs and frequency tables.
In English, we have completed our ‘Media Mayhem’ unit. Students finished and published their news articles and we are nearly ready to share them with the grade. The articles addressed technology addiction in children. Students chose to write either a biased or objective news article to inform the parent community of Devonport. Staff are really pleased with the effort students have put into their final task. Please ask your child to share their article with you at home. During HASS, students have started an economics unit. They have been learning about what makes a good and bad economy. With only one week to go, we hope students can continue to demonstrate ‘Best Effort’ and enter the holidays next week for a well-deserved break.
In English, students are currently learning about William Shakespeare. They are given an introduction to his life and the times in which he lived. Students actively experiment with the language and learn to understand the way Shakespeare created new words and phrases to suit his own purposes, as well as his poems and plays. We also spend time decoding and interpreting his intended meaning and the stories he created, which continue to be adopted and adapted by modern writers and producers for modern audiences.
Our work focuses on the story of Romeo and Juliet. This year we have been lucky enough to win a scholarship with the Bell Shakespeare company, an Australian theatre company, who specialise in Shakespearean productions and also in educating young people about the famous bard.
All students in Grade 8 have had 5 sessions with Jess and Huw from Bell Shakespeare. These sessions have encouraged active participation in creating a tableau, shouting Shakespearean insults and working through a ‘moved synopsis’ of the story of Romeo and Juliet.
Grade 10 students have been lucky to have the opportunity to work with two artists in residence from Bell Shakespeare. This work has primarily been focused on the play Macbeth and supporting students with developing their understanding about the plot events, language and character development. Students have been given the opportunity to work in groups and experience learning in an engaging and interactive format. We are so thankful to Huw and Jess for this wonderful experience!
We have almost half the grade going out on work experience during weeks 10 and 11 of this term. These students have expressed interest in learning more about different career paths, with a willingness to step out of their comfort zones and try the challenge of new things. We are very much looking forward to hearing about their experiences.
As outlined in the Principal's message Grade 10 students will begin working on their transition to Don in Terms 3 and 4. Some important dates to note are:
- Don Introductory Session in Grade 10 classrooms – Tuesday 17th of August
- Don Live 10B and C + half of 10E – Thursday 16th of September
- Don Live 10A and D + half of 10E – Thursday 23rd of September
- Preliminary Enrolments – Tuesday 12th of October
- Start Day – Tuesday 30th of November
If you have any questions or concerns about your child transitioning to Don, please contact Sarah Elliott at the school on 6420 8100 or via email to sarah.j.elliott@education.tas.gov.au
It has been another busy term in Art, and we have a great opportunity to showcase the amazing artworks that have been created so far this year at our Realising Potential Night on Tuesday the 29th of June. There will be exhibition displays of Art, Hospitality equipment and MDT when the doors open at 6 and Music and Drama performances will start at 6.30. This will be held at Reece High School in the Performing Arts Building.
During Term Two - 2 block Art students have been taking inspiration from artists to create artist displays and artworks using a range of materials. 1 block Art students have experimented with painting, printmaking, mixed media and guerrilla art.
7C, 7D & 7F have nearly finished their taster course for Art through completing their clay pinch pot sculptures and paintings. Hopefully they have enjoyed their time in Art, and we look forward to having 7A, 7B & 7E in the Art room starting their taster course next term.
Prefects have been continuing with individual projects, lunchtime activities and toasties over the past few weeks.
Toasties have been selling well and we’re looking forward to finding out which group takes out the win for the most money raised and best customer service. Mr Franks seems to think he’ll take out the customer service award.
Last Friday we ran a “Scavenger Hunt” race for all interested students. Students took print outs of photos from around the school and had to be the first group back to win a chocolate. The most difficult was the sticker on the basketball hoop! Thank you to all that participated and well done to our winners.
Keegan and Emillia have been working with small groups of students during Wednesday lunchtimes to guide relaxation sessions. Also, Kosta and Tim have been having a friendly game or 2 of chess during a Monday lunchtime in the library.
Prefects have organised a girls footy game for week 11 and we want as many students involved as possible!
Mr Wicks took some skills sessions during lunch on Tuesday and Thursday ready for next week's big game. Thank you Mr Wicks!
Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation NAIDOC Week 2021 Flag Raising event is on Monday 5th July at 11am at Tiagarra at the bluff.
Please RSVP to board.sixrivers@gmail.com for COVID-19 requirements.
All Welcome.
As a continuation of our effort to breed our 'Quail Army', we are proud to announce that our ranks have grown by another four! Our second generation of quails hatched this week, and will be ready to serve their master Leroy in eight weeks (probably from the outpost of Mr Singline’s chook shed).