We hope that everyone had a fantastic holiday and you were able to catch up with family and friends over the Easter period. Term 2 is a busy term with Cross Country and reporting being part of our program. Last term we talked to students about realising their potential and making the most of their opportunities. We will continue to encourage this “growth mindset” amongst students for Term 2.

Our focus value for Term 2 is “Responsibility”.

I strongly believe that our relentless focus on our school values has helped to shape our positive school culture. Not only do they hold us accountable, but they also support us in developing great personal qualities. Our student leadership teams will focus on this value throughout the term and our end of term awards will also be tailored to this value. 

Attendance

I would like to emphasise the importance of school attendance. As with all learning that takes place at RHS, we expect students to give their Best Effort. This is especially important when we find things difficult or challenging. Going to school every day gives your child every chance to learn and grow, and connect with their mates and teachers. It’s where bright futures start and where they’ll benefit the most.

When your child goes to school every day, it helps them to:

• learn better
• find interests
• make friends
• connect with teachers
• be happier
• have a brighter future

If you’re struggling to get your child to school, help is available. Please talk to us at school about your situation. We’ll support you, in whatever way we can.

To find out more, visit the Anything can happen website.

ANZAC Day 

Anzac Day is one of Australia’s most important national occasions. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. Australians recognise the 25th of April as a day of national remembrance, attending services all around the country. Anzac Day is a special time when we reflect on the many different meanings of war. I would like to thank our prefects for representing RHS at the Devonport service. They were all fantastic role models and we appreciate them giving up this day to lay a wreath on behalf of the school.

School Uniform

We are fortunate to have an amazing school culture in relation to our school uniform. Our students wear their uniform with pride which demonstrates the connection they have with our school. If you need any support around school uniform, please contact your child's grade Team Leader or Assistant Principal.

Congratulations – Individual Achievements

Over the holidays we have been informed of some significant individual achievements from our students.

During the holidays, Sianna and Eva represented Tasmania in the Coles Australian Little Athletics Championships held in Melbourne. They both loved the opportunity to work with amazing coaches and other athletes from around Australia. Sianna competed in Shot Put, Javelin, 80m Hurdles, Discus and 4x100m Relay. Sianna achieved 1^st in Javiline with a PB of 42.76m. Their relay team achieved 2^nd place. Sianna got 5^th in the 80m hurdles but she was the first Tasmanian to achieve under 13 seconds.

Eva competed in the 1500m Race Walk and achieved 7^th overall in Australia for her age group. Both girls have set aspirational goals in their chosen areas of athletics. They has worked tirelessly on all aspects of their training and are keen to improve. We wish Sianna and Eva all the best and we look forward to monitoring their progress in the future. Congratulations Sianna and Eva.

Levies – NOW OVERDUE  
Levies were due in full by Friday 7^th April.  If you haven’t paid these by now and need more time, please contact the School Business Manager on 64208100 to discuss a Time Payment Agreement by Friday 26/05/202, or otherwise make payment in full as a matter of urgency by Bpay, Service Tasmania or call into the school office to make payment.  Please be aware that debts which remain outstanding, will be referred to the Department of Education for follow up action.             

Grade 8 students started the term looking at square numbers, meaning numbers which are multiplied by themselves. Students were required to put together posters of numbers 1 to 120 and using only the sum of squares to make each of the whole numbers on the poster. The post it notes were a beautiful, colourful addition to our classrooms and the students used collaboration and teamwork to complete these. This activity prepares our students for our next unit on Index Laws.

Term 2 is underway, and we thank all our students for such a smooth beginning with smiling faces, energy, bums on seats and conversations to catch up on. 

This term sees a few new faces enter Maths and Science in Grade 9.  We would like to welcome Miss Taryn Crawford to 9C, and Miss Alicia Walker who is team teaching with Miss O’Halloran for 9E and 9B.  

Miss Taryn Crawford – Shared Principal Teacher of 9C 

Hi! I’m Taryn and I teach Maths, Science and Health to 9C. Additionally, I teach a 9 RP cooking class each Friday. I have been fortunate to have held a variety of jobs in my life. These include teaching in the UK, being a mini’s ski instructor at Whistler Blackcomb, Canada, and working on board the Disney Magic cruise ship as a Youth Counsellor (kid’s club). I returned to teaching in 2005/06 and gained permanent employment at Pacific Pines SHS, on the Gold Coast, in 2008. I resided at Pacific Pines SHS for 11 years, and I moved to Tasmania in 2019 to be closer to family.  I am excited to be a part of the Grade 9 team this year, especially as I have worked closely (on relief) with most students last year when they were in Grade 8.  I am looking forward to helping each student grow and develop in character, and independence as they transition into this next stage of their learning at Reece High. Please feel welcome to contact me on taryn.crawford@decyp.tas.gov.au or by the school office. 

Miss Alicia Walker – Principal Teacher 9E 

I started at Reece High School this term and am co-teaching with Miss O’Halloran, teaching 9E Maths/Science and 9B Maths/Science. I aim to produce learners who are as independent as possible, but also are able to connect with their communities to both receive benefits and to contribute. Before becoming a teacher, I worked in healthcare and medical research. Although I am originally from the Devonport area, I started teaching in Mount Isa, Queensland. We moved back to Tasmania to be closer to family and have been back here for about 2 years. My current hobbies and interests include music; I play the cornet. My past interests include salsa dancing. I have a fiancé and a cat who once tried to burn the house down (the cat, not my fiancé). Please feel welcome to contact me on alicia.walker@decyp.tas.gov.au or by the school office. 

House Challenge 

Last term, students competed in a House challenge, where they earned points for their house through showing their Best Effort in class activities. Devon put up a fight, but Torquay was our eventual winner. This Friday all students from Torquay House will be rewarded with a pizza lunch. Congratulations Torquay!

Responsibility 

This term our focus value is Responsibility. With a term under our belt, students now know the drill around class expectations. A few simple focus actions we are looking for are: 

• being seated and ready to learn by the time the music finishes 
• completing class work and assessments on time 

• communicating with teachers to catch up on missed work, if absent 

Attendance 

Attendance continues to be a strong focus at Reece High School. We were thrilled on the first day of Term to have 91% of students present. We know students’ best chance of learning occurs when they are at school, in class and receiving instruction face-to-face. 

        

                                                                       

You can see from our graphs that attendance has dropped a fair bit since Day 1; around 10%. Obviously, illness prevents students from attending, so keep contacting the school to explain any sickness and keep encouraging your children to attend, even when faced with challenge. 

Onwards and upwards! 

Welcome to the start of a very big term for Grade 10s. Even though it is an 11 week term it is going to be jam packed with opportunities, adventures and realising our potential! This term students have the opportunity to head out on work experience! If you haven’t already spoken to Natasha (Tash) Armitstead or Rosie yet about this or handed in your work experience forms, now is the time to do so. You don’t need to know anyone in the industry you’re interested in working in, just come along and have a chat to see what is possible. Things like Cross Country, RYDA (driver safety) day and other realising potential opportunities will be popping up over the next few weeks so make sure to make the most of your Grade 10 year.

Students will be receiving letters home in the next few weeks outlining any overdue work from Term 1. Make sure you are talking to your teachers and checking the overdue work list to make a plan to complete any work that you have overlooked from last term.

Speaking of opportunities Science has delivered again this term early in Biology. Students this week have been reconstructing and learning about DNA! Did you know DNA is composed of two backbones and four types of chemical bases. The backbone is formed by a chain of alternating phosphates and sugars. By the end of this lesson, we think there were a lot of students consisting of a lot more sugar too! Stay tuned for next week's newsletter item as we will be featuring a curriculum area in each issue.

The Grade 10 Team

The Design and Technology Department at Reece High has been working hard over Term 1 and into Term 2. Some minor works were carried out over the Christmas break and this has led to a change in the layout or the classroom space which students have adapted to well. We have carried out some maintenance in replacing all the workbench tops during Term 1, which now gives students a better working space.                                                                   

Grade 7s are currently working between completing their puzzle/maze project and then onto their metal action figure for which they need to make a design which shows what their figure is doing (ideally some sort of action – shooting a basketball, fishing, running, kicking a ball, etc). Students in this area will be working on improving their hand skills with basic tools along with using the oxy-acetylene equipment which has students using a flamed torch at a temperature in excess of 600° Celsius, to heat up and bend their action figures into shape.

The Grade 8 2 block class are beginning a couple of metal work projects after most students completed their shelving units last term. The quality of the finish on most of these projects was excellent and it was pleasing to see that students had spent the time and effort to achieve this. The single block Grade 8 class are completing their wooden sliding lid boxes and quite a few have begun working on their individually designed wooden toy project. Some of the ideas and designs that students have shown me will hopefully be manufactured into some awesome wooden toys.

The Grade 9 2 block class are completing their wooden step ladders and will be moving into some metal projects this term. Whilst the step ladder has been a set design for students to work off, the upcoming metal projects are more individual so it will be exciting to see some of the interesting designs that students create. Most students in the single block Grade 9 class have completed their wooden knot puzzle and are working on their folding step stool unit with a small metal project to follow.

With most Grade 10 2 block students having now completed their display frames we have moved onto the folding step stool project which will hopefully be completed by the middle of this term. The single block class students completed their wooden knot puzzles in Term 1 and are now working on a tool step. The Housing and Construction class have been working on designing and making model houses which will lead into a few larger group projects to be undertaken this term.