28 September 2018

Newsletter Articles

Acting Principal’s Report

It’s hard to believe that it’s already the end of Term 3, but as always, the past two weeks have been extremely busy at Exeter High School, with much to celebrate and many people to acknowledge. I would like to especially thank all the teaching staff for their continued efforts in delivering quality learning experiences and arranging activities such as sports teams and excursions that add to the opportunities that our students are offered here.

Last week saw our end of term assembly and I was impressed by both the fact that so many of our students were recognised for their academic achievements in National and International competitions but also by the fact that students at Exeter High have the opportunity to participate in over 10 of these academic competitions throughout the year. A huge thank you to Mrs Robinson who coordinates and runs these events.

Mr Stewart informs me that the hugely successful Trivia Night saw over $900 raised and this along with other events that our SLC have organised, has seen our school donate over $2500 to various charities this year.

Grade 9 students participated in an excursion last Monday to the Inveresk Museum to visit the WW1 exhibition. This was an informative experience and reinforced the learning undertaken in the History unit here at school. Once again, as we always expect of our students, their behaviour was exceptional.

We had a Techno Bullying presentation to the Grade 7/8 students on Friday 14th which dealt with the effects of bullying via technology. This was a very relevant presentation given our teens’ heavy usage of social media and the messages were very well received by the students. The two presenters also commented on the behaviour and respect shown by the audience and this is so important to continue to show the wider community that Exeter High School truly is a school that lives by its values of Respect, Learning, Acceptance and Maturity.

I would also like to thank parents for informing our administration team about absenteeism this term when it has occurred as this is extremely important to keep our records accurate. I would also like to reinforce how crucial parents are in partnership with our school in maximising their child’s education. We value open lines of communication between home and school and contacting the school as soon as an issue or concern arises, often allows us to work as a team to find a solution.

Our teachers are currently working on Curriculum planning for 2019 – teachers are working in subject teams, planning content to be taught across the school in 2019 and ensuring there is a school-wide scope and sequence for each learning area. This also ensures a smooth transition between grades for students in relation to curriculum areas.

Option booklets were handed out to students this week, ready for 2019 course selection early in term 4. Please take the time to sit down with your child and discuss the different option subjects being offered in 2019 so that your child is making informed choices about their subjects for next year.

Another outstanding achievement from one of our students is Grade 9 student Georgia Woods is travelling to Canberra in the first week of the school holidays as she has been chosen to represent Tasmania in the state swimming team at the State Team Age Short Course (STASC) Championships being swum at the Australian Institute of Sport. This is an exciting opportunity as only approximately 30 kids from throughout the state were chosen for the team. Georgia is swimming breaststroke across 3 distances, and is ranked top 10 in the 50m breaststroke for her age. Congratulations Georgia and we look forward to hearing about how the swim meet went when we return to school next term.

Mr Paul Stevenson
ACTING PRINCIPAL

Grade 9 student Cody Walters got a real shock when taking photographs near the creek running through the school grounds. We apparently have a resident platypus who wasn’t at all shy allowing Cody to capture him on photo.

School Association

Our EHS Parents & Friends Association have a Facebook page for families to like and follow. The page includes information such as celebrating student success, links to articles, advertising and school reminders. You can find this page by searching Exeter High School Assoc P & F. Don’t forget to like and share our page.

Tamar Valley Writers Festival

On Friday 14th September, a group of year nine students went to the Tamar Valley Writers Festival, where we met three authors and one illustrator. Their names were George Ivanoff, Jackie Kerin, Dr Jodi McAlister and Marc McBride - every one of them taught us something different. George Ivanoff had a massive personality that made you want to listen to him and he talked about how his writing has changed over the years and all about the rereading and editing process. Dr Jodi McAlister was quirky and also interesting. She talked about the different genre of books that you can get and how different themes fit in, she also spoke of writers block and the secret of getting past it, that all you need to do is throw in a bunch of ninjas! Jackie Kerin was very easy to get along with, someone you just want to be around, she talked about what made her want to write and her opinion on story telling. Marc McBride was fun and definitely out there, he talked about perspective and the way light hits an object and when you colour, start with a light colour because you can always go darker. All up it was a great experience well worth going to. A big thank you to Mr Clarke for taking us, and it is safe to say we all had a great time.

By Jessica Grant-De Haan and Isla Richards

Agricultural Project

Our Ag Studies project is about raising pigs. We decided to build a pig shelter so we could use the skills we had learned in MDT. We used a recycled desk top for our project.

Mathew and Shelem

Raffle Results

Cattle Handlers

Graduation Committee

Option Classes

Round 3 of Grade 7 Options – Music

Pictures of some students finding their feet learning a new instrument and also some students who are continuing to develop their skills.

MDT and Woodwork Projects

Students through the grades have been producing many varied and wonderful projects. Here are a few examples to illustrate the many talented students at Exeter. Students have produced coat hooks, name plates, bowls, cannons, fire pots, clock faces, carry boxes, blanket boxes and chopping boards just to name a few.

Fire pot project

In metal work there have been some great projects being made, one which definitely stood out from the rest was Laura and Gemma’s recycled fire pot, made exclusively for Mr Clarke.

The girls have worked very hard to create a gorgeous fire pot, made from an old hot water cylinder from the school that had blown up.

Mr Page proposed ideas for the design and encouraged the girls to make everything as good as it could be. Gemma said “It honestly seemed like Mr Page didn’t want us to finish it, he kept giving us things to add the design.”

The project started on the 4th of July and took until the 27th August to complete. Throughout the whole process the girls have learnt to weld, grind, drill and much more, which is quite impressive seeing it is their first time being in a metal work class.

“This was an awesome project to create and I have learnt so much through the making of it,” Laura said.

Of course Mr Page couldn’t be there to supervise every step they did so it was up to the girls to make sure they did things right.

by Laura and Gemma

2019 Cambodia/Singapore Fundraiser Information

The first official fundraiser for our Cambodia Friendship school will tip off during Term 4 taking the format of a Reverse Raffle (aka Last man standing).The aim of the game is to be the last ticket drawn out not the 1st. Ticket will be $10 each.

Student attending the trip will be allotted an amount of tickets to sell, but you can also purchase your raffle ticket from Miss Cartledge or Mrs Howie via email naomi.cartledge@education.tas.gov.au

angela.howie@education.tas.gov.au or phone:-63944366.

Prizes - Last ticket drawn out wins $100
2nd Last ticket drawn out wins $50
3rd Last ticket drawn out wins $25

If you are the 1st ticket drawn out you win your $10 back

Also our Cadbury chocolate fundraiser kicks off next term. Fundraiser boxes will be available for collection on return to school.

Calendar Dates – Term 4, 2018

October

November

EHS 2018 Wall of Pride – Nominations Now Open

2019 Lead, Inspire, Grow Leadership Camp – Applications Close 9 November

COMMUNITY CORNER