29 March 2019

Newsletter Articles

Assistant Principals

Paul Stevenson
Andrea Saville

Grade Leaders

Grade 7: Kendal King
Grade 8: Naomi Cartledge
Grade 9: Skye Champion
Grade 10: Allison Macpherson

Support Services

School Psychologist: Annie Fitzgerald: Wed & Thursday
Social Worker: Esther Fleming: Tues and Wed
School Chaplain Paul Burton: Mon/Wed/Friday
School Health Nurse David Mackay: Wednesday

Principal’s Report

Interim reports were sent home with your children this week. These reports are intended to act as a guide to how each student has settled into their new school year and provide a rating in the areas of Attitude, Organisation, Task Completion and Behaviour. Parents are invited to meet with their child’s teachers during the final week of term to discuss these reports. As I have mentioned before, I also encourage parents to make contact with the school whenever there are any concerns or questions.

Last week saw one of Australia’s leading educationalists Vic Zbar visit our school and conduct observations in many of our classrooms. One of the aspects of any school that Vic believes is essential in ensuring optimal learning outcomes is that schools operate in a calm and orderly manner and his message to me was that we excel in this area. As a school, we will use the information that Vic collected during his visit to continue to evolve as a place of high level learning where students of all abilities are supported but also challenged in their learning.

I have included a table below that highlights how crucial attendance is at school every day. I found this table provides such a clear indicator to parents just how much a child’s ability to access to a quality education can be affected by missing periods of time that some people may have seen as insignificant such as missing 1 day per fortnight. This table highlights that this equates to 1 and a half years of schooling between Kindergarten and Year 12. No child can be expected to succeed if they miss that amount of time out of their learning.

EVERY DAY COUNTS….

A day here or there doesn’t seem like much, but…..

Give your child every chance at success Every Day Counts!!!

EVERY MINUTE COUNTS…..

Your child’s best learning time is at the beginning of the day…

NAPLAN Online

Benjamin Frerk
Principal

EHS School Association

Please be advised that the School Association AGM and general meeting date has been changed and will now take place on Tuesday 2 April. Nomination forms for all positions are available from the school office. Meetings start at 6:00pm and are held in the staffroom.

World’s Greatest Shave

On Friday 15th March Exeter High School participated in the World’s Greatest Shave. The SLC would firstly like to thank Zac Jelfs, Darby Whiting and Mr Stewart for being brave enough to shave but more importantly we would like to thank all the members of our school community that supported this amazing charity. Through the money collected at school and through online donations our team ended up raising $1587.

Writers Window

As part of our school’s focus on literacy, we have created a Writers Window in the library. This Window will give students an insight into the various Writing Competitions that are available to them, as well as publicising any upcoming events that could be of interest. The competitions that are currently running include the What Matters? Writing competition, which is open to all students in grade 5-12 (closes on Friday May 10th), and the Frank MacDonald Memorial prize, a history based competition which focuses on World War 1 and is open to all grade 9 students.

Keep an eye on the Writers Window as you come into the library, as it will be updated regularly. Thanks to Mrs Liddell for all of her help in preparing the window space.

If you have any questions about the competitions, please come and chat to Mr Clarke.

From the Nurse’s Desk

Hi all, I thought as the students have settled in and we gallop towards the term break, when most spend a lot more time on their devices. It may be timely to revisit Cyber safety as it has been widely discussed in the media over the past months. I have included useful links to current information and assistance for parents/carers and students at the end of the article. Remember if you require any assistance with Health issues I am available at Exeter High every Wednesday.

Cyber safety

The world is a rapidly changing place, and few areas are more difficult to keep pace of than the area of the internet, and associated with it – cyber safety. In most cases, our children are very much ahead of us and our knowledge. 50% of Grade 3-6 children have 4 or more electronic devices in their room. These commonly include an iPod, iPad/iPad mini, Nintendo console, laptop and mobile phone. Children now have more access to the internet, and with it, are open to a number of risky situations. Our children are born into a web connected world with multiple devices available to them, and 83% are online 3 or more times a day. This connection now comes from an early age, with apps available that reward children for toilet training. 50% of Grade 5-6 children will now skype into different rooms in the same house!

A recent workshop conducted by the Office of Children’s eSafety Commissioner highlighted some of these statistics, and provided information as to the ways the office can be of assistance when tricky issues occur in relation to misuse or abuse via the internet. Each age group comes with its own risks, and in understanding what the risks are, we are able to better provide protection to children. From early childhood (birth to 7 years) the child’s digital footprint is created (for example children’s photos being put up by parents on Facebook). They tend to accept media content at face value, are developing fine motor skills with the use of devices, and the devices are used to entertain and teach. Exposure to inappropriate content at this age is often accidental for the child and appropriate modelling by the parent is important.

Middle childhood (8-12 years) is a time when children are trusting and susceptible to grooming by online predators. They are developing their first loyal friends, and at risk of password sharing – for girls this can be up to 5 or more people. This age group is starting to be clearer on knowing right from wrong, but there is now increased risk of cyberbullying (the average age for this commencing is 8 years). There is also the increased risk of identity theft as their digital footprint increases. They are at risk from unwanted contact, and it is estimated that 75% of children in Grades 3-6 have been asked their real name and home address. Fortunately, according to the office of eSafety, most children deal with this well. There is also the risk of sites being accessed for music exposing children accidentally to pornography, as downloaded music is often funded by pornography banners.

During early to middle adolescence, young people are searching for their personal identity and are experimenting. Peer influence is stronger, and the adolescent’s sexual identity is forming. This is often a time when sexting occurs. There is more adult content available and often is more extreme adult content. Unfortunately adolescents may view what they see as the norm, leading to confused ideas on appropriate sexual behaviour. There are also legal and social consequences to inappropriate online behaviour that young people often fail to consider, such as prosecution and listing on the sexual offenders register.

The most popular social media for young people aged 8-17 years is now Instagram. However, the default setting for this is to public, and most young people fail to put privacy settings into place. There is even a new form of bullying which involves feeling excluded if they have insufficient or no ‘likes.’ The Kik app has little to no security, which makes it a playground for paedophiles, despite the fact that users are meant to be 17 and over. It is now possible to download Snapchat hacker apps, rendering it less safe than supposed, as well as the ability to screenshot photographs. For 50% of all 13-18 year olds who have sexted, 6% have forwarded, 20% have not forwarded it but shown the image to others, and 15% of males and 10% of females have sent a sext to 5 or more people.

If a parent is concerned that their child may be experiencing cyber-issues, they may have noticed their child becoming withdrawn, a change in personality, increased online time, decreased sleep, decreased performance or motivation, and changes in friendships, amongst other behavioural changes. Some of the more severe cyber concerns relate to impersonators, and identity theft, followed closely by hater pages, inappropriate videos or images being posted, or blackmail and cyber bullying. It is important to focus on the behaviour, not the technology – take that out of the conversation. Avoid the blame game, and the way a parent responds is key. It is helpful for parent and child to communicate and learn together, help the child build resilience and empathy, and address excessive online use early.

To report concerns or issues, particularly if it involves social media, report it to that service first. If there is no resolution, a complaint form can be filled out that brings the issue to the attention of the eSafety commissioner. The person who makes the complaint, can be a child under 18 years, a parent or guardian of that child (child’s consent is not required), or a responsible person authorised by the child (such as a counsellor). The Commissioner works under the Enhancing Online Safety for Children Act 2015, and has a number of powers, including the ability to have offensive content dealt with within 48 hours.

To contact the eSafety commissioner: esafety.gov.au

Department of Education link for parent resources for online and social media safety.

Below is the current Department of Education link for parent information and online safety in schools.

I hope you fine these resources helpful and if you require any further information on any health related topic please don’t hesitate to contact...

Cheers, Nurse Dave

7B Ag Class Excursion

Students will be heading to Pure Foods Egg Farm at Longford on Thursday 4 April. Permission letters have been sent home and we ask that they be returned to school by Tuesday 2 April.

Grade 10 Easter Raffle

Raffle drawn on Wednesday 10th April and what fabulous prizes to be won! Tickets are still available and can be purchased by contacting the Grade 10 team on 6394 4366.

Uniform Shop Update

Sports Tops – Size 12 and Size 14 tops are now in stock at a cost of $25.00.

Any Grade 10 students who is interested in ordering a Rugby Top with their last name printed on the back can place their orders now. Cost of top is $80.00 and orders and payment can be made any time at our school office or through the Uniform Shop on Thursday mornings. Cost of top is $80.00, printing of name on back is FREE. Orders and payment can be made any time at our school office or through the Uniform Shop on Thursday mornings.

Canteen Assistance Required

Are you be able to support our school canteen?

Do you have a spare 4 hours in your busy week/month?

If you can assist we would love to hear from you by contacting us on 6394 4366.

Please note that helpers must have a ‘Working with Vulnerable People’ card.

Tamar Demons Junior Football Club

TDJFC are looking for more boys to join their Under 12 team and are hoping that you might know someone! They are offering FREE registration. Contact Liz on 0458 639 447.

Youth Art Competition

As part of the upcoming Beaconsfield Youth & Community Festival, we are inviting young people of the West Tamar to enter in the Youth Arts Competition.

The event features the creative arts and invites any young people in the West Tamar to submit their artwork in the Youth Arts Competition. All artwork will be displayed at the Festival with judges awarding prizes in various age groups. Engaging and inclusive artwork is available for anyone to participate in on the day as well.

Young people can choose their own medium and their own design. To be eligible, entrants must be from the West Tamar, aged under 18 and be submitted by 8th April ready for display.

Prizes to be won!

For further information, contact the West Tamar Council via andrew.beeston@wtc.tas.gov.au

Important Dates 2019

Term Dates

Student Free Days

April

* Calendar is updated on a fortnightly basis.

COMMUNITY CORNER