16 August 2019

Newsletter Articles

Assistant Principals

Paul Stevenson
Andrea Saville

Grade Leaders

Grade 7: Liam Fox
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 - Currently on leave

Uniform Shop - EHS Uniform Shop is open every Thursday during school term from 8:45am-10:30am.

Breakfast Club is open 8:30am-8:55am on a Monday and Wednesday every week during school term.

Principal’s Report

It’s been great to be back this week and seeing the high standards of teaching and learning are on display as always. As mentioned in the last newsletter, we have developed a set of expectations that are displayed in every room of the school and these make it clear to everyone about what is expected here at Exeter High School. These have been developed to ensure I can guarantee every parent that their child is able to be in a learning environment that is most conducive to learning. The expectation is that every student here at Exeter High School behaves in a way that also allows this to be the case.

Last Tuesday afternoon saw all of the teachers from Exeter High, Exeter Primary and Beaconsfield Primary meet to continue their work as part of the Middle Years Literacy Project. This project is ensuring that all three schools align their Literacy practices and ensure that there is continuity in teaching practices from K-10 within the cluster. We have also had students from Grades 7 and 8 participate in a ‘Write a Book in a Day’ at Exeter Primary School and I look forward to sharing some of their work in the coming weeks. Thank you to Mrs Ross and Miss Sims from the Primary School for providing our students with this opportunity.

Grade 10 students are beginning to make decisions around which college they will attend in 2020 and they will also begin selecting subjects they wish to study. I cannot reinforce enough how vital it is that students in Grade 10 apply themselves fully for the remainder of the year. The marks they receive in Year 10 are important in deciding what subjects they are able to enrol in for college. There are only so many places available in many subjects and these places go to the students who have achieved the best marks in Grade 10. Make the most of each and every lesson Grade 10’s and make sure you are completing work that truly reflects your abilities to allow yourself as many options as possible in Year 11.

Grade 9 students had the opportunity to listen to a representative from the Tasmanian Masters Builders Association last week. This was an information session about the skills and attributes that employers are looking for in apprentices. Not surprisingly, our school values of showing respect to others, being accepting of everyone, displaying maturity and always being willing to be a learner were all seen as important qualities in employees.

As I often remind parent and students, attendance at school is vital for the success of students, both academically and socially. During these winter months though, if your child is sick, please keep them at home to allow them to recover and help us to stop the spreading of germs. A call to the school office to explain the absence will also allow us to mark the absence correctly.

Benjamin Frerk
Principal

Qkr! App at EHS

We are pleased to announce that the Qkr! App is now available at Exeter High School for student Canteen ordering. The Qkr! App allows student Canteen orders to be placed and paid for via one easy to use App. The App is available for both students and parents to use. There is an instruction sheet included in this newsletter. We are endeavouring to get our uniform on Qkr! as well and further information will follow around this shortly.

Middle Years Literacy Project

After school on Tuesday 6th August, teachers from Beaconsfield Primary School, Exeter Primary School and Exeter High School met and worked together to progress our cluster’s Middle Years Literacy Project (MYLP). The MYLP initiative was started by the Department of Education to support associations of schools explore ways of teaching and learning that focus on literacy improvement, and which assist students to transition successfully from primary to high school. Consistent with the goals of our project, we have, after 18 months:

• developed and implemented a process for using data to inform the teaching of reading;
• developed, launched and started using our Common Instructional Model, which is displayed in every classroom across our cluster;
• developed our capacity to write high-quality learning intentions and success criteria, thereby giving students a clear sense of what they’re learning and the quality of the work that’s expected of them; and
• familiarised ourselves with, and started using, strategies to help students reflect on and consolidate their learning.

Also, students have participated in enrichment programs in science, art and STEAM. Today, three teams of BPS/EPS/EHS students are participating in the Write a Book in a Day event at Launceston Library. We’re sure the books they’re writing and illustrating will entertain and lift the spirits of recipients – children in hospitals. At the end of term, the work of the students who participated in the art enrichment program will be showcased at Exeter Primary School’s Arts Afternoon.

Our next whole-of-cluster meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 17th September. Teachers will share and evaluate the strategies they have been using to help students review and reflect on their learning. We look forward to hearing from one-another and trialling strategies our colleagues introduce.

The MYLP continues to provide teachers at BPS, EPS and EHS with opportunities to develop, consolidate and leverage ways of working that enhance the educational experience of all our students. We’ll provide you with more updates in the coming months.

Tahlia Ross, Amy Sims and David Shorter
MYLP Coordinators

EHS School Association - 2019 Fundraiser

Launceston College’s “Beyond Year 12” Evening

Recruitment Day – Gary Presnell Bodyworks

Important Dates 2019

Term Dates

Student Free Days

Term 3

August

September

* Calendar is updated on a fortnightly basis.

COMMUNITY CORNER

West Tamar Council – Youth Centre – Term 3 dates

Dental Van at Exeter, 6th May till 12th September

2020 Leadership Camp – Lead, Inspire, Grow

Youth Leadership Camp – 13-15 January 2020
Ages 12-17 years
Venue: Camp Clayton, Ulverstone
Cost: Free to successful applicants

Lead, Inspire, Grow gives young people in the West Tamar the opportunity to experience a three day camp that develops leadership potential, challenges the mental and physical growth of a person; builds confidence; whilst providing an opportunity for young people to aspire to be a leader upon returning to their community.

Lead, Inspire, Grow aims to:-

• Provide opportunities for young people to grow and challenge themselves.
• Connect young people from all areas of the West Tamar.
• Develop problem solving, communication and team work skills.
• Provide young people with opportunities to step outside their comfort zones and equip them with skills to confront opportunities that they may face in the future.

The three day camp features a range of fun and adventure based activities, guest speakers to inspire all, team challenges, group discussions; peer mentoring by West Tamar’s Youth Advisory Council; along with the great food and accommodation facilities hosted by Camp Clayton.

APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN
(Closing Friday 1st November 2019)

For more information please contact Andrew Beeston, Youth Development Officer, West Tamar Council.

Mobile: 0437 789 103 Email: andrew.beeston@wtc.tas.gov.au

Bursaries for Tasmanian Students

Youth Representative Grants Program - Overview

Tasmanian Association for the Gifted – Conference 6-8 September

SaverPlus – Could $500 help with your child’s start to school?