19 December 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 Stone

Support Services

School Psychologist: Annie Fitzgerald: Wed/Thurs
Social Worker: Sharni Gardner: Mon/Wed
School Chaplain: Paul Burton: Mon/Wed/Friday
School Health Nurse: Dave Mackay: Wednesday only

Principal’s Report

This is an extract from my speech at last week’s Presentation Assembly.

On behalf of the Exeter High School community, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to all our distinguished guests, parents, family members; staff, students and especially our 2019 Year 10 Graduates, to their final presentation assembly.

It is absolutely wonderful to see so many of you here today as we celebrate and recognise the outstanding achievements of our students. This assembly is our opportunity to reflect on the positive contributions we have all made to our school this year, celebrate many of our successes and honour our grade 10’s. Schools are busy places and 2019 certainly has been an incredibly busy year, but I can proudly say, we have had an exceptional year in so many different areas, including academic, sporting and artistic achievements as we continue to strive to be the absolute best we can be.

I have chosen a theme today around "Aspiration” as I believe that this word reflects one of the goals, we set our students here at Exeter High school. Aspiration is defined as ‘a strong desire to achieve something great’. I believe that at Exeter High School, we encourage and support every student to follow that mantra whether it be in their Academic pursuits, performing in the Arts, on the Sports field or simply by being kind and caring citizens.

Throughout 2019, Exeter High School as a school community has also had high aspirations in ensuring we provide a learning environment that supports and encourages rich learning but also allows us to offer our students so many wonderful opportunities to aspire to be the best they possibly can. It is not only the vast array of opportunities that have been offered to students this year that deserve to be celebrated, but also the way students have both embraced these and flourished as a result of them. These will allow our students to create positive pathways and opportunities into the future and I am excited to use today’s assembly to share some of these with our school community. We as a school have a reputation as a place that produces not only students with outstanding academic results, but also young people who value and live by our 4 core values of Respect, Maturity, Acceptance and Learning.

We are steadfast in upholding these values on a day to day basis and these values are reflected in the calm and orderly learning environments our staff and students work in every day. These calm and orderly learning environments are the first opportunity I will reflect on as it is due to our classrooms being so settled and the outstanding behaviour of our students, that the learning opportunities for our students has been maximised during the year. Another focus for 2019 has been ensuring students understand not only what it is they are learning but also why. I can now visit classrooms and have students articulate to me what it is their teachers are wanting them to learn, what their teachers are looking for in their work and the reasons behind the learning activity.

This has allowed me to guarantee to every parent who I talk to that their child will have the best possible opportunity of success in their learning environments. I have also been proud to conduct tours of our school during a typical school day with staff from other schools who have visited us due to the outstanding reputation we have across Tasmania. Visitors from other schools along with parents of newly enrolling students, have been impressed by the high levels of engagement of our students, along with the calm and settled nature of our classrooms and schoolyard.

Everything we do here at Exeter High School is also closely aligned to The Education Department’s four key values of Aspiration, Respect, Courage and Growth. This alignment has provided us as a staff and community with a blueprint to aspire to be the best we can be in order to provide the best for our students. Striving to be the best you possibly can be as an individual is also a message that I want our students to reflect on both during this assembly, and into the future. Aspire to be the best you can, Respect others but most importantly, respect yourself, have the courage to back yourself and try new things and finally, continue to grow both on a personal level and in relation to whatever vocational avenue you choose to pursue.

Our incredibly dedicated, professional and skilled staff have continued to work as a highly effective team to provide the best possible learning opportunities and experiences for our students in all our learning programs. One of the Education Department’s four goals for students is that they learn in safe environments where they feel supported, engage in their learning and can flourish. Another key goal is that learners have the skills and confidence in Literacy and Numeracy to successfully participate in learning, life and work. Here at Exeter High School, we provide an environment that not only supports these goals but provides every student with the opportunity to reach these goals at their individual levels. It is a credit to my staff that students here are learning in such an academically rich, yet at the same time, supportive environment.

The Work Experience Program sees many of our year 8, 9 and 10 students working with a myriad of businesses and support people to increase their skills and abilities. What a wonderfully authentic and engaging learning opportunity, as well forging strong working partnerships with all these businesses, we have also seen students gain apprenticeships for 2020 through their time spent on work placements during their Grade 10 year. We have partnerships with local businesses who support our Agricultural Science program, automotive and a variety of other programs. We are very grateful for all the support we receive from businesses but also from the amazing support staff who work tirelessly ensuring that all program remain viable and sustainable. Coming back to the theme of today’s assembly – “Aspiration”, without these strong community partnerships, we would not be able to offer such a vast array of opportunities to our students that allow them to aspire to be the best they can be.

The most important partnership we have though, is most certainly with our families. As a school underpinned by strong relationships, it is at our core to work alongside families to support the learning and development of every student and I thank all families for their support. Our School Association are a direct reflection of these family partnerships and we sincerely appreciate all they have done and continue to do in the way they represent and continually support our school.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our staff-including the teaching and support staff, ancillary team and the wonderful administration staff, all who have once again been so diligent, professional and committed to our wonderful school ensuring that it hums along beautifully, providing the opportunity for all to work in a safe, friendly and calm environment.

I would especially like to thank Mrs Stone, Mrs Pratap, Mrs Howie, Mr Atkinson and Mrs Parish for their ongoing guidance of our current Year 10 cohort. I would also like to acknowledge the work of all of the other teachers and staff who have supported and guided our Year 10’s over the past 4 years. I’m sure that each and every one of the Year 10 students would be able to identify at least one of our staff members who has been a significant adult in their lives. Their high school years and strong relationships between adults and students that are essential in maximising student outcomes, is a strength of Exeter High School that I am very proud of.

Year 10's, success comes from not what is on offer but how you embrace these opportunities and you all have most certainly embraced every opportunity over your 4 years with us, hence your successes! Well done and congratulations on this. You have grown into wonderful young men and women whom we are extremely proud of. Keep stepping up as you have done, have a positive attitude, be optimistic, accept challenges and embrace every opportunity that comes your way and possibly most importantly, when you do make the occasional mistake – learn from them too.

I believe that the following quotes about Aspiration are perfect messages to our 2019 Year 10 students. ‘The only thing limiting your aspiration is your imagination’ and ‘Having aspirations is nice BUT fulfilling them is exhilarating’.

Each one of you will forever be a part of Exeter High School. Keep in touch and dare to be the best you can be as you move forward with your lives “Towards the Future.” Good luck with everything you choose to do in the future – aim high, accept that there will be challenges and always reflect on your time here at Exeter High School with fond memories. Be aspirational!

In closing, I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year. Enjoy the summer break, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back in February.

Benjamin Frerk
Principal

Arts Evening

On Thursday 21st November, Exeter High School held its annual Arts Night showcasing work from the Arts Discipline Dance, Drama, Music, Photography and Visual Arts.

Students spent the day rehearsing and practicing tech runs to ensure everything went smoothly for the night.

With eager anticipation (and a lot of nerves), students performed before a large audience of family and friends. It was fantastic to see students supporting and encouraging one another before, during, and after performances.

Arts Night is a fantastic opportunity for Arts students to share all the hard work they have been creating throughout the year. The purpose of the Arts, through events such as Arts Night, is not to create professional actors, musicians, dancers or artists. It’s to create more complete human beings who are critical thinkers, have curious minds and can lead productive lives. Well done to all those who participated in the Arts Night. A big thank you to staff and students who gave up their time to support everyone back stage.

Year 8 Engineers

In Year 8 Science, students have been exploring energy transformations in their Physics unit. To explore the concept that many devices can transform energy from one form to another, students have researched, designed and built model cars that use the elastic potential energy of a ‘loaded’ mousetrap to power the vehicles engine. Students will race their cars in core classes in their last Science lesson with the top two cars from each class racing off for ‘bragging rights’ in the grade on the last day of school.

Student Assistance 2020 information for new parents

2020 Bus Pass Information

SZApp for Iphones – Version 3.0.9

Important Dates 2020

Term Dates

Term 1, 2020

January

February

March

April

* Calendar is updated on a fortnightly basis.

Raffle Winners Announced

1st Prize (5kg Box of Chocolates) – Toby in 9A
2nd Prize (CAT pack) – Richard in 8C

Both winners have been notified.

Community Corner

TAMAR DEMONS FOOTBALL CLUB 2020 PROGRAM

Want to play in the BEST FOOTBALL competition in the north of the state?

Join the TAMAR DEMONS FOR SEASON 2020!

Tamar Demons Junior Football Club are offering teams for kids from the age of 8-17 years of age.

Boys Teams: U/10, U/12, U/14, U/16
Girls Teams: U/11, U/14, U/17

Come and join the DEMONS for SEASON 2020 and have some fun and learn the skills and disciplines of Australian Rules Football.

To learn more call: Phil Goss 0400 390 335 or Ash Smith 0409 015 831
First Training Run: Wednesday 5th February 2020 @ The Exeter Football Grounds commencing at 4.00pm.

West Tamar School 2020 Holiday Program – Consent forms are available from the school office

Bookings are essential as spaces are limited. West Tamar youth aged 10-17 only. Costs are proudly subsidised by the West Tamar Council. For further information or bookings, please contact Youth Development Officer Andrew Beeston on 0437 789 103 or email andrew.beeston@wtc.tas.gov.au

Introduction to Game Design, Exeter Primary School 30th and 31st January 2020

2020 Australia Day Celebrations – Gravelly Beach

Jamie’s Dance Centre – 2020 Timetable

SAVE THE DATE – 107th Exeter Show – Saturday 29 February 2020 from 9.00am-4.00pm

Entries for this amazing show fall into the following categories of: photography, cooking, floral art, handicraft and novelty. The Junior Show schedule includes vegetable entries – so now is the time for all our budding junior growers to get planting. For more information please contact Hilary on 0438 944 725.

SAVE THE DATE – Outdoor Cinema @ EHS, Friday 13 March, 6:00pm

SAVE THE DATE - Beaconsfield Youth Festival, Friday 17 April 2020

Exeter High School 2019 Year 10 Presentation Awards

Academic Excellence in:

2019 Student Leaders

Excellence in Manner, Conduct & Courtesy

Service to the School

Sporting Awards

Outstanding Citizenship Awards

Outstanding Academic Achievement

Major Awards

Sponsors of our 2019 Award recipients

We wish to acknowledge the sponsorship of the following organisations, representatives and individuals in supporting the achievements of Exeter High students in 2019.