13 March 2020

Newsletter Articles

Assistant Principals

Paul Stevenson
Andrea Saville

Grade Leaders

Grade 7: Naomi Cartledge
Grade 8: Elle Fox
Grade 9: Skye Champion
Grade 10: Allison Stone

Support Services

School Psychologist: David McCormack: Wednesday & Friday
Social Worker: Lauren Brown: Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday
School Chaplain: Paul Burton: Wednesday/Friday
School Health Nurse: Dave Mackay: Wednesday only

Principal’s Report

As we have already gone past the mid-point of term 1, I would just like to give a timely reminder that as it gets colder, students will need to ensure that they have the appropriate uniform for the cooler months. Our uniform shop is open each Thursday morning from 8.45am -10.45am and as I have previously said, we have several options for payment and please feel free to talk to our administration team about these.

Last week saw a group of our Year 10 students complete a Peer Mentor training day where they learnt valuable skills in relation to offering support and guidance to our younger students. Thank you to our school nurse, Dave Mackay, our school Psychologist Dave McCormack and our Social Worker Lauren Brown for organising this fantastic opportunity.

Mrs Skye Champion took a group of Year 9 girls on an Ascent camp last week where they focussed on building resilience, co-operative and teamwork skills. These are all such vital attributes for our young people today both as members of our community and in the workplace. Thank you to Mrs. Champion for attending the camp and also to the PCYC for offering this amazing opportunity and continuing the wonderful relationship we have developed with this organisation. The feedback from the group that attended the camp was overwhelmingly positive.

This Friday night will see us hold our Outdoor Cinema on the top sport oval. This promises to be a really positive community event and I would like to acknowledge the hard work of our School Association for organising this event. We hope to see as many families there as possible.

Benjamin Frerk
Principal

Introducing our 2020 School Leadership Council

School Association AGM

Exeter High School Association will be holding their Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the school on Tuesday 31 March 2020 with the meeting commencing at 6:00pm. All parents, nominated community members and staff are welcome to attend.

Middle Years Literacy Project

Our MYLP is now in its third year. The initiative was established 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 school to high school. So far, we have:

• developed, published and started to embed phases of our Common Instructional Model;
• developed our capacity to write high-quality learning intentions and success criteria so that students have a clear sense of what they’re learning and why, and the quality of the work that’s expected of them;
• familiarised ourselves with, and started using, strategies to help students reflect on and consolidate their learning; and
• developed and implemented a process for using data to inform the teaching of reading and numeracy.

Also, students have participated in enrichment programs in science, art, STEAM and creative writing.

In 2020, we have four foci:

• to unpack and embed the other phases of our Common Instructional Model;
• to develop and publish materials that will help all our students develop good learning behaviours;
• to refine and consolidate our use of data to inform the teaching of reading and numeracy; and
• to continue the enrichment programs.

So far this year we’ve had two MYLP meetings. In the first, which was held on the student-free day on 4th February, the teachers from BPS, EPS and EHS met to unpack the ‘Teach and Learn’ phase of our Common Instructional Model, and to provide feedback on a draft of the student learning behaviours document. Last week, teachers from across the cluster met to discuss, and start planning for, data-informed teaching of reading and numeracy. Mrs Fox and Mrs Wivell shared how they modify reading activities in English, HASS and Science to cater for students’ needs, and Mr Clarke and Mr Shorter shared their planning for small-group mini-lessons in reading. Two more MYLP meetings are planned for later this term, and a further 10 are planned for the rest of the year.

The MYLP continues to provide teachers at BPS, EPS and EHS with opportunities to develop, consolidate and leverage ways of working that improve the learning outcomes of all our students. We look forward to keeping you up to date about the great work our schools and teachers are doing in this space.

David Shorter
MYLP Coordinator, EHS

Exeter Show Success

Students from Year 8 and 9 entered produce from the garden into the appropriate categories at the Exeter Show and had success on the day. Congratulations and keep up the good gardening habits.

School Photo Information

Leading Image Tas will be at Exeter High School on Thursday 26 March to take student photos.

Photo envelopes have gone home with students this week and we ask that they be returned to school by Wednesday 25 March. Please return envelopes even if you are not ordering photos, but we do ask that you fill in the information regarding the School class photo permission and return as well. Family photo envelopes can be collected from the school office.

Attached are some helpful photo day tips.

If you have any enquiries, please remember to contact Leading Image direct on 6228 9966 or email info.tas@leadingimage.com.au

Chaplain’s Corner

Hi all,

It’s hard to believe that the first term is halfway through! The weeks have absolutely flown by.

For those of you who are new to the School let me introduce myself and give you an idea of what my role here is and what I’m involved in here at Exeter High.

My name is Paul Burton and I’m married with four daughters, 3 are teens and one ‘wanna’ be teen.

I have a background of 30 years in the building industry and 20 years pastoral ministry experience, both voluntary and paid.

I have been at Exeter for 12 months in the role of Chaplain which I have found very rewarding.

If you are unfamiliar with what a school Chaplain does you can find a fact sheet on the education website by following the link attached. Take the time to check it out.

In a nutshell, one thing you can be certain of is that a Chaplains role is not to convert people to a religion but, rather to offer pastoral care, help and support within the school community, and a listening ear in times of stress or difficulty. Our role is to ensure that you are not going through difficult times alone and to celebrate any ‘life’ victories with you, offering emotional, minor psychological and spiritual care (regardless of spiritual persuasion). I provide this in conjunction with the support team at the school which includes the school psychologist, social worker and nurse.

What do I do and when am I here?

My days at Exeter are Wednesday and Friday.

I oversee the Breakfast Club on Wednesday’s, with bread provided by The Caring Network, along with help of some wonderful volunteers from local churches getting involved. This has seen a number of regulars and steady growth over the term with many of the same students turning out for toast and Milo to get them off to a good start. Breakfast Club is not just for students who may miss breakfast, a regular occurrence in my household due to late rising children, but also for students who may enjoy a bit of comradery before school and the room is always warm in winter.

Recess times I have my office open to anyone wanting to take on the challenge of UNO. This activity has seen some epic games that have taken the whole break without a result. There has been a regular group of students that come into the office and spend time playing games of UNO and chatting about their day/week. The office area also has a couple of couches where some students just hang out in comfort, play chess or connect four.

Wednesday and Friday lunchtimes tend to be a bit more free-range in that I just wait to see what happens and interact with that. This can lead to games in the office or hanging out in the undercover area chatting to students.

The staff at Exeter High are fantastic and really supportive, allowing me to join in on lessons and assist with students who might need a little bit of extra help. This has given me an opportunity to see just how hard the teachers and staff at the schoolwork and offer encouragement and support where it’s needed.

If you have any further questions or would just like to touch base for a chat so you can get to know me, please contact me at the school during school hours on Wednesday or Friday, I would love to meet you and I really enjoy a good coffee.

Chappy Paul

What’s happening in Ag Studies

The Year 7’s Isa Brown chicks have arrived and have had their first weigh in. As part of the classroom teaching, students will be weighing the chicks and tracking their weight progress on a regular basis.

Outdoor Cinema Invitation

Tonight, the School Association is holding an Outdoor Cinema Community event. The evening will commence with a tour of the school at 6pm followed by the screening of “The Greatest Showman” at 7.45pm. Please join us for an amazing evening.

World’s Greatest Shave

On Friday, 20 March Exeter High School will once again participate in the World’s Greatest Shave. This event will be held in the Student Centre at 12:45pm.

This is a Student Leader’s Council event for the Leukaemia Foundation’s Blood Cancer Fundraiser.

Hens for Sale

Lohmann Brown 1st year laying hens $25each

Pre-order sales via the school office by phoning 6394 4366. Collection (last week of term) will be arranged over the phone.

Canteen 2020 Pricelist

Gluten Free Options at our School Canteen

Gluten Free Bread – Salad Sandwiches or Toasted sandwiches $5.00
Gluten Free Rolls – Salad or Burgers or Egg & Bacon $5.00
Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets $0.50 each
Orders for the items can only be placed at the Canteen.

Canteen Volunteers Needed

For the canteen to operate efficiently and effectively, we require the assistance of parents and/or guardians and friends. If you can help us out between the hours of 10:00am and 1:30pm on any day, please contact our Canteen Supervisor Leah Blazely on 6394 4366.

*All persons working or volunteering in Department of Education schools and colleges are required to hold a valid Working with Vulnerable People Registration.

Important Dates 2020

Term Dates

Term 1, 2020

March

April

Term holidays from 10 April – Sunday 26 April. Staff and Students return on Monday 27 April.

* Calendar is updated on a fortnightly basis.

Community Corner

Library Book Sale

Friends of the Library, Launceston’s Annual Library Book Fair will be held this Saturday 14 March 2020, 9.00am – 1.00pm at St Ailbe’s Hall, 46 Margaret Street, Launceston

This is Launceston’s best book sale with a wide range of good quality donated secondhand books – crime, thrillers, science fiction, romance, children’s, cooking, health, travel, crafts, gardening, sports, war, DVDs, collectables and Tasmaniana – all at rock bottom prices.

Beaconsfield Youth Festival, Friday 17 April 2020

Legana Youth Centre

Beaconsfield Youth Centre

National Volunteer Week - 18-24 May 2020

Do you know someone who gives their time to make your community great?

Nominate them now for a West Tamar Council Volunteer Recognition Award!

Tas Camps – Winter Camp 2020