11 September 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

I would like to start this week’s newsletter by offering a sincere thank you to all the amazing volunteers and mentors who are a valued part of our school community. We have people volunteer their time to work alongside many of our students and we also have people contribute in other ways such as working in the canteen. These people are highly valued members of our school.

Our Grade 10 students have all had the opportunity to participate in college visits to both Newstead and Launceston Colleges. Along with the Grade 11 educational provisions being offered by other Launceston High Schools, our current Year 10 students have a plethora of options to choose from in the coming weeks. Please take the time to talk with your child if they are in Grade 10 about the course selections they are making for 2021 and contact the school if you have any questions.

Students in Years 7,8 and 9 will also be selecting their 2021 Options in the coming weeks. They will be provided with an information booklet to bring home and share with families to help in the selection of these subjects for next year.

At the other end of the school spectrum, we had the Grade 5/6 students from our feeder primary schools visit us last Thursday. They participated in a day of Taster Options and this was a valuable day for them to become more familiar and comfortable with their upcoming high school surroundings. Thank you to all the staff and Grade 9 Student Leaders who made the day such an overwhelming success.

Benjamin Frerk
Principal

Important Dates 2020

Term Dates

Term 3, 2020

September

* Calendar is updated on a fortnightly basis.

Reporting Student Absences via SMS Messages

You can now respond to the SMS messages you receive in relation to your child’s absence from school.

Uniform Shop – Available everyday

The Uniform Shop is now Open every day between 8:30am -3:45pm. Please call in at your convenience during these times to organise your child’s uniform requirements.

What are Year 8 Ag Students Up to?

This week students have had the opportunity to learn about the different cuts of lamb at Nigel’s Gourmet on Tamar. Students were involved with the whole process from weighing and selecting lambs from the paddock to packing customer orders. Thanks to Lindsay and Tim Plapp from Wal’s Bulk Meats for transporting and processing the lambs. A huge thankyou yet again to Nigel and his wife Catherine for the opportunity and offer to teach more students about the art of becoming a butcher and they role they play in providing the community with a quality product. If you missed out on purchasing pork earlier in the year, we will have more available in term 4, pre-order information will be available via our Facebook page in the coming weeks.

German Excursion

On Wednesday 26th August, eleven other students and myself accompanied by Herr Atkinson and Paul our Chaplin, went on an excursion to some German speaking places of interest around Launceston. On the bus we were kept informed by our tour guides Maya and Jasper.

Our first stop was the Swiss Village of Grindelwald, where we walked around the lake and appreciated the Swiss architecture, with a speech from our resident Swiss architecture expert, Annabelle. At the Tamar Valley Resort Tyler, our greeter, introduced the class to Damien the general manager who spoke to us about the history of the area. After which we played some mini golf, purely in German with the help of our golfers Daniel, Lachlan and Cameron.

We then went to the Schnitzel Store located in Invermay, ordered in German and ate a traditional Pork Schnitzel, sauerkraut, coleslaw and potato salad; it was an absolute delicacy.

Afterwards we drove by Mercedes where I, the vehicle expert on hand, made a speech on their X-class ute, sadly due to time constraints we couldn’t stop at the dealership. We made a quick stop at the Lutheran Church, but there was no speech due to our resident pastor being MIA. Then it was two quick stops at Volkswagen and BMW, where I made two quick speeches on the Golf R and the M340i, because I am a jack of all vehicular trades.

Finally, we stopped by Lilydale, where we were presented a speech from our history researchers Seth and Andrew about the history of the town which was called German Town until the First World War.

We would like to give a big thank you to Damien, General Manager, at the Tamar Valley resort, The Schnitzel Store, Launceston BMW and Paul our Chaplin for making the day possible.

Written by Deacon

Scholarship Opportunity for Grade 8 Girls!

There is an opportunity for a number of scholarship packages being offered by ‘The Harding Miller Education Foundation’ for eligible girls who are currently in Year 8.

Are you:

• Demonstrating motivation to succeed?
• Able to show evidence of high academic potential on your school reports?
• Experiencing some form of hardship?

This scholarship opportunity might be for you. You could receive a high-quality laptop with remote desk support and mobile broadband, $2500 worth of tutoring every year, $600 prepaid card for school expenses, a personal support coach to help guide you and exciting enrichment activities and career development activities.

Applications close on Wednesday 23rd September 2020 for scholarships commencing in 2021.

If you would like more information about this great opportunity please phone 1300 103 896 or visit the link below.

Grade 10 Science Investigations

Over the past few weeks, the grade tens have been researching and conducting self-directed investigations around the topic of Rates of Reaction. The investigation had to display how changing different aspects in an experiment, such as: surface area, temperature, concentration or adding a catalyst, will change the speed of a chemical reaction. Students worked in groups of two or three to research and came up with their own investigations. To conclude, the students had to produce a detailed report in response to the result of their investigation and why things reacted the way they did.

One of the investigations performed, used surface area to control the rate at which chalk dissolves in vinegar. The students chopped the same amount of chalk into varying sizes and timed how long each amount took to dissolve. As predicted the smaller the pieces of chalk the faster it dissolved.

Another group used temperature to control the rate at which bath bombs dissolved in water. They used home-made baths bombs and dissolved them in ice water, room temperature water and boiling water. They found that the boiling water increased the rate of reaction rapidly, producing a large amount of foam and carbon dioxide gas.

Report submitted by Rachel and Nikita

Grade 10 Golf Excursion (PE Lessons)

During the Golf/Archery unit in Grade 10 PE lessons, students in each class will walk to the Exeter Golf Club for some lessons to use the practice fairway and practice green to further their golf skills. The dates for these excursions will be:

Students are required to have a change of gear, however, must wear their school rugby top or spray jacket.

Senior Science and Engineering and Forensic Science Excursions

Science and Engineering Challenge Monday 21st September – all day – 8.25am – 3pm

The Science and Engineering Challenge is an Australia-wide competition instigated by the University of Newcastle to encourage high school students to consider careers in fields of Science and Engineering. This year the Challenge will occur on Monday 21st September at the UTAS Newnham campus. A number of Year 9 and 10 students with interests in the science and engineering fields of study have been invited to participate in the event. The Challenge consists of 6 half-day and 2 full-day activities that are designed to test the thinking, construction and teamwork skills of each student. There are always comments from students about each activity stating that “it is harder than it looks!” Although puzzling, sometimes frustrating, the Challenge is always fun. Please make sure if your child has been invited to participate that the required parental permission and media consent forms have been submitted.

Forensics Excursion Wednesday 23rd September – 12.25 – 3.00pm

As part of the learning the Forensics’ students have done during terms 2 and 3, students are given the chance to experience what life is like in an operating police station and to talk with a real Forensics officer. On the afternoon of Wednesday 23rd September students will travel by bus to the Launceston Police Station. We will be escorted around the police station and, if privacy considerations allow, be given a talk explaining the operations that take place in each section of the station. This is followed by a talk by one of the Forensics Officers about techniques, chain of evidence and actual cases. As it is part of the Forensic curriculum all students from the Forensics class will be required to attend. If there is an issue regarding attendance of the excursion, please email Mr Finnigan greg.finnigan@education.tas.gov.au.

Senior Sport – Round 4 & 5 (26/8 and 4/9 2020)

Round 4 was to be the last of the rounds for our two 2nds netball teams which needed to be collapsed to one team, due to lack of consistent numbers. The 2nds A team lost against St Mary’s who capitalised on all scoring opportunities. The 2nds B team were excited to experience their first win, defeating Queechy. In Round 5, the combined 2nds team took a few quarters to gel as a team, but some excellent interceptions and improved ability to find space saw the girls gain momentum in the final quarter.

The 1sts Netball team experienced another close fought victory in Round 4 over their West Tamar rivals and easily defeated Queechy in Round 5 with some excellent team play.

The Exeter Soccer Team have really started to find their stride and are improving their application of skills learned in training into the games. Round 4 saw a win over Star of the Sea and Exeter backed up in Round 5 with a one-sided affair defeating Campbelltown.

RESULTS ROUND 4: 26 August

RESULTS ROUND 5: 4 September

Mrs Robinson

SLC Support Operation Christmas Child

This year the Student Leader Council (SLC) will be supporting the Operation Christmas Child appeal and need your help to achieve their goal.

Members have spoken to their peers and have also produced a small YouTube clip to promote this cause. You can view this clip at:

Community Corner

West Tamar Junior Cricket Club – Come and Try night – Friday 25 September – Exeter Cricket Ground

West Tamar Youth Mayor Program

The West Tamar Youth Mayor Program is for a student from year 7-9 (years 6-8 apply now for the 2021 program) selected by YAC (Youth Advisory Council) to represent the West Tamar municipality. They will provide a focus and a channel for young people’s views to be heard by those in Council.

The Youth Mayor can be influential in promoting the West Tamar Youth Strategy as they support shaping a positive future for local young people.

If you are interested please contact Mrs Robinson for Year 8 students or online applications can be made via the link below.

WTC School Holiday Program

The West Tamar School Holiday Program is now available, and you can register online!

Visit the link below if you would like to book online.

Activities include:

• Graffiti Art at Beacy
• Foot Golf
• Glengarry Bush Maze
• Tasmania Zoo (Free2Be Girls group only)
• Derby Mountain Bike Riding (ages 12+ experienced riders only)

Spaces are limited, so make sure you book in when you can! Transport and some activity costs are subsidised by the West Tamar Council.

Weathering Family Separation

Girl Guides Tasmania

Girl Guides Tasmania aims to empower girls and young women to grow into confident, self-respecting, responsible community members. Women who become Leaders are supported through training and personal development. Many of our Leaders are active community members, through schools or other organisations, as they understand the importance of non-formal education spaces like Girl Guides.

West Tamar Council Australia Day Awards for 2021

Nominations are NOW OPEN for the West Tamar Councils Australia Day Awards for 2021!

Nominations are currently being accepted for the following categories:

• Citizen of the Year
• Young Citizen of the Year
• Young Sports Person of the Year
• Community Group and Or Community Event of the Year

Camps Tasmania – Youth Leadership Camp, October 2020

Saver Plus Program –Could $500 help with the education costs for you or your child?

Tasdance

The year 2020 will not stop us from coming together and dancing. We are delighted to launch the Tasdance Spring Intensive dedicated to getting young Tasmanians dancing. Join Artistic Director, Adam Wheeler and special guests for one action packed week of learning skills in: contemporary dance, break, hip hop, improvisation and acro. If you are 14-20 years old and want to learn from some of the country's most experienced dancers and teachers, this is the intensive for you.

Spaces are limited. Register now so you don’t miss out!

Monday 28th September - Friday 2nd of October (first week of holidays) from 10am - 4pm daily at Tasdance Studio, 197 Wellington Street, Launceston. Cost $199 for the week or $50 for day passes

Exeter Cricket Club – We are Recruiting Female Players!