24 September 2021

Newsletter Articles

Assistant Principals

Paul Stevenson
Andrea Saville

Grade Leaders

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

Support Services

School Psychologist: David McCormack: Wednesday & Friday
Social Worker: TBA
School Chaplain: Paul Burton: Wednesday/Friday
School Health Nurse: Dave Mackay: Thursday

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Many parents have contacted me this term around their difficulties in getting their children to school on a regular basis. I have included some ideas around this difficult topic and as always, please feel free to contact the school if this is an issue. When we work together, we can achieve the best results.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

• Talk about the importance of showing up to school every day, make that the expectation. Regular attendance at school sets up good behaviours for regular attendance at work.
• Help your teenager maintain daily routines such as finishing homework and getting a good night’s sleep. On average, teenagers need 8-9 hours sleep to be healthy and alert. You may also need to monitor their use of the Internet, mobile phone and TV at night to ensure they are not staying up too late or being disturbed while sleeping.
• Try not to schedule hair, dental or medical appointments during school hours. Arrange family holidays during scheduled school holidays so that they are not missing out on classes and, therefore, will not have to struggle to make up for lost time.
• Don’t let your teenager stay home unless genuinely sick. Complaints of headaches or stomach aches may be signs of anxiety.
• Try to be aware of your teenager’s social contacts. Peer pressure can lead to skipping school, while students without many friends can feel isolated.

I always love to share the success stories of our students and recently, one of our Grade 9 students was very successful in his chosen sporting field. On Saturday 11th September, Callum Penney won the Tasmanian State Motocross Title for the 85 cc 14 - U16 years age group. Callum has had a successful year, finishing 3rd in the New South Wales State Title for the same age group and top ten placings in Victoria's Junior State Title. Callum is to be commended for his success in his chosen sport.

Benjamin Frerk
Principal

EXCELLENCE AT EXETER

These certificates are awarded to Grade 8 students in recognition of their efforts in upholding the school values and helping to make our school an excellent learning environment.

Congratulations to this fortnight’s Grade 8 students:

Reegan from 8C: Reegan is a quiet achiever who consistently upholds our school values. She applies herself conscientiously to all tasks and has produced some exceptional work in English. Values demonstrated: Respect, Learning, Maturity & Acceptance.

Erykah from 8B: Erykah has approached Year 8 in a very positive manner and she consistently displays an excellent work ethic and respectful behaviour. She is an extremely helpful and courteous student who always gives 100 percent effort. Values demonstrated: Respect, Learning, Maturity & Acceptance.

Grade 8 Science

This term the Grade 8’s have been exploring states of matter and physical and chemical changes in their Chemistry unit. Students used their most recent practical on melting and burning chocolate to create a ‘chocolate’ themed poster, demonstrating their understanding of the theory we have covered during this unit by making links and drawing conclusions from their own experiment results. Students enjoyed getting creative and have produced some outstanding pieces of work.

Mrs Fox

My Education Day

Our 3rd My Education Day for 2021 was conducted on Wednesday, 15th September. At Exeter High School, My Education is a whole-school approach to career and life planning starting in Year 7 and continuing through to Year 10. My Education supports students in making important life choices around planning for their future. It helps students to identify their personal interests, values, strengths, opportunities and aspirations, and teaches them how to use this knowledge to make decisions about their future learning, work and life opportunities. Students who consider their interests and opportunities early on have a clearer picture about who they are and what they might like to do.

Each of the Year levels conducted an array of activities aligned with their My Education curriculum.

Grade 7 – My Education Day

On Wednesday 15th September, the Grade 7 cohort participated in the term 3 My Education Day. A focus for the Grade 7’s on this day was resilience. Students explored how to define resilience, how to identify signs of stress and how to apply strategies to develop resilience.

Students discussed multiple methods of constructively addressing challenges and had fun applying them to challenges faced by characters in the iconic film, The Mighty Ducks.

Our afternoon was spent at the Gravelly Beach Park. We enjoyed a BBQ, some free play and some resilience-based activities (the walk back to school up the Goat Track proving to test students resilience the most).

Mr Lendvay
Grade 7 AST

Grade 8 – My Education Day

The Term 3 Grade 8 focus for My Education day was around self-awareness and code switching. In lessons 1 and 2 students explored the importance of being self-aware and knowing how and when to code switch. They worked through a series of activities to unpack what self-awareness is and the impact it has on our daily lives. Students also identified different situations where code switching was required to effectively deal with different situations and interact appropriately with others while continuing to develop and grow into mature adults. In lesson 3 students recognised the different strengths of class members and showed perseverance to complete a series of challenges. The Grade 8’s engaged well with the content and activities making it a worthwhile experience for all.

Mrs Fox
Grade 8 Leader

Grade 9– My Education Day

The Grade 9 focus for My Education Day was on Leadership. All students participated in a Leadership day program that included two guest speakers and interactive tasks based on teamwork and cooperation. Dr Casey Mainsbridge from The University of Tasmania came and spoke to the year group about his leadership experiences, followed by Ms Carrie Twine who shared with us her journey to success. We then completed activities that looked at identifying the qualities of a good leader and the importance of being a good role model. We concluded the morning sessions with an honest and insightful presentation from Mr Ben Murfet on how he evolved into a better leader.

The afternoon session included many interactive challenges that required the use of leadership skills such as cooperation, teamwork, communication, strategy, bravery, honesty and creativity. The Student Leadership Council then led the students through a series of group activities that were engaging and finished the day on a fun note. We look forward to seeing the continued growth of our Year 9s as they take on leadership roles both here at school, and in the community, in the future.

Mrs Champion
Grade 9 Leader

Grade 10 – My Education Day - My Futures:

The focus for Year 10 was around their Transition Plans, future pathways and staying safe on the road. Students learnt to navigate the College handbook and revisit My Futures to inform their decisions regarding Year 11 and 12 subject choices for their Transition Plans. The police gave a presentation around driving, elaborating on many aspects, but most importantly, focussing on the independence that driving gives them and the great responsibility they have on the road. Chris from The Van Diemen Project (entrepreneurship facilitators) presented information on starting up your own business which was incredibly informative. Students were also involved in several activities as a precursor to RYDA in Term 4. RYDA is the leading road safety education program for youth in Australia, that provides young people with the skills and strategies they need to stay safe on the road.

Mrs Parish
Grade 10 AST

EXETER HIGH TRIVIA NIGHT

The Student Leadership Council will be holding a Trivia Night on Friday, 22 October in our Student Centre. The evening will begin at 6:30pm.

You can register via email at exeter.high@education.tas.gov.au or by phone 6394 4366.

GRADE 10 HPE GOLF EXCURSIONS

Over the past few weeks during scheduled PE lessons, Grade 10 students have had the opportunity to connect with a local sporting club within their community. Following a lesson on the basics of golf at school, students had the opportunity to put their skills into practise by hitting golf balls on the driving range and experiencing putting on a green. The weather was kind for most of the sessions and students have developed some new sporting skills. Two students (one male and one female) will be lucky enough to receive a full year’s membership at the Exeter Golf Club to further their skills and to encourage more junior members into the club to enjoy the lifelong sport of golf. We would like to thank the Exeter Golf Club for their generosity in donating these memberships and we look forward to them being put to good use.

Mrs Robinson

HPE Golf at Exeter Golf Club

HOLLY BANK HIGH ROPES EXCURSION

On Wednesday 8th September the Grade 8 Outdoor Education class along with the Grade 9/10 Adventure Tourism class had an excursion to Hollybank Treetops Adventure. The students were kitted up with all the correct safety gear including harnesses, hard hats and gloves. They were then taken through demonstrations of how to use the zip lines and the procedure for correctly attaching the safety harnesses to the guide ropes that make up the course. After showing the instructor that we could all confidently complete each step, we were taken to the treetops where we had a choice of which course to complete. The courses range from beginner to advanced and every student was able to complete one of these. Most of the students completed more than one and a few were able to successfully complete all four courses. A fantastic day was had by all. Thanks to Mr Stewart and Mr Towns.

SLC TERM 3 REPORT

It has been a busy year and a busy past two terms for the SLC. We have ramped up the events and school-based projects and have been able to achieve a lot. We would like to thank the school community for their support and acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our SLC team.

During term 2 we started the process of planning the colourful murals to place on our bathroom walls and following into term 3 we received various designs from students across the school. At the start of this term the SLC, Miss Cartledge and a few students participated in the painting of the murals. Chelsea Gethin and Isabella Topperwien designed and largely contributed to the organisation of the murals. These murals are colourful and promote motivational messages for every student entering the bathroom.

Midway through term 3, on August 6th, we supported the fundraiser “Jeans for Genes Day”, and as a school we collectively raised a great deal of money to put towards research for genetic disorders. We have also made donations to the Cancer Council and Speak up Stay Chatty.

On September 17th the Grade 7s organised “Teams Colours Day” for the whole school. We as the SLC contributed by promoting the Day and collecting money from every class. We also agreed to have a “Milkshake Day” as well. We raised around $180 to put towards the SLC funds, this will allow us to create future projects, or contribute to next year’s SLC.

Today there will be the Student vs Teachers netball game. Multiple teachers and students are taking part and it should be a lot of fun. Our normal lunchtime will be extended and a BBQ will be available for this fun experience.

Isaac Leslie
Co-President

Calendar – Term 3

September

Calendar – Term 4

October

November

December

COMMUNITY CORNER

AUST GOVERNMENT MOBILE SERVICE CENTRE

Australian Government Mobile Service Centres travel extensively throughout rural and regional Australia. A Mobile Service Centre will be visiting your area soon.

Staff from Services Australia travel with the Mobile Service Centres and can assist people with Centrelink and Medicare payments and services. Information about Department of Veterans’ Affairs programs and support services for veterans and their families is also available.

Our Mobile Service Centres have disabled access and customer Wi-Fi to assist in creating myGov accounts and accessing online services.

More information about the Australian Government Mobile Service Centre is available on our website:

LAUNCESTON LITTLE ATHLETICS

Launceston Little Athletics, Term 4, will begin on 9th October.

SAVER PLUS PROGRAM

POSTER COMPETITION