24 June 2022

Newsletter Articles

Assistant Principals

Paul Stevenson
Andrea Saville

Grade Leaders

Grade 7: Elle Fox
Grade 8: Lenny Towns
Grade 9: Allison Stone
Grade 10: AST: Sharon Parish

Support Services

School Psychologist: Caitlyn Osborne: Wednesday, Thursday and every second Friday
Social Worker: Isabel Casey: Tuesday, Thursday and every second Friday
School Chaplain: TBA
School Health Nurse: Dave Mackay: Monday

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Term 2 reports were sent home on Monday, and we will be holding 3 way parent/teacher/student conferences on Monday and Tuesday evening (27 & 28 June) between 3.30pm and 7.00pm. I would encourage all parents to attend with their children to discuss the latest report and ask any questions they might have about their child’s education. The new look report will show your child’s learning achievement differently. A new 9-point visual scale replaces A-E ratings for students in Years 1 to 10 in all Core subject areas. The 9-point scale will show more specifically where your child’s learning achievement is against the expected standard for their year level. There will be no teacher comments on the report.

Due to inappropriate phone usage by several students, we are banning any use of mobile phones between the hours of 9.00am and 3.10pm for the remainder of Term 2 as of Thursday 23/6/2022. Phones need to be off and away all day. Any student who is seen with mobile phones during the day will be required to take their phone to the office for the remainder of the day. Any student who refuses to follow this instruction will be placed on an Internal Suspension.

Students will not be able to use their phones to pay at the canteen during this period so will need to ensure they have cash or a card to use. If as a parent, you need to contact your child, please call the administration office on 6394 4366 and your message will be passed on.

The Student Leadership Council held the annual World’s Greatest Shave last week and raised funds for The Leukemia Foundation. Thank you to Travis Herne, Layla Seen and Olivia Gethin who had their locks shaved and the staff at Exeter Hair and Beauty who came along to do the shaving. This is a very worthwhile cause and a tremendous commitment by these three students.

World’s Greatest Shave - Before and After!

Winter is well and truly upon us as we saw last week in particular, with icy starts to the day. Can I please ask that students continue to wear approved school uniforms during the winter months. We are able to assist families who are finding it difficult to purchase warmer uniform items.

We continue to have our Exeter Excellence awards handed out in each Grade on a fortnightly basis and the students who receive these awards should be very proud to be recognised for their successes, both in the classroom and around the school in general.

Benjamin Frerk
Principal

BOOKINGS FOR PARENT/TEACHER

Bookings can be made through the SchoolZine App. If you have the App you should have received an invitation email from SchoolZine with a link to access the Booking webpage. If you don’t yet have the App, please follow the instructions below to download.

A YOUNG PERSON’S GUIDE TO BUSINESS

On Friday 17th June Year 9 and 10 students were given the opportunity to attend workshops presented by the Van Diemen’s Project and YAC West Tamar. The two sessions were based around a young person’s guide to business. Topics covered included small business start-ups, what do I need to run my own business, what business opportunities are available to me along with a focus of self-improvement and motivation. The sessions also focussed on the West Tamar and particularly the voice of the youth within the region. A huge thank you to the organisations that presented and congratulations to the students who participated during the day.

EXCELLENCE AT EXETER

These certificates are awarded to two students in each grade 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 students:

Jack from 7A: Jack consistently displays an excellent work ethic and respectful behaviour. He is an extremely helpful and courteous student who always gives 100 percent effort. Jack’s positive attitude toward his learning is to be commended. Values demonstrated: Respect, Learning, Maturity & Acceptance.

Willow from 7B: Willow is a respectful student who continues to impress her teachers with her conscientious attitude toward learning. She applies herself across all subject areas and consistently endeavours to produce work of the highest quality. Her ongoing demonstration of our school values makes her an excellent role model. Values demonstrated: Respect, Learning, Maturity & Acceptance.

Thomas from 8D: Thomas is being recognised for his outstanding engagement and contributions throughout our recent My Education Day. Thomas demonstrated initiative and maturity in the classroom-based sessions and displayed excellent teamwork and enthusiasm during the practical afternoon tasks to consolidate and apply transferrable skills and critical thinking. Values demonstrated: Respect, Learning, Maturity & Acceptance.

Noah from 8B: Noah is being recognised for his outstanding engagement and contributions throughout our recent My Education Day. Noah demonstrated initiative and maturity in the classroom-based sessions and displayed excellent teamwork and enthusiasm during the practical afternoon tasks to consolidate and apply transferrable skills and critical thinking. Values demonstrated: Respect, Learning, Maturity & Acceptance.

Lakeesha from 9B: Lakeesha is a kind and friendly member of her class. She approaches her learning with a positive attitude and offers her thoughts and opinions to class discussions. Lakeesha has a positive attitude and is a mature and reliable student. Values demonstrated: Respect, Learning, Maturity & Acceptance.

Avery from 9C: Avery is an exceptional student both in and out of the classroom. He always treats staff and peers with the utmost respect and is a role model to his classmates. Avery approaches all tasks conscientiously and as a result, achieves well academically. He always upholds the school’s four core values of Respect, Learning, Maturity & Acceptance.

Edward from 10A: Edward is an extremely polite, considerate and caring student who always gives 100 percent to every task he undertakes. His application in class is commendable. Edward has very good self-discipline and is beginning to display leadership qualities and inclusive support of other students to improve their learning. He is always an active participant in both group and class discussions. Values demonstrated: Respect, Learning, Maturity & Acceptance.

Dylan from 10A: Dylan is reliable student and an excellent role model to his peers. His helpful and caring nature allows him to work effectively with a range of students. Dylan applies himself conscientiously to all tasks and he consistently displays good work ethics. He demonstrates strong leadership qualities by being respectful and accepting of everyone, and wears his SLC blazer with pride. Values demonstrated: Respect, Learning, Maturity & Acceptance.

MY EDUCATION DAY

My Education at Exeter High School is a supportive and inclusive approach encouraging engagement and participation that inspires and guides students from Year 7 to Year 10, as they undertake a journey of discovery in identifying who they are and what they want to become. It supports 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.

Year 7

Year 7 My Education Day for this term focussed on the idea of accepting and valuing difference. Prompted by a reading of the picture book Henry and Amy: Right-way-round and upside down, students spent the day exploring the idea that we are all different and, as well, reflected on their personal attitudes towards other people and other people’s differences.

The remainder of the day was spent watching the film Wonder, a story about a boy named August, with a rare facial abnormality, starting school for the first time in Year 5, where he befriends Jack. The two form a strong bond while facing the bullies in their class. We hope our students ‘choose kind’ after reading Henry and Amy and watching Wonder.

Year 8

The Grade 8 focus for My Education Day was around transferrable skills and traits in lesson 1, critical thinking in lesson 2 and teamwork, co-operation and leadership in lesson 3. These are all skills which are highly valued by employers and students participated in a range of activities to unpack and apply these concepts. They also had an opportunity to self-reflect on their areas of strength and areas for improvement to best set themselves up for positive and productive outcomes in the future. Students engaged very well with the content and activities, making for an enjoyable and worthwhile experience for all.

Year 9

For this Term, the focus for the My Ed Day for Grade 9s was Mindfulness and preparing for the workplace.

The morning started off with some time over in the science lab where our group of students watched and participated in some STEM activities. They had a go at building their own battery motor, watched the magic of dry ice and experimented with electric current. There were a lot of students that stepped up and participated in the activities which was great to see.

We then spent time completing our preparation for the workplace. Students spent time completing their resumes, had a go at constructing a cover letter and started to explore different career options on the My Futures site.

In the afternoon, the focus was mindfulness. Students had the opportunity to rotate through 3 activities including Yoga and Pilates, puzzles, Lego, and much more. Students were able to take the time to relax the mind and encouraged them all to engage in an activity they normally would not do.

We are proud of the Year 9 group and their level of engagement in the My Ed days so far this year.

Year 10 - Another Beneficial My Education Day

Students at Exeter High School experienced a taste of their future career paths and were enlightened by guests and their insightful guidance and views.

“It provided other people’s opinions and advice on how to handle yourself going through different stages of your career and that unfortunate things will happen and that it is a normal occurrence that everyone will experience,” said year 10 student Eliza Kemsley.

On the 9th of June grade ten students from Exeter High School spent the day readying themselves for their futures. The students developed their knowledge on interviewing and being interviewed via a morning speech given by Mr Murfet, which was followed by students recognising their strengths and weaknesses, their goals and much more through interviewing each other for a boost of confidence. Students were taught the basics of an interview like, dressing appropriately, doing their research about the company or job and how to look confident. This gave them an idea of what to expect when applying for a job and gave them simple face-to-face conversing skills and confidence within themselves.

The student body had the pleasure of welcoming four guests into their day and taking in any intelligence and their stories to further educate them. The students spent their second session listening to these guest speakers and gathering any further information about possible career paths. The student body were visited by; Chris Demeyer from Baptcare, Raylene Garwood from Veteran Affairs, Andy Beeston and Kim Reynolds from YAC and finally our fantastic English teacher Mr Clarke, who all had very different paths and experiences giving the students a well-rounded idea of what they have instore for them. This session outlined how different your outcome may be from where you started, and students now know that and can prepare for what they want their outcome to be.

After two sessions of listening to people and taking in their pointers and ideas as well as learning about how to properly prepare for an interview, the third session consisted of students thinking about their futures. Exeter High and other schools are authorised to prepare grade tens with a transition plan, from high school to college. Teaching the students and coaching them through the process by giving them a well-educated understanding of what they want. The third session was the students really thinking about this and filling in some blanks on their plans, taking into consideration of what they had learned prior.

As individuals we all took out what we wanted from the day, some took wise words, some learnt their values and others further secured their goals. The day was well spent and beneficial to us as teens becoming young adults.

by Macy Van Den Berg

AN UPDATE ON FACE MASKS

Public Health has advised that from Monday 27 June 2022, face masks are no longer mandatory in schools and Child and Family Learning Centres. This is because of reduced COVID-19 cases in our community.

It’s important to continue to:

• stay at home if unwell, and get tested
• practise COVID-safe behaviours such as frequent handwashing and sanitising
• be up to date with your COVID-19 vaccinations.

Students, staff and visitors are supported to continue to wear face masks if they choose to. Face masks are still available at our school if you need them.

When face masks are required

If you’re a close contact , you are still required to wear a face mask indoors as per current Public Health advice.

From time-to-time our school might identify activities or situations where masks are required to be worn. We ask for your support when this happens and know that it is in the best interests of our students, staff and our school.

Our staff will continue to wear masks when working closely with students who are vulnerable to COVID-19.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us directly to discuss.

For more information about COVID-19, please visit the Tasmanian Government Coronavirus website or contact the Tasmanian Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738, or Department of Education COVID-19 Support Hotline at COVID19support@education.tas.gov.au  or on 1800 816 057.

If you need support translating or interpreting this information, contact the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450.

Calendar - 2022

June

July

August

September

Oct

November

December

COMMUNITY CORNER

CRICKET COACHING

There will be a Cricket Coaching Holiday Clinic running on Tuesday, 12 July and Wednesday, 13 July from 11am to 3pm each day. For more information visit the website: https://australiancricketinstitute.com/launceston-winter-clinic-2022

WINGS WILDLIFE PARK – KIDS FUN DAY

Wings Wildlife Park are holding a Kids Fun Day on Sunday, 24th July from 10:00am to 4:00pm in support of Koinz for Kidz Foundation.