13 August 2021

Newsletter Articles

A Word from the Principal…

Welcome back for Term 3. Following on from a direction from the Tasmanian Government, we now have some changed arrangements in place for parents and carers when visiting schools.

You will now need to check in using the Check-in TAS app when entering school buildings; this includes classrooms, the office or the canteen.

Students are NOT required to check-in, these arrangements only apply to adults.

We have posters displayed in and around the school site with the QR code to use for checking in.

For those who do not have a smart phone and need to manually check-in, please come to the school office for assistance.

We appreciate your support in ensuring we are doing the right thing.

For more information, visit the link below.

Term 3 – What’s been going on?

Smithton High staff participated in professional learning on the first day back of the new term. This was something a bit different for our staff as we usually get together with the primary schools to work on a cluster priority. This time round we spent time looking at our own priorities which include Writing – a focus on paragraphs and Student Engagement – a focus on belonging, school climate and cognitive engagement. We use data to drive improvement for student learning and quality teaching practices and the work we are doing looks at both short and long-term gains in these areas. The student focus group which comprises of students from across the school, provides an opportunity for their voices to be heard about the areas they feel need improvement. They have been focusing on the Student Engagement priority. Parents and carers will also have an opportunity to provide feedback to the school by completing the parent/carer survey. You are encouraged to complete the survey as it provides useful data for us to use in the improvement process. The details about the survey will be communicated to you within the next few weeks.

The first two weeks were dedicated to parent- teacher meetings after students received their reports at the end of the term. The opportunity to meet and talk about student learning with parents and students was terrific. It is always nice to meet face-face and discuss the report in more detail. Feedback indicates the meetings were constructive and informative. Thanks to all parents and carers who took up the opportunity to meet with staff during this time. It is never too late to touch base with your child’s teacher, you can do this at any time by contacting the office on 64529222.

Students have been busy participating in a range of opportunities including Peer Support training for the Year 9 students; House and Vice Captains are helping with the primary schools’ Winter Sports program over the next few weeks. In HPE the swimming program is under way where all students across 7-10 are accessing SWIRL. Those not participating are working on water safety theory at school. Our House and Vice Captains organised a mini-Olympic event last Thursday for 7-10 students who participated in different events during our Pastoral Care time. A highlight was the opening ceremony with the students coming up with a creative take on the Olympic flame. Well done.

9.3 students continue to take part in the ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ challenge where students work together to raise as much money as they can for a charity of their choice. This work happens during their Pastoral Care time on Thursday. On Friday one group were selling cupcakes to raise funds for Breast Cancer, another group sold sausages up the main street to support the RSPCA and another group were selling raffle tickets outside Woollies for the Breast Cancer Network Australia. The students have been given autonomy to work on their projects - creating ideas, organising documentation, sourcing and making products, talking with people in the community, and liaising with their charity. Well done to all involved!

News from Year 7

During Term 2, 7.3 experimented with Bunsen burners during practical in Chemistry.

Students practiced bending glass to test out the flame. Later in the term, students went on to conduct their own experiments using a series of separation techniques. They are quite the Bunsen burner experts now!

News from Year 8

On Wednesday June 30th, Year 8 students took part in a Silent Trivia and Games afternoon. Everyone was VERY excited so, while the activities involved silence, the competition aspect was far from it. Our school nurse, Mel created the event after winning a grant for a ‘No Phone Zone’.

The students analysed their screen time from data recorded on their phone to look at how much of their day is taken up by their phones.

The information was graphed and discussed before launching into a range of games that involved using noise cancelling headphones including; charades, Pictionary and Guess the Song.

The prizes for the day were all games and activities that involve interaction with other people. The winning team got first choice, then a number of lucky door prizes were awarded. Students demonstrating the school values throughout the afternoon were also put in the draw for extra chances of winning.

All the students participated eagerly and the team that came out on top was Rylan, Nash, Austin, Jake, Boyd and Marshall.

Congratulations to the winners and a big thank you to Mel for her organisation and effort!

8.3 Science

'Students in 8.3 developing measurement and calculation skills in science'.

Students were tasked with designing an experiment that included the measurement of temperature changes over time. This activity allowed students to practise their skills in recording, graphing, and using scientific equipment correctly.

Outdoor Education Camp

On the 30th June, the Year 9/10 Outdoor Education students were involved in a three-day camp at Ben Lomond National Park. The group stayed at the Tas Rovers Ski lodge which is located at the alpine village almost 1400m above sea level. Although the mercury dipped well below zero over the three days, we were unlucky this trip and did not get to experience a snow-covered mountain. The group did get to walk to the summit of Legges Tor which reaches a towering 1572m above sea level. Special thanks to Mr Barber, Mrs Wade and Mr Poulter for organising the trip.

Smithton High School Olympics

On Thursday 5th August, the House and Vice Captains organised a successful and fun mini Olympics for the whole school to participate in during Period 3 and 4 Pastoral Care. The students were able to take part in; Chookball, Volleyball, Street Hockey, Waterpolo, 3x3 Basketball, Gaming, Art mascot creations and card and board games. There was an opening and closing ceremony and students who demonstrated the Olympic values were given a SHS token medal. Well done to all who helped and joined in to highlight and celebrate an Olympic year!!

School Soccer

Lunchtime soccer in the school gymnasium started up last week with over 50 students from Years 7-10 signing up to participate in the roster. Six teams, each representing a country from a different continent will participate in a five week round robin style tournament followed by a week of finals. The overall winning team will play against a staff team. Special thanks goes to the School Association for donating the soccer goals to make this possible.

Smithton High School’s Aboriginal Cultural Group

Written by Kelsey, Ashton & Jade – Year 10 Smithton High School

In 2019 Dr Ian Mcfarlane, a prolific and esteemed Author and Historian on Tasmania’s ATSI history gave Smithton High School students, staff and members of the Circular Head Aboriginal Corporation lectures about Aboriginal History that were at a university level. This kickstarted interest and immense passion in this area of our history and our cultural group was formed by Smithton High School student and led by our youth Mentor, Selina Colgrave.

We began learning, embracing and spreading our culture throughout our school, community and state. We have participated in a variety of on-country excursions, especially in Circular Head. Since then, we’ve been able to make connections with many Aboriginal Organizations in the state such as Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania, Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, National Indigenous Australian Agency and Tasmania Parks and Wildlife. Some of the highlights have been: our South-West Helicopter Trip, “Indigenous Voice”, Trawmanna Community Day, presenting to students in our school and educating them, making a significant contribution to Aboriginal education, being involved in the process of dual naming of Cape Grim in our local area and being able to visit the Mount Cameron Petroglyphs in the Queen Victoria museum.

On the 4th of March 2020, students Kelsey Williams and Ashton Monson and Aboriginal Education Worker Selina Colgrave were lucky enough to accompany CHAC members to the Queen Victoria Museum to visit the Mount Cameron petroglyphs. These petroglyphs were taken from a mountain roughly 40km from our school, yet the only time we have been able to see them was in a museum 233.7km away. The connection we felt to the petroglyphs and our ancestors through them was indescribable and highly emotive; some of us shed tears as we considered the history of our area and the sacredness of these sites. The experience was something we will remember for the rest of our lives. Yet it is an experience everyone, especially the youth of Circular Head should have.

On the 4th of March 2021, the Aboriginal cultural group and all Year 7’s then participated in an excursion to Table Cape and fossil bluff. This excursion was an opportunity for everyone to learn from Dr Mcfarlane about the way Aboriginals communicated with smoke signals at Table Cape. Later in the day while down at Fossil Bluff, the Year 7’s were split into two groups that swapped over halfway. Dr Mcfarlane spoke about the massacre and the fish traps.

On the 27th of April 2021, Smithton High students Kelsey Williams, Ashton Monson, Hunter Woolley and Selina Colgrave accompanied AHT on a helicopter trip down the rugged West coast of Tasmania to observe the significant cultural sites of Sandblow Bay area and Toogee Hill. The scenic trip allowed students and attendees to gain further insight on the lifestyle of those that lived along the West Coast by examining and learning about the classification of petroglyphs, village sites, artifacts and geological features.

On the 12th of May 2021, Ashton Monson and Kelsey Williams, along with CHAC board member, Camilla Woolley then attended a conference with Aboriginal representatives from all across Tasmania. The students discussed the co-design process of Indigenous Voice, an Aboriginal body who will work in the Indigenous space in local & regional areas all across Australia. There will also be a National Indigenous voice who will work alongside the Federal Government on policies that will only affect Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australians. The students were representatives of Aboriginal youth and vocalized their opinions and suggestions on the process and spoke about existing problems and possible solutions.

On the 23rd of May 2021 we participated in conversations at Trawmanna community day. Some of these conversations were about the proposed Robbins Island windfarms. These windfarms would disturb significant Aboriginal sites and artifacts found on the Island. Another conversation we had was about the Mt Cameron petroglyphs and their return home. We all strongly believe that they should be here in Circular Head for all to see instead of buried under sand or locked away in a shed.

The implementation of the Aboriginal Cultural Group over the past three years has proved greatly beneficial to Smithton High School’s large number of Aboriginal students, as well as the broader school community, by extending the common knowledge of indigenous history within Tasmania. Since the creation of the group, students have taken advantage of opportunities to establish connections with notable corporations and individuals within the community and extend those connections to the school. We are enormously proud of the learning that we have undertaken about our local history and it has enabled us to see, from a much broader perspective, the remarkable life of our ancestors and the way in which they lived; with a sense of community, family, pride, peace, kindness and a remarkable adaptability, resilience and cultural pride.

On Country trip with year 7’s to Fossil Bluff with CHAC

Community News

Dates to Remember…

Term Dates & Student Free Days for 2021

Terms

Student Free Days

Year 7-10

Tuesday 2nd February
Thursday 1sth April
Monday 19th July
Friday 29th October

Year 11/12

TBA

Office Hours

8.30am – 3.30pm daily
School Starts: 8.50am
School Finishes: 3.00pm

School Office Ph: 6452 9222
Trade Training Centre Ph: 6452 9288

SMS: 0418 220 201
Email: smithton.high@education.tas.gov.au
Web: http://education.tas.edu.au/smithtonhigh/Pages/Home.aspx
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Smithton-High-School/219062138251149