6 November 2020

Newsletter Articles

A Word from the Principal…

Term 4

With the recent student free day and the long weekend behind us, it’s important to remember how quickly the end of the year is approaching. This week is a short week and we look forward to the Athletics Carnival being held on Thursday and Friday. We can’t wait to see students and staff dressing up in their house colours - the sea of yellow, blue, green and red will be appreciated given the uncertainty around holding events due COVID-19.

The Year 8 students have been watching a documentary about the legendary Cathy Freeman and her gold medal win in the 400m at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

“Freeman is the story of the nation coming together around an Indigenous Australian female athlete who delivered when it mattered, on the greatest stage on earth. Cathy Freeman’s win at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 brought Australia together as a nation. Watched by billions of people worldwide, the 400-metre sprint on the evening of September 25 had the country glued to the TV.”

Cathy Freeman is a tremendous athlete and indigenous women. She set herself a goal to become the world’s greatest athlete and she cemented her place in sporting history when she won gold on the 25th of September, 2000. Viewing the documentary couldn’t have come at a better time to inspire our budding athletes to not just do their best, but be the best they can be. Cathy’s race plan for the 400m was:

Fast start for 50m (no longer), move from very fast to fast relaxed until the 200m mark, pick up on the bend a little to make sure of your position, go hard from about 120m to go and hold form until the finish line.

You can watch Freeman by pasting this link into your browser:

Student Free Day

On the recent student free day our staff worked collaboratively in teams with new curriculum documents called the Learning Area Planning Guides. These documents are used to make the curricula more manageable, to move the focus towards depth and rigour, rather than breadth and content; whilst ensuring learning is systemic and addresses relevant achievement standards. Using the planning guides with the teaching and learning cycle will ensure we have strong, robust learning occurring in every class and learning area. In the afternoon we gathered in the gym with our primary counterparts to reflect on the cluster priority around embedding the teaching and learning cycle into our teaching practice. Professional Learning Teams (PLTs) shared units and talked about the teaching and learning cycle and how using it had helped them to change their own teaching practices. Student feedback was also positive with many students commenting on the drafting process and the modelled text being useful as they had a high quality examples of what they needed to do to achieve ‘at or above’ standard work.

Student Achievement

COVID has put a hold on many things this year but I’m pleased to say that we have still been able to participate in some events due to restrictions being eased. Well done to the students and staff who won the Science and Engineering Challenge for the North West.

SHS formed six teams with our nineteen students and each were placed in hands-on and theoretical STEM challenges where they competed for points. The schools with the highest overall points from the six challenges were the overall winning school. There were six schools who participated: Leighland Christian School, Latrobe High, Ulverstone Secondary College, Devonport High School, St Brendan-Shaw College and Smithton High School.

This year around 75% of our participants were female, which sends a strong message to our younger students that females can and do achieve in STEM. It was such a great feeling to know that we had one of the smaller teams in number, but were still able to win the overall event. It was the contribution of every member of our team working their hardest that made it happen and I would like to congratulate each and every student who participated on the day.

We had a few stand out performances on the day that contributed towards our win. We took first place in four of the eight divisions (Turbine Challenge, Bridge Challenge, Helter Skelter Shelter and Confounding Communications). We also had several third place finishes as well and this meant we won the overall champion school award. Our bridge held the most weight of any in the state this year. This is an exceptional achievement. Well done!

Our students also performed well at the recent North West Basketball Competition. Congratulations to the Year 9/10 girls who won the Division 2 title and the Year 7/8 boys who came second in Division 1. The boys will play at the state finals later this month and we wish them all the best.

A big thanks to all the teachers, coaches and parents who supported these events. We couldn’t do it without you!

End of Year Information for Parents/Carers

A timely reminder for all parents and carers as we move towards the end of the year, there is usually lots of correspondence from the school to assist with the organisation of end of year activities. Please respond promptly to any notices, permission slips or letters from the school, as this greatly assists our office staff with organisation and preparation for the last month of the school year. Information about upcoming school events is always posted on the school Facebook page, but if you are unsure of anything, or your contact details have changed, please don’t hesitate to contact the main office on 6452 9222.

Nikki Clark
PRINCIPAL

Science and Engineering Challenge

ENERGY DRINKS

At Smithton High School we recommend students drink plenty of water during the day to stay hydrated and healthy. We understand that some students prefer to drink cordial or juice, however it is important to remember energy drinks and fizzy drinks are not allowed at school.

It is becoming common for us to see some students walking to school drinking large cans of energy drink. We have reports from some students they drink two to three of these per day, despite warnings on the label saying not to consume more than one.

During Health lessons students learn about the dangers of excess consumption of sugar and caffeine, however we thought it would be useful to share this information with families and the wider community to help us all make informed choices about what we drink.

Energy drinks contain caffeine, taurine, glucuronolactone, herbal extracts (eg guarana, ginseng), water-soluble vitamins and sweetening agents (sugar and artificial sweeteners). We have consulted with our school nurse to find evidence-based research to help us understand what the recommendations are for young people when consuming these things.

To keep in mind:

• It is recommended that young people and children limit their intake of caffeine (less than 100mg per day – one cup of coffee contains about 100mg)
• 500ml energy drinks contain approximately 160mg of caffeine
• 500ml energy drinks contain approximately 13 to 21 teaspoons of sugar (depending on the brand)
• The effect of caffeine may be amplified by the other ingredients in an energy drink

Short-term effects of caffeine consumption:

• Needing to urinate more often
• Feeling more alert and active
• Higher body temperature
• Faster breathing and heart rate
• Increased production of stomach acid

Long-term effects of excess caffeine consumption:

• Cardiovascular problems
• Heartburn
• Ulcers
• Bone loss (osteoporosis) in post-menopausal women
• Difficulty sleeping (insomnia)
• Anxiety
• Depression

Risks associated with excess caffeine consumption/caffeine toxicity:

• Nervousness
• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Agitation
• Insomnia
• Headaches
• Rapid and/or irregular heart rate
• Rapid breathing
• Gastrointestinal disturbances (abdominal pain, diarrhoea, nausea/vomiting)
• Muscle tremors/twitches
• Delirium (confusion, hallucinations, excitability)
• Headaches

We hope this information has been useful and helps to start conversations at home about making healthy choices.

The information above has been collated from the attached resources. Thanks to our school nurse, Lyndsay Norton, for helping to gather this information.

Lindsey Blake | Assistant Principal

STAS ELIGIBILITY CHANGES

The Department of Education recently announced that we would be expanding the Student Assistance Scheme for 2021.

Parents who have a current concession card as listed below can apply for dependent students for assistance under the STAS:

• Services Australia – Centrelink Health Care Card
• Services Australia – Centrelink Low Income Health Care Card
• Services Australia – Pensioner Concession Card or
• Department of Veteran Affairs – Pensioner Concession Card

Please note that if you are already receiving student assistance you do not need to complete a form.

For 2021 a new on-line form has been developed to assist with processing applications for new applicants.

The online form can be completed here:

The form will be available for public use from the 10th November.

Once a validated form is completed the Department of Education will confirm the outcome of your application in writing, this process takes approximately 14 days.

We understand this online option may not be possible for all families, so if you require a hard copy form please contact your school or the Financial Assistance Unit on stas@education.tas.gov.au or 1800 827 077.

eSafety Tips for Parents

Sending Nudes and Sexting

Social distancing and isolation can be hard on all relationships. This applies for young love too. While your child might think that sending nudes and sexting is a way to flirt or be intimate while at home, particularly if they’re in a relationship, it is important to talk about the possible consequences of sending or sharing nude images.

These risks include:

• Losing control of the image and having their intimate images shared beyond the intended audience, even in trusted relationships.
• Peer pressure and disrespect if by being forced or pressured into sending explicit images or videos.
• Psychological and emotional harms, including humiliation, bullying, teasing, harassment or damage to their reputation.
• Criminal charges or penalties for some cases – in particular, the sharing of non-consensual intimate images.

How can I minimise the risks to my child?

• Talk to your child about how to stay connected with friends and loved ones in safe and age-appropriate ways.
• Talk about the risks- what can go wrong and the legal issues. Remind your child that once an image is shared, it is almost impossible to get it back or to control how it is further distributed.
• Promote self-confidence and that it is OK to say ‘no’- let them know that they don’t have to give in to peer pressure to send intimate images or messages just because others do, to because their boyfriend or girlfriend has asked them to.
• Teach your child about consent and respectful relationships – help them understand the impact of sharing someone else’s intimate images or messages and that sharing without consent means they are breaking that person’s trust.

What can I do if my child’s intimate image is shared online?

1. Stay calm and open – reassure them that you will work through this together.
2. Listen, and act fact – there can be legal issues when intimate images of children are shared. Work quickly to remove the content online by reporting the image to the site or service it was posted on. There may be a hotline or service in your country to support you to remove images.
3. You can report image-based abuse to eSafety. We can help to have intimate images removed and, in some cases, take action against the person who shared them. You can read more detailed advice on what to do and how to make a report. You can also report the image to the site or service it was posted on.
4. Get help and support from a free parent helpline or one of the other many great online counselling and support services. Kids, teens and young adults can contact Kids Helpline online and via phone on 1800 551 800 and the service also provides guidance for parents.

Cyberbullying

Children who are bored by long periods at home can pick at each other, and that happens online too. So it is important to keep an eye out for cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying behaviour can include mean posts, comments and messages about a child, or deliberately leaving them out of online group activities. Cyber bullying can make social isolation worse and the longer it continues, the more stressed the child can become, impacting on their emotional and physical wellbeing.

Here are some helpful tips:

• Remember, when they are away from school, children have less access to their usual support systems including friends, teachers and counsellors.
• Talk to your child about cyberbullying before it happens. Together you can work out strategies to address potential issues and reassure them you will be there to offer support.
• Watch out for signs such as your child or teen appearing upset or anxious after using their mobile, tablet or computer, being unusually secretive about their online activities or becoming withdrawn.

What can I do if my child is being cyberbullied?

As a parent, your first instinct may be to ban your child from social media, disable the wi-fi or turn off the data access. But this could make the problem worse by making your child feel as if they are being punished and heightening their sense of social exclusion.

There are five simple steps that can help minimise harm:

1. Listen, think, stay calm – talk about what happened, try to remain open and non-judgemental, ask your child how they feel and ensure they feel heard.
2. Collect evidence of the cyberbullying material – it is a good idea to collect evidence, such as screenshots, of the bullying behaviour, in case you need to report it later on.
3. Report the cyberbullying to the social media service where it is occurring – many social media services, games, apps and websites allow you to report abusive content and request that it is removed.
4. Block the offending user – advise your child and others not to respond to bullying messages as this can inflame the situation. Help your child block or unfriend the person sending the messages.
5. Report to eSafety – if serious cyberbullying is affecting your child and you need help to have the material removed from a social media service or other platform, you can make a cyberbullying report to us.
6. Get help and support from a free parent helpline or one of the other many great online counselling and support services. Kids, teens and young adults can contact Kids Helpline online and via phone on 1800 551 800 and the service also provides guidance for parents.

What is Foster Care?

Community News

Dates to Remember…

Term Dates & Student Free Days for 2020

Terms

Student Free Days

Year 7-10

Tuesday 4th February
Thursday 9th April
Monday 20th July
Friday 30th October

Year 11/12

Tuesday 10th March
Monday 20th July

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