Kings Meadows High School eNewsletter

Dear Parents/Carers

You may recall that recently we had students assisting at the LSSSA (Launceston State Schools Sports Association) primary school mass dance event at the Silverdome. I received a lovely email from one of the organisers which provided some fantastic feedback about our students. Excerpts from this email are included below:

‘The students displayed exemplary behaviour and were more than willing to help in any way they could, used their innovation to make changes where needed and were proactive in their support. ‘
‘Thank you for allowing your students to come along and support our event. They were truly amazing and helped to ensure the event ran as smoothly as possible.’

Once again, congratulations to our students and thank you to Dylan Warren and Belinda Selby for supporting them in this experience. It is great to see students representing our school with pride and distinction in the community.

There is always so many things happening in our school for our students. Last week we had a speed careering event for Year 9 and 10 students interested in the construction industry. We have also had students visiting the Australian Maritime College. Thank you to Belinda Selby for facilitating this event and to our many wonderful industry mentors who support our school so well. Yesterday, we had the Bell Shakespeare Company visit and perform for our Year 10 students. Last week we had some of our talented writers attend a Writers Workshop at Newstead College. Thank you to Rebecca Glasby for enabling this enrichment opportunity for our students. Tomorrow, Thursday 26 September our Year 10 students attend RYDA (Rotary Youth Driver Awareness) at Symmons Plains. This is a valuable road safety education experience for our young people who will be starting to drive in the near future, or even in some instances, now! Thank you to James Guy for organising this important and potential lifesaving excursion.

We held our final whole school assembly last Thursday, 19 September. As part of the Tamar Community Peace Festival’s ‘Peace in Schools Program’, we welcomed Laura Johnson as the keynote speaker. Laura Johnson is an extraordinary young person who actively works to improve the lives of others. She lives in Smithton, is a proud Palawa woman and a lived-experience advocate in mental health and suicide prevention. Laura has also received many other accolades and awards for her work.

Congratulations to all students who were recognised in the assembly, well done to our musicians who performed and thanks to our student leaders for co-ordinating the assembly. Thank you also to our chair crew for their work in setup and pack up of the event. Thank you also to Rebecca Glasby and Kate Blaubaum for their overall organisation of the assembly.

On Friday 20 September, we hosted an AFL umpiring clinic for girls interested in this pathway. The session was facilitated by AFL Tasmania and covered field, boundary and goal umpiring. It was great to see many girls take up this opportunity as umpiring can not only develop many personal attributes and general fitness but also provides a potential opportunity for well-paid, casual employment or even a starting point to umpiring at a higher level. Thank you to Emma Attard for supporting this opportunity for our students.

Although Term 3 is not a reporting period, it is still important that learning is a partnership between students, parent/carers and teachers. Over the last week or so parents and careers have had the opportunity to check in with teachers in person, over the phone or via TEAMS, at a mutually convenient time, to discuss their child’s learning progress and possibly look at evidence of learning. This also culminated in an extended afternoon/evening where most teachers were on site until 6pm. Thank you to parents and carers who took up these opportunities. Simply taking an interest in your child’s education is a positive and supportive factor.

Winter sport has concluded for another year. Congratulations to all students who participated and represented our school positively. Thank you also to everyone who assisted with coaching, managing, umpiring, refereeing or spectating. I really value these sporting opportunities for our students and I know many in our community would agree. However, running multi-school sports rosters is a huge undertaking, so thank you to everyone involved, including the Northern High School Sports Association (NHSSA) Executive Officer, Rachel Buck. I would hate to ever lose these opportunities for our students but like any sporting club or organisation, they require the commitment of many people, not just the players. In particular, congratulations to our Junior First Boys Football Team who won their grand final. Well done boys, you did us proud!

Have you ever considered that some of our students are young carers? Research shows there are 2-3 young carers in every classroom in Australia. We recognise the definition of a young carer in line with the Carers Recognition Act 2023 (Tas). A Young Carer is a person who is under the age of 25 and provides unpaid care and support to a family member, or friend, who: 

has a disability
has a mental illness
has a chronic or life-limiting condition
has alcohol-dependence or drug-dependence; or 
is frail or aged
is a child, if the person is an informal kinship carer of the child.

Sometimes young carers can be at risk of disengagement or reduced educational outcomes due to the extra responsibilities they take on. I have included some links below where there is support available for our young carers.

youngcarersnetwork.com.au.

Home | Carer Gateway

As I hope you know, our school has an ‘Off and Away All Day ‘policy in relation to student mobile phone use. Parents and carers can support us by reminding their child of this expectation and by not contacting their child directly during the school day (8.35am until 2.50pm). Similarly, if a student arrives late to school or needs to leave early, we must have direct contact from the parent or carer in this regard. Your support is appreciated in this area.

Recently, we temporarily farewelled teachers Matthew Chatwin and Ben Killalea who will be taking some leave until the end of the year. Mr Chatwin’s classes will be taken over by Jake Chamberlain and Brendan Poke respectively, while Mr Killalea’s classes will be covered by Connor Williams. We also welcome Sam Lucas to our teaching team and he will be taking over some of Mr Chamberlain’s and Mr Poke’s classes due to the swaps mentioned above. We also farewell Patrick (Pat) Daly who will be taking up a permanent position elsewhere. Congratulations Mr Daly! As a result, we also welcome Jacob Fisher to our teaching team. I am sure everyone will make Mr Fisher and Mr Lucas feel welcome, supported and part of the team. At the end of term, we also farewell Wendy Jacobsen from our office administration team. I thank Wendy for her outstanding contribution and wish her well in her future endeavours.

Looking ahead to Term 4, we have PAT (Progressive Achievement Testing) occurring across the school from Week 2, our two day Athletics Carnival in Week 3, a Professional Learning Day (student free day) on Friday 1 November and then our External School Review and Arts Night the following week. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our wonderful school community over the course of this term.

I hope students and teaching staff have a restful and enjoyable break once holidays commence at the end of this week. I look forward to welcoming them back to Term 4 on Monday 14 October.

Regards

Cary Stocks
Principal

As part of our Positive Behaviour Support Program at Kings Meadows we will be acknowledging students who have been contributing positively to our learning environment. This means that they have been supporting our school wide expectations.

Respect for others, self and environment

Organisation

Commitment to learning

Keeping safe

Sensible behaviour

We would like to acknowledge the following students:

Year 7:

Billi Alexander – For always trying her best in English. Working quietly, independently and with persistence to complete the tasks that are presented to her.

Hayden Button – For being a respectful and considerate member of 7B and for always following our R.O.C.K.S. expectations in English.

Year 8:

8A – Sam Garwood - For showing a significant improvement in his attendance this term.

8B – Laura Springer - For showing a significant improvement in her attendance this term.

8C - Leila Direen – For showing an improvement with her attendance and also an improvement in her attitude towards learning during teaching and learning times.

8D – Molly Dudman - For showing improved attendance this term and also improvement in demonstrating our KMHS R.O.C.K.S. and DECYP Values over the last two weeks.

8E – Tom Underhill - For showing improved attendance this term and also improvement in demonstrating our KMHS R.O.C.K.S. and DECYP Values over the last two weeks.

8F – Isabella Cooper - For showing a significant improvement in her attendance this term.

Year 10:

Chelsea Whitchurch and Caleb Johnston - For their ongoing focus and effort in all subjects.

And just like that, Term 3 is almost over! While this term has passed in a flash, it has been packed with learning opportunities for our Year 7 students. Some of the highlights have been the impressive number of students who participated in the Write a Book in a Day competition, the Premier’s Spelling Bee, ICAS Academic Competitions, as well as the after school NHSSA Basketball roster.

Across this term we have continued to have a focus on strong attendance across our Year 7 cohort. It has been fantastic to see how many students overall attendance rate for the year has increased significantly across Term 3. In particular, 7B is to be commended as their whole-class attendance rate has had the largest improvement out of all Year 7 classes, winning our Year 7 attendance competition for the term! Every school day matters and it is great to see this mindset exemplified by our students.

Each term we recognise one student from each year group with our prestigious True Blue award. This is awarded to a student exemplifies our school values and R.O.C.K.S. throughout the term. Congratulations to Zane from 7A as our recipient for Term 3!

We would like to wish all of our students a safe and relaxing holiday and we look forward to seeing you all back at the start of Term 4!

Year 7 Contact Details

7A Class Teacher – Mrs Anu Grewal - anu.grewal@decyp.tas.gov.au

7B Class Teacher – Miss Isabella Darsaklis - isabella.darsakli@decyp.tas.gov.au

7C Class Teacher – Miss Eloise Hart - eloise.hart@decyp.tas.gov.au

7D Class Teacher – Mr Paul Steer - paul.steer@decyp.tas.gov.au

7E Class Teacher – Mr Matt Chatwin - matthew.chatwin@decyp.tas.gov.au

Additional teachers working with Year 7:

Mrs Renee Lunson - renee.lunson@decyp.tas.gov.au

Mr George Edmondson - george.edmondson@decyp.tas.gov.au

Grade 7 Leader – Mr Scott Brewer - scott.brewer@decyp.tas.gov.au

Grade 7 AST – Mr Robert Johns - robert.p.johns@decyp.tas.gov.au

Grade 7 Assistant Principal - Mrs Kate Hume - kate.hume@decyp .tas.gov.au

Congratulations to all Year 8 students on their wonderful achievements and participation in their respective winter sports rosters. Awards were given out at our end of term assembly last week and I would like to acknowledge the following students for their achievements.

In Junior Netball Halle Ralston received best and fairest while Addison McKercher won the coaches award for their efforts in 1sts Netball. Charlotte Hammond won best and fairest with Omolbanin Mobaraki receiving the coaches award for their achievements throughout the term in Junior 2nds.

In Junior Football, Lenny Hazell received best and fairest while Xavier Bourke won the coaches award in our 1sts. Congratulations also to Zane Lewis who won best & fairest in Junior 2nds.

I would also like to take the time to congratulate all the Junior 1st boys who competed against Grammar in their Grand Final. Our boys finished with a one point win in their grand final but most importantly showed great teamwork, co-operation and determination to claw their way back from behind at half time to secure the win. Well done to Lenny Hazel who best on the ground during the grand final.

On the back of this sporting success, I would like to also thank students across Year 8 who nominated to play after school basketball each Thursday afternoon. We now have four teams across Year 8 participating in the roster with some of our students also supporting Year 7s. The season has started well with all our teams’ securing victories in their first games of the season.

Further to this success I would also like to acknowledge Rylan Blyth who became the Under 14 boys state champion in BMX riding over the weekend. Rylan secured victory winning five out of the six rounds he competed in against other riders from around the state.

I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of Mr Warren and our Junior House Captains who supported our senior dance students and Beacon Ambassadors at the recent dance event held at the Silverdome. Their contributions and efforts on the day were certainly valued by participants and members of the public who made comment on their attitude and exemplary behaviour in public during the event.

Well done to Bella Hammond who received the True Blue Award for Year 8 at our end of term assembly. Staff across Year 8 nominated her for her efforts and attitude in maintaining our R.O.C.K.S. but also for the significant difference she makes to others through her friendliness, kindness and inclusive nature helping to make Year 8 a more positive and supportive environment for others.

Our work on the KMHS R.O.C.K.S. and DECYP Values will continue into the last week of Term 3 with a focus on Sensible Behaviour for our KMHS R.O.C.K.S. and Responsibility for the DECYP Value. It’s pleasing to see that so many students are continuing to demonstrate our focus behaviours each week. This week 58 students will receive cards for consistently demonstrating our focus R.O.C.K.S. and Values with another 67 students receiving cards for showing improvement from the previous week.

Finally, I would like to thank all our parents who are finding time to connect with Year 8 teachers to discuss recent learning progress this term and also parents who supported and encouraged our students to enter academic competitions this year. It was pleasing to see so many Year 8 students receiving certificates at our end of term assembly last week. I would also like to thank our parents and students for supporting high levels of attendance during Term 3 and to congratulate all our Year 8 students that have improved their attendance significantly this term.

Year 8 contact details:

8A Class Teacher – Mr Todd Nankervis - todd.nankervis@decyp.tas.gov.au

8B Class Teacher – Mrs Margaret White - margaret.white@decyp.tas.gov.au

8C Class Teacher – Ms Sherron Casey - sherron.casey@decyp.tas.gov.au

8D Class Teacher – Mr Dave Carswell - dave.carswell@decyp.tas.gov.au

8E Class Teacher – Mr Dylan Warren - dylan.warren@decyp.tas.gov.au

8F Class Teacher – Mr Nick Stokes - nick.stokes@decyp.tas.gov.au

Additional teachers working with Year 8:

Mrs Jade Howard - jade.howard@decyp.tas.gov.au

Mrs Jo Bent - joanna.bent@decyp.tas.gov.au

Grade 8 Leader – Miss Emma Attard - emma.attard@decyp.tas.gov.au

Grade 8 Leader – Mr Daniel Richardson - daniel.richardson@decyp.tas.gov.au

Grade 8 AST – Mr Nathan Karas - nathan.karas@decyp.tas.gov.au

Year 8 Assistant Principal – Mrs Kate Hume kate.hume@decyp.tas.gov.au

Our Year 9 leadership interviews for 2025 positions were held last week. This is an exciting time for our students as they step up to take on more responsibilities and showcase their leadership potential in Year 10.

In terms of student performance, we are thrilled to report that Year 9 showed great growth in our NAPLAN results. This improvement is a testament to the hard work and dedication of both students and teachers. Well done to everyone involved!

Our current activities have been centred around the leadership interviews, which have provided a fantastic opportunity for students to demonstrate their skills and aspirations.

As we approach the end of term, we continue to strive to be respectful at Kings Meadows High School both in and out of the classroom. It is important that students maintain their high standards of behaviour and academic effort.

We would also like to acknowledge some outstanding achievements this term. Congratulations to Ryder Dean-Brown for winning the Tasmanian championship in his age and weight division for boxing. Additionally, a big round of applause to Logan Groves for representing Tasmania in touch football as he heads to Coffs Harbour. These accomplishments are a source of pride for our school community.

In closing, we encourage all students to keep up their high standards for the remainder of the term. Your hard work and commitment do not go unnoticed and we are proud of each and every one of you.

Celebrations

Exams
Congratulations to all Year 10 students who completed all their exams to the best of their ability. Year 10 exams are an important experience for our students, not only academically, but to help them gain an understanding of how they personally manage stress and unfamiliar situations/procedures. Please ask our students how they went and what they learned from the experience as this will hold them in good stead for similar exam-type experiences in the future.

Representing Kings Meadows High School
A huge congratulations to all of our Year 10 students who have represented Kings Meadows High School at various events over the last few weeks. Beacon Careers Events, Rock Challenge, Writer’s Workshop, AFL Umpiring clinic, NHSSA Sport, Science at Mt Pleasant Laboratories and the Newstead College Level 3/4 Subject Experience are just some of the fantastic learning opportunities embraced by our year 10s in the second half of this term. Thankyou also to the staff involved who make these experiences possible.

Welcome Mr Williams
Mr Connor Williams has joined the Year 10 team for the remainder of the year while Mr Ben Killalea goes on leave. Mr Williams is now the 10E Class Teacher and is teaching both Maths and Science. Please see the contact details below if required.

Congratulations
Maddy Medwin has been selected as Captain of the Tasmanian Thunder State U16 girls Touch Football team which will be competing at the National Youth Championships in Coffs Harbour this week.

Grade Focus

One of the DECYP values is courage. With only ten weeks remaining in Year 10, our students need to be courageous and be looking for opportunities – especially if they are looking for apprenticeships and/or work pathways for 2025. It has been very pleasing to see some of our students already seeking these opportunities, applying for advertised positions and also ensuring they are well prepared and focused if an interview does come their way. We encourage all students to seriously consider what comes next for them and to discuss these pathways with friends, family members and teachers so they can be supported if required.

RYDA
Another reminder that RYDA (Rotary Youth Driver Awareness) is happening tomorrow - Thursday 26 September. This is always a worthwhile experience for Year 10 students and we encourage all students to attend. Please be aware that the buses will be leaving at 8:55am and there is no other provision for Year 10s at school so being on time is critical.

Important Dates

Rotary Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) – Thursday 26 September
Last Day Term 3 – Friday 27 September
First Day Term 4 – Monday 14 October
Athletics Carnival – Wednesday 30 & Thursday 31 October
Student Free Day – Friday 1 November

Year 10 Contact Details:

10A Class Teacher – Mr Chris Murray - chris.murray1@decyp.tas.gov.au

10B Class Teacher – Mrs Rebecca Glasby - rebecca.glasby@decyp.tas.gov.au

10C Class Teacher – Miss Mikhala Graham - mikhala.graham@decyp.tas.gov.au

10D Class Teacher – Mrs Belinda Selby - belinda.selby@decyp.tas.gov.au

10E Class Teacher – Mr Connor Williams - connor.williams@decyp.tas.gov.au

10EL Class Teacher - Mr Jacob Fisher - jacob.fisher@decyp.tas.gov.au

10F Class Teacher – Miss Steph Sheedy - steph.sheedy@decyp.tas.gov.au

Additional Teachers working with Year 10:

Mr Richard Goss - richard.goss@decyp.tas.gov.au

Grade 10 Leader – Mrs Nicole Lynch - nicole.lynch1@decyp.tas.gov.au

Grade 10 Leader – Mr Stuart Withington (stuart.withington@decyp.tas.gov.au)

Grade 10 AST – Mr James Guy (james.guy@decyp.tas.gov.au)

Year 10 Assistant Principal - Ms Kate Blaubaum - kate.blaubaum@decyp.tas.gov.au

Have your say on the future of Tasmania’s education system

The Tasmanian Government has established an Independent Review of Tasmania’s education system to improve the education system over the next 10 years. And they want to hear from families, children and young people of all ages, and members of the community.

There are multiple ways you can get involved:

Respond to the public Consultation Paper
Complete the survey for educators, families and the community
Complete the short survey for students
Submit a creative response to the question (for children and young people only): Imagine yourself at the end of school, what have you learned, what have you achieved and who do you want to be?

Submissions responding to the Consultation Paper must be submitted by Sunday 13 October 2024, and all other consultation opportunities will close on Sunday 27 October 2024.

Visit the Independent Education Review website to learn more or email contact@ier.tas.gov.au.

A reminder that Arts Night is on in Week 4 Term 4 – Thursday 7 November, 6:30pm at the Princess Theatre. Tickets will go on sale the first day of Term 4 - Monday 14 October. Classes are working hard on creating and polishing items and students are very excited to be showcasing their work for you on the stage!

Our students were given some inspiration from South Launceston Senior Football Coach and past Kings Meadows High School student Jack Maher. Jack reflected on his time at Kings and the proud connection he has with the school. Thanks very much to Jack.

CONGRATULATIONS to our Junior 1sts team who won their Grand Final against Grammar - 39 to 38.

Our Junior 2nds went into overtime and unfortunately went down to Brooks High School.

Well done to all the boys in both teams. It was a fantastic effort.

Our annual school Athletics Carnival is being held during Week 2 of Term 4. Like previous years our carnival is being run over two days: Wednesday 30 October at Kings Meadows High School and Thursday 31 October at the Northern Athletics Centre at St Leonards Our carnival is run as a tabloid event which involves our students moving around the various events and working with their year groups to participate. Please ensure that your child has adequate sun protection for both days as the entire event is outdoors. The program for the two days is below.

Parents, carers and extended family are most welcome to spectate at this event. We ask that if you are going to attend that you adhere to the following procedures:

If possible, please park and spectate from the carpark at the Hobart Rd entrance to the school.

Please sit/stand only in designated spectator areas.

Do not attend or enter the school if you are feeling unwell or if you have cold and flu-like symptoms.

Last year the winning house for the carnival was NEVIS. Can Nevis continue with this strong performance again in 2024, or will Esk, Tamar or Lomond take out the title?

On Thursday,12 September, the English Extended class went to Newstead College to participate in a Writer’s Workshop. Although the trip got off to a slightly rocky start when there was a small mixup with transportation, things quickly turned around upon arrival at Newstead. We were greeted by Judy, Newstead’s librarian, who introduced us to author Simmone Howell, via zoom call. Throughout the session we completed small writing tasks, some of us sharing in front of the group. Simmone also gave us some valuable insight and advice about her profession. She also shared many of her own personal experiences, giving us an even further glimpse of how an author’s experiences can be mirrored in their works. By the end of the workshop, Simmone had thoroughly inspired many of us.

The City of Launceston immunisation team visited our school earlier in the year and if your child missed these due to absence or other reasons your child should have the missed immunisation(s) as soon as possible.

The following options are available:

The City of Launceston immunisation clinic is open every Wednesday morning from 10.00am to 11.00am (excluding public holidays) at the Town Hall, St John Street. Our immunisation clinics are free. This session has an online booking system in place, please visit the site below or contact their office to book.

https://www.launceston.tas.gov.au/Community/Children-and-Families#section-2

Alternatively, you may wish to attend Ravenswood Child and Family Health Centre, 8 Prossers Forest Road, Ravenswood on the second Tuesday of each month from 9.30am - 10.00am (Closed for January) or the Muylatina Child and Family Learning Centre, 30b Hargrave Crescent, Mayfield, the second Tuesday of each month from 11am to 11:30am. (Closed for January).

You may prefer to go to your own private doctor to have this done or a participating pharmacy - please see attached for a list of pharmacies offering this service. If so, I would appreciate it if you would let one of our immunisation officers know, so that their records can be kept up to date.

The school Science department is selling a 3D Printer – Tiertime UP300.

It is in good condition and is 6 years old. Included with the printer is a spare part X Linear Bearing Sleeve which requires installation and some accessories including calibration and maintenance tools.

This printer is perfect for hobbyists or professionals looking to expand their capabilities.

We are selling because we have upgraded to a newer model.

The printer will be sold to the highest bidder “as is” and require collection from the site. Please submit your bid to: kings.meadows.high@decyp.tas.gov.au by 14 October 2024. Please contact Jemima (ph.: 63431 000) if you require any further information.

A big thank you to Swift Meats, Longford, for their support of our Science learning, Year 9 dissections!!

Thursday 26 September	RYDA - Symmons Plains - Year 10s
Friday 27 September	Last day of Term 3
Monday 30 Sept to Friday 11 October	Term 3 School Holidays
Wednesday 30 October	Day 1 Athletics Carnival @ KMHS
Thursday 31 October	Day 2 Athletics Carnival @ St Leonards
Friday 1 November	STUDENT FREE DAY
Monday 4 November	PUBLIC HOLIDAY
Tuesday 5 November to Friday 8 November	External School Review
Wednesday 6 November	Arts Night Bump In
Thursday 7 November	Arts Night Rehearsal and Performance
Thursday 14 November	Launceston College enrolments @ KMHS
Thursday 14 November	Careers on Wheels/S.W.A.T. day
Friday 15 November	Newstead College enrolments @ KMHS
Wednesday 20 November	Orientation Day - Year 6 students
Friday 22 November	Interhigh Athletics Carnival
Friday 6 December	Healthy Me Expo/Big Day Out
Friday 13 December	Year 10 Leavers Dinner at Country Club
Tuesday 17 December	Year 10 Mystery Picnic
Wednesday 18 December	Graduation/Presentation Assembly
Thursday 19 December	Last day for Year 7, 8 & 9 students

Leadership Staff

Principal	Cary Stocks
Assistant Principal 9/10	Kate Blaubaum
Acting Assistant Principal 7/8	Kate Hume
Acting Assistant Principal	Claire Lovitt
School Business Manager	Wendy Dalton

Support Staff

Psychologist	Anita Markham	Wednesday & Thursday (every second Monday)
Social Worker	Jasmine Poslon	Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday
School Nurse	Danni Seadon	Mondays & every second Wednesday
Chaplain	Hannah Page	Monday & Friday

School Holiday activities:

Search for some fun at the QVMAG: craft, Science, history, and more!

What's on - Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery (qvmag.tas.gov.au)