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- PRINCIPAL'S REPORT:
- ROCKS STARS:
- GRADE 7 REPORT:
- GRADE 8 REPORT:
- GRADE 9 REPORT:
- GRADE 10 REPORT:
- LITERACY LEGENDS:
- POLISH PROGRAM:
- PACKAGES OF LEARNING - HUDSON CIVIL PRODUCTS EXCURSION:
- GRADE 7 2021 COURSE SELECTION HANDBOOK:
- SCIENCE WEEK PHOTOS:
- BULLDOGS CUP:
- KMHS ROCKIN READERS:
- STAS ELIGIBILITY CHANGES:
- IMPORTANT DATES:
- COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD:
Dear Families
I hope that all the fathers and grandfathers enjoyed a special day with families on Sunday. Wishing you all a belated Happy Father’s Day. To be able to spend time with family is certainly precious and given the situation our neighbours in Victoria are going through it makes it even more special.
School has been incredibly busy over the past two weeks. During this time, I had a colleague who is undertaking the Shadowing Principal Program which involves working alongside a Principal to gauge more about what the role entails. I asked her for some feedback as well about our school and some of her reflections are shared below and were certainly lovely to receive.
- The high school context is very layered in comparison to primary schools eg AP, Grade AST, Grade Leaders.
- Your learning environment is calm and orderly allowing for teaching and learning to occur.
- Your staff work collaboratively and have a collective responsibility for all students.
- Your school is inclusive and equitable - providing support to students and staff based on need and context.
- The wellbeing of your staff and students is of paramount importance.
- Authentic PLC process.
- Intervention for struggling readers – Macqlit program impressive.
- Technology used effectively across school for accessing school documents, learning scope and sequence and communication.
Thank you to those parents who have also taken the time to complete the DoE Satisfaction Survey. Whilst we did not have to undertake this in 2020, we chose to continue to gather parent feedback and voice about our school.
The School Association is another fabulous way to be able to have a voice and gather a better understanding of what happens at Kings Meadows High Sschool and to be involved. The Association, in a secondary school setting, involves supporting the school in ratifying budgets, understanding the school annual improvement plan and approving the Annual Review Report. It is quite different from what many may have experienced on Primary School Associations and P&F Committees. The Committee meet once a month for approximately an hour. Last month's meeting was due to be the Annual General Meeting but unfortunately, we did not have enough members present for a quorum, so this has been deferred until this month's meeting later in September. The elected office holders’ positions do not require a huge amount of work and our meetings are always friendly, fun and focussed. If you think you would like to be involved, please contact either myself or the main office for more details.
We have had our second My Education Day for the term last week and again this was a very full day of activities across all grades. Notable, was the Beacon programs of Polish and My Road. Polish is a program that aims to look at how to present yourself in different situations, communicate effectively and be “polished” ready for interviews or meetings. Ebony Bridle form the Beacon Foundation assisted Mrs Belinda Selby (our school Beacon Coordinator) and the Beacon Student Ambassadors in preparing these programs for our students. The My Road program was the last of a series of these throughout the year which enables Grade 10 students to hook in live to mentors across Australia and learn more about career pathways and opportunities, skills and abilities needed for these roles of the mentors. Thank you to Mrs Sellby and Ebony and the Beacon Foundation and our wonderful BSA’s for all your work in coordinating these programs.
We also had transition events last week. Grade 10 students attended their college transition day at Newstead College on Thursday 3rd September and then to Launceston College this Monday 7th September. I know these days are incredibly valuable for students to continue to develop their understandings of colleges and what they offer. Once again, I remind our community of the ability for our students to remain at Kings Meadows High School to complete their 11/12 education either in a full-time capacity or as a dual enrolled student undertaking courses across 2 campuses. The Building and Construction Vet course specialising in bricklaying and tiling we are offering in 2021 is very exciting opportunity for all students in the north to access and a potential career pathway as is the continued offering of Agricultural Enterprise with a Viticulture focus. Both growth industry areas and both unique to our school campus. Please see the links below for more information or contact Miss Kate Blaubaum, Mr James Guy or the main office for more information.
Whilst the Grade 10 students were off campus undertaking their transition visits we also hosted 2 days of primary transition to high school. During these days we held our annual “Challenge Days” for Grade 5 & 6 students from our associated primary schools (Glen Dhu, Youngtown, Perth, Longford and Evandale) and some students from Norwood and Punchbowl. These days are a fabulous way for our incoming students to get a taste of the school and the programs on offer. They also provided an opportunity for us to condense an information session for students around Canvas (our main Learning Management System for curriculum delivery) as we did not have the opportunity to visit schools last term to undertake the normal induction session. The Canvas Transition Course provides valuable information for students and families and to understand how to navigate this course is very important.
Our Grade 7 Transition Leaders worked very hard during these days to support all the Grade 5 & 6 students who visited us. A huge thank you to the staff who assisted with the program and ran sessions and well done and thank you to Miss Williams (Grade Leader for 2021) and Mrs Wightman (Assistant Principal) for all their work in planning and coordinating these days at such short notice once the College Transition days were permitted allowing us to coordinate our Challenge Days. Transition periods are a very stressful time and the more familiar students are with the setting and programs the more at ease they will be into the future. Thank you also to all the families who joined our live Teams Event Information Evening on Monday 7th. This information can be re-viewed in the Transition Canvas Course for incoming students and families.
Attendance
A reminder to all families about the importance of regular attendance at school. In order to give your child the very best opportunity to receive positive outcomes they need to be attending regularly. Research supports this and the chart below is a reminder about how significant an impact on learning it can be if students are missing time from learning and school.
We have very tight processes around attendance and the DoE guidelines and policy indicate schools require a medical certificate for absences of more than 5 days a year (not concurrent).
Please advise the school via email, schoolzine communication links or phone if your child is away and the reason for the absence as we are required to process this through our system with explanations. Not all explanations are authorised (For example, being away to help with family, celebrating a birthday or attending a haircut). Mrs Debbie Rigby in our Administration Team regularly calls and communicates with families around absenteeism as part of her portfolio of work. Thank you to families for your co-operation with attendance and understanding the importance of this for your child.
Maree Pinnington
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:
Grade 7:
Emma Cross - For her wonderful, positive attitude to all aspects of school life and her friendly caring manner toward all her peers.
Alisha Van Rooyen - For her outstanding dedication to learning and willingness to support her peers.
Grade 8:
Fatemeh Rezaei & Zavier Langerak - For their diligence and efforts being class leaders.
Grade 9:
William Fearn - For looking out for others.
Zackary Scott - For fantastic commitment to catering for the Beacon Polish event.
Grade 10:
Kaitlyn Hodgetts - For consistently upholding the ROCKS and always being prepared to assist others with their leadership roles.
Orestis Marinakis - For a concerted effort in preparing for exams.
Celebrations
My Education:
On Monday 1st September, Grade 7s were involved in their third My Education Day. The theme for the day was around ‘combatting bullying, choosing kindness, awareness and acceptance.’ Students began the day with a visual text on ‘Wonder’ and completed activities as a group which raised their awareness of the uniqueness of people. Students are now in the process of planning a group awareness project which will continue into My Education day 4 in Term 4. We are very proud of how our students conducted themselves and contributed to such important messages. Well done Grade 7!
Class Leadership:
Congratulations to the following class leaders who are continuing in the leadership for the remainder of the year:
- Alyssa Dennis, Lily L’Huillier
- Casey Boyer, Amy Quillerat
- Nikki Wegman
- Addison Keegan, Liam Dyke
- Hallianna Madden, Mae Gilligan
- Harrison Boatwright,
- Stella Menzie, Jakob Anderson
Congratulations to our newly appointed leaders to the Class Leader group:
Poppy Marshall, Alyssa Dennis, Ryan Polutele, Matilda Bosworth-Firth, Cobi Griffith, Zeynab Nourouzi, Caitlin Lyons.
Grade Focus
Our focus continues to be around our ROCKS expectations with particular attention to Keeping Safe, Sensible Behaviour and Organisation. Students are reminded every Monday in our Grade assemblies about their commitment to the ROCKS. We are beginning to see improvements in student organisation and will continue to work with students around our hands-off policy. We would greatly appreciate parents having a conversation at home about the dangers of play fighting and rough play.
Grade Assembly
Notable items from assembly:
Can Drive:
Mr Murray and the Class Leaders are supporting the Benevolent Society and have brought the can drive to Grade 7 classrooms! Non-perishable food items may be brought from home to contribute to the charity. Taking it one step further, this will be an inter-class challenge where the Class Teacher group whose collective items weigh the most will win a prize! Good luck to all Class Teacher groups and congratulations to Mr Murray and Class Leaders for bringing such an important charity into Kings Meadows High School.
Girls football gala day:
On Thursday 24th September Mrs Hume and Mr Whitford will be taking a group of 7/8 girls to Windsor Park for the NHSSA girls football gala day. We have had a lot of interest from our Grade 7 girls and congratulate them on their involvement. A permission letter will be sent home this week.
Reminders:
Leaving school without permission:
Students have been reminded this week that once they are on school site, they are not permitted to leave without permission or being signed out by a parent and the front office.
Drawing on self:
Staff have recently noticed an increase in students drawing on their bodies with pen. This is not sensible behaviour and students have been reminded of this.
Celebrations
It has been another busy fortnight in Grade 8. Students have participated in Science Week activities along with their last My Education Day for the term. During Science Week, the focus was around ‘Deep Blue’ which looked to embrace the innovative technologies, capabilities and skills needed to achieve economic, environmental and social sustainability of our oceans. It features insights and inquiries into workable solutions that generate healthy oceans, healthy economies and healthy communities. With this is mind, Grade 8 students were to construct a water turbine that could wind up the most string. We saw many great designs across Grade 8 which would be worthy of a prototype.
Our My Education Day saw Grade 8 students continue to look at a range of activities to prepare them for the changing world of work. They explored transferable skills, career and peer pressure, how to obtain a tax file number, backwards planning and your community. Our day ended in a ‘Battle of the Classes’ challenge. We saw collaboration, solidarity and a whole lot of Class Teacher spirit! We are extremely proud of the way our Grade 8 students conducted themselves on the day with fun had by all.
Grade Focus
In the coming weeks, it will be very important for us to maintain our commitment to learning as the school holidays approach with only 3 weeks left of this term.
Celebrations
My Education Day last Tuesday was a brilliant day out for Grade 9. The concept of the day was job readiness and preparing for the workplace. Our day started with two guest speakers - Carol Wadley from Shop Distributive Allied Employees Association and Ella Sheehan from WISE Employment. Carol spoke to us about workplace rights and how to seek support if something is not right in the workplace. Ella gave us an insight into what an employer wants to see on a resume and how to go about applying for employment. Both ladies were fantastic and very informative. Our Grade would like to thank them for their time on Tuesday. As always we finished the My Education Day with an activity to build teamwork with their classmates. This was organised and run by our Grade 9 class leaders. The students enjoyed these activities and we would like to formally thank our class leaders for their work in organising these activities. Next Term our My Education Days will focus on a Careers on Wheels Expo run by the Beacon Foundation and also a Healthy Me Expo organised by the Peer Support Leaders.
In our Learning Areas the Grade 9s have been focussing a variety of concepts and modules. In English they are currently completing a novel study. In Maths the focus is on Linear and Non-Linear Algebra, Science are continuing with their Chemistry unit and HASS has a focus on Australian History. HPE is completing a unit on Australian Sports Culture following with Athletics in the practical component and in theory we are continuing with Respectful relationships.
Our Leadership journey for our Grade 9 students is well underway. This week students have been notified of their success into the next stage of the Leadership process. All successful applicants will now sit a formal interview next week. The next process of elimination will be a tough one. In the weeks following their interview, students will receive a letter stating their outcome of this interview process and whether they are successful in gaining selection onto the leadership ballot paper and for speeches. We wish all of our Grade 9s the best of luck in this process.
Grade Focus
Our focus for Grade 9 this term continues to be developing formal and informal leadership in all of our students. We will be continuing to apply good learning behaviours and academic rigour, ensuring that deadlines are being met and that we have caught up on anything we are behind in.
Celebrations
Congratulations to the Grade 10s for the way that they conducted themselves at the Newstead College orientation day. On this day students were able to really see what college life was all about and get a taste of the different subjects that are on offer for Years 11 and 12. It was wonderful to see students explore the campus, meet new staff, interact positively with students from other schools and really embrace the day.
Grade Focus
Transition:
As the grade approaches the end of Term 3, some attention is now being directed towards what come after Kings Meadows High School. With visits to both Launceston and Newstead Colleges, as well as information about extension schools and the ability to continue studying at Kings Meadows High School, students are starting to make important decisions about their future. We encourage families to discuss all of the options on offer and for students to ask questions about the possible pathways and/or subjects available to them.
Mock Interviews:
In the last My Education Day on 1st September, students began preparing for their Mock Interviews. This experience is designed to assist you with preparing for the many interview situations that you will find yourself facing over the coming years.
In order to prepare for our mock interviews students have been working on the following:
- Selecting a position that interests you most from the Mock Interview job advertisements
- Preparing an up-to-date resume
- Writing a cover letter
- Preparing for an interview
Student name: Lincoln Newman-Beams
Student class: 9A
What can you tell us about this piece of work?
This is a persuasive essay about the use of performance enhancing drugs and why it is wrong to use them.
What is your favourite thing about English?
My favourite thing about English is doing vocabulary work because I can learn more high modality words to use in my next piece of writing.
What are you working on at the moment in English?
In English, we are currently doing group novel study work. The book we are reading is Lord of the Flies by William Golding
What are you reading at the moment?
The book I am currently reading is called the ‘The Toll’ by Neal Shusterman – the third and final book in the, ‘Arc of a Scythe’ series.
What is your favourite book and why?
My favourite book is ‘Ready Player One’ by Ernest Cline because of it's large use of pop culture references and the description used to paint a picture of a virtual world.
What are some books that you would really like to read?
A book I wouldn’t mind reading is ‘Enders Game’ by Orson Scott Card. I have seen the movie and would like to see how it compares to the book.
Is it wrong for elite athletes to take performance enhancing drugs?
It is absolutely disgraceful how many professional athletes use performance enhancing drugs in sport. It brings an unfair advantage to other teams and countries, it’s extremely unhealthy for your body and can ruin your sporting career. Doping is unfair, unsafe and undeniably unnecessary.
Doping is ridiculously hard on the body and can even be life threatening. Drugs like HGH (Human Growth Hormone), more popularly used in cycling cause heart diseases, strokes and blood clotting in the brain and lungs. Who would want that running through their blood stream? Another commonly used PED is steroids. They are used to preserve muscle mass. Even though they can produce a 5-20% strength increase, steroids have deadly side effects. They can cause kidney failure, liver damage, high blood pressure, an extremely high cholesterol and increased blood clots. Just because you take these drugs doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed an increase in performance.
Bryan Fogel, an amateur cyclist, was inspired by Lance Armstrong’s Tour de France doping scandals and decided to follow his footsteps by filming a documentary call “lcarus”. This is about Bryan Fogel trying to cheat the anti-doping system to see if he improves at cycling with the performance enhancing drugs. In his first race (Haute route) he placed 14th. He then (with help from Russian scientist Grigory Rodchenkov) took HGH, testosterone, EPO, thyroid hormones and HCG (a weight loss hormone). After taking these drugs, Bryan expected a vast performance but instead came 27th. This means that drugs don’t always work and you’re putting your body at risk for no reason.
Another reason why Performance Enhancing Drugs ruin sport is that they completely wreck athlete’s careers. For example, in the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014, 43 Russian athletes tested positive to PEDs. This was found out 3 years after the scandal. As punishment, Russia was stripped of their 13 Olympic medals and were banned from the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Only a select few clean Russian athletes could compete, but under the Olympic Flag, not the Russian Flag. Lance Armstrong’s career was also destroyed after being caught cheating. After winning 7 Tour de France titles, he was found guilty of taking HgH, EPO and other PEDs. For this conspiracy, Lance was banned from all sports that follow the code and had to forfeit all awards and prizes won after August 1st 1998 which included his 7 Tour de France titles. Some people will do anything to win. People like Lance Armstrong and Russia go too far. Drugs may benefit for the athletes but it is horrible for the sport.
We all know that it’s completely wrong for elite athletes to take Performance Enhancing Drugs. A reason that supports this is it brings an unfair advantage to all sports where doping is involved. The whole reason of sport is to be entertained non-stop and you are not knowing who wins until right at the end. There is absolutely no point in watching sport if drugs are involved because the athletes doping make it better odds on them winning which makes all the games fixed. A way to fix this is for all the athletes to take Performance Enhancing Drugs. This would make it more eve and unpredictable for who would win. It would also make the sport much more exhilarating to watch for there is a higher skill level in the players due to the consumption of PEDs. But knowing the greediness of athletes who will do anything to win, they will take more PEDs so they still have a better performance increase than other elite athletes, which means we are back to where we started.
In conclusion, it is absurd how many athletes take performance-enhancing drugs. They are life ending supplements, they ruin your sporting career and make sports fixed and dull. If we continue to allow athletes to do as they please then the consequences will be catastrophic.
By Lincoln Newman-Beams
References
Armstrong is the dirtiest cheater in sport history, visited 20/7/20, last updated 2020,
Bibliography
Certified Fraud Examiners Last updated – 2020.
https://www.fraud-magazine.com/cover-article.aspx?id=4295002404
Icarus, 2018, Netflix documentary, Fogel, Bryan
On Tuesday 1st September, 25 students were selected to attend the 2020 Polish Program. This program was hosted by the Beacon Inspiring Futures Foundation. The day started with the four Grade 9 Beacon Ambassadors greeting Renée Frost and Ebony Bridle. These were the two guest speakers that volunteered their time to host the day's event. We began by discussing the key skills and requirements that workplaces look for in an employee and how first impressions make a massive difference when applying for a job. After our recess break, we came back to examine the reasoning behind elevator pitches, and why they are so important. We then composed our own pitch and practiced using them on our peers.
Afterwards, we had four mentors come in to talk to us about their jobs and what they did or have done to secure their positions. These mentors included Rob Patterson, Alec Heazlewood, David Kewley and Steve Frankcombe. After a brief explanation from these men, we were then invited next door to a formal lunch, hosted by the 9/10 catering team. We were seated on tables with the mentors and encouraged to ask any or all burning questions we had for them. The food was delicious and we cannot thank the catering team and Mr Pedersen enough for all their hard work.
After lunch, we were set into small groups and assigned one mentor. We then took in turns practicing what a real interview would look and feel like. This activity gave us great insight and feedback for us to learn from.
After a thank you from the students, we left all the adults with a parting gift before walking them out to the office again. Once again, we would just like to say thank you to Renée, Ebony and all the other mentors involved for giving up their time to help and prepare us for any future job opportunities we come across.
Chaise Jordan & Ella Fullbrook
PACKAGES OF LEARNING - HUDSON CIVIL PRODUCTS EXCURSION:
On Wednesday 19th August, the Packages of Learning students participated in a tour of the HCP manufacturing site. HCP is a major supplier and manufacturer of civil construction products in Tasmania. Examples of the products in their range are precast concrete pipes, water tanks, wastewater products, stormwater management items as well as commercial trade waste treatment and septic systems.
Students followed the production of a precast boxed culvert. Starting with the design phase, placement of reinforcing steel and to a completed item ready to transport. They also learnt about of the Tasmanian family owned business and their commitment to sourcing local products and labour, along with producing high quality products at competitive rates.
I would like to thank Jason Lanham (general manager) and Andrew Howe (structural engineer) for their informative and interesting tour.
Sean Stevenson and Glenn Wood
GRADE 7 2021 COURSE SELECTION HANDBOOK:
The course selection handbook is now available in the Canvas Transition Course for Year 7, 2021.
A unique access code and password has been created for each student. These have been emailed to each school transition coordinator and learning support teacher and will be given to your children from Tuesday 8th September, 2020.
Students will need time to log into Web Preferences online. The instructions are on the Students Web Preferences Access Guide. Students can print the receipt at school and take it home for parents to sign. Students return the receipt to their Grade 6 teacher. The Grade 6 teacher gives the receipt to the transition coordinator who scans and emails it to katie.wightman@education.tas.gov.au
The course selection forms are due: Friday 25th September, 2020.
Please click on the video link to watch a tutorial describing how to submit course selections.
Instructions for students who undertake the Course Selection process at home without access to a printer
- Students access Web Preferences online to make their course selections. The web address is on the attached students Web Preferences Access Guide.
- Students use their own device (laptop, iPad or smart phone) to complete their course selection. To print/email the student receipt:
- Open print view
- Download as PDF. The PDF will open in a new web browser.
- Select this icon in the right top corner of the window.
- Select mail (see icon below) and email the receipt to Katie Wightman - kings.meadows.high@education.tas.gov.au.
- Course handbooks are also located in the KMHS Newsletter and KMHS website.
- There is a course selection video in the KMHS Newsletter and Facebook page that describes the process for students and their families. Here is the video.
If you have any questions or feedback about the process please do contact Katie Wightman.
Please note:
- Students can alter their submission up to 5 times before they are locked out.
- The KMHS office will number the returns as they are received. Students returning their receipt early are more likely to receive their first preferences.
SENIOR 1sts FOOTBALL:
Score - Kings Meadows High School 12.10.82 defeated Queechy High School 3.5.23
Best Players - C. McKercher, J. Harris, D. Capodici, O. Camm, M. Bingham, A Jordan.
Goal Scorers - R. Lowe, A. Jordan (3), D. Madden (2), M. Bingham, J. Barker. H. Nuss, T. Zacharyga (1)
Name: Jacinta Carswell
In school role: Teacher Assistant
Out of school role: Mother extraordinaire
Currently reading: Re-reading “The Hunger Games” before launching into Suzanne Collins’ newest release. Plus, when life gets a bit crazy, I love the familiarity of returning to old favourites!
Reading likes: Historical fiction, fantasy, biographies.
Reading dislikes: Reading a book AFTER I’ve seen the movie version.
Where/when/how I read: Right before bed (in the winter time) or during long lazy days camping in summer.
Favourite book quote: “Angry people are not always wise” (Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austin)
The Tasmanian Government has announced the expansion of the Student Assistance Scheme (STAS), which waives the cost of Tasmanian Government levies for eligible students, for the 2021 school year onwards.
The eligibility for STAS will move to using the Health Care Card or equivalent as the assessment mechanism, replacing previous income thresholds that applied.
A set of Frequently Asked Questions has been developed to assist with any questions you may have.
Further questions about STAS or Levies and Charges in general can be sent to the Department of Education’s Financial Services Unit at stas@education.tas.gov.au or by calling 1800 827 055.
Tuesday 15 & Wednesday 16 September | Grade 9 Leadership interviews |
Thursday 17 September | Careers on Wheels Breakfast |
Monday 21 Sept-Wednesday 23 Sept | Grade 10 Exams |
Monday 21 September | Grade 7 & 10 Immunisations |
Tuesday 22 September | Science & Engineering Challenge Day (UTAS) |
Thursday 24 September | Girls Gala Footy Day |
Friday 25 September | Last day Term 3 |
Monday 12 October | First day Term 4 |
Monday 19 October | RYDA - Symmons Plains - Grade 10s |
Wednesday 28 October | KMHS Athletics Carnival - Day 1 at KMHS |
Thursday 29 October | KMHS Athletics Carnival - Day 2 at St Leonards |
Friday 30 October | STUDENT FREE DAY |
Thursday 5 November | Boys Cricket Gala Day at KMHS |
Thursday 12 November | My Education Day - Careers on Wheels |
Friday 20 November | NHSSA Division 1 Athletics |
Wednesday 25 November | Grade 6 Orientation Day |
Wednesday 2 December | My Education Day - Healthy Me Expo |
Thursday 10 December | Grade 10 Leavers Dinner - Country Club Casino |
Monday 14 December | Presentation Assembly (invited guests only) |
Tuesday 15 December | Grade 10 Mystery Picnic |
Wednesday 16 December | Grade 10 Graduation Assembly - last day for Grade 10s |
Thursday 17 December | Last day for Grade 7, 8 and 9 students |