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Dear Families
It certainly is hard to believe we are already into week 4 of the term. We have been thrilled with the way students have settled into routines and really focussed on the core learning activities. We strongly believe that our S.W.A.T. (Success, Wellbeing, Aspiration and Teamwork) program in week 1 has had a positive impact on the way our students have really settled back into learning for 2021. We will be doing some surveying of students and staff to gain more feedback about this program which will guide our work in this space into the future.
School Improvement Planning
Schools are all required to have a clear and concise Improvement Plan that guides our work with the obvious main goal of improving student outcomes in both learning and wellbeing. We have been busy consolidating our Improvement Plan for 2021-2022, as a staff team over the last few weeks. This work is guided very clearly by a vast array of data sets that we closely scan and assess to determine our areas of focus. Data includes both quantitative and qualitative data such as academic progress, satisfaction survey results from staff, students and parents, attendance data, behaviour data and wellbeing survey information. Our two main priority area continue to be:
“Quality Teachings and Learning “and “Respectful Schools, Positive School Culture”
Underneath these two areas sit the next level of priorities relating to these improvement areas. We have clear actions and processes that will guide our work in continuing to be the very best we can in providing outstanding teaching and learning opportunities for all our students and staff coupled with an equally important focus on everyone’s wellbeing.
I have the pleasure of sharing our Improvement Plan through our School Association meetings and I invite any family or school community members to come along to hear more about our improvement journey and our wonderful school at these meetings.
Next School Association Meeting – Wednesday March 24th - 7.00pm-8.00pm - @ KMHS
Vision Statement
I recently listened to a powerful podcast with Brene Brown interviewing Simon Sinek (both respected authors and inspirational speakers). He was speaking about the importance of having goals but more importantly having a vision. A vision guides our work and what we aspire to. At Kings Meadows High School we have a Vision Statement that we all commit to and guides our work coupled with our Improvement Plan to ensure we can be the best we can be as an outstanding education institution.
Welcome BBQ
Thank you to all the families who were able to join us last Tuesday evening for our Welcome BBQ. The weather was conducive to this special event and it was lovely to be able to chat to so many families about how well students have settled into high school life. Thank you to Mr Pedersen and the Peer Support Leaders for all their work in assisting with the BBQ and to the Grade 7 team for coordinating. It was lovely to be able to conduct tours of our school which enabled families who, due to COVID19 restrictions in 2020 were not able to do our usual tours. This also enabled us to adhere to current COVID19 regulations with mass numbers on site. Thank you also to Mr Parker and the music team for setting up some background music.
If you were unable to make it on the evening, please know that we are always very welcoming of families and extend an invitation to keep the communication channels open with all our families.
We certainly know that to educate children requires a collaboration and positive partnership with families and to meet so many of our new families was wonderful for staff. We also know that not everyone can attend these events but certainly stress that our communication channels are always open. Please call and make an appointment to speak with a teacher, email is also a great way to make contact and we have access through Schoolzine App. We are very active on our social media sites communicating information to families and at times I will send out important information to families via an email.
Cup Day PL
On Wednesday staff were required to be on site undertaking professional learning on the morning of Cup Day. Our staff will spend dedicated time looking closely at our School Improvement Plan for 2021-2022.
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:
Chelsea Whitchurch - For being a friendly, conscientious and organised worker who is positively contributing to the class.
Arthur Bishop - For always being prepared. Arthur is attentive, kind to other students, makes good use of class time, is polite and respectful at all times. An exemplary student in all respects.
Grade 8:
Abbigale Midson - For her helpful and supportive nature in times of need.
Amali Nicklason - For her positive start to the year.
Grade 9:
Evan Pearce - For his outstanding work ethic so far this year.
Lucas Towns - For his outstanding work ethic this year and showing kindness towards his fellow peers.
Grade 10:
Jasmine Jones & Tom Hawkins - For their Head Prefect selection.
Celebrations
We have now completed 3 weeks of high school. So far, students have presented exemplary learning behaviours across a range of subject areas. Students have been organised, on time and ready for learning. As students continue to master the use of technology to support their learning, it is important they bring their iPad to school each day completely charged.
The Welcome BBQ offered a wonderful informal setting to build connections with students, teachers and families. Thank you to all of the Grade 7 families who attended and met with your student’s new teachers. As always, please be sure to be in regular contact with your student’s class teacher with any concerns, celebrations or additional information that may assist us in the education of your student.
Grade Focus
Making the most of opportunities.
In our S.W.A.T. week, our guest presenter Will Smith, spoke about taking opportunities. He stated that a school will offer and expose people to the largest amount of opportunities in their lifetime. In the coming weeks, students will nominate and vote for Class Leaders. At Kings Meadows High School, Class Leaders represent their respective classes and attend meetings to implement initiates and foster positive grade culture. In Grade 7, Class Leaders will represent their class for half a year, allowing more opportunities for students to develop their personal leadership skills. We look forward to seeing students step into their first opportunity for a formal leadership role at Kings Meadows High School.
A reminder about the important contacts for Grade 8 in 2021.
Assistant Principal - Mrs Wightman katie.wightman@education.tas.gov.au
Grade 8 AST - Mrs Hume kate.hume@education.tas.gov.au
Grade Leaders - Mr Battle & Miss Males mathew.battle@education.tas.gov.au lillian.males@education.tas.gov.au
8A - Mr Chris Murray chris.murray1@education.tas.gov.au
8B - Mr Matthew Chatwin matthew.chatwin@education.tas.gov.au
8C - Mrs Kathleen Hodges kathleen.hodges@education.tas.gov.au
8D - Miss Grace Bannon grace.bannon@education.tas.gov.au
8E - Mrs Amy Jansen amy.jansen@education.tas.gov.au
8F - Mrs Jessica Crawford jessica.crawford@education.tas.gov.au
8G - Mrs Tracey MacFarlane tracey.macfarlane@education.tas.gov.au
Grade Support - Mr Pedersen thor.porsbro-pederse@education.tas.gov.au
Celebrations
We would like to highlight the way in which our Grade 8 students have seamlessly transitioned back into their blended learning during class time. It is fantastic to see students organised with their iPads and using them to their potential to organise themselves. Our blended learning approach effectively enhances our students learning at school using the internet, combined with CANVAS and explicit teaching. A reminder to parents/carers/guardians that the parent CANVAS app can be used to access all students progress online. Using he CANVAS parent app will assist in supporting Grade 8 students' progress, organisation, keeping up with events happening in our busy school schedule. If you need more information regarding the parent CANVAS app, please contact your students Class Teacher.
Grade Focus
As we move further towards the middle of Term 1, our grade focus continues to be on acceptance and the mature behaviours, attitudes and thought processes associated with accepting others. We are fortunate within our grade to have a group of students who are supportive and encouraging of each other. When life gets tough for students, we know that they can rely on our Grade 8s to ‘have their back’ and look out for one another. With our newly formed class teacher groups this year it is important students continue to support one another and accept others for their similarities and differences as part of the learning team.
Our second grade focus is again revisiting the message from Will Smith, our guest speaker, during the first week of school. Students should know by now who their ‘top 5’ are and be actively seeking out these people on a regular basis. This week during our grade assembly we watched a video which highlighted a concept called ‘Mirror Imagining’.’ Mirror Imagining is about how our students go about their day, their manner and the way they approach things. For example, if we go about our day in a positive, happy way, surrounding ourselves with good people and vibes, the universe will return this to us and you will have a positive experience. If students choose to mope, be sad, pessimistic and view school/life in a negative way, the universe will return that negativity to us.
Celebrations
The year has begun with so much to celebrate. The amazing focus on learning and personal achievement for students inside and outside of school, with the growth and maturity of students hitting new levels, has been outstanding. Throughout Grade 9, students will be presented with opportunities to further develop their leadership skills, as they prepare for the process of applying for leadership positions at the end of 2021. The Grade 9 teaching team have noticed so many examples of leadership, big and small, during the first few weeks of the term and we have been impressed with how willing students are to leave their comfort zones and embrace new opportunities. One of the opportunities students have had presented to them is the chance to become a 2021 Literacy Leader. Our Literacy Leaders – comprised of Grade 9 and Grade 10 students - play a crucial role in supporting our Grade 7 students with their reading development and overall literacy skills, and they liaise with our teaching team throughout the year. The link to apply for this position has been sent to all students.
We would like to congratulate our many students who have achieved successes in their sporting pursuits outside of school – this takes commitment, discipline and teamwork. Please remember that if you have an achievement you would like to celebrate, please let our school principal, Mrs Maree Pinnington know! We love celebrating achievement in all it's forms here at Kings Meadows High School.
A reminder to all parents and carers – if you have any questions, feedback or concerns around how your child is travelling, your first point of contact is your child’s class teacher. Contact details are listed below:
9A: Ms Sherron Casey – sherron.casey@education.tas.gov.au
9B: Mr George Edmondson – george.edmondson@education.tas.gov.au
9C: Miss Elly Hart – eloise.hart@education.tas.gov.au
9D: Mr Richard Goss – richard.goss@education.tas.gov.au
9E: Mr Ben Killalea – ben.killalea@education.tas.gov.au
9F: Mr Mitch Heger – mitchell.heger@education.tas.gov.au
Grade Leader: Mr Nick Stokes – nick.stokes@education.tas.gov.au
Grade AST: Mrs Emma Dobson – emma.l.dobson@education.tas.gov.au
Senior School Assistant Principal: Ms Kate Blaubaum – kate.blaubaum@education.tas.gov.au
Grade Focus
Grade 9 students have made an admirable start to their term, working hard across the board. We would like students to reflect upon our ‘Monday Message’ from Will Smith – ‘The Mole’. Will describes ‘the mole’ as that negative voice in our head that tells us we can’t do something, the voice that looks for all the reasons why we should avoid new opportunities, and the voice of doubt that sabotages our dreams. Will urged us to overcome ‘the mole’ and instead look for reasons why we should think positively, embrace opportunities, and reasons to dream big and set audacious goals.
Our Grade 10 team is as follows:
10A Class Teacher – Ms Karen Furley - karen.furley@education.tas.gov.au
10B Class Teacher – Mr Mick Bent - mick.bent@education.tas.gov.au
10C Class Teacher – Ms Mel Hudson - mel.hudson@education.tas.gov.au
10D Class Teacher – Mr Solomon Walker-Bowd - solomon.walker-bowd@education.tas.gov.au
10E Class Teacher – Mrs Liz Wilson - elizabeth.wilson@education.tas.gov.au
Additional teachers working with Grade 10:
Mrs Belinda Selby - belinda.selby@education.tas.gov.au
Mr James Guy - james.guy@education.tas.gov.au
Mr Glenn Wood - glenn.wood@education.tas.gov.au
Grade 10 Leader – Mrs Megan Pel - megan.pel@education.tas.gov.au
Grade 10 AST – Mrs Coleen Elliott - coleen.elliott@education.tas.gov.au
Grade 10 Assistant Principal – Ms Kate Blaubaum - kate.blaubaum@education.tas.gov.au
Celebrations
Well done to all Grade 10 students on their fantastic start to the year. It has been fabulous to walk around the Grade 10 classes and see all students engaged in their learning and making the most of all opportunities presented to them.
Congratulations to Jasmine Jones and Tom Hawkins who were selected as Head Prefects for 2021. All student leaders who took part in the interview process should be extremely proud of their efforts, we have no doubt that this year’s student leadership group will represent our school with pride and work extremely hard. The reminder of the prefect group will find out their positions within the coming week.
All our student leadership groups have hit the ground running in preparation for the year ahead. The house captain group have set up lunch time activities for the younger students in our school which will be great for building connections and relationships.
Grade Focus
Our focus for Grade 10 this term will be developing formal and informal leadership in all our students. We will be setting ourselves goals that challenge us and establishing good learning behaviours and academic rigour in all classes.
OFF & AWAY MOBILE PHONE POLICY:
A reminder to students and families that all students from primary school to Grade 12 will be required to have their phones switched off and put away from the time they arrive to school until the end of the school day. "While electronic devices have a place in learning, we also need to acknowledge the issues that can occur when their use is not regulated such as cyberbullying and serious distraction," said Minister for Education and Training Jeremy Rockliff. This is a reminder to ensure phones remain ‘off and away’ during the school day. Every student at KMHS has a locker and padlock where a mobile phone can be stored. If you need to contact your student or they need to reach you during the school day this must be done through the school office. Students needing to carry their mobile phones during the day may see their AST to discuss a mobile phone exemption. Applications for exemption will be laid before our Principal Mrs Pinnington for consideration on a case by case basis.
It was a perfect evening to welcome families to our school. While a little different in format and a conscious awareness to be COVID safe, families enjoyed the BBQ and guided tours of Kings Meadows High School. We shared information about the Canvas Parent App, following our social media platforms, Schoolzine for the newsletter and communicating with class teachers as the first point of contact for information about school, learning and wellbeing. There will be more information about the Canvas Parent App in this newsletter.
Last year students in Grade 9/10 Visual Arts participated in a community art project that was organised by the Launceston City Council. Our students partnered virtually with visual artists to learn painting techniques. The project brief was to examine the work of Margaret Stone d.2018. Stones' botanical works are marked by her taxonomical accuracy as well as her skilled composition and execution. She is recognised as one of the great artistic contributors to botanical knowledge of the 20th Century. Our students, full of inspiration, honed their skills to produce artworks for filling a design brief for the Launceston City Council. The artworks were then digitalised and transferred to electrical boxes across Launceston. Last week the Launceston City Council Electric Botany project was named as a finalist in the category of Best Street Art Trail in the Australian Street Art Awards. Launceston City Council invited Kings Meadows High School to participate in the media announcement.
On Safer Internet Day the world comes together with a shared vision of making online experiences better for everyone.
eSafety is the official Safer Internet Day committee in Australia and a leader in the global effort, so we celebrate the day as one of the most important events of the year. We are running Safer Internet Day webinars for school students, parents and carers. The eSafety Commissioner has released new resources that help Australians 'start the chat' about online safety.
The online world is a part of our modern lives, providing access to everyday services, social media networks, entertainment and education.
Responsible use of digital technology is everyone’s business – this includes parents, schools and communities. Most online safety (eSafety) issues occur when students are online outside of school, school activities and school IT systems.
It is important that students know how to use online technology safely, and are supported in behaving respectfully and responsibly to keep themselves and others safe.
For more information and support please follow the link to Online Safety in Tasmanian Government Schools.
Hi all,
For those of you who are new to the school let me introduce myself and give you an idea of what my role is here and what I’m involved in at Kings Meadows High.
My name is Paul Burton and I’m married with four daughters, 3 are teens and one ‘wanna’ be teen. I have a background of 30 years in the building industry and 20 years pastoral ministry experience, both voluntary and paid. I have been at Kings Meadows High School for 2 years in the role of Chaplain which I have found very rewarding.
If you are unfamiliar with what a school Chaplain does you can find a fact sheet on the education website by following the link attached. Take the time to check it out. In a nutshell, one thing you can be certain of is that a Chaplain's role is not to convert people to a religion but, rather to offer pastoral care, help and support within the school community, and a listening ear in times of stress or difficulty. Our role is to ensure that you are not going through difficult times alone and to celebrate any ‘life’ victories with you, offering emotional, minor psychological and spiritual care (regardless of spiritual persuasion). I provide this in conjunction with the support team at the school which includes the school psychologist, social worker and nurse.
https://www.education.tas.gov.au/parents-carers/parent-fact-sheets/school-chaplaincy/
My days at Kings Meadows are Tuesday and Thursday. I oversee the Breakfast Club on both these mornings, along with help of some wonderful volunteers. We see a number of regulars turning out for juice, fruit, toast and Milo to get them off to a good start. Breakfast Club is not just for students who may miss breakfast, but also for students who may enjoy a bit of comradery before school and the room is always warm in winter.
I also run a couple of different interest projects to support students, including utilising the school gardens.
The staff at Kings Meadows High are fantastic and really supportive, allowing me to join in on lessons and assist with students who might need a little bit of extra help. This has given me an opportunity to see just how hard the teachers and staff at the school work and offer encouragement and support where it’s needed.
If you have any further questions or would just like to touch base for a chat so you can get to know me, please contact me at the school during school hours on Tuesday or Thursday, I would love to meet you and I really enjoy a good coffee.
Paul Burton
Chaplain
Wednesday 24 February | Launceston Cup - Student Free Day |
Wednesday 3 March | Whole School Photos |
Monday 8 March | PUBLIC HOLIDAY |
Tuesday 9 March | Catch up Photo Day |
Friday 12 March | KMHS Swimming Carnival |
Monday 15 March | Grade 7 and 10 Immunisations |
Tuesday 16 March | My Education Day |
Wednesday 24 March | School Association Meeting |
Wednesday 31 March | NHSSA Swimming Carnival |
Wednesday 31 March | Last Day Term 1 |
Wednesday 21 April | First Day Term 2 |