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- PRINCIPAL'S REPORT:
- GRADE 7 REPORT:
- GRADE 8 REPORT:
- GRADE 9 REPORT:
- GRADE 10 REPORT:
- ROCKS STARS:
- GRADE 7 2022 - PARENT INFORMATION EVENING:
- STUDENT WELLBEING SURVEY:
- WRITE FOR KINGS:
- SENIOR METAL AND PACKAGES OF LEARNING:
- 7D MDT:
- SCIENCE WEEK:
- GRADE 10 MEASUREMENT:
- GRADE 8 COMPUTING:
- UPCOMING EVENTS:
- SCHOOL REWARDS - MEADOW MEWS:
- COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD:
My Education Day
On Monday 16th August we had our fifth My Education Day for the year. Our My Ed Days are a very important part of our school programs and they provide an opportunity for students to have access to learning opportunities around career education and life planning in general including focussing on wellbeing. Grade 10’s spent a big part of their day completing their transition plans which are an important part of their next phase of education as they think about Year 11/12 and Grade 9 students had guests from industries to assist with a Speed Careers session. All grades had a fabulous day engaging in their activities which are meticulously and collaboratively planned by our staff teams to ensure the day is engaging and relevant to their focus.
NUC(Northern Urban Collective) Taster Days and Year 11/12 Options
Kings Meadows High School is an extension school, offering subjects for Year 11 and 12 students. In 2022, our scope will continue to include, CPC20211 - Certificate II in Construction Pathways (with a focus on bricklaying and tiling) as well as Level 2 English, Mathematics, ICT and Agricultural Enterprise (with a focus on viticulture). High schools from across the Northern Urban region have a range of offerings for students including:
- Agriculture pathways at Lilydale and Exeter High Schools
- Hospitality and Japanese at Prospect High School
- Aged Care and Disability support at Queechy High school
- Pharmacy at Riverside High School
- Big Picture Learning at Big Picture School
- English as Another Language at Brooks High School
These offerings are an opportunity for students to really focus on purposeful pathways and students can be dual enrolled in any of these programs and their host school or college.
We have students across the region undertaking some open days at the various sites to learn more about these Designed Learning Programs and how they may be an option for them. We will host students here at Kings Meadows on Friday and we have groups of students attending the Open Day sessions at other school sites.
Grade 3/4 Taster Day
On Monday 16th August we hosted students and staff in Grade 3/4 from Longford Primary for their annual “Taster Day”. This is an opportunity for students to start to learn more about high school and is a very important part of our early transition programs run at Kings Meadows High School. Students had a fabulous day being supported by the Transition Leaders and staff undertaking activities in Science, Cooking and the Library. Thank you to all those involved in running sessions, our wonderful Transition Leaders and Mrs Wightman for co-ordinating the day.
'Write for Kings' Extension Transition Program
This is a new initiative for Kings Meadows High School this year to add to the transition activities we currently offer. Ms Furley has planned and co-ordinated this program on Canvas and invited all of our Connect 6 schools to nominate and send four students each to undertake a spaced program of extension creative writing. Students spent the day on Monday 16th working with our Senior Literacy Leaders on collaborative writing tasks. They were also able to enjoy some delicious treats made especially by our Catering department and Mr Pedersen. Thank you to Ms Furley and the Literacy Leaders for this wonderful initiative and I know all the students had a great time.
Ice Bucket Challenge
Many may have seen the fantastic photos published on our Facebook page last week of the Ice Bucket Challenge that the Student Leaders ran last Friday. Whilst I sadly missed the event due to an off-site meeting in Hobart, I know that a great (although cold) time was had by all raising a fabulous amount of money for this important cause. I believe that over $900.00 was raised by the students which was a fantastic effort. Well done to all involved and Mrs Elliott for co-ordinating.
Science Week
As the Science Team have been informing us through the daily news sheet last week, National Science Week is Australia’s annual celebration of science and technology and this year it ran from August 14th – 22nd.
The school theme for National Science Week 2021 is Food: Different by Design. It honours the United Nations International Year of Fruits and Vegetables and the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development. Science lessons during last week had the opportunity to experience activities based on this theme. Thank you to Mrs Casey and Ms Cooper and the Science Team for ensuring we had a focus on Science during this week – even including some connections through a Science themed music competition that was conducted.
Book Week Activities
This week is Book Week and our wonderful Library Technician, Mandy Ritchie has arranged a week of events to coincide with Book Week.
Monday 23rd – Trivia Quiz on books and authors (individuals or pairs).
Tuesday 24th – Short story and poem readings with a special guest.
Wednesday 25th – Can you guess the title of the book before the timer runs out?
Mandy will describe the plot of a well-known novel, guess the title and win a prize.
Thursday 26th - Share the love! Bring in some fan art, fan fiction or your own original work, so we can sit down with a biscuit and share our love of books!
School Satisfaction Survey
2021 School Satisfaction Surveys
Each year the Department of Education conducts School Satisfaction Surveys in Tasmanian Government schools, to gain feedback on what you think our schools do well and where you think we may improve.
We encourage you to complete the survey about Kings Meadows High School. Your feedback is very important to help us inform our school planning and decision-making.
You can complete the online survey at any time until Friday 17 September 2021.
Survey link: https://ncv.microsoft.com/Uybrx6oQyB
All responses are anonymous and confidential with the survey carried out on a secure website.
Feedback is only accessible to the school principal and teachers and relevant Department of Education staff, in online summary report formats with no individuals or families identifiable.
For any assistance please contact Education Performance and Review by emailing: schoolsurveys@education.tas.gov.au.
Thank you for taking the time to fill in this survey.
ABCDE Learning Site
Please see the link to the postcard that launches the next ABCDE (Asset Based Community Driven Effort) Learning Site – Kings Meadows Community. We are very excited about being involved in this project with the Launceston City Council over the next 10 months and look forward to the opportunities that it will provide for us to connect even more with our local community.
Speak Up Stay Chatty
Our Grade 10 students have had the opportunity to engage with the team from Speak Up Stay Chatty over the last few weeks. This organisation provides a great presentation and materials for our students to engage with around the topic of mental health and wellbeing and supporting one another. I know that the Grade 10 Team are very impressed with the focus of our students and thank you to the team for arranging these presentations to our students.
Warm regards
Maree
Celebrations
Last week we engaged in our first My Education Day for the term. This was a fantastic opportunity for students to explore the skills and dispositions that may be required for jobs, as well as exploring a range of jobs in strong growth areas. In our upcoming My Education Day, there be a focus on jobs for their futures and exploring access and opportunities to their first casual jobs. Grade 10 students, with casual and part time jobs will be coming to share their experiences in getting jobs, learning new skills and the challenges of managing their work-school-life balance.
Grade Focus
The Grade 7 focus for this term will be centred around acknowledging and recognising when other people are being positive members of our school community. Staff are on the lookout for students to receive a ‘Caught In the Act’ card as a part of our Positive Behaviour Support system. This will occur when staff are recognising students as going above and beyond to contribute to the greater good of our school community. All acts, great and small, contribute to the feelings of positivity of both students and staff, and this program aims to acknowledge some of the wonderful contributions each student makes. Each week, in our grade assembly, some of these cards will be randomly drawn and publicly acknowledged.
The following reminders have been discussed in this week’s grade assembly:
- Lockers must be locked at all times with your phone placed inside.
- Valuables should be locked in your locker at all times, or handed to the grade office for the day.
- Please wait until you are outside the Junior Common room before you start eating.
- Breakfast Club - food and drinks need to be consumed before entering the Junior Common Room.
- After you have accessed your locker head straight to class.
- Once you arrive on school grounds, you must remain there until the end of the day.
- Arriving to class on time and prepared to maximise learning time.
Important Contacts
The Grade 7 teaching team this year consists of Mrs Katie Wightman (Junior School AP), Mr Tom Hartley (Grade 7 AST), Miss Nicole Williams (Grade Leader), Mr Stuart Withington (Grade Leader) and Class Teachers:
7A - Mr Leigh Richardson
7B - Mr Taylor Neilson
7C - Mrs Storm Pooley
7D - Mrs Rebecca Glasby
7E - Mr Sam Maddern
7F - Mr Sean Stevenson
7G - Mr Nicholas Parker
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 Leader - Mr Battle mathew.battle@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
A big congratulations must go out to the Grade 8 cohort for their settled start to Term 3. It is great to see Grade 8 students following our ROCKS expectations which has ensured this positive start to the term.
In Grade Assemblies, we have been discussing how quickly the school year is going, and the fact that students will soon be entering senior school. Staff have discussed that in Grade 9 you will be role models for junior school and the positive decisions you make today, will hold you in good stead ready for senior school.
Well done to all the Grade 8 students that participated in the My Education day on Monday. It was a fantastic day where students gathered information on developing resumes and about local volunteer organisations in our local community. Students in 8 A, B and C completed an hour of First Aid training with St John Ambulance. This allowed them to develop their skills in basic First Aid response. On the next My Education Day in week 7, the rest of Grade 8 classes with complete this class.
Please note:
There will be permission letter given out next week in regard to the Grade 8 Social coming up on Thursday 9 September 2021. Can this letter be signed and returned to class teachers as soon as possible. This will assist us with numbers for staffing.
Grade Focus
The Grade 8 focus for this term will be centred around how to be a respectful member of the Kings Meadows High School Community. We have emphasised the importance of being proud of your school, looking after our fantastic facilities, wearing uniform with pride and being respectful to all members of our school community. An important point we are focussing on is being a respectful member of the Kings Meadows High School Community extends outside the school gates. We want each and every student to build upon our schools already positive reputation.
The following reminders have been discussed in this week’s Grade Assembly:
- Lockers must be locked at all times with your phone placed inside.
- Please wait until you are outside B Block before you start eating.
- Breakfast Club - food and drinks need to be consumed before entering B Block.
- After you have accessed your locker head straight to class.
- After school move directly to the location where their bus picks them up from. Students who are walking or catch a bus outside of the school gate need to leave site.
- There is be no drawing on your skin at school.
Celebrations
The Grade 9 cohort completed the first of our two My Education Days on Monday 16th August. During the morning blocks, classes learned all about resumes. They were given opportunities to read resumes created by others and identify their key features and strengths with a view to either begin a resume of their own or add to the resume that they currently have. During Blocks 3 and 4, the Beacon Student Ambassadors facilitated a ‘Speed Careering’ session, where guest speakers from a range of occupations gave a short presentation about their career journey. Students asked questions and sought advice from the speakers and no doubt, received some valuable information about the careers and businesses that were spoken about. Thank you to our presenters and the Beacon Student Ambassadors for setting up the day.
Grade Focus
Over the past two weeks the grade has had a focus on high expectations. With that in mind, the Grade 9 teachers devised a positive reward system that will run from now until the end of the term. Each week will have a focus and the past week's focus was on uniform. All classes have taken on the challenge of being the best class teacher group with regards to wearing their full school uniform and ensuring that it is worn appropriately. It has been great to see all groups actively encouraging each other to present in uniform to class teacher and each of their subject lessons.
Celebrations
Week 6 already!! The days and weeks are flying by! Week 5 started with another of our successful My Education Days. For Grade 10’s this day centred around completing and finalising their Transition Plans. These plans are an important document which must be completed by all Year 10 students. Students who missed these sessions will need to catch up over the coming weeks to ensure their plan is completed and submitted on time.
Last week some of our students were given the opportunity to be involved in the Speak up, Stay ChatTY Program. This program is centred around mental health and supporting our students in this space. The topics of conversation in the sessions involved information on looking after your own and others mental health, just as you do your physical health. These sessions can be sensitive in nature, so we are ensuring our students are well supported by having our school social worker, psychologist, and nurse in attendance. Our sessions last week were conducted by Issy and Rach from Speak up Stay ChatTY. Their sessions were vibrant, informative, and very useful for our students. Feedback from students who attended these sessions was a resounding positive and each participant came away with a goodie bag full of important information and gifts. We would like to thank Issy and Rach for their session last week and we are really looking forward to the sessions next week with the rest of our students. Any further information parents or students may need about this program can be sought by contacting Mrs Elliott or Mrs Pel.
This term we will be holding some extra college transition sessions for students who either missed our college transitions days or would like some more information. These sessions will be informal sessions and will be open to anyone who seeks interest. If parents wish to gain more information about what each college offers, both colleges’ have websites with videos, course selection guides and information about their campuses. The Newstead College website link is https://newsteadcollege.education.tas.edu.au/ and Launceston College’s link is https://launcestoncollege.education.tas.edu.au/
Academically, Term 3 continues to be a very busy one for Grade 10’s. Students will have the opportunity to make progress in their subjects from their reporting feedback and consolidate their learning opportunities within their subjects. In English students are continuing with their novel study on “This Is How We Change The Ending” by Vicki Wakefield. In Science our students will be are completing a module on Chemistry. HaSS students are continuing with their study on the World War 2. In HPE practical lessons students are completing a Dance Unit, with guest dance presenters scheduled to join our classes in the coming weeks. In Health lessons we are undertaking work based around sexual health and relationships. Mathematics classes have out students working on nonlinear relationships and trigonometry.
In addition to our regular classes Grade 10 students will also be completing Grade 10 Exams in Term 3. These will be conducted during week 8 of term starting on Monday the 6th September. The timetable below outlines times and days of each exam. Exams are conducted for each of our core subjects; English, HaSS, Mathematics, Science and HPE.
WEEK | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY |
1 |
Science Exam - 10A, 10B, 10C English Exam - 10D, 10E |
English Exam - 10A, 10B, 10C Maths Exam - 10D, 10E |
HaSS Exam - 10D, 10E HPE Exam - 10A, 10B, 10C |
||
2 |
Science Exam - 10A, 10B, 10C English Exam - 10D, 10E |
English Exam - 10A, 10B, 10C Maths Exam - 10D, 10E |
HaSS Exam - 10D, 10E HPE Exam - 10A, 10B, 10C |
||
3 |
HPE Exam - 10D, 10E HaSS Exam - 10A, 10B, 10C |
Maths Exam - 10A, 10B,10C Science Exam - 10D, 10E |
|
|
|
4 |
HPE Exam - 10D, 10E HaSS Exam - 10A, 10B, 10C |
Maths Exam - 10A, 10B, 10C Science Exam - 10D, 10E |
|
|
Our student leaders held an MND fundraiser on 20th August. This involved an Ice bucket challenge. Congratulations to all students who braved the cold and raised money for a very worthy cause. Photos from this event can be viewed on the school Facebook page.
As we are heading towards the end of this year, we have many and varied events coming up. If parents or students have any queries regarding anything please do not hesitate to contact your child’s Home Group Teacher, Mrs Pel (Grade 10 Leader) or Mrs Elliott (Grade 10 AST) via email or phone the school on 6343 1000.
Email contacts for our Grade 10 Team:
10A – Ms Karen Furley karen.furley@education.tas.gov.au
10B – Mr Mick Bent mick.bent@education.tas.gov.au
10C – Mr Andrew McLean andrew.mclean@education.tas.gov.au
10D – Mr Solomon Walker-Bowd solomon.walker-bowd@education.tas.gov.au
10E – Mrs Katie Mathews – katie.mathews@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 Focus
Our Grade focus this term will be preparing for the transition from Grade 10 to further education.
We will be setting ourselves goals that challenge us and establishing good learning behaviours and academic rigour in all classes. We will also be placing focus on preparing our students for Exams.
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:
Ash Clarke - For upholding the ROCKS.
Thomas Portelli - For upholding the ROCKS and encouraging others to do the same.
Grade 8:
Lucy Oetterli & Cobi Griffith - For their commitment to learning.
Grade 9:
Alexia Symons - For improved work in dance including her engagement in the College Production excursion.
Courtney Winzar - For her committed approach to all learning opportunities.
Grade 10:
Erica Kirk and Bree Lavelle - For leadership and support at our Write to Kings program.
GRADE 7 2022 - PARENT INFORMATION EVENING:
We warmly invite you to join us at Kings Meadows High School parent information evening on Monday 6th September at 5:30pm - BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL - Register @ https://bit.ly/Grade7Information2022No3
The parent information evening will provide you with the opportunity to:
- Tour 'C' block; receive information about Canvas and how we use iPads for learning; class groupings.
- Course selection and the opportunity to speak with current students and staff.
For more information contact Katie Wightman at Kings Meadows High School - Phone 6343 1000.
Please arrive 5 minutes early to use the Check-In TAS app and to sign into the event.
Attention: Parents and Carers
Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey
The wellbeing of our students is important to us. To get an understanding of how students across Tasmania feel about their own wellbeing, all students will be taking part in a wellbeing survey.
The Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey is part of the Department of Education’s Child and Student Wellbeing Strategy.
The details for the survey are:
When: Week of August 30th – September 3rd
Who: All grades
What do I need to do:
You and your child don’t need to do anything. The survey will be done in class time and will not require your child to prepare in any way.
A letter with more information will be sent home with all students, including Frequently Asked Questions and a form to sign and return to the school if you do not want your child to participate in the survey.
If you would like further information, please contact the school on 63 43 1000. Thank you for supporting us to ensure that all our learners are safe, feel supported and are able to flourish, so they can engage in learning.
Supported by our Literacy Leaders from Grades 9 and 10, the selected students worked in groups to choose a creative writing topic from the three provided and then worked together to plan and publish an original and imaginative response to the topic.
Using our blended learning platforms of Canvas and Microsoft Teams, students were able to actively engage in the writing process while watching the work evolve and take shape. Together they shared and suggested creative ideas, gave each other immediate feedback, discussed their progress and took turns at typing the response.
The students’ creativity was sustained by some wonderful food provided at the halfway point by Mr Pedersen and his amazing catering team so a big thank you goes out to them!
Congratulations to all the students involved in the program! It was such a pleasure to watch you all working, talking, leading and collaborating together on your learning. The program continues on Tuesday 31st August with some new topics and we can’t wait to have you back!
Ms Karen Furley
Program Coordinator
SENIOR METAL AND PACKAGES OF LEARNING:
Students from Senior Metal and Packages of Learning had the opportunity engage in a Welding Simulator session at Kings Meadows. The technologically advanced machines are used to train and certify aspiring tradesmen in a variety of welding techniques giving great insight into real world authentic experience. Our students were amazing and a handful outscoring the co-ordinator for the day and we thank Kim from Tas. Minerals for facilitating the event.
Students from 7D, Materials Design and Technology, were outstanding in producing their chopping board projects. Students refined their skills in design, shaping and tested their hands in laser engraving and pyro-pen burning. A few extra boards were made for the upcoming Father’s day celebrations and we also thank TimberLink Tasmania for their support in Tasmanian pine timber.
The Grade 10s started their Measurement Unit recently and spent some time today working collaboratively to construct a Compound of Five Octahedra and a Seventh Stellation of the Icosahedron.
This activity helps to develop skills of visual imagery, including the ability to perceive and hold an appropriate mental image of an object or arrangement, and to predict the orientation or shape of an object during the construction process.
Students will continue to explore the features of Polyhedra including vertices, surface area and volume.
Fantastic to see our students working so well together to achieve a common task!
Students in Grade 8 Computing started the term by looking at Big Data and how this topic is managed using Digital Technologies. As a class, they investigated the favourite Fast Food here at KMHS. Students were required to collaborate with their peers and use their newly developed skills on Microsoft Excel to complete the following steps:
- Organise the correct amount of voting slips for each class teacher group in the school.
- Input all of the collected data for their designated class into a spreadsheet.
- Clean up the data to ensure it was all spelt correctly and the data was correct.
- Collate the data into a master spreadsheet.
- Analyse the data using Pivot Tables.
- Summarise and display the data using an Infographic.
Please check out a couple of the exemplary Infographics that were created to find out the results.
Tuesday 31 August | My Education Day 2 |
Thursday 2 September | Careers on Wheels Breakfast Launch 7.00-8.30am |
Monday 6 September | Parent Information Evening No 3 (Grade 7 2022) |
Thursday 9 September | Grade 8 Social - 5.00-7.00pm (Grade 8 students only) |
Friday 10 September | Sports Colours Day - BBQ at lunchtime |
Friday 24 September | Last day of Term 3 |
Monday 11 October | First day of Term 4 |
Tuesday 26 October | Grade 7 & 10 Immunisations |
Friday 22 October | RYDA - Symons Plains - Grade 10 students |
Friday 29 October | Student Free Day |
Wednesday 22 September | Bulldog Cup |
Thursday 11 November | Careers on Wheels |
Thursday 18 November | Arts Night |
Wednesday 24 November | School Association Meeting |
Thursday 25 November | Grade 7 2022 Orientation Day |
Thursday 25 November | Parent Information Evening No 4 |
Wednesday 1 December | Healthy Me Expo |
Friday 10 December | Grade 10 Graduation Dinner |
Wednesday 15 December | Last Day for Grade 10 students |
Thursday 16 December | Last Day for Grade 7, 8 and 9 students |
Youngtown Primary School has their first major raffle for 2021. Would you like to win a brand new Thermomix TM6 valued at $2,359?
Prize includes a TM6, a $25 gift card and a BONUS 2.6L round Thermoserver & Anniversary Cookbook! Total prize valued at over $2,500!
Only $20 a ticket and only 250 tickets available. Funds raised will go directly to the Youngtown Primary School Association. Tickets available via the link:
https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing?eid=792143
Drawn 31st August 2021
Good luck!
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