Dear Parents/Carers

Although we are still in winter it has been nice to experience a hint of spring in the air and a few days where the sun is out and it is slightly warmer. It is always interesting to see how the weather impacts people’s disposition and behaviour. Before we know it, we will be in Term 4.

Parents and carers should have now received NAPLAN (National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy) reports for students in Years 7 and 9.  While these reports should be kept in perspective and should not be seen as ‘the be all and end all’, they do provide a useful snapshot into a child’s achievement in the important areas of literacy and numeracy.  I hope families have received these and had a chance to examine and discuss them. We certainly consider NAPLAN as part of the suite of data sets that inform our work.

There are always many things happening with teaching and learning in our school. I am often amazed in what I see and hear around the school whether that be in regular classrooms, excursions or other activities that may be occurring. There are so many opportunities for our students to extend and enrich their learning. On Friday 4 August, Mr Vince Walker took a group of music students to a workshop at Newstead College, last Thursday many of our dance and drama students attended the Launceston College production ‘Be More Chill’ and we hosted the Young Tassie Scientists Program which brings scientists into our science classrooms. On Tuesday 8 August, we were also involved in the ICAS (International Competitions and Assessments for Schools) writing and digital technologies academic competitions. In addition to this, we have a group of students involved in online extension programs which include Creative Writing, Big History, My Maths, Tech Time and Philosophy. We also have some of our senior students involved in umpiring and refereeing junior sport. Thank you to all the teachers who facilitate these activities and experiences for our students. There are many more which I have not mentioned. I am sure you will agree that there are many opportunities for motivated students to build upon their regular classroom learning at our school.

As you may know, with any major building works a proportion of the project funds is set aside for artwork. Now that our Year 11/12 building is operational, the artwork associated with the building has been installed. This piece is titled ‘Pneuma’ and was created by Amanda Kay and Jerome Dobinson. The artwork is inspired by nature and has been created as a site-specific work for the entrance to the new building for Years 11 and 12.  Forms found in the world around us are expressed through laser cut steel showing movement, growth and organic shapes. The original inspiration was taken from forms found on land such as moss and lichen. The work has been extended to incorporate inspiration from the sea, with waves and water moving upon the surface. This piece is a welcome addition to our school.

As you will likely be aware, Year 10 is not the end of the learning journey for students.  As we are now in the second half of the year it is timely to remind our community that students progressing to Year 11/12 have the opportunity to study some or all of their subjects at Kings Meadows High School in 2024. We will again be offering both our Vocational Education and Training (VET) course Certificate II in Construction Pathways and a range of Tasmanian Assessment, Standards and Certification (TASC) courses for students wishing to complete Years 11 and 12 at Kings Meadows High School. Students can also do a shared enrolment between Kings Meadows High School and Newstead College or Launceston College and we have had students successfully do this over the past 4 years. Please call the school or directly contact James Guy, Glenn Wood or Kate Blaubaum for further information.

This year we have had two students involved in the Junior Science Olympiad Training Squad for 2022-2023. This year the Training Squad comprised 54 students from many regional and remote areas in Australia, as well as low-income metro areas.  Recently the results for the Junior Science Olympiad exam have been released. Two of our students, Shade St Claire and Levi Swift received a high distinction (i.e., top 10%) and a distinction respectively.  These are outstanding results. Congratulations to Shade and Levi for all the effort they have put in. They are certainly on an impressive trajectory in the field of science.

Last Sunday saw the return of about 40 Year 10 students from a three-day trip to Melbourne. Although tired, I have no doubt that students enjoyed the trip whether that might have been shopping, going to the football, attending the Melbourne Zoo or any of the other activities on offer. It has been great that we have been able to restart this trip after the restrictions of the last few years. These excursions take a huge amount of organising and can only occur with the support of staff. I would like to thank teachers Matthew Chatwin, Kate Hume, Megan Pel and James Guy for giving up their weekend and time with their own families, to ensure this trip could occur. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the outstanding work of Mr Chatwin and the support of our School Business Manager, Wendy Dalton for the enormous amount of work that has gone into facilitating this great experience for our students and one I am sure they will remember.

At the time of writing, our average attendance rate is 81%. While we certainly have made some improvements with attendance this year the attendance of some of our students could definitely improve and this is an important partnership that we have with parents and carers.   Attendance also applies to arriving late or leaving early. It is important that we all place a high value on attending school regularly. The recommended minimum for students to attend is 90% or 9 days out of every 10. However, if your child is legitimately absent from school then please contact us via the school office to ensure that the absence is explained and authorised. Every school day matters!

As we are in the colder months of the year, it is important that all students are still wearing full school uniform every day. This year some adjustments were made to uniform as a result of feedback from our school community.  This was done to make our uniform options more inclusive and comfortable. These changes are not an opportunity to choose to wear non-uniform items particularly underneath or in place of our uniform.  Uniform has many benefits including equity, building a sense of pride and belonging, safety and preparing students for the future world of work. Whether we like it or not, uniform also effects perceptions of our students and our school in general and this affects all of us. Thank you in anticipation of the support of parents and carers in this regard. If you require support in accessing uniform, please contact us and we will assist where we can. We are a ‘uniform school’ and wearing of uniform is expected every day.

We welcome Rachel Hyland as our Library Technician for the remainder of the year. We are very lucky to have someone of Rachel’s experience in libraries joining our team and I am sure our community will make her feel welcome and supported.

I would also like to make families aware of the eSmart Media Literacy Lab. This has been made available through a partnership between the Australian Government and the Alannah and Madeline Foundation.  This site is designed to help secondary students in essential media literacy education through an innovative, gamified resource that reflects youth experiences. It may be worth a look. AMF Media Literacy Lab.

I look forward to the second half of this term and encourage all our students to play their part in our school and engage with the many opportunities they are presented with.

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:

Alice Patten & Daegan Withington: For always being polite and respectful members of the Year 7 cohort and striving to be their best.

Year 8:

Amelia Armstrong: For excelling across the board academically and through her demonstration of the R.O.C.K.S.

Amber Vanderheide: For having a really consistent and positive approach to the beginning of this term.

Year 9:

Riley Richmond: For his dedication and application to completing tasks in both English and History.

Henry Tennant: For supporting a younger student in need in the school grounds.

Year 10:

Eliza Fawkner: For her dedication and commitment to umpiring junior netball on Thursdays.

Lily Johnson:  For her dedicated work ethic across all subject areas especially in Child Studies.

Year 7 contact details:

7A Class Teacher – Mr Nick Stokes - nick.stokes@decyp.tas.gov.au

7B Class Teacher – Mrs Jo Bent - joanna.bent@decyp.tas.gov.au

7C Class Teacher – Mr Leigh Richardson - leigh.richardson@decyp.tas.gov.au

7D Class Teacher – Mrs Emma Dobson - emma.l.dobson@decyp.tas.gov.au

7E Class Teacher – Ms Sherron Casey - sherron.casey@decyp.tas.gov.au

7F Class Teacher – Mr Vince Walker - vince.walker@decyp.tas.gov.au

Additional teachers working with Year 7:

Quality Teaching and Learning Coach - Miss Emily Lovegrove - emily.lovegrove@decyp.tas.gov.au

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

Grade 7 Leader – Mr Daniel Richardson - daniel.richardson@decyp.tas.gov.au

Grade 7 Leader – Miss Emma Attard - emma.attard@decyp.tas.gov.au

Grade 7 AST – Mr Nathan Karas - nathan.karas@decyp.tas.gov.au

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

We invite parents to contact us either by email or by phoning the school 6343 1000.

Celebrations

Term 3 has started off brilliantly for our Year 8 cohort, with students picking up from where they left off at the end of Term 2. Course changes have closed for enrichment subjects for Term 3, as now many of the students have taken part in three weeks of classes.

Many of our Year 8 students took part in the LC Production excursion which was a great success, with all of our students taking something out of it.

As always, channels of communication remain open between staff and home and we encourage any contact via phone or email to ensure the best outcomes for students. 

This term will certainly be busy as we continue our winter sport roster and move towards finals for our junior football, netball and soccer players. 

Grade Focus

Our focus for the first part of the term will be Respect. The majority of our Year 8’s are very good at being respectful to their teachers and their peers and are continually doing the right thing. In our grade assemblies this week, we will be reminding our students about being respectful in our day-to-day life and ensuring that we are displaying Respect both in and out of the classroom.

Similar to Term 2, 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 which demonstrate Respect, 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 with prizes on offer for the selected students. 

Respectful relationships underpin our positive and diverse school culture. We invite contact between home and school.  Most of you would have received an email and/or phone call from your child’s class teacher throughout the first half of the year.  The relationships we develop with you are very important to support your child in their learning journey. Please find below the contact details of our wonderful team of Year 8 teachers.

Please find below the contact details of our wonderful team of Year 8 teachers.

Year 8 contact details:

8A Class Teacher – Mrs Jessica Crawford - jessica.crawford@decyp.tas.gov.au 

8B Class Teacher – Mr Isaac Pinnington - isaac.pinnington@decyp.tas.gov.au

8C Class Teacher – Mr Christian Cook  christian.cook@decyp.tas.gov.au

8D Class Teacher – Mrs Joh Breen - joh.breen@education.tas.gov.au

8E Class Teacher – Miss Mikhala Graham - mikhala.graham@decyp.tas.gov.au

8F Class Teacher – Mr Mick Bent    mick.bent@decyp.tas.gov.au

Additional teachers working with Year 8:

AST – Mr Jake Chamberlain - jake.chamberlain@decyp.tas.gov.au

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

Grade 8 Leader – Mr Sean Stevenson - sean.stevenson@decyp.tas.gov.au

Grade 8 Leader – Mr Sam Maddern - sam.maddern@decyp.tas.gov.au

Grade 8 AST – Mrs Coleen Elliott   coleen.elliott@decyp.tas.gov.au

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

What a wonderful fortnight it has been for Year 9. Our focus has been settling into learning for Term - congratulations must go to 9E and 9G who have shown great commitment and were voted by our teachers as the classes that best upheld this focus. This week’s focus will be around keeping learning areas and grade corridors tidy and taking pride in our school.

The Caught in the Act (CIA) is a Year 9 initiative that aims to reward or catch students who are constantly upholding the school R.O.C.K.S. values. CIA’s as well as our R.O.C.K.S. stars are two ways in which we are celebrating the successes and accomplishments of our Year 9 students.  Bree Dwyer, Sienna Ripp and Taliesin Sharman have all recently been Caught in the Act of doing great things this fortnight. Congratulations and keep up the good work.

The application process for leadership positions has started and staff have been offering sessions to assist in the writing of these. It was wonderful to see the amazing calibre of students that turned up to the first information session. We are certainly looking forward to continuing our work with these students in the leadership space in the coming months.

Whilst talking about the great achievements of our students we would like to recognise Shade St Claire and Levi Swift for their outstanding performance in the National Junior Science Olympiad. A truly outstanding result in this competition.

A select group of Year 9 girls have been involved in the PCYC Ascent Program. They have enjoyed activities including rock climbing at PCYC as well as visiting the AMC to undertake survival skills in the pool. What a fantastic opportunity for these students. We can’t wait to hear about their next adventures over the coming weeks.

Wishing you all a successful and rewarding term ahead!  The Year 9 Team.

Year 9 contact details:

9A Class Teacher - Mr Scott Brewer - scott.brewer@decyp.tas.gov.au

9B Class Teacher - Mrs Rebecca Glasby - rebecca.glasby@decyp.tas.gov.au

9C Class Teacher - Mr Chris Murray - chris.murray@decyp.tas.gov.au

9D Class Teacher - Mr Dylan Warren - dylan.warren@decyp.tas.gov.au

9E Class Teacher - Miss Eloise Hart - eloise.hart@decyp.tas.gov.au

9F Class Teacher - Miss Steph Sheedy - steph.sheedy@decyp.tas.gov.au

9G Class Teacher - Mrs Anu Grewal - anu.grewal@decyp.tas.gov.au

Additonal teachers working with Year 9:

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

Grade 9 Leader - Mr Stuart Withington - stuart.withington@decyp.tas.gov.au

Grade 9 Leader/AST - Miss Nicole Williams - nicole.williams1@decyp.tas.gov.au

Grade 9 AST -  Mr Robert Johns – robert.p.johns@decyp.tas.gov.au

Grade 9 Assistant Principal - Ms Kate Blaubaum - kate.blaubaum@decyp.tas.gov.au

What are we learning this term?
To start Term 3, Year 10 students will be learning the following in their core subjects. As always, parents are more than welcome to contact teachers to discuss their child’s learning.

Mathematics – Algebra and Linear relationships
Health – Gender, Respect and Power
Science – Chemistry and exam preparation
HASS – Significant events of the Cold War
English – Romeo and Juliet

Student Achievements
Congratulations to Ryan Schieler (10A) who has been selected in two Tasmanian Swimming teams that will travel overseas and interstate this month. Ryan was selected in the Tasmanian High-Performance Squad that is competing in New Zealand in their National Short Course championships. He is also part of the Tasmanian squad to participate in the school sports Australia games in Sydney later this month. A fantastic achievement and the best of luck Ryan.

Launceston College
Please see below information sent through from Launceston College. This would be a beneficial information evening for both parents and students around transition and subject selection. Please scan the QR code to register.

Newstead College:

A reminder to Year 10 students if you are interested in work experience or school-based apprenticeships this year, please get in contact with Mr Guy for further information.

Exams
Year 10 students will have exams this term in Week 8. This is a great opportunity to experience exams and the setting they are conducted in. As part of the students end of year agreements, exams are compulsory and students are to give their best effort. Students who are absent will need to catch up on exams when they can. Please encourage your child/children to try their best in exams, just as Year 10 staff will be.

Student Agreements
Students have now been handed out their end of year agreements. This document will keep our students accountable for the rest of the year with learning and R.O.C.K.S. expectations. This is an important document and needs to be signed and returned by both student and parent/guardian as soon as possible to class teachers. These forms are due back by the end of this week - 18 August 2023.

End of Year Activities Permission Forms
Along with the Year 10 agreement, students will need to return their end of year activities permission forms to their class teachers. The Year 10 staffroom has plenty of copies, if another is needed.

National Science Week

This week is National Science Week. In what is always a fun week, Year 10 students will be participating in a variety of challenges that will allow them to be innovative and work collaboratively in small groups. Photos and a detailed wrap up will be in the next issue of newsletter.

2023 Taster Trial Open Week
Coming up in Week 9 is the opportunity for interested Year 10 students to participate in the Taster Trial Open Week. This is a selection of northern high schools showcasing what they have on offer in 2024 for Year 11 and 12 students. There are multiple TASC and VET courses available in various locations. Students are to see Year 10 staff if they are interested in any of the days. Below is a short summary of courses offered at certain high schools.

End of Year Events
Friday 15 December - Year 10 Graduation Dinner at the Grand Chancellor

Monday 18 December - Presentation Assembly
Tuesday 19 December - Year 10 Mystery Picnic
Wednesday 20 December - Year 10 Graduation Assembly

Grade Focus

Students are now embarking on their final Term 3 here at Kings Meadows High School after a much-needed Term 2 holiday break. The grade focus is simple for this term - be the best student you can be. This includes all aspects of school life such as attendance, commitment to learning and respecting all members of the school community. This may seem like a consistent message, but it is important one. Year 10 students have received their end of year agreements, which is a gentle reminder of the basic R.O.C.K.S. expectations we want on display for the rest of the year. The Year 10 staff are looking forward to an enjoyable Term 3 and 4, helping prepare students for further education, workforce and apprenticeships.

Year 10 contact details:

10A Class Teacher - Mr Ben Killalea - ben.killalea@decyp.tas.gov.au

10B Class Teacher - Mr Matt Chatwin - matthew.chatwin@decyp.tas.gov.au

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

10D Class Teacher - Mr Solomon Walker-Bowd - solomon.walker-bowd@decyp.tas.gov.au

10E Class Teacher - Ms Mel Hudson - mel.hudson@decyp.tas.gov.au

Additonal teachers working with Year 10:

Mrs Liz Self - liz.self@decyp.tas.gov.au

Miss Isabella Darsaklis - isobella.darsakli@decyp.tas.gov.au

Grade 10 Leader - Mrs Megan Pel - megan.pel@decyp.tas.gov.au

Grade 10 Leader - Mr Matt Battle - mathew.battle@decyp.tas.gov.au

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

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

In our recent unit of work, students in Year 8 English have been learning all about advertising. Some of the concepts students have explored include persuasive devices, target audiences, semiotics, language features and multimodality. Students have analysed a range of different advertisements from the last 100 years, considering how the historical and social context of an advertisement impacts the way it is received by the target audience. They have learned about how semiotics can contribute to the effectiveness of an advertisement; elements such as camera angles, sounds, modality and salience all help the audience to create meaning.

For their final assessment, students were required to plan, execute and critically analyse their own advertisement.

Below, is the final advertisement and analytical essay from one of our Year 8 students – an outstanding effort and a highly original and entertaining final product! We love celebrating literacy successes here at KMHS and, despite the fact that we could have shared many different pieces of work, we had the difficult task of narrowing it down to just one, for this purpose.

Please enjoy this video and accompanying analytical essay! Well done to this student.

Why Fashion Rats: Sewer Beauty is the BEST ad you’ve ever seen

As our assignment to create an advertisement for an existing product, I have chosen to create a visual masterpiece advertising Obvious Plant’s Fashion Rats: Sewer Beauty. Although this product was originally created in a joking manner, it has now been marketed to capture its beauty and appeal. This essay will delve deeper into the creative choices and concepts behind this advertisement.

This advertisement, whilst maintaining its joking manner, has been targeted towards anyone who finds themselves with major resemblances to that of a rat’s description, and may even be lacking self esteem as a result. Fashion Rats has been portrayed in this advertisement as a solution to the issues those who resemble rats may face, and a way for them to find confidence from within themselves. I have chosen this target audience not only because I find it hysterically funny, but because anyone of any description or demographic can look like a rat, thus maximising hypothetical sales and customer appeal.

In terms of salience and memorability, I hope that this ad is found to be so absurd and mildly traumatic to a point of intrigue from audiences. I am using absurdity and peculiarity to fuel memorability within an audience. I chose to use bright pinks, purples and blues as a colour scheme to represent this product in a glamorous, fashionable light that will make an audience believe that this product will help embrace glamorous aesthetics and outward confidence. The main focus point throughout this ad is the rats themselves after being introduced as a solution to the potential despair that can come with a low self esteem from comparing yourself to a rat. Before the rats are introduced, the main focal point is the disappointment and upset that can come with prominent rattiness, with sad piano as a backing track and a more bland colour palette to the scenes displayed. When the rats are then brought into the picture, the scenes brighten up with our poppy, bright, eye catching colour scheme, bringing a sort of relieved feeling and a fresh, bright, new idea to solve an issue previously created.

This advertisement utilises multiple language features to enhance persuasiveness when directed at an audience. There are multiple appeals to pathos in terms of bringing up the emotion, self esteem and self image of the audience and how it may be lacking, with rhetorical questions that show an audience that no, they’re not the only ones that look like rats. We then provide a solution to those problems with our product and show the happy faces of customers who have purchased this product. We then elaborate, with said customer sharing their experiences and how Fashion Rats has helped them through a tough time in their life. I have also included alliteration as well as rule of three when stating customers will find closure, comfort and confidence when using our product. All of this is then accompanied with a call to action to seal the deal with our customers.

Overall I think we have now definitely come to the conclusion that we’ve witnessed a masterpiece within film. Fashion Rats: Sewer Beauty utilises a multitude of persuasive techniques to make an audience feel compelled to purchase this product and is pure gold.

On Friday 4 August, 25 music students from Years 8,9 and 10 were lucky enough to attend a music workshop at Newstead College with the legendary USA jazz musician, Richard Smith. The workshop revolved around what we need to do these days to be successful as a musician, as well as how to successfully release original music. During the afternoon, students experienced a live rehearsal with Richard and three other local musicians with interactive discussions about the importance of having a leader in your group, as well as successfully playing together. It was a fantastic experience and definitely one to remember.

A reminder that students in Year 11/12 have the opportunity to study some or all of their subjects at Kings Meadows High School. In 2024. We will again be offering both our Vocational Education and Training (VET) course Certificate II in Construction Pathways and a range of Tasmanian Assessment, Standards and Certification (TASC) courses for students wishing to complete Years 11 and 12 at Kings Meadows High School. Please contact the school if you have any questions re enrolment in our VET and/or TASC courses. Students can also do a shared enrolment between Kings Meadows and Newstead College/Launceston College and we have had students successfully do this over the past four years. Please call the school or directly contact James Guy, Glenn Wood or Kate Blaubaum for further information.

Students participating in KMHS’s  VET  Course Cert II in Construction Pathways.

‘Apply basic levelling procedures’ is one of the elective units in this course.

‘Carry out concreting to simple forms’ is another unit in this Course as shown by a student recently.

Attention: Parents and Carers of students

Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey
The wellbeing of our students is important to us - we want to hear how students feel, and think, about different things going on in their lives. 

Those in Years 7-10 at Kings Meadows High School will be taking part in the Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey. The results from this survey will help us get a picture of the current wellbeing of our students, and what we can do to improve future wellbeing for learning. The more students who take part, the clearer our picture will be.  

The Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey is part of the Department’s Child and Student Wellbeing Strategy . 

The details for the survey are: 

When:                                          The week of 4th - 8th September

Who:                                            Years 9 and 10

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 has been sent home via Schoolzine for 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 contact the school, we can also provide this form in hard copy.     

If you would like further information, please contact Kate Blaubaum through the school office 6343 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. 

Leadership Staff

Support Staff