I hope that everyone enjoyed the recent long weekend and you were able to stay cool during the exceptionally hot weather.

This week, all students in Years 7 and 9 right across Australia participate in a series of NAPLAN (National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy) tests. Commencing today and over the course of the next week, all students in these grades will sit tests related to various aspects of literacy and numeracy. Whilst I believe students should always be encouraged to give their best at any task that they undertake, including these NAPLAN tests, it is important that we remember they are a ‘moment in time’ test and they are not the ‘be all and end all’. Students should not be pressured or stressed around these tests but should be encouraged to try their best. Parents will receive a report regarding their child(ren)s results and we also use this data as a whole school, class and individual level.  The data can also be compared with other data such as Australian Curriculum Framework subject results (as indicated in mid year and end of year reports) and Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT). Thank you to Emily Lovegrove for her overall co-ordination of NAPLAN at our school.

This afternoon, Wednesday 13 March, we are holding our annual Leadership Induction Assembly whereby our senior Student Leaders are officially inducted into their roles for 2024. Congratulations to all these students and I certainly wish them well for the year ahead. I look forward to working with them and seeing their growth as leaders.  As our gymnasium is currently unavailable, a smaller scale assembly will be held in our drama space with the event ‘beamed out’ to other students who will be based in their classrooms. In advance, thank you to parents for your support of your child(ren) and this significant event.

Last Friday, we held our annual Swimming Carnival at Launceston Aquatic Centre. Congratulations to all students who took up this opportunity to participate and a particular congratulations to those students who won events, swam personal bests or even broke long standing swimming records.  Thank you to those parents and family members who were able to attend and support our students. These days are always enjoyable and it was great to see our senior student leaders promoting some h  ouse spirit. Thank you to all staff for enabling this event to occur and particularly Mick Bent, for his overall co-ordination of the day and the Health and Physical Education team for their assistance in organising the Carnival.

With the release of the updated Department for Education Children and Young People’s (DECYP) Strategic Plan 2024-2030, a key document that was considered when developing this Plan was the United Nations (UN) Convention on The Rights of the Child. Many people may not even know this exists! This Convention contains 54 articles in total with articles 43-54 being about how adults and governments should work together to make sure that all children get all their rights. It might be worth a read and certainly makes you think about the opportunities that children have in Australia compared to other parts of the world. Nevertheless, there is always more work to do for our communities to ensure we are doing the best we can for our young people.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (unicef.org.au)

On the morning of the Launceston Cup holiday, we reviewed some of our PAT data and teachers continued undertaking some professional learning on the teaching of reading. On a particularly positive note, our PAT data had an increase in the percentage of students achieving medium to high growth in reading, which rose to 77.5%. As you may know, reading is a priority for DECYP and our school. Please also never underestimate the important role that parents/carers play in supporting a young person’s progress in the crucial life skill of reading.

Yesterday, some of our senior Art students attended the Glover Prize exhibition at Evandale and then the ArtRage exhibition at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery. These opportunities provide students with the chance to observe high quality art and to experience how exhibitions occur. In particular, the ArtRage exhibition shows the work of Year 11 and 12 students in Tasmania and therefore highlights the outstanding work that our young people can produce. Thank you to Jessica Crawford for organising this excursion and to Brendan Poke for accompanying the students. This morning, some of our students visited our local Bunnings site and also UTAS Stadium as part of their Beacon Work Readiness Program.  These experiences provide students with a glimpse of real-world work environments and helps them consider their future pathways in education, training and employment.  Thank you to Belinda Selby for co-ordinating this excursion for our students. I am sure all students involved would have found these experiences worthwhile.

We have recently had some staff changes with Richard Goss taking leave to stand as a candidate in the upcoming election, Grace Bannon taking maternity leave and Megan Pel gaining a promotion to Waverley Primary School.  We wish all these staff the very best in the next stage of their lives whether that be personally or professionally.  As a result, we have Dale Freeman replacing Mr Goss for the time being. We have welcomed back George Edmondson, who will already be known to many in our school community. George is replacing Mrs Pel.  In addition, we welcome Nathan Meurant to our teaching team in lieu of Grace. I am sure you will help make all these people feel welcome and supported.

With the ongoing sunny weather, I am pleased to report that our gym works are progressing very well and may even be ahead of schedule. We are hopeful that the gymnasium will be available for school and community use in the first half of Term 2.

Looking ahead, please be aware that interim reports will be sent home with students on Friday 22 March. These reports provide an indication of important work habits which indicates students are adopting constructive approaches to their learning.  I encourage parents to discuss these reports with their child(ren) and assist them in developing goals to improve their learning outcomes. Afterall, the best educational outcomes are achieved when students, teachers and parents/carers all work together and promote encouraging and positive messages about learning and school in general. Thank you to Jake Chamberlain for his overall co-ordination of the reporting process.

Please be reminded that there are current vacancies on our School Association Committee. Nominations close this Friday 15 March. Nomination forms have previously been sent out via our newsletter and via Facebook and can also be collected from our office. Should you have any questions or wish to discuss further, please do not hesitate to make contact. I look forward to welcoming our new Committee for 2024.

Cary Stocks

Principal