Welcome back to the 2025 school year at Kings Meadows High School. I hope that you enjoyed the summer break and are looking forward to the year ahead. A particular welcome to our new Year 7 cohort and any other students and families joining our school community for the first time. In addition, welcome to new teachers Ebony Jensen and Gurpreet Deol. Thankfully, this means all teaching positions are filled to start the year and we have a lot of staffing stability.

I would like to acknowledge our Education Facility Attendants, Office Administration Team, Canteen Staff and Library/Laboratory Technicians, who have all been busy during the latter part of the school holidays  cleaning, moving furniture, organising resources, tidying the grounds, selling uniforms and all the myriad of things that are required in the background to prepare the school for the return of students.  Teaching staff and Teacher Assistants have been back at work from Monday, 3 February,  although many were in during the holiday break, engaging in professional learning, setting up classrooms and generally preparing for teaching and learning.  Thank you to all the staff for their preparatory work.

I would also like to thank and acknowledge the efforts of parents and carers in supporting our school by ensuring their child(ren) are well prepared and organised for the school year. Apart from the physical preparation (e.g. school bag, uniform, food and drink), re-establishing good routines after the holidays are also helpful to setting your child up for success.  Parents can also support their child through speaking positively about school, taking an interest in their child’s learning and working with school staff in a constructive and respectful manner if there is a query or concern.  We are here to help, support and guide. It has been great to see and feel the sense of excitement, enthusiasm and positivity across the school over the last week.

As many families would be aware, over the last two years we have undertaken some consultation across our school community in relation to student uniform and this has resulted in some alternatives for uniform. Unfortunately, we have had some supply issues and not all our uniform stock has arrived in time for the start of the school year.  We appreciate your understanding and patience in this regard. We apologise for any inconvenience or expectations not being met but this has been beyond our control. This year is a transition year for uniform. By 2026 the white polo top and previous sports short will not be able to be worn as day-to-day way and will return to exclusively being for physical education and sport. Traditional uniform items remain. Please also be aware that part of our uniform is black socks and black shoes. We appreciate your support in ensuring your child is in full school uniform every day. If your family is experiencing hardship, please reach out and we will help where we can.

You may have read in the local media recently that one of our past students, Eason Liu was awarded the Dux of Newstead College last year. Eason achieved an ATAR of 99.8 and plans to go on and study medicine. Congratulation to Eason on this fine achievement.

Many of our students catch a bus to and from school. We do not manage these bus services, as they are co-ordinated by the Department of State Growth. The Department of State Growth’s Passenger conduct code for school bus services sets out the expected standards of behaviour for students when using a bus. It also provides guidance and processes for bus operators and drivers to follow. Please be informed of the behavioural requirements of students travelling on buses and how incidents are managed. I also encourage parents and carers to discuss this information with their child(ren). I have included an additional link regarding other aspects of student travel which may be of assistance. Student travel – Transport Services

While mentioning transport, it is also timely to remind everyone of the importance of road safety. The roads around our school and within the boundary can become very busy at the start and end of a school day.  Please by mindful of following speed limits, being extra aware of student pedestrians, including those who might be embarking or disembarking vehicles. Sometimes when things are busy, people are rushing to get to work, or students may be thinking about other things, is when accidents can happen. Please be mindful and help contribute to keeping everyone safe.

At the beginning of each school year we require a variety of our records to be checked and updated if required. On the first day back, students were provided with validation forms, aquatic consent forms and ICT forms to be taken home for completion. It is essential that we have accurate and contemporary information. Thank you to those families who have already returned this information. If you are yet to do so, please ensure all forms are completed and returned by Friday, 21 February. Thanks in anticipation.

School photos were taken on Monday, 10 February, with photo catch up day on 25 February.  Please also note that students are not required on Wednesday 26 February due to the Launceston Cup Public Holiday, although staff will be working until 11.00am. Year 7 Camp commences the week of Monday, 17 February and the Year 10 Leadership Retreat occurs on 20-21 February.

Unfortunately, in 2024 we were unable to form a School Association Committee. It is important that we re-establish this Committee in 2025. I will provide more information about this in due course but please consider being involved as it is a vital avenue for co-operation between staff, parents and the broader school community for the improvement of the school and to work collaboratively through valuing a variety of voices and inputs.  Please consider your involvement.

I am really looking forward to another busy, productive and successful year for our school community in 2025.  A school is a community of students, staff, families and other local members and, as such, it requires everyone to contribute constructively to help make our school the best it can be to provide the optimal education for all of our students.  During the first assembly I spoke to students that our theme or mantra for the year is ‘embrace the opportunity, accept the responsibility’. I will revisit this with students and our community at different stages throughout the year. 

Regards

Cary Stocks
Principal