Dear Parents/Carers

It is hard for me to believe we are now in the final few weeks of Term 3. Where has the year gone? As we enter the last few weeks of the term, it is important that students do not ‘slacken off’ and remain focussed on their learning, wear their full uniform, attend every day and uphold our behavioural expectations here at school and in the community.

Congratulations to our two teams that participated in their respective grand finals as part of the winter sport rosters. Our senior seconds boys football team played against Riverside High School and our junior firsts girls netball team played against Prospect High School at the Silverdome. Congratulations to all students and staff involved and thank you to family members who came along to support our teams.

On Tuesday, 2 September we hosted the Black Square Chess Tournament at Kings Meadows High School. We hosted students and staff from Launceston College, Launceston Church Grammar School, Scotch Oakburn College and St Patricks College. We were the only high school represented and had over twenty students involved. Chess is a great game of strategy and develops problem solving skills as well as social networking opportunities. Thank you to Brendan Poke for his initial organisation of the event and Chris Murray for his passion and enthusiasm for supporting students on the day. Hopefully, we will participate in further tournaments and host the event again in the future. The day was fantastic and provided a great opportunity for our students.

This week we are conducting Year 10 exams with students completing examinations for English, Mathematics, Science, History and Health and Physical Education. Examinations provide an important opportunity for students to demonstrate the culmination of their learning for the year to date. In addition, these experiences model exams held at college and university and therefore they provide a valuable and authentic ‘practice’ for students who might experience these high-level assessments in the future. Exams also provide students with any opportunity to develop study skills and managing study schedules for multiple assessments in a compressed time frame. Students must take these exams seriously, prepare for them and give their best when sitting the exams. Thanks to teaching staff for preparing, supervising and marking these important assessment opportunities for our senior students.

We are at that time in the year when our current Year 9 students have the opportunity to apply for Year 10 student leadership positions. While there are a few tweaks to the selection process and roles for 2026, students will need to prepare a written application, interview and speech prior to the election process, as has occurred in past years. It is important that students wishing to be considered for these positions are genuine about their reasons for doing so. These students are expected to uphold our school expectations and values at school and in the community, be a role model for other students, work constructively with staff and the other student leaders, and generally contribute positively to the best interests of our school. They are prestigious positions. Applying for positions not only takes effort but also courage, as inevitably not all students will be elected. Students should only apply if they can accept the responsibilities of the role, be humble in success but also be able to be resilient in disappointment if they are not elected. We have many strong candidates in Year 9 this year and I wish all applicants the very best.

Although Term 3 is not a reporting period, we provide an opportunity for parents and carers to meet with teaching staff should they wish to discuss their child’s learning progress. These progress conferences occur on the afternoon of Tuesday 23 September and require a booking. You should have received a separate communication regarding these conferences. If you are unable to meet during these times, teachers are often happy to communicate with you at other, mutually convenient times, if you have any queries about learning or are concerned for your child’s learning progress. Afterall, education is best when it is a genuine partnership between families and school staff.

Thank you to those families who have already completed the annual School Satisfaction Survey. Last year, we had our highest ever return rate with 95 families completing the survey and this year our target is at least 112 families to complete the survey. We would appreciate some more parents and carers to provide us with this data. So far, we have had 37 families complete the survey. If you would be willing to complete this survey, please access it through the link below. It should not take more than 10 minutes of your time. These surveys remain open until 19 September. Thanks in anticipation. Take the online survey by clicking this link, or pasting it in your browser: https://nam.dcv.ms/ikuA63t9sJ

You may have seen recently in the media the updated Every School Day Matters campaign. As part of this, former Richmond footballer, Jack Riewoldt has been appointed as the first campaign ambassador. If you would like to view the messages or access some of the resources to support school attendance, then please visit the link below. Regular attendance at school is important for many reasons.

Home - Anything Is Possible

This Friday 12 September, Peer Support Leaders and House Captains will be running a fundraiser to support the Cancer Council. Students and staff are encouraged to wear pink in aide of this cause and bring a gold coin donation. There will be a barbeque running at lunchtime with all funds raised being donated to the Cancer Council. I encourage everyone to get behind this worthy cause.  

Looking ahead, we have our next School Association Committee meeting tomorrow night, 11 September at 6.30pm. Families who have lodged expressions of interest for Out of Area Enrolments for next year should receive their letter outlining the decision this week or early next week. Next week we also have students involved in the Netball Tasmania High School Championship at the Silverdome from 16-19 September. Best wishes to all students and teams involved.

I encourage all our students to ‘embrace the opportunity and accept the responsibility’.  We can all contribute to having a strong finish to Term 3.

Regards

Cary Stocks
Principal