Newsletter No 1, Friday 25 February 2022
Message from the Principals
Deb Day - Lead Principal
A very warm welcome to our first Hobart City High School newsletter. We have had a wonderful start to the year with students excited to be back with their friends and staff eager and enthusiastic to be on our journey of ‘Working together to engage and inspire more learners to learn more every day’ (Department of Education 2022-2024 strategic plan commitment).
We have welcomed quite a few new staff this year to our community and in our next newsletter edition we will start to introduce our various learning team members to you.
Our key focus for the first three weeks have been getting to know our students and establishing our clear and consistent routines for maintaining our calm and orderly learning environment. Students have responded exceptionally well to having mobile phones ‘off and away all day’ and being equipped and in class on time. We have appreciated your support in helping us achieve this.
As we move into the later part of this term we will be working with staff, students and parents to build a shared understanding of what we want to achieve in building our positive school culture and sense of belonging. This will be an exciting piece of work and student voice will be a crucial part of this. One of the strategies we will use to achieve this is to have weekly morning teas with a different group of students to collect their voice and thoughts. We would also like to supplement this with a parent forum so keep your eyes peeled for more information to come on this. Additionally, we have our upcoming School Association meeting on 15 March on the Ogilvie Campus at 5.30 pm. Parents/Carers are invited to attend. Due to Covid advice attendance in person will be limited to suit density requirements, however, there will be opportunity to participate via Microsoft Teams. Please email your intention to attend via hobart.city.high@education.tas.gov.au
Our overarching theme for this newsletter is to give you an overview of our wellbeing leadership structure and to give you some clarity about who you should contact if you have any issues or concerns at any time. Our philosophy is to ensure that we work in partnership with our parents and caregivers in order for our students to flourish.
We hope you enjoy this first edition of our newsletter and look forward to working in partnership with you.
Deb Day - Lead Principal - Hobart City High School
Shane Fuller - New Town Campus Principal
Andrew Hughes - Ogilvie Campus Principal
Introducing our structures for supporting our students
A key priority at HCHS is to provide robust support structures for our students in order for them to flourish both socially and academically.
We have a range of ways in which we do this and we would like to take this opportunity to share our work with you.
A student or parents first port of call should they have any issues or concerns is their Link In teacher (formally known as Home Group). We have tried as much as possible to have the Link In teacher as one of their subject teachers also.
Link In classes occur once a week and the curriculum in these classes will focus on developing each students’ social and emotional capabilities and well as having a dedicated time to work with students on what our school values Respect, Aspiration, Courage and Growth look like on a daily basis within our school.
To support our Link In teachers we have two Grade Team Leaders for each grade on each campus.
Our Grade Team Leaders are available to assist with any queries or concerns you have and can help put you in touch with your student’s Link In teacher.
Big Picture students are also supported by their AST Cameron Gluskie.
To support our wonderful Grade Team Leaders we have our Advanced Skills Teachers CAPSS (Culture, Access, Participation, Student, Support), Advanced Skills Teachers of Inclusive Practices and Assistant Principals on both campuses.
In addition to these supports, we have our fabulous Student Support Team. This team meet weekly with our Grade Team Leaders, AST CAPSS, Assistant Principals and Principals to discuss a range of issues and design strategies to support student mental, physical health and wellbeing.
To make a referral to a member of this team, please discuss your concerns with your Link In teacher or Grade Team Leader who will then be able to make a referral on your behalf.
Join the Hobart City High School Association Committee
The Hobart City High School Association Committee is at the centre of parent and community involvement in the life and ethos of our school. It is a crucial and valued voice in the development of the policies, priorities, values and strategic direction that underpin outcomes for our learners.
Your involvement is sought as a member of our School Association Committee to work with the Lead Principal to support our learners and position Hobart City High School as the school of choice for Hobart families.
Your commitment is
Minimum four (4) meetings per year
with
Positions held for up to two (2) years
You can join the Hobart City High School Association Committee by nominating yourself.
Nominations close on the 10 March 2022.
If we receive more nominations than vacancies an election will be held prior to our first Committee Meeting on 15 March 2022.
To nominate or for more information about joining, contact Warwick Clark on (03) 61655 398 or warwick.clark@education.tas.gov.au
We encourage you to consider joining us in supporting successful outcomes for our Hobart City High School Community.
Schools TV - Starting Year 7
Starting Year 7 poses many new challenges, but also offers exciting opportunities. It comes with a number of mixed feelings. Unfortunately for many Year 6 students, 2020/21 was marred with school closures and remote learning due to the pandemic and the overall impact of this is still unknown.
For many students regular orientation activities at the end of 2020/21 were less than ideal. Therefore, many students may be feeling a little bit more anxious than usual about their expectations of starting Year 7. Grasping new skills and establishing new study practices can quickly become daunting and overwhelming.
During this time of transition, parents and carers need to be supportive, but also realistic in their expectations. This is an important milestone in your child’s life. There will be feelings of exhilaration, but also the fear of the unknown. Therefore it will be important for parents and carers to be vigilant in monitoring their child’s mood and mental health during this time. They could easily become overly anxious or even depressed.
In this Special Report, there are a number of strategies offered that can make this transition period smoother and start things off on the right foot!
We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this Special Report, and as always, we welcome your feedback.
If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.
Here is the link to your special report:
https://hobartcityhigh.tas.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-starting-year-7
Ben Wilson - Assistant Principal Years 8-12 - New Town Campus
School Health Nurses
Our names are Maggie and Lydia, and we are Hobart City High School’s nurses for the 2022 school year. Our role in the school is to support all students in their health and wellbeing journey and are available to see students one on one or in group settings. Our focus this term will be around offering emotional and mindfulness classes through the Peaceful Kids program, smoking cessation and body image education sessions.
Below we have provided some helpful information regarding Covid-19 in schools.
COVID-19
Provided below are links from the Department of Education website regarding COVID-19 safety in schools, including additional information for parents and carers. In particular, the Covid-19 FAQs for parents and carers document provides great answers to commonly asked questions by families. I would highly recommend having a look through this document. Please also see the attached guide How to do a nasal Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) from the Tasmanian Government. A friendly reminder to families that all students should be at school unless they:
- are unwell or have symptoms of COVID-19;
- have medical advice which states they are unable to return to school due to an ongoing medical condition; or
- have been directed to stay home by Public Health.
In the meantime, if you have any questions regarding the School Health Nurse role, or concerns regarding your child’s health and wellbeing please do get in contact via the following email addresses:
lydia.newton@education.tas.gov.au maggie.stary@education.tas.gov.au
Additional Information
Covid-19 Frequently asked questions for parents and carers
Keeping safe at school – Parents and carers guide
Department of Education Return to School Plan
https://www.education.tas.gov.au/parents-carers/novel-coronavirus-covid-19/return-to-school-covid/
Yours in health and wellness
Maggie and Lydia - School Health Nurse - Hobart City High School
Technologies News
Technology students use design thinking and technologies to generate and produce designed solutions for authentic needs and opportunities. At the New Town Campus our Technologies teachers have started the school year with achievable challenges for all technology students.
Students in the Design and Construction in Wood class are preparing simulated rooms with the construction of stud walls. These stud walls will be plastered, painted, tiled, and fitted with a ceiling, floor and skirting boards. Design and Construction in Wood has almost a 50/50 ratio of students from the Ogilvie and New Town campuses.
Design in Wood has all students actively involved with the Minor Species Cheeseboard Challenge. Students are learning the art of laminating wood after selecting a minimum of three wood species to create a unique cheeseboard. Their final products are on task to be as good as local woodworking crafters.
Digital Technology students in Years 9 and 10 are learning the computer programming language ‘Python’. Students are working through coding lessons as they build their knowledge to develop skills in problem solving, logic and critical thinking. Year 8 DigiTech students are developing infrastructure budgets to equip our STEM building. The students are modelling the STEM building using 3D software and then adding their wish list products for a virtual tour.
Text based adventure games were popular back in the 1970s and 1980s, and Game Design students are being introduced to this genre as they develop their own adventure game. Currently the students are writing code that asks a user to make a decision based on their location and takes the user for a journey through the New Town campus. Some of the games developed have wandering senior teachers to hand out detentions for being out of class, and the occasional zombie in a forgotten classroom! In a few weeks, the completed games will be available online for other students to enjoy.
Our Year 11/12 Information Systems students have been learning about business systems with a focus on online ordering. The students investigated how a pizza ordering system worked, and received a successful order! Year 10 Computing Extended students are learning the process behind project management as they choose their Term 1 Digital Technology project, with a focus on programming.
Catering classes are learning the skills behind commercial batching making café quality products which are consistent in size and shape. Year 9 and 10 Food Studies classes are learning about cake shop baking while Year 8s are exploring Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner options. The demand for food-based classes is very high, with two Catering classes, eight Food Studies classes and an elective Food for Fun class. All students are learning the French inspired Mise en Place, or clean as you go. Students are also expected to work ‘within their arms’. The sight and smells from the foods area is awe-inspiring!
The Technology area have some inspiring learning activities this year, and we just know our students will enjoy all that is to be offered.
Pete Edwards - AST Technologies – New Town Campus
Music Program for 2022
The Music Team has had a busy start to the year with the new set up of rooms and additional instruments (providing an instrument for each student) to support our growing program. Our experienced and passionate music classroom teachers are Ms Amanda Fletcher, Mrs Janelle Stowe and Mr Andrew Sweeney (AST The Arts). Our specialist music teachers include Mr Simon Reade (Brass), Mr Alex Brown (Brass), Ms Tracey Patten (Percussion) Ms Jane Mason (Woodwind) and Mr Tom McGee (Woodwind) who joins us whilst Ms Sara Mason is on leave for Term 1.
Our Extra Curricular Music Program offers a range of opportunities and includes:- Concert bands - Stage band - Vocal ensembles - Saxophone and brass ensembles - Percussion lessons. We also look forward to seeing the various contemporary bands or instrumental/vocal groups that form within music classes. These groups work towards tours, school events and eisteddfods throughout the year (Covid dependant).
Andrew Sweeney - AST ARTS
Music Rehearsals
Rowing
The annual Sandy Bay Regatta was held earlier in the month and some of our rowing students were there to compete in the quad scull races. Ogilvie and New Town have been rowing at the Sandy Bay Regatta for several years now but this was the first time we were united, as one big squad! History was made and our rowers were in the same uniforms and proudly calling themselves Hobart City High team-mates. Well done Dillan, Gawain, Jackson, Harvey, Daysi, Belle, Charlotte, Ana, James, Sebastian, Oliver, Ava, Ella, Abijah and Amelia. These rowers, along with six other HCHS students, will compete in several regattas throughout February and March. We look forward to keeping you updated on their progress over the coming months.
Jane Brooks - Sports Program Leader – New Town Campus
Phones Off and Away
Schools 4 Saver Plus Competition
