We hope you all had a wonderful Easter enjoying time with family/friends and the great weather.  This term has certainly flown by quickly and has been extremely busy for both students and teachers. Term 1 has focused on students developing relationships with their peers and teachers, establishing learning routines and developing an understanding of what teaching and learning looks like at Scottsdale High School. 

Year 7 Camp

Our Year 7 Camp, held at Camp Banksia in Port Sorell just prior to Easter, was very successful. Many thanks to Mr Le Fevre, Miss Walker, Mr Tyson, Mr Wootton and Mrs Crack for accompanying our students and planning such a terrific camp for our students.  Feedback from students about the camp was extremely positive with students enjoying the fantastic facilities, fun activities and delicious and plentiful food!  It was great to see students returning to school looking tired but with big smiles after a fun-filled camp where positive relationships were fostered. Many thanks to staff who assisted back at school.  We are very fortunate that we have staff members who are willing to give of their time and expertise to offer a camp program to our students as in many schools, this opportunity is not available.

World’s Greatest Shave

Wow – a target of $600 was set for fundraising and we raised S2872.00! Well done to our Student Leadership Board on running a successful World’s Greatest Shave on Thursday 4th April, funds raised go to the Leukemia Foundation to help fund research in to fighting blood cancer.  The following students, along with Miss Juraimi, are to be commended for their fundraising efforts by either having their head shaved or coloured: Tori, Will, Tara, Aliqua, Deagan, Lochlan, Sophie, Eliza, James, Noah, Tom, Matthew, Preston and Malakye.  Many thanks to Ange and Karen who gave their time to shave, cut and colour the participant’s hair.   We are very grateful to our community for all the donations. 

Frank MacDonald Memorial Prize – Study Tour for Tori and Miss Rainbow

We wish Tori and Miss Rainbow a safe and a wonderful time as they travel to Europe as part of Tasmanian contingent for the 2024 Frank MacDonald Memorial Prize.  They fly out on Saturday 13th April. They will spend Anzac Day attending the Villers Bretonneux Service in Belgium on the Western Front. In the lead up to Anzac Day, the study tour will visit many significant locations including Menin Gate for the Last Post Ceremony; Pozieres, Fromelles and Hill 60. As part of the trip, both Tori and Miss Rainbow have been required to research a soldier who fought on the Western Front during WW1 and pay tribute to their life through a personal pilgrimage.  Tori will pay tribute to David Royden Seymour Howell, her great uncle at Mericourt-L'Abbe Communal Cemetery on the Somme. Miss Rainbow has researched two family members – Albert and John (Jack) William Walker. By researching her Great Grandfather Jack Walker (a previous resident of Branxholm) she discovered his younger brother Albert Walker followed him to war.

We look forward to sharing Tori and Miss Rainbow’s research next term with you and to hearing about their experiences as part of this prestigious prize.

Literacy/ Reading : MacqLit Program

NAPLAN for Years 7 and 9 has now ended.  Thank you to Mrs Danielle Butler for coordinating the process and for the positive attitude and effort given by so many of our students. 

Reading and literacy continues to be a high priority for our work at Scottsdale High School. Our teachers are working with a strong focus on implementing the DECYP reading priority by ensuring that instruction for all students is reflective of current research and evidence-based practices.

A program that supports the development of students’ literacy skills is MacqLit.  The MacqLit is an explicit and systematic reading intervention program for small groups of students and includes all the key components necessary for effective reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. In 2024, Scottsdale High School is again resourcing MacqLit for both Year 7 and 8 students. The program is coordinated by Mrs Dannielle Butler, our Quality Teaching and Learning Coach, and is supported by several of our Teacher Assistants.  Our 2023 data from this program demonstrated that students with high attendance and commitment to the program achieved some very strong gains in their literacy.

 School Association Update

The annual AGM and Committee Meeting was held on Tuesday 26th March. Congratulations to the following new and returning School Association members for their successful nomination to the 2024 School Association Committee.

• Candice Wood (Chair and Parent Representative)
• Candice Walker (Vice President and Community Representative)
• Wendy Timperon (Secretary and Parent Representative)
• Nicole Smith (Treasurer and Staff Representative)
• Tamieka Johnson (Parent Representative)
• Helen Oliver (Parent Representative)
• Kym Lette (Parent Representative)
• Kylie Rattray (Staff Representative)
• Sherri Rainbow (Staff Representative)
• Elizabeth Williams (Principal)

It is fantastic to welcome some new parent and community representatives to the school association committee! We look forward to sharing school association news and events with parents and families through coming newsletters.

Many thanks to outgoing President, Wendy Timperon, for her committed and valued leadership of the School Association over a number of years.

Our next meeting is on Tuesday 7th May at 6.15pm in the school’s Library.

Uniform

Thank you to parents and carers who support their child to wear the correct uniform to school. It is great to see students wearing their uniform with pride!  As the mornings get cooler, just a reminder that plain black, long sleeved hoodless shirts may be worn under the school polo.

We do appreciate students continuing to wear uniform, including the school jackets/hoodies rather than non-school hoodies. Many workplaces have a dress code and by adhering to one at school, students then find it easier to transition to workplace expectations.  If you need support with your child’s uniform, you can talk to your child’s teacher or assistant principal to discuss your family’s eligibility for support or assistance in the purchase of school uniforms.

Newsletter frequency

In discussion with our School Association, we will now be publishing our newsletter 3 to 4 times a term (rather than fortnightly) , with newsletters being published every 3 weeks.  A lot of information is communicated regularly through SchoolStream and Facebook and this will be supplemented by our newsletter which will be available through our online platforms and on Facebook so you can keep up to date with what is occurring in our school.

Term 1 Holidays/Anzac Day Services

We wish our students a relaxing and safe holiday.  Term 2 commences on Monday 29 April. Our Student Leaders will be representing the school at the Anzac Day services being held across the North East and we invite students and families to join us to commemorate Anzac Day 2024.

Elizabeth Williams

Principal

Last week we attended our first Scottsdale High School camp for 2024. Excitement was high as we set out for Camp Banksia at Port Sorell. After arriving at camp, we set up our dormitories and had a tour of the facilities. Our afternoon was spent playing basketball, flags and exploring the playground area, followed by a delicious dinner. After dinner we had a beach walk, which was fun and very scenic as the sun was setting. We had a trivia night to finish night one, which was extremely competitive. We worked in dormitory groups, and the scores were very close at the end of night one, with a few more rounds to be completed on night two. As we set off for bed, we were all full of energy which made for a sleepless night. We woke early, all very tired but keen for the activities ahead. The options for the morning were fishing, mountain bike riding or walking/yoga. It was a very enjoyable morning, and many of us got to try new activities and explore different places. Our lunch was delicious and set us up for a big afternoon at the beach. There were several challenges to complete at the beach, it was 7A verses 7B. It was very close in all activities, with a great deal of competitiveness and teamwork. 7A were the winners overall! We had some free time before dinner, followed by preparation for Year 7’s Got Talent. This was very entertaining, and each group put on a very creative and entertaining performance. 7B took out this challenge, in a very close contest. The last few rounds of trivia were completed in another close contest. This brought our evening to an end, and after a big day we headed off to bed. Day 3 had us up early and cleaning our rooms before making the long trip home. We had a lunch break, followed by a stop at Bridport for an Easter egg hunt. It was an awesome few days and I would like to thank all the staff for their hard work in making the camp happen. We are all very excited for more camps and adventures at Scottsdale High School.

Year 7 Agriculture visited Elders for a talk about farming and safety. It was a valuable session where students heard about many things that need to be considered when working in the industry, such as heat exhaustion, livestock management, and lifting heavy loads with machinery and the ratings needed.  Thank you Nathan for talking to our students and planning another informative session.  Students were polite and listened attentively throughout the visit.

On Tuesday 19^th March the Working with Children students conducted their first Playgroup session of the year at Explore Learning Educational Services in Bridport. The students designed and led a range of ocean themed activities based on different types of play and motor skills. The children at the centre particularly enjoyed the craft activity and waterplay.

We have been lucky enough to receive a grant from Variety to support our daily breakfast club. The grant of $7000 will allow us to provide a greater range of options for our free breakfast for students. Breakfast club runs out of the K1 Café on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 8.30am and Thursdays during recess 1. All students are welcome to pop in and grab something to eat to kick start their day. Studies suggest that not having breakfast affects your mental performance, including your attention, ability to concentrate and memory. This can make some tasks feel harder than they normally would. Breakfast - Better Health Channel