As our year draws to a close, we can look back on 2022 with a sense of pride in the achievements of our students and what has been accomplished during the year. 

This week marked a significant milestone in the lives of our Year 10 students especially in the year of the school’s centenary; highlights have been our Year 10 Celebration Dinner and  Year 9/10 Presentation Assembly. These have been special occasions for students, staff and families. As we farewell our Year 10 students heading into apprenticeships, employment or colleges in Launceston, we have been able to both honour and celebrate the contribution they have made to Scottsdale High School. We wish all students well in their future pursuits; we look forward to hearing about their success and their progress over the coming years.

Presentation Assemblies Years 7/8 and Years 9/10

Our final Presentation Assemblies for Years 7/8 and Years 9/10 have been a  celebration of student achievement and highlighted the many skills and talents of our students. As a school community we have a lot to celebrate. We were able to acknowledge effort, progress and achievement in a variety of areas and it was great to see so many students being presented with awards and prizes. Congratulations to our Year 10 Dux, Abbi Young. Abbi’s commitment to learning and stepping up to academic challenges is to be commended.  In her  Dux speech that she gave, Abbi recognised the support not only of her teachers but also her family in supporting her to be the best learner she can be.  Her speech is included in this newsletter for your perusal along with the full list of recipients of prizes and bursaries. While we still can only  have a limited audience at these events, we greatly appreciated the support from families. I would like to congratulate all students who were acknowledged at the Assemblies.

Year 10 Celebration Dinner

Year 10 students and staff enjoyed the Celebration Dinner held on Monday night at the Scottsdale RSL Club. Thanks to all the parents, families and friends who supported the students on arrival at the RSL. The students all looked stunning and enjoyed the food, music and dancing.  The Year 10 graduates have had four great years at Scottsdale High School and made close friendships, some of which will be life-long friendships. I would like to acknowledge the hard work and creativity that went into the preparation of this evening. The decorations and table settings looked lovely and students looked fabulous. Many thanks to the RSL Club for the delicious and very big meals. Students enjoyed the music by Mr Galloway. In her speech, Jayda reflected on the students’ time at Scottsdale High and the memories that have been made. I would like to acknowledge the Year 10 team, led by Mrs Fletcher  and Mrs  Howlett, who have made a significant contribution to guiding and supporting Year 10 students this year.

A big thank you to the SES volunteers who assisted with student arrivals.

Farewells

We are very lucky to have a hardworking, skilled and dedicated staff team at Scottsdale High School. This includes not only a very committed teaching team, but a wonderful support staff who work away behind the scenes to ensure the smooth running of the school. I know all staff take great pride in their work and I would like to thank them for their highly valued contribution to the school this year. Staff constantly go ‘above and beyond’ so that students are provided with an enormous range of additional activities and opportunities. I know that students and parents are extremely appreciative of this.

As with every year, we do have a number of staff confirmed as leaving us at the end of this year.  I would like to thank the following staff for their work and commitment to our school and students and wish them well in the future.

• Ms Colleen Barnett
• Ms Holly Butler
• Mr Jacob Fisher
• Mr Mawson Hoogesteger
• Mrs Sandy Kerr
• Mr Tobias Moldenhauer
• Mr Antonio Zanchetta

We look forward to welcoming Ms Sherri Rainbow, AST, back to Scottsdale High School in 2023 and Mr Sid Scott, who will be teaching Art, English and HASS.

Thank you

I would like to thank our parent community for your support of our school throughout the year. We greatly appreciate the value you place on education and the close partnership you have with Scottsdale High School. These strong relationships are essential in how we support and care for students and achieve high quality learning outcomes.

Happy Christmas

2022 has indeed been a busy and exciting year at Scottsdale High School with many fantastic learning outcomes for all of our students. I know everyone is looking forward to a well-earned break.  I hope students and families have an enjoyable holiday, an opportunity to enjoy some special family time and a chance to have some fun and recharge! Finally, I would like to wish everyone a very safe and happy Christmas. Best wishes for a Happy New Year.

Elizabeth Williams

Principal

Speech from Dux of Year 10

Good afternoon, Ms Williams, special guests, staff and students. Thank you for all joining us here today.  

It is with the upmost honour that I am fortunate enough to stand before you all and deliver my 2022 Dux recipient speech. For those who know me it will come as no surprise, that I am extremely grateful to accept this prestigious award. However, the honour is not all mine; this is something that would not be possible without immense support. While the Dux award acknowledges the efforts of the recipient, I believe it is also a significant reflection of all the hard work of those around me – specifically my family and teachers who have been so deeply invested into the outcome of my education. I’d like to thank some of those people here today.

Most of you might know her as Miss Simmons, but I have the privilege of calling her Aunty Tiah. You fuelled me with the confidence and knowledge to be a better writer. Always answered my late-night calls from me begging you to read over my two-thousand-word essays that needed to be submitted the next day. just to say, it was already perfect. Thank you for teaching me to have faith in my abilities. 

I would also like to acknowledge the reason I am here today – Mum and Dad, thank you. You have both provided me with every opportunity and more that I need to succeed in life. To Mum, you continue to be my biggest supporter and have taught me what the definition of a ‘strong woman’ truly means. I know that poppy Patrick is looking over us with a smile, so proud of all our accomplishments, giving us strength to succeed.

And to Mrs Fletcher and Mrs Howlett - the two teachers who consistently told me NO. two letters, one word, NO. While NO is obviously not an answer I generally like to hear, I believe that in order to succeed it is essential to be challenged and adapt to the situation, to show resilience. The definition of resilience is “the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences”- I believe this mindset can lead anyone to success.

Many of you may be aware of the recent achievement of Need Brockmann, a man who ran 4000km across Australia, over 46 days and raised $1.85 million dollars for charity. Need was just an ‘ordinary’ person who decided to do something extraordinary. Nedd’s motto around life is “GET COMFORTABLE BEING UNCOMFORTABLE”, this really resonated with me because I think one of the most important lessons that I am beginning to learn, is that things aren’t always going to be easy, situations won’t always work out the way you plan and life will sometimes be hard, but this is all part of journey.

As a student, I tried to embrace not always feeling comfortable or pleased with the work my teachers required of me. My wish to achieve highly at school was founded on a true desire to learn, even if that meant being academically challenged at points in time. Here at Scottsdale High School, you are gifted with every opportunity to succeed. Take advantage of the constant opportunities, learn and grow as an individual, participate and make the most of an education millions of children around the world can only dream of having. Work hard and attempt new and unknown challenges; allow yourself to feel uncomfortable, it means you are trying.

As I close my speech today, I’d like to acknowledge in particular – all the members of the graduating class of 2022. Today is a bittersweet moment that represents the beginning of one chapter in our lives and the end of another. Four years ago, we arrived here with dreams and aspirations, today, we are leaving with even bigger ambitions. Each and every one of us, has been given the foundation to achieve anything we desire. Be proud of where you come from, take on challenges and above all else, be the best version of yourself you can be.

Congratulations to all the award recipient's this afternoon, It's been an honour to be among such accomplished individuals. I wish everyone a safe and happy summer holiday and the best of luck for 2023. Thank you.

Abbi Y

School Association 2023

We are always looking for opportunities to engage our parent/carer community so please reach out if you are interested in being a member of the School Association or have questions about the Association’s  role.

Please note we will have a School Association meeting on Wednesday 15 February 2023 at  5pm and our AGM will be held on Wednesday 29 March 2023 at 5pm (both in the school Library). At the AGM all office bearer positions will be declared vacant. Nominations are open to all School Association members, with all parents/carers of students enrolled at Scottsdale High eligible for office bearer positions and committee member positions.

Throughout Term 3 and 4 Music students had the opportunity to extend their learning beyond instrument practice, performance and music analysis, engaging in a music recording project. Students practised setting up a small recording studio recording each other’s performances into audio software and mixing the music afterwards.

Once the music was finished, students created a Bandcamp website, which included designing colour themes and painting cover artwork for the project, along with writing artist blurbs and uploading their recorded music to share with the community.

Involved were students from Years 7 and 10, and they are proud to present their work via the Bandcamp site below.

https://shs2022musicacademyrecordingproject.bandcamp.com/releases

The project crew was:

Cover Art: Ella, Charlotte, Raphael
Sound Engineers: Darien, Lachie, Jayde
Blurb Writer: Tarsha
Album Credits: BJ, Amy, Tarsha
Web Design: Jayde, Heidi
Musicians: Noah, Beau, Alfie, Karlie, Kristen, Ella, Jayde, Darien, Lachlan, Mr M

Tobias Moldenhauer

TIC Music

On Friday December 10 we held the opening of our Arboretum to celebrate the work students and staff have done. I would like to thank the Queen’s Jubilee Fund for making this idea come to be and the many other community contributors such as Forest Education Foundation who have provided the signage, Lilydale Landcare, Sustainable Timber Tasmania, contractors and Scottsdale’s teaching staff and students who have worked on the site clearing and planting trees. All contributions, be they large or small, have gone into the completion of this project.  The Queen’s Jubilee Fund asked for ideas to plant native forest trees to commemorate our late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and prompted the idea of an arboretum. Further discussion ensued where it was decided to use the already made Tree Flip and Euca Flip information sheets as a resource and to plant trees that featured in these flip files, to make a living resource of Tasmanian native trees. Stringy Barks and Blue gum grow alongside other trees including the common dogwood. This provided hands on learning for students around our forest trees, a native habitat for wildlife and shelter to livestock  The site was a strip of land overgrown with blackberry and proved to be the perfect place for the arboretum.  The site was slashed and older students used brush cutters to clear the fence line. A gate has been installed along with a place to erect the plaque and other information signage.  Further fencing will happen in the near future to keep out livestock.

Students organised the opening, made speeches and undertook their roles effortlessly. They were courteous and friendly.  The morning tea was delicious; thank you to Mrs Butler, Mrs Dawson and students. We hosted guests from the Agriculture Education Network, school and  local community members including Bridget Archer MP, Tania Rattray MLC and were  delighted at the interest and positive comments.

The final results for our Year 11-12 students came out this week and we are delighted and proud to announce we had excellent success with students in Year 12 gaining their TCE.  The vast majority achieved their goals over the two years and came away with VET certificates, course completions and gained their TCE or TCEA.  Well done to these students:

Chloe, Chad , Shakya, Alistair, Ailya, Nathan, Domenic, Matthew, Emily, Jacob, Si’anna, Emily, Ryan

Your hard work and dedication has been rewarded.  TCE requires getting Maths and English at level 2 standard and completing courses with points tallying 120 points. 

It’s not easy and you made it!

This year’s Year 11 are well on track with some course completions to a very high standard and we look forward to seeing them complete Year 12 with their TCE.