10 March 2023

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

What a wonderful two days of athletics carnivals we had last week. A big thank you to families that helped out and our local Little Athletics Club for again assisting us in running carnivals that balance fun and participation with the opportunity to compete at high levels and strive to achieve personal bests and school records. There are still a few events to run and final house points along with Champions and Runner-Up Champions will be put in the next newsletter. See further on in this newsletter for results so far.

Following an application process, we are very proud that a large number of our students qualified for Gifted and Online Programs. These students have now begun extension courses in a range of areas including Creative Writing, Mathematics, and Digital Technologies, offered through Virtual Learning Tasmania, and supported through our school Student Support Space.

Our Launch into Learning programs are well underway with our Little Swimmers and Little Bookworms meeting each Tuesday morning from 9:00am. If you have a child, yet to begin school, or have a friend or neighbour with a little person, please encourage them to join us, or give the school a call for more information.

Did you know that parents and staff are automatically members of the School Association unless they advise in writing that they do not wish to be? We would love for more parents and community members to be active members of our School Association and join our committee. For a small investment in time (two one-hour meetings each term), this is a great opportunity to have input into your school.

The School Association Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held at school on Tuesday the 21st of March 2023. As a member you are invited to attend our AGM and find out what the Committee have been doing over the past 12 months. You will have an opportunity to ask questions of the Committee and to be nominated as a committee member. We are always on the lookout for new members who bring with them a passion to improve the school, its facilities and make sure our students have amazing opportunities.

If you have questions, or would like to join us, please contact, Kaelene Crossingham, Sam Terry or myself at school.

I cannot emphasise enough the importance of attending school as much as possible. You may have seen the advertising campaign Every Day Counts. Just being a little bit late doesn’t seem much but as you can see in the table below it really adds up.

St Helens District High School wants to work closely with families to improve attendance. Please contact us if you are having trouble getting your child to school. I have included an article below on how to access learning for your child, should they be away, but well enough to continue learning at home. Whilst we acknowledge that illness may mean students are at home for a short time, it’s most important that our students are actively participating in their learning, at school, with their teacher and classmates.

Virtual Learning Centre

If your child needs to stay home due to illness, but is well enough to continue learning, they may like to access the Virtual Learning Centre (VLC) via Canvas.

For Kindergarten to Year 10 students, the VLC provides access to online lessons and activities for your child on various focus areas including Reading and Writing, Number, Science, Physical Activity and Wellbeing. Your child can complete activities of interest to them or are able to support catch-up learning and revision. If your child is unsure of their Canvas username and password to access the VLC, please let us know and we can provide these to you.

You can also access resources and ideas to support learning at home at Learning at home. You can find out more about the Virtual Learning Centre on the Department for Education, Children and Young People website.

Kind regards,
Anita Haley

NAPLAN INFORMATION 2023

Students will be sitting NAPLAN between 15 and 27 March 2023.

The National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students are already learning at school. On its own, NAPLAN is not a test that can be studied for, and students are not expected to do so.

NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process – it does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance; however, students and parents may use individual results to discuss progress with teachers.

This is the first year NAPLAN will be held in March, having previously taken place in May. This change was made so school systems would have access to results earlier in the school year, so they can be used to inform teaching and learning plans for the remainder of the year.

CANTEEN SPECIALS – TERM 1

9/10 CHILD STUDIES

A huge thank you goes out to all our wonderful primary teachers who are supporting the year 9/10 Child Studies Program. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with the year 9/10s assisting with literacy programs, buddy reading, technology, re-engaging students back into their classrooms, and overall being wonderful mentors to the juniors in the school.

Claire French
9/10 Child Studies

eBOOKS IN SCHOOLS

A Whole New World of Books is Just a Few Taps Away in the eBook Platform SORA!

Public school students have access to thousands of eBooks, audiobooks, digital magazines, graphic novels and easy reads by downloading the Sora app on school or home devices.

While eBooks aren’t a replacement for print books, having access to new, contemporary titles and classics is a fast and effective way to encourage students to develop a love of reading.

We’re excited to welcome readers of all levels and interests with this new collection available to your student now!

Download the Sora app today:

3-6 & 7-10 ATHLETIC CARNIVALS

The 3-6 Athletic Carnival was held on Monday 27th February and the 7-10 Athletic Carnival was held on Friday 3rd March. Results of both are shown below.

At the time of this newsletter being published there are still several events that need to be completed so points and champions have not been finalised. These events will be run in the next few weeks:

• Grade 3-6: The 800m, 1500m and Grade 6 Boys Shotput.
• Grade 7-10: The 1500m, Triple Jump, Grade 9 Girls and Grade 7 Boys High Jump.

Final points and Track and Field Champions will be in the next newsletter after all events have been completed.

TRACK EVENTS (Overall 1st, 2nd and 3rd placings)

FIELD EVENTS (1st, 2nd and 3rd placings)

RECORDS BROKEN

Grade 4 Boys 200m: Broken by Archie Gilbert of Treloggen who ran a time of 31.06 secs. Previous record held by Reuben Nicklason since 2011 – 32.6

Grade 5 Boys Shotput (2kg): Broken by Chester Terry of Argonaut with a throw of 7.14 metres. Previous record held by Noah Martin in 2022 – 7.00 metres.

Grade 5 Girls Shotput (2kg): Broken by Wilhelmina Simpson of Columba with a throw of 5.22 metres. Previous record held by Alise Hall in 2022 – 4.41 metres.

Grade 6 Girls Shotput (3kg): Broken by Izabella Bourke of Columba with a throw of 5.72 metres. Previous record held by Skye Laycock in 2022 – 4.50 metres.

Grade 9 Girls Shotput (3kg): Broken by Bridie Crossingham of Columba with a throw of 8.27 metres. Previous record held by Bianca Young in 2022 – 6.71 metres.

Grade 6 Boys Javelin (400g): Broken by Lennox Bennett of Columba with a throw of 19.52 metres. Previous record held by Tibs Foley in 2022 – 16.54 metres.

Grade 6 Girls Javelin (400g): Broken by Dolly Gable of Columba with a throw of 11.23 metres. Previous record held by Charlotte Lehmann in 2022 – 11.13 metres.

Grade 7 Boys Javelin (600g): Broken by Noah Bourke of Columba with a throw of 18.95 metres. Previous record held by Ben Lawry in 2022 – 18.43 metres.

Grade 9 Girls Javelin (500g): Broken by Alex Jones of Treloggen with a throw of 16.20 metres. Previous record held by Nicole Mallinson in 2022 – 13.24 metres.

Grade 10 Girls Javelin (500g): Broken by Kiarna Ewington of Columba with a throw of 16.59 metres. Previous record held by Gwyneth Gibson in 2022 – 15.44 metres.

OP-SHOP NEWS

Well it’s all happening at the St Helens School Op-Shop. We are about to launch our RECYCLED CIRCUS COSTUME HIRE SERVICE. Over the last four months we have been putting together and accumulating over 100 costumes (kids and adults). We have many different outfits e.g. super heroes, monsters, Roaring 20’s and the list goes on. Hire will be available Tuesday to Friday and we will be accepting cash only for the hire service. A refundable deposit will be taken and refunded when costumes come back washed and in good order. It has been a lot of work but fun and we are all very excited about this new addition to the Op-Shop. Stay tuned to our St Helens District High School Facebook page to know when we are starting this service. We can’t wait!

Our Childrens’ area is really doing well. We have lots of school uniform clothing available at the moment and change of season clothes. Clean, saleable goods can be left at the shop during shop hours - 10.00am to 3.00pm Monday to Friday and 10.00 am to 2.00pm Saturday. Remember your donations and sales go to your school to help in the education of your children and grandchildren.

TALKING ABOUT VAPING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE

Australian surveys show vaping by young people has increased. Young people who vape nicotine are exposed to a toxic chemical that can harm adolescent brain development (the brain continues to develop until the age of 25) and lead to dependence. There is also some evidence that vaping nicotine is associated with later tobacco use among teenagers.

Why are young people attracted to vaping?

The advertising and promotion of vaping products is illegal in Australia. However, companies can use other strategies to target youth. Social media has been found to play a role as both an information source and as a means of exposure to e-cigarette advertising in Australia. Companies are also glamourising their products to seem cool or fun and creating flavours that appeal to young people.

There have been a number of studies which have found that e-cigarette flavours which give off the perception of sweetness (such as candy or fruit flavoured) may make buying and trying e-cigarettes more appealing among young people.

"In recent years we have also seen the proliferation of shops selling enticing non-nicotine e-cigarettes and liquids with thousands of attractive flavours like green apple ice, cinnamon roll and alpha mint. These are purely recreational products that have no place in our market for either kids or adults.” – Cancer Council Australia

TALKING ABOUT VAPING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE

Are you concerned about a young person who may be vaping? Having a conversation about it might feel tricky, but it’s always a good idea!

Start with information

Get the key facts, learn the basics about vaping products , and think through what you want to say. Consider some questions you might be asked, and how you want to respond.

Approach it calmly

You might want to start the conversation when you’re doing an activity together, such as driving or preparing a meal. Keep things casual and relaxed. You might want to use something you saw in a TV show or on the news as a chance to bring up the issue.

COMMUNITY EVENTS AND INFORMATION

FORKLIFT COURSE AT TRADE TRAINING CENTRE

BRIXHIBITION COMPETITION – ST HELENS LIBRARY

ST HELENS NETBALL ASSOCIATION

PUMPTRACK SURVEY

ST HELENS BASKETBALL 2023 SEASON