Gladstone High School eNewsletter

Reports will be coming home today for all students, with a written comment provided for Year 12’s. In addition to this the Year 8/9 students will be involved in 3-way learning conferences on Tuesday after school where they will share their learning journeys for the year. Year 12’s parents also have the opportunity to participate in a phone interview with subject teachers on Monday after school. We really do encourage parents and students to review the reports and make contact with subject teachers if you would like to discuss any concerns or ways to improve.

Last weekend we had a working bee to work on the amphitheatre, cattle yards and handball courts. A very big thank you to the parents, community members, staff and students who all attended and achieved so much. It was truly a case of many hands make light work.

In some latest staffing news I can announce Jacqui Edge has won the Senior School Coordinator position for 3 years and Stephen Bosch has accepted the Deputy Principal position for 3 years also. It is wonderful to have some continuity in the roles for the next few years.

A little bit of advance warning for the home diaries, Wednesday August 4^th is Student Free Day.

Principal - Tyler Hogan

Year 8 and 9 Three-Way Learning Conferences – Tuesday 29^th June 3:40-7:00pm

The Three-Way Learning Conferences are a different approach to sharing your child’s progress when compared with the Parent/Teacher Interviews we held in Term 1. These conferences are run by your child to share their strengths, areas for improvement, samples of their learning and their literacy and numeracy goals.

How are the Learning Conferences different to Parent/Teacher Interviews?

Because your child will run the conference, you only need to book ONE session. Each Home Group has two teachers, so book with whichever one has a time available which is convenient for you!

8A – book with either Jackie McAllister or Toby Cocks

8B – book with either Nicola Wright or Kate Seidel

9A – book with either Luke Bartlett or Kate Cameron

9B – book with either Tyler Norton or Ben Hussell

All students are working hard on developing PowerPoint presentations and collecting samples of their work to share with you. We value this opportunity for communication between our students, teachers and you as parents/carers.

Information on how to book has been sent home with all Year 8 and 9 students, and also emailed to all parents/carers. Bookings can be made through the Sentral Parent Portal or if you have any problems accessing this, please give the school a call.

Below are some thoughts from students who have completed the Learning Conferences before. Most Year 9 and 10 students have mentioned that they were a bit nervous in Year 8 as it was the first time they had done them, but found it easier in Year 9 because they were familiar with what to expect.

We all look forward to seeing you on Tuesday 29^th June at the Gladstone Community Sports Complex!

Kate Seidel - Middle School Coordinator

I thought the Three-Way Learning Conferences were a good way to reflect on our work and think about how we could improve – Takeria, Year 10

It was good to look back at our skills and what we still need to learn and improve. In Year 8 it was pretty nerve-wrecking but in Year 9 we knew what to expect and it was a lot better – Alana, Year 10

The Learning Conferences are a good way to set goals and plan for how we will achieve them – Lily, Year 9

I liked sharing my work samples and reflections about my learning with my parents. It’s good to look at my strengths and areas for improvement – Hailey, Year 9

Since the end of last year, the Agricultural Department has been attending the Crystal Brook Market. Here we have been showcasing and selling the produce grown and prepared by students, and wine that is harvested by the students and then sent away for fermentation to Stonebridge Winery in the Clare Valley. So far, we have attended 4 markets with volunteers running the stall, we have had teachers, students and even community members helping. We would like to say a big thankyou to all of those that have given some of their time up to help at the stalls, your support does not go unnoticed. We have been quite successful at the markets with the produce sales exceeding over $500 profit, and wine sales exceeding $1000.

Agriculture Teacher - Nicola Wright

On Friday the 18^th of June, Luke Ramsay from Cousins Merino Services attended the school and ran multiple pregnancy scanning sessions for the students on the Border Leicester Stud sheep. Students were able to watch a demonstration on how to scan sheep and then have a go themselves if they were interested. They were also given time for questioning about this career path and the benefits of scanning your sheep.

We were very successful with our results achieved from the scanning, with all of sheep scanned in lamb, with a predicted 171% lambing percentage.

Agriculture Teacher - Nicola Wright

On Friday 18th June, 2021 we were fortunate enough to have Ben Lehmann from APEX Jamestown and Ben Van Boekel from the Caltowie Music Festival, visit and present us with a big cheque for $2250. The money raised from the Caltowie Music Festival is being used with APEX to support mental health initiatives in our local communities. We are very grateful for the funding that they have provided to us which will go towards implementing Growing with Gratitude in our school.

Thank you very much to Ben and Ben for supporting our school in a program that is very important for our young people.

Wellbeing Coordinator - Kate Cameron

Last Sunday 20th June we held a working bee to remove the existing pavers from the amphitheatre in readiness of the upgrade that area will be receiving.

Many hands make light work and we certainly had many hands on Sunday. We are looking forward to seeing this space turned into an area that the kids can utilise on a daily basis.

Thank you to the following volunteers.

Ben, Beck, Will, Chloe & Hailey Crawford

Bruce, Gabrielle & Max Crouch

Hailey Hodgson & Brooke Hansen

Nicki & Jackson Barberien

Nat Hodgson

Steve Bosch

Bronwyn Mumford

Kathryn Hansen