This week has again been very busy with our year 7’s on camp at Port Augusta with lots of aquatics and the chance to get to know each other a little bit better.

Last week we had a great team of swimmers represent us at Booleroo Centre for the MNSEC Swimming Carnival with some outstanding successes. The top swimmers from that competition were then selected to represent MNSEC on Wednesday in Adelaide for SASSA Swimming. Congratulations to all of our representatives on your selection. It is quite an honour to make either team and represent the school and MNSEC.

We have recently had a number of students test positive for COVID. A reminder to everyone that if your child is unwell please keep them at home. If your child tests positive please ensure you let the school know, and they should not attend school for 5 days. If they are symptomatic they should not attend. Students who identify as close contacts from either a case at home or if identified as a close contact from school are advised to wear a mask for 7 days and should undertake 5 rapid antigen tests over a 7-day period. Thank you for your support in reducing the levels of infection in our school.

Our proposed Student Free Day on Thursday 6^th April is now confirmed. Staff will be participating in professional learning about classroom observations.

Governing Council met last week and ratified our Mobile Phone Policy and also the Assessment and Reporting Procedures. Both have now been uploaded to our website. You should also receive a more detailed letter this week regarding Continuous Assessment. We have had to remind students they should not be contacting home from their phones even if they are unwell. Their phones should be turned off and locked away in the lockers for the entire day. If you need to contact your child please call the front office and we will pass on any messages.

Tyler Hogan - Principal

Personalised learning plans – known as ‘One Plans’ – support school students to reach their learning potential. One Plans are developed with input from the student, their teachers, and their family.

Children who are supported with a One Plan are:

• Aboriginal children and Aboriginal young people
• Children and young people in care (under guardianship)
• Children in preschool with extensive adjustments
• Students with disability.

One Plans support, document and provide direction for your child’s ongoing learning.

They help create an accessible, engaging and challenging learning environment for when your child attends school.

Teachers at GHS have been working hard to update and record One Plans for students. Parents of One Plan children can expect a letter home over the next few days with information about the plans and to help provide a little bit more information. Attached is also a Fact Sheet for parents.

If you would like to discuss One Plans, please contact me at the school via phone or email.

Kate Cameron - Wellbeing Coordinator

We are very excited to share that our first ever Year 7 Aquatics Camp took place this week! As part of our transition to high school program, this camp is an amazing opportunity for students to get to know each other, work together, demonstrate their persistence and bravery and have a lot of fun and adventure!

One thing we can say about this camp is that no time is wasted! Leaving for Port Augusta Monday morning, there was time for a quick bite of morning tea before getting changed and heading out for the first aquatics session – half the group went canoeing while the others tried their hand at wind surfing. The groups swapped over so everyone had a turn at both activities.

Following warm showers and little downtime the Year 7s set up their beds, broke out the cards and board games then went for a walk to the shops. A selection of snacks for the movie night came back with them!

Tuesday was an action packed day which (to the delight of staff) left everyone a little worn out and ready for a much earlier night! Sailing, surf skis, kayaking and snorkelling were all on the agenda. The slightly windy conditions were great for sailing but a challenge for the paddlers at first. This was a time where a number of students wanted to give up. With the encouragement of their peers, teachers and instructors, they stuck with it and did themselves proud.

A highlight of the camp is always the final expedition – this time we took surf skis and catamarans down to the beach where the group were met with morning tea at the park followed by games on the beach. Everyone was happy to get into warm, dry clothes after the expedition and after a quick clean up we were ready to load the trailer, thank the instructors and hop on the bus to head home.

As always, we are very grateful to Simon, Megan, Steve and new instructor Mick from the Port Augusta Aquatics and Outdoor Centre – their experience and encouragement when working with students is amazing and adds so much to the experience.

Thank you to Josh Palmer and Max Rutjens for joining us on the camp – they both spent lots of time on the water helping and encouraging students, trying some new activities and (mostly) staying dry! Not only did these guys do the important stuff like packing the trailer, setting up the projector, cooking a couple of BBQs and ensuring there was always a card game to join, they also offered to drive the ute up and back – even though that meant missing out on a bus ride!

Mrs. Deb Davis is a well-known fan of the aquatics camp and her cooking is legendary with the instructors up there! We were lucky enough to have Deb join us again this year… along with her delicious sausage rolls, apple crumble, Weet-Bix slice and chocolate cake. Deb’s energy, experience and interactions with our students brought so much positivity to the camp and we thank her for coming along.

Thank you also to Mr. Barry Martin for driving the bus up on Monday and coming back on Wednesday to pick us up.

The shared experiences over past three days are ones that we know will be memories these students talk about throughout their time at GHS and beyond. Thank you to all of their families who supported the camp with donations of baked goods, fruit, eggs and other snacks. We hope you are hearing lots of stories and from their adventures!

Kate Seidel - Middle School Coordinator 

On Tuesday night in Week 4, a bus full of students made the trip up the road to the Booleroo Centre Pool to compete in the MNSEC Swimming Carnival. The night was perfect as the students and teachers set up the Gladstone High School pavilion, a large number of parents and siblings. along with more teachers, soon arrived to cheer on GHS’ amazing athletes. 

Every one of our swimmers put their whole heart into each swim, beautifully demonstrating the GHS value of ‘doing your best’. The students were incredibly supportive of each other, actively watching and shouting encouragement to their fellow teammates throughout the evening. There were so many extraordinary swims on the night with standouts being Max Smart, Jackson Brand, Asia Brand, Hailey Hodgson, Cooper Seidel, Isaac Smart, Tess Cleggett, Logan Wurst and Eli Tucker, to name only a few. By the relays, the last event, the hard work of our swimmers during the night had brought GHS into second place, only a handful of points behind Booleroo Centre District School. The open girls and open boys relay teams ripped up the pool, with the boys team completely obliterating the competition. Unfortunately, GHS did not field a relay team in every division, so, despite an amazing night, GHS ended up achieving 2^nd overall with Booleroo Centre District School taking the shield for 2023. GHS won the Open shield and the Under 16 shield with Max Smart retaining the male champion swimmer trophy.

Community events like these can only happen with a lot of work in the background, a huge thank you to the GHS Sports Committee, led by Kate Seidel, who put in a substantial amount of after hours work to collate results and organize the event. A big thank you also goes to the parents and teachers who helped on the night by supporting the event, as well as marshalling students and timing. 

Alison Johnson

Governing Council AGM - 21st March 2023

Are you:

• Keen to see how Gladstone High School works?
• Keen to know the principal, Teachers and other staff well?
• Eager to make a difference in your child’s life?
• Keen to make a difference at Gladstone High School?
• Keen to be a part of an exciting future at Gladstone high School?

Meetings are held twice a term. For more information please contact Gladstone High School on 86622171 or Kathryn Hansen (GC Chairperson 2022) on 0438363123.

We would love for you to be a part of our team!

To escape the heat during the breaks in the heatwave we experienced last week, some of the students took the opportunity to show their moves in the air-conditioned hall.