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The end of the semester is Friday next week, so for most students, there will be some changes in their subjects and teachers. In Year 7, the changes will be minimal, whereas, for Years 10 and 11, there will be some very different subjects starting the following week. It is always exciting when student choice has helped to determine the subjects we make available to our students. For the first time in a very long time we have a class of Year 10 Geography. The next semester will start for the remaining two weeks of the term. Reports will go home in the last week of school with comments for Home Group and grades for all subjects.
There are several camps for different subjects and year levels happening at the moment. Year 10’s had their Careers Trip last week, Outdoor Education camp is this week, Year 12’s have their retreat in a couple of weeks, and our students who are part of the Projects Abroad Trip to Cambodia leave on 30th June. All of these camps require extensive planning, preparation and commitment from staff, so a big thank you to all involved.
The Canteen has introduced an electronic payment facility recently, so students may purchase with cards which seems to have been very popular. There has also been a big increase in the number of homemade items being produced by Susan and Heather, making use of generous donations, which have been selling very well.
Tyler Hogan - Principal
Across both Years 11 and 12 our Child Studies classes are working on a range of practical projects this term. The Year 12's have focused on gender stereotyping, completing research into the issue and creating gender-inclusive toys. Alana created a frog soft toy, Milly a look-and-find sensory toy and Takeria a neutral coloured bunny rug.
The Year 11's have chosen different projects to explore: Kacey has learned to crochet and made a bee as a gift for a baby, Layla created wellbeing promotion posters for a local primary school and Jensen is working on a felt play board with the transport theme.
We have also been doing practical learning in the kitchen, creating healthy meals and lunch box snacks for children. These focus on increasing fruit and vegetable intake in young people. All of these activities are designed to prepare students for planning and implementing some learning activities with children over the next term. These will happen in partnership with Gladstone Primary School and Kindergarten so keep an eye out for photos of those events soon!
Kate Seidel - Teacher
In Week 6 of Term 2 the Year 10 students spent the week in Adelaide exploring possible pathways for their lives after school. For some of the career sessions, students were able to choose which session best suited their interests and career pathway. The sites that were visited as part of the camp were Defence Force Recruiting, Adelaide College of the Arts, UniSA Health, PEER, University of Adelaide, MTA, Adelaide Oval, Academy of Interactive Arts, Art Gallery, Adelaide Zoo, Flinders University and the Planetarium. Students wore their school uniforms on this camp and did a good job representing Gladstone High School, being respectful of the presenters and taking responsibility for their behaviour while away from home. As part of the learning experience, the students were expected to navigate their own way around the city and suburbs using public transport, which they did very well. Students were also expected to pack their own lunches and snacks and were responsible for cooking the BBQ and cleaning up after each meal.
Students were exposed to the many options available to them at the end of their school career and were inspired to begin the serious consideration of what personal and academic choices they will need to make as they finish Year 10 and commence SACE in 2024.
Alison Johnson - Senior School Coordinator
Our Middle School students participate in a range of learning and assessment activities in Maths. All of our teachers have completed training in Thinking Maths – a program that develops teachers’ emphasis on problem-solving skills and encourages the use of open-ended investigations using practical, hands-on learning.
This year, we have also introduced an online assessment tool called “Essential Assessment.” This allows students to complete pre-assessments at the beginning of a new topic, ensuring that teachers are targeting specific learning to their classes. Essential Assessment also provides online activities specifically focusing on any misconceptions individual students may have. Post-tests allow us to directly compare the progress students have made in a particular topic.
Snapshot: Year 8
In Year 8 Maths with Mrs. Seidel and Mrs. Gaunt, we have used Essential Assessment to support learning in Fractions/Decimals/Percentages and Measurement. Students have also participated in card and dice games focusing on numeracy skills such as multiplication, place value, understanding fractions and comparing decimals. As an introduction to calculating the circumference, students completed an investigation into the relationship between the diameter and perimeter of a circle. They learned that Diameter ÷ Perimeter is approximately 3.142, the ratio of Pi.
Helping at Home
Are you keen to support your child’s learning in numeracy and Maths at home? Websites such as Transum and Nrich Mathematics have a range of logic puzzles and games. Maths is Fun is a great website for explaining concepts students might be finding challenging, stepping them through explanations and examples followed by online practice question.
Kate Seidel - Middle School Coordinator
On Wednesday 31st May, girls from Years 7 to 12 travelled to Port Pirie by bus or car to compete in the Knockout Netball carnival. There were five other schools competing including Mid North Christian College, Orroroo Area School, Jamestown Community School, Booleroo Centre District School and Quorn Area School.
The Gladstone 7/8 team, coached by Ali Gulin and Hailey Zwar, placed 3rd overall which was an excellent achievement. The Gladstone 9/10 team was coached and led to victory by Imogen Cunningham and Asia Brand. They won all their games and will move on to the next round to be played in early August. The Gladstone 11/12 team was made up of students from Years 10, 11 and 12. They played some close games and finished third overall. Thanks to Brooke Hansen and Mrs Gaunt for looking after the 11/12 team. There was great sportsmanship displayed by all teams. Everyone worked well together as a team and showed respect to other teams and umpires.
Thanks to the following people for making this day possible; Mrs. Gaunt for organising teams, coaches, umpires and transport, this was greatly appreciated by all students. Huge thanks to Ali Gulin, Kylie Clogg, Kristin Nicolson, Brooke Hansen, Molly Combe, Ellen Pole, Asia, Hailey, Immy, Digger and anyone else who helped out on the day with roles including transport, umpiring, scoring and coaching. It was greatly appreciated. Without these volunteers, days like this are impossible to make happen.
This year we were fortunate enough to purchase and use Gladstone High netball dresses. Thanks to the Governing Council for organising them, and to Deb Davis for organising the trying on, allocation and washing of the uniforms. We received many compliments on the day. They looked amazing!
We finished the day off with a quick Maccas run which was enjoyed by all students and a nice way to end a great day.
Immy and Tess
The Tjindu Foundation is a program supporting Aboriginal learners to gain their SACE, it provides a Cultural based curriculum to 'Close the Gap' in Education for Aboriginal people. The program facilitates Aboriginal Studies and Health and Wellbeing.
On May 17th - 21st May, Antwan O'Brien attended a camp to Melbourne with the Tjindu Foundation. The Aboriginal learners were immersed in Cultural sharing by Aboriginal leaders in the AFL and participated in the Longest Walk which was initiated by Michael Long formerly of the Essendon FC. Opportunities like this are important for our Aboriginal learners as it guides them to have higher expectations of Education and Career pathways.
"We watched a lot of footy, including watching Essendon defeat Richmond by a point. Unfortunately, the Academy team that we were meant to play was sick, so we didn't get to play at the 'G." Antwan O'Brien