4 February 2016

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPALS REPORT

Hello everyone and welcome to the 2016 School Year.

A special welcome all new families to Gladstone High School, I look forward to meeting you as the term progresses. There are many events in term one that present opportunities to meet staff. The first of these is the Parent Information Evening, next week, on Wednesday 10th February. The school calendar for term one includes many other events you may like to attend. Families wishing for a more formal meeting are welcome to make an appointment to meet with me or other staff. The Parent Information Evening will begin in the School Hall at 7:30pm and is your opportunity to meet your child’s Home Group teacher, Subject teachers and members of the school Leadership Team. All are welcome.

I would like to thank Sharryn Daly for her work with me to ensure my smooth transition into the role of Principal. Part of this transition included work on the Site Improvement Plan(SIP). Our SIP was constructed as a 2015 – 2017 plan and the priorities will continue. Those priorities being Attendance, Literacy and Numeracy and SACE Improvement.

I would like to formally welcome staff new to the school

• Mrs Lisa Key is Deputy Principal, Lisa is also teaching two Year 11 classes.
• Mr Derek Friedrichs – Year 11 Home Group, Home Economics, Food and Hospitality and HPE.
• Mr Jordan Smith – Year 11 Home Group, Technology Studies and Research Practices.
• Mrs Senada Vojin – teaching Maths and Science classes. Senada is currently on leave and Mr Andrew Smith is teaching in her place.

We also welcome back Ms Jan Russell, teaching Visual Arts and Information Processing and Mr Greg Richardson, teaching English, History and Personal Learning Plan.

While greeting the students at our first assembly I also revisited the school values – “Doing Your Best, Respect, Responsible and Honesty.” I noted with them the fact that all were wearing the school uniform and how important it was as a symbol of being part of our school community. Thank you to you the parents and caregivers for your support in ensuring your students are in uniform.

Congratulations to the 2015 Year 12s. Their achievements have allowed them to complete their SACE, gain apprenticeships/traineeships, enter into further study and/or gain employment. On behalf of the school community I wish them all the best for the future. Peter Hughes will provide more details in a future newsletter.

The Gladstone High School Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday 16th February, starting at 7:30pm in the School Resource Centre. The purpose of the AGM is to elect a new Governing Council and office bearers. Nomination forms are available with this newsletter. The Governing Council plays an important role in the governance of the school and outlines its work in the Annual Report. I encourage you to attend. Further information is available from the school.

After being notified Christmas week, work commenced on the bus pick up and drop down loop during January. We will start using the area when work is completed, both in the oval area and in the school grounds. One of our considerations is shelter for students when arriving at school or waiting for the bus. Plans are being deliberated on as I write.

Just a reminder that the first Student Free Day for the term is on Friday 19th February. Staff will be working at Crystal Brook PS for the day. The topic for the day is “Growth Mindsets”. More information in this topic will be part of the next newsletter.

As you may notice we are transitioning to our new enewsletter over the course of this term and have engaged the services of a communication platform called Schoolzine. As a site we have decided to look at better ways of communicating not only with the community but staff and students also.

Schoolzine specialises in digital services for schools and their communication needs. Their innovative approach allows schools to produce media rich content that engages with their parents and wider communities, through a platform that has been built specifically for schools by schools. As a leader in digital school communications, their services include enewsletters with unlimited content, interactive surveys, dynamic calendars and online parent/teacher booking system, links to school web forms and much more. We look forward to being able to communicate more efficient via SMS, email and our new enewsletter. Over the next few weeks we will be releasing our enewsletter app for all smart phones and pushing feeds to an Official GHS facebook page. Exciting times ahead.

Paper copies will still be distributed to our normal community outlets with limited issues available at school.

You can subscribe to receive the enewsletter here

Thanks to those of you who have already subscribed to this platform.

NEW STAFF 2016

LISA KEY

I am excited to be joining Gladstone High School in the role of Deputy Principal.

I have spent the last 19 years at John Pirie Secondary School. My teaching background is in Maths, Science and Music. During my time in Port Pirie, I carried out a number of leadership roles, including Numeracy Coach, Assistant Principal and acting Deputy Principal.

On a personal note, I am married to Dave, who works at the Smelter in Port Pirie. We have two children – Abbie, who is eight, and five-year-old Caleb. I am originally from the Barossa Valley, although I have family links to this region.

I am passionate about helping students reach their full potential and developing the skills of staff to make this happen.

I look forward to meeting you all as the year progresses.

Lisa Key Deputy Principal

DEREK FRIEDRICHS

I would like to say hello and a big thank-you to the Gladstone High School community for the warm welcome provided at the commencement of my teaching career. I am exciting about exploring the possibilities Home Economics encompasses with our students and involving myself more in your great community. I currently reside in Balaklava with my wife Carly and two daughters; Willow (2yrs) and Sage (5 months) and come from a hospitality background where I have worked for over 10 years as a Chef and Caterer. I look forward to meeting everyone over the following weeks and working towards a successful 2016.

Mr Derek Friedrichs

JORDAN SMITH

Hi, I’m Jordan Smith and will be teaching Design and Technology and Research Practices. I have moved to Gladstone High from John Pirie Secondary, where I have been teaching since 2009. I grew up on a farm West of Laura, and I currently live in Crystal Brook with my wife and 1 year old son.

My building passion revolves around working with recycled timbers and innovative design. In my spare time I build custom electric guitars using local timbers, and have had the pleasure of assisting a number of students design and build guitars and ukuleles in the workshop.

I have been impressed with the year so far and look forward to seeing some amazing projects in the near future.

Jordan Smith

SCHOOL NEWS

GOVERNING COUNCIL AGM

Gladstone High School
Annual General Meeting
Tuesday 16th February 2016
Time: 7.30pm
Resource Centre - All Welcome

PARENT INFORMATION AND MEET THE TEACHER EVENING

All Parents/Caregivers are invited to attend a Parent Information and meet the teacher evening. This evening provides information especially for parents/caregivers, but students are able to accompany their parents.

Date: Wednesday 10th February
Time: 7.30pm
Location: School Hall

Principal, Denise Higgins & a Governing Council Representative will welcome you and talk about priorities for 2016, followed by information from Year Level Coordinators. There will then be an opportunity to speak with individual teachers. The evening will conclude with tea/coffee.

SCHOOL PHOTO DAY

Our whole school photo day is Thursday 11th February 2016. Individual student order packs have been sent home and must be returned to the photographer on the day with payment. Students not requiring any photos must still bring in their envelope for scanning. If you require family photos for siblings only, the order pack can be collected from the front office of the school.

EVENT CATERING & KITCHEN EQUIPMENT DONATIONS

Are you looking for your next event or function to be catered for? No matter how big or small, I will be looking for exciting opportunities for our students to gain valuable experience in hospitality by catering for functions of any size. Please feel free to contact me at GHS if you wish to discuss and opportunity further.

I encourage anyone who has any unwanted cooking equipment or appliances that are surplus to their needs to please consider donating them to GHS Home Ec centre. We would greatly appreciate these donations to help equip our centre adequately.

Derek Friedrichs

2016 MATERIALS & SERVICES CHARGE

Please be reminded that the 2016 charges are now due for payment. If you have any questions concerning payment options do not hesitate to contact me anytime to discuss. Please remember that you can pay by EFTPOS, E.F.T. or Direct Debit. Thank you to those who have already paid.

Sue Foulis Finance Officer

ORDERING NEW PE TOPS

Any student wishing to order a PE top, please collect an order form from the front office. Forms and payment need to be returned to front office by Thursday 11th February. Cost of sports shirt is $30.

STUDENT LEADERS 2016

As the Year 12 Student Leaders, we are excited about the roles we hold in the student leadership team. We aim to make a positive contribution to the Gladstone High community, and we are eager to work with the Year 8 -11 leaders to ensure that all student opinions and ideas are considered. Throughout the year, there will be opportunities for students across all year levels to express their ideas and concerns around school issues to their leaders and we strongly encourage students to do this. We are looking forward to the 2016 school year ahead, and we hope this will be a positive year for our whole community.

Millie Smart, Jack Flavel, Sharni Chapman & Brody Macfarlane