3 March 2016

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Hello everyone,

As we near the mid-point of Term 1, it is important in all the busyness of the Term to pause and reflect on our achievements and how we celebrate success. Peter Hughes has provided a detailed article celebrating the achievements of our 2015 SACE Stage 2 class. He also notes another important reason to celebrate – many of the current group of Stage 2 students have started the year's work very effectively. Well done to them and their teachers. Another important success for us was our swimming team winning the MNSEC Championship Shield at Booleroo Centre last Tuesday night. Renee Thamm details that and other sports information for us later in the newsletter.

Year 9-11 student leaders were elected Wednesday. Congratulations to each elected student,

Year 9 Henry Woodlands & Lucy Wilsdon
Year 10 Noah Zwar & Alyssa Crisp
Year 11 Thomas Taylor, Nigel Kleinig, Brooke Cousins & Chloe Smart
Year 12 (Elected 2015)
School Captains – Sharni Chapman & Jack Flavel
Senior School Leaders – Millie Smart & Brody Macfarlane

another reason to celebrate. Year 8 students will elect their leaders on camp this week. We formally induct our students at an Assembly on Thursday 17th March at 12noon. Families and community members are most welcome.

School uniform reflects school pride and cohesion. Students started the term actively following the uniform policy. I realise there are times when a uniform item is not available to wear. If this happens in your family, please add a note to your student's diary. If your child's uniform needs replacement items please buy navy. We can only maintain this aspect of school identity with your ongoing support.

Peter Hughes mentions in his article the change of academic year in the last weeks of Term 4 each year. All students who have experienced the new academic year in the last weeks of Term 4 have been given the opportunity to respond to an electronic survey (survey monkey). It is timely to check this innovation by "hearing all voices". If your child is in Years 9-12 please check that they have participated in the survey and if they are yet to do so please encourage their involvement.

The Year 8s are currently on camp at Pt Augusta. It is a wonderful way for the group to get to know each other better and develop their team work skills. The weather couldn't be better for an aquatics themed camp! We will have a report on the camp in the next newsletter.

Principal – Denise Higgins

SACE / YEAR 11 & 12 COORDINATOR'S REPORT

For some this may be the final year of school

Nearing the end of Week 5 of Term 1 means that our Stage 2 students have been studying their 2016 subjects for 6 weeks due to our early start to the academic year, which started in week 7 of Term 4 2015. Many of our Stage 2 students have made good use of this opportunity and have completed a significant amount of work for each of their subjects over the Christmas break, which has set them up very well for the 2016 academic school year and for this reason the majority of our students start the year ahead of those studying in other schools around the state. For example it is worth noting that there are several students who have completed the research component of their Research Project and are about to start their Outcome which, when completed, will mark the completion of two thirds of this single semester subject. Some have been critical of the way we change over to the new academic year at the end of Term 4 but when I see the advantages it presents for our Stage 2 students I will be loath to discard this innovative practice. It is good to note that several neighbouring schools are looking to introduce this for their own sites in the future.

But what of our class of 2015?

It may seem to be the case that while we make a fuss of our Stage 2 students while they are here we soon move on as the new academic year begins. While we certainly do have to direct our energies to our new group of Stage 2 students it does not mean the succusses of the previous group are forgotten and it is to these successes I would like to focus for the remainder of this article.

Of the 26 Stage 2 students who completed the year in 2015, 21 of them successfully completed their SACE. Eight of these 21 achieved multiple 'A' grades with one who achieved an 'A' in 4 of her 5 subjects. The remaining 5 students who did not complete their SACE are currently continuing their studies at another site or are employed in a range of positions locally.

Stephanie Northcott 2015 DUX

As you will remember in 2014 we decided to change the way we awarded the prestigious title of DUX of School. We no longer award the DUX in the calendar year but wait until the official SACE results are released in late December and announce it in the following year, thus avoiding the possibility of the school achievement not quite aligning with the final SACE grades. We are very pleased to announce the DUX of 2015 as being Stephanie Northcott. Stephanie will be invited to our 2016 presentation ceremony in Term 4 to receive recognition of this award. Stephanie is currently undertaking a Traineeship in Business and Administration at the Clare and Gilbert Valley Council. She has deferred her University course in Journalism / Creative Writing at Uni SA. Without divulging names and personal details we are very pleased to report that our Stage 2 students from 2015 have achieved their goals as planned. The 2016 year will see them heading off to University, TAFE, Traineeships & Apprenticeships or Employment.

At this moment in time 15 of our students have been offered places in TAFE, Flinders, Adelaide or UniSA University. The courses they will undertake are in the fields of Psychological Science, Primary or Secondary Teaching, Nursing, Medical Science, Engineering, Business, Journalism, Creative Arts and Interior Architecture. (Some students plan to take a gap year and have accepted but deferred their offer until 2017). Other students have apprenticeships in a range of areas while the students remaining are employed in a range of local retail outlets.

In summary we are once again very proud of the efforts and achievements of our class of 2015 and we remain confident that this year we will be able to prepare our senior students to successfully achieve their desired goals in order to be contributing members of our community.

Year 12 Formal

Peter Hughes
SACE / Year 11 & 12 Coordinator

GLADSTONE HIGH SCHOOL TWILIGHT SWIMMING CARNIVAL

Gladstone High School's annual Swimming Carnival had numerous highlights including many broken records.

Hannah Watson from Oswald broke three records on the night; including the Under 14 Female 50m Backstroke record, previously held by Tahlia Chapman of Richards Gale (45.73seconds), in a time of 35.45 seconds. Hannah also broke her existing record (32.28 seconds) for the Under 14 Female 50m Freestyle in a time of 31.74 seconds. The third record that Hannah broke for the Twilight Carnival was the Open Female 4 x 25m Individual Medley in a time of 1:23.05 minutes. The record was previously held by Alyssa Richards of Oswald (2002) with a time of 1:27.13 minutes.

Alice Jackson from Richards Gale broke the Under 16 Female 50m Backstroke record, previously held by Chloe Smart of Sullivan (42.81 seconds), in a time of 42.05 seconds.

Ben Treasure from Richards Gale broke a record dating back to 2009, held by Dylan Chapman (Richards Gale, 43.84). Ben completed the Under 16 50m Breaststroke in a time of 43.53 seconds.

Tahlia Chapman from Richards Gale broke Matilda Zander's (Oswald) record from 2015 in the Open Female 50m Breaststroke. Completing the race in 44.83 seconds.

The most exciting events of the night were the Under 16 Female 4 x 25m Freestyle Relay and the Under 16 Mixed 4 x 25m Medley Relay. The Under 16 Female 4 x 25m Freestyle Relay team from Richards Gale swam in a time of 1:09.30 minutes beating the previous record held by Richards Gale in 2013 in a time of 1:10.99 minutes. Participants from the Oswald Under 16 Mixed Medley Relay team swam in a time of 1:19.11 minutes, beating the previous record held by Richards Gale in 2011 (1:20.93 minutes).

Congratulations to Oswald, whose team captains Brody Macfarlane and Matilda Zander happily accepted the Overall shield on behalf of their team.

High School Shield

Oswald 491 points
Richards Gale 441 points
Sullivan 414 points

Primary School Shield

Crystal Brook Primary School 108 points
Laura Primary School 102 points
St Joseph's Primary School 91 points
Gladstone and Georgetown Primary School 59 points

Champion Swimmers

Open Female

Chloe Smart 37 points
Matilda Zander 26 points
Hannah Watson 18 points

Open Male

Riley Hennessy 40 points
Kael Ambjerg – Pedersen 20 points
Craig Zanker 15 points

Under 16 Female

Alice Jackson 24 points
Alyssa Crisp 16 points
Ellen Crisp 11 points

Under 16 Male

Ben Treasure 23 points
Adam Jackson 19 points
Jim Treasure 14 points

Under 14 Female

Hannah Watson 24 points
Aynsley Samuel 19 points
Palika Blanch 17 points

Under 14 Male

John Treasure 23 points
Hayden Hooper 14 points
Jarvis Triffitt-Broom 9 points

Year 6/7 Female

Casey Cleggett 24 points
Yamuna Blanch 17 points
Hannah Longmire 14 points

Year 6/7 Male

George Klemm 28 points
Hugh Rackham 21 points
David Mumford 16 points

Thank you to the Gladstone Swimming Pool Community who ran the canteen on the day, to the Governing Council for the running of the BBQ, Brooke Hodgson and Deb Smart from Crystal Brook Swimming Club for helping with the use of the timing system, and all parents who assisted with the timing.

MNSEC SWIMMING CARNIVAL

This year our MNSEC Swimming team was among the strongest at the MNSEC carnival, held at Booleroo Centre Swimming Pool last Tuesday evening. Congratulations to Gladstone High School as overall winners, with our Gladstone 6/7 team narrowly missing the overall shield by 1 point.

First place event winners included:

Open Female 50m Butterly Division 1 – Hannah Watson (34.71)
Open Female 50m Butterfly Division 2 – Chloe Smart (35.91)
Under 14 Female 50m Backstroke Division 1 – Hannah Watson (36.14)
Under 14 Female 50m Backstroke Division 2 – Aynsley Samuel (41.03)
Under 16 Male 50m Backstroke Division 2 – Joel Ambjerg-Pedersen (48.18)
Under 16 Female 50m Backstroke Division 1 – Alice Jackson (41.20)
Under 16 Female 50m Backstroke Division 2 – Alyssa Crisp (43.78)
Open Female 50m Backstroke Division 1 – Chloe Smart (38.55)
Open Female 50m Backstroke Division 2 – Matilda Zander (42.50)
Under 15 Female 50m Breaststroke Division 2 – Tahlia Chapman (45.96)
Under 16 Male 50m Breaststroke Division 2 – Joel Ambjerg-Pedersen (49.52)
Under 16 Female 50m Breaststroke Division 1 – Alice Jackson (47.29)
Under 16 Female 50m Breaststroke Division 2 – Alyssa Crisp (48.83)
Open Male 50m Breaststroke Division 1 – Kael Ambjerg-Pedersen (44.15)
Open Male 50m Breaststroke Division 2 – Riley Hennessy (46.11)
Open Female 100m Freestyle Division 1 – Chloe Smart (1:10.25)
Under 14 Female 50m Freestyle Division 1 – Hannah Watson (31.77)
Under 14 Female 50m Freestyle Division 2 – Aynsley Samuel (33.95)
Under 14 Female 50m Freestyle Division 4 – Emily Ashby (42.59)
Open Female 50m Freestyle Division 1 – Chloe Smart (32.03)
Open Female 50m Freestyle Division 4 – Chelsea Chapman – McInerney (37.22)
Under 16 Female 50m Freestyle Division 1 – Alice Jackson (35.68)
Under 16 Female 50m Freestyle Division 3 – Visakha Blanch (40.46)
Under 15 Male 50m Freestyle Division 2 – Ben Treasure (35.65)
Under 15 Female 50m Freestyle Division 4 – Chelsea Chapman – McInerney (37.79)
Open Female 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay (2:22.86)

Female Champion Swimmer Award

Chloe Smart and Hannah Watson drew in 2nd place on 22 points and Alice Jackson drew with a student from Jamestown Community School on 18 points.

Year 6/7 Trophy

Orroroo 79 points
Gladstone 78 points
Quorn 69 points
Booleroo 68 points
Jamestown 51 points
Peterborough 18 points

Handicap Shield

Orroroo Area School 426 points
Peterborough High School 411 points
Jamestown Community School 404 points
Gladstone High School 389 points
Quorn Area School 380 points
Booleroo Centre District School 363 points

Overall Shield

Gladstone High School 370 points
Booleroo Centre District School 363 points
Quorn Area School 345 points
Jamestown Community School 305 points
Orroroo Area School 253 points
Peterborough High School 52 points

Pennants

Under 14 – Quorn Area School
Under 15 – Gladstone High School and Quorn Area School
Under 16 – Gladstone High School
Open – Gladstone High School and Booleroo Centre District School

Thank you to the following staff and parents for their assistance on the night: Julia Murrie, Denise Higgins, Stephen Bosch, Barry Martin, Emma Kerr, Vanessa and Scott Watson, David Harslett, Geoffrey Klemm, Deb Smart, Brooke Hodgson and Brenton Hombsch.

GYMNASTICS STATE TRIALS – MIKAYLA GLENN

The Gladstone High School Community wishes Mikayla Glenn the best of luck for her up and coming State Gymnastics trials in Adelaide. Mikayla is one of six from the Port Pirie Regional Gymnastics Academy who will be participating in these trials. This is the first time that anyone from the Port Pirie Regional Gymnastics Academy has trialled for the State team.

Mikayla Glenn

SKI TRIP REMINDER

Families of Year 9 students are reminded that consents and the deposit of $250 is due by Friday 4th March for students attending the Ski Trip. Please return your form even if your child is not attending.