19 May 2016

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

2016 Term 2 Week 3

The term is certainly progressing at a rapid rate and the students and staff are busy with the whole range of teaching and learning programs that occur every day here at school.

At various times in the school year students are involved in aspects of curriculum that take them outside of the classroom – why do we do this? Providing students with learning in context other than in the classroom allows opportunities for greater engagement and ultimately deeper learning. When students are learning in the field or hands on they are able to intensively 'drill down' into different aspects of a task that can create a 'stickable' learning moment which then becomes a constant feature of that persons skill set. Providing students with Work Experience opportunities is an example of this. The adult-world connections that are made by students on work experience will stay with them far longer than any academic explanation of work. I would like to congratulate all the students who took part in the last few weeks and encourage you to read some of the reflections in upcoming newsletters. I would also like to thank the many organisations, businesses, family members and friends who supported students on placement.

Last week we held Parent Teacher Interviews across two days. The purpose of Parent Teacher Interviews is to support parents with a greater understanding and access to their child's education and to ultimately facilitate better learning outcomes for all of our students. Research consistently reports the two biggest indicators of a child's success and wellbeing are their connectedness to school and the level of parental involvement in their schooling. In short our children (despite what they may tell us every day!) want us to be involved in what they are doing at school. Thank you to the parents who made appointments and met with staff, I look forward to having more of these conversations as the year progresses.

I am always available to discuss any aspect of your child's academic progress that you are concerned about and encourage you to contact the Front Office to arrange a time that suits you.

Regards
Kathleen Hoare
Principal

Kik

Chat on KIK

Special Request – if you child uses the social media app Kik, please read the article from the Guardian "What is Kik and should your child be using it?" and consider deleting the application.

The social media app is designed for adults who wish to maintain a level of anonymity online and has limited filters that may potentially leave your child at risk of inappropriate contact.

Think U Know

Last week we were fortunate to have Michelle Smith from SAPOL with us for a day to run workshops on a whole range of issues related to cyber safety.

I was involved in the parent session on Tuesday night and was very impressed by the content that was provided to support increased safety online.

All the students were involved in age specific workshops throughout the day and will be provided with ongoing resources to continue to support them in navigating this often unchartered and challenging territory.

Each newsletter we will highlight one of the fact sheets that could help you in a conversation with your child.

The web links are

This section covers topics such as:

What's cool online?
What can go wrong?
Who can I tell?
How to guides
Other stuff

The parent and educator link is

ThinkUKnow is a free, evidence-based cyber safety program that provides accessible cyber safety education to parents, carers and teachers through schools and organisations across Australia.

ThinkUKnow uses a network of trained law enforcement members and accredited volunteers from our program partner organisations to deliver the cyber safety education presentations nationwide.

Originally developed in the United Kingdom by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre, ThinkUKnow Australia was established by the AFP in 2009.

ThinkUKnow is a partnership between Microsoft Australia, Datacom and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and is delivered in collaboration with the New South Wales Police Force, Northern Territory Police, Queensland Police Service, South Australia Police, Tasmania Police, Western Australia Police and Neighbourhood Watch Australasia

Topics for parents include

Technology and Youth
Privacy
Relationships
Reputation management
How to Report
Resources
Further Support

This week's highlighted fact sheet is Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is the repeated use of the internet, mobile phones and other technologies to bully, intimidate and humiliate others. It differs from other bullying because it often continues outside of school and school hours. It can be 24/7 and sometimes you may not know who is behind it.

WORK EXPERIENCE REPORT

During Week 2, many of our Year 10 and 11 students participated in Work Experience as a part of Stage 1 Personal Learning Plan. Our students showed excellent professionalism and planning to organise their time in the workforce. Feedback received from the workplace providers has been excellent and the students have done our school proud. We'd like to thank the workplaces listed below for allowing our students to experience their profession.

Greg Richardson and Kerrilyn Elmer

9 A SIDE FOOTBALL

On Wednesday of Week 3 Year 8 and 9 students participated in the 9-A-side Football Carnival at Jamestown Community School. Nathan Hooper, Patrick Klingner, Noah Zwar, Jake Clements and Steven Haynes-Nayda were the umpires for the day. It was great to see such a strong representation from Gladstone High School students, with 3 girls' teams and 2 boy's teams competing for the Mick Redden Shield. Congratulations to the Year 9 Boys Team, who won the Grand Final! We placed 3rd for the overall shield, with Peterborough taking home the shield in 1st place.

Renee Thamm PE Teacher

On the 18th of May, we attended the 9-A-Side Carnival at Jamestown. Our team was Girls Gladstone 1 and consisted of Chelsea Chapman-McInerney, Lucy Duffield, Tahlea Tyndall, Ayzia Arnold, Lauren Ferme, Maggie Gambling, Chelsea Tobin, Ali Cowin and Aynsley Samuel. Overall we had a fairly successful day winning against Jamestown, lost against Quorn and Gladstone 2 and drew with Booleroo. We congratulate Chelsea CM and Lauren F for making it into the girls MNSEC team for 2016.

By Chelsea Chapman-McInerney & Lucy Duffield

Girls Gladstone 2 Team was Annabel, Bree, Sophie, Madeline, Chloe, Teneal, Taylor, Hannah and Emily. During the day we played against Quorn, Booleroo Centre, Jamestown and Gladstone 1. We won 2 of these 4. We played our first game with little experience and knowledge but by the end of the day we gained both confidence and skills. Overall we had a great day and learnt a lot about the game.

By Sophie Crouch & Bree Matthews

Girls Gladstone 3 team had an excellent outcome by winning two games against Orroroo and Jamestown drawing with Booleroo Centre and a loss against Peterborough. Our team worked well together and put in a huge effort we co-operated well and played different positions each half. We had a great time playing together and we thank everyone who helped make the day possible. Our team was Rachael Hodgson Captain, Emily Smart, Ellen Crisp, Lucy Wilsdon, Tahlia Chapman, Ella Flowers, Elyce Malycha, Georga Nettle and Kaitlyn Reed.

Rachael Hodgson

We went to Jamestown for 9 A Side Football. My team was Boys Gladstone 1 it was all Year 8's our team was Tommas, Andrew, Austin, Hayden, John, Jayden, Will, Josh and Dylan. We won 2 out of 4 games. The main thing was we had fun and hope we can do it again next year.

Dylan Davenport

My team was Boys Gladstone 2 which had Jake, Adam, Nic, Joel A, Cooper, Joel Z, Macka and Max. We won all our games. We played against Jamestown 2, Booleroo Centre 2, Quorn and in the Grand Final we played against Orroroo. It was a close game with goal after goal but Gladstone came out on top in the end. Our team was the winner of the Year 8 /9 Boys trophy.

MacKenzie and Max

High Jump Trolley

Barry Martin our Groundsman, designed and built a "High Jump Mat Trolley" for ease of moving this equipment around the school.

Barry Martin painting High Jump Trolley

COMMUNITY NEWS

'THE EMOTIONAL COACHING TOOLBOX'

An Emotional Coaching Toolbox for Kids course will be held on Monday, 30 May 2016 in the Port Pirie Netball Association clubrooms. This is a great course for coaches of athletes of any age with a focus on kids.