2 May 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s News

Term 2 is now already well underway. Our Year 10 students head off to undertake Work Experience next week as part of their Personal Learning Plan. It is pleasing to see the variety of workplaces students are visiting. I would also like to acknowledge the large number of local businesses who support our students by providing a workplace for them to attend.

On ANZAC Day we had a large number of our students represent the school at the local towns. Thank you to the following students who attended services on behalf of Gladstone High School:

On Thursday 16th May we will have our whole school assembly in the School Hall starting at 10am to recognise achievements of our students throughout first term. Parents and community members are very welcome to attend.

Tyler Hogan
Principal

Woolworths Earn and Learn

Woolworths has just launched their Earn & Learn program, and this year we're joining in. For parents who aren't aware of the program, if you shop at Woolworths between 1st of May and the 25th of June, you can earn stickers. Our school will be collecting those stickers which we can then swap for new school equipment; things like art and craft supplies, sports gear, teaching aids and much more. There are thousands of things we can choose from.

So for any parents who shop at Woolworths, please collect the stickers and drop them in to our collection box, which is located at Port Pirie, or send the stickers to school.

Thanks for helping us out!

Governing Council News

Governing Council had a great first meeting of the year in Week 8 of Term 1. We welcomed 3 new members this year- Andrew Hughes, Vice Chairperson, and Kim Barberien and Russell Willsmore who have agreed to be Community Representatives. We look forward to their input! For our first meeting, we all commented about what was great about Gladstone High School. It proved an easy task to identify the wonderful things about GHS. The inclusiveness of staff and students towards those who are less fortunate, have a disability, or come from difficult circumstances was commented upon by more than a few. The best example of this, led from the top by Tyler, is that of her running long distance races with our visually impaired student. What a wonderful example from our leader. And it’s being noticed in the community with councillors receiving comments about parents re-thinking where they might send their children to high school! Other comments about greatness ranged from subject choice (and that the school is enabling students to learn what they want to learn whether by open access, through University or by other means), to great leadership, to a feeling of belonging at the school and just general contentment with their child’s education. We have a wonderful school and we need to let the community know that, so please spread the word!

Our first major fundraiser, selling biscuits at the Laura Folk Fair was a great success. Thank you to parents, caregivers and others who contributed biscuits. There was a wonderful variety of shapes and sizes and colours! Please see the report in this newsletter.

Please consider putting your name down for a short canteen shift – only 3 hours and it makes such a difference. Please contact the school if you can help.

If you have any queries or concerns about GHS, please contact your local Governing Councillor, or myself on 0438 363 123.

Let’s make GHS best!

Kathryn Hansen
Chairperson 2019

2019 NAPLAN Tests

The time is once again approaching for our Year 9 students to undertake the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests. This year the tests will be held at school on Tuesday 14th, Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th May (Week 3 of Term 2). Students absent on any one of the three testing days will have a catch-up day on Friday 17th May where they will need to sit any tests they have missed. Students will once again be assessed using common national tests in Reading, Writing, Language Conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and Numeracy.

Parents are encouraged to contact me at the school on 8662 2171 if you have any questions about the 2019 NAPLAN tests.

If students have headphones or ear buds it would be appreciated if they could bring them on the testing days to supplement our limited school supply.

Stephen Bosch
NAPLAN COORDINATOR

Laura Folk Fair Fundraiser

Wow, thankfully the weather calmed down in time for the Laura Folk Fair on the weekend! The biscuits looked very appealing and we had a wide variety of colours and shapes.

On Friday, April 5 we had a group of around 8-10 parents and 6 keen Year 10 students to help us weigh and package the 260 trays of biscuits for sale over the weekend.

Saturday and Sunday we saw yet another group of parents/student leaders helping to sell our beautiful biscuits, along with the Gladstone High School Shiraz and Gladstone High School Olive Oil.

Unfortunately this year we did not sell out, but a big thank you to the staff and students who purchased the left over packets on Monday.

A few special mentions go to Kylie Sawley for doing the roster, Kristen Cleggett for doing extra shifts Sunday to help cover vacant shifts, Jake Clements and Chelsea Tobin for helping pack up the stall on Sunday afternoon and to the Front Office staff at Gladstone High School for helping in many ways to make this a success.

Finally a big thank you to the whole school community for helping out to make this a successful fundraiser. I will keep you posted on the amount we raised.

Advance notice that next year will be Kylie’s final year helping coordinate this fundraiser. Please let me know if you are interested in joining us next year to learn the ropes!

Jodie Zwar
Governing Council Member

SSSSA 10th April 2019

The SSSSA Athletics day was held on the 10th of April at the SA Athletics Stadium. It was a great day for athletics, where the students had the opportunity to compete against some of the best athletes in the state. It was great to see Gladstone High School being well represented in the MNSEC team. We had some fantastic results on the day which included;

• Josh Clements coming second in the U16 Boys High Jump
• David Mumford coming second in the U15 Boys Shotput.

Congratulations to all athletes selected who represented the school in an enthusiastic and competitive manner. Thank you very much to all the parents and caregivers who provided transport and support for our competitors.

Luke Bartlett
PE Teacher

Past Student Achievement

Recently Ainsley Bosch and Thomas Jackson were recipients of the Playford Trust Scholarship. The scholarship is to assist Ainsley and Thomas with their Honours in their respective studies.

Ainsley is studying Bachelor of Engineering (Mining). Ainsley’s Honours project is to develop a model for the in-situ recovery of copper in Kapunda. Her research will explore this non-traditional method of copper extraction from both a technical perspective as well as the social and environmental impacts.

Thomas is studying Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical). Thomas is determined to continually develop his professional skills and make connections. He has worked to support his studies, sought engineering career experiences and is a member of Engineers Australia. Thomas aims to build a career in the mining or smelting industry and to make a difference using innovative and sustainable solutions.

Patrick Klinger, a graduate of Gladstone High School last year has been selected to receive a University of Adelaide Principals’ Scholarship in 2019. These scholarships are available to students of outstanding academic merit, who have also made a significant contribution to their school and to the wider community. The scholarship provides an allowance of $5,000 to assist with education/living costs for the first year of a student’s study at the University of Adelaide. Patrick is studying Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) with Honours. He will attend the Scholarship Presentation on May 13.

Congratulations Patrick.

Community News