30 May 2019

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s News

Congratulations to our Footballers and Netballers who competed last week in Knockout competitions. It was great to see so many of our students take up this opportunity. Thanks also to the staff and parents who supported these events, as without their contribution students would miss out.

On Monday we held a special assembly and flag raising ceremony to recognise the start of Reconciliation Week. To see quite a number of our students lead and contribute to such an emotional assembly was amazing and really helped students to understand the importance of this week.

Last night our Year 11 and 12 Food and Hospitality students created a wonderful 3 course dinner. Significant preparation went into this night and the students and staff are to be congratulated on their efforts as I am sure all of the guests thoroughly enjoyed their meals.

Tyler Hogan
Principal

Keep Cups

Gladstone High School is looking at how we, as a community, can help reduce the schools carbon footprint. Last year Gladstone High School implemented Keep Cups for students to use when purchasing hot beverages during recess and lunch. With the cooler weather students are purchasing hot drinks, therefore, the school is encouraging students who purchased those cups to bring them back to school.

Did you know the coffee cup you receive with a takeaway order is not reusable or recyclable? Most of the cup contains plastic which does not break down. Half of the plastic produced globally goes into products that are used only once, which creates a staggering amount of waste. This is one reason why we don’t use disposable cups at home. Why then, do we have a throwaway culture elsewhere?

With 500 billion disposable cups produced every year, inconvenience is no longer an acceptable reason. Reuse or refrain

Gladstone High School now has available for purchase, Keep Cups in three colours for students to re-use for hot chocolates purchased from our canteen. The reasons to purchase a $2 Keep Cup are:

• Reduces waste around our school grounds
• Keeps drinks hotter for longer
• Can be used at other cafés or drink outlets
• Keep Cups are BPA plastic free. The majority of the plastic is made from polypropylene, which has a high melting point. This means the plastic is designed to tolerate hot liquid without breaking down.
• Easier to hold – the silicone band that wraps around the cup keeps your fingers warm and comfy, without burning them.

DRESSED MEAT BIRDS FOR SALE

Gladstone High has A Grade Meat Birds for sale @ $6.00 per kilo.

They vary in size from 2.5kg to 2.9kg. Ring Front Office to place your order.

‘First in best dressed’

What’s happening in Home Ec.!

The Home Ec. and Textiles rooms have been a buzz of energy throughout Term 1, and the past few weeks, with all year levels creating some exciting products.

The Year 8 Home Economics class has been busy learning about the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating in the quest to develop a greater understanding of the food they consume with the opportunity to put their creative spin on a MasterChef inspired Mystery Box. The Year 8’s have also begun working on creating Tiff Manuell inspired laptop cases with a cross-curricular connection to Art by designing and painting their individual ideas.

Textiles has really made a comeback this year, throughout all the year levels, with the Year 9’s about to begin making their neck warmers for the up and coming ski trip.

The Year 10’s have thought of themselves as models of late, parading around the school in their brand new boxer shorts.

Stage 1 and 2 Child Studies has really taken off this year, for the first time in many years. The Year 11’s have been making a variety of gifts suitable for babies, whilst the Year 12’s have been focusing on creating gender inclusive toys and aids for children with special needs.

This is just a snapshot of the exciting things that have been happening in Home Ec., with plenty of exciting things still to come.

Tamisha Roberts
Home Ec. Teacher

Year 10 Report

It has been a busy start to the term for the Year 10’s. It began with Work Experience in Week 2, which saw them take a week off school to gain some experience in the working world and step out of their comfort zones. Students undertook placements at a range of businesses, including locally, in Port Pirie and some even made the effort to travel as far as Cowell and Adelaide for this activity. They returned with exciting stories and many were able to participate in some extra special activities. Some of the highlights reported were meeting the players at Port Adelaide Football Club, having the opportunity to assist with dental surgery on a dog, being given the responsibility of redesigning some brochures for local hiking trails on behalf of the council and visiting a $1,000,000 mansion in Adelaide as part of an open inspection. We would like to thank the many businesses who took our students on and gave them some valuable exposure to the working world. It was pleasing to see many students return to school feeling more confident about their potential future career aspirations.

On Monday of Week 3, the Year 10’s also went on an excursion to the ‘Taste of TAFE Day’ at Port Pirie. Here, they gained some insight into some of the TAFE courses on offer to secondary students and they were able to tour the facilities. Many thanks to Port Pirie TAFE for having us for the day. Students will be able to use their knowledge from this day to assist them in deciding on study options for 2020 onwards.

Jacqui Edge
Year 10 Coordinator

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)

All schools are required to collect information about the numbers of students that they provide adjustments to under the Disability Discrimination Act (1992) and Disability Standards of Education (2005). From 2019, this data will be used as the basis for national funding.

The NCCD involves the collection of;

• the number of students receiving adjustments to enable them to participate in education on the same basis as other students
• the level of adjustment provided to students
• student’s type of disability if known

Under the model the definition of disability is broad and includes learning difficulties, health and mental health conditions.

If your child is identified for inclusion in the Collection, the required information will be included in this year’s data collection.

If you have any questions about the data collection, please contact Kate Cameron, Student Wellbeing Coordinator on 8662 2171. Further information can be found at the link below.

MNSEC Ski Trip – Payment Reminder

The next instalment of $231.25 is due tomorrow, Friday, May 31. Please also ensure your child has returned their consent forms by tomorrow if still outstanding.

On Wednesday, June 5 at 7.00pm a Parent/Student Information Evening is being held in the Resource Centre. All consent forms need to be returned by this meeting. It is important for you and your child to attend. If you are unable to attend please contact the school 8662 2171.

Stephen Bosch
Year 9 Ski Trip Coordinator

SSO/AEW/GSE Week

During the week of May 13 – 17 National SSO/AEW/GSE was celebrated. To say thank you Gladstone High School teaching staff and students created a short video and presented it to the SSOs, AEWs and GSEs at the recent assembly. For those who were unable to attend the assembly the video is included in this newsletter. Gladstone High School, SSOs, AEWs and GSEs would like to sincerely thank the teaching staff and students for the wonderful presentation.

National Reconciliation Week runs annually from 27 May - 3 June

NRW is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

The week is held annually from 27 May to 3 June and is preceded by National Sorry Day on 26 May. These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey— the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision respectively.

At its heart, reconciliation is about strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples, for the benefit of all Australians.

To create a better future, we first need to acknowledge the past.

Grounded in Truth - Walk Together with Courage

To foster positive race relations, the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the broader community must be grounded in a foundation of truth.

Whether you’re engaging in challenging conversations or unlearning and relearning what you know, this journey requires all of us to walk together with courage.

BIGGEST MORNING TEA – WEDNESDAY 22/05/19

The SSO’s of Gladstone High School hosted their annual Biggest Morning (Afternoon!) Tea after school last Wednesday. Holding the event after school allows for all staff to attend and enjoy spending time socialising without the constraints of Yard Duty/Lesson Prep.

We welcomed staff from Laura Primary School and St Joseph Parish School which added to the occasion and a rare chance to ‘get together’.

The ‘spread’ was its usual magnificent standard, with provision for lunch for the GHS staff the next day!

We are forever thankful to the loyal support shown by all staff and our guests, and the monetary donations so willingly offered.

We are delighted to announce we raised a total of $505.50

Thank you to everyone and we look forward to doing it all again in 2020.

Knock Out Netball

On Wednesday, 22nd of May, three Gladstone High netball teams travelled to Port Pirie to compete in a knockout netball competition. With good numbers in the Open squad, we were able to fill two teams, as well as a Year 10 team. We could not have asked for better weather, the girls were excited and we had some amazing and enthusiastic volunteers to help with coaching, umpiring, timing and scoring. The teams were coached by Mrs Gaunt, Mrs Davis and Miss Edge, and our ever-faithful bus driver, Mr Martin, was along to offer support and first aid.

The girls competed strongly, in the spirit of the game, displaying sportsmanship and encouragement for each other. The Year 10 team finished 3rd in their age group and Gladstone B finished 5th in the Open division. Gladstone A were undefeated until the final, where they lost narrowly to Quorn, finishing 2nd in the Open pool. Overall, it was an extremely enjoyable day.

The Open Girls B Team played three games, against Quorn, Orroroo and Booleroo, only losing by one goal to Booleroo. Although we didn't win a game the girls played extremely well considering we had a couple of girls who don't play netball. They tried hard all day and were very flexible when asked to play positions that were not familiar to them. The team consisted of Ayzia, Kaitlyn, Georga, Ali, Bella, Lara, Elyce, Acaccia and Ella. A huge thank you to Bella and Lara who played out of their age group to fill in for our team.

Huge thanks must go to the Ness Watson, Kathryn Hansen and Ellen Pole who gave their time to umpire the games. Without these volunteers, it is difficult to manage multiple teams and all the jobs that go with participating in school sports, and so we highly value their support.

MNSEC Football

MNSEC Open Boys’ Football was held on the 23rd of May at Chinnery Oval in Pt Augusta. The team’s first round matchup was against Port Augusta Secondary School. Gladstone High School was well represented by Josh Clements, Mackenzie Meaney, Jake Couzner, Will Smart, Nic Palmer, Adam Jackson, Joel Ambjerg-Pedersen and Joel Zanker. The game got off to a fiery start with some inaccurate kicking keeping Pt Augusta in the game. In the second quarter MNSEC kicked away scoring 6 goals to 0. The final score stood at MNSEC 17.17 (119) to Pt Augusta Secondary School 5.6 (36). Thanks to all parents and caregivers who volunteered to help on the day. The next game will be against Eyre High School and Kadina in the coming weeks.

Luke Bartlett
MNSEC Coach

SAASTA Program

The Gladstone High School Stage 1 SAASTA students recently travelled to Port Augusta for the Far-North Region Workshop 3 of the SAASTA program. Students were given the opportunity to make connections between their learning and culture. Students were required to research an Indigenous Australian initiative, program or organisation within the Far-North Region. In Week 8 the group of students will travel to Adelaide to compete in the Power Cup. The Power Cup is a 4 day camp with other SAASTA Schools.

Woolworths Earn and Learn

Thank you to anyone who has donated stickers to Gladstone High School through the Woolworths Earn and Learn Program. If you are shopping at Woolworths please collect the stickers and either drop them into the Box at Woolworths labelled Gladstone High School, or send the with your child to the school to be placed in the Resource Centre.