12 April 2024

Our Average Daily Attendance Rate so far this year is

A Word from the Principal…

Dear Parents, Students and Community Members,

🎉 Congratulations; A big shoutout to all students who were recognised in our recent assembly. It was fantastic to see parents and families present as well. Keep up the great work.

📚 Progress Reports: Progress reports will be sent out this week to families. The tick box-style report shows how your child is progressing in areas related to learning, behaviour, and attendance. Many of the reports were very positive, which is wonderful to see. Well done to our students and staff.

🌟 Youth Fest Event: Our Year 9 students recently attended a Youth Fest event in Burnie, and their conduct was top-notch during the excursion. These opportunities provide our students with a chance to learn and interact outside the classroom setting. Well done to everyone involved.

🏃 Relay for Life:The Student Executive Council (SEC) successfully organised the Relay for Life event for our school on Thursday. Stay tuned for more details from our student leaders regarding the fundraising event for the Cancer Council.

📆 Key Dates: Just a reminder that students will return to school on Monday, 29th April.

Thank you for your ongoing support and involvement in our school community. Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday ahead!

Warm regards,

Nikki Clark
Principal

Student Executive Council

This year has been a busy one so far for this year’s Student Executive Council. We meet regularly on Friday afternoons with Mrs Bishop and in this time we have been organising lots of different things for our school community.

One of our first jobs was to organise this year’s Student Representative Council. Students had to go through a selection process and were interviewed before they were selected. This was a slightly daunting process for many students, but they did a great job. We look forward to seeing their leadership throughout the year.

We have also been working on designing hoodies for the Year 10s. Many of our students identified that they would prefer to have them earlier in the year and for the winter months. They are soon to be ordered and arrive Term three.

To raise money for this year’s hoodies, the Student Executive Council organized an Easter raffle and guess the eggs. We thank all that contributed to this event and congratulations to the winners.

Finally, on Thursday we organised a whole school Relay For Life during Pastoral Care. It was exciting to see members of the school getting involved to raise money as well as awareness for such a great cause.

By Shayla & Bronte

Student Representative Council

Congratulations to the successful applicants who applied for the SRC roles for their respective Year groups. We look forward to seeing your leadership skills this year at Smithton High School.

House Captains

Congratulations to this year’s House Captains. They have been doing a great job so far with helping at our Athletics Carnival, attending various Circular Head school carnivals and providing their leadership skills.

Hunter House Captains – Toby & Naite

Walker House Captains – Zarna & Emma

Athletics Carnival

On Friday the 22nd of March we held our Athletics Carnival here at school. In the lead up to the carnival, students practised and developed their skills in the various track and field events in their PE lessons. 

The school also held its first House meetings the day before the carnival where the new House Captains were introduced and team spirit encouraged.  

On the Carnival Day it was impressive to see the high participation rate across both track and field events and the students encouraging one another to have a go and do their best.  

Unfortunately, though for the students their best was not good enough when it came to the student house groups versing the teachers in the Tug of war comp. The teachers remained undefeated for the day – better luck next year students! 

I would lastly like to thank all participants on the day, all the staff members that ran and scored events and the Jacko’s for putting the lines in for our track and field events. I would also like to thank staff members and House captains that came in early to help setup for the day. Without this help it would not be possible. Lastly, I would like to congratulate Robbins for taking out the overall House Points for the day, well done to the Captains Sophie Perry & Joel Sheean and to the entire team. Great Effort!  Thanks, Mr Coombes.

I would now like to acknowledge the Track and Field Champions and Runners Up for the day.

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Inter High Swimming

Well done to our Inter-High Swimming representatives! Students and staff had a great day out, achieving a few wins for Smithton.  All students participated well and thoroughly enjoyed a stop at McDonalds on the way home.

Library News

Here are some interesting statistics from 2023.

Most popular books/series borrowed from SHS library in 2023

Series and Magazines

1. Australasian Dirt Bike Magazine (borrowed 105 times)
   (published monthly)
2. Heartstopper series by Alice Oseman (borrowed 62 times)
   (Graphic novel about friendship, loyalty and mental illness.)
3. Weirdo Series by Anh Do (borrowed 47 times)
   (Hilarious series on the Do family and in particular their son Weir)
   

Stand Alone Books

1. Drama by Raina Telgemeier (borrowed 11 times)
   (A graphic novel featuring a diverse set of characters that humorously explores friendship, crushes, and all-around drama!)
2. The Grand Tour A-Z of the Car (borrowed 10 times)
   (Non fiction book on everything you wanted to know about cars)
3. AFL Record Season Guide (borrowed 8 times)
   (Non fiction book on the official statistical history of the AFL)

Most Popular Fiction Genre

1. Graphic novels (201times)
2. Mystery (156 times)
3. Romance (96 times)

7 WAYS TO SUPPORT AUSTRALIAN TEENS IN READING FOR PLEASURE

Following the release of a new research report into Australian teen readers from Deakin University, Australia Reads offers seven research-backed recommendations for engaging teens in reading for pleasure.

1. Support teens to find their next great read – whatever it is! Many teens struggle to discover suitable and exciting reading material, with 44% of non-readers reporting they find it hard to find anything good to read.When seeking to support teen reading, allow teens to choose their own reading material.

Remember, all reading is good reading! Whether it’s graphic novels, romance, non-fiction or fantasy, adopting a non-judgemental approach to teen’s reading tastes will help foster a positive, independent attitude towards reading for pleasure. 

1. Invest in school libraries and librarians. School libraries have a positive influence on reading behaviours – providing access, community, and recommendations for teen readers. 
2. Get parents reading. For parents wanting to support teen reading, reading yourself – and having books in the home – is a good place to start!
3. Meet teens where they are. Reading and screen time shouldn’t be seen as in opposition to each other. Reading the book of a movie, TV show or game they liked is the third most popular way teens find books to read, with 55% of teen readers using this discovery strategy.
4. Make reading social. The report shows that regular readers often have peers who are also engaged in reading. 57% of teens cited recommendations from friends as the main way they discover their next best read.

Making space for teens to talk with both peers and parents about books, and sharing recommendations, is a positive way to grow reading engagement and create a culture of reading. 

1. Carve out time and space for teens to read. Teens lead busy lives – with school, social and extracurricular activities all taking up time in young people’s packed schedules. Finding the time and space to read for pleasure can be difficult for teens. 
2. Embrace the holiday down time. The Deakin University report shows that 45% of teens who read for pleasure report reading more in the school holidays. Driving more activity and promotion around this time – whether through library programs, publisher promotions, or in the home environment – may help engage more teens in reading.

Think U Know Presentation

Year 8 and 9 students were visited by members of Tasmania Police for a presentation of the Think U Know program. We learned about being safe online and how to act if we have concerns about ourselves or others.

7.1 Science

7.1 have been working on team work in their Pastoral Care time. They have been working in groups to complete challenges.

They’ve completed the strongest bridge and the tallest tower by using only newspaper and masking tape. The concentration and quick thinking from the groups was impressive.

They then moved onto trying to be the quickest at making the 45 piece puzzle.

Last week they were all given a minty which they enjoyed eating but then needed to make the longest chain out of their wrapper, this really tested a few. The winner made it to 95cm long.  The groups finished with an outside scavenger hunt.  It was great to see them all work together in their small groups.

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7.2 Art

In Art this Term, 7.2 have created Op Art cubes, dragon eyes, a colour wheel and warm and cool colours. They then blended either warm or cool colours to create a background for a silhouette. They have since, been working on both Aboriginal and Torres Strait island artwork and printing techniques.

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8.1 Science

Students in 8.1 learning about molecules and chemical attraction through an experiment to make Alginate Worms.

Year 9 Youth Expo

Year 9 students had a great opportunity to attend the Youth Expo at “The Point” in Burnie.

Students heard from a panel of local stars and spoke to service providers.

Many thanks to YFCC for facilitating this experience for us.

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Art work around the school

During art, various classes have been working on Dragon Eyes, Pop Art and Perspectives. Check out all the talented artists we have in the school. Great work everyone.

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Speech and Drama

In Drama, our 8-9 class have been reinventing the classic tale of Little Red Riding Hood, while the 7.3 class capped off the term with some brilliantly costumed melodramas.

Work Placement

Britton Timbers

Our Year 9/10 Work Placement class were lucky enough to visit the ‘Dry Side’ of Brittons Timbers. Past students Justin and James helped Tania take our students on the tour. The knowledge Justin, James and Tania shared with the group was very much appreciated. We thank Britton Timbers for allowing our students into their business and educating the class on the different employment opportunities available.

Smithton Shellfish

The Year 9/10 Work Placement class went to visit Smithton Shellfish to learn about the oyster industry. Students enjoyed the visit and were intrigued by the life cycle of the oyster. The students are enjoying seeing the different job opportunities in our community. We thank Sam for his time.

Marrawah Kelp

The Year 9/10 Work Placement class went on a tour to Marrawah Kelp. The process of collecting, drying and mulching the kelp was very in-depth and interesting. Students enjoyed sampling the fine edible granules of the kelp too. A big thanks to Saxon for his time. A credit to Marrawah Kelp starting from a small business which has now developed into a world wide distributor.

Outdoor Education

The Outdoor Ed students went to Trawmanna to undertake a session assisted by CHAC. The activity included a smoke ceremony, and introduction to edible native flora. Students had the opportunity to try different bush foods including green ants. They also took part in a string making activity. The Outdoor Ed students would like to thank Melissa and Jack (former SHS student) for sharing their knowledge and expertise.

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9/10 Foods

Students were taught to make mini pavlovas; they were pretty chuffed with their results!

Community News

Dates to Remember…

Term Dates 2024

Student Free Days 2024

Year 7-10
Friday 7th June
Friday 1st November

Years 11/12
Thursday 28th March
Friday 6th September

Office Hours

8.30am – 3.30pm daily 
School Starts: 8.50am
School Finishes: 3.00pm

School Office Ph: 6452 9222
Trade Training Centre Ph: 6452 9288

SMS: 0418 220 201
Email: smithton.high@decyp.tas.gov.au 
Web: http://education.tas.edu.au/smithtonhigh/Pages/Home.aspx 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Smithton-High-School/219062138251149