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Devonport High School
Newsletter - 27 February 2015
SCHOOL
CALENDAR
Monday 2 March Wednesday 5 March
Grade 7ACF Camp
From the Acting Principal ……
A big thankyou to all the parents who attended our “Meet the Teacher” session on
Wednesday evening. This was a fantastic opportunity for parents, both new to our school
and those who have been associated with us for longer, to meet and discuss their own child
with a number of teachers. Our job as educators must always be seen as a partnership
between families and the school. I strongly encourage all parents to make contact with us if
there are any issues or concerns during the year.
Wednesday 5 March Friday 7 March
Grade 7BDE Camp
Wednesday 4 March
Inter-high Swimming
Monday 9 March
Public Holiday
Tuesday 10 March
Activities Week Meeting
12.40pm
Wednesday 11 March
School Association Meeting
6pm
Tuesday 17 March
Activity Week Meeting
9.45am
Immunisations Grade 7
Wednesday 18 March
Block 1 - Leadership
Assembly
Whilst your first contact should generally be made with your child’s Home Group teacher,
other key staff at Devonport High are:
Assistant Principals
Grade Leaders
Grade 7/8
Grade 9/10
Grade 7
Grade 8
Grade 9
Grade 10
Simon Wilson
Sue Grave
Jimmy Thompson
Lisa White
Helen Russell
Shelley Hollister
Our classes have now settled into their learning routines and work is well underway in all
grades. Next week will see our grade 7 students attending their camp at Port Sorell. Both
our students and staff are looking forward to this opportunity to come together as tribes to
strengthen the relationships we work so hard on here at Devonport High. The grade 7
camps help prepare our students for the year ahead, provide structured activities for
personal and team growth and help create a “one school” feel within the grade. Next week
is the time that our grade 7’s can move away from their connections with our feeder
primary schools and start creating the bonds necessary to cement their place in the culture
of Devonport High.
I commend to all parents the work of our Parent Voice group. If you are able, please
consider joining us next Wednesday evening in the Catering Block. More details about this
valuable parent group can be found in this week’s newsletter.
Rob Fleming
Acting Principal
D e p ar t me nt of E d uc at ion
Last weekend saw the Tasmanian Age Track & Field Championships in Hobart at the Domain Athletic
Centre.
Francis and Lillian Lyall along with Lucy Reimer (Grade 9's)
represented the NW team.
Francis came 1st in the U16 1500m race and won in a time of 4:49.
10, beating her nearest rival by over 6 seconds!
Lillian came 2nd in the U16 800m race in a time of 2:20.27 which
was only half a second off first place.
Both girls combined as part of the U16 4 x 100m Relay and came
in third place.
Lucy came 1st in the U16 1kg Discus with a throw of 28.52m, third
in both the U16 Shot Put (9.28m) and Javelin 500g (29.89m).
Congratulations on the fantastic results!
On 23 February a group of Sport Science students assisted in the running of a Grade 5/6 Cricket Day at
Byard Park. There were supposed to be four schools attending the day but, due to bad weather, only
Port Sorrell and Spreyton Primary School were able to attend, which was still over one hundred
students.
The Sport Science students are currently studying a Skill Acquisition unit
which looks at how people learn to perform particular motor skills, so
this day provided a great opportunity for students to put what they have
learnt in the classroom and relate it to a real life situation. Students had
duties such as umpiring, scoring,
arranging particular batting
orders and making sure fielding
positions were covered. The
Cricket
Tasmanian
representatives who coordinated
the day were very thankful for
students giving up the time to
assist and mentioned that the games wouldn’t have been a
success if it wasn’t for the students of Devonport High.
Some footage of the day include Elli taking her umpiring duties
very seriously, and Tom and Riley attempting to figure out how
the scoring sheet worked.
With Activities Week fast approaching, planning is well underway and excitement is building. A
reminder to parents that payments for Melbourne and Queensland are due on 2 March with all other
payments due on 13 March. All participants have been supplied with information including medical
forms for their particular activity. Please ensure these forms are completed in full and returned to
school as soon as possible.
All Activities must be paid in full prior to your child attending. If your child is absent during activities
week, the school must be notified with adequate reason. Please note, attendance is compulsory
regardless of your child participating in Activities Week. If your child is absent for the full week of
Activities Week, a medical certificate must be supplied before a refund is considered.
For any students not yet allocated to an activity, there are still spots available in Personal Project, Set
Paining, Sweet and Arty, Amazing Race, Recreational Activities, Fist Aid, Scrambled Sensations and
Mixed Bag.
Technology plays an important part in helping students engage with their work and in supporting
teaching and pedagogy.
This year students have been given the choice between using their own devices, using netbooks that
they can take home, or borrowing laptops during class time.
We are eager to start using digital devices in the classroom. However, before teachers can start integrating the use of technology in the curriculum, students who did not return their netbook at the end
of last year are required to hand them in to be updated. Until this process is completed they will be
unusable on the school network. There will be no ‘down-time’ as their device will be swapped for another that is ready for use.
If students had intended to use the netbooks again this year, this should have been indicated by way of
the ICT choice form which was distributed last year. Students using their own device must return
their school-owned netbook for re-allocation.
Please encourage with some urgency for your children to return their netbooks as soon as they
are able, if they have not done so already.
Chickenpox is an infection starting with a cold, headache and temperature. Small red pimples
appear on the body first, then on the limbs changing to yellow blisters that then scab and drop
off after about 12 days. Incubation period is from 2 to 3 weeks. Chickenpox is mostly a mild
illness, but can be dangerous for non-immune pregnant women, newborn babies and people
with altered immunity. It is highly contagious.
Students with chickenpox are excluded from school until all blisters have dried, usually about 5
days.
Please be aware if your child is experiencing any of the above symptoms and notify the school
office on 6424 9461 if your child will be absent from school.
Parent Voice (formerly Parents and Friends)
Dear Parents
Welcome back for 2015. We would like to give a warm welcome to our Grade 7 parents and
any new families in our community.
Our Parent Voice Group would like to invite parents to be a part of this group. It is an opportunity for parents to have any questions or concerns brought up to the Principal in a nonthreatening atmosphere. It is also a chance to give feedback on the direction of our school.
This is very important to our Principal Mr Fleming and staff.
We are going to have our first meeting of 2015 on Wed the 4th of March at 7:30pm.
We hope parents will seriously consider becoming a part of our school community through
joining our group. We feel that having parent input into our school is very important to make
our school a safe and fun place to learn that is inclusive of all.
We would love to see as many parents as possible come along to our Catering Room opposite the gym and be a part of helping to move our school forward.
Tea, coffee and a light supper will be provided.
Thankyou very much.
Jackie Pilgrim
President-Parent Voice
Monday was always a sort of sluggish person; always late for work. He never tried to impress anyone
either. In fact, everyone seemed to hate Monday. He dressed tardily. His hair was a mess of a mop that
flopped onto his worn face. He had bags under his eyes and scuffed shoes. His face was tired and lifeless.
He hated work; he hated people; he hated everything. Monday was unmotivated and purely miserable.
No one liked Monday.
Monday – I hate her! She is cold, quiet and calculating; lethargic and lifeless. She sucks the colour from
the world. Monday fills me with sadness, urging me to turn my back and walk away. Something stops me
as she pulls me in and I cannot help but stay.
Monday wears glasses and long skirts. Her hair is pulled back into a bun; not a single strand out of place.
She wears button-up blouses and flat, practical shoes. She believes in working hard to get to her goals.
Monday never smiles; always has a scowl.
Monday stood slouching over, his glum dull face glaring at the ground. His wild matted hair dangled over
his small fierce eyes. Monday felt a combination of conflict, anger and fury building up inside of him.
Monday. A crotchety old man. Stumpy and short, with a face like leather. He hates everyone and
everyone can't help but hate him.
Monday. She’s here. The awful, dreaded Monday. Everyone dislikes her and we fake a smile to get by.
Monday is moody, stubborn and runs the school. You would never want to get in her way!
Wednesday’s nickname is Wed and yet people still call him Igor just because he has a hump. It’s
not really his fault as he is always working, non-stop, head down, on his computer managing his gang.
Staring at the computer all day, through a pair of thick glasses that magnify everything to the power of 6
has given him this hump.
Devonport Basketball High School roster – The winter roster for Grade 7 & 8, Grade 9, 10
& 11 will be played on Wednesday nights commencing on 25th March 2015. The DBC requires all
intending players to be registered online before Tuesday 10th March. To register go
online www.devonportwarriors.com.au
If you require any assistance with online registrations or have any queries regarding rosters please
contact the DBC Office on 64242440 between 10 – 2 daily.
Jason Pearce Cricket Coaching
Batting & Wicketkeeping, individual or group sessions.
Focus on skill development and match awareness.
For more information call Jason Pearce 0407371996 or email
[email protected]
Devonport High School
91 Best Street
Ph.: (03) 6424 9461
Fax: (03) 6424 6621
Email: [email protected]
DISCLAIMER: Parents should note that advertisements for educational services, companies, activities or similar events are published as a
‘community service’. Devonport High School is in no way liable for the quality, supervision or integrity of the provider and strongly suggests that
parents make their own enquiries before engaging with the advertised event.
Rob Fleming, Acting Principal