30 August 2018

Newsletter Articles

Key Dates

Monday 3 September - Wednesday 5 September: Beacon Foundation High Impact Program (Years 9 & 10)
Tuesday 4 September: Don College Taster Day (Year 10)
Thursday 6 September: Cattle Handlers Information Session (7pm, Library)
Friday 7 September: Queenstown Sports Exchange
Tuesday 18 September: Assemblies (Secondary 12pm, Primary 1.30pm)
Thursday 20 September: Footy Colours Day
Tuesday 25 September – Friday 28 September: Hobart/Port Arthur Camp (Year 5)
Monday 1 October – Friday 12 October: School Holidays
Monday 22 October First Aid Training (K – 6 Sheffield Campus)
Tuesday 23 October: UTAS Discovery Day (Year 10)
Tuesday 23 October: Immunisations (Year 7)
Thursday 25 October: First Aid Training (Railton Campus)
Friday 26 October: Mt Roland Walk (Year 8)
Friday 2 November: Student Free Day
Monday 5 November: Recreation Day Public Holiday
Monday 12 November: Don College Preliminary Enrolments
Tuesday 13 November: Parent Information Evening (Year 7)
Friday 16 November: Athletics Carnival
Tuesday 20 November: iParty (Year 10)
Tuesday 20 November: SRC Leadership Conference (Year 10)
Monday 26 November to Friday 7 December: Swimming & Water Safety Program
Tuesday 27 November: Assemblies (Secondary 12pm, Primary 1.30pm)
Tuesday 27 November – Thursday 29 November: Exams (Year 10)
Friday 30 November: Devonport Show Day Public Holiday
Monday 3 December: Inter-High Athletics Carnival
Tuesday 4 December: Don College Start Day (Year 10)
Tuesday 4 December: Orientation Day (Year 7)
Thursday 6 December: Arts Concert
Tuesday 11 December: Presentation Day
Wednesday 12 December: Picnic - SPLASH Aquatic Centre (K – Year 6)
Thursday 13 December: Celebration Dinner (Year 10)
Wednesday 19 December: Christmas Assembly (K – 6: 9.30am)
Thursday 20 December: End of Year Assembly
Thursday 20 December: Last Day of School 2018 (Students)

Principal’s Report

I will be taking long service leave from next Wednesday (5 September) until the end of the year; although certainly looking forward to the break I will miss the interactions with members of the Sheffield School Community over that time. Whilst I am on leave Mr Skirving will be Acting Principal. Mrs Davies will be Acting Assistant Principal with a number of other staff performing leadership roles during this period. We are very fortunate to have such depth and capacity within our staff.

I would like to wish everyone within our school community a safe and positive end to this term and term 4, and also take this opportunity to encourage our year 10 students to aim high and believe in themselves as they enter their next phase of education and training, whether it be at Sheffield, Don College, an apprenticeship or TasTAFE.

Book Week Assembly

Last Friday we held our annual book week assembly. This is one of only a few opportunities where we come together as a whole school. The day was a great spectacle with many staff and students dressing up as one of their favourite book or movie characters. Of course, apart from the enjoyment of dressing up the assembly coincides each year with the National Literacy and Numeracy Week and is about promoting the importance of these areas in each and every one of our lives. Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond our control, the book fair which normally runs in conjunction with this week, had to be postponed until term 4. Specific details will be shared with our school community once they are known. I do hope that all of our students who looked fantastic in their dress up remembered to thank their parents for organising their costumes! Finally, I would like to thank all of those that attended and contributed to our assembly.

Review of School Intake Areas: Primary and Combined Schools

Earlier this week a letter was sent home to all families regarding the review of school intake areas, in case you did not receive this letter a summary of the content is below;

The Department of Education (DoE) is seeking your views as part of a review of intake areas for Tasmanian government primary and combined (district) schools from 2021 onwards.

To start the initial stage of the community consultation process, DoE has developed suggested intake areas for each government primary and combined school. We are seeking feedback on the maps from student families and the community.

There will be a second consultation process to refine any adjustments to the intake areas based on the feedback received.

For information about how to provide feedback and to view the maps for consultation, see School Intake Area Maps on the DoE website.

You are invited to provide your feedback by Friday 26 October 2018, keeping in mind that:

• Parents will still be able to apply to their school of choice, if capacity allows.
• The review will not change the way schools enrol students who live outside their intake area.
• The review will not affect students who are already enrolled in a school before 2021, or which high school students are entitled to attend.
• If a child has a sibling already attending a school outside their intake area, then the child can enrol at the same school as their sibling.

Student Achievement

Recently our year 7/8 netball team were successful in winning their division 6 Devon Secondary School Grand Final. This is great reward for the dedication and effort the girls have demonstrated through the season, and the terrific guidance provided by coach, Bec Wordsworth.

RON DALY
PRINCIPAL

Autism Australia

Information Sessions for Parents and Family Carers

Book Week Assembly

Book Week Awards

Cooking with Kids

LiFT

Thank you to those families who participated in our Family Maths Scavenger Hunt! Keep an eye out for some prize packs coming your way!

Literacy Competition – Word Mania (Prep/1)

Prep/1 have been participating in a literacy competition called Word Mania. We achieved third place in the North West of Tasmania in the second round.

We have been learning how to code using computer programs. Coding or computer programming is the act of using languages to instruct a computer to perform functions. We are now transferring our coding skills to programming Bee-Bots. We have been designing and trialling some Bee-Bot mats of our own.

Students are expressing their creativity using coding and technology, becoming expert problem solvers, creating a growth mindset and actively learning from and sharing with others. Our next challenge is to program our own interactive stories, games and animations.

Mudpie Kitchen – (Kinder/Prep Railton)

Kinder/Prep have begun setting up a Mudpie Kitchen for our outside play space at Railton. We are keen to receive donations of clean, old pots and pans, baking tins, stainless steel bowls and colanders as well as large kitchen utensils e.g. whisks, spatulas, wooden spoons, ladles etc. Donations can be left at the main office of both campuses.

Music – Dane Pulverenti

On Thursday 16 August the Music Department had drummer Dane from the band OSAKA PUNCH work with the Musical Minds class and with selected drummers from across years 5-8.

All the students had a very enjoyable and informative time, with Dane not only sharing his drumming skills but also commenting on being in a band, touring and working hard for what you want to achieve in life.

All students had prepared something to play for Dane and were able to receive feedback on their skills.

School Canteen

School Nurse

Asthma Week – 1 – 7 September

Young people and asthma

Young people with asthma have unique needs. Asthma Australia is addressing this through our National Young People and Asthma Strategy (NYPAS). Responding to your suggestions we are building our online resources to provide options that help you with your asthma needs.

Get connected with other young people through our Facebook page to see the latest research and developments. You can also have your questions about your asthma answered by experts.

Kiss myASTHMA was developed by young people for young people with a team of experts at the University of Sydney with funding from Asthma Australia.

What can Kiss myAsthma do for you?

• Track your asthma symptoms, severity and attacks (making it easy to inform your doctor or specialist)
• Access your Asthma Action Plan
• Set reminder for taking your preventer medication
• Set goals and receive support from one of the app's monster assistants
• Find out more about asthma, use of devices and managing anxiety
• And much more...

RU Ok Day – 14 September

Meningococcal Update

The Department of Health is offering free vaccine to everyone living in Tasmania born after 1 August 1997, and at least 6 weeks old. This is around 100 000 people.

This is a large immunisation program that needs careful planning and preparation.

Their first priority is to quickly protect those in the target age group who live, work or go to school in the New Town, Moonah and Glenorchy areas. This is where three of the four recent Meningococcal W cases were from.

They are also extending this response to offer the Meningococcal ACWY vaccine to young Tasmanians throughout the state, and are planning to achieve this over the next three months.

These actions will provide a high level of protection against Meningococcal A, C, W and Y strains for the next four or more years.

From mid-August 2018, 10 to 21 year-olds eligible for a free vaccine will be able to get it from many local pharmacists. They expect pharmacists to be important partners in this response. They are available from Sheffield Pharmacy.

Young children and older teenagers are at higher risk of catching meningococcal disease. Teenagers are more likely to carry meningococcal bacteria in their throat or nose and spread the bacteria to others in the community. Immunising this wide group of Tasmanians will protect them and help reduce the spread of the disease in the wider population.

Children from 6 weeks old to 21 years of age can receive this vaccine from the Sheffield Medical Centre but bookings are necessary as there is limited stock of the vaccine.

It is uncertain whether the Kentish Council will run a school based immunisation clinic for meningococcal vaccination at this stage. We will update you as Public Health give us news.

MyTime

The Bridge Challenge

3/4 Laws Mainwaring and 5/6 Hinrichsen worked together to design and build a bridge using only straws and tape. The bridge needed to be stable and cross a span of at least 20 centimetres.

Students were required to generate ideas, then design and build a solution that was tested by placing weights in the centre. They evaluated and refined their designs.

Students had the opportunity to focus on the development of transferable skills such as effective communication, collaborating with a diverse range of people, resilience, persistence and problem solving.

Windward Bound

The Windward Bound is a tall ship that gives people the opportunity to go on an unforgettable voyage, I went on the Youth Development Voyage which is aimed at 14-18 year olds. I had absolutely no sailing experience and had not been on a boat other than the Spirt of Tasmania or a ferry, and yet I took up the opportunity to go on a nine day voyage. I didn’t know anyone onboard and while it was daunting at first I believe that if I decide to take up the opportunity and take that risk, so can you.

It was extraordinary. The Windeward Bound is by far the best experience that I have ever undertaken. It’s easy enough to find the advertisements for it but harder to make the commitment to carry out the challenge. Nine days seems like a long time when you think of your typical wake up in the morning and sleep at night, but it’s completely different when you’re out at sea. Four hours of being on watch and having the stars as your roof and eight hours off watch. A couple of days in you feel like you belong and it feels so great. Everyone has their own place their own chore and their own goals but it all comes together and creates an inclusive functioning structure.

I would argue that there is no reason why you wouldn’t do this. Seasickness isn’t a problem, a day or two goes by and it doesn’t bother you. We got to climb the mast in daylight, dusk and dawn and reach the truck, the top-most part of the ship. My only regret out of the whole journey was not managing to climb the 24m mast at dark. This experience is amazing and I’m so lucky that I had the opportunity and support to embark on the extraordinary adventure. Once I expressed interest, I found everyone that was willing to help me, so I could go on this journey. I went to local community groups who willingly sponsored me and one of the Youth Crew members I befriended. They even caught public transport all the way from Burnie down to the port in Hobart. If you are interested, pursue it with no excuses.

I strongly recommend this opportunity. I got to watch amazing sunrises and sunsets and was up at 12:00pm at night to look up to see thousands upon millions of stars, (which would be near impossible to see amongst the sights haze of lights). We saw: dolphins, crabs, birds, puffer fish, seals and “the loc ness monster”.

After learning how to sail a tall ship on this extraordinary nine day voyage I truly believe anything can happen, thanks to the Windeward Bound.

Community Notices

Australian Junior Motorcross Championships

The Australian Junior Motocross Championships are coming to Penguin, Tasmania. Australia's best motocross riders will race over 7 days for the Australian Championship!

Practice and qualifying starts on Sunday 30th September and finals will conclude on Saturday 6th October. This is a free event for spectators, full canteen facilities every day and merchandise will be available. There will be a full day of racing from 8.30am each day.

Gaming Convention - Latrobe

For adults, children and families.

Kentish Family Support House

Women’s Health Week afternoon tea

Mersey Community Care Association

Netball – Net Set Go

Rural Youth Tasmania