Term 2 Newsletter 2023

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

What a beautiful term of crisp mornings and blue skies under a snow-capped kunanyi. It has been an equally rejuvenating term within our school, as we’ve gained traction in our strategic work of improvement and taken opportunities to celebrate our strengths – we’ve particularly focused on building confidence, partnership, and positivity in our wider community by both welcoming a range of people in and sending our people out to positively contribute to the wider Kingborough and Hobart communities and beyond.

This term we have welcomed in:

• Families – our most important partners – in the first week of term for our first Celebration of Learning evening. Research tells us that to improve attendance and engagement from students, we need to find ways to build family engagement and connection to the learning their children are doing at school.  Family exhibitions have continued over the final weeks of this term for all students in ARC, and Grade 7-10 families have had an opportunity to see evidence of learning from all their child’s subjects as they collected mid-year reports. 
• As a part of the Australian Government review of the National School Reform Agreement (Review to Inform a Better and Fairer Education System) we welcomed Dr Jordana Hunter and Professor Parsi Sahlberg as one of their two consultation schools in Tasmania. They were interested in the innovation and successes we have experienced and our thinking around the systemic barriers to improvement and ways to overcome these. It was fantastic to share our thinking with them – particularly because Parsi has always been an educational inspiration!
• Our Kingston High School Association organised an evening presentation as part of the AGM about our school response to serious incidents of ant-social behaviour, which gave parents an opportunity to understand the educative and management processes, as well as ask questions. Our KHSA is a fantastic voice for parents and a way for our leadership team to respond to areas of interest or concern.
• Premier Jeremy Rockliff and Education Minister Roger Jaensch visited our readers to launch this year’s Premier’s Reading Challenge. We were sure to highlight both our strong, independent readers and our readers who have been working hard at improving their independent reading skills with Danni, Helen, and Fiona – we wish everyone well for reaching their holiday reading goals!
• KHS has extended our long-standing relationship with the Beacon Foundation and their suite of programs that support students taking the next step towards career pathways with confidence and optimism. We were the only school in the Sate’s south to pilot their 12-week Career Readiness program, hosting Jake and the team at school each week this term. The great strength of this program is the focus on students deeply understanding themselves, their strengths, passion, and skills. This pilot was a remarkable success, and we look forward to round two in the second half of the year.
• Our 24 Carrot Garden has seen the Material Institute Team from Mona in our school all term as Ruben, Nadia, Andy, and the team have brought the plans to fruition alongside committed groups of students. Welcoming SETAC onsite to hold a Smoking Ceremony as well as our Croquet Club neighbours, feeder primary schools, local media, Minister Nic Street, families, contractors, landscape architects and others for our official opening was a wonderful opportunity to display just how aspirational our team here at KHS is in the service of students and learning.
• We are continuing to strengthen our onsite partnership with the Kingborough Lions Football Club as we work together to leverage from their multi-million-dollar redevelopment and FIFA-standard ground resurfacing for the growth of our students. From 2024 their will be Football-specific sports pathways from Grade 8-12, as we bring Grade 11/12 students from the Hartz Collective area into our school for this exciting opportunity.
• Our community’s Grade 3-6 families toured our campus with our student leaders and learned from our leadership team about who we are at KHS and what the wide scope of learning looks like in our schools.
• And then there were Twilight Concerts, Volleyball competitions, Be Wise (Pat Cronin Foundation) presentations around understanding the impact of conflict and violence, and more!

And as great ambassadors for our school we have sent out:

• Representatives from our Beacon Career Readiness Program to speak at Government House as part of Beacon Foundation’s 35^th Anniversary hosted by Her Excellency, the Honourable Barbara Baker AC.
• Hannah Windle and our Science and Engineering team who made it through to the State Final with a very impressive result.
• Our Grade 10s who have well and truly begun their transition program in preparation for Grade 11 with onsite, Hobart College and Taroona @ UTAS taster experiences.
• Outdoor Education students to explore their local natural environment with overnight camps through Freycinet, paddling the Huon, mountain biking through the foothills of kunanyi and the Meehan range, rock climbing Conningham cliffs and abseiling at Blackmans Bay.
• Students learning through internship and work placements as part of our ARC program. We have partnered students in a range of workplaces on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays to value-add to their Term 2 Independent Inquiry Projects, and others through individual Australia School-based Apprenticeships or Certificate III qualifications.
• John Bennett, who, in the final week of this term flew to Canberra as our state’s representative for the Ministerial Reference Group for the new National School Reform Agreement, contributing to systemic improvements for our national education system.
• Our Primary School Partners Club on a Wednesday afternoon who have been working in our feeder Grade 6 classes, building the confidence of our Grade 6s moving through to KHS next year and their own leadership skills as ambassadors of KHS.
• The voice of our students, who have been heard on the radio waves of Hobart. You may have heard Mikayla talking with Leon Compton on ABC radio or our Grade 7s sharing their enthusiastic views about the proposed stadium on Triple M – we champion the agency of our students to have their say!
• Our Aboriginal students and friends to this year’s NAIDOC Touch Footy Carnival where not only did they just miss a spot in the grand final but two of our students were awarded the day’s top honours with Jack S taking out the Deadly Leader Award and Oliver W receiving the Deadly Friend/Supporter.
• And then there has been all school’s mountain biking, Reclink cricket, Friday night badminton, Art exhibition excursions, Grade 7 Marine Discovery Centre excursions, musicals and more!

And lastly, our 60-strong team of students and staff head off to Mt Hotham for a week of snow. It is a fitting symbol to end this term – kids keen to step outside their comfort zones, staff going above and beyond to provide a diversity of quality experiences and families supporting and putting their trust in us to lead and look after their children.  Rest up everyone – there is another big half a year on its way.

Megan Bennell
Acting Principal

GRADE 11-12

Year 11-12 at Kingston High School

This term has been a busy one for our Year 11 students! Ms Gallagher’s Athlete Development class have been working well in the classroom and training hard in the gym for their respective sports programs. Some great news for next year in the program is the partnership with the Kingborough Lions FC and the development of a soccer-specific Athlete Development program for our Year 11 students next year. This course will be offered as a shared enrolment with Hobart College but will have the advantages of the newly developed facilities at KLFC grounds.

Outdoor Leadership has had an exciting term of expeditions and the Year 11 students have been leading camps and day activities in a variety of locations around the state. Students have engaged in kayaking and caving and everything in between! Grade 10 students should look out for the taster activities for these courses that will be running in Term 3. This will give our senior students a great opportunity to see what it’s like to student with us in Year 11 as shared enrolment.

Ms Killalea has also been working brilliantly with our English and Maths students in their Year 11 courses and everyone is looking forward to a productive Term 3 as student look towards completing their studies and achieving their TCE points!

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GRADE 10

Greetings, students and parents! As we approach the end of the school term, it is both a time for reflection and excitement for the Year 10 cohort. Over the past few months, our students have engaged in a series of onsite and offsite programs, equipping them with the necessary skills and knowledge as they prepare to embark on their college journey. These experiences have been instrumental in shaping their personal growth, fostering independence, and refining their post high school aspirations.

One of the highlights for our entire Year 10 cohort was the Hobart College Transition Day. This comprehensive program included presentations and taster sessions for students around potential courses of study in 2024. The students' enthusiasm was infectious as they actively participated in interactive workshops and engaged in insightful discussions, leaving them more confident in their ability to handle the demands of college life. In addition to the whole cohort experiences, our students also had the opportunity to partake in a number of smaller group programs. One of these was the Beacon Foundation Career Ready Program supporting students to investigate potential future careers and in some instances the ability to spend a week shadowing professionals in their fields of interest. Through these offsite experiences, students gained invaluable insights into various industries, expanding their horizons and affirming their career aspirations.

As we approach transition to Semester 2 (and what will be the end of their high school journey), it is with immense pride that we witness the growth and development of our Year 10 students. Their participation in these onsite and offsite programs has not only provided them with practical skills but has also instilled in them a sense of self-belief and determination. We are confident that these experiences will serve as a solid foundation as they complete their Transition Plans in Term 3.  Our gratitude and thanks go out to the teachers, parents, and staff who made these programs possible, ensuring our students' transition to college is filled with unforgettable experiences and endless possibilities.

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To celebrate Beacon's 35th anniversary, the Governor of Tasmania and Beacon Patron, Her Excellency the Honourable Barbara Baker AC hosted a Reception at Government House Tasmania.

We appreciated some kind words about Beacon’s work from Her Excellency, as well as a discussion with Kingston High School Tasmania students who provided their thoughts on the work of Beacon and how participating in our career program has impacted them. We thank Her Excellency and the students for participating in the event in this way, it was wonderful to hear from them all.

#beaconbrighterfutures #beaconfoundation

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Our amazing kids speaking at Government House – thanks Beacon Foundation!

GRADE 9

It’s been an amazing term of learning in Grade 9 – all the teachers on our team have been reporting to me over the last few weeks how much growth they are seeing in our students both in terms of their academic outputs and their initiative. At this stage in Grade 9 we love seeing students really come into their own and take charge of their own learning: setting goals for themselves, asking for feedback, completing assignments at home, and striving to showcase the very best work they can make. Thank you so much for all the support, questions about school, and check-ins around work completion you do at home – we know that wraparound support from school at home helps our kids perform at their very best.

Thank you also to all the families who joined us at the Celebration of Learning Evening! All our students worked hard on their portfolios to showcase a piece of their work from each subject alongside their rubrics and reports. If you were unable to attend this time we hope to see you at future events, and please remember that you can access your child’s rubric anytime through OneNote – your child can help show you how they login to their Microsoft 365 account from home.

It's not all about academia though! You can see in the photos attached some joyful shots of Grade 9s enjoying all the fun and games on offer at the end of last term in our Colour Run event – the crazy bikes were quite a hit!

Also on show here are Mia, Ruby and Bella who did an amazing job speaking in front of the whole school at our NAIDOC Week smoking ceremony. We are always so proud to see our Grade 9s standing up with confidence and it was lovely to see these three connect so soon with our new Aboriginal Education Worker, Amanda Pearn.

That final shot shows the scene inside C pod on a rainy day with Frozen playing on the tele inside. We had a quite heated debate about whether Frozen 1 or 2 was better but, alas, I lost that one. Well done Verity on your expert debating skills.

GRADE 8

Although the days grow progressively shorter and the skies turn grey, term 2 is still a hive of activity within the walls of D and E Pods for grade 8 at Kingston High School.  This term grade 8 have explored a variety of topics and extended their thinking across many subject areas.  In English, the Gothic Horror genre has been examined as we learnt about the features that make this genre unique since its early stages in the 1700s to modern day imaginings. Some classes have even challenged themselves to become the authors or illustrators of this style!  In science, physics and energy were the focus.  We explored kinetic and potential energy through both experimentation and theorising. A particular favourite was burning different foods – ask your student about the energy chain in this experiment!  In Maths, we have looked at fractions, decimals and percentages.  For those who love a bargain in the sales, converting to and from percentages has proven quite useful.  In HASS students have learnt about the role of laws in our Country and in particular looking at how laws are made and changed.  A particularly timely issue given the upcoming referendum!  A big thank you to all the staff and students for a successful term.  We are looking forward to more learning in term 3!

GRADE 7

It has been great to see the growth in students and how much they have achieved this term. Students have been busy creating and publishing picture books, writing letters to politicians about their view on the Tasmanian AFL team and stadium, comparing the cost of everyday items to determine the best buy or value for money and learning how to raise awareness around endangered animals. During Community time, we have had a particular focus on how to demonstrate kindness and how this can improve overall wellbeing. Students have been recognised in our grade assembly by their teachers and peers for being a kind and caring class and grade member.

Also, this term, students have been lucky enough to visit the Marine Discovery Centre as part of their biology unit and listen to a local radio presenter and commentator on Triple M breakfast about their opinion on the Tasmanian AFL stadium and team. Some students even had their voices aired on radio breakfast on Wednesday July 28. In HPE, students have experienced CrossFit classes at Collossus in Kingston and some students have been working with our Aboriginal Education Officer preparing NAIDOC week celebrations.

We wish all Grade 7 families a restful and relaxing holiday and look forward to seeing you in Term 3.

ARC

Term 2 has been an exciting term for ARC students. Some of the many activities ARC students have participated in have been, attending TasTAFE, work placements and our first exhibition for the year. Students were required to present their learning to an ARC staff member and their families. Students spoke about their personal interest projects, and certificates they had achieved, work placements and any other relevant learning they would like to share. Students spoke with great enthusiasm as they were able to discuss a project of passion that they had chosen to work on throughout the term. Below are some images of Sharmika and Heidi from their exhibitions.

LIBRARY NEWS

For the past 12 months, the Kingston High School Library has been undergoing a bit of a metamorphosis.

There is now a more formal classroom area.

The shelves have been moved and rearranged.  The focus is no longer on non-fiction but moving into a recreational reading hub. The non-fiction items that have been removed were old, irrelevant or in poor condition. I have aimed to keep a smaller and more relevant non-fiction collection.

The Library Club meets on Wednesdays, and the students have been busy helping with this rearrangement. They are at present painting a mural to go on the blank wall as you walk into the library from the office area. It will add a pop of colour and interest to the space.

The below picture shows what we are aiming for the library to look like all the time. The furniture was borrowed for the visit by the Premier and Minister, alas it had to go back but the aim is for a similar look.

The Library is a work in progress and I would like to thank Miss Holland and the Library Club for all their help this year.

The Premier’s Reading Challenge

The Premier’s Reading Challenge is a program that has been running since 2007. This year is the first year that High Schools have been invited to participate and 27 Kingston High School students have put their name down. The Challenge runs from 26 June to the 1 September. It is not a competition but a way to encourage students to develop a love of reading for life. The idea is that students nominate how many books they will read over the 10 weeks of the challenge. This is not to say that Kingston High students have not embraced the spirit of competition. I have heard a lot of “I am going to read more than you!”

As Kingston High was one of the first high schools to sign up, we were chosen to host the media launch by Premier Jeremy Rockliff and Minister for Education, Children and Young People, Roger Jaensch.

On Thursday, 22 June, the Premier and Minister arrived at school along with various cameras and journalists. They were accompanied by this year’s Reading Champion Dr Lucy Christopher from UTAS.

Students on hand to greet him were Jemima C, Ava B, Olivia T, Chloe W and Claire S.

The students did themselves and the school proud, speaking clearly and obviously passionate about books and reading.

The Premier welcomed everyone to the school and made his speech, launching the challenge. The students were then asked about their reading – what sort of books they like to read, how many they are going to read for the challenge and what do they like about reading.

Following the launch, the Premier and Minister spent some time with a Literacy Intervention class, where students showed them what they are doing and read aloud for them.

It was great to see our school presented in such a positive way.

Fiona Madigan

OUTDOOR EDUCATION

Grade 11-12 Outdoor Leadership

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Mt Bobs Year 10/11 Bushwalking trip.

Year 11 students from Outdoor Leadership group led volunteers from Grade 10 Outdoor Ed classes deep into the Southwest National Park. The mud was serious, but the group was up to the task and showed a lot of grit to make it to camp. The views from the top of Mt Bobs were outstanding, especially Federation Peak. Photos really don’t do it justice! More trips this term for regular Grade 10 classes coming up!

Grade 9 Outdoor Education

In term 2, students have participated in a mountain biking mini-unit and a navigation mini-unit. For this, students learned how to read a topographic map and recognise features in the real world as they navigated orienteering courses around the Hobart area. Monday’s navigation unit culminated in the class co-ordinating a search and rescue scenario through dense bush. All Outdoor Ed students have also spent an afternoon paddling on the Huon River to build their skills in white water boats, and they have attended a session of indoor rock climbing in preparation for a rock-climbing unit that will take place early next term.

Grade 8 Outdoor Education

ART

Grade 7 Visual Arts have explored how established artists have used colour, shape and pattern. They have begun to understand how art is informed by its time and place in history. A component of this learning was coming to terms with how abstract art evolved in early 20^th Century. Evidence of their learning can be seen in these creative renditions of the work of Kazmir Malevich & Piet Mondrian. 

Grade 8 Visual and 3 Dimensional Arts have been steadily composing a body of work dealing with the theme of Tasmanian endangered species. This has involved investigations of native flora and fauna and the culminated in stunning works highlighting how these majestic animals interact with the natural landscape.

Grade 9 and 10 students have been looking at art some of the more prominent art movements of the 20^th Century.  They have tackled Pop art, looking at and making art responding to Roy Lichtenstein’s use of the comic medium and onomatopoeia.  Students have also made wire and fabric explored sculptural form reflecting on the Pablo Picasso’s Cubist symbolism in his artwork Guernica.

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MUSIC AND DRAMA

Music

It was great to see positive family engagement at our recent Twilight Concert. Our young musos shone brightly on stage and appreciated the opportunity to perform live on stage.

New members are welcome to join stage or concert band. Contact our talented music team – John Salter or Simon Cawthorn in H Pod.

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DRAMA

Year 7 students have worked on a variety of improvisation scenarios in semester 1. Scenarios such as @ the restaurant, @ the cinema, @ the supermarket, and @ the bus stop. Students participated in Theatre Sports workshops to extend their improvisation skills.

In term 2, the Mime and Movement Units allowed students to explore and experiment with mime techniques and learn how to use pace, space, levels and SFX for movement sequences as a performer.

The semester ended with small group student devised performances to another class.

FOOD STUDIES

Food, Design and Technology – Year 7 Term 2

Food, Design and Technology – Year 8 Term 2

Senior Classes Term 2

24 CARROT GARDEN

We are excited to provide learning opportunities, providing pathways in horticulture, garden-to-plate, market garden and community engagement opportunities. Teaching children to grow and prepare their own food, learning about nutrition and helping establish healthy eating habits.

NAIDOC WEEK

During Naidoc Week we joined together as a whole school and recognised the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

An engaging cleansing smoke ceremony included all students to participate in the ancient custom involving the burning of native plants to produce smoke, which has cleansing properties. The smoke wards off bad spirits from the land and people and makes a pathway for a brighter future.

Amanda Pearn AEW

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HPE

Badminton School Series

Kayla M, Jade M, Lilia K, Lucille D, Willow M
Rui O, Sam T, Cayla C, Joseph W
Taylen C, Joe T and Seamus R

Throughout Term 2 students have been competing in a weekly Badminton roster on Friday nights at the Southern Tasmanian Badminton Association (STBA). As well as a day of Individual Championships on Friday the 9^th of June. KHS was represented by teams and individuals across all grades and even boasted multiple trophies in the grade 8 girls division, including: Lilia K (Champion), Jayde McD and Kayla McP (doubles champions). Well done to everyone involved, Kingston High is proud of your success and well done to the Grade 8 girls Badminton team for making the final on Friday 30^th June against St Aloyouis.

Tasmanian All Schools Cross Country

Congratulations to the Kingston High students who attended the Cross Country at Symmons Plains, please see the outstanding individual efforts below. In each division, there were over 100 students competing from all around the state, so well done to each student for their effort.

Inter-high Cross Country

A wonderful effort from the Kingston High team at The Rosny College Golf Course for this year’s Inter-high Cross Country. With a brand new course, showing some great traditional elements of a cross country course. Below are some of the outstanding performances from our students in attendance – 2^nd Maddie Nash (grade 9 girls), 3^rd Abbie Owen (grade 10 girls) and 3^rd, 4^th and 7^th (grade 7 boys). A big thank you to Mr Shea and Amelia for supporting the students to attend the day and represent Kingston High School.

Kingston High Cross Country

What a wonderful time we all had for our annual Cross Country Carnival. It was fantastic to watch so many competitive faces during the Extreme Cross Country and then watch a sea of white turn into a sea of colour during the Colour Run. As a school through the colour run donations and BBQ we raised a total of $600.00 for MS Tasmania, to assist those members of our community suffering such a debilitating disease. In 2023, the final points saw Hartz take the win on 430 points. Congratulations Hartz. We look forward to the return of colour in 2024.

Schools Volleyball Cup

Congratulations to the Kingston High teams that participated in the Schools Volleyball Cup over the last two days. Our 7/8’s finished 2^nd in division 1 to Clarence High School. Kingston Harold won division 1, senior and the Grade 10 girls team finished 3^rd with Kingston Cornish finishing 4^th to round out the two day event.

Reclink Cricket Series

After completing stage one of “operation three-peat” by claiming southern conference honours KHS progressed through to the Reclink Cricket finals held at Blundstone Arena. Our team is a champion team filled with Kingborough Knights players, whose skill and cricket smarts helped them remain undefeated (for three years) against strong opposition in Woodbridge and Huonville. The finals saw Bothwell, Sorell and KHS battle out for the Community Shield. With nail biting games, Kingston High School came out with “Operation Three-Peat” complete. Well done to Indy W and Henry S who came as the league MVP – Henry with two wickets off the first two balls and then another two guaranteed him this success. Well done everyone, bring on 2024.

HPE Overview 7 -10

Term 2 has seen a busy time in HPE, for each grade focusing hard on developing their understandings in both theory and practical. Grade 7’s have been focusing hard on fitness testing and understanding the components of fitness. Grade 8 have been enjoying a unit on Communication whilst developing fundamental Volleyball skills. In the senior school, Grade 9’s have been learning about Nutrition specifically how to read, interpret and calculate macronutrients on food labels. Complementing this learning the basics of Badminton, and how to play, score and umpire. Rounding out the term, Grade 10’s have participated in an externally delivered program called Love Bites focusing on respectful relationships and consent coupled with designing a fitness plan.

MOBILE PHONES

Off and Away All Day

STUDENT SUCCESS

Congratulations to Will Morgan who has been selected to represent Tasmania at the Australian Gymnastics Championships in May.

UNIFORM NEWS

Second-hand Uniform

The uniform shop is now fully stocked with all uniform items. Uniform items can be purchased via the Qkr App download from the app store to your device.

Any unwanted uniform items can be donated to our Second-hand Shop.

Money raised is used to assist struggling students and families.

Lost Property

Lost property box is located outside the medical room in I Pod. Please check for your missing items and ensure all clothing is named.

ADMIN OFFICE HOURS

Office Hours 2023. Open daily 8.00am – 4.00pm

NOTICES

Night of Lights Poster

High School indoor cricket in Kingston term 3.

Here is a link to our Facebook post 
Please feel free to contact Joellen Cowden with any queries.
Phone (03) 6229 7863 
Address 10 Kingston View Drive, Kingston TAS 7050
Email accounts@thecrickethub.com.au | Web www.thecrickethub.com.au

Online Bookings

Facility Hire:

Coaching: 

Parties:

School Groups:

Kingborough Lions United Football Club

KLUFC are running Holiday Clinics in the July School Holidays suitable for High School Students.
The Club is running 2 days in the first week (ages 13-18)
In the second week we are doing a 2 day clinic in conjunction with A-League team Western United.

Cathy James
Secretary
Kingborough Lions United Football Club
e: secretary@klufc.org.au
w: www.klufc.org.au
m: 0458 291 156

Model Train Show