The cold weather has certainly hit, so please ensure students are dressed warmly. With the chill in the air, it’s more important than ever to be prepared for the elements. A reminder that only plain white, black, or navy long sleeve t-shirts are allowed under the school polo top – no hoodies. Plain black or navy puffer jackets are allowed Term 2 and 3 over the top of the uniform, in outside spaces only.

Literacy Inquiry Cycles

Our literacy inquiry cycles are making great gains. We are excited about the progress our students are achieving. For more detailed information, be sure to check out the full article in this newsletter by Miss Gumley.

Moderation and Professional Learning Day

A reminder to all parents and students: this Friday is a student-free day due to our staff Moderation and Professional Learning Day. This day allows our staff to engage in important professional development and ensure our teaching practices are aligned and effective.

Korean Delegate Visit

We were honoured to host a delegation from Korea Marine Meister High School. Principal Seongman Kim and his Aquculture teacher visited us to initiate a formal relationship with our Aquaculture program. This is a wonderful opportunity for our school to form connections and build a world-wide educational aquaculture network.

School Association News

Exciting things are happening within the School Association as we prepare for a significant celebration next year. Huonville High School will be turning 85! We invite everyone to join us and be a part of this great team as we plan for this milestone event. Your support and participation are invaluable.

Thank you Sultan Holdings

Sincere thanks to Sultan Holdings for their very kind donation of a range of office furniture to the school. We really appreciate the support and are excited to use it to rejuvenate some staff spaces by making them more functional, comfortable and aesthetically pleasing! 

Let’s stay warm and continue to strive for excellence in our learning and community engagements.

Kindly,

Janelle Reeves
Principal

janelle.reeves@decyp.tas.gov.au

The HHS School Association met on 30^th May, 2024. We heard from the Principal, Janelle Reeves, about the amazing $250,000 grant she has secured to enable upgrades across the school facilities, including many items discussed at past School Association meetings, such as upgrades to the basketball court, new furniture and  playground equipment.

The Association will be focusing on increasing connections between the school and the community. This includes connections between the school, further training and workplaces. We are also looking to create a focus around a celebration of 85 years of HHS in 2025. If you know ex-students, teachers or staff that would like to get involved with collecting memorabilia and/or organising and being part of celebration please contact eloise.foo@gmail.com.

Our next meeting will be Week 9 of Term 2 on Monday, 24^th June, 5:30-6:30pm in staff room - all carers and community members welcome.

Contact chair troy.cook@intowork.com.au for any information.

School Levies support student learning by contributing towards the cost of essential items and services. Invoices for 2024 have now been sent out. Thank you to parents/carers that have already paid their levies. 

We would appreciate payment of levies at your earliest convenience. These can be paid by a number ways:

• At the school by EFTPOS, cash or cheque
• At Service Tasmania by EFTPOS, cash or cheque
• Through BPAY – using the Biller code and Reference on your invoice (you can also make regular instalments)
• Using Centrepay, a service provided by Centrelink

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Hello Parents and Carers!

We are now six weeks into Term 2, and Grade 7 and 8 classrooms are looking settled and productive with students working hard across their classes.  Please keep speaking to your young person about what they are up to in each class and communicate with us around any support they or you might need.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone of our uniform expectations: school dress, navy pants, school shirt with hoodie or V-neck. Wearing our school uniform allows students to focus on their learning and feel connected to our school community. Please let us know if we can provide uniform support in any way.

What’s happening in Grade 7 and Grade 8:

We have been very lucky over the last weeks to have SASS (Sexual Assault Support Services) visiting our school. They spoke with each homeroom, in each grade level, at an age-appropriate level over 3 sessions. It can be confronting and challenging content, but incredibly beneficial and important information for our young people to hear. Here is some feedback we received from our wonderful presenters:

We have also had HEADSPACE visiting our school recently. Headspace is Australia’s National Youth Mental Health Foundation, providing early intervention mental health services to young people. They offer support through Headspace centres in Hobart as well as online and phone counselling services. Headspace help young people with mental health, physical health (including sexual health), alcohol and other drug services, and work and study support. Our students have enjoyed these sessions and it’s been wonderful to hear plenty of engaging conversations about this learning.

This year we are excited to share with you our whole school focus on reading. To inform this work we are using student data from reading tests students completed earlier in the year. This test is called a Progressive Achievement Test (PAT) and allows us to track reading progress over time. This term we have been focussing on inference and summarising and saw 80% of Grade 7/8 students achieving growth in their evidence of understanding between pre and post-tests. This is very exciting news, and we would like to congratulate all our student’s staff for the hard work that has gone into this teaching and learning. Make sure you keep an eye out for our next inquiry information early Term 3.

Reminders:

• 7th June (this Friday) is a student-free day. Teachers will be doing moderation We will be collaborating with teachers from other schools in our area and discussing quality teaching practices and assessment. Fun times!
• 18th June Grade 7 & 10s immunisations organised by Huon Valley Council
• Week 9 Reports and work samples will be sent home.
• Week 10 Parent teacher conversations

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact myself via email (jason.lunden@decyp.tas.gov.au) or our front office on 6264 0800.

Kind regards,

Jason Lundon
Grade 7/8 Coordinator

Pictured are our Gifted Online Course students studying Philosophy at the meet-and-greet session with Shelley Millhouse, facilitated by Ebony Taylor, in the Huonville High School library.

Students were able to talk about the course they have chosen and ask pertinent questions. They embraced the opportunity to meet Shelley in person and are excited about the Thought Experiments that are changing every week.

Kelly Flanagan
Support Teacher

kelly.flanagan@decyp.tas.gov.au 

As Term 2 is in full swing, students are settling in smoothly, displaying a renewed sense of enthusiasm and focus. Having adjusted to the academic routines and expectations of Term 1, they are now more confident and better equipped to tackle new challenges. Classrooms are abuzz with active participation and collaborative efforts, reflecting a deepening engagement with the curriculum. Extracurricular activities are also seeing increased involvement, as students balance their academic responsibilities with personal interests.

On the 20^th of June we will hold our Senior Winter Ball, which is an exciting time for Year 10, 11 and 12 students. The purpose of the dinner is to acknowledge their hard work and achievements throughout a significant year in their academic journey, boosting their morale and self-esteem. The Senior Winter Ball marks a milestone, serving as a motivational springboard as they prepare for the crucial final years of their secondary education.

Year 9 and 10s have been engaging in some exciting excursions related to HPE this term. In Year 10 Health and Physical Education, our Term 3 unit is AFL 9’s. AFL Tasmania is attending Huonville High School to run us through an AFL 9’s session to support our skill development and practice in open skilled environments.

Our Sport and Recreation class attended Golf Park Cambridge this week, which was an exciting opportunity to practice our golf swing, and our Athlete Development classes have participated in a spin cycle class at Kingston Sports Centre - this follows on from our learning about how exercise effects heart rate.

Sophie Rainbird
Grade 9/10 Coordinator  

sophie.rainbird@decyp.tas.gov.au 

National NAIDOC Week | NAIDOC

This NDIS survey aims to provide support and guidance to individuals with disabilities, as well as their family members, community including children. Our goal is to assist with funding applications, ensure adequate support, and offer education on available options. We are committed to providing support and assistance to meet your needs. Click on the link below to complete the survey form:

Survey Form (office.com)

Tasmanians are being encouraged to change the way they travel, with public transport fares being halved from June 1, 2024 as part of the Tasmanian Liberal Government’s 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future.

Minister for Transport, Eric Abetz, said that Tasmanians will benefit from the half price fares from 1 June 2024 as many in the community deal with cost of living pressures.

“If you’re traveling on a bus or the River Derwent Ferry you will notice a significant drop in what you are paying no matter what your payment method,” Mr Abetz said.

“It means you’ll get twice as many rides from your Greencard or Transportme card top-up or even when using cash, or take the same number of rides and walk away with more money left in your pocket or bank account. Students and children will only pay $1 per trip making a big difference to household budget pressures,” he said.

This reduction applies to all Government contracted public buses and fare-paying school buses, as well as the River Derwent ferry service. It also applies to every fare type (non-urban, urban, concession and child/student fares).

Mr Abetz added that Tasmanians won’t need to do anything to receive the half price fares.

“All you’ll need to do is jump on any public transport statewide and you’ll receive the reduced fare when you pay,” he said.

“Not only will this initiative deliver immediate cost of living relief, but it also encourages more people to use public transport and ease congestion on our roads.”

Updated fares will be charged to Greencard and Transportme cards automatically.

To learn more visit www.transport.tas.gov.au/public_transport , talk to your bus operator or contact the Department of State Growth at ptfeedback@stategrowth.tas.gov.au or on 6166 3343.

These resources will help you understand the impacts of vaping on young people, and support you in having conversations with your children:

• Department for Education, Children and Young People fact sheet – Vaping: Information and advice for parents and carers (PDF, 220KB)
• downloadable Do you know what you’re vaping? fact sheets and posters for parents and carers from the Department of Health
• facts around vaping and a short e-learning activity by Lung Foundation Australia
• information on vapes as well as support to quit by Quit Tasmania 
• videos on vaping devices and how they work 
• ABC News published a story about the ‘suite of chemicals’ in the liquids used in vapes, some at ‘dangerously high’ levels 
• things you can do:
  • Set a good example by being tobacco or vape free. Research shows that young people are less likely to smoke or vape if their parents or carers do not smoke or vape.
    • If you have found quitting difficult and still smoke or vape, share your experiences with your child. 
    • The best way to protect your children is to never smoke or vape in the house or other places where there may be children nearby. 
    • Smoking or vaping in a car when children are present is illegal. Passive exposure to e-cigarette aerosol can be damaging for children and young people. 
  • Report those who are selling vapes to minors or selling vapes containing nicotine 
  • Whether you suspect your child is vaping or not, take the time to talk to them about it and help them understand all of the risks. It is never too late to have the conversation. 
  • ABC podcast gives practical tips on how to talk to your child about vaping. 
  • Other tips on talking with your children about vaping (and alcohol and drug use more generally):
    • try to start the conversation with your child in a relaxed easy-going way, perhaps taking the cue from around you, a note from school, a news story about vaping, or seeing people vaping on the street 
    • be approachable and unshockable – listen to their ideas even if you don’t agree 
    • try not to interrupt or react in ways that stop discussion – they might worry about telling you things you need to hear 
    • show them where to get accurate information from reliable sources 
    • help them think about risks to their health and wellbeing – but don’t exaggerate.  
    • encourage their involvement in a range of activities, sports and hobbies. 
  • If you think your child is vaping, here are some tips to approach this topic:
    • Don’t react immediately. Give yourself time to calm down and think through what’s happening. 
    • The best way to find out what’s happening is to ask them – that is, by talking rather than by ‘detection’. Don’t go behind their back and search for vapes. The loss of trust will be greater than the benefit of anything you might find out. 
    • Try to avoid strong reactions and big arguments that could harm your relationship. 
    • A respectful tone and body language can go a long way. 
    • Tell them you’re concerned about their wellbeing and you think they might be vaping. Let them know you want to help. 
    • Avoid judging or lecturing – listen to their point of view and keep it a two-way conversation.  
    • Give them a chance to tell you what’s happening without interrupting or lecturing. Find out how often and where they are vaping. 
    • Consider asking questions like: ‘What made you want to try?’ and ‘How did it make you feel?’ 
    • Ask what they need and help them get support.

Resgister here: Enhancing Community Safety through First Aid Training – Judbury Community Centre & Market

To register: https://events.humanitix.com/blended-youth-mental-health-first-aid-or-huonville 

Follow 12 to 24: Huon Valley Youth | Facebook to stay up-to-date with activities for youth

Welcome – Black Square Chess

SZapp is a direct communication channel to parents and carers; a mobile app that’s free to download. SZapp allows Huonville High School to send notifications to our parents and carers at any time, as well as being a platform where the school's important information is available anywhere, anytime, on mobile devices.

Features:

Newsletter subscription link and archive of all previous newsletters News Feed – which will allow us to send notifications as a reminder of things that are coming up Forms and Documents – which provides digital access to all forms sent home in hard copy Link to call the school directly or to access the school website Comprehensive school calendar that is continually updated Bus details Staff email contacts And much more…

Apple devices: Download and install SZapp.

Android devices: Download and install SZapp.