There have been many things to celebrate during the term so far at Scottsdale High School! Our Year 7 and 8 students have been exploring the Department of Education for Children and Young People’s new values during Team Time on Friday afternoons.  The new values include the value of Connection.  This value is integral to fostering positive relationships and creating a strong sense of belonging among students, staff, and the wider school community.

We have certainly seen a positive sense of connection in a number of recent events and activities:

• Year 10 Survival Camps – Thanks to Mr Le Fevre for all his co-ordination of the two Year 10 Survival Camps and staff who assisted and attended. Our Year 10 students rose to the occasion and embraced the challenges they were faced with.  The value of Connection was very evident as students connected with one another and staff, furthering their team work and collaborative skills, and the environment which provided not only their shelter but also resources to assist with their survival challenges.
• Cross Country Carnival and Interhigh Cross Country – Well done to all students who participated and/or assisted with the Cross Country Carnival at Bridport. As a staff, we were very impressed by our student leaders who enthusiastically encouraged, motivated and supported all competitors.  Our Interhigh Team represented the school very well, giving their best efforts and demonstrating strong team spirit.
• Ready for the Road Presentation and Driving Lessons – The RACT provided valuable information to our Year 10s regarding driving safely and a number of Year 10 students were given a free driving lesson. There will be further lessons available to students later in the year. Those students who got behind the wheel with the RACT instructor, were attentive and responsive and very grateful for this learning opportunity.
• Tasmanian Student Leaders Forum – On 17th May, our SLB leaders headed to Launceston with Miss Juraimi, Winnaleah District High School Leaders and Ray from Dorset House to participate the 2024 forum where the focus was on housing. Our leaders had input into what makes housing suitable for young people and importantly, what needs to be done to ensure that all young people can access and keep a safe, appropriate and affordable home.  Our Year 10 leaders were excellent ambassadors for the school and enjoyed the opportunity to network with leaders from other schools.
• Science and Engineering Challenge - Thank you to Mrs McDougall and Mr Sweedman who accompanied Year 9/10 students to UTAS for the 2025 Science and Engineering Challenge. Many thanks to UTAS for funding travel for our students to attend this event. The students demonstrated connection by drawing on their teamwork problem solving and creative skills to build bridges, test water turbines, and constructing earthquake proof towers. Over the next five years, 62 percent of employment growth in Australia is predicted to come from healthcare, science and technology, education and construction.  The opportunity for our students to explore future pathways and make a link with UTAS is very valuable and we will have another group of Year 10s venturing to the UTAS Health Taster Day on Wednesday 12th June.

We have a number of engaging learning opportunities coming up the next few weeks which foster the value of Connection with one another and our community including:

• Newstead and Launceston College Open Days (Newstead College on 20th June and Launceston College on 24th June.) A letter has been sent via School Stream regarding these and permission to attend.  Staff from the colleges have visited our students and provided them with information about the Open Days and courses students can explore.  This is a very beneficial way for our students to connect with staff from the Colleges and explore possible pathways for 2025.
• There is a Wellbeing Afternoon being planned for Year 9/10 students on Friday 28th June. Details about this will be communicated shortly to families.
• NAIDOC Week – Years 7- 10 students will be engaging in activities for NAIDOC week to celebrate the histories, cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year’s theme is Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud & Proud.

Parent/ Teacher and Evidences of Learning

Parent Teacher Interviews commenced this week and it is pleasing to see so many parents/carers making a time to meet with their child’s teachers.  At the interviews we will be sharing evidence of learning for English and Mathematics with parents/carers. We highly value this opportunity to share the learning and progress of our students with their families. If you are not able to attend the interviews, your child will bring home their evidence of learning on Friday 14th June to share with you.

School Association Meeting Tuesday 18th June

The School Association will be holding a meeting on Tuesday 18th June at 6.15pm in the Library. These meetings are a great opportunity for parents/carers to become involved in decision making and building a partnership with the school. We welcome you to join us for the meeting.

Share your thoughts on school attendance

Help us better understand any barriers that may be in the way, and what supports are needed to help with getting to school.

The Department for Education, Children and Young People is doing statewide consultation on school attendance. 3P Advisory is independently running the consultation. Your answers are confidential, and you won’t be identified.

We want to hear from you. You can take part in an online survey, share or vote for suggestions, or join an online drop-in session via the 3P website. The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.

You can also share your thoughts about what you like or don’t like about our Every school day matters campaign.

As a parent or carer, please have your say. Please encourage your child/ren, too.

Every piece of feedback counts. Thanks for helping shape future DECYP initiatives, school-based engagement strategies and public awareness campaigns.

Elizabeth Williams

Principal

1^st Group Survival Camp

We all set off for an early start and left school at around 9:30am once we had everything organised. Our first stop was the Field Study Centre, where we drop of our non-survival bags and got our bags searched by the teachers, a few beef jerky packets were found. Then we headed off to our second location, which was kept a secret from us. On the bus ride we were blindfolded at certain spots, so we didn’t know where we were going. As we neared our stop, we simulated a real-life plane crash. We came to a sudden stop and unblindfolded ourselves, to see that we were deep in the scrub. We then had to find our supplies after we found our supplies we set off for a trip to the first campsite. We started with a map and compass and after a 4-and-a-half-hour trek we found the first campsite. When we got there we had a challenge to see who could start a fire the fastest and the winning team got a treat. Afterwards it was nearing the end of daylight so we had to build our shelters. All we had was a large tarp and some rope. Before we set off for bed we all sat by the fire talking about things that had happened that day. When everyone went to bed there were some groups that were staring at the stars while they slept, mainly because their shelter broke! It must have been a cold sleep for some! We all awoke at different times in the morning and ventured out to the campfire which had been started by some early birds. We all had some yummy breakfast whilst we were told how the day would unfold. We all packed up our survival shelters and set off for the hike to second campsite. But before we made it to the second campsite we needed to stop off by a little body off water and we had to get ourselves and our bags across. Luckily we found a inflatable raft, pump and lifejackets. We had to get across and we did so with all the bags and people in 50 minutes. Then we had to hit the road one more time. With less than 20 minutes of the walk to go we had to build a stretcher for some bags. Thankfully we built a strong stretcher because we ended up carrying more than double what we were supposed to, and yes we made it to the second campsite. Once again we set up our shelters ready for one more night. We woke up early in the morning, ready for a small walk back to the Field Study Centre. After we made it back we set off on the bus to larapuna/Eddison Point. We went on a walk across the beach one by one and alone for a mindfulness walk. Once we had finished a few went for a swim and loved the water. We got back and played some guitar and some very heated game of monopoly with plenty of cheating involved, then we head to bed for a comfy night sleep. The last day we all packed up the field study centre and left to Tomahawk. We played a lot of fun over the river and then we fled to home after a fun week.

Mav W, Deagen Y, Will P

2nd Group Survival Camp 

Departing Monday of Week Four filled with nerves and excitement the second Survival Camp group was away. After dropping off our non-survival bags off at the Field Study Centre we made our way to the bush to be dropped off. We started our journey with a scavenger hunt for tarps, food, and billies. After successfully finding all these items we began our walk. Thomas Wesley was given the role of navigator. Bush bashing our way through to our first campsite where we had our first challenge. The first challenge was to start a fire with a flint and steel, then boil water on the fire. Neither of teams were successful at lighting the fire with the flint and steel, luckily we were then able to use matches. After the challenge we had to set up our tarps. The rest of that night was filled with laughter around a campfire. Day two was a long day of walking and challenges. Our first challenge of the day was the highlight of camp. Having to cross the lake on an inflatable boat two people and three bags was the limit. All students found this challenge fun with lots of laughs and water getting thrown around, everyone made it across safety. After a quick lunch break, we continued our walk, water still lurking in our shoes. The next challenge was to make a stretcher out of dead tree branches and the rope out of our packs. Our engineering skills were not up to par with our stretcher braking along the way multiple times. We arrived at our second campsite and immediately lit two fires, one to dry out our wet socks and shoes the other to warm us up. Both student and teaches went to bed excited knowing a warm shower and food was awaiting us back at the Field Study Centre. Day three we had a short walk back to the Field Study Centre; the walk was up and down the hills becoming steeper, but we persevered through and made it back. We all set up our beds, changed our clothes and had long a waited shower. After having a rest, we packed our lunch and headed for Eddison Point where we walk along the beach alone to reflect on camp. After our solo walk we enjoyed our remanding time on the beach where we ate lunch, played cricket and some student even went for a swim. Exhausted from the actives that the last three days had included we packed up and made our way back to the Field Study Centre. Night three we had to make our dinner using trangias. All students quickly learnt the technique and enjoyed a delicious dinner. The remainder of the night was spent watching a short film and enjoying cupcakes and brownies prepped by Ella and Jodi C. Both student and teachers woke up day four thrilled for the actives that were to come. After a quick breakfast students helped clean the Field Study Centre as quickly as possible so we could get on the bus and go. We then arrived at Tomahawk ready for the beach Olympics. Teams were tied with one last challenge to go. The beach Olympics were heaps of fun and brought lots of entertainment to our last day. The rest of our time was spent relaxing on the beach, Mrs Tuffin suggested to play a game where you had to get the bandana off the other person. All students enjoyed participating and watching, even some teachers had a go! With that we were back on the bus feeling a mixture of emotions, we were all excited to be coming home but sad that the camp had come to an end. Arriving back to school students helped to sort out the gear. Survival camp was an amazing experience that brought student closer together. 

Tori H and Molly F

On Friday 24^th May a group of twenty-two students from Years 9 and 10 travelled to Launceston to compete in the 2024 Science and Engineering Challenge. The Science and Engineering challenge is a national competition ran by the University of Newcastle where schools compete against each other at a local, state and national level in a series of science and engineering challenges. On the day the students were divided into 8 groups and competed against 6 other schools from Northern Tasmania in a series of challenges including wind turbines, coding, bridge and shelter construction, electricity and aerodynamics. The challenges required students to work as a team and apply their knowledge and problem solving skills. Overall, it was a very successful day with Tara, Thomas and Larni receiving first place in the Flight challenge which involved designing and building a wooden plane to hit a target and fly the furthest distance. Hayden and Cody also won the Job Juggle challenge which involved colour coding and patterns. Although the school finished in 7^th place, the organisers of the event commented that our overall score for the day was the highest ever for a team finishing in that position for Tasmania. I would personally like to congratulate and thank the students who attended this day and represented the school with pride.

Mrs McDougall – Science Teacher

Vet Visit from Rosie

On Thursday 6th June,  we had a special visit from Veterinarian Rosie, from Scottsdale Veterinary Services. This was organised by Jane, our school youth support person.  We had a large number of students turn up to learn more about what its like to be a vet and the different careers associated with animals. We were able to discuss and learn more about how Rosie became a vet. We participated in an activity in which we had to discover what was wrong with 60 cows with an unknown sickness on a farm. One of the common symptoms the cows had was diarrhoea. After finding this out, we talked about sending faeces samples away for testing. Rosie had the test results already printed and we later concluded the cattle had salmonella. We then learnt about the different kinds of salmonella and gained an understanding of the different ways vets treat this.

Vet Rosie talked to us about her pathway into being a veterinarian, with her having some previous careers in other industries before becoming a vet. When asking her about her education that led to her becoming a vet, she talked about how its ok if you don’t have the best grades to get into a veterinary school straight after college as there are other pathways that can lead you to veterinary work or working with animals. Rosie said she was inspired to become a vet, because she loves animals, wants the best for them and wants to help farmers/animal carers to run the farms the best they can with their livestock. 

When we asked, “Why is this a good opportunity to participate in?” Rosie stated that she is passionate about animals and keen to share her experience and knowledge with others and inspire others. She also said that there was a lot of misunderstanding around some of the things vets do and explained to us that there are lots of scientific work done on a day-to-day basis like investigating diseases. Another question that we had was, “How can today’s visit help students in the future?” The answer we were given was that being exposed to people in different jobs helps open students’ eyes to different careers and future possibilities.

We are very thankful for Vet Rosie’s visit and were captivated by all the information and experience that she shared with us. Thank you to Jane also for organising Rosie’s visit.

 Lily W

Well done to all students who participated in our Cross Country Carnival on 15th May at the beautiful Bridport foreshore! Congratulations to Minstone on winning this year’s Cross Country. Our House Captains did a fabulous job encouraging and supporting all competitors. Thanks to family members who cheered students along.

TAS MERINO WETHER CHALLENGE | We are participating in the TMWC again this year. Our sheep have been kindly donated by Ben and Amy Grubb of Strathroy, Breadalbane. Damian Whitely visited our farm with some tips for students on the care and welfare of merino sheep.

Today in our gardening group at the farm we planted some herbs that will grow through winter.  We hope to make some herb gardens. We also made friends with some chooks.